Jeff Bullas

A great question. AMP is one of the most exciting but also challenging technologies in email today.

Short Answer: AMP for Email is a framework created by Google that allows you to embed interactive, website-like components directly into an email. It goes beyond static text and images, allowing for things like live forms, image carousels, and accordions that a user can interact with inside the inbox.

The goal of AMP is to turn a static, read-only email into a dynamic, app-like experience, reducing the friction for a user to complete an action.

With a standard email, if you want a user to fill out a form or browse a gallery, you need them to click a link and go to your website. AMP for Email aims to eliminate that step. It allows you to build emails with interactive elements, such as a product review form with text fields and a submit button that works inside the email, an image carousel a user can swipe through, or collapsible content sections that can be expanded or hidden. It can even pull in live data, so the content is up-to-date the moment the email is opened.

However, there are significant challenges, which is why it has not been universally adopted. The first and biggest issue is limited email client support. AMP is primarily supported by Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Mail.ru. It does not work in Apple Mail or the vast majority of Microsoft Outlook clients, which make up a huge portion of email users. This means you must always build a standard, non-AMP version of your email as a fallback for those recipients.

The second challenge is technical complexity. Building and testing an AMP email requires specialised development skills and is far more time-consuming and expensive than creating a standard HTML email. You also have to go through a strict registration and approval process with Google to even be allowed to send AMP emails. For most businesses, the effort required currently outweighs the benefit, and focusing on creating a great traditional email with compelling text and images that links to a fast-loading landing page is still the more practical and effective approach.

Cheers,
Jeff

A great question. Countdown timers are a powerful tool for creating urgency when used correctly.

Short Answer: Yes, you can put a live countdown timer in an email. It works by embedding a dynamic image, usually an animated GIF, that is generated by a third-party service. This service creates a new image frame every time it is requested by the email client.

The key is to understand that you are not embedding a piece of code that runs in the email, but rather an image that is being constantly and instantly updated on a server.

It’s a common misconception that there is complex code running inside the email itself. For security reasons, email clients block scripts, so a different approach is needed. The countdown timer is actually a dynamic image generated on the fly. When a subscriber opens your email, their email client sends a request to a server to download the images. The third-party timer service receives this request, instantly generates an animated GIF image showing the correct time remaining until your deadline, and sends that image back to the email.

To create one, you use one of the many online countdown timer services. The process is simple. You go to their website, enter your specific deadline date and time, and customise the timer’s appearance with your brand’s colours and text styles. The service will then provide you with a small snippet of HTML code. You simply copy this code and paste it into your email template’s HTML where you want the timer image to appear. Your email marketing platform will then display the live, animated timer.

The most important best practice is to ensure the urgency is real. A countdown timer for a fake deadline will quickly erode your customers’ trust. The timer image should also be placed directly above a clear call-to-action button with text like “Register Before Time Runs Out,” so the urgency is immediately followed by the solution.

Cheers,
Jeff

A very important distinction to understand for anyone serious about email deliverability.

Short Answer: IP warming is the process of building a good sender reputation for a new, dedicated IP address. Domain warming is the process of building a good sender reputation for your sending domain name. While they are often done at the same time, they are two separate reputations that email providers track.

Think of it this way: your IP address is the post office your mail comes from, and your domain is the return address on the envelope; internet service providers check the reputation of both.

IP warming is the process of gradually increasing the volume of emails sent from a new, dedicated IP address over a period of weeks. A new, or “cold,” IP has no sending history, so inbox providers like Gmail are naturally suspicious of it. By starting with a low volume of text-based emails sent to your most engaged subscribers and then slowly ramping up, you are demonstrating good sending behaviour and proving that you are a legitimate sender, not a spammer. This process is only necessary for senders using a dedicated IP.

Domain warming is a similar process, but it’s focused on the reputation of your sending domain, such as @yourbrand.com. Every email provider keeps a reputation score for your specific domain, and this reputation follows you even if you change email platforms or IP addresses. The process of building this reputation involves sending consistent, high-engagement emails over time. This is something every sender needs to be mindful of, whether they are on a dedicated IP or a shared one.

If you are starting with both a new dedicated IP and a new domain, you are essentially warming them up at the same time with the same structured sending plan. However, if you have an established, warm domain but move to a new dedicated IP, you must still go through the IP warming process. They are separate but interconnected reputations that are critical to getting your text and image content into the inbox.

Cheers,
Jeff

A very common and often debated topic in email marketing.

Short Answer: Yes, emojis in subject lines can increase open rates, but their effectiveness is highly dependent on your brand, audience, and industry. When used correctly, they can make your text-based subject line stand out, but when overused or used inappropriately, they can look like spam and hurt your brand.

The goal is to use them as a strategic, attention-grabbing tool, not as a decorative gimmick.

The primary reason emojis can work is that they are visual. In an inbox filled with plain text, a colourful emoji is an image that breaks the pattern and draws the human eye, causing the reader to pause on your subject line. They can also convey emotion and ideas more concisely than words, which is a major advantage when you have limited characters to make an impression.

