tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5 2009-06-29T15:43:10Z Welcome to the Email Experience Council's blog, a forum for the email marketing industry's leading voices. On these pages, you'll find the opinions and thought-leadership that's driving the next evolution of email. Movable Type 3.35 tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.334 2009-06-29T15:32:22Z 2009-06-29T15:43:10Z

This special edition blog post is by eec Consumer Education Roundtable member Mindy Dolan, Director of Marketing for TailoredMail. It’s probably fair to say that most of us who are members of the DMA’s Email Experience Council are passionate about...

eec Consumer Education Roundtable member Mindy Dolan, Director of Marketing for TailoredMail. It’s probably fair to say that most of us who are members of the DMA’s Email Experience Council are passionate about email marketing in some sense or another. Sometimes we’re so passionate about it that we assume everyone else in the world knows what we’re talking about when we say the words “email client”, “spam” or “phishing”. But what if you asked your parents, grandparents or friend what those words meant? What do you think they’d say? The eec Consumer Education Roundtable wanted to know just that in order to make sure we were speaking the right language when developing a new website to help consumers become more aware of email's do’s and don’ts. Working with Roundtable chairs Jason Baer of Convince & Convert and DJ Waldow of Blue Sky Factory, Roundtable member Stephanie Miller of Return Path put together a quick survey asking questions about email clients, spam and phishing. Roundtable members sent it to friends, family and Facebook/Twitter followers specifically looking for people OUTSIDE the email industry. More than 65 people took the survey. What we found is that in general, people are catching on to email and the lingo used. They knew the harder terms like phishing, but no surprise, they don’t think like marketers! When we asked the question, “What name or phrase do you use to describe the type of company that provides you an email address? Note that we aren't looking for the name of the company like Yahoo! or Cox, but the "category or type" of company that this represents.” we got a mixed response. Most people outside of the email industry really don’t know the definition of an email service provider or an email client. They just think of the company that provides them with an email address as Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc. There were some in the bunch who recognized it as an email service provider, but this helped us realize that when we are referring to an “email client” or an “email service provider”, we need to be very clear and give examples of what we’re talking about (i.e. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo!, etc). And when asked how they defined spam, a whopping 76% of the participants responded saying, “Any email I didn't ask for, even if it's from a brand I know.” So what do you think they do with that email once they see it in their inbox? Participants could choose multiple answers, and 71% of the participants said they'd delete an email they don’t want, 39.3% said they’d mark it as spam or junk, and another 39.3% said they’d unsubscribe. So what does this tell us? Our perception of what consumers know and don’t know about email helps prove the need for an educational website that's written by email experts, but speaks to consumers in their language. Good thing we are building one! How do we get this message out to consumers once the website is live? That’s where our eec followers like you come in. We’re looking for you to help us spread the message. Once the website is ready, we’ll send you a link to the site, and ask you to add this to your email marketing messages, websites, and anywhere else you think consumers would be able to find it. In the meantime, if you would like to help us build the site, we can still use writers, editors and user experience support. Help us get the word out and educate consumers about email! Contact Ali to join this Roundtable.]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.333 2009-06-24T11:30:00Z 2009-06-24T12:50:30Z

The eec Email Design Roundtable recently spent some time discussing an industry hot topic: the integration of email marketing and social networking. Social networking generally makes its way into email in two primary ways: (1) Through appeals in email for...

Email Design Roundtable recently spent some time discussing an industry hot topic: the integration of email marketing and social networking. Social networking generally makes its way into email in two primary ways: (1) Through appeals in email for subscribers to join an existing social network. and (2) “Share with Your Network” (SWYN) invitations for subscribers to share email content with their networks. While these are each fairly simple, there are important creative and strategic considerations that contribute to email success, as well as innovative ways to bring user-generated content (UGC) into email. Each Design Roundtable member offered fresh insights and ideas to the evolving body of best practices around social optimization in email. Below is a summary of key points from the conversation:

When it comes to making emails more viral, content is king. However, creative elements can contribute to the successful integration of social media. How can design and copy encourage social behavior? Tim Siukola, ExactTarget: Use the same design “toolbox” to draw attention to alternate ways to interact, keeping the toolbox consistent across campaigns. Lisa Harmon, Smith-Harmon: Including the toolbox in a “Share Bar” or “SWYN Module” in the header or footer of the email makes the most sense for most marketers. Chad White, Smith-Harmon: Integrating the social appeal into clever calls-to-action (i.e. “Help a college student save money – forward this email!”) can garner more interest than simple links. But some also announce their social networking presences through emails focused entirely on social. For example, Shoeline found that by announcing their social networking presence through a social-dedicated email and then adding a prominent banner in later emails increased subscriber engagement by 57% (Source: Style Campaign). Justine Jordan, ExactTarget: For organizations with tight-nit communities and/or UGC, integrating photos is a strong way to engage subscribers. It also plays off the significant voyeur aspect of social networking! In addition, integrating the social network icons encourages participation by building recognition across email campaigns.

