It can be difficult to know how to take your email program up a notch. We can help. Based on our survey of more than 3,500 marketers worldwide, we’ve identified 20 operational, strategic, and technological differences between successful email marketing programs and less successful ones. Here they are...

1. 20 Things
Successful
Email Marketing
Programs Do

2. To better understand email marketing practices
and trends, Litmus surveyed marketers
worldwide about their email programs. We asked
everything from organizational structure and
planning to design and deliverability.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do

3. More than 3,500 marketers took our survey.
They represented companies large and small
across a wide range of industries around the
world. Their email programs also experienced
varying degrees of success.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do

4. In this presentation, we identify some of the
biggest operational, strategic, and
technological differences between the marketers
who described their email marketing programs as
successful and those who described theirs as
average or unsuccessful.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do

5. These insights build upon the findings from
Litmus’ State of Email research series of
reports, which include:
• 2017 State of Email Creative
• 2017 State of Email Deliverability
• 2017 State of Email Workflows
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do

6. 20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 1: Pre-Send Checklists
1 Pre-Send Checklists
Emails have many individual elements that can
go wrong, including rendering, functionality, links,
analytics tracking, and images. Using an
extensive pre-send checklist ensures you don’t
miss something critical.

7. Successful email marketing programs are 132%
more likely than less successful programs to use
an extensive pre-send checklist as part of their
QA process (28.1% vs. 12.1%).
For more, check out The Ultimate Email Checklist: 24 Things to Check Before
You Send or check of all the critical elements of your email with Litmus Checklist.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 1: Pre-Send Checklists

8. What is the goal of your email? Who is it being
sent to? When will it be sent? How will success
be measured? An email brief answers these
questions and more to ensure that everyone on
the team is aligned and focused.
Email Briefs2
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 2: Email Briefs

9. Successful email marketing programs are 123%
more likely than less successful programs to
create an email brief for every email they produce
(24.5% vs. 11.0%).
For more, learn How to Define the Goal of Your Next Email Marketing Campaign—
and be sure to download our free Email Campaign Planning Workbook.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 2: Email Briefs

10. Triggered emails are highly relevant because
they’re sent at a time when recipients are most
receptive to the message, which also tends to be
personalized. This makes their ROI multifold
higher than mass emails.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 3: Automated Emails
Automated Emails3

11. Successful email marketing programs are 109%
more likely than less successful ones to
generate at least half their email marketing
revenue from automated emails (17.1% vs.
8.2%).
For more, read 5 Ways to Make Your Triggered Emails More Effective This
Holiday Season.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 3: Automated Emails

12. Transactional emails tend to have much higher
open rates than other emails. This gives you a
golden opportunity to promote related products
and seasonal items, as local laws allow. A/B
testing is the key to determining what works best.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 4: A/B Test Transactional Emails
A/B Test Transactional Emails4

13. Successful email marketing programs are 95%
more likely than less successful programs to A/B
test their transactional emails at least once a year
(33% vs. 17%).
For more, read 4 Ways to Optimize Your Transactional Emails.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 4: A/B Test Transactional Emails

14. Opportunistic TLS and other forms of secure
transport encryption protect email content while
it’s in transit. It doesn’t affect deliverability yet,
but it’s becoming a trust factor thanks to Gmail
flagging emails that aren’t encrypted.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 5: Email Encryption
Email Encryption5

15. Successful email marketing programs are 91%
more likely than less successful programs to
encrypt their emails (24.6% vs. 12.9%).
Learn more by reading about The Biggest Email Marketing Trends in 2017.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 5: Email Encryption

16. Triggered emails are not “set it and forget it”
programs. They are “review and improve”
programs. Since they are living campaigns, they
benefit from updates and optimizations, which
includes A/B testing.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 6: A/B Test Triggered Emails
A/B Test Triggered Emails6

17. Successful email marketing programs are 70%
more likely than less successful programs to A/B
test their automated emails at least once a year
(43% vs. 26%).
For more, read Nothing in Email Marketing Is ‘Set It and Forget It.’
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 6: A/B Test Triggered Emails

18. Thanks to machine learning, better data
integration, and other improvements from ESPs,
personalization has become much easier.
Including dynamic content that’s geared toward
specific subscribers boosts ROI significantly.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 7: Dynamic Content
Dynamic Content7

19. Successful email marketing programs are 68%
more likely than less successful programs to use
dynamic content always or often in their emails
(50% vs. 30%).
For more on the future of personalization, download Email Marketing in 2020.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 7: Dynamic Content

20. You want your subscribers to regularly convert.
Triggering a win-back campaign based on a lack of
purchases over a certain time frame is a smart
way to help ensure that your customers stay
committed to your brand.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 8: Win-Back Campaigns
Win-Back Campaigns8

21. Successful email marketing programs are 60%
more likely than less successful programs to
send win-back campaigns (50.5% vs. 31.5%).
For more, check out 3 Emails to Send Now to Improve Your Holiday
Campaign Results.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 8: Win-Back Campaigns

22. Inbox providers penalize your deliverability if too
many of your subscribers aren’t opening your
emails. Re-engagement campaigns, triggered by
a lack of opens, is a great way to help maintain
subscriber engagement.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 9: Re-engagement Emails
Re-engagement Emails9

23. Successful email marketing programs are 53%
more likely than less successful programs to
send re-engagement campaigns (55.5% vs.
36.2%).
For more, read 3 Steps to Successful Subscriber Reengagement.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 9: Re-engagement Emails

