E-Mail

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October 3, 2007

E-Mail Campaign Formula 101

Before you look at deliverability, open rates, and recipient-side metrics on a campaign, it's important to look at how your e-mail campaign is constructed and know it can improve. Blue-chip focused ESP e-Dialog created the Relevance Trajectory to offer its clients a benchmark for e-mail programs. The program looks at factors like segmentation, lifecycle management, triggers, personalization, interactivity, and testing or measurement.

The concept began informally at a client conference held by the company last year mapping where clients fell in the relevance trajectory. The response was positive, and at this past year's conference e-Dialog followed up by asking clients to rate themselves and see how they measured up. Most companies were too hard on themselves, but regardless of score, e-Dialog president and CEO John Rizzi said there is always room for improvement.

Relevance Trajectory can be used as an annual or semi-annual checkpoint, and a strategy toward making sure your e-mail campaigns don't contribute to the inbox clutter, but are meaningful messages for recipients.

While the Relevance Trajectory is seen as an effective benchmark for e-Dialog clients, it only rates the components of an e-mail practice and campaigns, it doesn't have anything to do with the messages once they're sent to recipients. It's the first half of the proposition, and doesn't replace diagnostics on bounce rates and open rates, among other metrics on e-mail senders' minds.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 18, 2007

E-Mailing Moms - When's the Best Time?

Just got through moderating a panel on New Media Platforms at the HBA Expo. BSM Media's Maria Bailey shared some interesting insights about marketing to moms on the Web, much of it based on research she's publishing in a forthcoming book.

According to Maria, fully 30 percent of moms are online between the hours of 8-10 p.m. If your e-mail targets moms, forget blasting at 4 a.m., she implored the crowd. Send between 6-8 (after the kids are tucked into bed) so your message will be at the top of the inbox.

And speaking of e-mail, hope many of you can make it to our own e-mail marketing event in New York on October 2.

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September 14, 2007

ClickTracks and Lyris ListManager Come Closer Together

A year following the J.L. Halsey acquisition of ClickTracks, the parent company said it will tightly couple ClickTracks Web analytics data with its e-mail marketing platform Lyris ListManager. Clients will be able to track user behavior across e-mail and their Web site to gain more insight into conversions. Measured activity includes open rates and subsequent visits to the e-mail sender's Web site.

Email senders can learn to better target messages. An example given in a company statement said "An e-mail campaign drives 10,000 visitors to a landing page and only 3 percent convert. A marketer can then analyze the behavior of the 97 percent that didn't convert and target that segment with a follow-up offer."

The next generation of e-mail marketing innovation looks like it will be in more closely integrating online marketing and e-mail, breaking down the silo between the two categories, and sharing ad management and resources across the platforms. A statement from J.L. Halsey said, "This milestone moves the company one step closer to its goal of providing marketers with a platform that integrates the core technologies of e-mail marketing, Web analytics, and Web content management." Expect to see more new products and enhancements to the three core areas on J.L. Halsey's roadmap in the months to come.

Posted by Enid Burns at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 14, 2007

Yucky Spam From Our Competitor

Ewww. Gross.

A direct ClickZ competitor is behind a new wave of soft core spam. No less than three copies of the top example arrived in rapid succession last week at the unique e-mail address I use to subscribe to their list only. Not only is there zero indication of how the sender obtained the e-mail address in the message, but the content is in no way, shape or form appropriate to a B2B online marketing publication. One that runs e-mail marketing events, no less.

Difficult as is was, I resisted the temptation to blog Episodes 1-3. Then today, another example landed in my inbox -- promising recipients they can meet the "American Curves Featured Model" and avail themselves of an open Champagne bar for "the ladies":

OK, so it's inappropriate content. And renting lists to third-parties (particularly with zero disclosure) is a nasty idea. I decided to check our competitor's privacy policy. Nowhere does it disclose e-mail addresses will be shared or tented to third parties, or so it appears from this very vague, semi-grammatical excerpt:

"We use this individual company information to deliver member only newsletters, and other service-related purposes only your company contact information is made available to other members in the member directory."

It's always a delicate situation to slam a competitor in print. I'm not naming names, but I would caution marketers to be very, very selective when selecting a source for e-mail marketing advice.

