DJ Waldow - The Rebel’s Guide to Email Marketing: Grow Your List, Break the Rules, and Win

The Rebels Guide to Email Marketing

Grow Your List, Break the Rules, and Win

DJ Waldow Jason Falls

800 East 96th Street,
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA

The Rebels Guide to Email Marketing

Copyright 2013 by Pearson Education

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4969-7
ISBN-10: 0-7897-4969-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: August 2012

Editor-in-Chief
Greg Wiegand

Senior Acquisitions Editor
Katherine Bull

Development Editor
Leslie T. ONeill

Managing Editor
Kristy Hart

Project Editor
Betsy Harris

Copy Editor
Paula Lowell

Senior Indexer
Cheryl Lenser

Proofreader
Kathy Ruiz

Technical Editor
Bill McCloskey

Editorial Assistants
Romny French
Cindy Teeters

Interior Designer
Anne Jones

Cover Designer
Alan Clements

Compositor
Nonie Ratcliff

Que Biz-Tech Editorial Board
Michael Brito
Jason Falls
Rebecca Lieb
Simon Salt
Peter Shankman

Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Que Publishing cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Warning and Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an as is basis. The authors and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the programs accompanying it.

Bulk Sales
Que Publishing offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact

U.S. Corporate and Government Sales
1-800-382-3419

For sales outside of the U.S., please contact

International Sales

Praise for The Rebels Guide to Email Marketing

After reading this book, the debate over email marketing being dead is without a doubt over. DJ and Jason talk about email coming alive and letting it work for your organization in many ways that you have heard dont work. Whether you are newbie or a seasoned veteran, this book will get you screaming at the top of your lungs that EMAIL IS THRIVING! Andrew Kordek , cofounder and chief strategist of Trendline Interactive, a strategic email marketing agencySocial media gets more attention, but email is still the spine of effective digital marketing. In this practical book that youll refer to constantly, Waldow and Falls shed much-needed light on how to build, operate, and optimize a knock-out email program. Its a useful book, perfectly executed. Jay Baer , coauthor of The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social I would take 1,000 opt-in email addresses above 1,000 followers or Likes any day of the week. This from one of the biggest social media fans alive. Email is not dead; its stronger than ever for the ones who use it right. DJ and Jason are the guys to show you how with this masterpiece. Scott Stratten , best-selling author of UnMarketing At a time when all the buzz is about social, DJ and Jasons fun, insightful, and down-to-earth style will give any marketer a renewed excitement for email. Halley Silver , director of online services, The King Arthur Flour Co.Non-practitioner pundits have been declaring email marketing dead for years. Theyre still wrong. Email marketing remains the best way to get people to take action, so read this book if you want your business to grow. Brian Clark , CEO of Copyblogger MediaYou might call email the glue that holds so much of business marketing efforts together. You might call it the backbone, or the connective tissue, or the linchpin. But whatever you call it, you need it. And this is the book that shows you not just why you need it, but how to use it to grow your business. Rebels Guide is the book Ive been waiting for, because this is the book that talks (in real, relevant, updated terms) about how email is that critical thing businesses need to market in a digital age. Ann Handley , chief content officer of MarketingProfs and coauthor of Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (Wiley, updated 2012)

Contents at a Glance

Table of Contents

About the Author

DJ Waldow is an email marketing consultant, writer, blogger, speaker, and (now) author. He is the founder and CEO of Waldow Social, a company that helps clients take email marketing to the next level. DJ has spent nearly 7 years in the email, social, and community-building world, advising clients on how to optimize their email marketing campaigns and, on occasion, break some of the best practice rules. DJ can be found on most social networks under the handle djwaldow or by searching DJ Waldow.

Jason Falls is an author, speaker, and CEO, the latter of Social Media Explorer, a digital marketing agency and information products company. From client strategies to industry research reports to conference-style events, Falls spearheads efforts to bridge the gap between professional communicators and business owners and the strategic use of digital marketing and technology. An award-winning social media strategist and widely read industry pundit, Falls has been noted as a top influencer in the social technology and marketing space by Forbes, Entrepreneur, Advertising Age , and others. He is the coauthor of two books, this one and No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing (Que 2011).

To K-Dawg, Eva Claire, and Cal VikingI love you all, always and forever.
DJ To my mother, for all those things mothers do, then all the extra she did to get me where I am. I love you, Mom.
Jason

Acknowledgments

When Jason first suggested we write a book together, I remember having this feeling of excitement mixed with terror. Ive been writing in some form since as early as I can recall, but a book? Holy cats! Well, nine months later I can honestly say its all excitement now. We did it!

However, we did not do it alone.

This book would not have been possible without the people at Pearson Education and Que Publishing. To Katherine Bull, our editor: Thanks for believing in me and answering every single (sometimes silly) question I had. To our editorial team, Leslie ONeill, Betsy Harris, and Paula Lowell: Thanks for teaching me when to use then versus than and their versus its , as well as how to cut unnecessary/repetitive sentences and paragraphs. Thanks to Alan Clements for designing the kick-ass cover. To Dan Powell, Lisa Jacobson-Brown, Romny French, and the rest of the Pearson crew: We appreciate everything youve done!

Thanks to Bill McCloskey for agreeing to be our technical editor. We chose Bill, the Godfather of email marketing, to keep us honest. Thanks, Bill, for doing that and then some!

Next page