What strategic considerations are important in integrating social networking with email marketing campaigns? Megan Walsh, Williams-Sonoma: For retail, the challenge is prioritization of “Share vs. Sell.” You have to weigh the benefits of directing subscribers to engage with the brand’s social network with the importance of ROI. Ideally, the integration is done so that “share” and “sell” complement one another. Chad White: “Social Influencer” has emerged as a new category of customer that could be used in email segmentation (similar to non-buyers or early adopters). This segmentation would serve the same purpose as brands targeting of bloggers – making sure that messages are reaching the most influential people in the audience. Measuring the success would call for a different set of ‘performance’ metrics. Brooks Bell, Brooks-Bell Interactive: In non-retail messaging, it’s valuable to think about how upsell messaging and lifecycle messages can be engaging enough to warrant them ‘shareworthy’ in the eyes of subscribers.

How does the use of rich media impact social behavior? Lisa Harmon: Is there a way to adapt the visual language of rich media to the email channel, in a way that makes messages more viral? Subscribers should be excited to share content with friends, and rich media contributes to enthusiasm around a particular message. Tim Siukola: People are more apt to share video than text with others – it’s more likely that subscribers will think of rich media content as appealing to people in their networks. Ron Blum, Upromise: People are also very likely to share text content – whether it’s newspaper articles, magazine articles – any type of content – not just rich media. If you look at Twitter, people are sharing tons of URLs to text content. Chad White: That’s definitely true in the B2B circle. It takes much longer to assimilate information via video. You can assimilate information via text much more quickly than via video. Raj Khera, MailerMailer: In Twitter, in the B2B space, people link to charts too… While that isn’t text, it’s not rich media; it’s something in between. People tend to like to share those types of visuals.

What are some examples of good social marketing via email? Tim Siukola: Urban Outfitters includes network logos at the bottom of their emails and promotes special social features when they have them. Lisa Harmon: American Apparel held a DIY costume contest where they encouraged subscribers to submit photos of themselves in American Apparel costumes. They also showed last year’s winner in the email. This is a good share + sell example.

Final Remarks Who is an expert on these topics? No one! We’re all new to the game, and it’s important to be in the game, regardless of any anxieties about how far ahead competitors might be. The most important thing is to consider what makes sense for your brand and how you can use social elements to create a unified experience that engages subscribers. ]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.332 2009-06-22T12:00:00Z 2009-06-23T13:37:18Z

Though growing your email database takes time and effort, when done correctly, it will house your most qualified and responsive leads. A well structured email database will enable you to boost sales with more targeted messages and offers, extend the...

Who is your ideal lead and how do you reach them? Create a profile for your best customer(s). This should include things such as age, gender, hobbies, job function, how they shop (online or at stores), where they shop, what they read, what websites they visit, etc. Depending on the product or service you are marketing, some of the above will be more relevant than others. For example, if you are marketing a clothing line, job function will be less relevant than where and how they shop, where as if you are marketing a trade publication, job function and industry will be extremely important. 2. Analyze your competition. Take some time to find out what your competitors are doing to build their email lists. Start off by going to their websites. Then do a web search on your competition as well as relevant key words, and take note of any banners / CPC ads that appear. Be sure to click through to check out what their landing pages look like and what type of information they are choosing to capture. If they have an e-newsletter, sign up for it. This is an easy way to start receiving their email campaigns. All of these steps will help you find out what type of promotions they are running, any marketing alliances they have formed, and how they are positioning their product or service. 3. Reach your best customer. Once you’ve created your customer profile(s) and finished your competitive analysis, you are ready to develop your list growth strategy. Your strategy can include initiatives such as: banner ads on websites that your target audience visits, a PPC campaign, direct mail or email campaigns to magazine subscriber opt-in lists, etc. You can also approach other products or service providers for co-promotions or mutually beneficial partnerships. Starting an e-newsletter or a blog for your company are great ways to grow your list as long as your content is desirable. The lifecycle of any campaign can be extended with behavior-based trigger emails. 4. Your offer is everything! Unless your offer is relevant to the recipient, they will not respond to your campaign. Your offer will need to prompt the recipient to make a purchase or willingly give you their information in exchange for something they want. For instance, you might send an email introducing your company to a magazine subscriber opt-in list that you know your target audience reads. By including a free downloadable premium such as an industry salary guide, a list of the hottest bars in town, or a best practices whitepaper – what ever might be most relevant to your target audience – recipients will need to provide their email address and demographic information in order to download the premium. Once you’ve captured their information and they’ve opted-in to your database, you will be able to communicate with that lead on an ongoing basis. 5. Your offer is almost everything! Unless the recipients receive your email, they cannot receive your offer. Therefore, be sure to comply with email marketing best practices: include a physical mailing address, an opt-out link and a subject line that reflects the content in your email. Also, when writing your email, try to stay away from words that are flagged by spam filters. 6. Create a landing page. It is extremely important to guide the campaign recipient through the entire process. By creating a landing page on your website that mirrors your campaign’s message / offer, you will encourage the recipient to fill out the form with the ultimate goal of opting-in to your list. 7. Use a lead capture form. Your landing page can either link to a lead capture form or you can embed the form in the landing page itself. a. Since people are more prone to filling out a short form than a long and drawn out questionnaire, limit the amount of information you are asking them to provide in exchange for their premium. Besides the basic name and email address, think of including one or two other demographic questions. These questions should be well thought out to provide you with information you can leverage for future email campaigns. b. In addition to the demographic questions, your form should include a check box giving people the option to opt-in to your mailing list and receive information about your company and future promotions. According to the CAN-SPAM Act, if people do not explicitly say that they would like to receive emails from you in the future, it is unlawful to send them commercial marketing emails. c. If you do not currently have a way to capture leads, an easy way to do this is through your email service provider. Most ESPs will provide you with both the lead capture form and a database to house the acquired leads. They will also manage your opt-outs for you. 8. Track your efforts. If you track your list building efforts, you will be able to pinpoint which initiatives are working the best and focus more of your energy on those. You might decide that others aren’t worth your time. Easy ways to track your initiatives are: a. Web Analytics: sign up for a free Google Analytics account. This will enable you to track how many people are visiting each page on your site and which campaign they are coming from. b. In your lead capture form, include one question asking people how they heard about you with a drop down menu where customers can select from a list of your current list building initiatives. c. Landing Pages: create a separate landing page for each marketing initiative so you can track page visits to these dedicated pages through your web analytics account. d. Dedicated 800 numbers: there are services that will provide you with a range of 800 numbers that redirect to your main phone number. Including a dedicated 800 number on each landing page will enable you to associate each call with a specific campaign. Remember, even if you are accurately targeting your best customer, your campaign will only be a success if you get them to act on your offer and opt-in to your database. Be sure to spend enough time tailoring your message and the offer to the people who will be receiving your campaign. - Yael K. Penn, Founder and Principal, Imagine 360 Marketing]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.331 2009-06-17T12:00:00Z 2009-06-17T12:14:53Z

