 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 The ‘Balanced Scorecard’: Measuring The Entire Email Picture |
| author: Loren McDonald |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 11/8/2007 |
An effective email marketing program isn’t just a big single-cell creature. It’s an interconnected ecosystem, with many factors that affect its vitality. Using a limited set of metrics to measure performance can mislead you into thinking you’re succeeding wildly or failing miserably.
Instead, use a “balanced scorecard” approach to get readings from all around the ecosystem and help you understand more clearly exactly how well you’re really doing. |
|
|
The Email Brand Equity Index |
| author: Bill McCloskey |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 10/31/2007 |
| A product’s “brand equity” has been described as the sum total of the tiny impressions a consumer builds up around a product, through each and every interaction that consumer has with the brand. Giant missteps either intentional (New Coke) or unavoidable (the Tylenol scare) can destroy a brand’s equity over night. But more common is the death of a thousand cuts where day-by-day, small impression by small impression, a once strong brand is reduced to a shell of its former self. Think Saturn. |
|
|
Business, NOT Email, Metrics Drive and Measure Success |
| author: Loren McDonald |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 10/25/2007 |
If you have trouble snaring a big-enough share of your company’s marketing budget and mindshare for your email program, your problem may be that you are arguing your case with the wrong numbers.
Your CEO, for example, will likely not be blown away if you brag that your email campaigns or newsletters are beating the industry averages in open, click and delivery rates. So what if you have a 10% click-through rate on your last message? Big deal. Did that 10% help you meet your quarterly sales goal? OK, now we’re talking! |
|
|
Beyond the Open Rate: Metrics that Matter |
| author: Loren McDonald |
| source: EmailLabs |
| date : 7/31/2006 |
This question comes up over and over, whether I'm speaking at a conference or working one-on-one with clients. But what they're really asking is this: "Everybody else is doing better than I am, right?"
My short answer is that there isn't an average rate, and who cares anyway? Open rates vary wildly - by message type, permission level, mailing day, business vs. consumer, age of list, and dozens of other variables making them inconsistent measures.
I know why people keep asking, though. The open rate, and its related metrics, the click-through and unsubscribe rates, have become the holy yardsticks of email marketing campaigns and newsletters. The marketing trade press is full of case studies and how-to articles geared toward boosting open or click rates.
No wonder everybody obsesses over these metrics. However, they won't tell you if your campaign truly was successful or not. |
|
|
The Hidden Gems in Email Responses |
| author: Ken Magill |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 7/1/2006 |
Any DMer knows response management is critical to a campaign's success. But in email marketing, overseeing messages from those who don't buy is just as essential as handling customer communications.
Too many direct marketers are missing opportunities to capitalize on responses from email recipients, says John Rizzi, chief executive at e-mail service provider eDialog, Lexington, MA.
Also, though some messages — such as hard bounces where the address no longer exists — should be handled automatically, it takes human beings to deal properly with many nonbuying responses.
For instance, if someone asks to be removed from future mailings, yet spells the request incorrectly, an automated system may bungle the operation. |
|
|
Measuring Email ROI |
| author: Stefan Eyram |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 5/16/2006 |
As marketers are held more accountable for their budget there is a greater need to provide CFO with return on investment (ROI) metrics for programs, campaigns and even individual executions. It seems that nowhere is this more relevant than with email marketing.
Part of the drive for email ROI is that email is so measurable. You can get immediate feedback on your executions and accurately forecast the results of an email drop in just a few days. Furthermore, when you integrate your email metrics with your point-of-sale or e-commerce data and your web analytics platform (WebTrends, WebSideStory/HBX, Omniture, etc.) you can get even deeper ROI insights.
Here are a few things that can help you optimize your mail ROI: |
|
|
Incorporating Web Analytics Into Email Marketing |
| author: Elaine O'Gorman |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 3/6/2006 |
Marketers know that the ability to harness customer data across platforms enables them to create more meaningful messaging. But the enormity of the task leaves many at a loss of where to begin.
Lack of resources and the difficulty of integrating email and Web analytics applications are most often cited as the reason marketers don't use Web site clickstream data to target campaigns. But a wave of newly formed partnerships between email service providers and Web site measurement firms means there's never been a better time than now to begin. In addition, marketers who lag behind risk being left behind. JupiterResearch has reported that 41 percent of email marketers say they're planning to begin using Web site behavioral clickstream data as an email targeting tactic. |
|
|
Email Reputation: Your Online Credit Score |
| author: George Bilbrey |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 3/1/2006 |
There's so much talk out there about email reputation that it can be hard for marketers to determine how much attention to pay to it and what to care about. The bottom line is that every email sender, including those who do newsletters, has an email reputation–and it dictates whether messages and e-zines reach the inbox, get junked or go missing.
