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Ross Jenkins, CEO, DigitalME

This interview is with Ross Jenkins, CEO at DigitalME

Ross Jenkins, CEO, DigitalME

Hi Ross, welcome to EmailMarketingManagers.com! To start off, could you tell our readers a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an email marketing expert?

I'm Ross. I've been involved in email marketing for around 12 years now, when only Salesforce and Infusionsoft were fighting for the top spots.

Salesforce held the big corporates, and Infusionsoft controlled the SME sector.

Your career path in email marketing sounds fascinating! Could you share a pivotal moment or experience that solidified your passion for this field?

Once I started seeing the results we were getting for customers when I worked for an agency, I had a thirst to keep going and understand and build more knowledge.

I've spent every year constantly learning what's working, better tools, better audiences, and how to work better with what we have.

You mentioned using personalized images in your 'refer a friend' emails with great success. What other innovative email marketing strategies have you seen deliver impressive results?

Most companies forget their past list is an absolute gold mine. It's easier converting an old client versus a new client, so we normally start with building a newsletter when we start with an established company that doesn't email market.

If we're talking tools, ActiveCampaign's Predictive Send is an absolute game-changer. It increases open rates by 10-15% on average, we've seen, and our customers absolutely love it. It uses data within ActiveCampaign to find the absolute perfect time to hit a contact with an email over a 24-hour span.

It's clear you're a proponent of using personalization in email marketing. What advice would you give to email marketers struggling to effectively personalize their campaigns?

Even simple personalization sells; an avatar on your sender email (you can do this on Gravatar) and saying 'Hey $Name,' means more than you can imagine to an opener.

You've talked about leveraging predictive content and tools like ActiveCampaign. What are your thoughts on the ethical considerations surrounding data collection and personalization in email marketing?

There's a thin line for sure on who and what you can send. I have people message me asking to email a whole Yellow Pages or Yell book, maybe once a month. There is no relevancy to your business; they haven't opened it and will clearly show no interest. The UK utilizes GDPR, which means you have to be very careful about who and what you're emailing.

You've highlighted the continued effectiveness of email and SMS marketing in 2024, even as new channels emerge. In your opinion, what makes these channels so enduringly successful?

Everyone has a phone number, and in 2022, the world hit a total of 4.26 billion email addresses, so there's always space. We find WhatsApp also works well.

These three tools are my main toolhouse as they help us build relationships. They all have their own restrictions, their own red tape, but we've been in this long enough to have our own 'rule books' for each one.

With WhatsApp marketing gaining traction, especially in the Middle East as you mentioned, how do you see email marketers adapting to incorporate this and other emerging platforms into their strategies?

Ah, WhatsApp marketing is huge in the Middle East. By day 2-3 of being there, you will notice EVERYONE and every business will WhatsApp you, and it makes life so simple. I wish Spain did it too! Tools like HubSpot have WhatsApp; I'm hoping ActiveCampaign can add it as a native tool in the future.

You've spoken about the power of video testimonials and tools like testimonial.to. What are your thoughts on how email marketers can effectively integrate different forms of social proof into their campaigns?

Social proof sells, unless the customer knows you already.

We've been testing with a customer on a sale this week.

Email with a testimonial - CTR = 6.5%

Email without a testimonial - CTR = 11%

We found the testimonial is too long, or not needed, so it's about testing with different audiences.

Looking ahead, what are you most excited about in the future of email marketing, and what advice would you give to aspiring email marketing professionals just starting their careers?

I'm hoping GDPR gets removed, and we start seeing more professional email marketers.

If you want to become an email marketer, first learn sales, on the phone or door-to-door.

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