Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
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Ryan Phelan's latest articles
Your company may be slow with AI, but you can’t afford to be
Experimenting with AI now gives you the advantage when everyone else tries to catch up.
Email platform decisions require more than the latest innovation
From rapid innovation to stagnation to an AI resurgence, email keeps evolving. Use that history to make smarter platform decisions.
3 ways to reduce bias in AI with better context
AI bias often starts before the model runs. Missing context, flawed prompts and assumptions distort outputs. Here's how to correct them.
We need more humanity in email, especially at unsubscribe
Clearing out two inboxes after a family loss exposed broken unsubscribe flows and a missed opportunity for empathy.
AI is rebuilding the inbox, and email marketers can’t control it
Email inboxes are becoming AI-driven assistants that prioritize, summarize and filter messages. Here’s what this shift means for your email strategy.
4 trends marketers must follow in 2026
Marketers head into 2026 navigating AI’s next phase, looming tech change and an inbox that’s quietly evolving — with cautious optimism intact.
The three forces that shaped martech in 2025
Hesitant buyers, maturing AI and market swings pushed marketers to adapt. Here’s what those shifts mean for 2026.
Your apps and social channels depend on email more than you think
Apps churn and social trends fade — but email endures. Learn why scaling customer trust and loyalty still starts in the inbox.
Time for a ‘Welcome Back’ program for returning customers?
A welcome-back email can turn churned customers into loyal ones by picking up where their last experience left off.
How to make email automations work as hard as you do
Plan, build and maintain effective email journeys that drive revenue, nurture customers and outperform basic automations.
6 steps to take a guilt-free vacation from your email program
Taking time off is tough — especially for email marketers. Here’s how to prepare, delegate and actually relax this summer.
Winning customer loyalty starts with straight talk about tariffs
Learn why human, brand-aligned messaging beats corporate spin when tariffs hit. Real-world examples show what works — and what doesn’t.
Your next marketing challenge may be winning over the AI in charge of the customer’s inbox
An inbox that acts like a personal assistant? AI could turn email into a smart, signal-based system that fits your daily life. Here's how.
Why marketing success requires failure (and how to handle it)
Great marketing comes from testing, risk and even failure. Learn how to embrace setbacks and turn them into growth.
3 reasons the ‘Do You Want to Hear From Us’ email must die
Re-engagement emails annoy customers by asking a question you should already know the answer to.
Why smart marketers should front-load spending in 2025
From political shifts to market instability, here’s why marketers should accelerate budgets and prepare for change this year.
What every marketer should watch for in 2025
Prepare for 2025 with insights on fallback strategies, email marketing innovations and staying ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.
4 tips for helping your email marketing team stay organized
Organization is the unsung hero of email marketing success, and it's especially important during the busiest times of the year.
Stop insulting your audience with this email behavior
Image-only emails can harm your customer relationships. Here's why you should stop sending them and what to do instead.
If I could double your email revenue, would you listen to me?
Stop chasing shiny marketing trends and get back to what works. Here's how email marketing still drives revenue growth with the right focus.
How to gear up email for a strong finish to 2024
In the coming months, your emails will be competing against political campaigns and your competitors for consumers' attention.
Why delegating makes you a stronger email marketer
Struggling with email marketing workload? Explore how smart delegation can enhance productivity, even for solo marketers.
Confessions from email jail
Avoid email marketing missteps that can harm your reputation and deliverability. Stay on the right side of email laws and best practices.
Stop! Or go directly to email jail
Ryan Phelan runs down a list of 10 email crimes that will result in punishment. Learn how to stay free.
It’s time to turbocharge our path to email innovation
Email marketers must leverage data and generative AI to propel the industry forward rather than settling for incremental gains.
3 keys for better email engagement in Gmail
Obsessing over inbox placement won’t move the needle. Focus on segmentation, respecting customer preference and getting buy-in for email.
How to survive (and learn from) email marketing mistakes
Learn how to deal with mistakes, analyze what went wrong and move forward from errors while maintaining a candid, accountable team culture.
3 keys for email marketing in 2024: AI, change, learn
Here’s how email marketers can embrace artificial intelligence, drive strategic changes and commit to continuous learning this year.
3 observations from 2023 to help you in 2024
Harness AI, scale data innovation and select the right marketing platforms to drive marketing growth in 2024.
2023 in review: 3 key trends to inform your 2024 marketing plan
AI, evolving marketing stacks and email authentication. Keep these developments in mind as you plan your 2024 strategy.
The email marketer’s guide to effective marketing automation
Learn smart ways to implement email automation. Use transactional, trigger and journey emails for higher engagement and conversions.
New report shows enterprise email marketers embrace AI
More than 90% of email marketers say AI will have an impact on how they do their work. Find out how they're preparing for it.
Why you should always ask why: Strategy must lead tactics in marketing planning
It's time to get out of a tactics-first mindset and chart a strategic course based on knowing why you're doing what you're doing.
6 key email programs to optimize before Q4
Take time now to review your email programs to ensure they're optimized for success in Q4 and beyond.
Email marketers: What’s on your vacation to-do list?
Just as we plan our vacations, we need to plan a work exit and re-entrance. Otherwise we will lose all we gained from our time off.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
3 steps to make AI work for you
Marketers must actively take part in deciding how to use AI within the organization. Here are three steps you can take today.
4 steps to take before hitting go on your new martech platform
Focus on these four key areas when migrating your systems from one martech platform to another.
3 recession-defeating marketing strategies
Fast-reaction pivots that scale to a new market condition are essential to endure economic uncertainties.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
Three things ChatGPT needs which only you can provide
Discussions claiming ChatGPT will solve all our digital marketing problems are missing three key things that only humans can provide.