When it comes to reputation, keep one simple rule in mind: YOU control your email reputation. Think of it as your credit score for email – your past and present behaviors factor into your credit rating, and your future behaviors can make it better or worse. The same is true with email. |
|
|
Measuring the True Impact of Email on Overall Sales |
| author: Matt Blumberg, Tami Monahan Forman & Stephanie A. Miller |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 2/22/2006 |
In a truly integrated marketing plan, every ingredient plays a vital role. The fact that you can’t directly attribute a sale to every email message doesn’t mean the emails aren’t working. Response to email is best measured as one part of your whole marketing program.
First, don’t be fooled into thinking that email is only a direct-response medium. In fact, there is credible evidence to suggest that email is also effective as a branding medium. A 2004 retailer study by Bigfoot Interactive found that e-mail recipients are 7% more satisfied with purchases than non-recipients. They were also more likely to continue to purchase products from the retailer and to recommend the retailer to others. This suggests that customer satisfaction and loyalty are real and measurable benefits of email marketing that extend beyond the online channel. Even when email is not the direct driver of a particular sale, it has a powerful impact on the recipient’s overall brand experience. |
|
|
The Deadly Duo: Spam and Viruses |
| author: Enid Burns |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/15/2006 |
Many e-mail users entered the new year with more spam. Integrated message management firm Postini released its annual report which uses 2005 activity to provide an outlook for 2006.
|
|
|
Goodmail: Beyond the Uproar and Trash Talk |
| author: Kirill Popov and Loren McDonald |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/15/2006 |
The recently announced deal between AOL and Goodmail ignited a firestorm of debate and outright misinformation, the likes of which we haven't seen since Google launched Gmail. E-mail marketing survived that upheaval, and it will survive this one.
The deal, representing an estimated 21 million addresses, will allow senders in Goodmail's CertifiedEmail program to pay a fee per message to guarantee delivery to the inbox with images and links enabled. Yahoo! also announced it will use the Goodmail program later this year, but only for transactional messages.
|
|
|
Don't Throw Me Under The Bus! |
| author: David Baker |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 2/13/2006 |
HOW DO YOU WRITE A weekly column about e-mail? There are only so many trends to report on, only so many educational things to explain, and only so many industry happenings that aren't already covered in-depth by everyone else. Should this column be about e-mail best practices, trends, technologies, the industry on a whole, sharing experiences, challenging the norm, education or just random thoughts on the channel?
The last year or so has really challenged me to think differently about the e-mail channel--how to speak about it evangelically to other practitioners, influencers and pundits. The most provocative thing I can say is this: it all starts with establishing a profile for an e-mail customer. |
|
|
Clickstream Analysis and E-Mail Marketing |
| author: Jack Aaronson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/10/2006 |
Marketers constantly try to improve e-mail CTRs (define). They also strive to make e-mail more relevant.
A previous column addressed the need to temper e-mail frequency with relevance. The industry has come a long way from standard, mass e-mail to highly personalized e-mail and steadily increased e-mail relevance. Though an e-mail offering sales or free shipping has become a magic bullet for boosting the top line, companies are finally learning slicing margins and losing money on each transaction aren't a recipe for success.
Luckily, recent reports from JupiterResearch prove a point we've addressed in this column for years: get to know your customers, and they'll reward you with their loyalty.
|
|
|
The Read-Write Web |
| author: Hans-Peter Brøndmo |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/6/2006 |
| If you want to see the future of the Web, look no further than your e-mail inbox. |
|
|
What's Your E-mail Reputation? |
| author: George Bilbrey |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 2/1/2006 |
| While there are thousands of data points factoring into a reputation, we see that there are three primary levers that most influence reputation and subsequent delivery... |
|
|
Still More Email Metrics |
| author: Matt Blumberg, Tami Monahan Forman & Stephanie A. Miller |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 1/30/2006 |
We don’t want to commit email heresy. But are open rates and click-through rates the only metrics you can use for determining the success of your email newsletter? They certainly are not. Others include the turn-off rate and the inbox delivery rate. Dig into them, and you will have a much more thorough sense of how your program is doing.
