Category Archives: email design

Eloqua’s “Juan Eloqua” Campaign: Email Creative at Its Best

The email below from marketing automation vendor Eloqua is part of one of those rare B2B campaigns that combines email marketing best practices with an impeccably executed creative concept. In the process, what is otherwise a fairly straightforward “get your free report” lead nurturing program is elevated to a degree that allows it to really [...]

Email Critique: CMS Vendor Asks Too Many Questions

As data sheets go, the design below from Ektron, a New Hampshire-based developer of CMS (Content Management System) software, has its merits. Unfortunately, it’s not a data sheet, it’s an email, and on that score, it breaks virtually every rule in the book. Let me count the ways. 1. Not seen in this image is [...]

Do Email Open Rates Really Matter?

Open rates are generally paid more attention than they’re due. The ugly truth is this: an open rate is NOT an accurate measure of how many people opened or read an email, neither is it an absolute measure of a subject line’s success. So why are there misconceptions about what an open rate means, and [...]

A Simple Technique for Reducing Bounces & Unsubscribes

It used to be said that the average US business mailing address (snail mail) changes once every 9 months. (That’s individuals moving, not companies.) Fast-forward to today’s highly mobile workforce, where people change jobs like the proverbial underwear, throw in a volatile economy, and more than one-third of the email addresses in your marketing database [...]

7 Mistakes To Avoid In Your Next Webinar Invitation

I’ve written a number of times in this space about how to maximize response from email Webinar invitations. The campaign below from Parallels, a Swiss-based software company, provides a handy illustration of those techniques by displaying what key mistakes to avoid. For example: 1. Sell the offer, not the product. You don’t need to disguise [...]