Podcast Summary: "Email Tactics You Can Try Right Now"

The Marketing Millennials | Bathroom Break #102
Host: Daniel Murray
Guest: Jay Schwetelson (Do This, Not That Podcast, SubjectLine.com)
Date: April 6, 2026

Episode Overview

This special "Bathroom Break" episode blends birthday banter with a focused dive into current and actionable email marketing tactics. Daniel Murray and guest Jay Schwetelson keep the tone playful and irreverent, mixing personal anecdotes with quick, testable strategies for email newsletters. Their mission: deliver practical tips you can immediately take into your next marketing meeting, in less time than a bathroom break.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Birthday Mad Libs Kickoff (00:00–03:16)

• The episode starts with Daniel celebrating Jay turning 50 by reading out a humorous marketing "ad" written Mad Libs–style.
• Memorable Moment: The Mad Libs ad for a cruise includes surreal phrases ("Look at yourself in the cow. What does your smelly face tell you...?") and ends with both hosts riffing on why Mad Libs has lasted 50 years.
• Quote:
  "How did Mad Libs last 50 years? And that is their business model. Like, I mean, that is unbelievable. No podcast has ever done that before. We just broke the Internet." — Jay Schwetelson (03:17)

2. Email Marketing Wisdom from the Trenches (04:18–09:18)

• After the laughs, the hosts shift gears to share valuable email newsletter tactics:

  Subject Line Best Practices (04:43–05:51)

  • Resurrecting Addition Numbers:
    Jay notes, counterintuitively, that starting subject lines with the edition number (e.g., "[Scoop #42] ...") is now boosting open rates—a reversal from past years when this was discouraged.
    • "A tactic that you think, okay, nobody should ever do that again... you constantly need to be retesting." — Jay Schwetelson (05:19)

  Personal Engagement Prompts (05:51–07:00)

  • Add Personal Questions:
    Daniel suggests incorporating easy, personal questions in newsletters (e.g., "What TV show did you watch this week?") to boost reply rates and make newsletters more personable, which also helps with deliverability.
    • "It helps lift reply rates, it makes your newsletter feel personable, it teaches people to reply, it gets deliverability up." — Daniel Murray (06:21)

  Ensure Reply Functionality (07:00–08:00)

  • Don’t Just Send–Engage Back:
    Jay emphasizes that marketers should check with their email platform to ensure they can process and respond to replies to mass emails, as this two-way engagement is increasingly vital.

  The Power of Preheaders (08:00–09:18)

  • 3 Magic Preheader Words:
    Start your preheader with "and," "but," or "plus" to create a sense of continuation and curiosity, which can increase open rates up to 10%.

    • "What we have found is that there's three magic words... and, but, or plus—they're continuation words and they actually lift your open rate significantly." — Jay Schwetelson (08:26)

  • Don’t Ignore Preheaders:
    Despite some confusion after Apple’s email updates, preheaders still significantly impact open rates.

  • Linked Messaging:
    Both agree that every element (from name, subject, preheader, headline, body) should form an unbroken "chain"; any weak link can lose the reader.

3. Lighthearted Personal Tangents (09:18–11:40)

• The episode wraps with the hosts sharing family and childhood memories, using their signature blend of self-deprecating humor and personal insight.
  • Daniel talks about his son’s upcoming birthday and childhood lunch memories.
  • Jay playfully psychoanalyzes Daniel’s need to compensate for summer birthdays.

4. Quick Closing Remarks (11:40–12:40)

• Daniel encourages listeners to connect on LinkedIn and suggest future topics for "Bathroom Break."
• Jay plugs his own podcast, “Do This, Not That for Marketers,” for similar bite-sized tips.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “How did Mad Libs last 50 years? ... No podcast has ever done that before. We just broke the Internet.” — Jay (03:17)
• “A tactic that you think, okay, nobody should ever do that again... you constantly need to be retesting.” — Jay (05:19)
• “It helps lift reply rates, it makes your newsletter feel personable, it teaches people to reply, it gets deliverability up.” — Daniel (06:21)
• “What we have found is that there’s three magic words... and, but, or plus—they’re continuation words and they actually lift your open rate significantly.” — Jay (08:26)
• “The way you think about any marketing, but especially email marketing, it's like a chain... any link in the chain that's broken, you lose the person.” — Jay (09:19)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–03:16: Mad Libs cruise “advertisement” and birthday banter
• 04:18–05:51: Bring back edition numbers in subject lines
• 05:51–07:00: Personal questions to boost replies and engagement
• 07:00–08:00: Ensuring reply ability for mass email/newsletters
• 08:00–09:18: Preheaders: Why they matter and magic “continuation” words
• 09:19–10:38: “Chain” model for email engagement
• 10:38–11:40: Family tangents and playful banter

Overall Tone & Takeaways

• Tone: Fast, irreverent, humorous, and highly practical
• Key Takeaways:
  • Test old tactics anew; what worked (or bombed) years ago could return with a twist.
  • Personalization—especially with simple, human questions—drives engagement and deliverability.
  • Every step in your email—from sender name to body—should logically and emotionally connect for best results.
  • Preheaders are not dead; leverage “continuation” words for a 10%+ open rate bump.
  • Stay nimble, keep testing, and don't ignore the nuts and bolts of your email platform's reply functionality.

This episode crams a surprising number of email tactics into a breezy, memorable 10-minute package.