Check out the benefits of subscribing Best Practices : Email Marketing How Email Became a Direct-Marketing Rock Star in Recession author: Natalie Zmuda source: AdAge date : 5/11/2009 It's likely the least sexy tool in your marketing arsenal, but it could be the one that delivers real results. E-mail has emerged as a recession darling, as retailers look to proven programs that are cost-effective and results-oriented. That's led to increasing investment in technologies that better target customers and serve up more enticing messages. Taking Transactional Email to Market author: Matthew Vernhout source: One Degree date : 5/21/2008 If you conduct any type of ecommerce, you likely send email to your customers to confirm purchases or account modifications that they have made. But how can you use these emails as an opportunity for promotion while remaining respectful of your customers? First – Keep in mind that there are two major types of email – commercial and transactional. Commercial email has one purpose: promoting a brand, product/service or cause. Second – Transactional-focused emails are far more complex. Most commonly, transactional emails are used to: An Unsubscribe Alternative author: MindComet source: EmailMarketingVoodoo.com date : 5/13/2008 It's pretty much a standard practice to always include an "Update Your Preferences" and "Unsubscribe" link in every single email you send out. I, like most users, usually click on unsubscribe links more often than update your preferences links... and it's usually due to one of two things: irrelevant information or my inbox is being inundated, with way too many messages being sent my way from one company. But there is an alternative to offer: an "email me less frequently" option. This will lower your overall send totals, but it will retain your house list size. J. Crew does it. They do it well, too. The page below comes up when a user... Opt-in Email Best Practices author: Morgan Stewart source: MediaPost date : 4/30/2008 The idea of sending an opt-in (or “re-opt-in”) campaign to subscribers to verify email permission is not new, but interest in these campaigns is increasing. Over time, a portion of your email list will become unengaged — which has several negative effects. Unengaged subscribers result in lower response rates and wasted marketing dollars. Re-opt-in campaigns are useful for cleaning old or unengaged subscribers off your list by confirming which subscribers want to continue receiving marketing emails. This results in a healthier list and increased return on investment. We’ve worked with email marketing companies on these types of campaigns, helping to conduct tests on different tactics to define some clear best practices. Here are the key ones we have developed for these email messages: Mobile Email Marketing Tips author: Stefan Pollard source: EmailLabs date : 3/25/2008 The future of email marketing is here, and it's in your customers' hands. Email marketing on mobile phones has been hovering like either fate or opportunity, depending on how you view it. Maybe you've embraced it already, because your customers are a mobile bunch. Or, maybe you think it's something you'll think about tomorrow, like Scarlett O'Hara. Just a few years ago, the mobile Web was something that only the folks out on the bleeding edge of technology had to deal with. The iPhone, introduced in 2007, and other breeds of smart phones, have now put the Web squarely in millions of people's hands. According to the Pew Internet Project, "58% of adult Americans have used a cell phone or personal digital assistant to do at least one of ten mobile non-voice data activities, such as texting, emailing, taking a picture, looking for maps or directions, or recording video." Mobile's biggest challenge will be... The Opportunities and Threats of Transactional Emails author: Ken Magill source: Direct Magazine date : 12/18/2007 As a growing number of marketers take advantage of the opportunities presented in transactional emails, one expert is sounding a note of caution. Yes, order confirmations, account statements, and product-and-service updates get clicked on more often than other types of email and as a result present an opportunity to do a little extra selling, said Stephanie Miller, vice president, strategic services for deliverability concern Return Path. But there are rules governing the use of sales pitches in transactional emails and marketers who over-sell in them run the risk of drawing the attention of the FTC. If an email's primary purpose is determined to be commercial, then it falls under Can Spam and requires the sender to give the receiver an opt-out mechanism. “Transactional emails present a huge opportunity. An order confirmation is... Your Unsubscribe Handling is Probably Lame author: Ken Magill source: Direct Magazine date : 12/11/2007 The vast majority of permission-based email marketers miss huge opportunities in the way they handle opt-out requests, according to a new study. While 96% of email marketers include an unsubscribe function in their promotional emails as required by federal law, almost two thirds said they use methods to discourage opt outs, such as putting unsubscribe language in tiny type or hiding it, according to a survey of more than 400 email marketers by marketing services provider Lyris. “Marketers are clearly complying with the law here,” said Stefan Pollard, director of email marketing best practices for Lyris HQ. “But they still think of unsubscribing as a negative action. ‘This person doesn’t want my email so I won’t talk to them anymore.’” However... When Good Companies Do Bad Things author: Bill McCloskey source: MediaPost date : 11/28/2007 It never ceases to amaze me what a poor job some larger companies do when it comes to their email marketing programs. I’m not talking about small companies that — perhaps — don’t have the time and resources to do it right. I’m talking really big companies that destroy their email brand equity every time they hit “send.” More Tools For Email Marketers author: Melinda Krueger source: MediaPost date : 11/27/2007 Smart people had many additional suggestions in response to my last column, about applications that make email marketers’ lives easier. The Email Diva has not included ESP and Deliverability offerings, as it would be too difficult to be both inclusive and impartial. This list includes tools to be used in addition to ESP and Delivery offerings, with priority given to the fabulous bargain. Let the helpful suggestions begin! Protecting your email image author: Mark J. Miller source: B2B Magazine date : 11/26/2007 Your email box is constantly filling up with unsolicited junk emails. At the end of October, Chris Anderson, the editor in chief of Wired magazine, decided to do something about it. He took every email address from which he had received unsolicited or irrelevant email in the previous month and published it on his blog, thelongtail.com. As open rates and click-through rates decline, managing email has become more and more important for direct marketers. So one wonders how to avoid getting on such a list as Anderson's? Tools for Email Marketers author: Melinda Krueger source: MediaPost date : 11/20/2007 Last week I used SnagIt for the thousandth time and was introduced to Basecamp. It got me thinking about all the cool tools eMarketers love and love to evangelize. So, in this season of being thankful and making gift lists, I asked my colleagues to share the fabulous apps that make their lives easier. Coincidentally, most of these tools are free or low-cost. Things To Talk About In The Email Marketing Space author: David Baker source: MediaPost date : 11/19/2007 Your daily schedule probably rarely allows you to read more than a headline or two. If you are some of the lucky email marketers, you may have time to read a few newsletters, industry briefs and possibly belong to a few lists that talk about email marketing a lot and maybe attend a webinar. So, this column will focus on what everyone’s talking about — not solutions, but issues that are buzzing in the email space. Let’s start with a recount of some of the “Classic Mistakes of 2005.” After speaking at nine events this year, writing over 3,500 words for publication in 2007, another 1,000 on my blog, here are the top three topics that come to mind when I think of 2007: Value of an email address. Choosing an ESP. Tactics, tactics, tactics. The Forgotten Pages Of Email Marketing author: Chad White source: MediaPost date : 11/15/2007 Let’s have a moment of silence for the forgotten pages of email marketing, those lonely and neglected pages that haven’t been updated in two years or more or –gasp! — haven’t been altered from the default template set by the vendor. These sad pages and trigger emails include: Protecting email lists internally important author: Mark J. Miller source: B2B Magazine date : 11/8/2007 Email continues to grow rapidly as a source for retaining and gaining circulation, but there's a very big problem: email abuse. It seems every department in a publishing company has a product that it's trying to market via email; that results in a glut of emails from the same company, which eventually leads consumers to opt out. Audience marketers are trying to figure out how to avoid killing the golden goose. How can a circulator protect the company list from internal abuse? "Beg, cajole, plead, threaten, anything that works," said Deb Walsh, director of audience development at IDG's Cambridge Bio Collaborative. What works for some companies is establishing total control over emails from one source. The Achilles’ Heel Of The Email Marketing Industry author: Chad White source: MediaPost date : 11/1/2007 The DMA 07 conference last month was an eye-opener for me, with a few events coming together to convince me of something undeniable in the email marketing space. First, in the lead-up to the show, the Email Experience Council collected questions from our members and subscribers for the Wall of Questions at our booth. We posted 11 questions and rounded up more than a dozen email experts at the show to answer the questions, which we posted on the EEC blog after the conference. The questions were great, but most of them were what long-time emailers would call “basic,” with some predictably looking for that elusive silver bullet answer. Acquisition, Activation, Cultivation And Conversion author: David Baker source: MediaPost date : 10/29/2007 This is a common sales lifecycle for most marketers from a business perspective. A closer look at today's definitions of these categories shows that some have changed from past seasons. - Acquisition - Activation - Cultivation - Conversion Six Strategies to Make Your Newsletters Work Harder author: Martin Reilly and Deb Rapacz source: MarketingProfs.com date : 6/5/2007 Brands that deliver general interest newsletters filled with tips, tools, and advice—but not unique brand-differentiating content—should rethink their approach. Many brands originally expect that engaging with customers and delivering basic newsletters will create warm and fuzzy feelings that are enough to generate a positive ROI. Most are disappointed with their results. Progressive brands are making advances in their approach, tightening the focus of their relationship marketing, and now filling newsletters with more unique-to-the-brand content. Here are six forward-looking strategies to make your newsletter and other relationship-building communications work harder. 7 Steps for Improving Your Email Marketing author: Michael Fleischner source: DomainInformer date : 12/20/2006 The success of your email marketing campaign is often based on a set of complex factors. However, a number of these issues can be proactively managed to ensure an optimized response. When developing your next email campaign, consider the following guidelines. Tips For Effective Email Marketing author: Robert Burko source: The Work At Home Guide date : 12/20/2006 Over the past few years, research has continued to prove the benefits of e-mail marketing for business: low costs, high conversion rates and detailed tracking are all notable features. But e-mail marketing is becoming much more than just a tool for spammers and e-businesses. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy on the differences between spam and permission-based emails, and more and more of them are accepting permission-based e-mail marketing as a positive replacement for direct mail. The best news is that the majority of people who receive permission-based e-mails open, on average, 78% of them. Jupiter Research reports... The 5 Cardinal Sins of Email Marketing author: Robert Burko source: Online Earnings date : 12/1/2006 One of the most frequent questions my customers ask me is "What should I do to make sure my email marketing campaign is a success?" My answer is always different, depending on the client's industry, campaign goal, and many other factors. But in today's e-marketing landscape, there are a few pointers that stand true for any client, a few things that can really make or break an email campaign. You could overlook these, and you'll still have an email campaign. But if you're stuck wondering why your email messages are yielding little to no response, you may want to take a closer look and consider if you're commiting any of these 5 email marketing sins: The 5 Biggest Email Brand-Killers author: Stefan Pollard source: EmailLabs date : 9/1/2006 One of the greatest crimes you can commit with email is using it like an electronic version of your other direct-marketing media, such as catalogs, postal mailers, radio/TV, even brochures and newspaper inserts. A world-class brand-builder can morph into a sure-fire brand-killer if you mistreat it through carelessness, ignorance or laziness. This brand-killing capability is closely tied to email's unique relationship with its recipients. It's more personal, perhaps because of the more intimate relationship between the reader and his computer. This intimacy encourages positive or negative feelings generated by your email to transfer to your brand. Yes, people can complain about the junk mail they get, but they don't get as agitated about it as they do about junk email. And, the penalties are much stiffer for email. Asking the Direct Marketing Association to get taken off print mailing lists won't snowball into an entire shutdown of that marketing channel the way spam complaints can shut down your email program. You can see email's tremendous utility in building brands, from its low cost to its flexibility, a near-universal adoption and ability to create one-on-one relationships with a million buyers or more. Now it's time to look at the top five actions that turn this brand-builder into the Godzilla of all brand-killers: Emailers Call For AOL, Yahoo! to Follow Microsoft's Lead author: Ken Magill source: Direct Magazine date : 8/8/2006 Now that Microsoft has added an unsubscribe button to its email user interface, marketers are calling for other Internet service providers—especially Yahoo! and AOL— to follow suit. Microsoft last week became the first email box provider to answer email marketers’ calls to include an unsubscribe button in its interface so consumers will be less likely to mistakenly report permission-based commercial email as spam. “We hope that all ISPs follow suit and we get to a level of accountability that is consistent across the Internet,” said Ben Isaacson, privacy and compliance leader for email service provider Cheetahmail’s parent Experian. More... AOL to Customers and Mailers: And You Are? author: KEN MAGILL source: Direct Magazine date : 7/1/2006 IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING April — the most recent period for which figures are available — AOL lost subscribers at a clip of 258,000 a month. That's two…hundred…fifty…eight…thousand…a…month. This company loses the equivalent of Louisville, KY every four weeks. So what does AOL do with the subs who remain? It blatantly treats them as a commodity to be exploited — which is, after all, what they are, but does AOL have to be so stupid about it? Last month, for the first time in its history, the Web portal began serving banner ads along with email to paid subscribers. These aren't just the non-intrusive ads that people are accustomed to seeing with free services, such as Google's Gmail. Oh, no. These are big, flashing banners that take up a third of what once was message space. DMers Losing Interest in AOL Addresses author: Ken Magill source: Direct Magazine date : 7/1/2006 If AOL wants legitimate marketers to avoid contacting its subscribers, the plan is starting to work. Emailers are preparing for a serious drop in performance of AOL addresses, and some have abandoned mailing to them altogether. The banner ads AOL recently began inserting at the bottom of paid subscribers' email have cut the viewing area by a third, making the addresses even less enticing to mailers than they already were. Moreover, the attention-diverting banners now compete with whatever is in the message — usually a series of broken links and graphics — because AOL 9.0 now blocks HTML. Not surprisingly, some subscribers are up in arms about this move. At the same time, some marketing consultants are counseling their clients to consider suppressing AOL addresses, which can make up 20% of a consumer file. Email Marketing Myth #4: Email Requires Innovation Independence author: Michael Della Penna source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 6/30/2006 For many years email marketers were an organization's designated renegades. While corporate marketing built the brand, these small groups of interactive pioneers did their "email thing" – building innovative marketing, service, and lifecycle communications around customer needs. They were often silent about their efforts but deadly with their results, growing customer relationships and driving marketing ROI at an incredible rate. Over time word spread, and the power of email was increasingly recognized as a key component of the marketing mix. As a result, these organizations are undergoing a significant shift in how they organize, plan, and execute their marketing programs; email is no longer a silo. According to a survey by Epsilon and Gfk NOP of 175 marketers, more than 70% of marketing decision-makers and influencers indicated that the same person controls their interactive and traditional budgets. Integrated marketing is now practiced by an integrated marketing organization. (In addition more than 70% of marketers surveyed indicated that their organizations currently practice cross-channel integrated marketing.) Is Gmail Feeding Your Customers to the Competition? author: Ken Magill source: Direct Magazine date : 6/27/2006 An as-yet little-noticed aspect of Google's free email service is becoming increasingly troubling to marketers and will become more so as the service grows. The problem: Gmail serves text ads based on words in the email's content. Also, the service blocks