Trends

The Young Professional’s Declassified Guide to Email Marketing Basics

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By Madeleine Mulford

So you’ve landed in the world of email marketing. Some of us chose this path, and some of us found ourselves here and ended up loving it (guilty as charged). 

Maybe you’re the intern tasked with sending the company newsletter. Maybe you’re curious about specializing in this channel. Maybe you’re staring at your ESP dashboard wondering what the heck DKIM means.

From one young professional to another, welcome. Email marketing can be messy, technical and overwhelming, but it’s also creative, rewarding and often lauded as the highest driver of ROI in the entire marketing mix. It’s also one of the few customer communication channels unshackled by the algorithm Gods, making it the best way in 2025 to build an audience that’s truly yours. 

Below are some tips for a beginner dipping their toes into this comparatively ancient form of marketing (invented in the long distant past of 1978). Each of these sections could merit their own blog post, so I encourage you to dig deeper on any topic that piques your interest. 

Get Inspired: Build a Swipe File

A swipe file is your personal library of inspiration – so next time you have 10 emails on the calendar and zero ideas, you won’t be stuck staring at a blank screen. 

Build it by saving or screenshotting emails you find in the wild with clever subject lines, designs or copy (kind of like a Pinterest board for emails). 

You can use a folder on your desktop, keep the files organized on Notion, or my personal favorite, use Really Good Emails. RGE is a curated gallery of email marketing samples uploaded by users that you can filter by industry, email type and style. The platform allows you to save emails you like, and even copy the HTML so you can rework the template for your own brand. 

Write Emails People Actually Want to Read

Even in 2025, being human has some advantages. Customers are seeing inboxes flooded with generic, AI-generated copy. 

AI can be a great tool for generating ideas or structure, but what really cuts through the noise these days is an authentic voice paired with a level of customer insight only a being with empathy is capable of. 

Writing authentically doesn’t have to mean pushing brand guidelines aside in favor of your personal style – but balancing the two can be a delicate dance. I’ve found it helps to imagine you’re writing to a person, conversationally, rather than a faceless list of subscribers. 

Understanding and relating to your target audience’s pain points and values can help with this. Even if your brand voice is formal, acknowledging their experiences through concrete examples can help create a human connection. Email has more opportunities for personalization than any other platform, so take advantage of that through your copy to make your subscribers really feel seen. And if you’re not sure how a specific tone will sound to one of your audiences, you can always A/B test your copy to see what performs best.

As inboxes get more crowded and attention spans get shorter, getting people to actually read your email can be a struggle. To take advantage of the approximately eight-second grace period you have to get their attention after opening an email, make sure your most impactful call to action is “above the fold” – visible without scrolling down on both desktop and mobile.  

Of course, before anyone sees your call to action, they have to open the email. Generally, it’s advised to keep subject lines short, specific and curiosity-driven, and A/B test multiple versions to see what lands best with your audience. CoSchedule’s free Headline Analyzer can be a good tool for checking how “clickable” your subject line is.

If you want to sharpen your email writing instincts, subscribe to emails that do it well. Newsletters like Morning Brew, Total Annarchy and The Skimm are some personal picks. Even subscribing to your favorite retail brands can teach you a lot about tone, timing and how to hook readers quickly. 

Design for Humans and Inboxes

As a rule, check for accessibility before sending any marketing email. Include descriptive alt text for images, use fonts that display correctly on mobile screens and make sure your designs pass color-contrast checks to ensure legibility. Free tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker can help you check if your color contrast ratios are ADA-compliant. 

Here are a few guidelines to help with accessibility and consistency across inboxes:

Design Mobile-First 

It’s safe to say that most email opens in 2025 happen on smartphones. I mean, how many of us compulsively check our email right when we wake up (or is that just me)? 

If your builder doesn’t have a mobile preview, send a test to yourself and check how it renders on your phone. What looks perfect on a desktop may be a disaster when scaled down.

Respect the Rise of Dark Mode

According to a 2022 survey, approximately 34% of Litmus users employed dark mode, and that number continues to increase. This is your sign to test your campaigns on multiple devices and platforms to make sure your designs stay readable (and attractive) when colors invert.

Don’t Rely on Images Alone

Some people disable images altogether in their inbox. Always make sure the core message comes through in text form, and never send an “image-only” email.

Choose Fonts That Won’t Betray You

Web-safe fonts are your friend. They help make sure your fonts stay consistent across most email clients so that your slick, modern design doesn’t suddenly show up in Times New Roman in someone’s Outlook inbox.