Turn-off Rate: Here’s something you really want to avoid: Angering customers with an email. No matter how professionally you behave, there will inevitably be folks who will be angered by your email and unsubscribe. |
|
|
Dialogue Redux |
| author: David Baker |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 1/30/2006 |
| THE THOUGHTS EXPRESSED IN TODAY'S column are from a valued colleague of mine, Jamie Schissler. Jamie is a director of e-mail strategy at Agency.com. I wanted to share his points about the two-way nature of e-mail, as I found them useful and thought-provoking. Jamie writes: One of the most overused metaphors in marketing is the concept of e-mail as a dialogue. The metaphor is so pervasive that its original meaning is in danger of being lost. Let's get back to the roots of this metaphor and see how understanding the concept can make our programs better. |
|
|
E-mail Open Rates Peak on Friday |
| author: Enid Burns |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/26/2006 |
| Open rates on marketing e-mail and newsletters dipped in Q4 of 2005, according to the "Q4 2005 E-mail Statistics" report released by eROI. |
|
|
Consumer Courtship |
| author: Stephanie Miller |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 1/25/2006 |
| EVERY READER OF THIS COLUMN knows that e-mail works when it is done right. Yet the data shows that precious few make that happen in their e-mail programs. Consumers want your e-mail, will open your e-mail, and will buy from you via e-mail--if you build a relationship and keep that relationship relevant. Think of it as a courtship--with better odds. A recent Return Path survey analyzing consumer use of e-mail during the holiday shopping season showed that consumers respond to e-mail when they have an ongoing positive experience with the sender and have received value from their e-mail program in the past. While that should be a no-brainer, the same survey also showed that most consumers feel that less and less of the e-mail they get is relevant or wanted--so clearly we're all doing something wrong when it comes to executing e-mail campaigns. |
|
|
Focusing on Key Metrics |
| author: Bill Nussey |
| source: iMedia Connection |
| date : 1/23/2006 |
Silverpop CEO Bill Nussey looks at the real power behind email campaigns.
As the new year rolls around, many people begin to evaluate their health, diet and fitness, and think about making changes. I personally keep tabs on my weight by using my favorite jeans as a measurement tool. They fit. What more do I need to know? Well, my doctor may be impressed with my weight, but he believes there are other important tests needed to give me a clean bill of health.
The same idea applies to email campaigns. Many marketers think open rates are the chief metric upon which they can measure the health of their programs. But one metric alone won't give marketers the in-depth knowledge they need to make changes that will improve results year after year. |
|
|
Some Comprehensive Email Metrics |
| author: Matt Blumberg, Tami Monahan Forman & Stephanie A. Miller |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 1/18/2006 |
Once you get comfortable with the basic key metrics, like open and click-through rates, you are ready to go more in depth. Here are two additional metrics. Dig into them, and you will have a much more thorough sense of the success of your program.
Capture Rate: This is the number of people who come to your homepage vs. the size of your list. We recommend you set a goal that no one should ever leave your site without subscribing to one of your email newsletters. This means that the number of unique visitors and the number of addresses on your list should be relatively close. (While tracking the number of sign-ups to your list is easy, tracking unique visitors is not always so simple. Check with your IT team to make sure you are getting the most accurate numbers possible.) |
|
|
Higher Email Open Rates (Top 10 Checklist) |
| author: Barry Stamos |
| source: iMedia Connection |
| date : 1/10/2006 |
Need a quick win in 2006? Boost your email open rates!
I have concluded -- after having reviewed more than 500 unique email deliverables in 2005 for clients, agencies and channel partners -- that few marketers understand what it takes to get an email opened.
So here are my top 10 expert recommendations for higher open rates: |
|
|
2006: The Year E-Mail Marketing Comes of Age |
| author: Jeanniey Mullen |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/9/2006 |
By now, you've probably gotten your fill of e-mail-related blogs and columns predicting what 2006 holds for e-mail marketers. Many of these predictions tell us how smart e-mail marketing is linked to the latest advancements in optimization technologies, widespread RSS usage, blog-mania, the search craze, and continuously declining direct mail response rates.
These predictions all seem to add up to one key question: is 2006 the year e-mail marketing comes of age?
|
|
|
Email: Online Marketing's Overlooked Stepchild? |
| author: Jeanne Jennings |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 11/7/2005 |
Email is like any other type of marketing. It takes time to perfect your approach. Many marketers seem impatient with email. If they don't hit a homerun out of the park with their initial efforts, they stop trying.