However, there are significant risks to consider. First, they must match your brand’s voice. If you are a serious, formal brand, using a winking emoji might feel out of place and damage your credibility. Second, overusing them is a classic spam trigger. A subject line with a long string of emojis looks unprofessional and can increase your chances of being filtered into the junk folder. Third, not all emojis render correctly on every email client and device. What looks perfect on an iPhone might appear as a generic square box on an older version of Outlook.

The best practice is to be thoughtful and strategic. Use one, relevant emoji to supplement your text, not replace it. The subject line should be perfectly clear and compelling even without the emoji. Most importantly, the only way to know for sure if emojis work for your audience is to A/B test them. Send an identical email to two segments of your list, with the only difference being an emoji in one of the subject lines. The data from that test will give you a definitive answer.

Cheers,
Jeff

An excellent distinction to make. Using the right strategy for the right audience is key.

Short Answer: A ‘re-engagement’ campaign targets subscribers who have become inactive but are still on your list. A ‘win-back’ campaign is a more aggressive strategy aimed at customers who have actively cancelled a service or have not purchased in a very long time, with the goal of winning back their business.

Think of it as the difference between waking up a sleeping contact versus convincing an ex-customer to come back.

A re-engagement campaign is focused on list hygiene and waking up subscribers who have simply stopped opening or clicking your emails. The audience is passive. The primary goal of the text is to get them to take a single action, even just an open, to signal that they are still interested. The tone of the text is often emotional or curiosity-driven, with subject lines like “Is this goodbye?” or “Here’s what you’ve missed”. The ultimate goal is often to identify the truly uninterested subscribers so you can remove them with a sunset policy.

A win-back campaign, on the other hand, is a sales-focused strategy targeted at a much more valuable segment: lapsed customers. This audience has actively purchased from you in the past but has since churned. Because you know they have been a paying customer, the strategy can be more direct and incentive-driven. The email text should acknowledge their past loyalty and present a compelling offer to return, such as a significant discount, a special new product, or an exclusive service offering. The goal is not just an open, but a new conversion.

So, while both campaigns target “inactive” contacts, re-engagement is for passive list members, while win-back is for former paying customers.

Cheers,
Jeff

This is arguably the most important long-term challenge a creator will face.

Short Answer: The most effective way to avoid burnout is to build a sustainable production system. This involves diversifying your content formats, batch-producing your videos, and strategically planning your content calendar well in advance.

By optimising your relationship with your various content formats, you can reclaim your time and protect your creative energy.

There are several ways to make your workflow more sustainable. Firstly, you should diversify your content formats by mixing in “lighter” content, like Shorts or Community posts, between your high-effort, long-form videos; this reduces the weekly production load while maintaining engagement. Secondly, you must embrace batching your primary video format by dedicating specific days to filming multiple videos and separate days to editing, which is far more efficient than the daily grind of creating one video from start to finish. Finally, you need to use your content calendar as a strategic planning tool, mapping out your video formats weeks ahead to eliminate the daily pressure of inventing new ideas and allowing you to schedule proper, guilt-free breaks into your schedule.

Cheers,

Jeff

Creating a professional media kit is a fundamental step in monetising your influence.

Short Answer: A strong media kit is a concise, visually appealing document, typically a PDF, that combines key text information, data formats from your analytics, and image formats that represent your brand.

The goal is to use these different formats to tell a compelling story about your channel’s value to a potential sponsor.

Your media kit should be a curated collection of your most important information, presented across several formats. Firstly, the text format is crucial for your introduction; this includes a short bio about you and a paragraph describing your channel’s niche and the value you provide. Secondly, the core of your kit is the data format, where you must present key metrics from your analytics like subscriber numbers, average viewership, and audience demographics, such as age and location. Thirdly, you need to include strong image formats, like a high-quality headshot and screenshots of your channel, to showcase your brand’s visual identity. Finally, you should outline the collaboration formats you offer, such as a dedicated video or a multi-platform campaign, but it is often best to state that specific rates are available upon request rather than listing them directly in the kit.

Cheers,

Taking a break is essential for long-term creativity and avoiding burnout.

Short Answer: The key is to be proactive by creating a backlog of content before you leave. Scheduling videos in advance and using other content formats like Community posts allows you to maintain your presence while you are away.

Leveraging a strategic mix of content formats is the most effective way to bridge the gap during your absence.

A well-planned break will not harm your channel. Firstly, the most effective strategy is to batch-produce your standard video format; film several videos before you leave and use YouTube’s scheduling tool to maintain your regular upload cadence while you’re offline, making your break invisible to the algorithm. Secondly, you should prepare several text formats by writing and scheduling Community Tab posts to provide updates or ask questions, which keeps your audience engaged and informed. Thirdly, if you cannot produce a full slate of your typical videos, consider creating “lighter” content formats, such as a few YouTube Shorts or a pre-recorded Q&A, to serve as lower-effort uploads that still provide value and maintain your channel’s activity. This multi-format approach ensures neither the algorithm nor your audience feels your absence.

Cheers,

Jeff