Email is evolving

Changes are afoot.

I can feel a shift in how email is being delivered, maybe you can too… and I think it’s for the better.

It’s becoming more difficult to get into email subscribers’ inboxes, but the positive I take form that is that those who ‘do’ it properly will win the day.

Gone are the days of the wild-west when you could rock up with any old Gmail or Yahoo email account and begin to barrage your list with any numbers of unsolicited emails (thankfully!).

“Yahoogle” (portmanteau for Yahoo and Google) helped mostly with this when, back in Feb 2024, they laid down a new set of rules and regs that us email marketers need to adhere to if we’re to be entertained when we show up at their ‘doors’ with our emails for their customers (i.e. our subscribers).

Five ways you can improve your email marketing

1. Make sure your sending domain is verified (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC)
2. Subscribers must be able to leave your list as easily as they joined – give them a clearly visible one-click ‘unsubscribe’ link in every email you send.
3. Don’t give anyone a valid reason to mark your email as ‘spam’ – this will increase your complaint rate with the ISPs.
4. Make your subject lines more compelling and rely less on the ‘Preview text’ (or Pre-header), as it’s slowly being displaced by AI summaries.
5. Regularly cleanse your list of unengaged subscribers – they can cause a drop in your email deliverability rate.

Kit changed their ‘Kit Approve Expert’ program 😐

I only discovered this through a social post I saw a couple of weeks ago, otherwise I’d have been none the wiser…

Having been listed on their website for a couple of years, I found they had removed that page from their website and replaced it with this one.

So, overnight, I ‘lost’ my listing.

I know that being listed makes zero difference to my ability to perform design and build work in the platform, but from a marketing perspective, that little badge holds significant weight for many people who find me via that route (people like validation, right?).

So, on that day, I had to clear a couple of hours in my calendar to begin the process of being listed on the new site.

To be fair, this iteration of the program is more professional and will be more useful over the longer term because it is listed on a marketplace platform (called ‘Contra’) – so customers may arrive via that route now too.

Anyway, I’m now listed on the new site and available for people to get in contact with me if they want help designing and building their Kit email marketing system.

I have my eye on you now… 👀

For years, it’s always annoyed me that when on a Zoom call, I NEVER look my fellow attendees in the eye when I’m talking to them.

I always look downwards and away from their gaze – because I’m looking at their faces on my monitor instead of the camera!

Yet, some people are masters at looking right down the lens – and (even if only subconsciously) making you feel more comfortable and engaged.

Then I met Neil Farrimond, an Ecamm expert, photographer, video production guy, YouTube show host, IT guru… (the list goes on) – and I asked him… “Why are you always looking directly at me, yet I’m always looking away?“.

He said… “Teleprompter“.

Fast forward to today, I just bought a new toy – it’s an Elgato Prompter from Amazon and I now look directly at everyone I speak with on Zoom.

Here’s what the prompter looks like in action – the camera is hidden behind that screen that has Neil’s face on it – meaning, from his end, I’m looking directly at him.

If you want to up your video or Zoom game, you may want to invest in one of these. As an aside, Elgato just launched their XL version of the prompter (the day I ordered this one! 🙄), so if you’d like an even bigger screen than this one, check out the new one.

And if you want to learn anything about video, gear, photography, apps, platforms, etc., check out Neil’s YouTube channel here.

And if you want to see me in action, using my fancy new prompter, book a call and we can talk about your email marketing system! 😊

Do you have a WordPress website (or plan to?)

I just invested in a WordPress premium plugin called FluentCart – it’s a software platform I’ve been waiting to be released for months, and it just landed this week.

The functionality they’ve included is very impressive and being version 1.0, there are a load of improvements to come according to their product roadmap.

I’m a big fan of ‘Fluent’, the company. They have a range of products that I use, including FluentSMTP, FluentCRM, FluentForms, FluentAffiliate, and the platform I use to run my community, ‘The Hub‘, FluentCommunity.

This latest product has been (for me and many like me) the missing piece of the Fluent puzzle, now making it super-easy and effective at creating a professional sales platform for your solo business.

Lifetime License Deal

As part of a new product launch, Fluent normally create an offer for those on their beta programs or waitlists – and the best part is the deal is usually a lifetime deal, meaning you pay once and use forever!

FluentCart is no exception – they currently have a lifetime deal running, but it is due to end in the next day or two.

If you’d like to learn more about their deals, here is the link – I bought mine on Tuesday when it was launched.