I'm big on industry benchmarks. Though meeting them isn't a requirement for success, they do provide a framework for projections. Yet instead of inspiring marketers to test, benchmarks are often viewed as unattainable ideals. "Those numbers must be inflated" is an all-to-common reaction. I've worked with clients more than once over the years where we took a dog of an email program and turned it around, creating programs that rival or surpass those "inflated" industry benchmarks. It's not rocket science, just marketing fundamentals. Here's a quick refresher: |
|
|
Want High Open Rates? Send Your First Issue |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 10/12/2005 |
It’s a familiar syndrome in the email newsletter business. The first issue pulls a great open rate. Then the second issue goes out and the opens are in the lower double digits. Does this mean you have a turkey on your hands?
No—it’s typical. But it does show that you have to build on that strong first impression. Here are some tips on sustaining good open rates from Todd Smart, the president of BeTuitive Marketing, from our recent Q&A with him. |
|
|
Between "Bounced" and "Delivered" |
| author: Jeanne Jennings |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 10/10/2005 |
What do you call this equation:
(# of e-mails sent) – (bounces) = ?
Does it seem like a trick question? In a way it is, and in a way it isn't. Most email marketers, ESPs and others who care (including myself) historically refer to this figure as "email delivered," "total email delivered" or (when expressed as a percentage) "percentage of email delivered" or "delivery rate." But I'm starting to rethink that. Just because an email doesn't bounce doesn't mean it's delivered to the inbox. Most spam filters don't let a sender know when email is blocked or redirected to the junk mail folder. And the incidence of false positives, along with concern over them, is growing: |
|
|
The Email Delivery Dilemma |
| author: Stefan Eyram |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 9/16/2005 |
If you have been reading my posts over the last months or have spoken with me you will know I am always talking about email deliverability, the ability to deliver marketing emails into the inboxes of intended recipients.
Historically the delivery rate has been measured as all the emails sent less all the emails that had a hard (fatal) bounce. Today, deliverability is measured as all the emails sent, but not bounced, less those that did not reach the intended inboxes. Surprisingly few email service providers (ESPs), agencies or marketers measure this very important metric.
This week eMarketer let us in on some recent research that shows 68% of marketers using email are worried about deliverability. |
|
|
Email Disaffection Index |
| author: June Macdonald |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 8/18/2005 |
This week’s Email Insider article proposes replacing use of the unsubscribe rate with a “Disaffection Index” to more accurately reflect how well your email is being received.
For many marketers, the problem with using the Unsubscribe rate as a metric is that many users have come to believe that companies will not actually remove you from their list by using it. They simply delete the message instead and the unsubscribe rate becomes an inaccurate measure of how your message was received.
The Dissaffection Index proposed is calculated as the number of unsubscribes divided by the number of clicks: unsubscribes/clickthroughs. Author and consultant Melinda Kreuger provided a sample table with rates for several mailings to illustrate the impact. For example... |
|
|
No More “Open Rate”: Anti-Spam Task Force |
| author: June Macdonald |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 5/18/2005 |
I’ve just taken a preliminary read of the report from the Anti-Spam Task Force, Stopping Spam, Creating a Stronger, Safer Internet. Lots to sift through here still, but 2 things jump out at me.
1. Recommendation that marketers stop trying to use “open rates” as a measurement, as it requires the use of hidden html or return receipts, which email programs are starting to disallow anyway. ‘Open rate’ has never been a very accurate measurement, but one we’ll all still have trouble letting go of… |
|
|
Deliverability: AOL Treats Emergency Email As Spam |
| author: Stefan Eyram |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 5/3/2005 |
Email is a great way to communciate. That was what the Indian River County, FL emergency coordinator thought. Until he found the county’s emergency email announcements flagged as spam by AOL (AOL Treats Fla. Emergency E-Mails As Spam).
The emergency coordinator was, and is, right. Email is a great way to commnunicate, especially when you have information that has to reach a lot of people very quickly. But sending a lot of email, whether it is to the county’s 4,200 subscribers or to a large corporation’s database of over 1 million recipients, requires some planning to ensure the messages get through.
What lesson did he learn? |
|
|
1 In 5 Marketing Messages Don’t Get To The Inbox |
| author: Amanda Maltby |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 4/28/2005 |
Are you certain that your e-mail messages are reaching their intended targets? Have you spoken with your ISP about their filtering practices? Do you have a sinking feeling that no matter how many layers of consent you receive from your customers to send them e-mail, they still won’t get your messages?