HTML by default so graphics don’t appear in the email unless the recipient clicks a link that says "display images below" or one that says "always display images from" the sender. As a result, whenever a marketer mails an offer or even a simple newsletter to a customer who is a Gmail subscriber, unless the subscriber has specifically requested that images from that marketer be shown, the message will appear with broken graphics, and quite possibly links to offers from competitors running down the right side of the screen. Harry Rosen’s Evolving Email Strategy author: Ken Schafer source: One Degree date : 6/4/2006 As Internet marketers we live either in the now or slightly in the future (ever ask your neighbour about feeds, podcasts or YouTube?). With that in mind I thought it might be nice to look at the progress on online retailer - Harry Rosen has made in emailing their customer list. Here we see an email sent from my wonderfully named salesperson Barby Ginsberg back in September 2002: Besides being text only and using non-trackable links, the message has a lot of quirks that caused me to use it as an example of what not to do when teaching e-marketing courses. Email Pros Call For Restraint, Greater Coordination author: Erik Sass source: MediaPost date : 5/24/2006 EMAIL MARKETERS who don't want to alienate their audience must have tight control over their organizations and carefully coordinate all the different kinds of email contact they make with customers to avoid pestering or overwhelming them, according to a panel of leading execs who discussed the subject on the second day of MediaPost's "Email Insider Summit" here. Andy Goldman, associate director of email marketing for OgilvyOne Worldwide, paid particular attention to what he called the "cadence and spacing" of email communications. "One of the things we look at with all our clients is the actual email cadence across multiple campaigns so when you touch people," he said, "and the way you touch people is spaced so that those individual brand messages are given their due right to make impact." E-Mail Marketers: Customers Tell You What They Want author: Katie Cole, Ph.D. source: Chief Marketer date : 5/21/2006 What do favorable brand perceptions, trust, and relevance all have in common? They were all found to be the most effective email marketing tactics for eliciting a favorable response, according to consumer responses to our fifth annual View from the Inbox survey of 2,500 consumers. For the survey, consumers were asked to rank how likely they would be to respond to various email marketing tactics. "Response" was defined as clicking on the links within the email message to take further action, such as make a transaction, register for a Website, or access more information. We found that effective tactics in email have... Email Marketing’s Top Tactic author: Stefan Eyram source: One Degree date : 5/15/2006 One of the most common questions I get asked about email marketing is "What are the industry average open and click-through rates?" If you ask ten industry experts you are likely to get ten different answers. What's the right answer? "It depends." That's also the right answer for many other email-related questions like: -What's the best day and time to send email? -What's the best type of offer to send? -How often should I send email? The specific answers to these questions will vary depending on your industry, who your best customers are, what your marketing objectives are and many other variables. So how do you get the answers to your questions? Email Confirmations Could Be A Gold Mine author: Stefan Eyram source: One Degree date : 5/10/2006 Lately I have signed up for a few new email lists and even made some online purchases from companies I have not dealt with before. What never ceases to amaze me is how many of these companies (almost all in this case) drop the ball when it comes to their confirmation email. I am surprised at how many of these confirmation messages arrive in my inbox - some right away (great) and some many hours, or days, later (bad) - and are just form text messages that everyone else gets. Wake up marketers, you are missing the boat! There’s a potential gold mine waiting to be uncovered here. Inbox Providers Push the Email List-Hygiene Issue author: Ken Magill source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 5/3/2006 Though email's low cost has led to some infamously sloppy list practices, inbox providers are increasingly taking steps that will force marketers to clean their lists or face getting their campaigns blocked. Microsoft, for example, turns abandoned Hotmail accounts into spam traps—e-mail addresses used to catch senders of unsolicited bulk e-mail in the act. Abandoned-address spam traps are a twist on the original spam trap, the honey pot, or a decoy address that has never been used by anyone, making any email that arrives in that address, by definition, spam. Marketers who mail to honey-pot addresses cannot claim they have permission from subscribers to do so. "If you hit a honey-pot address, you’re screwed," says Ben Isaacson, privacy and compliance leader for CheetahMail, an Experian company. "It means you're going to get blacklisted right away." 8 Email Marketing Tips author: Carol Ellison source: DestinationCRM date : 5/1/2006 Experts provide commonsense advice about 'one of the most powerful and yet one of the most dangerous mediums of communication.' Should You Ask People To Unsubscribe? author: Ken Schafer source: One Degree date : 4/19/2006 As part of the enhancements we've been doing to One Degree to celebrate our first anniversary we've moved to a new outbound email system. Our intention from Day One was to provide daily email alerts but we never had a nicely automated (and cost effective) way to do this. We added Feedblitz to the site a few weeks ago and the uptake and feedback from new subscribers has been great. But we still have a load of subscribers from the past year who came to expect a weekly email digest rather than an overnight push of links to all posts from the previous day. What to do, what to do. Well... Don't Tell Me There's Nothing New author: Ken Schafer source: One Degree date : 4/17/2006 Let me share a current pet peeve with you in the hopes that you can avoid doing the same to your gentle readers (and maybe we can get the Globe & Mail to fix this for me). I like getting the Daily Tech Alert e-mail update that the Globe and Mail sends out each week day. At left you see a bit of a recent issue of the newsletter. Good content. Well laid out. So what's the problem? Well, this is the April 11th edition of the daily tech alert. Why on earth are they pointing me to articles that are almost a month old? Suppression Oppression author: Tami Monahan Forman source: Return Path date : 4/17/2006 Spammers have negatively influenced email in lots of ways, with one of the most visible being the need for image suppression. There is no question that the average consumer prefers pretty, graphically-enhanced email over the boring, plain text versions. But there is also no question that the average consumer prefers that pictures with "adult" themes don’t accidentally pop up while at the office or in front of impressionable kids. The ISPs have combated this problem by suppressing graphics -- essentially treating all images as potentially problematic. (Thank you, Mr. Spam.) Despite how widespread this practice has become, few marketers really think about how image suppression affects their email program. They should. Why? Three reasons: Solicit Post-purchase Reviews author: Ken Schafer source: One Degree date : 3/30/2006 Here's a bright idea courtesy of Apple. When I recently purchased some songs via iTunes my email receipt came with a link asking me to review one of the tracks. I’m always surprised that sites (particularly commerce sites) don’t make better use of email and “thank you” pages to get customers more involved in the community aspects of their services. Sorry RSS, Email Is Here To Stay author: Jennifer Evans source: One Degree date : 3/30/2006 "Video killed the radio star..." That wasn't only the first video played on MTV, it's also wrong. It seems that throughout history whenever a new medium for communication arrives, the death knell for the previous is sounded. Movies meant the death of radio, TV meant the death of both radio and film, and the Internet meant the end of everything. Lately, the death knell has been sounding for email. Email for personal communication is unlikely to be replaced. How we read that email and on what kinds of devices: that is anyone's guess. But business email is also unlikely to be completely replaced by technologies such as RSS. Why? Read on... What are the biggest challenges facing email marketers today? author: Chip House source: Chip's Deliverability Tips date : 3/28/2006 Email deliverability is a topic that is at the top of everyone's mind. 5 years ago most people were asking me about how to best format their email, or write copy, subject lines or calls to action. Today many are just trying to make it to the inbox. The discipline is getting more complex. You now have CAN-SPAM in the USA, PIPEDA in Canada and the EU Privacy Directive to think about, and may have to take steps to make sure your program is compliant. The story is the same on the technical front... The Email Marketing Success Forecast author: Jeanniey Mullen source: Clickz date : 3/20/2006 As the end of the first quarter draws near, it's time to review your email efforts to determine if you're still on the road to success. Though sales and response rates are key indicators to how well your program is performing, there are 12 critical areas where you can rate your program's effectiveness to forecast how well you can expect the rest of the year to go. Will your email efforts succeed in 2006? Find out by answering these questions for your organization's programs, then answer them for your top two competitors. Comparing results will offer some clear direction of how the rest of 2006 should be managed. 5 Questions For Francois Lane, NewsletterArchive author: Ken Schafer source: One Degree date : 3/17/2006 Francois Lane is a Montreal-based Internet entrepreneur. Since 1996, he has spearheaded a number of projects in the French Canadian market, including an e-commerce store for computer equipment, a blog application, a networked community service, a viral contest website, and Web hosting and email marketing services. NewsletterArchive.org is Francois’s first venture to target a global audience. How to Avoid Getting Stuck in an Email Marketing Rut author: Karen J. Bannan source: B2B Magazine date : 3/16/2006 Marketers that sent out email on Fridays experienced the highest open rates, according to the 2005 Response Rate study released this week by Indianapolis-based email service provider ExactTarget. Still, Morgan Stewart, the company’s director of strategic services, warns marketers against sticking with a single day for sending out email marketing messages. “We get into ruts and get comfortable, and let our email programs be run by tactically oriented folks,” he said. “Email marketing is still a moving target, something that needs to be looked at and tested consistently.” Day and time aren’t the only things that can become stale if left alone too long. Here are some of the variables that get marketers into ruts, according to Stewart, along with advice on how you can bust out of them. This Just In - AOL In Business for Money author: Staff source: Direct Magazine date : 3/14/2006 Of all the criticisms of AOL’s implementation of Goodmail’s CertifiedEmail system, that the deal is solely aimed at making money is lamest. You mean AOL is in business for profit? Who knew? Rich Ord, CEO of online business-to-business publishing concern iEntry, apparently figured this out. He wrote recently on WebProNews: “AOL touts this new partnership as helping their members stamp out spam. Of course this is a complete and utter falsehood. The Goodmail system actually will ensure that sponsor emails hit the top of the inbox. It doesn’t mean these advertisers are spamming but who else is going to pay but advertisers and corporations. Sure, the AOL member probably opted in at some point ... but now at AOL the advertiser message is going to take priority.” 10 Quick Wins for Email Marketing author: Barry Stamos source: iMedia Connection date : 3/13/2006 Take your email marketing programs to the next level in 2006 by following this advice for added ROI. Data Held Hostage author: Al DiGuido source: Clickz date : 3/9/2006 Never before has there been a more important time for organizations of all sizes to understand the power inherent in customer databases and e-mail communications. There's renewed passion in marketing departments to better understand each customer touch point and the opportunity to capture behavioral and transactional data. Data must be used as the backbone for constructing a more contextually relevant, meaningful, and cost-efficient dialogue between marketer and customer. Access to and manipulation of this data to retain and grow existing customer relationships, attract new customers, and win back lost or inactive customers are essential to a profitable future for any company. 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. Bright Ideas: Online shoppers want more power to choose—the web invents new ways to serve it up author: Mary Wagner source: Internet Retailer date : 3/1/2006 Smart marketers have always known that the customer is king, but a look at what’s on the drawing board and entering the marketplace at technology developers suggests online retailers will soon have even more new ways to give shoppers royal treatment. The theme of shopper empowerment characterizes much of what’s currently on the minds and in the labs of developers and the online marketers they target. Providers are reworking technology initially deployed in other sectors or available only to site operators on the backend and rolling it out directly to the consumer web interface. They’re figuring out new ways to segment online content according to consumers’ preferences and deliver it in richer formats. It’s all geared toward an improved shopping experience—and improved sales. What to Test… and What Not to Test author: Jeanne Jennings source: Clickz date : 2/27/2006 I'm a huge fan of testing when you send e-mail. It's the best way to continually improve metrics and optimize your efforts. That said, not everything warrants an A/B split test. Here are a few scenarios I've come across with clients recently, along with my test/don't test advice. Email 101: 4 Tips for Keeping Customers author: Tricia Robinson source: iMedia Connection date : 2/27/2006 Customer satisfaction is the driving factor in your retention efforts. Since retained customers spend more money per sale, buy more frequently, refer others and cost less per sale, all evidence points towards the importance of keeping your customers happy. In a tight economy, there is constant pressure to grow and sell more. With this emphasis on increasing revenue, sometimes the fundamentals of building strong customer relationships are forgotten. Email is one of the best ways to retain customers and increase customer satisfaction because it establishes personal, useful and timely communication. Marketers are starting to realize that when used correctly, email can save you time, money and most importantly, customers. Here are some tips for getting started with your email program: Setting Objectives for Dynamic E-Mail Campaigns author: Derek Harding source: Clickz date : 2/23/2006 Once you establish that you have a platform capable of delivering a dynamic campaign, you must define your objectives. As I said in my dynamic messaging survival guide, dynamic programs require much more preparation and upfront quality control than traditional campaigns. Dynamic messaging opens up a whole new world of opportunity in which the possibilities are virtually endless. It's easy to get carried away. Yet marketing campaigns must meet and support business objectives. If they don't, they have no value. Clear objectives must be defined and kept in sight throughout the development process. They're a vital sounding board for determining what is and isn't worth implementing. They're the ultimate sanity check that keeps the project on track. My E-Newsletter Malfunction author: Karen Gedney source: Clickz date : 2/22/2006 OK, it wasn't quite as embarrassing as Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe debacle. But do I wish I'd taken a moment to think before clicking "send!" Here's what happened. As some of you know, I recently launched my own e-newsletter, and it's been a great success. I've gotten five or six big new clients as a result, and a lot of people seem to appreciate getting it. So when issue three was ready to go, I viewed it on the preview screen and it looked terrific. I briefly thought about sending a test e-mail but said to myself, "Nah, it's fine." Famous last words... Every Company Should Have a Newsletter author: G. Simms Jenkins source: iMedia Connection date : 2/21/2006 BrightWave Marketing Founder G. Simms Jenkins covers keys to creating or reviewing your email newsletters. Email newsletters generally feel like a necessary evil for most marketing teams that produce them. Yes, they generally take longer to produce, are more labor intensive and perhaps most importantly don't generate the specific ROI that more promotional emails achieve. Why should you utilize e-newsletters? Calculate The Value Of An E-mail Address author: David Baker source: MediaPost date : 2/20/2006 With the help of one of my guru analysts, I will share an elegant formula to help you establish the financial value of an e-mail subscriber over a given period. Email Marketing Is Back author: David H. Martin source: Water Tech Online date : 2/14/2006 If you thought e-mail marketing would only annoy customers who think it is “spam,” think again. The increased use and sophistication of available spam-blocking software has helped e-mail users more easily identify and accept legitimate opt-in messages than even two years ago. Notwithstanding all the negative publicity over “spamming,” people have become much more comfortable with the e-mail medium because it provides them with benefits. Marketers are using e-mail for new-product announcements, press releases, special offers, product discounts, order confirmations, newsletters and a host of other applications. Get Customers to Open Your Email author: Entrepreneur.com source: The Street.com date : 2/13/2006 Ask the majority of small-business owners, and they'll tell you the one tool they can't live without is email. In fact, with its extremely low cost of implementation and quick turnaround time on campaigns, email marketing is becoming the customer-retention tool of choice for entrepreneurs nationwide. Just as with any other new marketing tactic, email marketing may take a bit of time to master. If you've tried email