I've been hearing a lot of questions surrounding the best application of social media to the marketing mix, but one that has been slightly overlooked and under-discussed is who should really own it within an organization. And until you can...

best application of social media to the marketing mix, but one that has been slightly overlooked and under-discussed is who should really own it within an organization. And until you can figure that out, it is really difficult to hold any one internal resource responsible for devising a solid and actionable social plan. To that end, StrongMail Systems recently conducted a survey to see how marketers were approaching the social space and who planned to own the channel. More than 500 marketers responded, and the results validated our suspicions. Social media is emerging as a direct marketing channel, and marketers are planning significant investment in email marketing and social media programs in the second half of 2009. One thing the survey clearly conveyed is that ownership of social media within the various facets of marketing is still up for grabs, with 29% of respondents stating that responsibility is owned by multiple departments. But for 36% of the respondents, social is owned by the direct marketing organization, which allows for significant alignment with email marketing efforts. Social media was initially seen as a terrific vehicle for public relations, but surprisingly only 9% of respondents reported PR organizations owning the social media channel, which suggests that marketing teams value social media more for its demand generation potential than awareness building. A paltry 5% have a dedicated social media department. Other notable facts from the survey include:

66% of respondents plan to integrate email and social channels in 2009

48% of respondents have already formulated a strategy for achieving email and social integration

Of marketers planning to increase budgets in 2009, 83% will increase spend in email marketing, followed by social media at 62% If you are asking yourself where to start, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. 55% of respondents report that one of their biggest challenges with integrating social media and email marketing is determining metrics by which to measure success. At 48%, establishing business goals for the program is a close second. So here are a few tips on where to start:

Establish goals for the social channel. Is it your objective to use the social outlets for brand building, email list growth or increased revenue? While your objectives could be multi-fold, understanding what they are is the right place to start.

Prioritize your social goals. Now that you have your goals established, apply some logical business measurements to effectively prioritize the goals. Which objectives will require the least start-up versus the need for longer lead times coupled with programmatic implications that can result?

Develop an action plan. It is not realistic to think that you can hit the social world and accomplish all of your objectives by simply posting a Facebook page. Devise a plan and put your best foot forward – you don’t want to rush to market with a half-baked plan in any marketing channel, but the viral aspect of social magnifies those mistakes multi-fold, so be cautious. Based on these findings and what is known about the power of social media, it's clear that it deserves some serious attention and has grown to the stage where it needs an owner and a purpose within marketing. - Kara Trivunovic, StrongMail Systems]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.329 2009-06-10T12:00:00Z 2009-06-10T19:05:29Z

Michael Kelly, Director of Business Development at ClickMail, recently presented at the Silverpop Summit. His presentation on email marketing metrics that matter was so well received, I thought it fitting to recap it here. Titled “Proving Your Worth with Metrics,”...

