Why Email Marketing Still Trumps Social

SOURCE: Anchor Computer Blog

Despite the claims that pop up from time to time, email marketing is far from dead, and many consumers would rather engage with brands through this channel than through their social networks.

93% of people have a daily opt-in email relationship with at least one consumer brand; 15% on Facebook; 4% on Twitter.

“Social’s great, but not everybody goes to Twitter everyday, and maybe I have Twitter and Facebook, but not LinkedIn…but all of these people have email, and they check that every day.”, stated Michael McDonald of WebProNews. (click here to read full article.)

Have you had more success with social media or email marketing? Comment here.

Want to take your email marketing to the next Level but have limited resources? We can help!

Click here to request information on Anchor's Email Marketing Services

Critical Factors in Building a Marketing Database

Source: Anchor Computer Blog

5 Part Blog Series: Summary

The decision to build a marketing database is critical for any organization today. The volume of information that is available on both consumer and business records affords marketers a tremendous opportunity to streamline and better target their promotional efforts resulting in an increased ROI for the company.

The trick for marketers is collecting the right information and making it available to the appropriate decision maker in a timely and responsive manner that will allow your company to react to, and take advantage of, changes in the customer environment.

Here’s a quick recap of the major points of this post.

Clearly define your objectives! By defining how you will use the database, what types of reporting and analysis you wish to support, you will find it much easier to achieve your objective in the end.

Simplify the database as much as possible. Some databases are very simple and some are very complex due to the programs they need to support. Just don’t make yours any more complicated than it needs to be!

Building the database represents your best opportunity to standardize your data. But don’t kid yourself; there are hard decisions that will have to be made on every level of standardization.

When creating the budget for your database, utilize the quotes you received from the vendors in your RFP. It’s ok to amalgamate expenses from multiple quotes as each individual quote may not be comprehensive. If you haven’t reached the RFP stage yet, talk to vendors and peers who have built a database and work from their experience.

While ease of use is a laudable goal, it is not the primary objective of the database. Return on Investment, measured in quantifiable improvements in the marketing program is!

The successful implementation of the marketing database is the first step to taking advantage of the changing marketing environment.

Read Complete Blog Series: Critical Factors in Building a Marketing Database

Part 1 – Begin at the End! Define Your Objectives

Part 2 – KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Part 3 – Standardize/Normalize Your Data

Part 4 – Create An Accurate Budget

Part 5 – Set Measurable Objectives

Summary

How Email Marketing Will Evolve In 2011

SOURCE: Media Post's Email Insider

Email marketing is constantly evolving, with social media, mobile and ISPs driving most of the change right now. Here are five predictions of how things will change in 2011:

1. The plain text part of your multipart email will become more important thanks to Facebook Messages, which displays the plain text part by default. There's a link to display the HTML part which it does very well -- but that link is easily overlooked, which means that it will likely see little use. Keep an eye on the percentage of your list that's @facebook.com addresses. Once it's more than a couple of percentage points, it's probably time to give some extra attention to the design and copywriting of your plain text part.

2. Email design will start to be more heavily influenced by iPhones, Android-powered smartphones and iPads. The distinction between emails and mobile emails is disappearing. That will have several effects on email design: (1) Email widths need to narrow. We recommend a width of around 600 pixels. (2) Font sizes need to increase so they're more legible on small screens. And (3) the space between links and the size of buttons need to increase to allow fat fingers to hit links accurately. That will also mean navigation bars with fewer links in them.

3. Share-with-your-network (SWYN) links will be used by a majority of marketers. SWYN links allow subscribers to share email content with their friends and family members on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, increasing the reach of your messages. As of August, 26% of top online retailers used SWYN in their promotional emails, up from 12% in July 2009. By the end of 2011, the adoption of SWYN links should break the 50% mark.

4. Reactivation campaigns will become more important, thanks to ISPs giving weight to engagement metrics when determining whether to deliver to the inbox or junk folder or to block email. Most marketers still have no plan whatsoever in place to address inactives -- the subscribers on their list who haven't opened or clicked on email in a long time. In some cases, inactives make up 50% or more of a marketer's list, representing a significant threat to deliverability and a big distraction from focusing on active subscribers. Marketers must start by defining what "inactive" is for them, then progress to segmentation tactics to message inactives differently, and culminate with reactivation campaigns that give subscribers a chance to reaffirm their interest or be dropped from the list.

