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.

Email Marketing: Knowledge, Best Practices & Tips: An Email Marketer's Perspective On Promoting Twitter

Email Marketing: Knowledge, Best Practices & Tips: An Email Marketer's Perspective On Promoting Twitter

The Case for Segmentation and Targeting: How IHG Generated a Single View of its Customer

According to Forrester Research's 2009 ROI of Relevance report, highly segmented email marketing programs generate 2 - 5X the performance of non-segmented programs.

View >>

Guidelines For Proper Use of HTML In Email

By Don Monell on January 22, 2010

There is nothing worse than creating a well constructed HTML document that renders perfectly in your web browser only to find it mangled when sent to your Gmail account.

What To Do?

1. Use tables for layout. You're welcome to try "div" tags for positioning and layout, but our research shows that tables are more consistently supported. But do very simple layouts, avoiding lots of nested tables.

2. Use inline styles liberally in tables. In fact, you'll find you can get the best mileage out of inline styles in "td" tags. That way you are setting up little style regions within each table. Think of these inline styles as miniature style sheets. This allows non-technical users to swap content in and out of pre-formatted cells in a modular fashion.

3. Avoid background colors in table cells that contain other tables.

Proper Handling Of Images

1. Define background images using background. Instead of the inline background-image call. Gmail, among others, will ignore any URL attribute in an inline style. Keep in mind, though that if the background image is ignored, the default color is going to be white. That means your white text on black backgrounds will disappear. Stick with text colors that are visible against a white background.

2. Don't use images for important content like calls to action, headlines and links to your web site. Outlook, Gmail and others turn images off until allowed by the user. If your entire email is graphical, all your recipients are going to see is a lot of broken images.

3. Provide alt text for all images.

4. Declare BOTH height AND width parameters for images. Outlook Web Access especially needs this for your table layout to display properly.

Specific Elements That Can Not Be Used:

1. External or embedded style sheets (those contained within the "style" tag above the "body" tag). This is the most important thing to avoid. Many email services cut everything above the body tag and disable external style sheets.

2. JavaScript. There's no better way to have your email marked as spam. Not all email clients can handle the scripts, and most web-based systems disable scripts as a general rule to prevent malicious code from being executed on a system.

3. Table width greater than 600px. Considering most email is viewed in a preview pane table width of 600px or less is the industry standard

4. Embedded video. This will work with special coding in Apple Mail, but the most popular web-based email clients - Yahoo!, Gmail and Hotmail are choosing to disable HTML video from playing. So play it safe and link to a web based player.

This should get you headed in the right direction to better looking, better converting email. If I can assist you further please call me at 631-306-9361 or email me at dmonell@anchorcomputer.com

Signs Your Email Program Is Behind The Curve

by Chad White, Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Email marketing's high return on investment often breeds complacency -- and is often pointed to as both a blessing and curse. After all, why invest more in analytics, segmentation, and testing when the profits are already rolling in quite nicely?

 

Meanwhile, some companies realize that there's much more to be had from their email programs. They recognize the effect that a strong email program can have on other channels and on their brand reputation. They make smart investments in new capabilities and are constantly optimizing their processes, messaging and email designs. They're way ahead of the curve, leaving complacent competitors in the dust.

Here are a few signs that despite "good" results, your email program is getting lapped:

1. You rarely, if ever, A/B test anything. Why sweat the details? Different subject lines, calls-to-action, messaging, layout and send times can sometimes boost the performance of an email by double digits, while uncovering tactics that you can operationalize and build upon further. To me, a culture of testing is the surest sign that your email results are market-leading.

2. You don't review performance metrics. Money keeps coming in, so why bother with analyzing open, click, unsubscribe and complaint rates? If you're flying blind, you have little hope of making improvements to your program.

3. You don't segment. All of our subscribers are interested in everything we offer. Unless you only sell one or two products, this is surely not true. Mining past purchases and click behavior in your emails and on your Web site, plus asking subscribers for their preferences, will reveal lots of opportunities to send the right offers to the right subscribers. One-size-fits-all programs are losing their effectiveness as email volume rises and consumers gravitate toward email programs that respect their time. People know that they can just Google discount codes when they want them. They don't need to sign up for your emails to get broadcast discount codes and other non-targeted, non-individualized content.