Get Michael’s presentation for a preview of some of the compelling stats and numbers. Michael covered why to measure, what to measure, and the challenges of measuring, among other topics, including what to do with that data once you have it, and new tools for compiling and learning from that data in real-time. But why is measuring your data so difficult? Lots of reasons, including conflicting metrics and not knowing what to measure. In the email marketing industry, we suffer from conflicting metrics because there are so many things to measure. We measure how many mailed, delivered, opened, clicked through on and more. The lack of consistency in calculating key performance metrics makes it impossible to establish industry benchmarks or to effectively compare results. Sometimes we forget that email marketing is about more than just clicks. Email can achieve numerous significant goals beyond a sale. The purpose of email marketing is to trigger an action, not only to get a click. That action might be a forward to a friend, signing up, a visit to a brick-and-mortar store, attending an event, or simply being more aware of a brand. And knowing all those actions are possible reactions to your email makes measuring even more of a challenge! Again, we’re back to metrics. Remember, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Real danger lurks in not measuring the right factors or not measuring accurately. You could suffer lost revenue. You might not know which messages are working. And your sales team won’t know what to focus on. On the other hand, there are huge advantages to knowing your numbers so you can:

Justify your marketing strategy

Prove email marketing is an integral part of your organization’s marketing plan

Justify your budget by showing that email provides a far better ROI than any other marketing medium

Know what works and what to improve Improving click-throughs is one thing, but don’t forget to also measure against your company’s organizational goals. What is the point of all that email marketing anyway? There is a master goal, the big Kahuna, the big pie-in-the-sky reward your business is focused on. Make sure your email marketing measurements align with helping to achieve that goal. This might be increasing brand awareness or increasing sales. What we’ve described here is the ideal world of email marketing metrics. In the real world, they’re not so easy to get. Your ESP won’t be able to provide you with this kind of data, but companies have found solutions in widgets and what we at ClickMail affectionately call “reportals”: online dashboards that use API system calls to access data from ESPs. You probably already know APIs are highly effective at automating the launching of emails, and managing the flow of data between disparate platforms. Now we at ClickMail are using APIs as a fantastic tool for extracting data to produce actionable reports. To read about two organizations that have benefitted from the metrics possible with “reportals” and how your business might take advantage of a similar approach, request a copy of Michael’s presentation. Until next time, remember to measure - it’s the only way you can improve! - Marco Marini, ClickMail Marketing]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.330 2009-06-09T15:39:38Z 2009-06-09T16:11:13Z

The past year has flown by and as we approach the last lap of the 08-09 eec Nonprofit Project, the team wanted to share two key accomplishments—these are just two of many wins from the eec team and the Agassi...

Agassi Foundation since last July. 1.) New creative strategy and assets—convincing the Agassi team to transition from sending a digital version of their print newsletter to a more email friendly one was easy. But no one imagined the bump in response they saw! With open rates close to 40%, the new newsletter creative saw nearly a 390% increase in click thru activity. Check it out here. 2.) On the social side, the eec team looked for ways to help the Agassi Foundation add to their existing partnered presence in the “social” world with organizations like Athletes for Hope. Enter the badge download page: view it and download your own Agassi Foundation badge here. Even though the 08-09 Nonprofit Project isn’t over yet, it certainly has been rewarding for the team to help out such a great organization, cause and group of people. We’ll be back at the end of the project with a full wrap-up. *If you haven’t gotten involved yet, now’s your chance to sign up and do something—the eec just announced the 09-10 project - the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF). Contact Ali for more information and to join the team. - Chris Frasier & Rachael Anderson, BlueHornet Agassi Project Team Leads]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.328 2009-06-08T17:26:11Z 2009-06-08T18:04:15Z

I’ve been in the business of delivering email now for quite a long time. I’ve spent more than 10 years managing, creating, or observing email communications in some fashion. I have worked on the client side, with partners, with vendors,...

solid process can help eliminate errors, increase productivity, and boost morale within an email team. I am going to give away an interview secret of mine here for everyone to see. I guess that means I will have to make up another one, but here we go. I always ask candidates to tell me if they have multiple tasks to do, how do they stay organized? I am not looking for any specific answer, just an answer. A person who has a clear method of organization can go a long way in our business. You can use a white-board, sticky-notes, calendar, reminders, you name it. The key to organization is an understanding of how to prioritize and remind you of critical tasks as crunch-time nears. All email campaigns have a moment of truth where everything has to come together. I believe that predetermined process is the single most important factor in making that moment of truth a smooth one. Here are the main areas where it is important to inject process:

Planning – It’s a great idea to have a rolling calendar. Plan for the future.

Templates – Don’t start every campaign from scratch. Develop and test solid templates for future mailings. Good templates take a lot of QA out of the picture.

Content Gathering – You must have a repeatable process for gathering your content. Copywriters, designers, revenue management, database, and management are all groups who may be involved.

QA – Crucial to have a documented process for QA.

Approvals – Do you know who must approve an email before a launch? Do they know they are supposed to approve them?

Launch – Taking the stress out of the decision by having a clear path to launch.

