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Foreign.
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Welcome to a new special series called the Bathroom break. That extra 10 minutes, you either have to listen to marketing tips or use the bathroom. Or both. But I don't recommend both. But that's your choice.
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This collab is going to be super fun. We have Daniel Murray from the Marketing Millennials and me, Jay Schwedelson from the do this, not that podcast and subjectline.com each episode in the series, we are going to go over quick tips about different marketing top. And if you want to be in the bathroom, fine, just don't tell us about it. Thanks for checking it out. We are back for the bathroom break. I'm Jay Schwedelson from Do this, not that. I'm here with the marking millennial Daniel Murray, and we're going to talk about some really important marking stuff. Or not. But before that, Thanksgiving is right here. So, Daniel, I want to know something. You know you were born in Africa. That's not a joke. You were. You moved here when you were seven. And so for, like, Thanksgiving, do you, like, eat, like, giraffe and stuff? Before you, before you say.
B
I used to tell people growing up that, that I lived in a hut, number six. And my, my, like, like, the hut name was hakuna matata. And like, I used to, like, get to my hut and there was a bunch of huts in this village and I used to ride elephants and. And people would straight up believe me.
A
For I believe it right now.
B
And no, it's a civilized place in South Africa. But I didn't really. Thanksgiving was never really huge in my family, so we never really had a tradition about Rhonda. Now, I wish I had a tradition around it, but I do not. I'm not a fan of dried turkey. I just. Okay, yeah, I'm not a fan of it.
A
Do you eat, like, will you eat the, like, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on it? Are you not on that team?
B
No, I think that's good. I think. Do you think the big question is, do you think Thanksgiving should have Mac.
A
And cheese or not 100% should have Mac and cheese. The only thing that Thanksgiving shouldn't have is salad. Like, if somebody's like, we need a salad at Thanksgiving, like, you missed the memo. This is the one day of the year we could, like, get stretchy pants, get out of control. We don't need salad.
B
I also don't like when you go to a place where you're ordering good food and someone says, can we add a veggie? And it's like, we're ready. What is that going to do to this meal of pizza, pasta and stuff?
A
Like, what does it mean? Makes you feel better? Yeah, it makes you feel better. But, oh, this episode is going to make everyone feel better. We're talking about something I think is going to really explode more in 2026, which is the idea of when you're sending out your campaigns, newsletter campaigns, promotional email campaigns, whatever the email marketing is that you're doing, people actually replying to those emails and thinking they're interacting with you or your brand or your company, and it's going to explode because AI is allowing us to kind of react to these replies faster. And there's a lot that we could be doing there. And I don't think enough people realize that this kind of reply rate on promotional emails is going to be a game changer. So, Daniel, what do you think about kind of this idea of replying to promotional emails?
B
Yeah, so Jay said that AI is going to be able to track it better. But I think the reason why you should track this metric is showing that your content is resonating with humans and humans are actually interacting with you. And that means you're writing content that is above what's going out in the market of all this. AI. AI only email. So what A couple ways you can think about it is a couple ways I do it personally. And I'll tell what I do is I always have like a personalized question because people, you, you're talking to humans here that have lives. So I always make the question something like, what is your favorite hobby? I'm looking for new hobbies right now. Or what is your favorite dish on Thanksgiving? Or send me recipes for something like that. Something that just lightens the mood of the email. Another thing I like to do is add Easter eggs into, like, the email. So I'll be like, if you see this, reply this, like, in the middle of the email reply a word and I will send you something. Or something like that. Like, just. It just shows that they're reading your email. If you add an Easter egg in the middle of email, it says, if you see this, like, one time I did this, I had a picture of these two, like, people from the 1980s or not. No, 1880s. Like, and I said, reply this. Me and Ari should dress up like this. And people. I got a bunch of replies, but it showed that people were reading to the middle of my email, which was a good sign for me that people are reading. So adding things into your email where you could add replies and also show that people are making it to the bottom of your email. Making it to the middle of your email are really good signs.
