The Art of the Subject Line
Back by popular demand!
It has been a year since Epsilon shared with you the fundamentals of subject line creation and testing. The Art of the Subject Line reviews findings from our analysis of more than a billion emails, instructions on how to build or fine tune your subject line testing program, and specific proven subject line factors that have worked for our clients that are a must to consider testing for your own email marketing program.
30 Do's and Don'ts for Email Rock Stars
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had the honor of moderating a forum at the SES conference in San Francisco last week for the Email Experience Council. The topic was tips from email rock stars and how to become one. After thinking about it for a bit, I started to get anxious. What do you say to a group of SF people, whose jobs rely on success in email, that will help them be better, without boring them, confusing them, or telling them something they just plain don't agree with.
Back to (Email) School Tips and Tricks
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As I dropped off my oldest child at his first day of kindergarten, I realized before we know it, he will be working on homework, learning some new and amazing things, and asking me questions I have no idea what the answer is. Make sure that new school energy rubs off, as it's common for any marketer to coast as summer fades and fall surfaces.
A Night at the Email Museum
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In the hearts and minds of ESPs, ISPs, and just about every proponent of legitimate email, there lies a deep desire to rid the world of spam. To accomplish this noble goal, I recommend the construction and acceptance of a neoclassical structure known as the International Email Museum. The museum currently exists only inside my brain, but I have decided to share it with the world. Because museums are usually bastions of truth and relevance, one might ask, what would one find inside a museum dedicated to the history of email?
Holiday Planning 2010
The holiday months are traditionally marked as the top potential revenue earners of the year. Now is the time to prepare to make the 2010 Holiday Season exceed expectations.
Email Marketing Is All About Trust
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I love email marketing. My professional bio includes the fact that I "eat, sleep, breathe and sometimes dream email marketing." There are times when my passion for email marketing drives my wife crazy. I study how she processes and engages with her inbox. I inquire about why she opened one email, yet deleted the next; why she clicked through or purchased something from one company, yet not the next.
The answer nearly always comes back to trust.
Why Isn't Back-to-School a Subscription?
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The annual back-to-school shopping season is nearly over, and this year we've witnessed major retailers throw at it bundles, up-sells, bulk discounts, co-branded promotions, free shipping, buzz agents and every other conceivable sales trick. And yet it's hard not to think that they've completely missed the boat.
Brazen Bank Robber Arrested After Emailing Local Paper to Correct Heist Details
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We know how great the temptation is to throw out a nasty comment when a journalist gets something wrong, but let this story out of Germany be a lesson to you that sometimes discretion is advised.
8 Marketing Blunders to Avoid
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While the world economy has been bouncing back of late, we are all more than aware that the recovery is fragile -- and so are many of digital's companies, small and large. Thus, it's more important than ever for us to be smarter and learn from our own mistakes, as well as the mistakes of those around us.
The beauty of digital is that there have been so many initiatives in this fragmented arena that history's lessons come fast and furious. And yet, it's human nature to assume that our individual situations are somehow unique. We are, of course, wrong.
Marketers' Constitution Tenet #3
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The third tenet of the Marketers' Constitution states, "Marketing must become more effective -- more creative, insightful and accountable." Marketing as a whole encompasses a wide range of activities geared to address and inform the consumer and provide a return on that marketing investment. However, business leaders are challenged to measure the impact of their marketing strategies. A successful plan involves the implementation of three pillars which serve as the basis for marketing effectiveness:
It's Not About the Send
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Truthfully, it's not about the send.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a big believer in having a send schedule for your email marketing efforts and making deadlines. But too often I see email marketers that are so focused on getting the email out "on time" that they don't stop to really think about what they're sending.
They forget the big picture, the only thing that really matters: Will the email be effective? Will it engage people enough to get them to open it and take the action we want them to take?
Email Testing Inspiration
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Testing is a crucial aspect of marketing. Without it, you're never quite sure what caused a campaign to succeed or fail, where to spend your money, how to avoid repeating mistakes, or how to optimize your campaigns for best results.
Do your subscribers behave the way you think they will, or do their actions defy conventional wisdom or best practices?
Testing can be a challenge, especially if you're not sure where to start or what to test, or if your management is unwilling to budget time and money to test.
National Geographic Society Deploys Email Campaign Encouraging Facebook 'Likes'
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The National Geographic Society will launch an email marketing campaign this month, incorporating a Facebook “like” button, to support its feature documentary Restrepo. The nonprofit worked with marketing firm Epsilon on the campaign, which will launch by next week.
The group's goal is to encourage consumers to discuss the film on the social networking platform and to urge them to see it when it hits theaters in their markets.
New Rules for Sexy Subject Lines
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The most valuable real estate
After reading this, my hope is that you will walk away and pull a Justin Timberlake on your email marketing programs by bringing sexy back -- and it all starts with the subject line.
Why the subject line? Well, it is your first line of impact no matter what device or inbox type it hits.
10 Email Commandments
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To optimize email marketing, you need to stand out from the loud, growing and frequent crowd and take concerted action to get attention for your brand and your message.
1. Start with the end. What do you want the recipients of your email to feel, think or do? If this is a one-off effort it will need to work differently than if its part of a newsletter, club or continuity program. Clarity on the front end will make measurement and analysis much easier on the back end.
