Email stuff we're not taking into 2026. In this edition: your Christmas present (email design handbook), plus the latest voiceover video verdicts and much more!
→ Things we're not taking into 2026 when it comes to email
→ you's Christmas gift AKA Email Design Handbook (scroll)
→ The last voiceover video verdicts of 2025
→ Why in email specificity beats everything
“It’s Q4, let’s just send it to everyone”... me 👇
Hey you, this is the last RE:markable before I disappear into mince pies, endless hot chocolates, family time and lots of rest.
Thank you for being here this year 💗
Whether you’ve read every word, skimmed a few, or just quietly kept me in your inbox - I appreciate you.
Before we log off for 2025, here's what we're absolutely not taking into 2026 when it comes to email.
HO, HO, NO
What we're not taking into 2026 when it comes to email
1) Opens and clicks as “performance”
Opens and clicks alone don’t tell you if the email is "working", especially in B2B. They ignore list churn, inbox behaviour, awareness impact, and how email actually assists revenue and decision-making over time. Measuring the wrong thing will set you back (and do your work injustice).
2) Chasing email trends
No subject line trends, no clickbait, no fake forwards, fake order confirmations, or “internal leak” nonsense.
3) Treating email as a performance-only channel
Email is not just here to “drive clicks”. It’s an impact channel: awareness, reassurance, recall, trust, and support across the journey.
4) Email marketing without deliverability literacy
We're not sending emails in 2026 without understanding where they land. We must have deliverability audits, monitoring and provider-level insight. Learn deliverability in 2026 here.
5) Blindly following advice from Google or LinkedIn
Email advice without context is dangerous. What works for one audience, industry, or lifecycle stage can damage another. In 2026, everything gets questioned, tested, and applied deliberately. Question everything you!
6) “Send it to everyone” as the default
If your strategy relies on emailing the entire database “just in case”, it’s not a strategy. Segmentation, exclusions, and intent-aware sending aren’t advanced now - 2026 is your year for email.
Most email design advice starts and ends with: “Make it look good and capture attention.” “Use buttons.” “Follow brand guidelines.”
Ho ho no you!
Good email design is not about aesthetics (surprised?), it’s about how humans read and scan, process and behave inside their work and personal inboxes.
1) Hierarchy matters more than creativity
If everything is shouting, nothing is heard. Design should guide the eye, not decorate the message. Most emails fail because readers don’t know where to look first or what matters most.
2) People do not read emails, they scan them
Emails are skimmed, not consumed top-to-bottom in the classic way we would like. If your design doesn’t support fast scanning, you’re losing attention before the copy ever has a chance.
3) Buttons don’t create clicks
A bigger button won’t do it, or a change of colour, or even above the fold. Clicks come from understanding, relevance, and confidence; design’s job is to remove friction.
4) Mobile isn’t a format
Two different experiences can happen with the same email on different devices. Not only that we behave differently in our inboxes, but our eyes and brains behave differently on different devices.
5) The eyes need a hook
The eyes and brain quickly need somewhere to land when they open an email, and if they don't have a visual hierarchy that aligns with the natural way of engagement in the inbox, your email will be closed and deleted.
I’ve created the Email Design Handbook, a 90+ page guide for anyone doing email, whether you design emails or not, who wants to understand how design really affects results.
Inside, you’ll find:
→ how to design emails that are readable, scannable, and intentional → layout patterns that support clicks without manipulation → accessibility basics every email marketer should know → how design supports trust, recall, and behaviour, not just brand → examples and explanations you can apply immediately
One of the most reliable email strategies I use is specificity.
When your subject line asks a very specific question, your audience is already asking themselves (or other people), and your email actually answers it - it will often be one of the best-performing emails you send.
Why? Because it feels like you’ve read their mind.
The real work here doesn’t happen in the email editor.
→ repeated questions → frustrations people say out loud (to sales, to you, to each other)
You might only find 50 people in your list who fit that moment, and that's okay!
Specific emails don’t need scale; they just need accuracy.
How to do it:
Find the real question, an actual question people ask.
Use it as the subject line
Let the preheader continue the thought (either deepen the question or promise a clear answer)
Answer it on your email and don’t sell
Questions work because they mirror internal dialogue.
Examples:
D2C haircare brand: “Why is my hair still dry - even though I’ve tried everything?”
B2B accountancy services: “Why does my tax bill feel higher every year, even when revenue hasn’t changed?”
If you sell pens (yes, even pens): “Why can I never find a pen when I actually need one?”
Last week’s newsletter worked for exactly this reason.
“How do we get more opens and clicks?” is a question I know you are already asking, because I hear it constantly in conversations.
That’s the rule.
If your subject line sounds like something your audience has genuinely thought, said, or Googled, you’re being specific enough.
Be specific about: → the problem → who it’s for → why you’re there → how you help
Specific emails get opened, read, and remembered.
2026 Deliverability Masterclasses
Plug of the week
I’ve released the 2026 Deliverability Masterclass dates (running up to March).
You’ll learn:
→ how deliverability really works (delivery ≠ deliverability) → how to run and interpret a deliverability audit → how Gmail, Outlook, and others judge your sending behaviour → how to spot risk early and fix issues before performance tanks
If email underpins revenue, retention, or pipeline, this is now a non-negotiable skill.
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