Email Marketing Reports 02/06/2008

Self-destructing email addresses?

Lift the lid on your list and you'll find many dead, disposable and dormant email addresses. This issue looks at ways to deal with the addresses that pull down your list quality.

Be sure to check the insights from new studies of consumer email habits and preferences, too. And there are more case studies than you can shake an electronic stick at.

Enjoy,

Mark
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Must reads...

The new email marketing continued
The latest articles in the "new email marketing" series continue to cover those activities and approaches that put you ahead of your peers...

Part 4: Quality first (why you don't want mass appeal)
Part 5: Know when to fold (dealing with dormant addresses)



Email design...

False assumptions cause problems
New developments and insights raise three design lessons:

Lesson 1: When you check if your unsubscribe function works, test it in all the different web browsers (and versions of these web browsers) you can lay your hands on.

Lesson 2: Don't assume what looked good last week looks good this week.

Lesson 3: Don't assume that your email will always render correctly just because it looks good in the design tool test screenshots.

Examples and explanations here.



Tactics and strategies...

Hidden costs of lazy practices
An unfortunate misconception in email marketing is that there is no downside to bad email practices. Other than the loss of a bit of time and "a few dollars" to send out the email.

Not so. There are a number of hidden costs, many of which fail to get even a whiff of attention when contemplating email marketing design and strategy. Read on for some examples.


Picking the right channel
With consumers using any number of different communication channels, just where do you focus your marketing efforts?

Do you foxtrot with Facebook? Tango with Twitter? Samba with SMS? Or do the paso doble with double opt-in email?

New research reveals the role of email in this context and how you approach the problem. Learn more.


Apologize and make changes
Last issue the links stopped working for about 90 minutes just after the emails went out. That was fun, believe me. My apologies to those who had a frustrating wait. For the record, this post records my crisis action plan, and offers two practical lessons gleaned from the experience.


Building a list...

Dealing with disposable addresses
There are email addresses that can go bad about 30 seconds after you send out a confirmation or welcome email. Ouch!

Learn more about this phenomenon and its implications for marketers. And get tips on how to avoid being a victim.


They want reassurance
Results from a new study of consumer email attitudes suggest skepticism about privacy and email practices is high. What are the implications for your sign-up forms and subscription pages? Find out here.


Case studies...

All you can eat buffet
Sundeep Kapur reviews various approaches to the birthday email.

The experience of Analog Devices with their revamped email program demonstrates why it pays to think harder about the purchase and user habits of your subscribers.

Lisa Harmon picks out the positive design and content elements in a couple of food-oriented emails.

Josh Nason runs over the content in two music emails.

Dylan Boyd sings the praises of putting key offers right up at the top of the email in the space normally reserved for the "see the web version" message.

SEOmoz looks at the successes and failures of various B2B and B2C email newsletters, and ends the article with some design and content tips from the reader perspective.

Anna Billstrom takes her frustration with poor email design out on Avis, and discusses why email design is less Monet and more mundane.

Michael Whitney uses a John McCain email to explain the dangers of over-long copy with no calls to action.



That's it for this issue - see you again June 16th...


Copyright Mark Brownlow 2008