đ A Love Letter to Email Analogies
Over the years, I've found that the best (and most fun) way to educate people about email deliverability concepts is by likening them to scenarios people encounter in real life.
My favorite analogy changes like the weather, depending on who I'm speaking to and what I'm trying to explain. But one of my go-to's has been comparing shared IPs to a busy city bus. All it takes is one smelly guy to potentially ruin the experience for everyone involved. đ đ¤˘
In todayâs lesson, weâll be digging into why analogies are so frickinâ amazing, and how to choose the right one for any given situation.
You ready to go? Ok! Letâs get analogical.
Why Analogies are So Powerful
Iâm surely not the only email nerd whoâs seen peopleâs eyes glaze over when I start talking about email. That, or they tell me how much they hate it! Happened to me (again) just two days ago while on a hike. My bad for wearing my âI love emailâ tee, I guess.
Itâs not much better once youâre inside the tech bubble, either. Sure, they know what email is. Theyâve all sent it before. Easy peasy. But start talking about deliverability and oops! Here we go again with the sleepy eyes. đ´
So, why do analogies work so well?
đ Theyâre Easy to Digest
A solid analogy makes it easier to get your point across by replacing acronyms and technical jargon that distracts from your main point with simple (and brief!) explanations that resonate.
It also helps you keep people awake long enough to understand (and appreciate) what it takes to send it right.
For example, I enjoyed this one, where Jess Swazey explained the difference between sending from a group of shared IPs and having dedicated IPs by comparing it to singing in a choir:
âIf you mess up a note here and there, the audience is unlikely to hear it because it will blend into all of the correct notes from other voices. When you move to a dedicated IP, you become the soloist. There is no other singer to help mask any off key notes, the audience will hear and react to them all.â
Short and sweet, yet very hard to miss the point that youâre sorta on your own when sending through a dedicated IP.
đ They Add Context You Donât Have Time To Get Into
Just like a well-placed movie quote where everybody whoâs seen the flick catches the reference and immediately understands 90-minutes worth of plot line nobody has time to get into, analogies add context you donât have time to cover in those precious few minutes (seconds) before the eye glazing begins.
The credit score analogy is king here, because everybody seems to know what it is. As Andrew Bonar mentionedâŚ
âI have used credit scoring analogies going back over a decade. There are so many parallels I still believe it to be the most apt if you want to go into any detail. Of course there are many great quips and one liner analogies. But if the client is coming back with questions I have no issue keeping the credit scoring analogy going for hours.â
Makes sense why itâs a go-to for so many people. Iâve used it many times myself!
That said, itâs fully ok (in fact, encouraged) to branch out from tried and true analogies like King Credit Score as long as you find one with context that aligns with the topic youâre describing.
For example, hereâs one I shared on the Kickbox blog, comparing sending from a shared IP to being a member of your local community pool.
âYou can swim whenever you like for a nominal fee, as long as the pool is open. Someone else keeps the water clean. And thereâs a lifeguard on duty at all times to make sure everybody stays safe. But a community pool is only enjoyable if the staff maintains the proper chlorine levels, keeps the snack stand well-stocked, and enforces the pool rules for everybody.
All it takes is one childâor chocolate-bar-shaped floaterâin the pool during Adult Swim to ruin the experience for everyone. Before deciding if a shared IP environment is right for your email program, make sure youâre aware of these essential shared IP pool rules:â (you can read those rules here).
đ They Help You Bridge the Technical Gap
Bob Balm once said, âOh, I love me a good analogy. Not so much to explain the importance, but simply to explain what it is to begin with: envelopes, post office, certificates at the post office wall, etc. to explain things like SPF, DKIM and so on.â
Michael Pauer shared a similar sentiment, explaining his method for going a bit deeper into the technicalities of email headers without freezing too many brains:
âMy favorite has always been when explaining the 2 different From headers to people, it's like a hand written letter at the post office. The Body From header is the signature at the bottom of that letter, personalized to how you relate to the person 'From Mom, From Mike etc' and will be seen by everyone when they look at it. While the envelope From header is the tiny address blurb you write in the top right corner of the envelope. People rarely look at it, and it matters to no one except the post office.â
đ Theyâre Easy to Remember
With analogies, the focus is on story-telling, not technical jargon and best practices (yawn). Deliverability concepts are easier to remember (and share!) this way, making it more likely senders will consider those lilâ nuggets of email insight the next time they're planning a new project or campaign. Best practices for the win!