5. The email marketing industry will continue to be divided on permission. The tension between the old school opt-out email marketing industry aligned with direct mail and the new-school permission email marketing industry aligned with mobile and social will continue to grow. But from my perspective, all signs point to the new school winning out. From Gmail's Priority Inbox and Facebook Messages to ISPs' ongoing battle against unwanted email, it's becoming increasingly critical to be anticipated and wanted in consumers' inboxes-particularly if you want to be in the part of the inbox that consumers have designated for important, must-read emails. Staying out of the junk folder is yesterday's battle.

Chad White is the Research Director at Smith-Harmon, a Responsys Company and digital marketing services agency. Visit his blog at http://www.retailemailblog.com/

Step by Step Guide to Quality Email Appending

Source: Anchor Computer Blog

Email Append is a data enhancement service that accurately matches and appends email addresses to your customers' records, allowing you to communicate with them electronically. Appending emails is often the best solution to effectively communicate with your existing customers, expand communications to your less active customers, build customer relationships, and increase the monetary value of your existing database.

Here is a step-by-step guide to better understand the email append process and some helpful tips on what to look for when choosing an email processing company.

The Process is Completed in 4 Easy Steps:

1. Submit your file.

Provide your customer file with names and postal addresses. Define whether you would like to match at an individual or household level, or both with individual preferred.

What to watch for:

Use service providers that will ensure your data will remain secure and private. You should always add decoys to your file.

2. Match email addresses…

Your file is matched to an opt-in email database. Industry standard match rates are approximately 15% - 25% for consumer records and 20% - 40% for business (results may vary).

What to watch for:

Email appenders who promise above average match rates. The rule “quality over quantity” applies with email appending.

3. Welcome emails are sent on your behalf.

Branded welcome emails are sent on your behalf, inviting your customers to receive email from you as well as allowing them an opportunity to opt-out.

What to watch for:

A gross-matched file which may include undeliverables.

4. Accurate and Deliverable e-mails are returned to you.

Deliverable, permission-approved email addresses are added to your customer file. Any opt-outs from your ‘Welcome Message’ will be included, flagged and returned to you.

What to watch for:

Email addresses change and deliverability may be inconsistent. Negotiate to pay for deliverable addresses within 14 days from the point at which they were deployed.

How Often Should You Append:

For optimal results - we recommend submitting quarterly or monthly (according to size and/or frequency of mailing).

Don’t forget to update your POSTAL MAILING file:

If you are currently mailing to your customer file, it is recommended you process a NCOALINKTM 48 Months update with a non-exclusive licensee of the United States Postal Service®.

Email Append: Increase The Value Of Your Database

Source: Anchor Computer Blog

Email Append is a data enhancement service that accurately matches and appends deliverable email addresses to your customers' records. Get up to date, permission-based email addresses using sophisticated technology to match and append Residential or Business email addresses to your customer file based on their name and address.

Do You Want To...

• Drive customers to your web-site, boosting online sales?

• Build relationships with your customers?

• Communicate online effectively in a timely manner?

• Receive instant feedback on a new or test offer?

• Add valuable data to your marketing efforts again and again
for a marginal cost?

• Improve conversion rates with multi-channel marketing?

• Retain customers by sending relevant and interactive
email communications?

Did You Know...

Anchor Computer has one of the largest email depositories of opt-in emails in the country. We will take your database and append 15-25% match rates.

Email Append is often the best solution to effectively communicate with your existing customers, expand communications to your less active customers, build customer relationships, and increase the monetary value of your existing database. It's quick, it's simple and it will increase your sales and strengthen customer relationships.

Give us a call at 631-306-9364 or click here for more information!

Business to Business (B2B) Email Appending

Source: Anchor Computer Blog

"Anchor's Business Email Append Service added emails to more than 30% of our database and saved us thousands in direct mail costs.” - VP of Marketing

How B2B Email Append Works:

B2B email append is your cost effective, quick and easy solution to begin driving new business. You provide your file “Full Name, Company Name, and Postal Address” on your database, then we provide you with an email address for that record. The result is current, accurate email addresses appended to your file. You only pay for records that are deliverable.

In order to achieve the highest match rates possible for our clients, Anchor applies a two-step append process:

1. Data matching using our Business Email Database
2. Email creation based on domain & email pattern rules
3. Broadcast of Welcome Email

Our average match rates for business-to-business projects range from 20-40%.
What are the benefits:

• Increase response rates!
• Drive customers to your website, boosting online traffic.
• Communicate better, faster and more effectively with your customers and
prospects.
• Retain customers by sending relevant and targeted communications.
• Acquire current, accurate emails addresses.
• You only pay for records that are 100% deliverable.

We can assist you in the planning and execution of your eMarketing program.

Click here for for more information.