Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

In this episode of the Do This, NOT That podcast, Jay busts some common email marketing myths that he believes are holding marketers back. Jay tackles misconceptions around Gmail's promotions tab, using the word "free" in subject lines, and more. Listeners can expect to learn the truth behind these email marketing myths and walk away with tips to improve their marketing performance.- Jay explains the myth that you want to avoid having your emails go to Gmail's promotions tab. He shares stats showing that only 15% of Gmail users have tabs enabled and 50% of those users read their promotions tab daily. His takeaway - the promotions tab is good, not bad.- Jay busts the biggest email myth - that using "free" in subject lines will cause you to go to the spam folder. He explains how years ago this was true due to content filtering, but now sending reputation is determined mostly by technical factors.- Jay emphasizes paying attention to small details in email, sharing a test where title casing subject lines lifted open rates by 10%.Lastly, Jay talks about the free virtual Email Guru Conference, coming up on November 8-9 featuring speakers like Martha Stewart!

In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay interviews email marketing expert Andrew Kordek from iPost. They discuss best practices for email engagement, including sending more targeted emails instead of just more emails, watching for drops in engagement sooner rather than later, and "secret shopping" your own email signup flows. Main Discussion Points- Sending more targeted, personalized emails instead of just sending more emails in general- Watching for drops in engagement within the first few weeks, rather than months- Having someone unfamiliar with your emails/site go through your signup process to uncover issues

In this episode, Jay delves into the powerful concept of social proofing and how it can be effectively incorporated into marketing strategies. Discover how the collective societal brain influences consumer decisions and learn tips for leveraging the word 'most' and customer testimonials to drive higher engagement. Listeners will learn specific tactics to use social proof in emails, landing pages, ads, and more to boost engagement and conversions. Tune in and gain valuable insights that will enhance your marketing efforts!Main Discussion Points:- The power of social proof and why we rely on others' opinions for decision-making- Using "most" and other superlative words in email subject lines- Putting a testimonial near the call-to-action button in emails to increase click-through rate- Adding a testimonial next to the submission button on landing pages- Implementing social proof across every stage of the marketing funnel

In this podcast, Jay Schwedelson shares marketing tips for the Q4 period, including shifting focus to the upcoming year, using seasonal keywords, and creating 2024 calendars. He emphasizes the importance of removing or updating content with the old year to maximize engagement. Jay also explains the effectiveness of holiday-related keywords in email subject lines and the high engagement of calendars during Q4. The podcast briefly veers into a discussion about Love Is Blind and the hosts' Instagram feed, before promoting the upcoming Guru conference.

In this episode of Do This, NOT That Jay chats with Pierce Ujjainwalla, co-founder and CEO of email design platform Knak, about email marketing. They bust myths around embedding videos in emails and discuss how animated GIFs can increase engagement. Listeners will learn tips for creating effective animated GIFs, as well as when and how to use them in emails for both B2B and B2C audiences.Main Discussion Points:Animated GIFs can increase clickthrough rates by over 20% in emailsYou cannot embed videos directly in emails, but animated GIFs create a similar effectSubtle animated GIFs can work for any brand to grab attentionKeep animated GIF file size under 2MB to ensure quick load timesUse a service like EzGIF.com to create properly sized GIFsFollow JayFollow Pierce

In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay discusses the power of LinkedIn newsletters and why every marketer should be taking advantage of this feature. Jay explains how LinkedIn newsletters work, their benefits, and tips for getting started.Key Points:- LinkedIn allows you to publish a newsletter directly on their platform if you have over 150 connections. This gives you instant access to your network.- When you publish your first newsletter, LinkedIn will automatically invite all of your connections to subscribe. This gives you a built-in audience.- On average, 10% will subscribe instantly, growing to 20% over 30 days. With 1,000 connections, you could gain 100-200 subscribers without any extra work.- Every new connection gets the invite, helping you build your subscriber list passively over time.- There are under 100k newsletters on LinkedIn so far, giving you a huge opportunity.- Each newsletter you publish will be emailed directly to your subscribers' inboxes, bypassing algorithms.- Click-through rates tend to be 20% higher than regular email newsletters.- It's completely free and only takes copying and pasting your existing newsletter.

Learn how to optimize call-to-action buttons in marketing campaigns for higher click-through rates. Highlight the benefit to the recipient and avoid generic verbs like 'submit' or 'download'. Restate the offer in the CTA language and consider using AI tools to generate new CTAs. Also, enjoy random thoughts on ice cream shopping and frustration with limited cookie dough varieties.

In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay shares simple yet impactful marketing tips that can help increase engagement and performance for email, social media, and other campaigns. Listeners can expect to learn quick hacks to try in their own marketing efforts.Jay shares proven tips for optimizing your email campaigns, including changing the sent time, adding a powerful PS at the end of your emails, and mindfully omitting social sharing links that don't align with your campaign goals. These simple tweaks can lead to higher engagement and better results for your marketing efforts.Key Takeaways:Send email logo clicks to offer page, not just homepage (19% go to logo)Avoid sending email on the hour when inboxes are crowded (open rates up 15% when off-hour)Add a PS line with offer link to boost clicks in email (14% lift)Every email element should work towards your goal, remove anything unnecessarySmall tweaks can have a big impact overallFollow Jay Schwedelson on LinkedInCheck out Guru Events

In this episode, Jay dives into the world of content marketing and the power of repurposing. Learn why you don't need to constantly come up with new ideas and how to make the most of your best-performing posts. Jay introduces the game-changing strategy of operating on a 60-day cycle for repurposing successful LinkedIn content. Plus, get ready for some fascinating discussions on pop culture! From movie recommendations to superhero movie frustrations, teen romance surprises, and even impactful food documentaries that shape our choices – this episode has it all!Marketers only need 5-10 core topic ideas that resonate with their target audience. They can go in-depth on those topics continuously over time.Content that performs well on social media or email can be recycled and repurposed every 60 days by making small tweaks. Very little of your audience will see the same content twice.Take existing content like newsletters or social posts and use ChatGPT to instantly spin it into long or short-form content optimized for different channels.Follow Jay Schwedelson on LinkedInCheck out Guru Events

In this episode of Do This Not That, host Jay provides tips and strategies for creating more engaging email newsletters. He first advocates for the importance of having a newsletter, even if you don't have a large following, as it helps build your skills as a writer and content creator. Jay then offers specific tactics to increase open and click rates, including sending your newsletter twice, changing the subject line and send time for the second version, making it more personal by having it come from an individual rather than a brand, and creating compelling subject lines focused on the content itself rather than meta information. Listeners can expect to learn easy ways to optimize their email newsletters for higher engagement.Key Points:Start a newsletter even if your following is small - it will improve with practice and serves as a content engineSend your newsletter twice - first on Tuesday, then Thursday to non-openers with a new subject line like "Oops, you missed it!"Have the newsletter come from a person, not just your brand - open rates are 30% higher!Avoid boring subject lines like newsletter name, number or date - use a compelling stat or question from the contentFollow Jay Schwedelson on LinkedInCheck out Guru Events