and had less-than-stellar results, there are a number of important steps you can take to improve your ROI. And if you're just learning about email marketing, it's critical to understand the elements that can make or break your campaign. For superior results, be sure to follow these four important tips. Charge Emailers, but Keep Pipeline Open author: Rob Pegoraro source: BizReport date : 2/10/2006 Executives at telecom giants such as AT&T and Verizon Communications are talking up the idea of inviting popular Web sites and services to pay extra for better access to their lines -- and some are going further, suggesting that they would demand compensation from the likes of Google and Yahoo for all the bits they send down their lines. Yahoo and America Online, meanwhile, are rolling out plans to charge companies that send large quantities of email to their users. Those proposed tolls and fees are not the sort that consumers would pay. At first, and maybe for good, the fees would not inflate or deflate the monthly telecom bill at all. Goodmail CEO on the AOL Deal and More author: Tim Parry source: Chief Marketer date : 2/10/2006 Richard Gingras says he suddenly knows what it's like to be a politician or a celebrity. The cofounder/CEO of Goodmail Systems says he's only trying to help commercial bulk emailers attain higher open rates while allowing consumers to once again trust that the emails they receive are from the stated recipient. But after AOL announced on Jan. 30 that it had started using Goodmail’s CertifiedEmail service, Gingras says he's seen a lot of misleading information in the media. "It's kind of tough to read about yourself in a bad manner every day," Gingras says. "Somehow, no matter how we try to explain the service, the correct message does not get through." Email Executives Back AOL-Goodmail Deal author: Ken Magill source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 2/8/2006 After an initial outcry over AOL’s announcement that it was implementing Goodmail’s CertifiedEmail program (“AOL-Goodmail Deal Called Money Grab”), some prominent email marketing executives have come out in favor of the deal. AOL announced on Jan. 30 that it was implementing Goodmail’s certified email service. Under the plan, AOL will charge senders a fraction of a cent per email to guarantee that their messages are delivered with graphics and links intact. AOL-Goodmail Deal Called Money Grab author: Ken Magill source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 2/6/2006 AOL's announcement that it would begin implementing Goodmail's CertifiedEmail program is being denounced by at least one top industry executive as a cynical attempt to get more money out of nonspamming marketers. Currently AOL blocks graphics and links on most bulk email unless the sender is on AOL’s whitelist. Beginning this week, however, AOL said it would allow senders who have gone through an accreditation process with Goodmail to display images and hyperlinks by default for a fraction of a cent per message. AOL said it will also add a “trust” symbol that will appear in the display window so that recipients know the message has been verified as from a sender with a good reputation. Top 10 E-mail Newsletter Mistakes That (Nearly) Everyone Makes author: Anne Holland source: Chief Marketer date : 2/6/2006 Bad news: 38% of consumers surveyed last summer defined spam as "email that tries to sell me a product/service even if I know the sender." In other words, even if someone is your customer, he’s likely to consider you a spammer if you send him a sales alert or other offer pitch. But the good news is that consumers and business execs alike are signing up to receive email newsletters in thrillingly high numbers. In fact, in 2005 the average email opt-in list grew at a rate equaling 38.4% a year (yes, that's after the bad addresses and unsubscribes are taken out). You've got two action items to take away from this information: Top 10 Email Marketing Must-Dos author: Jim Herbold source: iMedia Connection date : 2/6/2006 Leveraging our experience working with hundreds of email marketers across several industries and reviewing the major email developments of 2005, EmailLabs has developed a list of the top 10 email marketing must-dos for marketers to rev up their email programs in 2006. Three Approaches to E-Mail Best Practices author: Jeanniey Mullen source: Clickz date : 2/6/2006 If you're on the service or strategy side of e-mail marketing, you most likely cringe every time a client or colleague nonchalantly asks for some standard e-mail best practices. You just don't know what she's looking for. At these times, you must take a different approach that will help flush out the real needs. Delivery Woes? Try This Five-Step Program author: Kirill Popov and Loren McDonald source: Clickz date : 2/1/2006 Even e-mailers with the best intentions get junked, blocked, or filtered on sight. How can you get out of your deliverability funk? If you want to get back on your feet and do e-mail right, follow this five-step strategy. Need for Speed: For some online retailers, ‘email customer service’ is an oxymoron author: Linda Punch source: Internet Retailer date : 2/1/2006 Terry Golesworthy recalls with dismay one online retailer’s explanation for poor email customer service: all emails were still going to a member of the web site development team—which had set up the site but wasn’t responsible for customer interaction—who was deleting them. What’s more, the retailer didn’t even know that customers’ email inquiries weren’t getting through until Golesworthy mentioned the problem in a quarterly report published by his consultancy, The Customer Respect Group. “Nobody spotted it because there was no one managing or expecting emails to come in,” he says. In another case, Golesworthy called a company which failed to respond to an email inquiry. “They said they never check email,” he says. “Well, why put it on your web site then?” How To Build An E-mail Program author: Melinda Krueger source: MediaPost date : 1/31/2006 BEGIN WITH THE END IN mind. This is always good advice, and particularly applicable when you're starting an e-mail program from scratch. What would your ideal program deliver? A growing list of opt-ins who welcome your e-mail in their in-box, recommend you to friends and come to your site to learn/browse/register/download and, ultimately, buy. I've talked to many marketers whose goal is simply to find as many names as possible and send them a marketing offer. If this is your goal, stop reading now. But if the ideal program sounds good to you, here is an approach to consider... E-Newsletters and the Power of Change author: Jeanne Jennings source: Clickz date : 1/30/2006 Problem: You offer a number of free e-mail newsletters to your customers, but only a small percentage opt in to receive them. What do you do? Here are a few possible actions, along with their pros and cons, to consider. Returning Trust to Email Marketing author: Richard Gingras source: iMedia Connection date : 1/30/2006 Goodmail Systems' co-founder and CEO describes the challenges email marketers face in 2006 and presents solutions. Behind the Scenes in the Booming Email Service Provider Industry: Why Are Some Clients Complaining? author: Anne Holland source: Chief Marketer date : 1/23/2006 Business is booming for email service providers (ESPs). In fact 87% of 1,927 marketing professionals recently surveyed by my company,MarketingSherpa, said they send some or all of their email campaigns and newsletters to ESPs instead of via inhouse systems. When we asked marketers how happy they were with their current email vendors, however, the news wasn't always so fabulous. A few sample quotes: Crystal Ball Predictions for Email author: Al DiGuido source: Clickz date : 1/12/2006 2005 was a stellar year for email marketing. As the year progressed, it became clear that organizations were leveraging this channel to deliver relevant, timely messages that provided measurable value to their customers and measurable ROI (define) to themselves. Batch-and-blast is a thing of the past -- and that's where it belongs. 2005 proved to be the year email marketing became further established as a truly viable channel that must be integrated into the overall marketing mix. 2006 is poised to further this execution and raise the bar even higher. My top 10 predictions for '06... Email List Best Practices author: Helen Ching source: Digital Connexxions date : 1/12/2006 Just Getting Started with sending Email? Here are a few quick suggestions to keep you from reinventing the wheel... Resolution #2: Turbocharge Your Email Program author: Staff source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 1/4/2006 We don’t need to tell you the importance of email to your marketing and sales efforts. And you’re also no doubt aware of the continuing challenges to maximizing the effectiveness of the medium. To help you get the most from your email campaigns, EmailLabs (www.emaillabs.com), a Menlo Park, CA-based technology provider, has created a list of “must-dos” for 2006: Email Predictions for 2006 author: Stefan Eyram source: One Degree date : 1/4/2006 Each December and January over the last few years clients and associate have asked me for my predictions on the email industry: Will spam kill the ‘killer app’?; Will SMS and RSS replace email?; What will happen to email marketing metrics in the next year? It’s always interesting to see what others say. I read about the top trends from others. I especially like hearing from Bill McCloskey at MediaPost and his Email Insider. He always has his annual predictions too (subscription required). These are typically very US-focused predictions, often speaking of spam in terms of the US CAN-SPAM laws and what is seen in the US. Why Your E-Zine May Be More Important Than Your Web Site author: Staff source: Chief Marketer date : 1/3/2006 Many marketers see e-mail as a means of driving traffic to their Web sites. But that’s wrong, says Maria Veloso, the author of “Web Copy that Sells” (Amacom). “Chances are, less than 1% of visitors to your site will ever buy your product or service,” Veloso writes. “Even the best marketers with the most successful Web sites seldom convert more than 5% of their Web visitors into customers when their Web site is their only marketing vehicle.” Marketing to the Global Inbox -- Part II author: Elizabeth Lloyd source: iMedia Connection date : 1/3/2006 DMO Global's CMO reviews worldwide email marketing laws. With globalization and online marketers realizing the huge potential that expanding their efforts internationally has, it is of utmost importance to realize that what constitutes email best practices in one country is different than in others. However, there is one common denominator upon reviewing email marketing laws worldwide: opt-in. The following is a synopsis on email marketing laws worldwide highlighting Korea, Malaysia, Germany, Spain. (Please note this is the second review of a three-piece segment. The first installment highlighted the United States, the UK, Australia, Canada, China and Japan.) Support Your E-Zine With Surveys author: Matt Blumberg, Tami Monahan Forman & Stephanie A. Miller source: Chief Marketer date : 1/3/2006 Here’s something that always bears repeating: Continually request feedback from your subscribers by using short, interactive surveys. This is the best way to learn whether or not your email newsletter is relevant. You’ll also determine what does and doesn’t work with your email newsletter and what changes your readers would like to see. Ask them. They’ll tell you. And they’ll be honest. Remember, those customers have requested to receive email from you, so they have a vested interest in making sure that the time they spend reading your newsletter is indeed time well spent. Cutting Through The Clutter: RSS bypasses e-mail—and may be the ultimate segmentation tool author: Mary Wagner source: Internet Retailer date : 1/1/2006 Customers registered with eBags.com got something new in the e-mail they received from the online retailer the first week in December: a link allowing them to subscribe to an RSS feed that will let them know when the daily eBags Hot Deal is posted. Clicking on that link brought up a page with the deal of the day, plus an explanation of RSS, and links to several subscription-based or downloadable readers—applications needed to view that subscribed content. Tips for Hiring Email Marketers author: Staff source: iMedia Connection date : 1/1/2006 Accucast's CEO delivers step-by-step advice for staffing up and expanding your burgeoning email marketing efforts. It was inevitable. Your quarterly enewsletter is now monthly. A lone email promotion to "test the waters" has mushroomed into a weekly event. Your opt-in list is growing by leaps and bounds. Email marketing can no longer be left to your administrative assistant or a junior advertising staffer -- it's time to dedicate resources to this burgeoning function. Why Readers Opt Out—After the First Issue author: Matt Blumberg, Tami Monahan Forman & Stephanie A. Miller source: Chief Marketer date : 12/21/2005 If you’re one of those frustrated marketers who enjoy high sign-up rates only to see a spike in unsubscribe requests following the first issue sent, you’re going to need to figure out how to plug this hole to keep your list numbers from sinking. If you have a list that isn’t growing and can’t figure out why, dig into the metrics and see if you can figure out if the subscribers are opting out after the first or second mailing. Here are the primary causes for a high rate of first-issue unsubscribes: Spam? It's All Relative author: Wendy Roth source: iMedia Connection date : 12/19/2005 The Lyris training manager explains how to build healthy relationships with your email marketing recipients. Why do recipients report some email as spam, and not other email? It's not just whether the email is unwanted or if it's commercial. Email Objects in the Review Mirror author: Bill Nussey source: iMedia Connection date : 12/14/2005 The Silverpop CEO reviews the year in email marketing and tells us what to look for in 2006 in email, RSS and podcasting. Surely it's not just me. The year seemed to fly by, with many things changing and even more staying the same old, same old. And both the changes and the lack of them will surely influence where we go from here. ESPC Releasing New Guidelines author: Staff source: Direct Magazine date : 12/13/2005 The Email Sender and Provider Coalition is expected this week to release “The ESPC Best Practices Guide,” a list of guidelines that reinforce industry best practices for email communications, and an updated version of “The ESPC Email Marketing Pledge.” The Guide covers areas such as permission, disclosure, address collection, content relevancy, unsubscribe practices and referrals, according to the ESPC. Using Email to Get More from Customers author: Michael Pridemore source: iMedia Connection date : 12/12/2005 Your most valuable customers are already at your fingertips, find out how to manage this relationship with tips from Accucast's CEO. Retained customers spend more money per sale, buy more frequently, refer others and cost less per sale. But with the constant pressure to grow and sell more, sometimes the fundamentals are forgotten. Email is one of the best ways to retain business-to-business customers because it establishes constant communications with prospects who are in front of their computers all day long. Timely, cost effective, personal and valuable, email provides a two-way communication method unmatched in your marketing arsenal. Used correctly, email can save you time, money and most importantly, customers. Web Tracking Firm Blends E-Zines and Surveys author: Eda Galeno source: Chief Marketer date : 12/6/2005 Need to poll one in three Internet users? Looking to reach men or college students who say the Web is their primary source for information on products they plan on purchasing? BURST! says it can help. The company sells advertising for over 2,000 specialty content Web sites, separated into 20 content channels and four demographic segments. Partnerships That Build Newsletter Lists author: Matt Blumberg, Tami Monahan Forman & Stephanie A. Miller source: Chief Marketer date : 12/6/2005 You can build your email newsletter list quickly through the use of strategic partnerships. Look for companies who target similar demographic audiences with their Web sites and emails, but who are not your direct competitors. You can then strike up any of several means of partnerships: Why Do Marketers Still Send Newsletters? author: Stephan Pretorius source: iMedia Connection date : 12/5/2005 The president of Acceleration eMarketing urges marketers to move their knowledge and efforts forward to deploy more strategic email programs. It is amazing to see how many consumer email marketers still rely almost entirely on newsletters as the vehicle for their outbound customer communications. Newsletters are quite useful in B2B marketing (I read at least 10 a day), but they are a particularly poor format for consumer communications. The default newsletter is sent monthly, superficially personalized and customized (if at all), to a stale base, and has no context (time or event) that makes it relevant to the consumer. So why, in late 2005, with so many good ESPs, agencies, consultants and client-side email marketers in the industry is this still the case? My E-Newsletter Experience: Key Lessons author: Karen Gedney source: Clickz date : 11/30/2005 Over the past two months, I've been immersed in a new chapter of promoting my services as a copywriter, creative director, and business coach: e-newsletter publishing. Along the way, I've been updating you on my progress so you can learn from my real-life experiences. Now that I have two e-newsletter issues under my belt, here are some insights and observations that may help you. Live from ECMOD: E-mail Marketing and the Big Bounce author: Melissa Dowling source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 11/27/2005 London—When it comes to email marketing, all bounces, or returned emails, are not created equal, says consultant Amy Africa, director of EightByEight. In her Nov. 23 session, “E-mail Marketing: Keeping One Step Ahead,” Africa explained to the European Catalogue and Mail Order Days (ECMOD) audience that soft bounces are temporarily undeliverable, such as when a customer is on vacation or his mailbox is full, while hard bounces are permanently undeliverable. How to Avoid Common Email Delivery Problems author: Ross Kramer source: Chief Marketer date : 11/23/2005 Industry experts estimate that more than 20% of all opt-in commercial email is erroneously blocked by spam and content filters. But there are many things you can do to avoid being part of this statistic. One is to use an email service provider. But that’s not the whole answer, since the relative ease of using an ESP has led to complacency among some email marketers. Here are