Email Institute

The Evolution of Email Marketing [Infographic]

andrewjcoate — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:21:01 +0000

It’s been 42 years since Ray Tomlinson sent the first ever email. The history of email itself is one thing, but the evolution of email marketing is quite another. Over the past 42 years, email (the ability to send messages through a network) has evolved into one of the most cost effective forms of direct marketing. Not only is the method fast and cheap, but it has opened the door to how marketers can monitor and react to consumer behaviour in a way that was never previously possible.

Five Engagement Killers -- And How To Overcome Them

andrewjcoate — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:51:55 +0000

While we all know that the goal to win and retain engagement extends beyond the inbox experience and across channels, I continue to come across situations where otherwise smart marketers wind up hurting engagement with some regrettable (but avoidable) practices.

How To Design Call to Action Buttons That Convert

andrewjcoate — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:29:19 +0000

Day 4 of Conversion Centered Design weekInternet marketing research firm MarketingSherpa recently asked online businesses what types of automated emails they send. The results (Ever heard someone say the purpose of the subject line is to get the open? This is short sighted and the purpose and impact of the subject line goes much deeper. The thinking behind a subject line should be more than “what will make someone read this email?”

Using Data-Centered Storytelling To Enchant & Engage Your Email Audience

andrewjcoate — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:16:59 +0000

Our goal as savvy email marketers is to look beyond the lure of the one-time conversion and strive to build an ongoing relationship between consumers and our brands. Why is this goal so important? Because it’s been proven through many a marketing study that engaged customers become loyal customers and loyal customers are the most valuable segment in any list or database.

DocuSign's Targeted LinkedIn InMail Strategy Creates 3 Large Pipeline Opportunities

andrewjcoate — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:50:13 +0000

SUMMARY: The topic for this B2B social media case study is familiar: LinkedIn. The overall strategy and goal are also familiar: Use third-party validation from customers for thought leadership and brand awareness, and build an online community around a specific target audience.

Find Out How Your Efforts Stack Up with the Modern Marketer Scorecard

andrewjcoate — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:38:29 +0000

Marketers are operating in an ever-evolving classroom. To compete for buyer’s attention, marketers are expanding their strategies to deliver more focused, compelling customer communications that can be measured, refined, and mapped back to organizational objectives.

Third-Party Data Guides Campaign Targeting

andrewjcoate — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:31:10 +0000

Targeting is now par for the course

Nearly all agencies, ad platforms and advertisers are now using audience targeting to serve digital display ads. More than nine out of 10 agencies and ad platforms said they used targeting, according to data platform eXelate’s research from April 2013, and more than eight out of 10 advertisers said the same.

But how they go about that audience targeting—and what data they use to determine their audience—is a varied proposition.

The Inattentive Consumer: How To Break Through To Mobile Subscribers

andrewjcoate — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:03:05 +0000

As marketers, we have put a strong focus on building mobile programs over the past few years. We have learned that 80% of smartphone users won’t leave home without their smartphones, creating an abundance of opportunities for us to reach subscribers anytime, anywhere. They use their phones everywhere: at home, while traveling, in stores, at restaurants, while waiting at the doctor’s office, etc.

Sales Enablement: Using Email Performance Data to Help Salespeople Understand Lead Interest Increases Sales 48.9%

andrewjcoate — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:59:22 +0000

SUMMARY: Keeping Marketing and Sales on the same page requires a smooth flow of information. What if you could send campaign data to the right salespeople automatically?

This direct-sales company sends a three-part email series to salespeople with fresh data after every promotional campaign. The emails help the sales team track the hottest leads and helped them increase sales 48.9% year-over-year in 2012.

Implementation of Mobile Testing

andrewjcoate — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:53:14 +0000

SUMMARY: In this week’s chart, we look at the MarketingSherpa 2012 Mobile Marketing Benchmark Report to learn how marketers implemented mobile testing efforts. Be sure to share your own analysis of this chart in the MarketingSherpa LinkedIn Group for a chance to be published in a future blog post.

How Real-time Analytics Help Email Marketers

andrewjcoate — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:09:52 +0000

The Direct Marketing Association last month released its “Statistical Fact Book 2013,” and one key finding came as no surprise: A quarter of marketers said the biggest challenge they face is analyzing data. The second biggest hurdle is applying that information to future campaigns. Today, as real-time analytics—including email analytics—become more widely used, these challenges are multiplying as marketers try to integrate them into their existing marketing platforms.

The Lock-in Problem of Email Newsletter Management

andrewjcoate — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:57:45 +0000

I recently read an article on Wired.com entitled, Why E-Mail Newsletters Won't Die. Like most Wired pieces, it was well-written and thoughtful.

Unfortunately, while the author extolled the renewed virtues of email mailing lists, he didn't really cover some of the modern-day realities and challenges most marketers and list managers won't tell you about until it's just too late.

But I will. I've been there. I've done that. I have the scars to prove it.

Content And Context In Email Marketing

andrewjcoate — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:50:09 +0000

At a recent conference on email marketing in Florida, Amazon’s Donald Parsons spoke about the importance of conversation in email marketing, as in talk about something the recipient wants to discuss. He gave an example of how he and his friends would spend hours talking about their hometown Boston Red Sox, but the conversation would be much shorter should, say, the Yankees come up.

Microsoft Puts Aside Rivalry, Integrates Google Chat In Outlook Email Service

andrewjcoate — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:44:59 +0000

Microsoft has added Google Chat to support its Webmail email service Outlook.com in hopes of converting Gmail users. Users can log in with their Google account, see their Google contact list along the right rail of the e-mail window and begin chatting with those contacts right from Outlook.com.

How Do You Write the Perfect Headline?

andrewjcoate — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:45:10 +0000

Perfect? Wouldn’t it be subjective to say what’s perfect? Nah.

From the point of view of a marketing writer of 25 years (yeah, that’d be me), a headline has one objective: inspire the reader to read the next line.

This applies to your email’s subject line or your blog post title in the biggest way. It applies to social media because it’s your headline that will most likely be shared and clicked—or not.

Target Uses Email to Promote New Discount Feature

andrewjcoate — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:35:06 +0000

Target Corp. today began testing Cartwheel, a discount service with a Facebook twist, in an attempt to drive shoppers into its stores.

5 Things Customers Need to Hear You Say in Your Email Newsletter

andrewjcoate — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:09:46 +0000

When it comes to connecting with your customers, engagement is the language you need to know.

So, how can you become fluent in engagement quickly to get your emails opened and acted upon?

Following language school, Fluent City’s, tips on creating an engaged audience is a great place to start!

In addition to offering fun after-work language classes for adults in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, Fluent City keeps their fans engaged across all four cities with their informative and fun email newsletters.

Subject Lines Aren’t About Getting Your Email Read

andrewjcoate — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:02:17 +0000

Ever heard someone say the purpose of the subject line is to get the open? This is short sighted and the purpose and impact of the subject line goes much deeper. The thinking behind a subject line should be more than “what will make someone read this email?”

A case in point is some work I’ve recently completed for Coinks Deals. I’d like to share with you what was learnt about subject lines and how to best communicate with a large dormant database.