Following accessibility best practices is not only considerate of your subscribers, but also helps make sure your messages land in the inbox – which brings us to our next point. 

Deliverability: Protect Your Reputation

Deliverability is arguably the most complicated aspect of email marketing, but also the most important (funny how life works like that). It’s what decides whether your carefully crafted emails actually make it into the inbox or end up buried in spam. 

One of the biggest factors in deliverability is your domain’s sender reputation. Below is a quick overview of tactics that can help build your trustworthiness to inbox providers.

The first step is authenticating your domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC so providers can trust that your messages are legitimate. Don’t worry, I didn’t smash my keyboard – learn more about email authentication and what those acronyms mean here.

Another important factor is who you’re sending to. Clean, opted-in lists will protect your reputation, while purchased contacts or inactive subscribers will drag it down with bounces, unsubscribes and complaints. A smaller, more engaged email list is always more valuable than a huge, inactive list.

Engagement also builds trust. When people open, click and interact with your emails, inbox providers take it as a sign your content is valuable. If subscribers frequently ignore or delete your messages, future campaigns are more likely to be filtered out.

Segmenting your audience is one of the best ways to improve engagement and protect deliverability. Instead of blasting one generic message to your entire database, break your list into smaller groups based on things like purchase history, interests, job role or customer lifecycle stage. Sending to fewer people at a time reduces the risk of deliverability issues and personalized content almost always drives higher opens and clicks. 

Think of your sender reputation like a credit score. Once it’s damaged, it’s difficult to rebuild. Monitor it through your ESP, and your emails will have a much better chance of reaching the inbox every time. Free tools like Sender Score can give you a quick overview of how you’re doing on deliverability.

Pay Attention to the Right Metrics

Pre-2021, open rates used to mean something. Then Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection blurred the data. Okay, open rates can still be a useful metric when comparing performance email-to-email, but they don’t tell the full story. 

Click-through rates are now the north star for determining engagement. Conversion rates tell you whether that engagement led to action. High unsubscribe rates or spam complaints tell you that the message wasn’t right for your audience. 

When analyzing your email marketing performance, look at trends over time. Using UTM codes in Google Analytics to track behavior are especially helpful for this. Tracking important metrics for each campaign in a spreadsheet isn’t a bad idea either.

A/B testing — sending two slightly different versions of an email to see which performs better — is another powerful way to sharpen your strategy. 

Every email audience is unique, so it’s all about seeing what resonates. Does your audience prefer heavily designed emails or a more minimalist approach? Do they like playful copy or value clarity above all else? There are endless elements you can test: subject lines, preview text, send times, button placement, imagery, tone of voice, the list goes on. 

The results of your A/B tests don’t just help you improve your next email. They can also be shared across your organization to inform design choices, messaging styles or even social and web content strategies. Your inbox becomes a built-in testing ground for insights the whole marketing team can use.

Advocate for Yourself Early

If you’re an intern or fresh out of university, it’s easy to feel like you’re “just” the junior marketer. But don’t forget that email is one of the biggest revenue drivers for most businesses, and your work directly impacts results. 

Share your wins. If your latest welcome series redesign boosted clicks by 20 percent, highlight it. Senior staff love data, and it helps illustrate the impact you’re making. 

Stay Informed 

Like an Eldritch beast, email has survived the ages. It’s safe to say it will stick around, but it’s no doubt evolving.

AI will continue shaping the industry, especially in personalization and testing. Privacy laws will keep tightening, which makes zero-party data (the information customers willingly share) more valuable than ever. Interactive features like polls or even in-email shopping are likely to become more popular. 

Attending webinars, subscribing to newsletters and reading articles on email marketing regularly can help you stay informed. Some thought leaders I follow are Jay Shwedelson, Michael Barber and Naomi West. The Email Geeks Slack channel is also a cool resource for anyone who wants to connect with email marketing professionals, get advice or search for jobs.

The best way to stay ahead is to experiment early and keep learning. Enrolling in certifications and courses from companies like HubSpot Academy or MarketingProfs are worth exploring if you’re interested in specializing. 

Remember, every email you send out is a learning opportunity – whether it’s an A/B test or an accidental deployment at the wrong time (we’ve all been there). You don’t have to know everything on day one. What matters most is your fresh perspective, your curiosity and willingness to adapt. But most importantly, have fun!

No Owned Data? No Problem: Break Into Strategy with ChatGPT

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No Owned Data? No Problem: Break Into Strategy with ChatGPT 5 Smart Ways to Use ChatGPT to Break Into Marketing Strategy Without Owned Data Access

5 Smart Ways to Use ChatGPT to Break Into Marketing Strategy Without Owned Data Access

By: Emily Zimmer, Sr. Brand Strategist at Avenue Z

One of the most common questions I get from students or young professionals is: How do I break into strategy when I’ve never worked with data or owned a platform login?