Hereâs one where I compared managing multiple mail streams (or senders) to herding cats, including a gif of what managing email delivery looked like prior to 2023. Truth be told, it wasnât my strongest analogy, but itâs one that people bring up the mostâŚusually with a big grin on their face.
Choosing the Right Analogy
Right-o. So weâve talked about all the ways analogies rule (and spammers drool). Now letâs dig into how you craft the perfect one.
There are SO many ways to connect email topics to the real world. The trick is finding one that accurately describes your topic, resonates with your audience, and inspires action!
đ Keep It Simple
Itâs tough to go wrong with analogiesâŚunless you choose one thatâs a super deep cut (like an 80âs pop reference when they were born in â97). Or worse, if the analogy youâve chosen is just as hard to follow as the technical topic youâre trying to explain â like explaining the way spam filters work using a board game theyâve never played.
Stick to things that make the conversation relevant and enjoyable, not tedious or confusing!
Mathieu Bourdin has a nice pub analogy he uses to explain what it takes to reach the inbox:
âEmail receivers are like pub owners, they will let anyone in provided they meet the legal requirements (authentication/technical setup) AND they behave nicely enough to be good company for other patrons. If you behave like a nuisance, then the bouncer is not far away eitherâŚâ
This oneâs great because most people youâre talking to have at least been to a pub, and you can set that scene however you need to explain a variety of topics ranging from authentication and consent to list management, sending frequency, recipient reaction, and more. You name it.
Part of the fun with analogies is finding the best way to apply them to your topic! JustâŚkeep it simple.
đ Cater To Your Audience
People tend to check out when they donât think somethingâs relevant to them. We all know this.
Whenever you can, do some active listening and get to know people a lilâ bit so you can make your analogies more relevant to their work and the challenges theyâre facing. This will make your arguments more persuasive!
For example, if you know theyâre soccer fans, you could explain that consistently sending spam, using misleading subject lines, or failing to comply with regulations can lead to mail being blocked by mailbox providers due to a poor sender reputation, similar to how a player who repeatedly breaks the rules is given a red card and sent off the field. Quite the disadvantage for the home team in both cases.
đ Have Some Fun With It!
People also tend to check out when theyâre bored. So, think about ways you can mix it up!
Iâve compared shared IPs to city buses, swimming pools, apartment buildings, and library books, among other things.
Iâve likened building and managing a strong sender reputation to being in a super rad rock band in one of our previous lessons.
And Iâve given serious consideration to how I could make ânobody puts Baby in a cornerâ a justification for embracing email permission in place of purchased lists since one of my bosses shared my love for all things 80âs. It couldâve been the epic battle cry I needed to win them over. <sigh> I guess weâll never know.
The trick with having fun is to justâŚbe sure your audience is gonna catch that reference and resonate deeply with it before making it your central thesis.
đ Make Sure It Resonates
As email people, we all know personalization is great. But letâs not fall off the deep end with our analogies (like I may have if I attempted my Dirty Dancing analogy), unless we know weâre talkinâ to a kindred spirit (in my case, a fellow 80âs child who enjoys a heavy dose of silly in business conversations).
Generally speaking, analogies should stay mainstream enough to resonate with more than just one person.
Fun fact: I was channeling a scene from Caddy Shack SUPER hard when writing up that community pool analogy I mentioned earlier. But knowing that movie is from 1980, I dropped the reference younger generations wouldnât understand and rolled with a version thatâs more applicable to the mainstream. Just about everybodyâs been to a public pool at some point or anotherâŚfar less have seen movies from 44 years ago (even if they were super popular)!
Mickey Chandlerâs done a wonderful job of making an impact with the analogy below, since just about everybodyâs gone over the speed limit at some point â or, at least, knows someone who has â even though we all know itâs not allowed. Why should email be any different?
