Be sure to vote on the next best practice: single opt-in or double. Every vote counts so tell your colleagues!

At last week's Email Evolution Conference, the Great Email Debate sparked a ton of conversation.

We'd like everyone to have the opportunity to weigh-in on the three topics we established as best practices. This week, vote on the first topic, the opt-in box: checked or un-checked, and post your comments here.

Next week we'll tackle single opt-in or double opt-in and the following week we'll wrap up the debate with a question about keeping or deleting inactives.

The answer…
84% --> Organic – Capitalizing on sign-up opportunities across all of my channels
9% --> Acquisition – Growing by renting lists, using co-registration, etc.
6% --> Viral – Empowering subscribers to share my emails via forward to a friend, social networks, etc.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this unscientific survey.

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Are animated gifs effective in emails?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results.

When asked “In regards to triggering reactivation campaigns or special segmentation, how do you measure inactivity?” the eec community answered…
46% --> A lack of opens.
23% --> A lack of clicks.
14% --> A lack of conversions.
17% --> We don’t segment out inactives or send reactivation campaigns currently.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this unscientific survey.

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
What is your most successful list-building tactic?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results.

The answer…
12% --> Within the past month.
29% --> Within the past 3 months.
22% --> Within the past 6 months.
14% --> Within the past year.
9% --> Within the past 18 months.
14% --> Within the past 2 years.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this unscientific survey.

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
In regards to triggering reactivation campaigns or special segmentation, how do you measure inactivity?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results.

The answer…
45% --> Yes, because the new rules didn’t require any changes.
34% --> Yes. We’ve made the necessary changes.
2% --> No, but we’re evaluating what changes are needed.
19% --> No. We weren’t aware that new CAN-SPAM rules were issued.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this unscientific survey.

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
How long is too long to go between sending emails to a subscriber?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results.

The answer…
42% --> Open rate
13% --> Click rate
18% --> Click-to-open rate
26% --> Conversion rate

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Are you in compliance with the new CAN-SPAM rules that went into effect this month?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results.

The answer…
38% --> Direct mail and catalogs
19% --> Blogs/RSS
17% --> SMS (text messages)
10% --> Social networks
10% --> Internet ads
4% --> Search
2% --> Television and radio

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
What is the primary metric by which you measure the success of your subject line A/B tests?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results.

The answer…
11% --> Double opt-in (have to check an unchecked box and respond to confirmation email)
26% --> Confirmed opt-in (have to check an unchecked box, plus they receive a welcome email allowing them to immediately opt out)
22% --> Single opt-in (have to check an unchecked box)
22% --> Negative opt-in (have to uncheck a pre-checked box not to be opted in)
20% --> Opt out (are automatically opted in and have to opt out to get off your list)

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Which channel does email have the most synergies with?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results.

The answer…
18% --> We don’t segment. All our emails are broadcast and/or triggered.
52% --> We do basic segmentation (demographic, geographic, etc.).
30% --> We do advanced segmentation (behavioral, etc.).

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
What level of permission to you get from most of your email subscribers?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
95% --> Yes, the eec should start a campaign to differentiate between spam and permission-based emails that are no longer wanted.
5% --> No, the eec shouldn’t get involved and focus its efforts elsewhere.

Now that that’s settled, we need your ideas on how we can build an awareness campaign to differentiate between spam and email that’s no longer wanted, and can lobby the ISPs for the adoption of unsubscribe buttons. Clearly we already have some ideas, but we need more, much more. Since we’re all marketers, I suspect that you have some killer ideas. So please share them, either here or you can contact me directly at chad@emailexperience.org.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
How much do you segment your emails?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
91% --> Stay the same. The page width is perfect.
9% --> Increased. The site could make better use of screen real estate.
0% --> Decreased. I currently have to scroll to the right to see entire pages.

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
The definition of spam has strayed from its original meaning. Should the eec reassert the true definition of spam?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
55% --> The sender name. The reputation of the sender is key.
45% --> The subject line. Subscribers want to know what the email is about before they open it.

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Help us redesign our site. Should the width of pages on the eec site be increased, decreased or stay the same (960 pixels wide)?

-->See more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
51% --> Yes.
49% --> No.

Are you surprised by the results? Share your comments below.

Also, visit the eec homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Which is more important to generating opens: the sender name or subject line?

-->Read more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
71% --> I can honor opt-outs within 3 business days.
14% --> I can honor opt-outs within 5 business days.
16% --> I require the full 10 business days allowed by CAN-SPAM.

Are you surprised by this collective wisdom? Share your thoughts below.

Also, visit the EEC homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Have you ever tested (with control groups) the impact of frequency on the success of your email program?

-->Read more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
63% --> Yes, it’s a key measure of engagement.
37% --> No, image blocking has made the metric almost meaningless.

Are you surprised by this collective wisdom? Share your thoughts below.

Also, visit the EEC homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
How much time do you need to honor opt-outs?

-->Read more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
51% --> Yes, list rental is a viable acquisition strategy.
49% --> No, the risk of hurting our sender reputation is too great.

Are you surprised by this collective wisdom? Share your thoughts below.

Also, visit the EEC homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Is the open rate metric still useful?

-->Read more Two-Click Survey Results

The answer…
91% --> Yes, email is a digital application and is very much a digital platform.
9% --> No, email is not innovative and not even considered digital by most consumers.

Are you surprised by this collective wisdom? Share your thoughts below.

Also, visit the EEC homepage to answer the latest Two-Click Survey question:
Do the benefits of list rental outweigh the risks?

-->Read more Two-Click Survey Results

Buttons, according to 72% of respondents to the Two-Click Survey on the EEC homepage. Only 28% thought that links performed better as primary calls-to-action. If you’re using links as your primary call-to-action, this bit of community wisdom should spur you to do some testing.

But even if you’re already using buttons, you should test links as well. Kelly Rusk over at Cardcommunications said in a blog post yesterday that they did their own test and that the link far outperformed the button. Their test also shows the value of giving readers multiple opportunities to click through by placing identical links in different spots in your email.

Jerry Werbner from True Color Optics, who commented on my MediaPost column about this issue, said that he’s seen that buttons perform better for purchase decisions but that links perform better when the call-to-action is to view an article or request more information. So there are definitely nuances to consider.

If you’ve done a test of buttons vs. links in your emails and would like to share your experiences, please comment below. Thanks.

—Chad White

-->Read more Two-Click Survey Results