Analysis – An overlooked area sometimes. Process should be defined so testing, and analysis metrics have meaning. Document, document, document all of these processes. Putting down the process on paper helps you on a number of fronts. Writing down responsibilities on paper will allow everyone involved to make sure they feel comfortable. Having a documented process also makes training new team members easier. I would recommend that the “Email Team” have regular meetings to plan for future campaigns and review past campaigns. Continuous open dialogue with all involved in the email creation process can help smooth out any potential problems that may arise. It sounds a bit cheesy, but it is important to be a team when it comes to email. I have seen many a campaign come unhinged because of small issues. Making mistakes in email is just about unavoidable. Things happen, and as long as we humans are still in charge, it will continue that way. An important thing I have learned from these mistakes is that almost all the time, the mistake can be traced back to a process breakdown. Take a good look at the way you take an email from concept to production. Are you capable of developing the process discipline necessary to execute the vision? A little bit of work in planning and teamwork will pay dividends each and every time you launch a campaign. - Kevin Senne, Premiere Global Services]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.327 2009-05-28T12:00:00Z 2009-05-28T12:14:17Z

As we all know from our own experiences as subscribers, the marketing emails that people look forward to are those with the most distinctive personalities. Subscribers are much more eager to engage when they feel like they have a...

As we all know from our own experiences as subscribers, the marketing emails that people look forward to are those with the most distinctive personalities. Subscribers are much more eager to engage when they feel like they have a relationship with an individual or a persona than with a company. For most brands, infusing messages with personality means cultivating a unique and consistent tone with design and copy choices. Increasingly, though, brands are finding ways to put actual human faces and/or human emotions into their email, making the messages seem more personal and creating continuity between messages. Below, we’ll take a look at how some top retailers are adding personality to their email. • Backcountry’s memorial message is the most sincerely poignant example of personality in email that we’ve seen recently. The April 10th Backcountry email was sent with the sole purpose of memorializing a professional skier and inviting subscribers to help support his family. The message fosters a supportive sense of community between Backcountry subscribers. • SmartBargains’ holiday message shows subscribers the actual people behind the brand. This is an approach not usually taken, very literally demonstrating that actual people are creating and sending the emails. • Crutchfield’s marketing email features a picture of and quote from their CEO. In a similar way to the SmartBargains message, this makes it easier for subscribers to feel an individual connection to the company. • Urban Outfitters' top reviewers email creates a community feeling and also encourages the subscriber base to become more active. When they see reviewers recognized, subscribers understand that their own reviewing efforts are valued, and they may be inspired get more involved. Sephora customer reviews function similarly. • J.Crew’s Jenna’s Picks is a novel way to put a face on the fashions. The only problem? In many J.Crew emails, we don’t quite know who Jenna is! In this message, they describe her as “our in-house style expert and muse” (vague, but we’ll take it), but in other messages they just call out “Jenna’s Picks” without reminding subscribers why we should care about Jenna. • Barneys New York’s Barneys Babble invites us into the sharp, funny mind of Simon Doonan. We get to follow Simon’s adventures and hear his insights on fashion, and Barneys thereby takes on more character. • Nordstrom's "At your service" email makes online shopping seem more personal by calling out special services. It’s always personal to shop in-store at Nordstrom and interact with sales associates, and this email extends the service experience across the email channel. There’s room in almost any brand voice to add a personal touch that will invite your subscribers to feel more connected with your company. For more musing on this topic, check out Silverpop’s Engagement Marketing Blog article, Do Your Emails Have a Personality?. Bubbling with Personality, Lisa Harmon and Alex Madison, Smith-Harmon -->Read other Make it Pop! posts. ]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.326 2009-05-26T12:00:00Z 2009-05-26T12:03:12Z

There are a few things in the small world of email marketing that I believe can be simply attributed to peer pressure. Just like back in our school days, most of our impressionable brains feel the need to keep up...

A/B testing. Yes, testing again. Testing seems to be the staple of many best practices discussions. All of us senders know we should test our email. The problem lies in the fact that, for most of us, we have no idea of how to pull that off. I break it down like this: 10% test correctly, 30% attempt testing, 40% plan on testing, and the other 20% could care less. I think these statistics mirror most things in our lives. We have the overachievers, those among us who make the attempt, those who continually plan to start tomorrow, and those who don’t even want to discuss it. Why can’t most of us actually get good results from our testing? The answer lies in the peer pressure we talked about earlier. All the cool kids are doing A/B testing, so we feel like we have to do the same thing. There is a big difference in doing real testing with a purpose in mind, and sending two different email campaigns. Testing is all about the results, not the actual tests. If you are not in position to capture data or understand why results were different, testing is a waste of your time. It’s time to give up your seat at the popular table. So you’re ready to test… Step one before beginning a testing program is to determine what element you want to test. It is very important not to change multiple elements in a single test; that makes it impossible to discern what drives your results. Let’s say you decide to test subject lines. The rest of the email needs to be the same to determine true differences in the test. I would also highly recommend you anticipate results before testing. You won’t always be right – and it’s sometimes exciting to be wrong – and this will help to predict what you are going to do with the results. Test quantity is something we often see handled in a less than optimal way. If you have a campaign going to 100,000 recipients, the way to test is not to send 50,000 to one group and 50,000 to the other. The proper way to test is to send 5,000 to each test group; analyze the results and send the other 90,000 the highest performing copy. The value in testing is to optimize each and every campaign right now. It's too often that I see people testing a campaign 50/50, and then doing nothing in the future with the results. The last piece of advice I’d like to leave you with today is to think historically. Proper testing can give you the future play book for your email programs. Historical testing results can help develop new campaigns, understand what works for different segments, and generally sharpen your program. Don’t miss the opportunity to get a letter sweater, a date to the prom, a convertible, and just generally be one cool email marketers. Testing is where it’s at, Daddy-O!!! - Kevin Senne, Premiere Global Services]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.325 2009-05-21T12:00:00Z 2009-05-21T12:20:00Z