If you answered no, no and not sure then you’re not alone. As spam continues to clog in-boxes concern related to the deliverability of legitimate e-mail messages rises and the average marketer is caught in the middle.
Good e-mail marketers are already using practices based on permission being obtained prior to an e-mail being sent and an opt-out opportunity being offered in every e-mail message. They do this or risk being labelled a spammer. But even when these practices are followed e-mail often doesn’t reach its intended recipient. |
|
|
7 Tips For Getting Your Marketing Email Opened |
| author: Stefan Eyram |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 4/27/2005 |
There are many reasons to use email in your marketing mix and many marketers do. A recent edition of DoubleClick’s Consumer Email Study confirms that email marketing done well is effective and desired by consumers. A full 2 out of every 5 people surveyed said they wanted email to replace direct mail. Over half of these people would prefer email to replace telemarketing. In addition, just under half would like email to replace person-to-person sales calls.
The main reason for these feelings is likely the fact that email puts the power into the hands – or inboxes – of the individual. They can chose to read and respond if, and when, they prefer. They can also easily save information that is relevant and interesting, while being able to quickly filter out what they feel is a waste of their time.
With this power in the hands of your customers and prospects, how do you ensure your marketing email is received, read and responded to?
Read on for some valuable tips. |
|
|
Opened Email: The Key to Closing Sales |
| author: Brian Quinton |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 4/6/2005 |
Marketers are people too. That may be why, when they think of email, their thoughts so often center on the barriers to getting delivered. They fixate on CAN-SPAM compliance, and opt-in opportunities, and the filters that Internet service providers and email services like Hotmail set up to shield their users from illicit (or just unwanted) communications.
Emailers have to think about those hurdles, of course. But they should be equally focused on another type of filter: the “junk mail” folder in the recipient’s mind. Getting delivered is only the first step in the email marketing process. Getting opened is where the selling begins, and where your message has a chance to take hold and inspire action. If your email campaign doesn’t get opened, then merely making it past the filters is small consolation—and small help to your bottom line. |
|
|
Email Campaigns Are Plagued by Volume |
| author: Lisa Picarille |
| source: DestinationCRM |
| date : 2/25/2004 |
A new study reveals that average B2B email response rates are steadily dropping.
The report, "Building High Response E-Mail," from direct marketer Harte-Hanks, examines 2,626 permission-based email campaigns--more than 17 million messages--focused on B2B campaigns in the telecommunications and high-tech markets. |
|
|
Guess What? When an E-mail Marketing Campaign Goes Bad |
| author: Jeanne Jennings |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 4/24/2003 |
| It's happened to all of us at some point. You're marketing a new product or service for the first time. You use your best instincts and knowledge to develop a campaign strategy, identify targeted e-mail lists, set the offer, write the copy, and send. Despite your best efforts, the response is less than you anticipated. I can't tell you how to avoid the situation (wish I could, because then I'd really be in demand as a consultant!), but I can provide some tips for damage control both before and after the send. |
|
|
Goals, Benchmarks, and E-Mail Marketing Success |
| author: Al DiGuido |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 3/13/2003 |
| A big reason e-mail exploded in popularity as a marketing medium is marketers across the board are challenged to do more with less. That plays directly into e-mail's strengths. E-mail, especially when implemented as part of a multichannel marketing program, can deliver remarkable results cost-effectively. |
|
|
How to Optimize E-Mail List Growth, Part 2 |
| author: Jeanne Jennings |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/27/2003 |
| In my last column, we talked about conversion rate -- the percentage of Web site visitors who supply their e-mail addresses and opt in to receive e-mail from you. The next natural step is to look at the abandon rate on your registration page. |
|
|
Online Surveys, Part 3: Real-Life Tips and Tactics |
| author: Joanna Belbey and Karen Gedney |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/26/2003 |
We did our own informal survey of clients, colleagues, and ClickZ readers to research this three-part series on online surveys. For this final installment, we're going to do a brief rundown of some tested tips and tactics -- in survey form.
What Incentives Work to Get People to Complete a Survey?
|
|
|
Online Surveys, Part 2: Pump Up Your Results by E-Mail |
| author: Joanna Belbey and Karen Gedney |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/12/2003 |
Need to take your target market's pulse? As we mentioned in our last column, online surveys give marketing professionals a fast, easy, and effective tool for finding out what makes their audience tick.