4. Transactional messages are the only triggered emails that you send. We don't have to send other triggered messages to be successful. Lifecycle messaging such as welcome, birthday, anniversary, browse, and shopping cart abandonment emails deliver revenue per email that's multifold what's generated by broadcast emails. Plus, trigger email programs tend to return the money you invest in them within a matter of months and don't require much upkeep thereafter. 

5. You haven't updated your sign-up form, opt-in confirmation page or any other such pages since launching them. They work pretty well for us, so we're focused on other things. These pages are not fire-and-forget. Logos change, brand messaging changes, email program benefits change. These elements should be reviewed annually, at a minimum.

6. You don't make it easy for customers to sign up for your emails. Our Web site department is hard to work with and won't give us space for a sign-up link on our homepage or anywhere else. If customers can't easily opt in, your list growth will be perpetually stunted. Weak organic growth may also drive you to try to acquire subscribers through riskier means, jeopardizing your sender reputation.      

7. You're totally preoccupied with the day-to-day of getting emails out the door. We've hired strategic consultants before, but we never have time to implement any big changes. If you're mired in the trenches of email production and not devoting a substantial chunk of your hours to strategic initiatives, your program is basically static, making it easy for your competitors to pass you by. Look for ways to streamline production processes through better coordination with other departments, faster production tools, more flexible email templates and other means, so you can spend time building the future, not just your next email.

It's my hope that 2010 is the year that CMOs and CEOs wake up to the massive investment gap in their email program. In the not-too-distant future, they may find that gap has grown so large that they're unable to close it.

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/

Direct Mail Starting To Show Signs of Life

Jan 15, 2010 12:28 PM, By Herb Torgersen

Great post from Herb, direct mail is not dead, far from it. It is finding its strength again in both traditional and new verticals, supporting the multi-channel marketing world we live in.

If the first two weeks of 2010 are any indication of what is to come, direct mail might just find its way off life support.

In the past few weeks my mailbox has been overflowing with direct mail—an increase in credit card offerings, mortgage re-financing offers, home improvement offers that actually have my name on them, and of course, some catalogs.

However, the majority of the direct mail we've received has been from national retailers and restaurant chains. These are two categories that picked up their direct mail presence in 2009 and it appears that the trend is continuing into 2010.

They are using direct mail to drive store traffic. Plus, they're employing a multitude of direct marketing tactics to capture consumer information to further CRM initiatives, both through direct mail and online. Companies like Target, Publix Supermarkets, McDonald's and Chik-fil-A are putting a high level of importance on being able to continually communicate with prospects and customers to drive in-store traffic. Frequent communication is essential in this tough economic environment. Lifetime customer value has become an important part of their marketing strategies.

These retailers/restaurant chains have been amassing a considerable amount of consumer data that will continue to drive their marketing strategies. For example, consider how Chik-fil-A continues to grow in today's tough economy.

Their advertising campaigns are creative, witty and cutting edge. Their direct mail initiatives are specifically designed to drive store traffic. They have chosen to stay with their core competency…serving delicious and healthy chicken products in spotless restaurants with exemplarily customer service. And through these tough economic times they have not resorted to price reduction promotions to drive traffic. Applying consumer psychology, they count on their product and customer service reputations for increased customer visits. And it works—here in the greater Atlanta area, Chick-fil-A at dinner time is quite considerably more busy than competing fast food restaurant chains. Each individual store is actively involved in their community and that sense of community participation is widely accepted by their customer base.

If we go back about 10 years or so, direct mail was predominately the domain of "traditional direct marketing companies" like catalogers, publishers, financial services firms, insurance companies and continuity clubs. Now with the new decade upon us the landscape has changed.

There is a whole new spectrum of companies applying direct mail, and direct marketing initiatives. As we all seek continued growth it is time we step outside our comfort zone and embrace the opportunities available. It may require research and learning the marketing strategies of a new industry but the effort will be well worth it. Direct mail is showing signs of life once again.

Herb Torgersen is president DirectInnovations Inc., Suwanee, GA(htorgersen@directInnovations.biz).

Are Email Appends An Achilles Heel For Deliverability And Strategy?

I follow Ryan's posts and this one I thought was worth sharing. The benefit of email append can certainly be improved by following Ryan's suggestions. Enjoy the read!
by Ryan Deutsch, Thursday, March 19, 2009, 11:15 AM

Last Thursday, I joined a friend for a pick-up basketball game, played (poorly) for 30 minutes, made a move on the baseline and ripped my Achilles tendon in half!  Four days later, I was in surgery, and I am now in a cast for the next ten weeks....arghhhhh!   What does this have to do with email marketing? Not a thing -- other than giving me some extra time to read up on all the latest email articles and putting me in the mood for a good fight -- I mean, debate! 

