The From Line

The worst mistake an email marketer can make is to get a reader’s email address and walk away.  Getting the address is difficult enough, but what happens if that contact switches jobs, gets promoted or changes their primary email address.  Prevent your list from getting stale with the following practices.

• Bounce Removal – make sure bad addresses are removed after a pre-determined number of bounces.  Remember there is a difference between a hard and soft bounce. Hard bounces mean the address is bad; soft bounces mean there was a problem with the transmission, the server or the recipient’s inbox. eLoop automatically removes bounces from your data.
• Welcome Email – automatically send a welcome email after a new reader has subscribed.  It should explain the features and services available to them and provide them with a connection to your company’s Web site and, ideally, a real-live person.
• Follow-up emails – follow up with contacts whose addresses continually cause problems.
•  Managing Opt-Outs – your email service provider should automatically remove contacts that opt out from receiving messages. Make sure anyone choosing to opt out receives a confirmation message before permanently removing them from the list.

Creativity and innovation can make or break your e-publication.  With an online platform, you must write copy and include dynamic content that will stimulate the reader’s attention and, ideally, convince them to forward the message to colleagues and friends widening your readership.  

Below are tips to remind you to cover the basics and explore the publication’s creative side.   

• Use an HTML template and a text version to ensure your reader’s receive the message. 

• Implement a double-opt in policy for all subscribers—it’s just good practice.

• Don’t include long articles, multi-column layouts, unrelated links or gratuitous images.  Keep writing simple and to the point. 

• Don’t overuse links.  Keep them relevant and make sure they work.

• Use bulleted lists to break up text and summarize main points for the reader. 

• Include only two - three subjects per newsletter. More than a few articles will test your audience’s attention span. 

• Use Variable Data Printing (VDP) to personalize the message (i.e. using your data points to address the message as “Dear Mike” instead of “Dear Sir”).  A small gesture that can lead to higher response rates. 

• Dynamic content leads to dynamic messages.  Customize the message by region, reader preferences, age or other demographics.  You collected the data for a reason, now use it.

• Send a welcome message to new subscribers. Give them a reason to praise your customer service and attention to detail. 

• Include a survey or poll into the message. It is a quick tool to gather general data and include your reader in the message. 

• Use the expertise available to you.  Brainstorm with staff members who have interaction with your readers and may understand their needs, use the knowledge of your marketing team and call on your email service provider for advice and guidance. 

Part one in a three-part series

The majority of email marketers are missing a significant source for quality leads in the form of co-registration. It is a cost-effective, efficient way to encourage readers to opt-in to a variety of lists while still giving them the opportunity to personalize their selections—a major demand among readers.

Co-registration is when the recipient can subscribe to multiple lists at one time. Typically, marketers brand a “thank-you” page with check boxes of other electronic publications that the reader may opt to join before a recipient completes the subscription process.  The seemingly simple process has many advantages.  

• It can increase the number of subscribers.
• It promotes your lists to readers outside of your typical sphere of influence. 
• It is inexpensive (although we recommend researching services and costs from different providers).

Co-registration can also open the door to other industries and potential partners.  For example, you may be able to work with an established publisher to add your e-zine to their co-registration list and radically increase your subscribers.  There are a few warnings about setting up a co-registration process.  First, is to make sure you have room in your budget for it. It will not make a big dent, but you should understand the costs before venturing into the process.  Also, be sure that the auto-responder feature of your e-zine will accept new subscribers via this method.   

Stay tuned for information on other methods to build your list organically in the next issue of E-ssentials. 

As technology and software advances, it is supposed to make our lives easier, right? In most cases, yes, but the latest version of Microsoft Outlook is an exception.  It could cause problems for email marketers unaware of the differences between the 2006 and 2007 editions.

The reasons behind the step backwards are not 100 percent clear, but it seems the problem resides in the lackluster rendering ability that will alter the way messages appear in recipients’ inboxes.

The 2007 version doesn’t support new design elements marketers have worked hard to incorporate into their messages including background images, forms, flash or other plugins or animated GIFs.  The consensus among experts is that Outlook will strip out images and restrict animation or “motion.”

The bottom line is not to panic and to start developing a plan now to deal with the change and potential problems. Many companies have not made the switch to Microsoft 2003 from 2000, so don’t expect an overwhelming migration to the 2007 version.  Instead, use the following recommendations to prepare:

• Simplify the structure and composition of messages.  You can’t go wrong with a simple, elegant design.

• Update your template.  If you haven’t updated your HTML template in the last 18 – 24 months, review it, identify and resolve potential problems.

• Encourage in-house HTML and graphic designers to get the details of these changes and suggestions from Microsoft by clicking here.

• Test your messages with multiple accounts including the top consumer email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail). 

If I got a dollar for every time I have been asked that question over the past five years my kid's 529 savings plan would be well funded for a Harvard tuition.  Finally over the past few months I haven't been as embarrassed to say I'm in the commercial email industry and I have the classic spammers to thank.  

It seems as though the average American (with the exception of the few spam vigilantes) have become so desensitized to classic spam they almost expect it.  "Sure I'll wire over $10,000 to Mr. Mobutu over in Nigeria" jokes one of my buddies at a cocktail party.  "Who falls for this stuff?" chimes in a neighbor.  Efforts of classic spammers are so off the deep end it's become laughable and makes my job easier to legitimize opt-in commercial email.  Most Americans have been on the Internet long enough to tell the difference between spam and legitimate commercial email.  So the next time someone some one asks you what you do for a living just say "email marketing."  And if they ask "Are you a spammer?" just politely reply, "If you still want to call me that."