four common deliverability problems that can occur even when you’re using a trusted ESP. Keep them in mind before clicking the send button. Porn, the Best Practices Industry author: Stefan Eyram source: One Degree date : 11/22/2005 Over the weekend I read the Toronto Star page two headline iPod Portal For Pocket Porn (reg req’d) “iPod” and “porn” in the same sentence? I should have expected it but never really thought people would use their iPod Video to (as the article puts it) listen to “the Barenaked Ladies” and watch “Bare Naked Ladies”. While Apple hypes the fact it took only 20 days to register one million paid video downloads it only took one website featuring pin-up girls a single week to do the same! Is the porn industry a picture of Best Practices? I have never considered pornographers, or spammers for that matter, as people to look up to or emulate. But with... Marketing to the Global Inbox Part I author: Elizabeth Lloyd source: iMedia Connection date : 11/21/2005 With globalization and online marketers realizing the huge potential that expanding their efforts internationally has, it is of utmost importance to realize that what constitutes email best practices in one country is different than the other. However, there is one common denominator upon reviewing email marketing laws worldwide: opt-In. Clearswift, has released a poll of over 1,200 business people around the world, concentrated in Germany, France, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The poll found that 84 percent of businesses are unaware of local spam laws. The following is a synopsis on email marketing laws worldwide. (Please note this is the first review of a three-piece segment.) E-Newsletter Marketing author: David Fish source: Direct Magazine date : 11/9/2005 E-newsletters are a great vehicle for small direct marketers. More so than virtually any other online communications, they can level the economic playing field. Costing only a few thousand dollars, digital imaging and other computer-based graphics techniques lets small businesses create e-newsletter retention and informational campaigns that have high production values. Read on for recommendations... Fine Tuning Your Email Strategy author: Michael Pridemore source: iMedia Connection date : 11/7/2005 Accucast CEO Michael Pridemore suggests optimizing email marketing strategies by focusing on three things: frequency, timing and audience. As an email marketer, the challenge is to rise above the clutter and create an email that recipients will read. It sounds simple right? Think again. There are many factors to consider when developing an email marketing strategy. To increase the open rate of your messages, consider the timing and frequency of your campaigns, and the appropriateness of your message. Formulating a strategy for email marketing can help to increase the response rate and success of your campaigns. The goal of direct marketing should be reaching someone with the right offer at the right time. Best bets for online acquisition and retention author: Polly Bickel Wong source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 11/1/2005 In the world of online marketing, it's easy to lose focus on the core objective when you're haggling with search engines, chasing down affiliates, and fixing your Web analytics. To make it a little easier and to sharpen your focus on your primary goals, here is a breakdown of some of the best practices in online marketing for customer acquisition and retention. Two Clicks Too Many author: June Macdonald source: One Degree date : 10/31/2005 Who in this day of enlightened internet marketing sends people to their website home page when they click on an ad?? Case in point, last week’s IAB/Marketing Magazine event, Interactive to the Max, shouted loud and clear over and over, that the consumer is in control. Well someone wasn’t listening this morning. I’ll have more coming up on the event itself, but I was happily distracted from work this morning by an ad on the Globe and Mail site for OCAD’s upcoming art auction fundraiser. So I clicked. Should I link you directly to the event info? I think not, ‘cause they didn’t. Selecting An Email Marketing Partner author: Stefan Eyram source: One Degree date : 10/19/2005 Since I am in the email marketing field I regularly read MediaPost’s Email Insider (free registration required). I really liked the October 17 issue titled How to Evaluate Email Vendors. David Baker, Vice President of Email Marketing and Analytical Solutions at Agency.com provides a great overview on what you should look for when selecting an email marketing vendor. His list of what to look for is pretty good but I had someone ask me to validate his opinions. Here’s my personal list of things to review when choosing an Email Service Provider: The Art and Science of Newsletter Publishing author: Eda Galeno source: Chief Marketer date : 10/12/2005 Todd Smart has strong views on email newsletters. As well he might, for his company, BeTuitive Marketing, specializes in helping clients build relationships through e-newsletters and blogs. We recently sat down with Todd, the founder and president, to ask him his views on the art and science of e-zine publishing. Here’s what he had to say: Herschell Gordon Lewis on Newsletter Frequency author: Staff source: Chief Marketer date : 10/12/2005 Herschell Gordon Lewis knows a few things about keeping fannies in seats. He directed cult movie classics like “Blood Feast” and “The Gore Gore Girls,” then repeated that success as a direct mail copywriter. His letters have sold millions of subscriptions, collector plates and other kinds of products Here’s what the Curmudgeon says about email newsletters, and how to keep people glued to them. The answer is to determine the proper frequency. This selection is from his book, “Effective Email Marketing,” published by Amacom. Consumer Suppression Management author: Sean O'Neal source: iMedia Connection date : 10/11/2005 Datran CMO Sean O'Neal argues that the future of advertising involves carefully choosing where NOT to send your marketing messages. One of the first things anyone in email marketing learns is that it is just as important to understand to whom you should not direct marketing efforts. When consumers "raise their hand" and indicate a preference not to receive certain messages, this is an opportunity for the marketer to refine their targeting while simultaneously increasing their efficiencies. After all, there is a cost to sending email (albeit relatively lower than other forms of direct response marketing), and all marketers want to target their message to the most qualified audience by identifying who their customers are and who they are not. Learned: The “Get GOT” Gotcha with Campaigner author: Bill Sweetman source: One Degree date : 10/5/2005 When does ‘branding’ cross the line and become annoying? Here’s when… I’ve been a fan, and customer, of GOT Corporation (formerly GotMarketing) and their Campaigner self-serve email marketing system for many years. I’ve also set up a number of my smaller clients with their own Campaigner accounts so they can manage their own email newsletters. Last week I set up a new client with a Campaigner account and made a shocking discovery. In the good old days, Campaigner users had the option of toggling on or off a “Get GOT” logo and link in the footer of every email they sent using the system. If you felt like promoting the fact you use Campaigner, you could include the GOT Corporation branding at the bottom of your emails. If you didn’t feel like giving GOT free advertising, you could choose to omit this footer. Today, if you sign up for a new Campaigner account... Hot Topic Marketing: Rescuing Opt-In List Strays author: John Gaffney source: Pepper & Rogers Group date : 10/1/2005 Many companies adept at collecting emails have built huge lists of customers and separated them into behavioral-, attitudinal-, and revenue-based groups. They have also spent considerable time and money getting those customers to opt in to receive offers and information via email. Those opt-in customers are often interested in building and maintaining long-term relationships—relationships that grow customer value for the organization. Unfortunately, after all that effort, these businesses are delivering only a little more than half of their emails to the customers in whom they have invested so heavily, and who have requested the contact. In fact, according to a recent report from email marketing firm Pivotal Veracity, 54 percent of all email marketing communications sent this year by 100 major companies—including Business Week, Johnson & Johnson, National Geographic, Orbitz, and Wal-Mart—got trapped in spam filters or hit a dead end because the email account no longer existed. Making the most of the email marketing tool author: Staff source: Internet Retailer date : 10/1/2005 When the CAN-Spam Act became law nearly two years ago, many email practitioners worried about the effect that the new email regulations would have on the use of email as a marketing and customer relationship tool. Nearly 24 months of experience have shown that while CAN-Spam has done little to reduce unsolicited emails in consumers inboxes, it also has not dented marketers ability to communicate with customers via email. What it has done has been to help tune marketers into the importance of how they use email and how well they target their emails to customers. The overarching theme in todays email market is relevance, says Matt Seeley, president of CheetahMail, an email services provider that is part of Experian Inc. It has to be relevant to the consumer at the individual level. Does Your Email Strategy Compete? author: Jason Compton source: Pepper & Rogers Group date : 9/26/2005 Even the most experienced and accomplished email marketer needs a strategic reality check every so often. One question to ask is, "are customers being served the way they wish?" Email marketing services firms DoubleClick and ExactTarget recently released trends and guidelines for professionals looking for a best practices brush-up. According to DoubleClick's Q2 2005 Email Trend Report, open rates declined for the fifth consecutive quarter, falling from 36 percent last year to 27.5 percent this year. Changes in consumer behavior is believed to be responsible for the drop. Selectivity seems to reflect when a consumer is in the market to buy a particular product or service, DoubleClick says in its report. A Survival Strategy for Email Marketing author: Malcolm Faulds source: iMedia Connection date : 9/12/2005 It's a hostile world out there for email marketing, read the threat-by-threat analysis and step-by-step success plan by Prevision's Malcolm Faulds. With 66 percent of Americans using the internet, and email far and away the most popular online activity, things should only be looking up for email marketers. And yes, more companies are using email to reach their customers than ever before. But the future isn't looking rosy. There are specific threats that are undermining email's usefulness, both as a marketing channel and even as a consumer communication tool. Commercial email is at a crossroads and needs to correct its course in order to once again realize its unique potential. How to Do Multiple Newsletter Editions author: Ray Schultz source: Chief Marketer date : 8/31/2005 The question is enough to daunt any writer: How do you come up with stories for dozens if not hundreds of personalized email newsletter editions? The answer is you don't. Instead, you should use a content database that can spit out the versions with little human intervention. These databases provide "the bulk of the material for a wide variety of newsletters," says David Fish, CEO of IMN Inc., of Newton, MA. And they are personalized with material from local offices or stores. Consultant Takes Aim at New Business author: Eda Galeno source: Chief Marketer date : 8/31/2005 Robert Cannon left the hardware business after 20 years to set up shop as a consultant in 2001. But when a business contact hired someone else for a job Cannon was well suited for, he realized importance of keeping his name and talents in front of prospective employers. Thus, his e-newsletter, Taking Aim was born with 150 subscribers in 2002. It covers general business topics. What's Wrong With Email and How to Fix It author: Dave Lewis source: Chief Marketer date : 8/31/2005 Email is broken. And it’s broken in two major ways: Trust and infrastructure. First, the channel isn’t trustworthy. The legitimate senders of email can’t trust the medium to deliver their mission-critical communications and the recipients of email can’t trust that they’ll get what they want … and not what they don’t. The reasons are simple. Email’s inherent openness has left the medium highly vulnerable to the abuse in the form of spam and the egregious tactics of spoofing and phishing associated with it. To combat these threats, the ISPs have resorted to a variety of blacklists and filters that puts the delivery of legitimate email at risk and undermines the trustworthiness of medium for both senders and recipients. Will Feeds Kill Newsletters Within A Year? author: Ken Schafer source: One Degree date : 8/22/2005 I certainly hope so. Otherwise this Globe & Mail article (paid access only now) will make Chris Pirillo and me look a bit silly. Here’s a snippet: What does RSS mean to the content-rich e-newsletter industry? About three months ago, Ken Schafer, president of the Toronto-based Internet consultancy Schafer Group and a founder of The Association for Internet Marketing and Sales (AIMS), simultaneously launched an e-newsletter and added an RSS feed to his company’s blog. Though it’s difficult to determine exactly how many RSS users subscribe to a feed — marketers cite this as one of the few limitations of the system — he estimates that there are about 10 times as many people viewing his feed as the e-newsletter... Retailers Fail Subscriber Confirmation Test author: Ray Schultz source: Chief Marketer date : 8/17/2005 Retailers still don't get it. Almost 60% fail to send a confirmation message after customers register for email newsletters or marketing programs, according to a study by Silverpop. And that means they are missing a chance to clean up their list and promote themselves. For more on these sad findings (and how to be among the 43% that get it right), click here. How to Find an Email Service Provider author: Brian Quinton source: Chief Marketer date : 8/17/2005 Just as there are no atheists in the foxholes, few realistic companies think they can do without an email service provider. And the few that do learn differently when the ISPs start blocking their email. But it takes more than prayer to find a good ESP. For a primer on how to evaluate vendors, click here. Should Marketers Use Subscriber Auto-Reply Info? author: Ken Schafer source: One Degree date : 8/15/2005 Let me pose an interesting question to your our ever-faithful One Degree readers: - If someone on your permission-based e-mail marketing list configures their old e-mail address which is on your list to auto-reply with a message that includes a new e-mail address you wouldn’t otherwise know, can you as a marketer safely update your list with this information? - Would the subscriber expect you to? - Would you be on solid legal ground in terms of having permission to use this address? - What might you do to ensure that your subscriber is happy? - What have you, or would you, personally do in this situation? Discuss. Email Optimization: A Changing Landscape author: Stefan Eyram source: One Degree date : 8/8/2005 Recently I completed the initial phase of a client project to help them optimize their email marketing program. Sending out over 1 million emails each month they rely on email as their main communications channel with prospects and clients. This year, with ISPs, webmail providers and corporate mail administrators using more, and better, tools to fight spam, deliverability has become a greater issue than ever. In some cases they couldn’t get any email through to certain large ISPs and webmail providers. Forget about optimizing emails to get them opened, and better calls to action to convert recipients. If they can’t get their emails through to the intended recipients “optimization” becomes an irrelevant term. “1 out of every 5 marketing emails never make it to the intended inbox!” That’s what ReturnPath, a leading provider of email delivery auditing solutions, says based on their ongoing research. Since I started this project... Will the Legitimate Emailer Please Stand Up? author: HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS source: Direct Magazine date : 7/1/2005 An ancient joke: Someone at the Louvre in Paris spotted Diogenes, carrying his lantern. “Diogenes, what are you doing here?” The answer: “I'm looking for the truth.” Somewhat later, at a pub in London, a visitor saw Diogenes. “Diogenes, what are you doing here?” The answer: “I'm looking for the truth.” Eventually, Diogenes wound up in New York. Tattered and battered, he was emerging from the subway. “Diogenes, what are you doing here?” The answer: “I'm looking for the ^%$# guy who stole my lantern.” The loose parallel: Emailers are stealing the lantern. Our golden medium is being usurped by white-collar bandits. "False Positives" an Email Negative author: Brian Quinton source: Chief Marketer date : 6/26/2005 For those emailers who go out of their way to do everything right—getting permissions, using double opt-ins, employing an email service provider, applying SPF authentication and generally treating the Can-Spam Act as the e-mail equivalent of the Bill of Rights—here’s some disturbing news: Those measures are no guarantee that your message will get delivered. That’s the main conclusion of a study performed by Pivotal Veracity, a service company that gives emailers the chance to track their communications all the way from their servers to the average recipient’s inbox. According to that research, 54% of companies may be at risk of looking like spammers to ISPs, at least some of the time. As a result, the ISPs are shunting the email to the receiver’s spam folder. Talking E-mail with Bill Nussey author: Sherry Chiger source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 6/1/2005 Bill Nussey is president/CEO of Atlanta-based Silverpop, a provider of email marketing services. We caught up with him last week at the Annual Catalog Conference in Orlando, FL. Here are selected words of wisdom from our conversation. Look Out, McDonald's. Who Needs You? author: HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS source: Direct Magazine date : 6/1/2005 Those phony “free” email offers are sliding in a direction I like: Food. Meals. Gourmet dinners. Somebody has recognized the universal truth: The way to a sucker's heart is through his gut. I admit it's a circuitous and messy route, but so is the ultimate result of kissing. Here's an email that cuts to the heart of the matter. Big, bold HTML screams, “Free Dinner On Us!” That's an absolute. No qualifiers. (I'd rather have dinner on a table, but a deal is a deal.) RSS “not a replacement for email” author: Stefan Eyram source: One Degree date : 5/20/2005 The debate about RSS(really simple syndication) and how it stacks up against email was covered in a recent article from MarketingSherpa. In “RSS in Reality: Not a Replacement for Email - Metrics & Best Practices” the MarketingSherpa gang summarized their thoughts like this: "It chills our blood when we hear email marketers and publishers blithely state, “I’m thinking about switching over to RSS entirely!” Oh no. Please don’t. RSS is worthy of testing, but it’s not an email replacement and it never will be." I tend to agree with MarketingSherpa that RSS will not replace email just like email has not replaced direct mail in the marketing world. Each is its own channel, sub-channel or medium. The savvy marketer will know if, and how, they can leverage each to achieve their business and marketing objectives... AIMS Email Marketing Event Review author: June Macdonald source: One Degree date : 4/28/2005 Given I was host and panel moderator of last week’s AIMS event on Email Marketing, this isn’t an unbiased review. However the event did confirm for me that there are still a lot of companies and individuals new to the space and needing some encouragement. Which you can find here on onedegree.ca, including the recent post from Stefan Eyram and some how-to’s to come from myself as well. The event included two speakers from an agency [InBox Marketing Inc.] and a vendor [ThinData], followed by an email marketer’s panel. Here are some of the tips that were shared. 