On Tuesday, I came across a blog post denouncing the use of opt-out email appends.  For those of you not familiar with the practice, it is essentially a quick way for marketers with large postal files to add emails addresses to their database.  For example, Acme Company sends their postal file to a database company, said database company matches Acme's postal records to the records in their database, and when a "match" is found with an email address they add that record (with  the new email address) to an "append" file.  The database company then does a quick "welcome" email to the entire append file with an opt-out only link and then ships the resulting file back to Acme company.  The issue with this process is that Acme Company now has a file that is NOT opt-in and could cause serious delivery problems for their business.

While opt-out email append is not without risk, if managed correctly it can be an excellent way for marketers to grow their email lists.  In these tough economic times, companies are looking for ways to accelerate the use of the email channel, essentially reallocating marketing budget from less "accountable" channels to email.  As experts in the space, I think it is our job to help them do so responsibly.  

We often look at things as black and white with regards to email best practices and deliverability. I understand and agree that from a delivery standpoint, email append can be a bad idea, especially if the senders simply add the append to their current list.   However, I think from time to time we should try and look at things from the marketer's standpoint.  If we know that they are going to go down this path, why not try to help them do it effectively?

Here are some thoughts on opt-out appends that folks should consider before deciding to throw in the towel altogether:

1. Only append active customer files.  Do not append inactive or "stale" customer files.  These result in poor match rates and are riskier than active customer files.  Furthermore, it is critical that these customers pass the PBR (Prior Business Relationship) test.  As a general rule, be sure that the customer has purchased and/or interacted with your organization in the last 12 months.   If you append bad data you will, as the article I read Tuesday suggests, destroy your deliverability.

2. Build an append-specific communication strategy.  You should not treat your appended email recipients the same way you treat subscribers that have been on your file for months and years.  First, make sure you isolate your append mailings from your core programs.  While I believe opt-out appends can deliver value to a marketer, we must accept that this file IS riskier than the house file.  As a result, keeping it separate limits any negative impact the program will have on your existing email campaigns.  Second, develop a series of communications that repurpose email content for the appended addresses, and be sure to place opt-out front and center and continually remind recipients how they ended up on the email list.  Be transparent; your customers will appreciate it.

3. Build rules to migrate append addresses to your house file over time.  As time goes by, proactively migrate appended addresses into your house file.  Migration should be based on specific recipient activity (clicks, purchases, etc.) Companies can build these rules to apply to their unique business models. 

Of course, as with any other poorly executed email program, opt-out appends can negatively affect your email strategy.  But if executed correctly, they can add tremendous value quickly. In these tough economic times, what marketer can afford to ignore ways to reallocate budget to more effective direct channels?

Marketing Spend For Email and Social Media Top Plans for 2010

by Jack Loechner, Monday, December 7, 2009, 8:15 AM

According to the November "2010 Marketing Trends Survey"  of business leaders by StrongMail, 89% of respondents plan to increase or maintain marketing spend in email marketing and social media budgets in the New Year. The industry survey of more than 1,000 global business leaders found that the positive outlook is supported by 50% of polled businesses that expect their customers to spend more in 2010, and nearly a quarter more that expect them to spend the same.  Only 8% of businesses expect their customers to spend less.

48% of businesses are increasing overall marketing budgets in 2010, and email and social media marketing are the two leading areas of investment at 69% and 59% respectively. Search marketing comes in third at 42%.  Conversely, events and direct mail lead the pack in decreased spend at 44% and 42% respectively.

Marketing Program Spending Plans for 2010 (% of Respondents)
Program	Increase Spend	Decrease Spend
Advertising	28%	32%
Direct mail	21	42
Email marketing	69	6
Mobile	22	5
Public relations	19	12
Search (SEO/PPC)	42	7
Social media	59	3
Tradeshows & events	20	44
Other	7	7
Source: StrongMail, November 2009

 Social media marketing is a clear focus for businesses, with 69% of respondents planning to integrate it with their email marketing campaigns in 2010.  However, of those who have already integrated the two channels, only 42% are achieving a lift in campaign performance.  35% report no significant lift and another 23% are unable to measure.   Respondents identified the top three benefits of social media marketing as:

• Awareness building (64%)
• Customer loyalty and retention (49%)
• Expanded reach (46%)

 Bill Wagner, executive vice president of business operations at StrongMail, notes that "... this survey reveals a strong focus on high ROI channels like email and emerging ones like social media... (with) an unprecedented number of companies look to integrate email and social media in 2010..."