A
First of all, I've never done the Easter egg thing in the middle of my email, so I'm definitely going to do that. I think that's a really interesting thing to test. But if you're out there and it's not even your newsletter, let's say you're trying to get a piece of content downloaded or you're trying to get a discount code, you're to trying utilized what is such an underrated tactic which can exponentially increase your response rate is let's say you have, you know, the 2026 guy to, you know, HR law changes whatever boring thing that you're in that you think you can't promote, right? If you send it out and you say all you have to do, you're not sending people to a link to click to a form, whatever you're sending people and you say, if you want the guide, just reply to this email and write the word guide. Okay? You're going to get flooded with people replying and saying the word guide. You're going to get a much, much higher number of people doing that than going to fill out your form. And you could also do this with discount code. Say, hey, you want the 20% off? Just reply back to this and say discount. And then what's going to happen is you're going to get flooded with that. And here's the great benefit of that. Not only is your response rate going to go up, but when you get the number one signal to stay in somebody's inbox. In email marketing, the way that you don't go to spam or junk folder is getting them to actually reply to an email that you sent. It is a signal that they like your stuff. So getting them to reply will get you more interaction, but also allows your future emails to stay in the inbox.
B
I want to add another thing. It's on the reply rate, but it isn't for email things on social like Instagram stories. If you get people to reply to Instagram stories, it will show your Instagram story to more and more people because they think that's an interactive story and they want more and more people to do that. So if you do the same thing like I do this for events, I do this for guides, I do this for anything outputs, hey, I'm giving away this free thing reply guide to and we'll send you in the DMs a the guide or the link to a private event or a link to this or link to that. It excellentially gets you more in the story feed on Instagram as well. So like reply rate is going to get even more better because people want to interact with you as a brand, interact with you as a human. But it also helps you get more attention in the email inbox and on social as well.
A
It's so true. It was so funny. So I was just doing this is not a flex but I was giving a speech at this conference this past week and this dude comes up to me after the session and you know, we got stuff running on Instagram all the time. We use ManyChat, you know, where somebody comments a word and then instantly sends them a link to whatever the content pieces that we're pushing out there, whatever. He goes oh, while you were speaking I saw one of your social posts and I commented and you DM me instantly the thing. He goes how did you do that while you were on stage? I'm like are you kidding me bro? I didn't do that. Okay. Like it wasn't me. Like it wasn't like a magic trick.
B
Wait, it's not you you did. I thought you do magic tricks, but I think I do. I do think that I mean another I also think you do something really cool if you're. If you are going to events and you're trying to be get yourself in front of brands where you do the reply technique to your your to get all my my stuff at the end. I think what we're trying to say is getting people to reply in your inbox in 20 is one will get you more deliverability but it also will get you human human interaction. The amount of first party data I get from replies and insights about my my audience from reply rate is astronomical. And now I know like you you talking about like if you if you weren't talking about reality TV and nobody replied, I think you would stop talking. But right. You know your audience loves reality T keep doing it because people are applying and showing you interest that they like that topic. So marketing doesn't always have to be about your thing. You can integrate like pop culture and stuff and understand your audience at a deeper level where you can integrate these two obsolete things and make your marketing more fun and interesting because you know your audience likes reality TV and this and they're interested in your offer as well.
A
So well along those lines. And that leads into the end of this whole thing which is on my last newsletter or whatever I sent out I said I need A new holiday movies or whatever. Reply back and let me know your favorite holiday movies. So, Daniel, right now, for all of humanity, what are Daniel Murray's favorite holiday movies?
B
Oh, my goodness, you're putting me on the spot right now.
A
Well, I'll give you some examples. Like Die Hard, obviously a holiday movie.
B
Yeah. I mean, that's like the biggest debate in the history. Is Die Hard a holiday? I love Die Hard. I think Die Hard. I like Home Alone. I think that's a great holiday movie. I think. I think the Grinch, like, I love the Grinch.
A
Grinch. What about, like, Love, actually, or the Holiday.
B
Oh, the holidays are good. A great. But it's. The thing is, like, if I. If I recommend that to Ari, we just, like, go down a rabbit hole of all, like, rom coms for. For.
A
What's wrong with that? Rom coms are great. I watched Hallmark channels where magic happens, and there was a Netflix movie that came out last year called no Hell Christmas or something that was really good, actually.
B
I think. I think Hallmark is like one of the most underrated movie channel in the world. And they're so badly promoted that how they promote the movies. But some of the movies are just so good, and they're just. No, they get lost in the ether.
A
Because they don't get distributed well.
B
Like, you have to be on Hallmark Channel to know that.
A
They also release a new movie every day.
B
I know it's.
A
It's.
B
I mean, you. After that's. But that's a good lesson that you have one hit if you. If you like, launch.
A
A stick. Right. They're a volume game. Well, everybody have an amazing Thanksgiving, eat an enormous amount. This is the day. Because here's what I believe. If you go into the end of the year and you just eat as much as possible, and your New Year's resolution is to lose some weight. You want to start out high, and that way it's easier to lose weight. So crush it now. Get really high.
