DurnikBlog

Läsvärt om e-postmarknadsföring

Under de veckor som jag inte har gjort några updateringar här har det som vanligt publicerats mycket läsvärt inom de områden som bloggen fokuserar på. Här följer en lista på diverse läsvärt mellan 27 september och 27 oktober:

Crafting a Compelling Text Message (ClickZ)
Hur framgångsrik är din e-postmarknadsföring (Apsis)
Simplify Your E-mail Marketing Programs (EmailInsider)
Seven Steps to Newsletter Planning (MailerMailer)
Benchmarks: Tips for Using Them Effectively (ClickZ)
Add Opt-In to PPC Landing Pages to Boost ROI (EmailLabs)
The Elusive Value of the "Industry Benchmark" (Lyris)
The Latest Trend in Developing Creative for Email Marketing? Same as the Old (DM News)
Just Let Go (ClickZ)
Word of Mouth Investment Will Bring Greater ROI (Womma)
False Positives Declining - Lyris's ISP Email Deliverability Report for Q2 2006 (Emailuniverse.com)
High-Volume B2B Copywriting (ClickZ)
DM Boosts Economy; Email, Phone Get Best Response (MarketingVox)
Optimizing for Snippets (ClickZ)
Today's Email: The Demands of Authentication and Deliverability (L-Soft)
Why e-mail marketers must respect “Permission” – or pay the price (DM News)
A Good First Impression Equals Stronger Opt-In Relationship (ClickZ)
WOM Ethics Assessment Tool Published (MarketingVox)
I Really Hate Spam, Especially from Real Brands … (Email Marketing Strategy ...)
Scandinavian insights (Email Marketing Reports)

E-postmarknadsföring i Malmö

Befinner du dig i Malmö den 26 oktober har du fortfarande några timmar på dig att skicka in anmälan till heldagskonferensen E-postmarknadsföring på rätt sätt.

Läs gärna min intervju med Mark Brownlow som är en av talarna i morgon.

Citizen marketers

Marknadsföringsvärldens mest intressanta författarduo släpper nytt. I boken "Citizen Marketers: People are the message" skriver Ben McConnell och Jackie Huba om hur konsumenter i dag kan vara de bästa - eller mest fruktade - "marknadsförarna" av företags produkter. Genom att förstå förutsättningarna och dynamiken i konsumentmakt kan företag nyttja denna nya realitet till sin - och konsumenternas - fördel.

Boken publiceras i USA den 1 december och kan förbeställas här. Vill du läsa författarnas introduktion till Citizen marketers klicka här.

Mammor lyssnar på mammor

Det tål att upprepas: effekten av rekommendationer ska inte underskattas. 91% av mammor i USA föredrar produkter som andra mammor har rekommenderat. Detta enligt en undersökning som presenterades vid Marketing to Moms-konferensen som gick av stapeln tidigare i veckan i Chicago (via MarketingVox).

Veckans fundering

"The fact that Outlook 2003 blocks images is yesterday's news. So why are so many of today's e-mails still full of images -- and completely unreadable in this popular program?"

Karen Gedney, ClickZ.com

Webinarium för dig som arbetar sent på torsdag

Silverpop arrangerar ett (kostnadsfritt) webinarium om leveransbarhetsfrågor för e-postmarknadsföring (dvs., tips hur om hur ditt företag får fram mejlen till mottagarna).

Registrera dig här för webinariet, som går av stapeln den 12 oktober kl 19.00.

Q&A's: Mark Brownlow, Email Marketing Reports

På senare tid har två framstående amerikanska e-postmarknadsförare (här och här) kommenterat läget för e-postmarknadsföring i Europa. En som antagligen vet mer om detta än någon annan är Mark Brownlow, som driver den alltid hyperaktuella sajten Email Marketing Reports. Jag ställde några frågor till Mark om hur han ser på trenderna inom e-postmarknadsföring i Europa och hur dessa påverkar dem som arbetar med e-post som marknadsföringskanal:

Mark, in your opinion, what are the current hot topics of European email marketing?
There's a lot of interest in some of the new tricks and tools available from the top-end vendors. Things like integrating email marketing with web analytics, so you can send emails triggered by some action the recipient took at your website.

But I believe the real "hot" topic is the realization that we're still not doing a lot of basic stuff right. For example, you can build the most fantastic personalized email delivery system, but if the emails don't display properly when they get to the reader, what's the point?

There are a lot of simple things that marketers now realize should be done before they start looking at sophisticated techniques.

What do email marketers need to consider in regards to these topics?
There are three basic areas that need particular attention.

1. Sign-up procedures

There's a lot of room for improving sign-up rates by taking another look at sign-up processes. Is there a sign-up form or link easily seen on every page of the website? Does the form contain the elements critical to persuading people to submit their email address (privacy link, description of benefits etc.)? Is there an opt-in opportunity on the landing pages you use in search engine marketing? Are your sales reps or checkout staff collecting email addresses?

2. Email design

We need to realize that image blocking and preview panes are everywhere and adjust the design of emails appropriately. The difference between email and just about any other marketing medium is you can't guarantee how the final message will actually display. So you need to learn how to give your emails the best chance of being displayed in a way that gets good responses.

3. Metrics

Campaign results tell you a lot about what you're doing right and wrong, but only if you take the time to look at them in detail. Does your open rate vary between different groups of subscribers? Why? What kinds of subject lines are pulling the best response?

A few simple changes can do more for response rates and list growth than thousands spent on new email marketing technology.

Once the basics are clear, then it's time to look at sophisticated behavioral targeting, segmentation, personalization and customization techniques.

What do you think will be the hottest topic of email marketing in 2007?
I think (hope) we'll have begun to master the basics and there will be extra emphasis on the new targeting possibilities made available through better technology and closer integration between website and email programs.

The issue of integration is going to get more important at a higher level, too. By this I mean that every few months seem to bring another way to communicate with customers and prospects. To the "traditional" offline and online marketing vehicles (like email) we can add mobile, web feeds, instant messaging, podcasts, user developed content and no doubt others.

The big challenge is dealing with that complexity. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative in the context of your particular goals and audience. And then using that understanding to combine the right alternatives in a way that works best for you.

The important thing there is simply to remember that it's not an either/or thing. It's not about choosing either email or web feeds. Either PPC search engines or direct mail.

It's about, for example, using email so that it complements all the other marketing you might be doing. So it can be successful directly, for example by driving immediate sales at a website. Or indirectly, by supporting the brand, business, product or service in combination with other marketing vehicles.

Different customers and prospects have different preferences when it comes to interacting with a business. New communication vehicles give us more ways to match this preference. The more choice you give the customer, the more likely they are to actually interact with you.

Träffa Mark Brownlow på E-postmarknadsföring på rätt sätt i Malmö den 26 oktober.

"Short-time Permission"

Bill Nussey skriver i inlägget Radical Idea for Permission om något som jag funderat på en längre tid: Varför inte flera företag frågar om samtycke för kortare perioder, dvs. Permission Marketing över tidsbegränsade e-postkampanjer.

Detta borde inte vara något "radikalt" eller ovanligt men uppenbarligen är det så. Ifall du har något bra exempel på framgångsrika svenska e-postkampanjer som utgår från den här strategin kommentera eller mejla gärna om det.