1. Testing Subject lines is a priority with most email marketers before rolling out to their whole list. Most are finding that including their company name in the subject line improves response, as many readers don’t see the “From” name in their preview pane. If you have a known brand, I’d agree on including it in your Subject line. But other research I’ve seen indicates the From or Sender name is very important in determining what messages get read by recipients... Marketing at the Roxbury: Get known. Get invited. Build Relationships. author: Chip House source: Chip's Deliverability Tips date : 4/14/2005 Remember the movie “A Night at the Roxbury?” Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, resplendent in their colorful, silk suits, gold chains, and perfectly-teased hair, try to find a dance partner by gyrating their hips at any unwilling female they can find. Then, when rebuffed, they congratulate themselves and move on to the next dance partner (er, um – victim). Funny right!? As silly as this strategy is, it is not all that different from the approach many companies still use for their email programs. The “Night at the Roxbury” boys failed in their attempt to win a dance partner each time because they were never “invited” in – rather they barged in assuming their “good looks” and smooth dance moves would win the ladies over. Is this any different than a flashy, yet uninvited email? Of course not! The lesson is... How to Start and Run an Email Newsletter author: Ray Schultz source: Direct Magazine date : 3/3/2005 E-ZINE IQ recently talked with David Fish, CEO of IMN, to get his thoughts on what he calls informative marketing. He believes that an email newsletter is “a little bit different than an email blast or event-triggered marketing, although it relates to both of them.” Here’s his personal seminar on what it takes to launch and run an email newsletter. Email Trends: Bye-Bye, Batch-Mailing author: Staff source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 2/7/2005 Flexible mailing frequency, event-driven messages, and the growing importance of the "from" line are among the trends in email marketing that practitioners should be aware of, according to ExactTarget, an Indianapolis-based developer of email marketing solutions. For instance, "people shouldn't be batch-blasted on a monthly or weekly schedule," Chris Baggott, ExactTarget's chief marketing officer, explains in a release. "That is a relic of print marketing campaigns." Rather, customer requests and behaviors should dictate when to send subscribers an email message. Navigating the Email Minefield author: David Wallace source: Pepper & Rogers Group date : 4/1/2004 In spite of consumer education, federal legislation and technological efforts, the volume of spam e-mail continues to grow. Just one month after the CAN-SPAM law took effect, spam-catcher Brightmail reported a 2-percent increase in spam in January, compared to December. Another 2-percent jump in February meant that 62 percent of all Internet mail traffic was spam. And more messages were originating from offshore servers to undermine the U.S. law. The townspeople of the Internet are out with torches and pitchforks to kill the beast, yet are surprisingly willing to accept e-mail from recognized companies, and those they have visited either online or in-person. E-mail marketing is treated differently than spam, but every day, companies risk falling into the undesirable category of nuisance or unwanted mail. Email marketing best practices author: Karen J. Bannan source: B2B Magazine date : 11/10/2003 Email marketing doesn’t deserve its bad rap, according to both industry experts and b-to-b marketers. In fact, some b-to-b companies report conversion rates as high as 40% on email marketing messages, said Joe Meyer, VP-marketing of Aprimo, a marketing management application provider. There is a key to this success: Follow email best practices. Most important, make sure that the only people who receive your messages are those who have opted in, or agreed to receive marketing-related emails from you or a third party. Here are a few others that no marketer should ignore. PAGE TURNER author: BETH NEGUS VIVEIROS source: Direct Magazine date : 6/1/2003 Sure, it's easy to get people to come to the show. But getting them to buy a ticket is another story. Chet Van Wert, strategic marketing director for Advance Publications Inc. in New York, spoke with Direct recently about how Advance's titles are using email to encourage retention and pay-up. “There's really a variety of things happening here online,” he says. “My job is to do things that will benefit all the titles across the board and ensure that our Web sites are converting as much of the traffic to orders as possible.” NetCreations Head: Let's Define Opt-in author: KRIS OSER source: Direct Magazine date : 6/1/2003 Michael Mayor, president of NetCreations, wants direct marketers to agree on what opt-in e-mail really is. Mayor, who is chairman of the e-mail committee of the Internet Advertising Bureau, has initiated talks on this issue with the Direct Marketing Association, and the e-mail committees of the Association of Interactive Marketing and the Network Advertising Initiative. “It's very important before any laws get passed to agree on opt-in definitions,” he said. “Permission is going to be part of any legislation.” Detail and respect will earn email marketing a standing ovation author: Michael A. Gort source: Houston Business Journal date : 5/26/2003 Whether use of email marketing results in an uplifting blockbuster performance or the tragic murder of a brand depends on how a company conducts the program. Just like at the opera, winning an audience takes effort, detail and respect. DIRECT EMAIL TIPS FOR TOURISM MARKETERS author: Carrie Harrison source: Forge Marketing date : 5/12/2003 These are troubled times for the tourism industry. The marketing dollars spent now, more than ever, must hit their mark. Direct email marketing is a low-cost, high yield avenue that many hotels, travel associations and tourism groups are taking to get the most from marketing budgets strained during tough times. Are You Using This Emergency Email Tactic in Your Marketing? author: Sean D’Souza source: MarketingProfs.com date : 5/6/2003 If your business stops and sputters for any reason whatsoever, here is an excellent email tactic that you can use in your marketing. Whether you’re marketing online or offline, here is how you can get your sales rip-roaring once again. All you need is an understanding of this facet of customer psychology. Read on! Top 10 Email Marketing Mistakes Companies Make author: David Herscott source: Opt-in News date : 4/25/2003 I recently interviewed our agency account team and a number of our clients to find out what the most common email marketing mistakes were (in their opinion). Below is a collection of their responses… Knowledge Is Power: Free Email Intelligence author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 4/21/2003 The old adage "knowledge is power" is truer now then ever. Think about how the email business has changed over the last two years. Consider changes that will take place by 2005, when IDC predicts over 36 billion person-to-person emails will be sent every single day. Think about regulations that will be adopted to prevent spam and other abuses. What will it take to survive as an email marketer? The Unsubscribe Dilemma author: Ben Isaacson source: Clickz date : 4/14/2003 The other day, I went to my Yahoo! email account and found a sweepstakes promotion on the log-in page. Usually I ignore sweepstakes, but this caught my eye: the Yahoo! spam sweepstakes. Intrigued, I clicked through. It said: "If you receive a message you believe is spam, click the 'This Is Spam' link at the top of the email message." I give Yahoo! credit for good intentions. However, there's a major issue here. When you click to learn how to prevent spam, you're told, "Never respond to unsolicited email." I'm not here to just pick on Yahoo! Both MSN/Hotmail and AOL offer the same advice to email users. Improve Email Metrics With Newsletters author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 4/7/2003 As I mentioned in my previous column, a major shift in email will be from standalone email acquisition to relationship email marketing. Driving this will be permission-based newsletters. Understanding the Buying Process Can Increase Your Sales author: Karon Thackston source: Opt-in News date : 4/4/2003 Most marketers don't give a lot of thought to the buying processes of their customers. That's a shame. Lending due attention to the buying process can have a dramatic effect on your sales. What is the buying process? Where does your customer fall within it? How can you use it to help bring your customer to the point-of-purchase? Follow me as we take a look at the decisions customers must make before deciding to buy. Whitelists and Filters author: Ben Isaacson source: Clickz date : 3/31/2003 Emailers love being whitelisted by ISPs. A whitelist is an ISP-sanctioned list of mass emailer IP addresses. An ISP allows messages sent from these addresses to pass through their systems (theoretically). A whitelist is a badge of honor to emailers, testifying to their legitimacy. It means their email is delivered to recipients. Yet that badge may be plastic, not gold. The Future of Email author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 3/24/2003 It's difficult to predict what will happen next month, let alone two years from now. Nonetheless, let me tell you what I believe the future of email looks like, and explain what you can do to take advantage of the changes not only in email, but also in technology as a whole. First, we need to know what's happening in the present. More than 30 billion emails are sent worldwide each day. Over 25 percent of it is spam. The result is tons of electronic clutter, dismal metrics, unhappy marketers, beleaguered governmental agencies, besieged ISPs and frustrated consumers. The situation has also sparked knee-jerk reactions over email delivery from just about everyone in a position of power. Who Will Pay to Send Email? author: Ben Isaacson source: Clickz date : 3/17/2003 There's been too much talk about solving spam by forcing e-mailers to pay to send email. Let's stop talking and examine the options for making this actually happen. Before we conduct this exercise, bear in mind anyone can get a block of IP addresses, set up some servers, and become an ISP or a bulk emailer. Costs are minimal. There are no specific taxes or legal restraints to online operations. Let me outline three different models for paid email delivery. It's Gonna Cost Ya author: KRIS OSER source: Direct Magazine date : 3/15/2003 What does a list cost? In the email arena, way too much, list marketers and mailers are grousing. And it's not because the base list price has changed all that much recently. It's because of transmission fees and add-ons that can jack up the total price of an email file to twice that minimum. For a business-to-business list, which generally starts at around $300 base, all those add-ons can tally up to a grand total of $500 or more to send out 1,000 email addresses. And that is sticking it to the customer, say list brokers, mailers, and even some email list managers. How Consumer Attitudes Can Make or Break a DM Campaign author: J.WALKER SMITH AND CRAIG WOOD source: Direct Magazine date : 3/15/2003 The biggest challenge in building a brand's appeal isn't how to attract consumers for whom brandings have no cachet; that answer is obvious. Instead, it's figuring out how to build a brand that can appeal simultaneously to consumers with totally different demands and requirements. This applies to nearly two-thirds of all consumers, split roughly down the middle between those seeking practical vs. emotional relationships with brands. In our last column (DIRECT, February), we looked at consumers at both extremes of brand involvement. Fervents care about brands in every way while Indifferents don't care at all. Between these extremes, Yankelovich Monitor research finds two other groups of consumers with different approaches to brands: Practicals and Emotionals. Emailing Seniors: Tapping Into a Lucrative Demographic author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 3/10/2003 Statistics show that every 7.5 seconds, someone turns 55. But, unlike 25 years ago, today's new seniors are less brand loyal and more apt to comparison shop. They are also highly mobile and very adventurous. And get this: Seniors today account for more than 50 percent of the discretionary spending power in our economy and control more than 75 percent of all financial assets. Plus, women in households composed of people 50 and older control more than 80 percent of personal and household spending. War and Piece (Email Piece, That Is) author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 2/24/2003 I remember sitting in my office at the advertising agency where I worked when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, an event followed by the Persian Gulf War in 1991. For almost two weeks, as people tuned to their TV sets for minute-by-minute coverage of the war, our direct marketing business all but came to a screeching halt -- consumers obviously weren't going to buy new cosmetics or plan a vacation with the uncertainty of war looming. Checklist for Do-It-Yourself Email Campaigns author: Lynda Partner source: Opt-in News date : 2/21/2003 So you have your product or service and a business plan in hand, now it's time to drill down to the nuts and bolts of growing your business with email marketing. What exactly does it take to get an email campaign out the door? And not just any campaign, but one that drives revenue with increased website traffic, higher response rates and greater brand recognition? Here's a handy, step-by-step checklist of what do-it-yourself email marketers think it takes to put together an effective email campaign. Don't Test. Survey Instead. author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 2/10/2003 Because of its incredibly low cost, email harbors a temptation that doesn't exist with other media: Forget caution and prudent testing; toss as many emails against the wall as possible to see what sticks. With the low cost of sending emails, people rationalize, saying, "What's the harm (besides wasted time and consumer complaints) in just trying everything and hoping that, eventually, some of it will work?" Email List Deception A Subscriber Nightmare Part 1 author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 2/1/2003 The most effective way to determine the legitimacy and the quality of any email list is to personally explore the specific list publishing process. Of course this procedure takes a bit of effort on any advertiser’s part, it can become an eye opening experience. The Bounce-back Rebellion author: KRIS OSER source: Direct Magazine date : 2/1/2003 Ivan O'Sullivan was irate. Results were disappointing for the email business-to-business prospecting campaign he broadcast in January, and none of the elements of the promotion seemed askew to the veteran emailer. He demanded to know how many of the records on the 24 lists he rented were undeliverables. He was appalled when some of the list providers he dealt with refused to provide bounce-back rates. Worse, a couple of those companies charged him for gross counts ordered, without informing O'Sullivan of how many email addresses were actually delivered. THE BEST WAYS OUT author: Geoff Smith source: Direct Magazine date : 2/1/2003 When Paul Simon wrote his ode to breaking up “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” back in 1975, he had no idea the song's sentiments would apply to email newsletters some 28 years later. But with no standards in place, end users have a hard time figuring out how to unsubscribe from unwanted email. And many wonder if they should try in the first place. After all, they know too well that if you try to unsubscribe it only serves to validate that an email address exists and is active. When Spam-Blocking Filters Label "Good" Email Bad: Tips for getting legitimate email messages through author: Carrie Harrison source: Opt-in News date : 1/31/2003 Spam has been called a "cyber-crisis" by some and is deservedly labeled by many as the time-wasting bane of email users. Battling on the frontlines to attack spam, most ISPs and corporate IT departments are using blacklists and increasingly sophisticated filters to block spam. With programs like SpamAssassin, SpamCop, SPEWS, and Spamhaus, organizations can set filters at various sensitivity levels based on their levels of tolerance for junk email. Open Your Email Books To Page… author: Jay Gibson source: Opt-in News date : 1/17/2003 As children we are introduced to literature as a way to comprehend and retain information. Using books has been the key to education for hundreds of years and the future continues this belief. Whether you prefer paperback, hardbound, audiotapes or the most recent electronic versions books present themselves as tools in building knowledge and the readers’ future. In the email marketing industry the book is few and far between. Ever since Seth Godin published his "Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends, and