Here's an illuminating case study that came our way. It proves great marketing research can be done on a small budget. |
|
|
How to Optimize E-Mail List Growth, Part 1 |
| author: Jeanne Jennings |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/30/2003 |
Seems everyone I talk to lately -- my consulting clients, prospective clients, colleagues, and acquaintances -- is looking to grow her in-house e-mail list. Thank goodness! A healthy and growing house list is one of the most valuable assets a business can have.
What surprises me is most organizations wanting to grow their lists focus on trying to drive more people to their Web sites. They ask about ads in e-mail newsletters, renting outside lists, and striking co-registration and partnership deals. They overlook the most critical key to list growth success: the effectiveness of their sign-up or registration processes. |
|
|
Online Surveys, Part 1: Instant Marketing Intelligence |
| author: Joanna Belbey and Karen Gedney |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/29/2003 |
What do your customers really want? Before online surveys, you could only guess... unless you wanted to invest in an expensive, full-fledged marketing survey.
Now, you can create that survey yourself, send it by e-mail, and begin receiving results just a few minutes after a recipient answers the last question. |
|
|
Auditing Your E-Mail Initiatives: Five Areas to Examine |
| author: Jeanne Jennings |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/2/2003 |
| I've always looked at the beginning of a new year as a chance for a fresh start. It's a good time to evaluate your marketing initiatives against your internal goals, external standards, and industry best practices. Then you can adjust where necessary to optimize your results. I do these checkups for clients (I call them "audits") all year round. Here are five of the most important areas I examine. |
|
|
The Four Basic Email Campaign Tests |
| author: Jared Blank |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 12/2/2002 |
| A major retailer recently introduced a new product. As part of the rollout, it decided email marketing was a suitable way to give customers an opportunity to purchase the item. Email, after all, is inexpensive compared to direct mail's considerably higher costs. With this in mind, the company created an email message and blasted it to a 2 million name house list. |
|
|
No Law of Averages |
| author: Jared Blank |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 11/18/2002 |
| Two years ago, the question I heard most from email marketing clients was, "What's the average click-through on an email campaign?" Today, the question I hear most from email marketing clients is, "What's the average click-through on an email campaign?" |
|
|
More E-Newsletter Metrics |
| author: Kathleen Goodwin |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 11/13/2002 |
| Many readers of my last column were interested in what tools and services are available for tracking the metrics discussed. I'm glad the question arose, because today I'll address this part of the e-newsletter strategy equation. Then, I'll tell you ways to get a system in place to measure your next newsletter. |
|
|
Seven Ways to Boost Conversion Rates |
| author: Bryan Eisenberg |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 9/13/2002 |
| In a recent column, I discussed relevance and its value as the most critical factor in the conversion mix. Today, I'll share with you seven practical tips you can use to boost your conversion rates. They happen to be the seven most common relevance problems we uncover for our new clients. |
|
|
How Open Rate Really Works |
| author: Edward Grossman |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 8/16/2002 |
| There's a lot of disagreement about what the thing called "open rate" actually measures and how it works. Obviously, at some basic level we all understand it purports to quantify the number of recipients who actually open our email. But what about text messages? How about the preview pane? What about a user who checks her email offline? |
|
|
Click-Through Déjà Vu |
| author: Jeffrey Graham |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 7/24/2002 |
| The online advertising industry gets more than its fair share of bad press. For years, mainstream and business media have been announcing the failure and imminent demise of all forms of online marketing. |
|
|
Test Versus Control, Part 3 |
| author: Mark Sakalosky |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 7/23/2002 |
| Just when you thought it was safe to go back to your inbox, "Test Versus Control" rears its ugly head again. Last month, I wrote a series on how customer data can be analyzed to optimize email campaigns ("Test Versus Control, Part 1" and "Test Versus Control, Part 2"). Thanks for all your positive comments. |
|
|
Test Versus Control, Part 2 |
| author: Mark Sakalosky |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 6/25/2002 |
| Two weeks ago, in Part one of this series, we discussed the important role test versus control methodology plays in email marketing and looked at an example of test versus control with a monthly e-newsletter. This week, I'll follow up with an example of test versus control with an email promotion. |
|
|
Test Versus Control, Part 1 |
| author: Mark Sakalosky |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 6/11/2002 |
| Our company advises a variety of clients on email marketing matters. When we speak with prospects for the first time, we are often asked to enlighten them by revealing the "best" way to send email. The simple answer is: Utilize personalization and customization as much and as frequently as possible to ensure information delivered to customers is relevant and useful. |
|
|
Performance-Based Testing: Avoid the Most Common Affiliate Mistake |
| author: Declan Dunn |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 5/31/2002 |
Psst... Do you test?
