Political Parties Fail on Email Marketing
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Email sign ups
I signed up for emails from the Labour Party, Conservatives and Lib Dems. All three have sign up options on their homepages, but some are clearer than others.
Labour places the email sign up link in a prominent position, on the right of the homepage, just under the main navigation bar, with a clear call to action:
The Liberal Democrats come second for me; the sign up option is in a less prominent position on the page, but is still clearly visible:
Mobile Email: It Ain't What It Used To Be!
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Over the past two years we've been asked by almost every client, "Do we need a mobile version of our emails?" As an interim solution, most major brands host a text version of their email -- and occasionally you'll see some light html formatting or a thumbnail of the email creative, like this.
Slogging Toward Email Metrics Standardization
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Quick: How do you define “open rate”?
If you’re not sure of the exact definition, you’re not alone.
“A lot of terms that we use in email marketing don’t really reflect what people think they reflect,” notes Stephanie Miller, global markets catalyst for Return Path. “Plus the definitions that people use for the same terms are different, and how they measure them is different.”
Sending Survey Emails? Learn From Orbitz’ Example
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Orbitz has been my online travel site of choice for years – I’ve strayed occasionally, but they always seem to be where I end up booking.
Most recently, I booked a hotel room in Philadelphia through them for New Year’s Eve. The day I checked out, this email arrived in my inbox:
Triggered survey emails like this are a nice touchpoint that can help a brand learn more about its customers and create a better experience for them in the future.
The challenge, of course, is getting people to:
When Best-Practices Aren't: Five Ways to Break the Rules of Email Marketing and Still Win the Game
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In my former job, my title included "Director of Best-Practices." It was a description that made sense at the time, since my role was to offer clients best-practice advice on all things email marketing.
However, as time went on, many of my discussions with other industry folks got me thinking. What are best-practices?
Social Email Marketing: Email Notifications Go Prime Time
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In my first two posts, "How email must reverse engineer social now" and "Socialized subject lines will reduce spam complaints", we discovered how socially centric preference centers and subject lines will lead to dram
When Marketing, Travel Through the Four Dimensions of Time
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We all know the importance of good timing. But for marketers, timing is also comprised of four dimensions, each of which is critical to the success of your programs. Smart marketers who understand, deploy, test and measure the four time dimensions of marketing can deliver breakthrough results without breaking their budgets. First, a quick overview of the dimensions:
Optimizing Your Email Frequency
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The "Too many emails?" post in 37signals' excellent 'Signal vs. Noise' blog got us thinking about email frequency. Why don't we see more newsletters that give us the option of specifying how regularly we receive email, instead of simply providing an unsubscribe link? After all, our main reason for unsubscribing from an email often doesn't come down to the relevance of content, but simply receiving too much relevant content.
What Role Do Your Email Messages Play?
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At the start of each new year, I spend some time reevaluating where I am spending my energy, how I have prioritized my tasks (both personal and professional), and attempt to refocus on the really important things in life. As 2010 is off to a very hectic start, it was just last week that I sat down to take stock. Better late than never.
What is Meant by 'Good List Hygiene' and Why Should You Do It?
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When referring to “good list hygiene,” we’re actually asking you about the accuracy of your email addresses. Are they real addresses? Have they been updated? Are your prospects or customers still receiving communications at them? Good list hygiene, or lack of, has a number of implications.
Plenty of Reasons Email is as Relevant as Ever
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Every now and then, there is a discussion about where email stands as social network use becomes the "it" thing. We've all heard mutterings like, "email is dead" and "social media is killing email," but it's just not the case, and there are plenty of reasons why (even if Google thinks it's time to start over).
Last year, we ran a piece titled 10 Reasons Social Media isnt' Replacing Email that got a pretty good response from readers. In a nutshell (read the article for elaboration), these ten reasons were:
Results are In!!
The results are in from Email Institute's poll regarding Real Time Messaging and 48% of our readers find it to be an "Excellent Marketing Tool". Do you utilize Real Time Messaging in your marketing efforts? 26% of the respondents asked the question, "What is Real Time Messaging"? RTM is a customer engagement vehicle, real-time messages deliver immediate one-to-one communications that are targeted, relevant and timely. Read more about it here. What are your RTM experiences? I think it is a great engagement vehicle and differentiates ...
Is Email Marketing Becoming Less Relevant?
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39% of UK consumers claim that the marketing emails they receive are less relevant than they were 12 months ago, which suggests that brands need to improve to keep customers engaged.
According to an e-Dialog Email Attitudes Report, which surveyed 2,000 UK adults, there is a 34% increase in the number of people who are finding emails irrelevant to them, compared to the 2009 report.
The Rules of Email Engagement: Part Two
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A couple of weeks ago I posted a piece on the rules of email engagement, very much laying out fairly broad thoughts on the subject.
Now I want to follow up with a more pointed ‘plan’ that, if followed, will ensure a virtuous spiral of engagement and increased ROI...
That is a horribly glib statement, something that a Californian ‘guru’ might pen, so let's preface these comments with two facts:
Could Email Fatigue Give Social Media the Upper Hand with Marketers?
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Americans are suffering from "email fatigue." At least that's the take away from a new study from marketing service provider Implix, which found that Americans are one of the least likely groups to open emails worldwide.
Due to its newness, social media is fast gaining ground with marketers as a way to reach out and build relationships with consumers. But a turn away from email messages could also make social media the go to for marketers trying to reach customers and grow revenue.
