Introducing: Arcana
I run Whizardries, a consultancy that deals with email deliverability and privacy issues. As part of that effort, I’m starting a new podcast about email, deliverability, and privacy topics. I will cover some basic issues, but others will be more advanced. They’re all interesting to me, and I hope they’ll also interest you. We’re calling
Bigger is rarely better
29 August 2024
One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen in email marketing is marketers obsessing over list size — especially at the executive level. The thinking goes like this: “The bigger the list, the more success I’ll have.” While it might seem logical at first glance, this mindset is not just flawed; it can be counterproductive,
Why data quality depends on user consent
19 June 2024
Deliverability Week continues, and it’s my turn to make a substantive contribution today. So, I’m pulling together some of my favorite topics: deliverability, privacy, and consent. Enjoy! Data is the lifeblood of a marketer’s world, but its true power lies in its quality. Imagine making important decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete information – that’s
Deliverability History: Habeas, Deliverability Settings and Email Testers
18 June 2024
Back in the day, when Mickey Chandler and I were both working in deliverability and compliance for ExactTarget (later Salesforce Marketing Cloud), I put together an email testing tool called the Reputation Audit. The genesis of this tool – why I created it – was to rebut Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) that a particular
It’s important to reward good behavior: Deliverability Week
17 June 2024
The year was 1997. I had been married for a few months and had not been out of school for much longer. We had just moved from New Orleans to Austin—without jobs, no less. So, Carol and I spent many hours trying to find work. One day, I returned to our modest apartment and checked
Apple’s iOS 18 Mail App: What Marketers Need to Know About the New Tabs
10 June 2024
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is always a highly anticipated event, with developers, tech enthusiasts, and industry insiders eagerly awaiting announcements about the company’s latest innovations. One significant highlight for marketers is that changes are coming to the Mail app in iOS 18 (expected to drop this fall). A Closer Look at the New Mail
SORBS closing has been announced
5 June 2024
I’ve heard rumors for a few days that Proofpoint was closing the SORBS (Spam and Open Relay Blocking System) DNSBL. Still, I had not seen any real confirmation until last night, when the list maintainer sent an email to the Mailop mailing list. So, I now feel comfortable posting that SORBS is closing over the
“I got a remediation request from Spamhaus. Now what?”
30 May 2024
Today’s big news is the announcement concerning “Operation Endgame.” Operation Endgame is “a coordinated action against some of the most popular cybercrime platforms for delivering ransomware and data-stealing malware.” Brian Krebs, ‘Operation Endgame’ Hits Malware Delivery Platforms, Krebs on Security (2024), https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/operation-endgame-hits-malware-delivery-platforms/ (last visited May 30, 2024). This initiative marks a significant effort by international
Learning from Roomba-style problem solving
21 May 2024
Several months back, I watched my Roomba make a map of the second floor of my house. That process looked like this: It’s surprisingly entertaining to watch. The Roomba seems determined to clean every inch, but its method is simple: move forward until you can’t, adjust, and try again. There’s a certain charm to its
Beyond Opens: Important Metrics That Drive Results in Email Marketing
13 May 2024
To achieve success, you need to track and analyze key metrics that reveal the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. Open rates used to be the go-to standard for tracking message engagement, but things like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection have hampered its usefulness. Here are seven crucial metrics you should be tracking (beyond opens) to