Friends into Customers" in 1999 I've been a junky for informative well-written industry literature. Secure Your Competitive Advantage in 2003 author: Barry Stamos source: Clickz date : 1/6/2003 Welcome to 2003! An exciting year for building more profitable relationships with your customers, distributors, suppliers, partners, investors, and employees. Regardless if you're a Fortune 100 or dot-com start-up, every business must evaluate its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). At times, a single tweak in strategy or process can lead to advancements resulting in instant cost savings and gains in profitable revenue. Take an honest look at last year's lessons (see my prior columns). Then move forward by participating in this exercise to uncover key actions that may rain healthy profits. Apply new insights to lower risks to market conditions or gain competitive advantages. Innovate or fade away: renew, refresh, and revamp. Carpe diem! New Year's Resolution: Build a Successful Email Program author: Barry Stamos source: Clickz date : 12/23/2002 My last column offered tips on how to gain budgetary approval and assemble the right players to aggressively pursue a successful email program. Once you've got that accomplished, it's a great time to engage the team in a collaborative discussion to set goals, define objectives, compose a plan, and ready the troops for implementation. Chameleon Ads & Other Web Pests author: Doug Pond source: Opt-in News date : 12/20/2002 At the risk of giving this article a short "shelf life"--of committing the eMarketing sin of sounding dated--I'll admit that I'm writing this on December 16. I mention the date because I want to document that I just saw a banner ad on a website called HostSave (www.hostsave.com) that says "offer ends Dec 16" (for web hosting with no setup fee). Wow, what a coincidence, I'd better act now. AOL 8.0: All Database Rules Have Changed author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 12/16/2002 Amid heightened awareness and concerns about email delivery, strategic discussions are underway on new methods for building email databases. It's easy to understand why, when you consider that already 12 to 20 percent of email fails to reach the recipient's inbox. Those estimates are probably on the conservative side. Until now, email database creation was solely about obtaining permission: opt-out versus opt-in versus double opt-in. All that's about to change. With new Web clients such as AOL 8.0 already available and others quickly following, the conversation suddenly and dramatically shifts from whether you have permission to email someone to how to get email delivered. The Great Unsubscribe Debate – Part 2 author: David Herscott source: Opt-in News date : 12/10/2002 In my last column (The Great Unsubscribe Debate – Part 1) I talked about the current state of unsubscribe copy and the numerous different approaches companies are taking in positioning this important (and required) element of an email marketing message. While I don’t believe there is yet a “best practice” for writing unsubscribe copy, there are a number of industry standards emerging. Email: Remove the Stumbling Blocks author: Barry Stamos source: Clickz date : 12/9/2002 There's still a lack of understanding of the priorities, budgets, people, and tools needed to make campaigns happen. Many executives lack the orientation to make a safe "go" decision. Others bravely moved forward and achieved early success but lack the resources and expertise to advance to the next level. A few were let down by service providers who failed to produce results. The Value of a Value Proposition author: Barry Stamos source: Clickz date : 11/25/2002 No one likes to be sold. The majority can't stand salespeople. Given a choice, most people seek information on their own, avoiding face-to-face selling environments. Last year, for example, 90 percent of North American BMW buyers did research online prior to driving a new car off the lot (Hans Peter Brøndomo, "The Eng@ged Customer"). Are you different? How often do you choose technology over human interaction? Consider the growing number of folks using ATMs instead of bank tellers. People want to be empowered with access to information that allows them to make self-guided, highly educated, purchase decisions. Should Email Be Free? author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 11/18/2002 One of the most common "solutions" to the email spam and volume problem is charging emailers, as postal customers pay postage. Comparing email to snail mail is obvious. Some say a reasonable tariff would roust spammers. They figure snail mail costs $0.30 and up for postage, printing, list rental, and so on, so charging for email is acceptable and would stop frivolous, nuisance mailing. Meeting of the Minds author: Kris Oser source: Direct Magazine date : 11/15/2002 No longer the new kid on the block, email has grown up to the point that it's as much in the game as direct mail and telemarketing. But that doesn't mean it's being used to its full potential. Marketers are still learning to measure email results and integrate this knowledge with other channels. ▪ Data integration is, of course, more crucial than ever during these hard economic times. E-merchants must justify every penny in their marketing budgets, while struggling with consumers' overflowing inboxes, ISPs' mistakenly filtering out legitimate messages, deciding whether or not to use email append and declining response rates. ▪ To discuss these and other related issues, DIRECT recently gathered some of the industry's leading email providers and an email marketer in New York for our second annual email roundtable. Email and Search: A Powerful Combination author: Barry Stamos source: Clickz date : 11/11/2002 Most of us know email is a critical component of any marketing campaign. Rated by Internet users as their most important online activity, email is incredibly effective as a promotional delivery vehicle to ignite the fuse that leads a buyer through the initial phases of the sales cycle. Promotional email often includes links to your site for more information about products and services. Once users land on your site, what happens if they don't find what they seek? Are you letting them get away? You could be, if you're not using the power of the second most important Web activity: search. THE GREAT UNSUBSCRIBE DEBATE - Part 1 author: David Herscott source: Opt-in News date : 11/2/2002 Have you noticed that no two unsubscribe links are the same? It seems that there are as many different ways to position the unsubscribe as there are email campaigns. The question is, does it matter as long as there is a way for the recipient to remove themselves from future mailings? Email experts discuss the pros and cons in a DIRECT roundtable author: Kris Oser source: Direct Magazine date : 10/17/2002 Nine of the industry’s email leaders convened in DIRECT’s New York offices recently to debate the issues and fast-moving changes affecting electronic direct marketing. Email append was just one of the many topics covered. For more of our exclusive roundtable discussion, see the Nov. 15 issue of DIRECT. FOOD, FESTIVITIES AND FINE EMAIL author: Jay Gibson source: Opt-in News date : 10/7/2002 October? Where has the summer gone? In a short time I’ll be able to inspect my son’s candy and collect my cut from his trick or treat efforts. You see I have quite a soft spot for chocolate. Then the year moves on to Thanksgiving, where I embark on my never-ending taste-test challenge. Finally, the most delicious of holidays, Christmas! This marks the twelve days of all the baked goods and cherry cordials I can get my hands on. These recollections almost make the jelly doughnut now in hand seem bland and inadequate. Another sign of September means the early planning for the holiday marketing frenzy. Will email be once again a useful tool? EMAIL PITFALLS: 10 things you should know that could damage your brand author: Bill Nussey source: DMA date : 9/5/2002 Many marketing and communications professionals are realizing the powerful ability of permission e-mail to complement multi-channel communications in increasing revenues, reducing costs and leveraging existing investments in content and customer data, as well as growing brand value. What you might not realize, though, are the ways your e-mail communications could affect your brand. You may be destroying the very integrity of a brand's core positioning without knowing it. Whether you work for a company or marketing agency, and whether you are a manager, director, principal or CMO… if your company engages in e-mail-based communications as part of an overall communications strategy, then you likely will find the following ten issues relevant to your business. They are all solvable and manageable, but you need to be aware of these issues before you can address them. Why Isn't Email Working for Me? author: Al Bredenberg source: Email Marketing Results date : 8/22/2002 As I'm sure you've discovered by now, email marketing isn't magic. It can be a great marketing method, but, like any other medium, good results are not necessarily easy to achieve. Many marketers try out email only to be disappointed by poor response rates and inadequate financial returns. Following are some of the most common reasons for unsuccessful email efforts, with some possible solutions -- which you'll find will often have as much to do with attitude as technique. IS EMAIL A TRULY EFFECTIVE MEDIUM? author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 8/7/2002 When permission-based email marketing first hit the scene a few years ago it was a fresh and innovative form of reaching potential customers. Some of the benefits were lower costs than that of direct marketing counter part, direct mail. Today the saturation of the inbox has placed a big question mark on the entire methodology, forcing advertisers to ask themselves if the costs are worth the rewards. THE THING ABOUT LIST RENTAL... author: David Herscott source: Opt-in News date : 8/7/2002 Finding the right opt-in email list to rent can be a real challenge. This still nascent industry is much more fractured than its more mature direct mail counterpart. As a result, finding the right list, testing it, negotiating price, mailing to it and ultimately seeing ROI is a daunting task with numerous potential pitfalls. Whether you are a seasoned online advertiser or an FTR (first-time-renter), take heed of these important steps… Data: The Missing Link author: Barry Stamos source: Clickz date : 7/22/2002 Need a powerful, sustainable, winning strategy? Delight your customers. Ask them what they want from your company. Then consistently fulfill their stated demands on time and within budget (both yours and theirs). Sound easy? It's not. Fortune 1000 companies spend billions on CRM. Few CRM implementations are successful. Fewer realize a short-term return on investment (ROI). Companies that do succeed reduce costs and increase revenues to break away as industry leaders. What lessons can we lean from examining their achievements, trials, and tribulations? GOING POSTAL!!!: Will the latest postage rate hike garner increased email marketing? author: Andy Carlson source: Opt-in News date : 7/2/2002 I’m sure by now everyone is well aware of the United States Postal Service’s increase of postage rates taking effect July 1st 2002. If not, you’ll probably find a nice amount of returned mail coming to you like bad karma. The real question is, will this rate hike result in more companies turning to email to handle their direct marketing load? It seems that Inbox Interactive believes this to be true. Inbox Interactive being a full service email marketing agency, providing creative services, database hosting / management, and high volume, permission based email delivery. Citing a recent press release, Inbox Interactive provides these thought provoking stances. Email SWOT author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 6/10/2002 Ever heard of SWOT? It's an exercise that examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can use it for just about anything: yourself, your life, your job... hey! Even email marketing. That said, I thought I'd give SWOT a whirl. Perhaps this will spark some fun and debate. OK, let's get down to it. The Pain and Pleasure of Merge/Purge author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 6/3/2002 Consider this scenario: Company A sells hair and skin care products online. It wants to launch an email campaign to tout its line of hair care products to people who have signed up for additional information but have not yet made a purchase. The company also wants to expand its universe of potential customers by renting several lists that target individuals who have made online purchases of hair and skin care products in the last year. Realizing -- intelligently -- that the chances for duplicates among the lists are very high, the company asks the various list owners for permission to merge the lists and purge those duplicates to avoid angering recipients. Some recipients have just purchased products and may be angered by missing the chance to take advantage of the discount included in the email offer; other people may appear on two or more of the lists and would therefore receive the offer multiple times. Email Marketing: The Ins or Outs of a Campaign author: Karen M. Kroll source: Catalog Age Magazine date : 6/1/2002 This past holiday season, West Marine scored a 16% conversion rate — about eight times its typical rate — with an email campaign that delivered digitized versions of its catalog to 250,000 opt-in customers. But while the Watsonville, CA-based boating supplies marketer directed the campaign, it didn't actually send the emails. West Marine delivered PDF files of the catalog to New York-based online marketing firm DoubleClick, which converted the files to create the digital catalogs and sent the emails. Indeed, about three-quarters of catalogers use third parties to execute their email marketing campaigns, estimates Tom Detmer, president of the e-marketing services group at Experian, an information solutions company with U.S. headquarters in Orange, CA. Direct Response Email 101 author: Paul Soltoff source: Clickz date : 5/20/2002 Having marketed hundreds of products and services via email, I've learned some lessons the hard way: 1. People still, and always will, react to incredible bargains. 2. "Free" is the greatest advertising word ever created. 3. Too much reserve usually results in too little (or zero) response to email solicitations. Email: When In Doubt, Call a Pro author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 4/22/2002 Marketing budgets are among the first to be slashed whenever we struggle through an age of downsizing and economic sluggishness. Likely to go first are venues and programs that are either not working or not understood (keep in mind they may not be working because they aren't understood). Email marketing can fall into this category. It's relatively new to many industries and not yet considered mainstream. Forgiveness Marketing: Email marketing is broken. Can turning all the rules upside down fix it? author: David Lidsky source: Fortune Small Business date : 4/11/2002 What if I told you that you could make money from being stupid on purpose? If you're currently subscribing to the tired (but immensely popular) idea of permission marketing -- asking consumers if they want to view your e-mail ads with the hope that you're identifying a highly motivated and, therefore, more desirable customer -- chances are you're merely being stupid by accident. And that puts you in good company. J.Crew sends me pitches for women's clothing despite my unblemished five-year record of buying menswear. Wine.com e-mails me weekly despite my once-a-year customer status. I didn't opt in at that frequency, so what's the difference between opting in and getting spammed? In fact, I cannot think of one company -- out of dozens, large and small -- that I have asked to send me relevant e-mail offers that does it right. I may have given permission, but I didn't consent to being annoyed this regularly. Building a Better Email Database author: Ian Oxman source: Clickz date : 4/9/2002 Most marketers today acknowledge the strategic importance of collecting email addresses from their customers. However, few marketers can claim much success in this pursuit. On average, traditional marketers possess email address for no more than 10 percent of their customer database. If you are in this group, don't feel bad. Welcome to today's world of email marketing. Hence, the question on most marketers minds: How can I quickly grow my meager email database without breaking my budget? Here is a five-step strategy that could help you toward that goal. Breaking in a Broker author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 3/31/2002 Now more than ever there seems to be an abundance of permission-based email list brokers leaping at the chance to sell you their ever precious ad space. Dealing with them is not always easy. Email Marketing Primer author: Jim Daniels source: Sell It! date : 3/13/2002 A concise introduction to e-mail marketing, from unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE, spam) and rented lists, to newsletter advertising, sponsorship, and sequenced opt-in direct mailings. Pros and cons of each method are briefly noted. Email Deployment Systems: A Step-By-Step Buyer's Guide author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 3/12/2002 This week, I thought I'd discuss researching email deployment systems. When doing research for our own purposes, we look at and consider many things. We take our clients' needs into consideration, especially how they use email and how we will handle campaigns on their behalf. You know your business needs better than anyone, and you should add and delete items to reflect your own situation. The best vendor searches and comparisons are done with a request for proposal (RFP) or similar document. Do your homework and understand your needs before you get too far down the road with vendors, partners, or agencies. IS AN EMAIL ADDRESS A TANGIBLE PRODUCT? author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 3/5/2002 The decision to use opt-in, confirmed opt-in, double opt-in, 100% opt-in, super duper opt-in, and opt-in to infinity plus one – still rests in the minds of email buyers. Those who are savvy appear aware of the free use of the terms “opt-in” and permission-based” as they are carried throughout the Internet. Ironically being spammed with opt-in email for opt-in email was the learning process of this education. Mainly, it demonstrates how late night email Spam junkies latch on to a term without comprehension and simply disregard the methodology in hopes the word recognition will land another $19.95 for their efforts. The sad truth is it may work for unsolicited emailers. Email Marketing: No