June Retention Newsie 1

Author

Melanie Balke
June 05, 2025

Welcome to The Retention Newsie by The Email Marketers, the retention-building experts for 7-9 figure ecom brands.

Every month, we bring you the best case studies, trending news, and tips for retaining more customers while turning them into raving fans and increasing revenue.

This Week’s Inbox Rundown

  • AI Product Photos That Don't Suck

  • New SMS Regulations (Or Pay $4.42M)

  • TEM Love Box (2025 Design Trends)

This week's newsletter is risky...

Because normally, every newsletter gets the big thumbs-up from our CEO, Melanie. But this week, she's been swamped with calls from brands interested in our Retention Lab.

But we still wanted to keep the ball rolling with something that'll bring value to your brand...

So, for this week, we're touching on the subject of AI. Because it's something we've been pushing pretty hard at The Email Marketers.

Just a couple of months ago, Melanie sent our team a spreadsheet where we all had to add AI ideas to implement in our departments, and next thing you know, we're hiring an AI specialist and all doing training on it.

Now, a lot of brands out there are fighting against AI because they want the human touch. But at this point, you simply can't make the argument that AI can't improve your marketing.

Here's a great example... If you're launching a new product, you likely only have standard product photos available at first. But honestly? Slapping a plain product image in your email won't help you stand out in today's crowded inboxes.

And if you're thinking, "Well, AI isn't there yet." Here's what we pulled off for one of our brands in under 10 min.

Our point being? You can get some really amazing branded materials done without having to pay thousands for a photoshoot and delay your marketing process.

Or, of course, you can partner up with The Email Marketers to take care of it for you. 😉

P.S. Cross your fingers Melanie loves this email when it hits her inbox. And if you reply or drop us some feedback at the bottom, maybe it'll help smooth things over. 🤣

What D2C Brands Are Saying About The Email Marketers

1.“STOP” Just Got Serious

New FCC regulations now require businesses to honor opt-out requests through any reasonable method (e.g. emails saying "leave me alone") rather than just standardized keywords like "STOP". Non-compliance risks penalties up to $4.42 million per violation, as seen in the recent Designer Shoe Warehouse lawsuit.

2. Dark Mode Drama

If your emails look like a melted Oreo in dark mode, you’re losing sales. New stats show 60% of users flip to dark mode and 19% bounce if your design clashes. The hot fix? Replace black logos with SVG files with light outlines.

3. Shopify’s AI Assistant Launch

Shopify just released an AI that turns prompts into full storefronts, complete with banners and product descriptions. Perfect for brands racing to launch before Father's Day.

Speaking of creating beautiful emails... Our design team spent a ridiculous amount of time researching the top converting design trends for 2025. And we're giving it away this week for free.