During the eec List Growth & Engagement Roundtable meeting this week, several DMA/eec members had a fascinating conversation about how to define consumer intent under CAN-SPAM as it relates to opt out for third party messages. The rules amended to...

Arend Henderson of Q Interactive, an online consumer site that has a very large email list rental business: It’s about the permission grant. If the message is from PublisherA, and the Friendly from is the publisher, along with the message header and footer – and significantly, the permission grant is with the publisher; but then the full message promotes AdvertiserB, then the opt out under CAN-SPAM should be from the sender and list owner, who is PublisherA. Stephanie Miller (me) of Return Path, an email deliverability and performance company: The panel of privacy experts who spoke at the recent eec/DMA webinar with the FTC interpret the legislation that the opt out should be provided by the advertiser. Arend: We interpret this as a protection of the consumer interest. We, the publisher, own the list, we own the relationship, and we care about those relationships. We believe that the opt out should be from the publisher, not the advertiser. It’s our job to send subscribers messages. Kim Santos, Reader’s Digest: I feel the opposite. The opt-out has to be on the side of the advertiser. In list rental, where the advertiser is the sole focus of the message, that is what drives the unsubscribe request. If I’m a consumer, then I don’t want the AdvertiserB advertisement. The subscriber wants out of the AdvertiserB messages. If the opt out is only with PublisherA, then AdvertiserB could just go rent another list from another publisher. It’s a penalty for those subscribers who are on a lot of lists. Arend: We feel strongly that the message is not from AdvertiserB. The permission grant is with us, the publisher. Luke Glasner of Rodman Publishing: If you want to opt-out from AdvertiserB, you should be able to opt-out of those specific messages of the advertiser from PublisherA. The publisher like Rodman provides the opt out and we offer to manage the suppression file for advertisers who rent from us multiple times. Also for first time users we request suppression files - and we don't charge extra for them. Personally, I don't think list renters should charge to run a suppression file - since the person that benefits the most from reducing spam complaints is the list owner, even more so than the consumer of that email. It’s not about protecting consumers from AdvertiserB in other areas of the Internet. If I walk around and see an AdvertiserB billboard, does that violate the opt-out? Does my email opt-out mean that I won’t ever see an ad on the street or on TV or on a website? Kim: No of course not, but there is so much transparency in email than in other channels. You can’t suppress ads in those other channels, but in email you can. I as a publisher and someone who cares about my subscribers have a responsibility to protect my consumer. So I make sure that if you don’t want to see AdvertiserB ads, you won’t see them from me, ever. Luke: I can only be responsible for my email program, not actions of every person that engages in online advertising. I do feel we have a duty to respect our readers and to give them control over their inbox. It is up the subscriber to tell me how much they want to engage with me. And it is up to me to respect their wishes. I think that email is privilege granted to senders by their subscribes not a right. Based on my experience I think that most consumers would agree with that. Kim: What about when there are two opt-outs? One each for the advertiser and for the publisher? We often see that, and sometimes offer it. Arend: Consumers don’t think in our terms, they don’t know why there are two opt-outs. They don’t know who is “sender” under the law. This is why we never let the advertiser put AdvertiserB in the friendly from line. The messages come from Q Interactive, which is the brand you know and gave a permission grant to. Luke: I will tell you what consumers do when they see two unsubscribe links. They go to the top of the message and click the Report Spam button. They won’t bother to figure it out. It’s not worth it to us as a list owner to work with advertisers who drive a lot of unsubscribe requests or complaints (when someone clicks the Report Spam button). Arend: We agree. We do not work with those kinds of advertisers at all or at least for very long. Luke: And the other side is true as well. Sometimes, the person who is sending this message and the sales person at the list owner have different agendas. If you are a buyer, be sure that the list owner can actually do what they promise. Kim: We view this as a partnership. We want our advertisers to succeed. We had to put in an actual, official corporate marketing role so that we have an ombudsman around this area. That has helped to eliminate confusion. Stephanie: How do you handle newsletters with multiple ads? Kim: We treat these differently than full page email broadcasts. In this case, the opt-out is with Reader’s Digest, the sender. Arend: We do the same thing. Luke: We also follow the same for our newsletters. An email newsletter's purpose is to provide (hopefully) engaging content to the reader. We support the newsletter financially by selling ad space so we can continue to provide our readers with newsletters. - Stephanie Miller, Return Path]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.324 2009-05-19T12:00:00Z 2009-05-19T12:20:33Z

As email marketers, it can be hard to gauge the frequency with which to send your email newsletters over the summer. You may be asking, "Is it even worth it to send messages at all over the summer because so...