âWe've never followed ______ (whatever best practice). Why did they do it now?â
It's kind of like speeding. You may always drive 75 through a school zone and you won't always get a ticket. Maybe even rarely so. Some days that will be because they weren't there as they were working somewhere else. Some days it'll be because they were giving someone else a ticket. Some days, it might even be because it was close to shift change and they didn't want to deal with the paperwork. But, you understand why you got the ticket and you never say to the cop, "I went 75 through here yesterday. Why didn't I get a ticket then?â
I also find this example from Alison Gootee poignant, since every human on earth has interactions with doctors at some point in their lives.
âLying to your deliverability consultant about your list acquisition (especially if you're currently being blocked somewhere) is like telling your doctor you don't drink when she just said you have cirrhosis. I'm not going to yell at you, but I need to know if we're going to treat this condition!â
Iâm loving this one shared by Travis Hazlewood â a late edition to the party, and one that was actually inspired by this blog post. Its effectiveness comes from comparing the oh-so-dreaded Promotions tab to something everybody is (depressingly) familiar with: cell phones!
Asking an email deliverability expert to get you out of the Promotions tab is like asking an SMS expert to make sure your messages activate a ringtone regardless of whether the recipient has their phone on vibrate or not. It's a setting built on user preference and you are fighting that when you try to game your way out. It's important to remember that some things are outside of your control for a reason...and that's how it should be.â
đ Keep It Relevant
You can follow all of my advice above and your analogy can still fall flat if it doesnât help you accomplish your goals of educating someone on whatâs going on and why a change is needed to maintain strong inbox placement.
So, give that lilâ analogy some thought before unleashing it on someone:
Does it accurately reflect the concept youâre trying to explain?
Does it make sense (outside your brain)?
Is it compelling?
Does it map back to the thing you want them to do?
If so, youâre all set!
Now Itâs Your TurnâŚ
Iâm hoping todayâs lesson got your gears turninâ on how you can spin up the most excellent analogies to explain complex email topics to your colleagues, bosses, clients, and friends (we all know they need âem more than anyone!).
Before you go, Iâm curiousâŚ
What's the best analogy you've ever heard -- or used -- to describe a topic or issue related to email deliverability?
Let me know. Or just, like, comment on one of the LinkedIn posts linked above. Cool? Cool.
Closing Time
WhatâŚwere you lookinâ for more? FINE!
Here are some LinkedIn posts where a bunch of email folks chimed in with their favoritesâŚones that have been attempted in the field and passed the test. If your job requires you to explain email things to non-email (or non-technical) people, I suggest bookmarking these:
Oh! I also wanted to mention a couple of places Iâll be hanging out this month. Would love to catch up if youâll be there, too!
October 7: SocketLabs Happy Hour (in person, Toronto, free!) to kick off the M3AAWG General Meeting in Toronto! If youâll be in town, join us.
October 7-10: M3AAWG General Meeting (in person, Toronto, $, members only). Iâll be attending, along with several of my colleagues from SocketLabs. Let me know if youâre going; Iâd love to connect!
October 11: Canadian Email Summit (in person, Toronto, $). Iâll be speaking on an Ask-Me-Anything Deliverability panel, along with David OâSullivan from Attentive, Kent McGovern from Braze, and LB Blair of Email Industries.
October 17-18: GURU Conference (online, free!). This whole event is 80âs themed, and Iâll be attempting to walk you through the most important aspects of deliverability in less than 30 minutesâ to the theme of Journeyâs Donât Stop Believinâ. Itâs virtual and free, but not recorded, so put on your jelly bracelets and meet me there LIVE. Itâll be rad (I thinkâŚyou tell me!)
October 28-31: Litmus Live (online, free!). Iâll be speaking twice! First, join me and a panel of esteemed industry experts for a session on The Future of Email: AI, Automation, and Lifecycle Marketing. Then, tune in for my solo session, called Talk Data to Me: How Storytelling Proves Email Success.
Ok, for real now. Thatâs it. See ya next time!
PS - a huge âthank youâ goes out to each of the people mentioned in this blog post who contributed their insights to discussions on LinkedIn. If youâre not following these folks, you probably (definitely) should be. đ