Most Important Email Marketing Initiatives in 2010
Initiative	% Ranking Among Top 3
Improving performance of campaigns	59%
Growing opt-in list	44
Re-engaging inactive subscribers	28
Integrating with social media marketing	42
Integrating with mobile marketing	19
Improving deliverability	26
Reducing costs	19
Integrating into transactional emails	20
Accessing data to increase relevance	21
Improve segmentation and targeting	46
Centralizing on single platform	11
Other	4
Source: StrongMail, November 2009

Reported survey highlights include:

• 89% of businesses plan to increase or maintain marketing spend in 2010
• 50% of businesses expect customers to spend more; 23% to spend about the same; 8% to spend less
• 69% of businesses plan to increase marketing budget for email; 59% social media; 42% search
• 69% of businesses plan to integrate email and social media in 2010
• 64% of businesses identify increasing awareness as the primary value for social media

Button Up Your Email

by Darrah MacLean, Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 11:32 AM

Have you ever found yourself standing in front of an automatic towel dispenser, waving your hands frantically over the hands-free scanner, praying for a towel to come out? Yeah, me too. Usually, if I wave my hands over, under and around the dispenser long enough, something comes out. The key word here is usually.  

A week ago, I found myself working up a sweat in front of a towel dispenser when a waitress finally came in and said, "Oh, you have to actually touch the button." To which I said, "But the button says hands-free." Her response? "Oh, it's wrong. You actually have to touch it."  Interesting. The directions were wrong and if that nice lady hadn't come in the room, I could still be standing there like an idiot waving my hands. Because the button said hands-free. 

This little interaction got me thinking about the importance of directions, or as we call them in the email universe: CTAs (Call-To-Action). We use buttons and links to tell people what action they need to take if they want to continue their shopping experience. They are the clicking points of your emails, and you'd best be spending some time crafting them.  

Think of buttons and links as mini billboards. You have six words or less to get your point across. Choose them wisely. While CTAs should be visually easy to spot and read, they don't have to be generic. Yes, sometimes down-and-dirty is your best bet, as in this Staples email. "Order Now" works, so why reinvent the wheel? That said, there is always a time and place to get a little creative with your CTA copy. Here are some quick Dos and Don'ts for how to push some buttons in your next email.

DO: Make the button a part of the story. By crafting your CTA to play off the headline, you suddenly have a story with a beginning, middle and end -- just like Piperlime does here and here. REI and Backcountry take the idea a step further by cutting out the body copy altogether. They let the headline and button tell the story in a clean and clever way.

Anthropologie knows how to have fun with its CTAs, and this Holiday '08 email showcases its brand voice to perfection. Free People shows off another fun way to incorporate the CTA visually in this email. If only the company had added a carrot or something to make the CTA a tad more obvious.

DO: Take the direct route when needed. Being too clever can backfire, so sometimes a direct CTA is the way to go, as Coach did here. The imagery and headline do the heavy creative lifting, while the "Shop Our Latest Jewelry" pulls the story together. And check out the way Coach added the "Free Shipping" bug just below the link. Sheer genius.

DO: Give customers the option to "Shop this Look." If you're showcasing one small piece of a larger collection in your email, give your customers the option to "Shop this Look" in addition to "Shop the Whole Collection." Tommy Bahama pulls it off nicely in this email.

DO: Try to think outside "Click Here." When emails first starting hitting the inbox way back when, we saw a lot of "Click Here" CTAs. But we've evolved. Using a "Click Here" in today's email world feels really old-school, and not in a cool retro way. If you find yourself taking the easy way out with a "Click Here" button or link, challenge yourself to reword the CTA without it. For example, Pottery Barn could have simply gone with "Learn More" in this email 

DON'T: Forget to include clear directions (remember the towel dispenser). If you're taking the time to send out an email and you have specific sales goals for that email, why wouldn't you direct people towards the experience you want them to have? Bottom line: You risk your click-through when you don't include a clear call-to-action.

