I’ve had a few conversations recently about how important it is to ask for more than just an email address when setting up a form on a website to begin an email marketing program. So many times, someone will add a box to collect an email address, make sure the form works and think they’re […]
Archive | Uncategorized
Twitter vs. Email
With Twitter growing at a dramatic clip in 2009, I thought it might be worth a note about how this platform compares to – and compliments – an email marketing program. This missive was inspired by a Tweet from Simms Jenkins of Brightwave Marketing, who wrote: another difference between email & twitter is marketers think […]
They’re just not that into you: Inactive subscribers
It may be a little early to think about spring cleaning, but I figure that a new year is a good time to clean up your email list and focus on your active subscribers. To combat list fatigue, when subscribers ignore and don’t open your e-mail, here are some suggestions to try to re-engage those […]
Preparing for Cyber Monday
Even though we haven’t even gone trick or treating yet in the United States, it’s not too early to be thinking of Cyber Monday, the first weekday after Black Friday that kicks off the online holiday shopping season. What are you going to do to get ready? From a marketer’s perspective, there’s plenty to work […]
Transactional emails don’t have to be boring
I just noticed last week that Facebook has switched its friend request emails from plain text messages to a full HTML version. The benefits of HTML email over text are numerous and it’s nice to see Facebook offering its users something of value in these messages. Here’s a “before” snapshot of the friend request notification: […]
Gmail, Gmail, Gmail
Gmail has made some changes lately that affect email marketers. Here’s an update on a couple of these modifications and what they may mean for you, as a marketer and a consumer: Images On: Most email clients (Yahoo! Outlook, etc.) leave images turned off. This is intended to protect the recipient’s privacy. (Remember, you […]
When should we start social media marketing?
Recently on MarketingSherpa, this question was posed in an article (Full link here):When should we start with social media marketing? Their response follows: Social media is a powerful channel, but it works in conjunction with other efforts, such as email. You should get your email marketing tactics nailed down first, before you make a big […]
Don’t abuse their trust
I thought I’d mentioned on my blog the importance of not taking your list’s subscribers for granted, but a search didn’t turn up any results on the topic. Shame on me. Guess I’m the one doing the “taking for granted” and should not assume everyone knows that. Reading this post on Andy Sernovitz’s “Damn, I […]
Ask more than “So, what’s your address?”
Ah, the old quantity vs. quality debate. Many folks ask themselves, “Do I want a large list or an active list?” Since I am not a mind reader, there’s no way I am going to attempt to answer that for you. But for the sake of having something for you to read, let’s discuss having […]
Don’t use ESP to pick an ESP
Recently I was talking with a prospective client about the advantages of using an email service provider (ESP) over sending an email in-house. This person’s hurdle was exporting her address book to upload it to ESP’s platform. Obviously, that’s a huge obstacle. I recommended that she begin the process of figuring out how to recreate […]