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There were a couple of blog posts yesterday interviewing experts in the field of email. Also yesterday I had a quick review of my Google Analytic stats for this site. Additionally, a friend pointed me to this terrible blog post from an ESP that isn’t even using terms in industry standard ways. And finally, Spamhaus released a statement about a “fake DNSBL.”
You see, as I was looking at my Google Analytic stats, I came across an old post of mine from last year. The (unstated) point of that post was to make us think about who we’re listing as experts in email matters.
The link in that post was to an article written by someone who claimed expertise in “Web Analytics” about email. The information in the article was both silly (Was anyone shocked that email isn’t picked up by search engines?) and demonstrably wrong (“Transactional e-mail does not have CAN-SPAM requirements”).
There was a similar post the next day after about other “experts” who are wrong. You might think that state attorneys general would know about the statutes that they are expected to enforce. But, if you do think that, then you’re going to find yourself sadly disillusioned.
And, of course, people depend upon operators of blocking lists to be experts in their field. As Spamhaus points out, some folks just rip off the work of others and pass themselves off as experts while hoping to make a quick buck through delisting fees.
So, yesterday, we saw articles interviewing two experts in email delivery. Both Al Iverson and Annalivia Ford deserve the title of “expert” and people should listen to them. So, to me that brings up a question: Which experts are we listening to?
Are we listening to real experts? Or, are we making decisions about email based upon the advice of web analytic experts and poorly informed attorneys or ESPs who don’t know where the industry is or where it’s going?
So, dear readers, which experts are you listening to? Who influences your decision-making? Let’s hear from you in the comments.
Mick, thanks for the shout out. And ouch @ that Boomerang post. That's so wrong, it hurts to read.
How about I get things started. It's hard to listen to myself, at least that's what I'll claim so I don't get locked away in the loony bin.
Folks I talk to directly:
Steve & Laura Atkins
Al Iverson
Annalivia Ford
Blogs that I try to read immediately (in addition to the blogs of the people I just mentioned)
Box of Meat
AOL Postmaster
Prof. Eric Goldman
Venkat's Spam Notes
John Levine
Mark Brownlow
Spam Diaries
Spamhaus' News Blog
Bronto Blog
MailChimp's Blog
And, of course, lots of folks on Twitter.
I'll point out KNLorenz specifically because several of her tweets have turned into or pointed me to material that's become blog posts here.
Blogs I Read:
Al Iverson's DNSBL Resource
Annalivia Ford – Email, Anti-Spam and Deliverability
Avoid Spam Filters – Chris Lang
BeRelevant – Tamara Gielen
Bronto Blog
Digital Spin by SubscriberMail
Email Ethics – Anton Panaitesco
Email Responsibly
The Email Wars – Dylan Boyd
Engagement Marketing Blog – Loren McDonald
Getting Email Delivered – Anne P. Mitchell
Inbox Ideas – Justin Premick
Lyris HQ Blog Posts & Articles
MailChimp Email Marketing Blog
Maximizing Deliverability
MediaPost | Email Insider
No man is an iland – Mark Brownlow
Pivotal Veracity Resource Feed – Len Shneyder
Return On Subscriber – Alex Williams
Smart Insights Digital Marketing
Style Campaign – Anna Yeaman
Unica – Michelle Eichner
The Whitelist
Word to the Wise -Laura Tessmer Atkins
Laura's posts on the Word to the Wise blog at http://blog.wordtothewise.com is the one blog I read first before looking at others.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kelly Lorenz. Kelly Lorenz said: Shocking that the provider in question told @wise_steve he's wrong about bounces…wow. just wow. http://bit.ly/aw9vtJ (via @spamtacularcom) [...]
Mickey,
I'm touched. Thanks for the shout out. And thanks to you and Carol for reading the Bronto blog!
For me personally, I've categorized the blogs by topic as I follow hundreds at this point. For example, for retail email examples, I go to The Retail Email Blog. For deliverability, I follow a bunch, but most notably Spamhaus, Al Iverson's Spam Resource, Annalivia Ford's blog, Word to the Wise, Deliverability.com and of course, Spamtacular.com.
If you're new(er) to the industry, I would recommend first looking on twitter for groups/lists that reference email marketing gurus and see what blogs they are talking about or writing for and go from there. That will (hopefully) weed out some of the not-so-expert-experts. Also, anyone that talks in wide-sweeping generalities, ie. "Subject lines should never contain the word 'free'" or concretes, unless it's deliverability, is usually one to avoid.
Thanks again!
Kelly
If you're trying to understand deliverability, don't confine yourself to email marketing blogs. Anti-spam resources are relevant, too, because new spam threats result in new anti-spam techniques — and those might affect your deliverability far more immediately.
[...] Which Experts Do You Listen To? This was a fun blog post about determining who you listen to and refer to as an expert. [...]