Hollister makes a conscious creative decision to leave out the CTA altogether in its emails, like this one and this one. Maybe it's cooler on some level to the teen crowd (it'd be an interesting test, no?), but without a top nav. the lack of a CTA leaves customers hanging. Crate and Barrel emails are always on-brand, but the lack of a clear CTA leading to its Christmas landing page in this email feels like a huge miss. (Although, they win bonus points for the fantastic headline: "Deer Santa." Love it.)

Seniors Are Prolific E-Mailers, Online Shoppers

Today’s Seniors and Boomers Rival Younger Generations in Online Activities

(Alexandria, VA – October 27, 2009) Seniors aged 65 and older (also referred to as “Matures”) have made the Internet an integral part of their everyday lives. In a recent study, 77 percent report that they shop online. In fact, Matures lead all other generational groups when it comes to this online activity. They regularly use email (94 percent), go to the Internet to look up health and medical information (71 percent), read news (70 percent), and manage their finances and banking (59 percent). Matures also turn to the Internet for gaming, approximately half (47 percent) of online Matures regularly play free online games.

Boomers (ages 45 – 64) are heavy online users as well, with 93 percent using email and 71 percent shopping online. Other regular online activities of Boomers are going to the Internet to read news (73 percent), gather information (67 percent) and pay bills (66 percent). Three out of ten (30 percent) regularly watch videos online, and 39 percent regularly go to networking Web sites, forums, message boards and chat rooms.

These findings come from the CTAM Pulse report that includes data from the Life Stages & Life Styles: Turning General Differences Into Media Opportunities, and analyzes four generational groups.

“The technology adoption behaviors of the younger generations is studied frequently and their impact on advertising and marketing is widely known.” said CTAM President and CEO Char Beales. “But this study is unique in that it reveals opportunity among the Boomers and Matures, who have significant purchasing power, are active online and more comfortable with technology than often reported.”

Boomers are tech-savvy and just as likely as the younger generations to own a digital camera, DVD player and cell phone. While younger generations are more likely to send and receive text messages, 92 percent of Millennials (18 – 29), and 76 percent Gen Xers (30 – 44); half of all Boomers (48 percent) text, and a surprising 18 percent of Matures engage in this activity. Although all groups are high subscribers to cable TV service, the youngest generation – Millennials (61 percent), is the highest group to subscribe to cable TV service.

This CTAM research was partnered with BoomerEyes, a division of C&R Research and is based on a total of 1,500 online interviews from June 3 through June 14, 2009.

CTAM, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, is dedicated to helping the cable business grow. As a non-profit professional association, CTAM provides consumer research, case studies, topical publications, conferences and the CTAM SmartBrief to more than 4,500 individual members. On behalf of its 90 corporate members, the organization leads the Advanced Cable Solutions Consortium and facilitates national cooperative marketing efforts, including the Cable Mover Hotline™ and the Cable Means Business initiative. For more information, go to www.ctam.com. CTAM is also on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

More Evidence E-mail’s Not Dead

Nov 17, 2009 1:35 PM, By Ken Magill

Someone forgot to tell small-business owners e-mail is dead.

According to a just-released survey done by Hurwitz & Associates on behalf of e-mail service provider Campaigner, 46% of businesses with 20 employees or fewer use e-mail marketing today and of those who don’t, 36% plan to begin doing so in the coming year.

“The survey points to a major adoption trend in small business email marketing,” said Laurie McCabe, partner, Hurwitz & Associates, in a statement. “As the recovery from the recession gets underway, businesses that already have email marketing programs in place are better positioned to take advantage of new opportunities to increase sales and revenues.”

Meanwhile, according to a newly released survey by e-mail service provider VerticalResponse, well over two thirds of respondents said they plan to increase their e-mail marketing in 2010.

According to VerticalResponse, 74% of 831 companies with fewer than 500 employees plan to increase their use of e-mail marketing in 2010.

Also according to VerticalResponse, 38.9% of companies surveyed with 10 or fewer employees and 34.1% of businesses with from 11 to 100 employees plan to increase their e-mail marketing by “a lot” next year.

Endless emails from Endless.com

This is worth reading. Came in this morning from DMNews' E-Mail Marketing Weekly.

Dianna makes a great point about the low value of numerous untargeted emails. Most companies struggle to send relevant offers based on a lack of demographic and transaction data. Endless.com has it all and doesn't use it. Shame on them!

