When it comes to email marketing, it takes a lot to shock me. That's not to say I'm left unimpressed when I review my set of about 7,000 retail emails every month. Email continues to be a medium in which marketers can work their magic, but that's part of the problem. HTML is more flexible than it was 10 years ago, and responsive design allows for variable designs that render content in a more predictable fashion. But because of that, many marketers spend time ringing bells and blowing on whistles while the basics are overlooked.