Everyone says they test. Do you?
Sure, it takes extra time, which you say you don't have. You stress, develop creative, throw it out to the millions, and start again, repeating the same old mistakes. That approach takes lots more time.
It's tiring for you and your customer.
|
|
|
Are You Watching Your ROI? |
| author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 5/13/2002 |
| Who's minding the mint when it comes to your email marketing dollars? This seems like such a basic concept, but many people using email may never have had to prove the bottom-line success of their marketing efforts -- especially if they are coming from the offline world and have been using true advertising in mass media (newsprint, magazines, billboards, TV, radio, you name it...). But this is one of the beautiful things about email. It is accountable. |
|
|
Response Metrics: How to Crunch the Numbers |
| author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/26/2002 |
Greetings! Many of you asked for industry standard numbers regarding email. Thanks to various people sharing and some research, we have numbers for you.
A caveat: You need to take into account many, many factors when you set a response number goal. Let me run down a list of some things you should take into consideration:
|
|
|
Response Metrics: How to Crunch the Numbers |
| author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/26/2002 |
Many of you asked for industry standard numbers regarding email. Thanks to various people sharing and some research, we have numbers for you.
A caveat: You need to take into account many, many factors when you set a response number goal. Let me run down a list of some things you should take into consideration: |
|
|
CPA Meets CPM: Is a Hybrid Deal Right for You? |
| author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/19/2002 |
| The last article I wrote delved into acquisition ideas and tips. Many readers sent feedback, saying they especially liked the idea of returning to a cost-per-thousand (CPM) list, offering a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) or cost-per-click (CPC) deal if the initial test didn't work out. |
|
|
SOURCE OF RESPONSE: Where are those clicks coming from? |
| author: Clint Symons |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 2/17/2002 |
| Advertisers are looking for ways to generate revenue every day. Opt-in email marketing has been a great resource in helping them accomplish these goals. A key reason is that opt-in email is direct and immediate while intimately expressing an advertisers offer. These assets are a vital part of the high response received through the opt-in email marketing methods. So…what would happen if an advertiser rented a list for opt-in email marketing, but then found that many of the responses to the offer were coming from non-email sources? |
|
|
Learning to Love the Open Rate |
| author: Tessa Wegert |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/7/2002 |
| With each new campaign, media buyers and planners continue to explore the possibilities of email marketing, analyzing how consumers react to and interact with this method of advertising. Every drop broadens our understanding of how to pique people's interest. We've learned a lot already, but if there's one thing we still need help with, it's elucidating for our clients the best ways to measure campaign results. If we're unable to do so effectively, then our days of experimenting with clients' ad budgets will be over. |
|
|
Conversion Rates? What Do You Track? |
| author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/15/2002 |
| Lynne took us back to basics last week, so, to follow through, I thought it would be fitting for us to consider how to measure your success after you've followed those AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) principles. We are going to look at reporting with a focus on conversion. The word "conversion" can have several meanings. In direct response, it's all about getting the targeted individual to take action on the offer you have put before her. Email is direct response marketing, so when you are trying to read the results of your campaigns, you probably look at conversions. To do this, you need to look at various data points and compare them to each other -- within a campaign and, in most cases, across campaigns or mailings. |
|
|
ALL I WANT IS CLICKS FOR CHRISTMAS: What place does the click have in today’s opt-in email market? |
| author: Rodney Much |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 12/12/2001 |
| There is no question that the click is a form of measurement in opt-in email marketing. Ever since it’s conception the marketing method has in many ways been resolve by advertisers a success or failure by the amount of clicks a campaign obtains. Of course advertisers, at least those who are savvy, recognize that the click is not the end all of campaign measurement and look to broaden the scope by defining other aspects that truly facilitate an email marketing endeavor. |
|
|
HOW TO HANDLE AN EMAIL MARKETING FAILURE |
| author: Clint Symons |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 12/12/2001 |
| When opt-in email campaigns go wildly wrong it is usually because of miscommunication between parties involved. Earlier this year Houndware, and industrial asset tracking company, experienced this problem first hand. |
|
|
RISK AND RESPONSE: Email marketing is no walk in the park |
| author: Jay Gibson |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 9/8/2001 |