24. Visual movement is powerful. Animated GIFs and
CSS animation are the most reliable ways to
introduce movement into your emails and catch
your subscribers’ attention.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 10: Animated GIFs/CSS Animation
Animated GIFs/CSS Animation10

25. For more, read A Guide to Animated GIFs in Email.
Successful email marketing programs are 52%
more likely than less successful programs to use
animation at least sometimes in their email
designs (53% vs. 35%).
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 10: Animated GIFs/CSS Animation

26. Working with Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), Domain-
based Message Authentication, Reporting &
Conformance (DMARC) protects emails from
being spoofed and boosts deliverability.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 11: DMARC
DMARC11

27. Successful email marketing programs are 50%
more likely than less successful programs to use
DMARC (54.5% vs. 36.3%).
Learn What DMARC Is + How It Helps Protect Your Brand Against Email Fraud.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 11: DMARC

28. Adding ALT text to your images is a tried-and-true
way to ensure your email conveys its message
when images are blocked. Take that to the next
level by using CSS to change the font, color,
size, style and weight of your ALT text.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 12: Styled ALT Text
Styled ALT Text12

29. Successful email marketing programs are 50%
more likely than less successful programs to
always or often use styled ALT text (26.6% vs.
17.7%).
Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to Styled ALT Text in Email.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 12: Styled ALT Text

30. Advance email planning is essential to
effectively handling seasonal spikes in email
sending, creating a complex one-off email, and
updating and maintaining existing automated
email campaigns. A calendar makes that happen.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 13: Email Content Calendars
Email Content Calendars13

31. Successful email marketing programs are 47%
more likely than less successful programs to
maintain an email content calendar year-round
(63.4% vs. 43.2%).
For more on email planning, download the 2017 State of Email Workflows.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 13: Email Content Calendars

32. Typing errors, bad transcriptions, and bots are
just some of the reasons that invalid addresses
would be added to your list. Email address
verification checks new addresses and flags bad
ones before they cause you problems.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 14: Email Address Verification
Email Address Verification14

33. Successful email marketing programs are 45%
more likely than less successful programs to use
an email address verification service (34.7% vs.
23.9%).
For more, check out Email List Hygiene: How to Build a Clean Email List.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 14: Email Address Verification

34. Annoying? Many would say yes. However, there’s
ample evidence that these in-your-face email
signup forms work. Set frequency rules and A/B
test different form fields and messaging to
minimize annoyance.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 15: Pop-up Signup Forms
Pop-up Signup Forms15

35. Successful email marketing programs are 42%
more likely than less successful programs to use
a lightbox, exit intent pop-up, or similar form on
their website or app (38.0% vs. 26.7%).
For more, read The 5 Most Problematic Subscriber Acquisition Sources:
Are they redeemable?
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 15: Pop-up Signup Forms

36. If you’re not A/B testing your broadcast and
segmented emails, you’re not fully listening to
your subscribers. You’re also sacrificing ROI.
ESPs have made A/B testing much easier
recently, so there’s no excuse not to test more.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 16: A/B Test Marketing Emails
A/B Test Marketing Emails16

37. Successful email marketing programs are 32%
more likely than less successful programs to A/B
test at least a quarter of their broadcast and
segmented emails (71% vs. 54%).
For more, learn How to Use A/B Testing to Send Better Email Campaigns.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 16: A/B Test Marketing Emails

38. An appropriately rigorous approval process
means that it’s thorough enough to catch
mistakes, but loose enough to not slow things to a
crawl. The more email you send, the more critical
this becomes.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 17: Email Approval Process
Email Approval Process17

39. Successful email marketing programs are 32%
more likely than less successful programs to
have an appropriately rigorous approval process
(68.6% vs. 52.1%).
For more, check out 4 Signs Your Email Approval Process Is Hurting Performance.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 17: Email Approval Process

40. What if you could identify potential deliverability
issues before you send an email? Spam filter
testing allows you to do that, catching
authentication, content, and other problems pre-
send.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 18: Spam Filter Testing
Spam Filter Testing18

41. Successful email marketing programs are 24%
more likely than less successful programs to run
spam filter tests to identify problems before
sending their emails (61.0% vs. 49.3%).
Learn how to Make It to the Inbox—Not the Spam Folder—with
Litmus Spam Testing.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 18: Spam Filter Testing

42. Endlessly emailing subscribers who aren’t
opening your emails hurts your engagement rates
and increases your chance of hitting a recycled
spam trap, both of which hurt your
deliverability. Removing inactives is the solution.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 19: Purging Inactives
Purging Inactives19

43. Successful email marketing programs are 24%
more likely than less successful programs to
remove chronically inactive subscribers from their
active lists (59.0% vs. 47.6%).
For more, learn How to Manage the 3 Kinds of Inactive Email Subscribers.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 19: Purging Inactives

44. Having more data on how your subscribers are
behaving helps you better target them with
personalized content. Better data also informs
your overall email design approach and email
marketing strategy.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 20: Additional Analytics
Additional Analytics20

45. Successful email marketing programs are 23%
more likely than less successful programs to use
additional analytics to supplement what’s
provided by their ESP (68.0% vs. 55.5%).
For more, check out 5 Ways You Can Use Email Analytics Data to
Power Segmentation.
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do → 20: Additional Analytics

46. Successful email marketing programs are more
likely than less successful programs to use…
• Litmus Email Previews
• Litmus Builder
• Litmus Spam Testing
Plus+
20 Things Successful Email Marketing Programs Do

47. Join more than 250,000 brands that
trust the Litmus Email Creative Platform
to help them send better email.
Start a free trial →