Endless emails from Endless.com. Is it some kind of cruel joke?? 8>)

Endless e-mails are not the way to win a customer
by Dianna Dilworth

July 29, 2009
About a week and a half ago I ordered a pair of sandals from Endless.com and since then, the e-mails have seemed endless.

While I have been an Amazon customer for years, this was my first time ordering from their independently run e-commerce shoe store. So like any good e-commerce store, it sent me a confirmation e-mail to let me know that my purchase had gone through, as well as a follow up e-mail the next day to let me know that my product had shipped. These two e-mails are a great use of e-mail so far.

But then the blasts began... Continue Article

Email's ROI

Email's ROI in 2008 was $43.52 for every dollar spent on it. - DMA (2009)

Almost half of interactive marketers surveyed say their organization struggles to prove the ROI of its efforts, while 7 in 10 say there are understaffed to do so. - Forrester Research (2008)

55 percent of the respondents cite that they expect ROI from email to be higher than any other channel. - Datran Media, "Marketing & Media Survey" (2008)

Email is delivering sales at an average cost per order of less than $7, compared to $71.89 for banner ads, $26.75 for paid search and $17.47 for affiliate programs. - Shop.org, State of Retailing Online 2007 report (Sept. 2007

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E-mail Appends: The Good, the Bad and the Realistic

Done correctly, this once-maligned strategy can be a real boon to your list health.

by Catherine Algeri - Posted originally at www.FundraisingSuccesMag.com

Aug 1, 2008

As with any new industry, the early days of online fundraising were filled with both success and failure. Some organizations quickly found a new stream of revenue … while others found themselves struggling to get out of that black hole known as the spam filter.

Now in 2008, a year where political donors broke every record for online giving — even contributing $10 million on a Web site in one night — organizations can move forward with online outreach knowing that others have blazed the trail before them.

Over the last five years, fundraisers have found a successful model for reaching out to their donors online in the form of the well-coordinated e-mail append.

A definition
The e-mail append at its best takes a portion of your donors and activists — those with whom you have established relationships — finds corresponding e-mail addresses and gives these donors a chance to decide if they want to hear from you via e-mail. It then appends these names to your files.

Common fears
Before I outline the difference between a good e-mail append and the type likely to relegate you to the spam folder for all time, let’s address the immediate concerns most nonprofits raise when considering an e-mail append.

1. I’m afraid an e-mail append will make me spam!
This fear speaks to the difference between a good e-mail append and a bad one. The early days of e-mail append certainly generated a few horror stories. Fortunately, the industry has really learned from its mistakes. Today, most reputable vendors send welcome e-mails on your behalf — on their own servers — and only return the valid e-mail addresses that did not opt out of e-mail communication. This way, when you start e-mailing these addresses, you’re in the good graces of your donors and the Internet service providers.

2. I’m afraid I’ll be wasting my money!
According to the article “Get An Email Address, Generate Income,” in the April 15 issue of The NonProfit Times, the average worth of an e-mail address on your file is $7.86 a year, per Convio’s recently published benchmark study on e-commerce between July 2006 and June 2007.

In fact, many nonprofits bring in $5 to $10 in contributions for every $1 spent on e-mail append processing, according to the article “Email Append: Hot online strategy or too hot to handle?” in NPT’s March 15 edition. Considering that you can append multiple e-mail addresses for $1, there is a low level of investment required to find out how valuable your e-mail addresses will be — and the research is in your favor.

3. I’m afraid I’ll anger my donors!
An e-mail append that gives your donors the chance to say no (opt out) to hearing from you via e-mail shows your donors that you respect their preferences.

Complaint rates for e-mail appends often are as low as half of 1 percent. Ask your vendor if it uses the Direct Marketing Association’s Email Preference Service list. What’s more, if you work with a vendor that has an aggressive suppression file, taking out those people who have hit the spam button or complained on e-mail appends for other clients just might whittle your list down to your friendliest donors.

Remember, these people are your donors because they care about your mission. Sending them e-mail updates between fundraising efforts is a great way to show them that you don’t just write when you need something, but that you value their participation. In reality, e-mail will strengthen your donor relationships, not weaken them.