| Back in the twentieth century there were only a handful of companies that provided opt-in email marketing for businesses. Lately email marketing companies have been coming out of the woodwork, but only to last a brief duration. Not even enough time to make a dent in the industry. |
|
|
Data Again? |
| author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 9/4/2001 |
| Data again? Don't run away. Come back here... I know it's not always a favorite topic for creative types, but believe me -- there is creativity in knowing what data you have and how to properly use it to accomplish marketing goals. |
|
|
Getting the Right Results |
| author: Brady Brewer |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 8/23/2001 |
| When engaging your customers with email marketing, or any other media, it's not just a matter of getting results; it's about getting the right results. Having a way to define which responses are most important to achieving your objectives and then optimizing your campaigns based on their relative performance over time should be the cornerstone of any email marketing strategy. |
|
|
Tidbits of Data Can Become Megabytes of Info |
| author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 8/21/2001 |
| You can imagine the increase in email messages in my inbox since I began writing this column. How do you make your message stand out to someone like me who is being nearly overwhelmed by email -- and other types of sales messages? |
|
|
CAMPAIGN BOMB: AN OPT-IN E-MAIL FAILURE |
| author: Clint Symons |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 7/8/2001 |
| Fortunately for Opt-in News we have the ability to barter much of our advertising when looking to self promote our web site and services. Recently we ran an opt-in e-mail campaign geared towards advertisers and media planners and were shocked when we discovered the results. |
|
|
DEFINING THE CPM FOR EMAIL MARKETING: Cost per thousand or can’t prove membership? |
| author: Clint Symons |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 5/30/2001 |
| Unfortunately no protocol exists to guarantee inventory, deployment and of course results with email marketing, while purchasing lists through brokers, providers or publishers. Whenever a buyer must outsource email-marketing solutions there is an element of trust that must be factored into the overall equation, due to the absence of any governed body monitoring the legitimacy of this aspect within the industry. |
|
|
IS EMAIL MARKETING A SERVICE OR A RISK?: Accurate measurement should define permission email marketing as a service |
| author: Clint Symons |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 4/30/2001 |
| We have all either heard or experienced first hand the success of email marketing. It is difficult to argue that the medium out performs conventional advertising in all aspects imaginable. If used correctly opt-in email may be direct and personal, produce immediate and measurable results, initiate branding and acquisition while harnessing user interaction. But even with all of the proven benefits many advertisers have yet to engage in this practice. One good reason may be the lack of faith shown by publishers when requiring CPM pricing methods. |
|
|
OPT-IN EMAIL MARKETERS BLACK CLOUD: Why high click-through response expectations continue to plague an industry |
| author: Clint Symons |
| source: Opt-in News |
| date : 4/16/2001 |
| As the publisher of Opt-in News I'm in a unique position that allows me to converse frequently with both email marketers and media buyers. Strangely enough, the most popular topic of these conversations is not privacy or investment return, but that of the CTR. Email marketers feel mustering a 2 to 5 percent response should not only mollify an advertiser, but also prepare them for yet another campaign. Media Buyers, however, seem displeased with this rate of response even though it notably surpasses virtually any other manner of marketing available. |
|
|
Getting Optimal Results From Email Marketing |
| author: Brady Brewer |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 11/28/2000 |
| When engaging your customers with email marketing, or any other media, it's not just a matter of getting results; it's about getting the right results. Having a way to define which responses are most important to achieving your objectives and then optimizing your campaigns based on their relative performance over time should be the cornerstone of any email marketing strategy. |
|
|
How Do You Measure Success? |
| author: Kim MacPherson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 11/27/2000 |
| Imagine this: You've just sent out a large email promotion and are reading your preliminary results. Looks like the campaign will ultimately garner a 10 percent response (click-through) rate. Think that's cause for celebration? Think again, because perhaps it's not. |
|
|
Measuring Email Marketing Success |
| author: Jeffrey Graham |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 10/25/1999 |
| One of the core principles of marketing is efficiency. You can spend money, but you don't want to waste it. Missing your target, sending the wrong message, or otherwise not connecting with the consumer is bad business. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home | Company | Account | Sitemap | Events | Resources | Email Marketing Best Practices |
|
|
|
|
© 2002-2006 Email Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved |
|