As email marketers, it can be hard to gauge the frequency with which to send your email newsletters over the summer. You may be asking, "Is it even worth it to send messages at all over the summer because so many of my customers may be on vacation?" The short answer is yes, and here’s why. A 2007 study from eMarketer posted on Emaillabs.com shows that even while on vacation, 77% of people ages 22-34 check their personal email, along with 64% of people 35-45, 58% of people 46-59, and 60% of people 60-70. For the 22-34 demographic, 39% still check their work email while on vacation, as compared to 50% of the 35-45 population and 40% of people 46-59. What these statistics should show you is that even during the summer months or times when many people are on vacation, a large number of people in each demographic are still checking their emails. Not only should you feel comfortable sending out your messages over the summer, it’s also a solid business strategy to keep your brand as visible as possible to your customers during these months. That being said, you should not overflow your subscribers’ inboxes during the summer or the holiday season (or really any other time) either. This same study found that nearly 50% of people who received excess amounts of email during their vacations simply deleted the emails. Many others reported the senders to their ISPs as spammers, or unsubscribed from their newsletters altogether. However, the study also found that over 40% said excess email did not affect their daily habits, but in the end it’s best not to be the sender that clogs email inboxes (Source: Fourth Annual Holiday Email Consumer Survey 2008, published by Return Path). - Ryan Allis, CEO, iContact tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.323 2009-05-13T12:00:00Z 2009-05-13T12:44:50Z

There is a consensus among email marketers that keeping uninterested subscribers on your email lists does more harm than good. Before your unengaged subscribers unsubscribe or – gulp! – report you as spam, take measures to reengage them and reinforce...

There is a consensus among email marketers that keeping uninterested subscribers on your email lists does more harm than good. Before your unengaged subscribers unsubscribe or – gulp! – report you as spam, take measures to reengage them and reinforce their positive relationship with your brand. Here are a few ideas for keeping your subscriber base active and excited about your email: • Run a relevant, engaging email program in the first place. The most important way to keep subscriber attention is, of course, to pay attention to your whole email program at each step. Maintain relevant content, design creatives that subscribers enjoy seeing, and refrain from overmailing. • Send a “We Miss You” message with a special offer to inactive subscribers. When you know you have unengaged subscribers on your list, show them that you still care. One way to do this is with a “missing you” message, sweetened with a special offer. Smith-Harmon clients Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids added a dynamic “We’ve missed you!” banners to emails sent to inactive subscribers. • Involve subscribers by inviting them to help support a cause. Strengthen subscriber relationships with your brand by encouraging them to help you support a cause. This shows subscribers that you care about more than just dollars and also fosters a sense of investment in your brand’s efforts. For example, Lucy has encouraged subscribers to help support the Breast Cancer Network of Strength, and PetSmart has invited subscribers to join them in helping homeless pets. • Run contests or sweepstakes that encourage interaction with your brand. Everyone loves to win. If the reward is enticing enough and the process is simple enough, subscribers will jump at the chance to enter your brand’s contest or sweepstakes. In a recent contest, The Cheesecake Factory asked for new flavor idea submissions from subscribers and then went a step further by letting other subscribers vote for the winner (I’m particularly pleased, since my pick won. Yum, Red Velvet). Last winter, Urban Outfitters enticed subscribers to create a holiday wishlist by allowing them to enter a drawing to “win their wishlist.” Even the contest losers (such as myself) received an email with a discount offer to keep them shopping. • Marketing a good or service your subscribers aren’t familiar with. By showing your subscribers something that they may not have known you carried, you may inspire them to revisit your site. For instance, The Container Store took Earth Day as an opportunity to reveal themselves as a vendor of environmentally-conscious storage options. Hopefully your email program is so relevant and engaging that no subscriber would ever DREAM of hitting the unsubscribe button. But if you happen to be seeing a high number of inactive subscribers, give some of these ideas a try and see if you can recapture some attention. Always Active & Engaged, Lisa Harmon and Alex Madison, Smith-Harmon -->Read other Make it Pop! posts.]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.322 2009-05-11T15:18:13Z 2009-05-11T15:26:59Z

In last week's eec/DMA webinar, Peder Magee, Esq., FTC Privacy and Theft attorney for the Bureau of Consumer Protection joined DMA's VP of Government Affairs, Jerry Cerasale, and a panel of email privacy experts to discuss the latest thinking at...