4. I’m afraid an e-mail append will hurt my direct-mail program!
Think of it this way: There are two organizations in the same field — one has sent you a mail piece, and the other has sent you a mail piece and e-mailed you a reminder and an e-newsletter highlighting its successful use of donations. It’s likely that the organization making the extra touch will stick out in your mind. What’s more, many nonprofits are doing matchback analysis to keep track of how online and mail campaigns are working in tandem — and are thrilled with the results. In an increasingly competitive market, e-mail can bolster your direct-mail results.

The good e-mail append
Here are some questions you’ll be glad you asked your vendor and the answers you should be looking for:

Q. Is the database permission-based?
A. E-mail addresses should never be guessed or deduced. Your vendor might not be able to reveal every source of the data, but it should be able to confirm that every e-mail address has opted in to third-party e-mail messages.

Q. Are you CAN-SPAM compliant?
A. Breaking the law generally is a bad way to kick off a fundraising campaign! Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 to protect consumer e-mail rights. Make sure your vendor complies!

Q. Do you send a welcome message or just add the data to my file and ship it back to me?
A. If anyone offers to slap some e-mail addresses onto your file and then hand them back to you … run like the wind! A welcome message protects your server score with the ISPs and ensures that you only add valid, permission-based e-mail addresses to your file. Plus, no one wants to pay for bad e-mail addresses.

Q. What is your typical match rate?
A. This will help you set realistic expectations and strategies for your campaign. It also is an opportunity to find out if your vendor can do a name and postal address match. If it is able to link postal information, this typically increases the number of ways you can find a new e-mail address.

Q. Do you have a multivendor approach?
A. No vendor has all the e-mail addresses in the United States. See if your vendor is able to check your file against multiple databases, remove duplicates, and handle the process for you and your staff.

Q. Do you charge based on all matches or just valid matches (post-welcome message)?
A. Again, no one wants to pay for bad e-mail addresses. Make sure you find out up front if the vendor charges for every match found or for every valid match returned to you post-welcome message.

Q. Is this a household match or an individual-level match?
A. A household match is an e-mail found for the postal address of your donor. An individual match is linked specifically to your donor. If your cause is political or controversial, an individual match is critical.

Q. What type of a suppression file do you use?
A. Ask the vendor if it maintains a suppression file of complainers, bad addresses or spam-button pushers. Also ask if it uses the DMA Email Preference Service file as suppression.

Managing your expectations
Before you pitch the e-mail append to your boss or your board, make sure you are managing your expectations, which means avoiding these common fantasies:

Fantasy No. 1: I will immediately make money!
Yes, the average value of an e-mail address on your file is $7.86 a year. Yes, many organizations are recovering five to 10 times what they invested. But this did not happen with one e-mail; nor did it happen without a strategy. When you mail a 48-month lapsed donor, what type of response rate are you expecting? Look at your audience, and determine realistic response rates. E-mail is a fantastic way to cultivate your lapsed donors at a low cost.

Fantasy No. 2: An e-mail address will be good for all time!
E-mail updates are critical to the health of your file. When’s the last time you considered mailing a file that you hadn’t NCOA’d in the last six months? Out of the question, right? Well, it’s estimated that people change e-mail addresses at a rate of 20 percent per year. Continuing to e-mail addresses that ISPs have bounced back to you is a recipe for spam.

Side note: How does an e-mail update work? Similar to an e-mail append, you send a file of hard-bouncing e-mail addresses to a reputable vendor. It will search its permission-based databases for new e-mail addresses linked to your records. Then the vendor will send a “welcome back” message to those e-mail addresses on its server. It will return only those e-mail addresses that are valid and have not opted out of hearing from you at this new e-mail address.

Fantasy No. 3: If they didn’t opt out the first time, I don’t have to use an opt-out link in the future!
Not so fast. Giving donors an escape hatch in every e-mail is the best way to keep them from hitting the spam button. DMA guidelines [see box above] require that you give your donors the chance to opt out with each e-mail.

The final question
Why do you need to e-mail donors? Donors are critical to the health of our organizations, but it’s not an exclusive relationship. They are donating to other organizations and, increasingly, are being approached online for gifts.

In fact, FY 2009 budgets for most direct marketers, on average, have planned for a 55 percent increase in e-mail prospecting budgets, according to the article “Less for More” in the June issue of Direct. Staying at the forefront of your donors’ minds with e-mail has gotten much easier — and far more critical.

Plus, didn’t you hear? The average yearly value of an e-mail address on your file is $7.86!