Towards Better Email Standards

Email Standards Project (ESP) works to help designers understand why web standards are so important for email an the one hand, while working with email client developers to ensure that emails render consistently. This is a community effort to improve the email experience for both designers and readers alike. Among the many things they do, is test popular email clients like Gmail, Outlook Express and Lotus Notes and rates each one of them. Discover the many parameters by which emails are tested at ESP. See how some of the top mail clients came through. And make the ESP blog a regular read…

Permission Spam. The Sorry State of Email Marketing.

A recent report from Forrester says that ninety-seven percent of consumers in the US use email. The figures many not be so high in India, but the usage is close to the same among those belonging to the top SECs. Even though email adoption rates are so high is it being used right? Seventy-seven percent of respondents to the Forrester survey say they receive too many email offers. Seventy-two percent delete most email advertising without reading it, and only five percent buy things advertised through email promotions. According to Stephanie Miller, vice president of strategic services at email service provider Return Path the problem is a lack of long-term customer strategy. “Many marketers think of email as a broadcast channel, not as a way to connect with individuals.” When integrated with data like CRM, POS, and Web analytics, email can leverage customer data to have a real dialogue, but very few marketers actually do it. There are some very good insights on how companies could use email better in this two part series from 1to1 weekly. Read them here and here.

No Man’s Landing Pages

One of the elements that could make or break an online banner campaign is how well thought out landing pages are. Often the entire effort is spent on getting the banners right, with little or no proper attention given to the landing pages. Simple things like ensuring that the landing page refers to the what is being spoken off in the banner and not a generic website could see conversion rates go up or down. Clear call to action, writing in second person, delivering a clear and persuasive message (needless to say) and more, from Copyblogger’s list of 10 things to do to ensure better landing pages.

Email’s Failure

Had this newsletter been a part of the Forrester’s best and worst of email marketing we would have failed too, scoring 0. Because there are just a few things we do here that would have won Forrester’s approval (OK we have changed the subject line from this week on, to score 4 points and the unsubscribe line at the bottom would have given us another 2). It’s not just this newsletter that does not pass their muster, infact 62 out of the 63 email marketing programs that Forrester tested failed to make the grade and the average score of all the programs combined was a miserable, zero. The only one program that barely made the mark at 13 points was The New York Times’ today’s headlines program. Here’s a PDF of the Forrester survey.

On the subject of eMail Marketing

Not the message, not the design, not the creative, not even the offer. It’s the subject line, dummy, that matters, when it comes to email marketing. Mass emailer Mail Chimp did a study on email open rates and discovered – and this will surprise most creative people – having a simple message with the company name in subject line is the best way to get recipients to open email messages. Guess which subject line works the best, (Company Name, followed by newsletter) yes the one that got you to open this newsletter! Out at ManageSmarter there are some simple tips on effective email marketing, including having the company name in the subject line, the use of images, layout, use of links and offer.

Understanding Email Marketing

There’s no better place than the web to learn new things. Here’s a ton of stuff that will help you get a leg up on email marketing. From planning and strategising to building and managing lists to designing and writing to targeting and personalising to conversion rates to testing and finally trends.

To spam or not to spam

Marketers are beginning to realize that one size fits all messaging is the death-knell of e-mail marketing. So they are going out to their old friend, software, to help search out patterns in peoples browsing and buying behavior. Old world tools like segmentation and customization are popping up in marketing vocabulary to ensure that marketing messages delivered by e-mail yield better ROI. Read more, from CMO Magazine.

HOW To Send E-mails That Get Responses

Guy Kawasaki — entrepreneur and venture capitalist — has written a great article giving tips for people who seek responses by e-mail.