B
Yeah, I mean, go gain five pounds on Thanksgiving and then lose it, and then you've lost £5.
A
100.
B
You're back where you started. But.
A
All right. Follow our shows. I don't know. Have a good Thanksgiving. Later. Daniel. Come on, man. I gotta get back to work. Get out of there. All right, While he's still in there. This is Jay. Check out my podcast, do this, not that, for marketers. Each week we share really quick tips on stuff that can improve your marketing and hope you give it a try. Oh, here's Daniel.
B
He's finally out back from my bathroom break. This is Daniel. Go follow the Mark and Millennials podcast, but also tune into this series. It's once a week, the Bathroom Break. We talk about marketing tips that we just spew out. And it could be anything from email subject line to any marketing tips in the world. We'll talk about it. Just give us a shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear. Peace out.
Hosts: Jay Schwedelson (Do This, Not That Podcast) & Daniel Murray (The Marketing Millennials)
Date: November 24, 2025
In this lighthearted Bathroom Break collab episode, Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray share rapid-fire, actionable insights about the upcoming trend of reply-driven email marketing, why reply rates matter in both email and social, and how to tap into human responses to make campaigns more effective. They weave in holiday banter and a dash of pop culture, making practical marketing strategies both accessible and memorable.
The hosts predict a surge in reply-focused email campaigns in 2026, thanks largely to increased AI capabilities making it easier to manage responses and personalize interactions.
(Jay, 02:29):
“This kind of reply rate on promotional emails is going to be a game changer… AI is allowing us to kind of react to these replies faster.”
Encouraging replies to emails is not just about boosting engagement — it’s pivotal for maintaining inbox visibility and avoid getting flagged as spam.
Personalized Questions:
Daniel emphasizes adding personal touches to emails, such as asking about hobbies or holiday favorites, which encourages genuine human interaction.
(Daniel, 03:15):
“You’re talking to humans here that have lives… I always make the question something like, what is your favorite hobby? …or send me recipes for something like that. Something that just lightens the mood.”
Easter Eggs in Emails:
Daniel shares his method of hiding Easter eggs (secret prompts) within emails to measure reader engagement and reward attention, leading to a spike in replies from engaged subscribers.
(Daniel, 03:44):
“If you see this, reply this… and I will send you something… it showed that people were reading to the middle of my email.”
Simple Reply Calls to Action:
Jay breaks down a tactic for lead generation and offers: Instead of sending recipients to a form, simply instruct them to reply with a code word (“guide” or “discount”) to receive what they want.
(Jay, 05:24):
“You’re going to get a much, much higher number of people doing that than going to fill out your form.”
Bonus: Every reply is a deliverability signal, keeping your brand in the inbox:
(Jay, 06:06):
“The number one signal to stay in somebody's inbox… is getting them to actually reply to an email that you sent.”
Daniel points out the same principle applies on platforms like Instagram:
(Daniel, 06:28):
“If you get people to reply to Instagram stories, it will show your Instagram story to more and more people… because they think that’s an interactive story.”
Using DMs and auto-responders (e.g., ManyChat) to automate reward delivery while keeping interaction high.
(Jay, 07:28):
“Somebody comments a word and then it instantly sends them a link to whatever the content piece is… and (people) think you’re doing it live.”
Reply rates offer valuable first-party data about subscriber interests and inform what content truly resonates.
(Daniel, 08:29):
“The amount of first party data I get from replies and insights about my audience from reply rate is astronomical.”
Pop culture or personal topics in marketing emails can spark engagement and reveal unexpected interests (e.g., reality TV).
(Daniel, 08:47):
“Marketing doesn’t always have to be about your thing… you can integrate pop culture and understand your audience at a deeper level…”
(Jay, 06:06):
“The number one signal to stay in somebody's inbox… is getting them to actually reply to an email that you sent.”
(Daniel, 03:44):
“If you add an Easter egg in the middle of (the) email… it showed that people were reading to the middle of my email, which was a good sign for me.”
(Jay, 07:28) (after being asked how he DMs people instantly):
“Are you kidding me bro? I didn’t do that… Like, it wasn’t me. Like, it wasn’t like a magic trick.”
(Daniel, 08:29):
"The amount of first party data I get from replies and insights about my audience from reply rate is astronomical."
(Jay, 02:03):
“The only thing that Thanksgiving shouldn't have is salad. Like, if somebody's like, we need a salad at Thanksgiving, like, you missed the memo.”
Stay tuned for future Bathroom Breaks—where Jay and Daniel continue to ‘spew’ marketing tips that are both practical and entertaining.