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July 25, 2007

Double Opt-Out

I was a bit surprised this morning to get a newsletter I unsubscribed from recently. Then I scrolled to the end to view the unsubscribe information and read: "To unsubscribe please send an e-mail to xxx_unsub@news.xxx.com. If you have tried to unsubscribe and are still receiving the email, please reply to this message with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line." Is this standard for the publication, or was there a problem? I guess I have to wait and see if attempt number two to unsubscribe will be successful.

Posted by Enid Burns at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 11, 2007

McCain E-mail Image Off the Mark?

What does an early primary season McCain supporter look like? Well, I don't want to resort to using stereotypes, but I guess the "type" or "types" I envision aren't exactly young chicks with trendy bright red hair. Anyway, I was perusing Email Data Source's archive of e-mails recently sent by John McCain 2008, and one sent on June 11 to promote the campaign's fundraising "Call Day" features the image below. Hmmm....

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June 11, 2007

Goodmail Expands to an Inbox Near You

Goodmail, the CertifiedEmail trusted class e-mail provider that raised industry reaction when AOL partnered with it to filter out unwanted messages, announced CertifiedEmail support for Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon customers. Each ISP will enable the service's blue ribbon envelope icon to signify mail sent through the system. Goodmail now serves seven ISPs, which the company said represents 60 percent of consumer e-mail users.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 1, 2007

Election '08: Edwards Site Link in Freebie Email

I visited with my old pal Bill McCloskey the other day; he runs Email Data Source, a firm that tracks e-mails sent by marketers. He's also been tracking what the political campaigns have been sending out. Well, he stumbled upon an intriguing link in a newsletter sent by FreebieSwamp, a service that sends e-mails filled with links to free stuff online. A recent FreebieSwamp e-mail included -- buried within a virtual quagmire of links to free Reynold's Wrap samples and a free CD from General Tire -- a link to the John Edwards campaign site.

So, my initial reaction was, "Wow, I wonder if the Edwards camp is using affiliate marketing to drive traffic to its campaign merchandise." Well, that's a "no" according to the campaign. A spokesperson told me, "Our campaign had nothing to do with the URL ending up on this list. The newsletter creator must have found the bumper sticker online and added it."

After thinking about it and getting a better sense of FreebieSwamp -- which appears to be a list of free offers put together by a woman named Julie who sells candles on Ebay she promotes thorugh JuliesCandleCottage.com -- I figured that is most likely the way the URL ended up there. But, who knows. I still haven't heard back from Julie or anyone else at FreebieSwamp.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 17, 2007

AOL Tests Vista Gadget

Windows Vista has the ability for content owners and marketers to build desktop widgets to make their platforms more accessible. AOL just released its early version of the AOL Social Mail Gadget at dev.aol.com/mail. The widget gives users one-click, desktop access to e-mail, AIM, photos and video. The top five contacts float to the top so users can immediately message their friends and family.

The widget give AOL desktop visibility to all users. It won't immediately run advertising, but it's not out of the question. "As part of AOL's audience and monetization growth strategy, we are going to look at optimized monetization opportunities surrounding the gadget," said an AOL spokesperson.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 17, 2007

Hormel OKs Spamhaus' Trademark

At a dinner tonight in Boston, the evening before the Authentication and Online Trust Summit, I had the great privilege of sharing at table with Spamhaus Chief Information Officer Richard Cox.

He shared with me that Hormel, makers of SPAM (the tinned meat product), recently (and graciously) allowed Spamhaus to trademark their name. That's quite a breakthrough for the spam-fighting non-profit, and certainly a first for Hormel. The company awoke one day and found itself the owner of a household name -- for all the wrong reasons.

Richard was a delightful dining companion. He's colorful, articulate, and very amusing. Even if he weren't, it would have been exciting enough to meet a representative of the powerful, UK-based spam fighting organization. Historically, Spamhaus has kept quite a low profile.

"That's about to change," Richard smiled, enigmatically.

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April 9, 2007

Google Canvasses Students on E-Mail Habits

Google's asking university students to tell them their thoughts on campus e-mail.

The survey asks students about their e-mail habits and preferences, as well as poses questions about usage of other online applications.

