In this edition:

→ Learn about the biggest myths & BS in Email Marketing 

→ Segmentation: how I approach it and when it actually matters

→ Latest real email video verdicts 

→ Images in email: do you really need them?

HEY you

Bored of these yet? Opened it quickly and now deleted or filed away? 

Don't worry, I do that too (a lot). 

WHO HAS THE TIME THESE DAYS?! 

Anyway, email marketing humbles you.

It's also like SO confusing.

Why is there so much conflicting advice out there?... Who and what should you listen to? 

The Biggest Myths in Email Marketing

Clear the air with me you

Scrolling LinkedIn, reading blogs from Google, hearing “gurus” shout:

"You must do this in email"

"Do this and get more clicks"

Blindly following “best practice” is dangerous (I explain why here)

Below you'll find all the things that make us marketers feel confused, not enough or just downright fed up when it comes to email marketing. 

Plus, what to do instead and how I would approach it.

From the Vault

A blog a day keeps the spam filter away 

⌚ 6 min read:

→ Segmentation: Where (and When) It Actually Matters

⌚ 10 min read:

→ Your Guide to Starting an Email Newsletter Your Audience Needs (B2B & B2C)

⌚ 5 min read:

→ If You Could Only Do One Thing With Email… (B2B vs B2C)

From the Queen’s Court

Voiceover video verdicts 

Moonpig's pattern interrupt email

Don't use ChatGPT copy

BONUS for you: Virgin Atlantic's great email experience explained (from last week's newsletter) here.

The Inbox Drop

Images in email: do you really need them? (B2C, B2B & everything else)

Short answer: sometimes.

Long answer: only when they help the message, not carry it.

If the email doesn’t make sense without the pictures, the design is carrying too much weight.

B2C / D2C (the “pretty but heavy” problem)

We’ve been designing emails like web pages for over a decade: big hero images, tiny text on images, sloooow loads, unreadable on mobile.

When images don’t load, the whole thing falls apart:

Use “layering”

Place images as background/visuals and put live text on top (from your builder), not text baked into the image 

Write alt text like real copy

If images are off, the story still flows

Design in your ESP

Not Canva to image. It rarely renders as you expect.

Trust your users

If the copy creates curiosity, they’ll download images. Example: I opened a Hair Syrup email, live copy hooked me, then I downloaded images to see the before/after. That's images supporting the message.

B2B (hello Outlook 👋)

Expect images to be blocked by default, especially in the preview/reading pane.

That means:

Don’t hide essentials

In an image (dates, times, agenda, pricing, CTA). Use buttons + live text.

Images-off ≠ failure

Outlook blocking images also blocks the tracking pixel, so “opens” under-report.

Try (nearly) image-free

Logo + one purposeful visual only. Use images when they upgrade clarity: e.g., a static mock of the guide you’re offering or a quick flipbook/GIF to show depth.

Quick checks

• Turn images off in testing. Does it still read? If not, fix the copy/structure

• Alt text = micro copy. No “image123.jpg.” Tell me what I’m missing in a sentence

• One job per image. If a visual doesn’t clarify or compel, it’s decoration. Bin it.

• Keep it light. Compress files; avoid giant PNGs; favour SVG for simple icons where supported.

• Never make the CTA an image

you's challenge this week

Give one B2B email with logo + one visual max; rewrite the lead with live text.

Ship one B2C email using layering only (no text-on-image); beef up alt text to read like body copy.

In Litmus/Email on Acid (or your builder preview), toggle images off and fix anything that breaks.

Plug of the Week 

Masterclasses for you

I've added 3 more masterclasses for this year. If you're interested in more 2 or more reply to this email & I'll give you a code for 3rd for free. 

May your deliverability be cleaner than your browser history.

Talk soon,

Beth x

I have ADHD (IFYKYK) so please excuse any typos and spelling errors in this email.

What did you think about this email?

Know someone who needs this in their inbox? Send them here.