Download the recording (free until this Thursday) and read the summary of the event. ]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.321 2009-05-06T12:00:00Z 2009-05-06T12:11:04Z

The email marketing industry has never had a consensus around metrics, something that contributes to its reputation as an immature marketing channel. When I heard about the Measurement and Accuracy Roundtable at the eec I was excited to join the...

proposal - one that represents a large step forward for email marketers. However, it also means a good bit of work. Many email marketing service providers (ESPs), email marketing vendors and individual marketers now have to start considering some new numbers. This proposal not only calls out where everyone should eventually be, it also provides consistent names for related metrics. For us at ESPs, it means that we can immediately make it clear to our clients where we stand. A great approach is to embrace an "Educate, Enhance and Evolve" approach. What does that entail? 1. Educate your clients on where they currently stand Is what you've been calling 'Opens' now defined as the Action Rate? If so, then let them know, that doesn't mean you need to change the name right away, but you should provide a tool tip or a more detailed description in your help guides. Also link to the new standards, or provide your own copy of them within your application. This will empower them to do more with their data. 2. Enhance your current reports with some of the new metrics You may have been showing just one number, the one you thought best represented 'Opens'. But we've opened the door, there are a number of different metrics which each tell a different story. By providing more of this information you allow your clients to dig deeper into their statistics and gain a better understanding of their recipients. Of course with more information comes more questions; be sure to provide detailed information about how these numbers are calculated as well as why they are important. 3. Evolve from the days of 'Opens' That's right, the goal here is to stop reporting 'Opens' at all. Do we expect the industry to forget about 'Open Rates' by tomorrow? No, but we do expect the experts to start moving away from it soon. When industry leading ESPs follow suit it will help to create momentum and drive the whole industry forward. By defining and adhering to industry standards we are enabling all email marketers to converse with the confidence that they are comparing apples to apples. This is a big step in the move towards getting email marketing the respect it deserves as a mature marketing channel. - Adam Covati, Bronto Software]]> tag:blog.emailexperience.org,2009://5.320 2009-05-04T12:00:00Z 2009-05-04T12:14:50Z

It’s spring! Everything around us is green and fresh…why not our email photography treatments? This week, we took a look at how brands have been discovering new ways to treat imagery in email, ranging from simple to strange. Spicing...

It’s spring! Everything around us is green and fresh…why not our email photography treatments? This week, we took a look at how brands have been discovering new ways to treat imagery in email, ranging from simple to strange. Spicing up silos. Products silos are so effective that they’re fairly prevalent, but that’s no reason for bland designs. Check out these brands’ sweet silo treatments: • Piperlime’s propping grounds their silo products while adding interest. What could look fresher than daisies? • Sephora’s props help products pop on an otherwise stark background. They break the grid and add sensual context to products with benefits are tough to convey visually. • Barneys New York makes their silos stand out against a black background with a jagged, artsy cut. Thinking outside the grid. While sometimes the straight and simple product grid is the best option, it’s worth looking at how some brands have stirred up their gridding for a fresher look. • Restoration Hardware’s clean design shows products framing body copy. It’s still a grid, but it offers an alternative to a hero with products gridded beneath. • Urban Outfitters’ checkerboard collage of lifestyle shots features products and art imagery. The individual products don’t stand out the way they would in a conventional grid, but they create a strong impression of what the brand offers for spring. • Boden’s use of product silos laid out on a mat-like background image shows a unique alternative to boxes. The inclusion of environmental shots in each section adds even more interest to what could have easily been laid out as a long, less interesting grid. Why choose? Fun image combos. By incorporating more than one form of imagery, designs take on an artistic look that can suit unique themes. • Betsey Johnson’s cartoon illustrations always complement their images and make the photography seem more interesting. • Fossil’s combination of environmental photography, illustration and a product silo makes this seem like a page out of a scrapbook, suiting the style of the bag and the theme of “reclaiming pastimes.” • Coach uses a silo shot right alongside an environmental shot of the same product. The contrast is visual interesting, and allows Coach to position the product both aspirationally and with functional details. Set for success with inset images. Including smaller, inset photos over larger imagery is a sleek, simple way to add interest to designs. • Macy’s inset photos set over an environmental shot add product imagery without disrupting the design’s windswept desert theme. • Anthropologie insets a small image of a model over a larger photo of the same model in the same set. The photography is conventional but this treatment makes it seem fresh. • Fossil includes small close-ups of the models’ hands over the larger environmental shot. This makes particular sense for Fossil as it allows them to highlight their watches while still using rich environmental photography. Poppin’ play with color. Brighter spring and summer color palettes (in both products and design) offer an opportunity to have more fun with color. • Nordstrom uses bright background colors behind their models to make the vibrant clothing stand out even more. • Shopbop’s mix of color and black-and-white photography creates a somewhat jarring contrast and adds an edgy flare to their design. • Free People’s use of a similarly-staged photo with four different-colored pairs of shorts is fun and playful – perfect for spring. Other creative trends. Freshening up image treatments means taking risks, trying unique approaches and sometimes even getting a little strange…. • Neiman Marcus tries something fun and funky by showing faded version of their model behind the clear hero image. You get the sense that she’s actually spinning, per the headline. • Barneys New York adds intrigue by playing with the orientation of their images in an inventive way. • Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman all demonstrate the recent trend of incorporating snapshots into designs. (This must work; Lisa bought the “Taylor Momsen” look dress straight from the email!) In many cases, the image makes the email. This spring, we challenge you to take risks and try photography treatments that will set your email apart in the inbox. Getting Fresh this Spring, Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon, Smith-Harmon -->Read other Make it Pop! posts. ]]>