Lessons Learned from table tr td’s Dynamic Duo
How a creative side hustle is changing people’s perception and making email gold
Wearing matching white shirts which they created themselves, Cam and Miah were standing at a raised table eating some brisket sandwiches at #TEDC16 in Boston. The evening began to dim but their smiles matched the crescent moon above. A look of delight sparkled in their eyes. We approached them to mostly give a nod to their style and taste, but were soon talking about email design and their site, table tr td. Instantly, we knew that we wanted to talk to them more about what they were doing.
So what is table tr td anyways? You may have heard of camiah (Camille Palu and Miah Roberts) who have done all sorts of crazy stuff in email like building an interactive pizza with all the best toppings. But before they started all of that tomfoolery, they were just two developers trying to find their way. Here’s their story as we recorded the conversation, what they are building, and how they have a fun time doing it.
Tell us a little about your background. Give us the highlights. Ever serve time?
We have worked together for the past 3 years at two different places and have always looked for a way to connect to the email community. We both started our email careers at Merkle Inc, doing full scale email dev work on a big team of developers. We had an extremely high work load and learned our craft backward and forward. This is where we refined our definition of process and grew our desire to branch out creatively. We moved on to a smaller company called Digital Fusion where we are able to be our own email development department.
We started the code library for table tr td because we needed to create a place for snippets, where we could agree about templating out our code and capturing all of our email fixes. Next, we wanted to send our own email to the community. We wanted this email to be something that we, ourselves, would like to receive, that was unlike the industry emails we were already receiving and an email that was us. Our main goal: build and send an email that WE would like to receive.
Sounds like the dynamic duo. Speaking of which, what is the dynamic of building when you work together for so long?
Our team dynamic for an email goes like this: Camille is driving home, Camille has an idea, Camille calls Miah, Miah says, “hey”. Camille describes idea (very animatedly), Miah stays quiet, Camille keeps describing into the silence, Miah sounds apprehensive, Camille says, “why don’t you take a minute to process”, Camille hangs up. Camille arrives home to a 3 paragraph text message from Miah describing the functionality of the idea.
Plus, we use checklists because we find it very valuable to agree on the work we are doing. We find the best way, then repeat that process. We keep our checklists clear and updatable. Whenever we run into a problem, we stop production, solve the problem, make a new rule that we both agree on and start the machine up again. This saves tons of time and allows us to be very flexible and responsive with our projects. Here’s how that goes:
1) cam grabs correct template
2) cam names everything according to the agreed upon naming conventions
3) miah provides refining of the basic idea
4) cam builds out functionality with minimal design using approved code snippets
5) miah ensures full data is in place to drive functionality
6) cam approves basic functionality
7) miah messes around with email and starts providing feedback
8) cam starts designing into code
9) cam starts deving out the rest of the functionality
10) miah tries to break email and provides feedback on initial design
11) cam takes feedback and fixes any code or design issues
12) miah loads first draft into Campaign Monitor
13) miah sends tests out to camiah and litmus
14) miah reviews and starts sending feedback
15) cam reviews and starts fixing any issues
16) miah sends test again
17) camiah slows down and asks “do we officially want to put our name on this thing?”
18) if no, brainstorms solutions
19) if yes, gets very excited and schedules email
20) if it is daytime, high-five 🙌
21) if it is nighttime, text appreciative remarks back and forth
What has been your favorite email to create? Which one was the most challenging?
Cam likes fart jokes, so any of the letter spacing malfunctions really take the cake.
Miah loves all of them and wouldn’t have sent them if he didn’t.
The most challenging email by far was the BlackBerry email. We wanted to be able to type a message on a BlackBerry and have it feel like you were using a BlackBerry on your phone.
We ran into a few issues along the way. We originally had it typing 26 characters, but the code was too heavy and made everything super laggy. We also had a ton of extra buttons that we needed to compensate for. The weirdest thing we found was when we pushed an empty content: url() to “turn the power off”, gmail added a box around the missing image when viewing the email online within the app.
We love your Rules of Email. Which one do you think is the most important?
The one we make sure is in place before doing anything else is Rule 3: Create a Clean Template of Code. We have worked very hard to agree on how we want our code to look and work. Scalability is very serious for the line of work we are in, and we ensure that we are set up for success. We have one way to code, and that means that both cam and miah can jump in at any time and take over, rework, fix, problem solve, review, approve, care for, live in, and love all the code we put out there. We even provide the very template we start every email build with on table tr td. And our code library on table tr td is the very tool we use to build every email.
What is the best way for designers and developers to get into interactive emails?
First of all, get out there and experiment, do something fun and creative for yourself. If it is for a client, find a really good and meaningful use case. Do not waste time and money developing something just because. Once you have your use, do a quick study up. We have a post on table tr td showing the basics behind it and the code needed. It’s a little funky to get used to, but it is so much fun. Especially when you’re doing it right. Another thing you’ll have to get ready for is all the fall backs needed. It’s not going to work everywhere, so the email will need to have depth.
What’s one constraint on email that you would change if you could?
People’s attitudes/perception of email. We are out there making tons of money for companies. Every day. And we have to fight for the most basic of salaries.
What do you think the future of email looks like?
We think the future of email is bright. The more the community gathers, communicates, and gains confidence, the better we can be at providing insightful strategy, code, and purpose for the emails we send out.
⚡️Lightning Round For Kicks & Giggles⚡️
What was the most recent spam message you got in your spam box? What was the subject line?
Cam: a surprise from Jesse at rogergoy.fslife.co.uk | subject line: Isn’t it amazing?
Miah: SEO Services | subject line: (Google Top Page)
What is your favorite book?
Cam: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Miah: MacBook (doesn’t like reading)
What’s your biggest challenge right now?
Cam: Finding balance in all things
Miah: Not being worn out
If you were a beverage, what would it be?
Cam: Coffee through a stir straw (helps people get motivated but can be annoying)
Miah: Arnold Palmer (sweet and bitter)
Miah Roberts (@miahsix) and Camille Palu (@camillepalu) are the ultimate dynamic duo. Join them on their many ventures and adventures as they continually strive to express themselves through a multitude of creative channels. They specialize in Email Development, Web Development, Photography, Video, Products, and Fun.
This post was written by Matt Helbig (@mtthlbg) of Really Good Emails. Matt works with a pack of unicorns at DigitasLBi and can usually be found wondering around Chicago with a camera.