"Since e-mail is such a vital tool for managing academic careers – used to coordinate study groups, organize campus activities, or communicate directly with their professors – this generation of college students includes some of the most knowledgeable consumers of online applications ever," said Jeff Keltner, Google manager of collaboration products for education, in a statement.

Looks like the search giant, which we all know is about to become an online-tool giant (think docs, spreadsheets, calendars, Gmail, etc.) is doing some in-depth research with a tech savvy, early adopter audience.

Hope they share the results.

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April 5, 2007

A Yen for Easter Eggs

Tokyoflash just e-mailed a mighty clever and very seasonal promotion: an invitation to an Easter egg hunt through its Web site.

Five egg icons are hidden on pages throughout the site, the online store for the cult watch brand. Each of the five eggs contains a letter. Once you've located all five, the letters can be rearranged into an Easter-related word, earning the diligent ¥1500 (US$12.65) off their order.

This is a smart promotion. Tokyoflash sells only one thing to a dedicated audience, many of whom collect the models. The goal of this campaign isn't just to get users to click through to the site, but to click through the site. Amazon couldn't get away with it, but a specialty merchant such as this one certainly can.

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March 27, 2007

Yahoo Mail: Space Is the Place

Yahoo Mail will begin offering unlimited e-mail storage in May. That's way up from the 4MB it offered consumers when its free service launched 10 years ago, and certainly an upgrade from the 1G it proffered in 2005, when all the free online mail services faced the 2G Gmail challenge.

Clearly, the portal is trying to build traffic and loyalty. That's good for consumers, and the advertisers trying to reach them. In reality, though, it's another step towards the new norm. Your Gmail account may say it's limited to 3G now, but fill it up and you're automatically accorded plenty more wiggle room.

E-mail is no longer just about e-mail. It's about your photos, videos and documents residing on the Web, not on a single hard drive or device. The portals want your loyalty. Increasingly, this means they want consumers to entrust them with their lives.

I remember when mine fit on a 5M hard drive. My, how you've grown.

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March 26, 2007

'From' Field: Have We Met?

The City University of New York's (CUNY) Graduate Center often has very good lectures that are open to the public. Buy tickets online and unsurprisingly, you wind up on their e-mail list.

Unfortunately for this non-profit, the mailings that don't wind up in the spam folder often tend to get spiked into the trash, and for no other reason than the 'from' field contains the oblique name "Science & the Arts."

Nary a trace of CUNY, not even in the full address, which comes from PatronMail's equally opaque domain: pmailus.com.

This may fly with CUNY-centric students and faculty members, but the university's goal is to get paying members of the general public into their talks. As a New Yorker, I tend to think of CUNY as CUNY -- there are more than enough science and arts institutions to go around.

Reminds me of a service provider I formerly worked with. His company had a name, but his e-mails all came from "Steve."

That's another instance of too common, too vague, and too spammy-sounding a 'from' field.' Above all, what these 'from' fields realy have in common is they reflect how the senders think about themselves, not about how clients and prospects think about them.

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March 15, 2007

Little Things Mean a Lot

An e-mail that just arrived from AKQA bore this little graphic in the footer.

It made me stop and think - in a good way. The message is a small but thoughtful one. It generates a warm feeling about the sender and the company.

E-mail is just as green as you want it to be.

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March 7, 2007

A Quarter of Fortune 500s Authenticate E-Mail

The Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA) just announced a quarter of Fortune 500 companies now authenticate their e-mail and domains, an important step in combating phishing and other nefarious practices.

In the past 20 months, this group's Sender ID adoption has soared from a mere seven percent to over 25 percent..

E-mail authentication has been the subject of an impressive push from government and trade organizations including the FTC. It's also a requirement for members of the Direct Marketing Association and Email Sender and Provider Coalition, (ESPC). These groups estimate more than 85 percent of all e-mail marketers are now compliant. Authentication is also a best practice reccomended by TRUSTe, the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) and Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG).

AOTA's ">Authentication Summit takes place in Boston this year. I'll be speaking -- but mostly listening -- to a great lineup of industry experts as they discuss the very critical issues of online authentication, identity, and reputation.

