Blog > Interview with Leonel Skrobacki, director of Intaface

Interview given to Email Love, a North American site whose mission is to inspire marketers, designers and programmers, encouraging them to improve their creativity, content and email marketing strategy.

What attracted you to email marketing and how did you get to where you are today?

My entry into the world of email marketing occurred by chance. I was finishing my law studies (Yes, I'm a lawyer!) but I wanted to pursue a career related to the Internet. It was 2009 and several large South American companies were beginning to explore the SaaS email marketing space. My brother Fernando and his old friend and partner Pablo noticed this trend and that's how I started. Initially, I focused on creating reports for clients to help them understand their results and measure return on investment. For five years we worked for a North American SaaS company (where I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew!). When it was finished, we knew we wanted to continue in the digital space. So, I joined forces with Fernando and Pablo, my current partners, which has been a blessing since I can work with family and friends. Together, we have been leading Intaface, a boutique omichannel online marketing agency, for almost a decade.

What is your top email marketing tip?

Focus on relevance, not volume. While email marketing remains one of the most profitable digital channels, some companies resort to the old phrase of "more volume, more sales." However, in today's sophisticated and highly filtered landscape, where ISPs scrutinize the reputation of every campaign, it is crucial to prioritize sending relevant content to an engaged audience.

How do you think AI will change the email marketing landscape in the next five years?

It will likely involve more data-driven optimization, live personalized audiovisual content, creating compelling new texts with writing assistance, and predictive analytics. Overall, it will allow marketers to efficiently improve their campaigns so they can quickly shift their focus to a customer-centric engagement approach.

What's in your toolbox?

Hardware:
Macbook Pro 13 inch, M1

Software:
Google Docs
Figma
Canva
Iterable
Typeform
Nifty Images

What's your favorite email design trend?

Right now it's about interactive emails, AMP features, embedding videos or short stories, applying the 80-20 rule in the image/text ratio, showing commitment to environmental/sustainable/social causes and gamified experiences.

What are some of the key email marketing trends you're seeing in South America?

Dark mode optimization, live email content, and hyper-personalization are very important in South America right now. The digital landscape within the continent is learning on the fly about new subscriber trends and reacting quickly to them to introduce high-quality content in a massive but sophisticated manner.

What are some simple ways e-commerce brands can improve their email marketing?

It all starts with your database. Grow organically, drive traffic to your registration forms and get it from various channels, where social media plays a crucial role. Check and test it periodically, as your results will only be as good as the quality of your database. Then, use this data to get the best possible understanding of your audience. Pay attention to reports, engage with your customers in a variety of ways, be innovative, make compelling value propositions, and be prepared to redefine your digital strategy as you learn more about them.

What do your parents think you do?

Something to do with fixing computers! Every time there is a technical problem with their laptops, they think I should be able to solve it =)