Response? Email 'Em Again author: Peggy Bresnick Kendler source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine date : 3/1/2002 When it comes to email marketing, follow the adage “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.” Catalogers and consultants agree that because email is such a cost-effective means of marketing, you might as well continue to send email to them indefinitely, even if there is no response. One caveat: This applies only to those who opted in to receive email from your company. “Considering that the cost of the name is negligible and that the cost of delivering the offer is negligible, you could make an argument that, hey, what does it hurt to keep them on?” says Warren Sukernek, president of Newton, MA-based furniture cataloger Oriac Design. “But I wouldn't send too many pieces to those who didn't respond if they're not opted in.” In other words, if you have email addresses for customers who never specifically requested to receive email, refrain from communicating with them as frequently. Getting Emotional About Email author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 2/12/2002 Let's face it: Using emotion is often the best way to persuade someone. How else could a so-called Hallmark holiday become a multibillion dollar business? That's what this week's column is about -- my somewhat emotional response to some pet peeves that have plagued me in the past few weeks. (As an aside, if you are interested in seeing a unique Web site that is all about emotion, check out one that I go to for kicks now and then: Eric Conveys an Emotion.) Top 10 Fears of Email Marketers author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 1/22/2002 I suspect that this article will be interpreted differently depending on what level email marketer you are. For example, are you new to marketing in this space? Or are you an expert? If you're a newbie, you're probably not acquainted with the entire scope of problems and headaches that this medium can bring. However, the more I talk to people about their email marketing efforts, the more horror stories I hear. In any case, this article will focus on how you, as a marketer, may perceive your email marketing challenges. Going Back to the Basics to Start the New Year author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 1/8/2002 AIDA -- or attention, interest, desire, and action. I will put this age-old principle to work with -- you got it -- email examples. We'll also look at AIDA in the context of the brief and discover how it relates to your final email creative -- whether it's text, HTML, streaming video and audio, or whatever. What's Next With Sweepstakes and Freebie Names? author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 12/18/2001 Last week, Lynne wrote about a client who is using affiliate programs to successfully gather names and sell subscriptions. Through these affiliates and through sweepstakes offers, the client has gathered quite a few names for his database. As was noted last week, these programs have been successful in generating initial interest, so the next logical step is to convert these freebie responders to paid subscribers. EMAIL IS STILL KING: Email marketers experience surge in opt-in demand author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 12/12/2001 According to our last months poll on whether or not email marketers were using the "Anthrax" scare as a marketing ploy for their sales benefit, more than 60% of our readers claimed - yes. Of course this may be a very small factor when it comes to the overall surge this holiday season in the use of opt-in email marketing. Emailers have been kept busy over the last month to meet demands from advertisers in getting their messages out. The Mystique of Affiliate Programs author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 12/11/2001 When most people think about affiliate marketing, they think about ads on Web sites. In addition to those familiar banners, there are email components to affiliate programs. For those of you new to affiliate marketing, here's a quick rundown. A Day in the Life... author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 12/4/2001 8:00 a.m. -- The day begins with an ugly commute, probably a familiar scenario to many of you. I often drive in silence to review ongoing projects, the small to-dos that are left undone, questions regarding how schedules are moving and how to adjust... the usual stuff. I try to not think about this for the entire drive. At some point, I have to turn on music or news so I don't get overanxious. EMAIL MEDIA BUYERS MORE SELECTIVE? author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 11/13/2001 Traditional marketers are drawing a line in the sand to inform opt-in emailers the limitations of what is acceptable and tolerated. While becoming increasingly savvy to opt-in trends, lingo, and expectations of what the medium offers, media buyers are forcing email publishers and brokers to provide a better service for their ad dollars. TONIGHT ON FOX: Caught on the Net! (When Good Sales Go Bad!!!) author: Andy Carlson source: Opt-in News date : 11/13/2001 We all know Spam is a sin. But, where to we draw the lines on sales? Is it really that different? CUSTOMER CARE WORKS: Opt-in News deciding factor for list management author: Jay Gibson source: Opt-in News date : 11/13/2001 Selecting a list manager is one of the biggest decisions for any business when planning email-messaging strategies. Some businesses select software to manage in-house list services, while others rely on outsourced web services. Opt-in News spent nearly three months researching list managers for their publications in hopes of finding the right match. This article is more or less focused on the deciding factor we made when selecting a list manager…customer service. DIRECT MARKETERS OPT TO OPT-IN author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 11/5/2001 "You can really divide current e-mail marketers into 2 types: traditional direct marketing advertisers and "mass media" or blue chip marketers, explains Lauren Kay, L90’s Vice President of Marketing. "Companies that traditionally use direct mail such as catalog companies and credit card companies are slower to adapt to email marketing whereas the "mass media" marketers, such as a Entertainment or Retail companies, have embraced the tool." Getting 'Em Back via Email author: Moira Cotlier source: Catalog Age Magazine date : 11/1/2001 In light of the economy, numerous catalogers are scaling back on their prospecting to focus more heavily on customer reactivation. And in light of rising distribution costs — namely postal rates — many marketers are turning to email as a reactivation tool. “Printing, postal, and paper costs have had a direct impact on many catalogers' ability to require and retain customers,” says Al DiGuido, CEO of New York-based email services provider Bigfoot Interactive. “They're looking for cost-effective ways of acquiring or reactivating customers. How I Keep Up with the Deluge of Email author: Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant source: Web Marketing Today date : 10/23/2001 Internet business people need to learn two email disciplines: (1) how to send out email to their prospects and customers, and (2) how to keep from being buried under the deluge of email they receive. I don't consider myself an expert email shuffler, but I am still alive. Let me share what works for me. Since I've been a heavy email user for years, I've looked for the most robust tools. I've settled on Microsoft Outlook 2000+ as the most flexible tool to handle both email and people contacts, though there are other good tools. Sample Boilerplate Responses to Common Email Requests author: Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant source: Web Marketing Today date : 10/23/2001 Boilerplate responses to common questions are a huge time-saver. Depending on your email program, these can be called "signatures," "templates," or "stationery." Once you set them up, you can use them to respond quickly to a lot of your email. Should You Work with a List Broker or a List Manager? author: Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant source: Web Marketing Today date : 10/23/2001 When you're ready to begin an opt-in email campaign you'll need to work with either a List Broker or a List Manager. It's important for you to know the difference between them you so you'll know what kind of service to expect. HOW FRESH ARE OPT-IN EMAIL LISTS?: You may be reaching less than 70% of rented list recipients? author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 10/12/2001 So you’ve just spent your budget on an opt-in email list of 200,000 subscribers to find the response is less than expected. Was it your ad copy? How about your actual offer? Maybe. Or, was it that one-third of the 200,000 opt-in email addresses your message was sent were not active? QUALIFYING CLIENTS FOR OPT-IN OPTIONS: Not all offers are created equal in the eyes of opt-in email author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 10/9/2001 How do we perceive value? Personally I view this as something introduced that confuses you in how you've been able to survive so long without. Others may decide value is a variable that will simply tip the scale of a window shopper towards the cash-throwing consumer we've all come to adore. No matter which definition you believe…the trick is to sell by leaving no doubts. In a day where there are advertisers looking for representation as far as the eye can see and the power of reach fueled by online solutions the possibilities appear endless. The truth is agencies or direct marketers need to qualify themselves and their precious client base as effective carriers of opt-in email efforts. Just because the marketing method generally produces high response does not make it a sure thing. OPTING IN TO ACCOUNTABILITY: Will the opt-in email industry finally adopt list auditing? author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 10/8/2001 Last month ABC Interactive, the online division of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, announced plans to offer auditing services to the permission-based email marketing industry. ABC expects to cover count verification, merge/purge confirmation, and delivery verification. THE LIFE OF A BROKER: Understanding opt-in email brokerage author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 10/8/2001 Used car salesman, lawyers, and email brokers. What do these three job descriptions have in common? My personal feeling is that the entire world would be a much better place without them. Keep it Simple, Silly author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 10/2/2001 After three campaigns for our outlet center retail client, we continue to learn. So I thought I'd share some real-life information. You might glean some tips to help your own email campaigns -- or just get some inspiration if you're pondering reporting, timing, day of week, subject lines, offer complexity, or execution. Ten Ways to Keep Your Email Marketing Effort From Bombing author: Al Bredenberg source: Web Marketing Today date : 10/1/2001 Given the investment of time and money involved, business people are naturally cautious about embarking on an email marketing program for the first time. Many marketers have been discouraged by failed email campaigns and are gun-shy about trying it again. I believe that email marketing disasters can be traced to neglecting one or more of the following steps. 'Full Service'? Caveat Emptor author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 9/25/2001 an email marketer's to-do list can be both cumbersome and overwhelming. It requires either one multitalented taskmaster with energy to burn, or an entire team to make sure that all systems are go -- for every single campaign. That means heavy-duty analysis of previous campaigns; development of new offers and creative based on that analysis; setup of lists and tracking with perhaps some dynamic and viral-oriented messaging thrown in... The list goes on. Those who do it right know that creating a new and successful email marketing campaign on a regular basis is more science now than it ever has been. Not exactly an easy job, which is why more and more companies seem to be outsourcing to full-service email marketing specialists. An Email Campaign To-Do List author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 9/18/2001 Below is a blow-by-blow list of the points that we cover in our agency for getting a campaign out the door. Certainly, adjustments will be needed if you are managing and deploying internal campaigns. It's just helpful to see the list of points so that you can get your arms around what's involved. In many cases, you may add the title or name of the person handling the task. Hopefully, this list provides a tool to help smooth out your deployment process. For those new to this medium, perhaps it will help show what staff resources you need to create and deploy the most effective and robust email campaigns -- internal or outsourced. Attention... Interest... Desire... Action author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 9/11/2001 I'm going to write about the brief... and how it relates to a very old marketing principle called AIDA -- or attention, interest, desire, and action. Before you pooh-pooh this altogether and send me scathing emails like "been there, done that," hear me out. I will put this age-old principle to work with -- you got it -- email examples. And in the context of the brief and how it relates to your final email creative -- whether it's text, HTML, streaming video and audio, or whatever. The 10 Crucial Elements of an Opt-in Email Campaign author: Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant source: Web Marketing Today date : 9/11/2001 The very best list for an email campaign is the "house" list that you develop from your own customers and site visitors. But if you are trying to expand beyond those who already know about your business, you'll probably want to rent email addresses from a large opt-in list. In this article I'll explain each of the elements in that process. Each step is crucial to your success. REFUSING TO REMOVE ME: The customer service breakdown of an email marketing company author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 9/10/2001 Has the ad economy forced some email marketers to rely on unprofessional promotional practices? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we are in a form of advertising recession. Although some reports would have us to believe that we’re breaking out of the slump and on the verge of increased spending, many see a decreasing bottom line. This has email marketers reaching into their past client base hoping for some new business. The method…opt-in email marketing…what else? 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. As I've said in previous articles, it's an important piece of email marketing. This article will hopefully get you thinking about how to work around an obstacle that I encountered early in my email marketing career: the single data source. What's in a Name? author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 8/28/2001 Last week, Jackie G. gave some tips on how you can make your message stand out to people who, like you, are being nearly overwhelmed by email and other types of sales messages. This week, I thought I'd expand a bit on her thoughts and write about personalization and how it can help boost email response. Tidbits of Data Can Become Megabytes of Info author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 8/21/2001 Appeal to the fact that you know how busy I am. Use a tactic that lets me know that you can get your message across succinctly and that quickly allows us to mutually gauge whether there is interest. Try not to waste "our" time if there won't be a benefit. After all, you haven't gained much if you trick people into opening a message -- and then disappoint them, and then maybe they unsubscribe (or perceive the message as spam and are angered enough to report you to your ISP). OUTLINE YOUR CAMPAIGN STEPS: Incorporating steps to guide you through email campaign planning author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 8/18/2001 Planning a permission-based email campaign can be a lengthy and difficult process for a number of parties involved. Although there are a broad range steps used by media planners when preparing for broadcast, I've outlined my process in this article. PASSING THE BUCK: Excuses used by email marketers for poor campaign results author: Andy Carlson source: Opt-in News date : 8/13/2001 For as long as I've been a part of this industry there has been the practice of playing the blame game. Email marketers are experts when it comes to passing the buck. Some of my favorite excuses, used by email marketers to their advertisers when confronted with poor campaign results, are "Take a look in the mirror." and "We're not responsible for bad creative." Content Reminders and Tips author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 8/7/2001 Email marketing should help you drive traffic to your Web site to build your business. The results can have multiple benefits: list rental to find new customers, sponsorships of others' e-letters, efforts to capture leads and to communicate with your interested audiences, and so on. Ultimately, these efforts have to yield bottom-line dollars. This week, I'll be giving you some tips on reviewing your email communications to check for what may be ailing you if you're not getting those coveted responses that yield dollars. Is Your Call to Action Clear? Are You Tracking Your Links? Can Readers Forward to a Friend? Sponsorships and Ads: Are You Telling It Like It Is? BURSTING THE BRANDING BUBBLE author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 8/1/2001 How do you try and compensate for not being able to generate clicks for advertisers in your list? Well, you hold an independent study and preach the benefits of brand awareness, while stating that the CTR does not accurately measure response. It sounds ridiculous but it seems to be the latest trend among email marketing companies, seemingly unable to cut the mustard for their advertisers. Potential Pitfalls for Do-It-Yourselfers author: Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls source: Clickz date : 7/24/2001 Many marketers are still of the belief that email is easy and "like any other communication I've sent over the years." Email is an excellent tool, but you can damage your company's reputation and customer relationships with the click of a button. So I thought it might be worth mentioning some of the pitfalls. This article is a broad sweep. Don't be surprised if the topic rears its head several times under my watch. 1. Using your desktop email client to broadcast your messages is risky. 