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February 27, 2007

New Google Ads: Gmail Theater

There's a unique video campaign for Gmail running on The Wall Street Journal (ClickZ first noticed it yesterday). Introduced by "Kai, one of the engineers behind Gmail," the ads spin a handful of geeky-cute tales that use puppets made from office supplies to convey the e-mail platform's key features. One interesting thing about the WSJ placement is how it's hosted and tracked. While the unit does have some nice rich media features, including the ability to cycle through several ads and scroll through tips, it's fundamentally a YouTube-enabled widget. That means the videos are publicly hosted on YouTube, and can also be shared or embedded elsewhere on the Web. It's ad trafficking made transparent to the user.

Update: Amit Agarwal wrote in to clarify that this is an AdSense unit. Amit's blog, Digital Inspiration, has a screen grab and notes the YouTube player is 250x200 pixels and is embedded in an AdSense unit that's 300x250 pixels.

RSS readers: click through to see the video.

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February 26, 2007

E-Mail Marketing in a Box

In a box may be oversimplifying, but is a sense, that's what The E-Mail Marketing Kit is.

ClickZ's e-mail columnist extraordinaire, Jeanne Jennings, has just published this indispensable guide for e-mail marketers. It exhaustively covers every single step of the e-mail process, from developing strategy to getting messages into inboxes and complying with spam legislation.

The fact that the "book" is printed in the format of a tabbed binder makes everything you need to find almost ridiculously easily accessible. In an instant, it guides you through every e-mail related task on the table, from securing budget ("Why e-mail?) to tracking, reporting, list rental, design, and delivery.

The real value-add to this highly informational volume is a template-packed companion CD-ROM that will speed marketers through tedious processes such as creating RFPs, vetting and comparing ESPs, proofing, cost analysis, even templates for both marketing and newsletter e-mail messages.

If you're involved in e-mail marketing, you probably need this book.

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February 22, 2007

Buy This Or We'll Blow Up Your PC

To the list of menaces threatening the lowly inbox we can now apparently add exploding video offers. A new novelty application called BigString Marketer Pro lets marketers send e-mail blasts containing offers that can be programmed to self-destruct at a specified time. The tool attempts to "introduce a sense of urgency and excitement by creating time-sensitive video offers that self destruct,” according to a statement from BigString CEO and President Darin Myman.

Has anyone seen this in action? Do clouds of smoke fill your inbox, blacking out competing offers?

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January 17, 2007

Press Release or Spam?

Scanning my e-mail includes the compulsory activity of deleting spam on first sight. It's second nature. Which is why when I was scanning the wires a press release with the title "1,600 Per Cent Increase in Revenues Could be Yours" made me go for the delete button. Maybe you've got a service to sell, but the first step the marketing guys at this company should have done was to make the differentiation between the pitch and the multitude of spam. How is this different from the pure junk titled, "Play and make big money.," "Develop your business using our company MHII.OB now" or simply "reputable" I'm about to trash from my e-mail?

Posted by Enid Burns at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

EEC Releases E-Mail Rendering Report

The E-mail Experience Council just released results of a report authored by co-founder (and ClickZ columnist) Jeanniey Mullen.

The study examined 1,000 messages, both B2C and B2B. Twenty-one percent of the e-mails appeared completely blank when images were turned off (or stripped) inside a variety of e-mail clients. An additional 28 percent did show at least some relevant copy, but had no working links.

The report concludes over 70 percent of marketers are struggling to get their mailing rendered on the receiving end, and virtually none have begun to grapple with how rendering issues translate to mobile devices.

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January 10, 2007

Time to Change Your E-Mail Templates?

ESP EmailLabs says it's time for B2C marketers to through out their old templates and replace them with longer, narrower versions.

The betas of both Yahoo's and Microsoft's online e-mail clients enable the preview pane by default but these spaces are much smaller than what consumers were hitherto used to. Hence, e-mailers are advised to put calls-to-action and other critical information at the top of messages.

“B-to-C marketers who want big results had better start thinking small,” said Stefan Pollard, the company's director of consulting services and ClickZ's e-mail deliverability columnist. “Many are completely unaware that preview panes and automatically blocked images can make their current design templates virtually unreadable. If they were to use a third-party rendering tool to actually test how their e-mails look in consumers’ inboxes, they might be shocked.”

More reasoning is in a press release, but I'm guessing Stefan's going to provide additional insight in his next column.

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