When building one of your first marketing strategies you’re often starting with only owned data, internal goals, and maybe some ad performance history. However, that’s only half the story. The other half? That comes from the world. Consumers. Competitors. Trends. Whitespace. And unless your first client is working with a full consumer insights team or has access to expensive tools like GWI or Mintel, you’re expected to fill in that half yourself—fast.

This is where AI, especially ChatGPT, can help. When used strategically, it becomes a supercharged research assistant, helping you accelerate strategic alignment, establish smart benchmarks, and test your thinking.

Below are five use cases where GPT can support stronger strategy development—especially when you’re early in your career, working on portfolio samples, or building a case for your pitches with limited resources.

⚠️ Heads up: ChatGPT isn’t a replacement for real data. Always cross-check your findings when not sourced with trusted sources like Statista, SimilarWeb, Pew, or platform-native tools. Use AI as a supplement to your work, not a shortcut past due diligence.

1. Instant Market & Category Research (to Understand the Playing Field)

Whether you’re diving into a new industry or building a campaign from scratch, understanding the broader market is essential. GPT can help you map emerging trends, consumer behaviors, and whitespace opportunities—fast.

Sample Prompt Template: “Conduct a market overview of the [industry] space in 2025, focusing on growth trends, emerging subcategories, audience behaviors, and top brands or disruptors. Cite sources or reference publicly available data where possible.”

Pro Tips:

  • Ask follow-up questions like: “What is fueling growth in [subcategory]?” OR
    “How has consumer behavior in this space shifted since 2022?”

  • Use live research mode (in GPT-4 with browsing enabled) by adding:  “Use live research from the past 12 months to inform your answer.” (This prompts GPT to pull data from real-time sources where available.)

Use these scans to quickly build a directional POV on where the brand stands in its category and where the white space is—this is perfect to stakeholders or hiring manager that you understand the importance of being at pulse with the brands positioning. 

2. Persona-Powered Strategy Testing (to Pressure-Test Messaging)

When you don’t have access to focus groups or audience testing, a custom GPT can help you pressure-test ideas by simulating your persona’s mindset. It’s a smart way to validate tone, messaging, and channel fit—especially for portfolio work or client concepts on a tight budget.

Sample Starter Prompt:  “You are now [target persona]—a [demographic] who [key behavior or mindset]. You care about [core concern] and are active on [platform]. I’m going to share a few tactics—respond in character and tell me what resonates and why.”

Pro Tips:

  • Build a detailed persona first:  “Create a persona for a [demo] with [goal/mindset], including values, content habits, and objections.” Optional: send consumer research reports of the demographic with this prompt to guide it to align with your source or truth / benchmark.
  • Then test concepts:  “Would this persona respond better to urgency or emotional storytelling?” OR  “Which of these headlines is stronger and why?”

This doesn’t replace real testing, but it’s a fast way to pressure-check if your thinking is directionally sound. 

I recommend building a custom persona GPT by feeding it consumer insight reports or even social listening data to ground it in your baseline knowledge of that audienceS behavior, then ask it to supplement that with live research on that outlined consumer. 

When throwing ideas by it, always ask it to explain what’s driving its response—that’s where the strategic gold is. This level of alignment stands out in portfolio work, shows sharp thinking to hiring managers, and earns buy-in from stakeholders.

3. Competitor & Positioning Scans (to Map the Landscape Fast)

Understanding how competitors show up is critical for strong positioning. Even without real-time research tools, your strategy doesn’t have to be uninformed—GPT can help you build a directional read and surface whitespace, tone, or channel insights.

Sample Prompt Structure: “Who are the top 5 direct and indirect competitors to [brand/product], and how are they positioning themselves? Include tone, channel usage, offers, and target segments.”

Pro Tips:

  • (Warning – This is a hit or miss prompt) Ask for channel-specific insights: “What messaging are they using in paid ads on TikTok vs. Instagram?”
  • If GPT doesn’t have access recent data, do a quick scan using:
    • Meta Ad Library → View active ad copy/creatives
    • TikTok Creative Center → Identify trending competitor ads
    • SimilarWeb or BuiltWith → Uncover traffic sources and tech stack
  • Once you’ve gathered your own observations, plug them back into GPT: “Synthesize positioning insights from [Competitor A, B, C] and highlight differentiation opportunities.”

This helps you connect patterns and add depth to your takeaways. You’ll start spotting voice gaps, offer overlap, or underused channels— all great material for building positioning decks or creative brief samples.

4. Build Strategic Benchmarks (When You Don’t Have the Data Yet)

One of the hardest parts of working without platform access or historical client data is figuring out what good looks like. Whether you’re building sample strategy work or trying to guide a small business client, GPT can help you generate directional benchmarks rooted in data for KPIs, performance expectations, and campaign structures.

Sample Prompt Structure: “For a brand in the [category] targeting [audience], what are common success KPIs and performance benchmarks across [channels: Meta, YouTube, TikTok, Email]? Include ROAS ranges, engagement rates, and conversion metrics where applicable.”

Pro Tips:

  • Ask for archetype-based benchmarks: “What does success look like for a mid-stage challenger brand in this category?” OR  “What are typical Meta CTRs and CPA ranges for DTC brands targeting [audience]?”
  • Try model campaign formats too:  “What’s the standard structure of a product launch email for a wellness brand in 2024?”

This gives you a reference point when performance data is missing or goals are vague—whether you’re presenting strategy to a client or building your own case studies. A grounded strategy speaks the language of success early, even when you’re still learning what the benchmarks should be.

5. Synthesis & Insight Extraction (to Organize the Chaos)

Finally, strategy often lives in the messy middle through feedback, brainstorm notes, coffee napkins, scattered insights, etc. all needing to be shaped into something clear and actionable. GPT can connect the dots and turn chaos into concise, actionable direction.

Prompt Template:

“Here’s a summary of [focus group notes, survey responses, Slack messages, picture of copy napkin]. Identify 3 key themes and provide 1 recommended strategic action per insight.”

Pro Tips:

  • Paste in up to 10,000 characters of unstructured input at once.
  • Then prompt:  “Cluster this into themes and summarize each one in no more than 2 sentences.” OR  “What strategic action steps would you recommend based on this synthesis?”

This is especially helpful, in a pinch like in fast-paced post-campaign reviews, brainstorms, or when reconciling messy qualitative feedback into usable direction for creative, UX, or media teams. Use a GPT to store the feedback and connect the dots. 

Strategy Is Part Math, Part Magic.

Strategy is rooted in data, and data isn’t always gated—for those breaking into the industry AI can be a powerful research tool to position your strategic expertise or level-up limited budget strategies. 

It won’t do the strategic thinking for you, but it will help you explore ideas faster, connect dots, and sharpen your POV. Strategy is half the data you’re given, and half the data you distill from the world – GPT helps you access that second half—just don’t forget to bring your own perspective to the process. 

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Ad 2 or AAF.

This article is written by a volunteer writer for Ad 2 Orlando.

Walking Billboards 

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Walking Billboards: The advertising strategy I fall for every time.

An Editorial Case Study on Stanley Cups from the Perspective of a Young Advertiser
By: Andy Ayup

In a world that’s constantly begging for our attention, we have become masters of ignorance. We pay no mind to the billboards screaming “Look at ME!”– we swipe past the “Great Deals NOW!” on social media, and quickly forget the advertisements we read on the sides of buses to pass the time at a red light. For some reason, even though we are constantly bombarded by messages with a call to action, our phone line seems to be disconnected. An article made by Red Crow Marketing shares the results collected from clinical tests. The findings show that we are exposed to a range from 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements on a daily basis. Yet, I can’t even recall two, off the top of my head, that I’ve seen today. Can you? Our society is constantly changing: trends are always going in and out of style, technology gets more and more complicated… but advertising strategies seem to remain the same. Or at least that’s what I thought. 

If we are so accustomed to tuning out the different messages we face from ads every day, how do we know when we’ve been successfully influenced? What advertisements actually work on their target audience? I tried to think back on the last time an advertisement urged me to buy into a product or service. I couldn’t think of anything.

The Stanley.

I remember when everyone was investing into the Stanley, a reusable cup that was made to keep drinks at their desired temperature for long periods of time. Probably like the one already in your kitchen cupboard. Except for one major variable; the one in your kitchen cupboard isn’t a Stanley, and for some reason, if you didn’t have one, you had to go out and buy one. All of a sudden, purchasing a Stanley felt like being part of a sorority we were all desperate to pledge. People were no longer buying a reusable cup that kept their drinks cold, they were buying the status. They were in with the trends, and they knew what was cool. But what exactly caused this tidal wave of consumers, all buying into this product? When did we decide this cup was a token of someone’s social position? Where were the signs on the sides of buses, or the unskippable one-minute clips playing before a YouTube video?

Thought behind the tumbler.

According to CNBC, Stanley’s revenue jumped from $74 million in 2019 to $750 million in 2023– a spike that seemingly came out of nowhere. CNBC has attributed this jump to their use of exclusivity through their multiple “Limited Time Only” collaborations with other brands like Target, Starbucks, and even pop singer Olivia Rodrigo. The article also gives us a look inside the mind of one of (what I like to call) the “Stanley Sisters.” A girl who had been rushing to get her hands on as many of these cups as she could, and was proud to show them off. She claims Stanleys are more than just a product, they are part of her personality. And she’s not the only one who feels this way. It was reported that each limited edition color released by the brand sells out in minutes. If you weren’t quick enough to complete your online checkout in time, you’ll find the cups being resold on ebay for hundreds of dollars, on the same day as the tumbler’s release. Where is this level of excitement coming from? Where are we seeing the push to let us know to buy now while we could? Account executive, Megan Fredette shares her thoughts, saying “the brand’s accelerated growth can be largely credited to a group of online influencers and creators who saw the product’s potential.” No billboards, no YouTube ads, and no posters glued to the side of a bus. People were being told to buy this product on the accounts they willingly followed.

Stans for Stanley, everywhere.

Today, it is hard to leave the house and go a full day without seeing someone sporting one of these steel tumblers. Ask someone why they bought that cup in particular, priced well above the usual “off-brand” version of its kind, and you have set them off on a long speech detailing all of the great features and benefits the product has to offer.

You have just turned your co-worker into a salesman, and you’re listening to their pitch. If they don’t convince you right away, you’ll have ample opportunity to buy a cup, induced by the encouragement of your sister, best friend, or husband. Is this advertising in today’s world? Are we the walking billboards of the 21st century?

As I see it… we are walking billboards.

Maybe the general public has officially become today’s world-class advertising executives, telling us to buy this and buy that– and we, as consumers, actually do it. It’s as if advertisers have hired regular people, to sell the product for them, and they don’t even realize it. Testimonials seem to be much more powerful than the thousands of messages we are exposed to each day. It seems that the closer you are, or want to be, to the person endorsing the product, the more effective their testimonial. It’s hard to nd a popular social media influencer that isn’t endorsing a brand. It can be even harder for an audience to know if an influencer really likes the product they are promoting, or rather the check they’ll deposit from the video they post. They need to trust the person recommending the product, or at least want to be just like them. If the influencers of a brand’s choosing can convince enough people to buy something, the consumers, in turn, somehow manage to take on the roles of their favorite online personalities, and suddenly feel the need to spread the word of the “amazing new product everyone should try!” Except, they’re doing this, for free. This video shows a sign on a Target display, telling people they can’t buy more than two Stanleys per guest. The cup is no longer a one-time purchase for yourself, but a hot commodity that needs to be taken advantage of and shared with the people in your lives. You see your peers buying into this trend and you want to participate. It all starts with a company paying someone to post about their cup, and it ends with someone else deciding that, yes, my sister’s new cup is super cute, and it’s the same kind my friend has. By then, they want that tumbler. They don’t want to buy it because they saw an ad for it, but because everyone who’s anyone to them has it. And it’s so cute. And they’re collaborating with their favorite artist. And it’s only going to be there for a limited time.

Somehow, the stressed-induced shopping spree seems to work for this company. And for those who don’t jump on board, for whatever the reason may be, they are destined to spend every day defending their decision. Whether you don’t like the cup, or the price, or the overly-excited attitude many suddenly share for the product, people who don’t buy a Stanley appear to have suddenly declared themselves against the movement. They have become the rebels, the protestors, telling us they don’t need the product, that they’re not interested in buying it.  You ask yourself: Why isn’t this advertisement working on them? Don’t they want the cup too? Don’t they want the lifestyle attributed to the Stanley? If the enemy has really done a good job, we may even begin to question why we bought the product in the rst place. Is this Stanley cup really worth it?

The cup may or may not be worth it, but for some reason, something you might never have considered buying before, has become something you need to get your hands on. Maybe you bought one in your favorite color. Maybe you camped outside Target. Perhaps you pushed through the crowds, and finally got one before it sold out. The cup may or may not be worth it, but the advertising behind it is priceless. 

The Stanley cup is one example of a popular, fast-moving trend. I look around at my friends and family and find things I didn’t know I wanted until they introduced me to them. Everyday they’re selling a product, and I fall for it. They are the billboards my eyes are glued to, the ads I remember, and the one-minute clips I never skip.

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Ad 2 or AAF.

This article is written by a volunteer writer for Ad 2 Orlando.