2. Remind the recipients who you are and how you know them. 3. ALWAYS include the unsubscribe/remove link. 4. Don't risk your corporate domain. CRM TO KEEP BOOKS IN THE BLACK: Cost-effective alternatives to high priced CRM solutions author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 7/22/2001 In 2001 the term "CRM" is without question the biggest buzzword used with marketers today. CRM or Customer Relationship Management is a very important aspect for monitoring client profiles and spending habits effectively, but the expense of providing the service has been the drawback for potential users. SMELLS LIKE STALE SPIRIT: What this industry needs is an enema! author: Andy Carlson source: Opt-in News date : 7/11/2001 What this industry needs is an enema! As Clint and I sit and discuss what direction to take this publication, we touch upon the topic of "Where is the industry going?" Judging by the lack of press releases, or lack of interesting news within said releases, it seems the answer is "Nowhere"! Where is the blood thirst we saw only months ago? Where are the new innovations? Where are the answers to these questions? Where do I get off asking these questions? USE THE PRESSES!: Why are print publications missing the boat with email marketers? author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 6/22/2001 According a recent study by Opt-in News, advertisers rely on email and the web for information regarding email marketing and not print publications. Why? One reason is this industry is fast paced and a weekly or monthly paper magazine will not keep up with daily news. Another reason is that, for some strange reason, print publishers have not yet expanded this type of information regularly. They’re either too stubborn to accept or too ignorant to comprehend. THE BATTLE OF THE BROKERS! Knight vs. Ali - Who has the biggest... author: Andy Carlson source: Opt-in News date : 6/14/2001 Here we sit ringside, listening to the sweat of hard work and dedication as it ricochets of the canvas mat. The sonic blasts of Queen’s “We will Rock You” continues to resonate in our ears. First there was Frazier vs. Ali (the Fathers), then recently Frazier vs. Ali (The Daughters), but now we stand ready for a new clash of titans...LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE YOU CAN’T BROKER INTELLIGENCE: Is convenience worth the absence of intimate knowledge? author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 6/14/2001 Similar to conventional direct mail, permission list brokerage is a big business. Publishers can outsource their inventory to third party sales representatives with hopes of increasing their ad sales revenue. Although most email brokers have a shared purpose many companies operate differently. Some brokers require exclusivity of sales representation, or in-house management of the lists and some require contracts, while others do not. HOW EASY IS OPT-IN EMAIL LIST FRAUD?: Opt-in News tests the industry for CPM based list fraud author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 6/5/2001 Last month we ran a sponsorship ad entitled "OPT-IN NEWS EMAIL MARKETER DREAM LIST" within our newsletter. The ad offered a list of 10,000 subscribers, which we claimed were gathered from our network and partnerships of advertisers who were planning email-marketing campaigns. We displayed a rate of 400 CPM and asked interested parties to contact our ad sales manager Scott Hulmes and included his email address. Between initiating a couple contacts and the newsletter broadcast the response to this offer was overwhelming to say the least. Within a few hours Opt-in News had a half dozen interested parties looking to rent the list after we negotiated the price down between 200 and 350 CPM with interested parties included MicroStrategy, PostmasterDirect, EmailMaestro, and Focalex. COMMISSION PRIORITY - SALES OR SERVICE: Can commission driven employees of email marketing companies constitute effective customer service? author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 6/5/2001 Like a ravenous used car salesman stalking his prey many email marketing companies make use of commission driven representatives, as a way of expanding their revenue streams and reduce employee spending. It appears contradictory that most of these companies compensate their employees by way of paying only for performance yet decline to offer advertisers this method when it comes to the effectiveness of their own services. Tests Only an Internet Marketer Could Love author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 6/5/2001 A lot of testing boils down to determining what has value and relevance to your particular customers and leads. What message or offer will truly resonate with them? Just about anyone can pull together a standard email test nowadays. A/B (or even A-Z) split tests of everything from subject lines to format to offers are almost commonplace. Of course, the reason that marketers test these components is to determine response lifters; and certainly, with a solid strategy to dig out the best among those components, that can be done. But why not break away from the tried-and-true and test some other potential response boosters out there that are both specific to and take advantage of the best that the Internet has to offer? Email List Sourcing author: Todd Tweedy source: NewMedia date : 5/29/2001 An examination of the looming problem of market saturation of rented email marketing lists, with suggestions for minimizing the downside: ask the vendor to remove incentive-oriented addresses, ask the right questions to avoid over-used lists etc. EZINE EVOLUTION: Maturing ezine publishers offer a duel threat for email marketing author: Clint Symons source: Opt-in News date : 5/9/2001 One debate among many professionals within permission email marketing is which form of email marketing produces the best results. According to our recent study one out of every three ezine publishers allows the broadcast of direct email or solo advertisements to their subscriber base as means of increasing revenue. This diversity allows publishers not to be excluded from both types of email marketing opportunities. Fresh Ideas author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 5/7/2001 Keep it fresh. Sounds easy, doesn't it? A no-brainer, in fact. But it's not always a simple mission to accomplish, especially for people who've found those "formulas" that work. But here's the rub: Sticking with the tried-and-true might leave you stuck in one place. We say, "Hey, we're ultimately profitable with a 5 percent click-through rate and a 2 percent conversion. And we can get that each and every time with such-and-such style of copy and such-and-such setup of the landing page." PLANNING FOR PERFORMANCE: Qualifying the publisher for a pay for performance campaign author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 5/2/2001 Part of a publisher’s responsibility is to assimilate their core list or ezine audience. If a publisher perceives their audience will not be receptive to an offer then they should not accept it in the form of an advertisement. Unfortunately many publishers will accept any CPM campaign since the pricing method guarantees them revenue. This pricing method has been the long running disadvantage over media buyers considering they must accept all risk. But when the shoe is on the other foot a publisher’s argument for CPC or CPA campaigns is their acceptance of risk, but if an offer is of true value to the audience then the risk should be limited. The Value of a Lifetime author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 4/23/2001 Imagine clicking on an email promotion from your favorite online software retailer. You're directed to a specific product page on the site, and you place an order right then and there. An email message thanking you for your order is then immediately sent to your inbox. A few days later, a cross-sell promotion for a complementary software package is then sent. Even if you just click and don't make a purchase, an "appreciation" message is sent to you offering a link to a free downloadable gift -- a nifty new desktop gizmo that allows you to take a break every now and then from all of your software shopping. Just for being you. Can't do these types of dynamic, on-the-fly, relationship-building messages due to cost or resource constraints? Then think beyond the initial sale and/or conversion, which may or may not be profitable right away. Think big picture. Think long term. Think lifetime. Database Marketing 101: Part 3 author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 3/26/2001 So now it's time to put that good data to work, to lay out a solid strategy for building an effective customer relationship management (CRM) model. How? Well, as most of you know, I'm a direct marketer through and through, so I firmly believe in plenty of testing. But to determine WHAT to test, you need to plan your goals at the outset. What exactly do you want to accomplish? In other words, would it enhance your customer-relationship-building potential to be able to address questions such as those below? (The answer? Yeah, of course it would). So here are a few to stir your brain: BRANDING IS FOR THE COWS, I NEED SALES: If opt-in email is an immediate form of direct marketing, then where are my immediate results? author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 3/25/2001 Like many days, I feel that I’m in the presence of greatness; maybe this is because I’m all alone, or maybe because the readers tell me this repeatedly. Nevertheless, once again I’m prepared to provide insight for direct marketers into understanding the useless benefits of email marketing. Let us start by removing the benefit of branding. Webster’s defines branding as “A trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer.” Ironically branding is also defined as “A mark indicating identity or ownership, burned on the hide of an animal with a hot iron.” Also, there is this one; “A mark of disgrace or notoriety; a stigma.” None of these definitions directly profit me of selling a product immediately. They simply emphasize the possibility of creating a buzz, notoriety, or marking some ‘raw’ hide. Database Marketing 101: Part 2 author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 3/19/2001 In the offline world, most seasoned direct marketers are also database marketers. They regularly flag their customer files with enhancements such as family and lifestyle data, whether they've purchased one or more times or one or more products, what they've purchased, and so on. When it comes time to mail, marketers then split-test these lists to determine which enhancements boost response. That's direct marketing in the terrestrial world: Segment the customer file, mail it, and analyze the results. Then do it all over again. SPECIAL REPORT: Costs: Email author: Sheryl Nance-Nash source: Direct Magazine date : 3/15/2001 Because of the swift time-to-market and strong return on investment of email, New York-based e-commerce research firm Jupiter Communications estimates that commercial email spending will grow from $164 million in 1999 to $7.3 billion in 2005. Jupiter's mid-year 2000 research showed that 65% of companies are spending between 1% and 5% of their marketing budgets on email marketing, with an additional 22% spending in excess of 5%. WHERE HAVE ALL THE COWBOYS GONE? author: Andy Carlson source: Opt-in News date : 3/13/2001 He’s baaaaaack! I’ve been gone for a month, but now it’s time to get back to picking apart the best of the best and the worst of the worst. You would figure after a month hiatus there would be a slew of sites and publications stepping into my crosshairs. However, I couldn’t find a single one. Strangely enough, no one seems to want to submit their sites to a cross examination that would make even Johnnie Cochran end up with a bad case of dry heaves. What’s a boy to do? Here I am 27, the editor of an excellent (unbiased opinion, I Swear!) e-mag and a writer with nothing to write about. Well, in a stroke of genius (or just true masochistic nature) I decided it’s about time to turn the tables. That’s right; in this month’s HIP Check we’re putting www.optinnews.com under the magnifying glass. Let’s see what makes us tick and what makes us squirm. IS MY CLICK IN THE EMAIL?: Preparation is an overlooked factor when creating a campaign author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 3/13/2001 "I hear the term "stupid dot com" everyday. Many of our peers, or should I say former peers, ran their dot com marketing campaigns without regard to sound direct marketing principles. Many either had a mountain of VC cash at their disposal or they thought because it's the internet, it just has to work", explained Chris Wright of MyFree.com. "What the internet marketer has to learn ... and quickly ... is the days of the stupid dot com are gone. To stay in business the marketer has to return to the solid traditional methods of the traditional business. Do your research, analyze the vendor, measure the results, and test." Database Marketing 101: Part 1 author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 3/12/2001 If you want to keep my name on your email file, speak to me about what's really important, with messages and offers that are truly customized and meet my own personal needs and interests. That's the beauty of database marketing. It can do all this. And more. Take a look at Amazon.com, for instance. Its email service, which sends book offers and discounts based on customers' selected areas of interest, is one of the first that I ever subscribed to... and will no doubt be one that I retain over the long haul. CUSTOMER CARE WORKS: Opt-in News deciding factor for list management author: Jay Gibson source: Opt-in News date : 2/5/2001 Selecting a list manager is one of the biggest decisions for any business when planning email-messaging strategies. Some businesses select software to manage in-house list services, while others rely on outsourced web services. Opt-in News spent nearly three months researching list managers for their publications in hopes of finding the right match. This article is more or less focused on the deciding factor we made when selecting a list manager…customer service. Calculating the Carrot author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 1/29/2001 Sometimes we struggle with how to come up with dynamic lead-generation offers to woo our prospective target audience. As we all know, reaching people through dedicated opt-in email promotions is getting tougher as recipients become less tolerant of, and hence less responsive to, receiving them. The sticking point often boils down to how much money to spend on the promotion, including the incentive offered therein. There are plenty of ways to do this, of course, but one of the most effective is based on a very simple series of calculations. What you ultimately end up with is what our company and clients affectionately refer to as CTC -- our shorthand for "calculating the carrot." FINANCE AND FOLLY : A fool and his money soon find ways to make more money author: Andy Carlson source: Opt-in News date : 1/1/2001 After finding my stocking filled to the brim with cash, I decide to put my financial savvy to work. Then, it seems someone spiked the eggnog, as I realize, I don't have any financial savvy. What's a boy to do? Enter www.fool.com, a site for someone like myself, looking to conquer Wall St. without a single clue of how to do so. DM and EM: A Comparison author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 12/18/2000 Direct marketing (DM) pioneers Bob Stone, Martin Baier, and Henry J. Hoke Jr. once described the DM discipline as "an interactive system of marketing that uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response and/or transaction at any location, with this activity stored in a database." Truer words were never spoken. And another truth is that OUR particular discipline -- that is, the discipline of email marketing -- uses and is enhanced by a good number of traditional DM principles and practices. LIST AUDIT?: What list managers fear and advertisers should demand author: Rodney Much source: Opt-in News date : 11/1/2000 In the last year we have seen an outrageous increase in opt-in email marketing company claims of their inventory size. In December a company that owned 3 or 4 million names was a big player and now this amount seems insignificant. With online ad spending projected to reach 6.1 billion this year by eMarketer, many email list providers are certain to get their share. The concern I see for an advertiser is who to trust. Advertising is a gamble yet many argue a science; nevertheless, most responsible marketers will do research when selecting a specific list manager to broadcast their message. Banner advertising, print, radio, television, can all be verified through measurement with services like Media Metrix and Arbitron. But the permission-based email marketing industry has no measurement. If a publisher or list owner claims to have 50 million unique opt-in email addresses who's to say different. Test It Out author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 7/10/2000 Okay, I'll admit it: I'm a testing junkie. Email tests, that is. I just can't get enough of 'em - those helpful little cells of knowledge in which you split this, segment that, add this, take out that... Sure, they may not always be the easiest things to set up, AND they can make reading results a lot more complicated. But, boy, can you learn a lot from them. Not to mention the fact that they can help your subsequent and future email campaigns truly soar. Data: The Critical and the Important author: Kim MacPherson source: Clickz date : 2/7/2000 A good portion of the data that's collected in an email campaign IS absolutely essential... and, luckily enough, fairly easy to track in-house. However, there's a slew of other components that can enhance your future campaigns dramatically; yet they are often more difficult to implement and track on a continual basis without the help of an outside solutions provider. Let's start with the critical, though obvious, data points first, and you'll begin to see what I mean. Forget Brand, The Net's About Spam, author: R. Scott Raynovich source: Red Herring date : 8/17/1999 Online marketing is migrating away from branding toward response-oriented messages sent to specific customers, direct email marketing. Report from Jupiter Communications Online Advertising Forum. How to Serve Email Without the Spam author: Dana Blankenhorn source: B2B Magazine date : 2/7/1999 Use a database-driven mail manager to conduct email marketing campaigns with smarts: suitable software includes Unity Mail, Lyris and Media Synergy (changed to FLO Network and now DoubleClick); keep it brief ('the email is the envelope, your website is the letter'); be ready to apologize! Home | Company | Account | Sitemap | Events | Resources | Email Marketing Best Practices © 2002-2006 Email Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved