83: Kate Nowrouzi: Mailgun's VP of Deliverability on email subdomain strategies and inbox placement tools

Humans of Martech

What’s up everyone, today we’re joined by Kate Nowrouzi, VP of Deliverability at Mailgun by Sinch.

Summary: Kate brilliantly dissected the complex realm of email marketing, highlighting the critical need for strategic decision-making and a meticulous, step-by-step approach to restore domain reputation. Drawing upon her unique shift from fighting spam to aiding marketers, she illuminated the nuanced layers of email deliverability. Reinforcing the superiority of genuine engagement over manufactured interactions, Kate underlined the importance of understanding audience needs, continuously refining strategies, and valuing quality over quantity. She also acknowledged the transformative potential of new technologies like BIMI, AMP, and machine learning, suggesting a forward-thinking approach for marketers willing to navigate the growing tech-driven competition.

About Kate

• Kate started her career in network and anti-spam engineering roles at two major ISPs; Verizon and AOL
• She then moved to the vendor side at Fishbowl, a Customer engagement platform for restaurant marketers where she led email deliverability operations
• Kate's profound experience in email deliverability then guided her to a pivotal role as the SVP of Deliverability and Email Compliance at SparkPost, one of the industry’s most popular email delivery platforms
• Kate’s also been Co-Chair of the Complaint Feedback Loop Committee at the
  Messaging Anti Abuse Working Group
• She’s an Advisor and Investor for various startups
• She’s also an Advisory Board member of Persian Women in Tech, with a mission to
  close the diversity and gender gap in STEM
• Today, Kate serves as the VP of Deliverability & Product Strategy at Sinch, a public Customer Communications company that acquired Mailgun 2 years ago

Harnessing the Power of Insider Knowledge in Email Marketing

In a moment of reflection on her professional journey, Kate highlighted the value she gained from her tenure at AOL. She spent four vital years in the realm of anti-spam operations, an experience that she later brought to her roles at email service providers like SparkPost and Mailgun.

Kate began her career in the early 2000s as an anti-spam engineer at AOL, at a time when email marketing was gaining momentum. AOL led the way by offering the first robust spam report option to their members, a trend quickly picked up by other industry titans like Microsoft and Yahoo. However, her transition from ISP to the marketing side or Email Service Providers (ESPs), required a significant shift in mindset.

Working on the ISP side, Kate's primary focus had been on shielding members from malicious actors intent on infiltrating their inboxes. Yet, as she transitioned to the ESP environment, her role morphed. Now, she was aiding brands and marketers in ensuring their emails didn't raise spam red flags.

This drastic change in problem sets and operational goals required some adaptation. Kate noted the initial challenges of transitioning from one end of the business to another. However, she affirmed that her experience on the ISP side provided invaluable insights that helped guide brands away from appearing spammy in their email marketing efforts.

Takeaway: The shift from battling spammers to helping marketers get their emails into inboxes was a challenging, but enlightening journey for Kate. Her early career experience as an anti-spam engineer provided her with an insider’s understanding of what brands should avoid to not come across as spammy, proving to be an indispensable asset in her later roles at ESPs.

Shifting Perspectives From Spam Prevention to Marketing Delivery

Kate recalls an intriguing philosophical debate that arose during her tenure during her transition from an anti-spam role to an ESP environment. Having battled to block spam on one side and then striving to get marketing content into inboxes on the other, she found herself in a unique conundrum.

A memorable instance arose when Kate moved from AOL to Fishbowl, an email marketing platform for restaurants. One night, she was roused from sleep by an urgent issue: a major client's birthday campaign was being blocked by AOL or Yahoo. The client was Red Robin, and the blocking of their campaign was considered a serious matter. Kate, however, found this jarring. Was it worth losing sleep over a blocked birthday campaign, when her previous role had conditioned her to respond to potentially harmful breaches of privacy?

But as her colleagues stressed, the situation was indeed significant. Red Robin was a top-tier client and the success of their birthday campaign mattered. This incident served as a defining moment for Kate, reinforcing the fact that she was indeed on the other side of the business now, with a new set of priorities to consider.

Takeaway: Kate’s anecdote about the Red Robin incident underlines the drastic shift in perspectives that can occur within the same industry. A blocked marketing campaign might not seem critical to someone from an anti-spam background, but in the world of ESPs and email marketing, it becomes a major concern. It's a poignant reminder of the nuanced complexities inherent in the world of email communication.

The Battle of Formats: HTML vs Text in Emails

When asked about the age-old debate between HTML and text in emails, Kate laid out her perspective, which leans towards simplicity. While marketers might be attracted to the visual appeal and richness of HTML emails, Kate warns against overwhelming the end user with too much information and too many distractions. In line with studies indicating that simpler emails often perform better, she suggests focusing on the most critical points and avoiding excessive complexity.

Kate also highlights the importance of adaptability based on the nature of the campaign and the audience. For instance, an interactive email might be perfect for a webinar invite, as it can eliminate unnecessary steps for the user, such as clicking on links and visiting external websites for registration. However, interactive emails might not be the best fit for all marketing campaigns.

As every inbox and device displays emails differently, it's essential to keep up with technology and perform rigorous testing before launching any campaign, major or minor. With various rendering tools available, like Email on Acid, marketers can preview how an email looks across over a hundred devices. A/B testing is highly recommended to fine-tune the decision between text, HTML, or interactive formats.

Takeaway: Email format is not a one-size-fits-all decision. It’s about understanding your audience, the purpose of your campaign, and the compatibility with various devices. Keeping your emails simple, clear, and focused is often the best route, but never shy away from testing and refining your approach based on your specific needs and results.

The Emergence of BIMI and AMP: A New Era for Email Marketing?

When asked about the rise of new email technologies like BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) and AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), Kate expressed an optimistic outlook. These frameworks aim to improve brand visibility, confirm authenticity, and enhance interactive features in emails, all of which can potentially boost engagement and conversion rates for businesses. However, the implementation of these technologies is not without challenges.

There are roadblocks, especially with BIMI, that teams and working groups are actively trying to overcome. For instance, registering a trademark logo, a requirement for BIMI, can be a significant challenge for brands. Additionally, the responsibi...