Set your copyright to 2023!

Hi! Hello! If it’s your first time here, welcome to my little newsletter. Come have a cuppa and let’s rant about email marketing and stuff. If you feel moved, I’d be grateful if you shared this issue with people you know!

I switched to BeeHiiv, so do let me know f you see any issues. Hopefully deliverability will be a bit better! The design is a work in progress as I learn more about the platform.

When did December arrive? WHEN!? whew. What a year.

Anyway, I dislike those prediction blog posts that a lot of email companies put out. What are our predictions for 2023!? Will we personalize emails even more? What about dynamic content? Will amp for email finally take off? Who the eff knows for sure, not me! I can't even predict what my next week will look like (unless I look at my calendar. Which is hopefully up to date. and hopefully I don't forget an appointment multiple times even if I do look at my calendar. this is too specific. moving on.)

So, since we can only control what we can control, let's talk about what we need to do in the new year.

Change the copyright!

This is so easy to forget. I've forgotten! You've probably forgotten! We've all forgotten. An easy way to get around this is to use dynamic scripting, if your ESP supports it. That way, your automated campaigns update as soon as that clock hits midnight on December 31 (Jan 1? I'm always confused about how to refer to midnight) and you don't have to worry about a thing.

No scripting language available and you need to update a ton of emails? If you use components in your email design system (you have one, right?), you can just change that date, re-export the code, and load it up into your ESP. Or you could go straight to the ESP and change each campaign. Personally, I have a tendency to mess something like that up, so I like to just load all the code back in again. You do you.

Audit your email designs

Are your designs still working? Here are some things to check:

• Are your colors accessible to people who are colorblind?

• Are your paragraphs left-aligned?

• Is your font-size at least 16px?

• Is your unsubscribe link easy to find and click?

• Do your emails heavily rely on images? Can any of the content be moved to live text?

Practicing good design principles can help any email design shine - make sure you're following them!

Check your KPIs

How did your emails perform this year? Did engagement drop off anywhere? This is a great time to craft and plan some good A/B tests. Can you test some copy? Or maybe see how different layouts perform. What if you sent a long email vs a short email, or a more designed one vs. less designed? Every audience is different and can change on a whim - never make assumptions.

End of Year Rec's

What's an end of year email without giving some recommendations!? Here are some things I've enjoyed over the last year:

1. Spy x Family is this year's best anime. Catch up on the current season, then switch to reading the manga. The music is pretty great, too.

2. Stray is short and arty and gorgeous and I cried and it was amazing.

3. The Wonder Years reboot is wonderful and connects to the original in a surprising way. I'm unclear on whether season 2 is happening, and I hope it does.

4. Mom and Dad are Fighting is a parenting podcast I love to throw on while I'm in the car or doing chores. Zach, Elizabeth, and Jamilah bring humor and empathy to all sorts of parenting questions.

5. Ask a Manager is a website all about career stuff. There are some incredible (in good and bad ways) stories told there.

See ya around the interwebs,Meg