Feb
15
By: Tami Forman
Director of Strategic Services
We came across this story in MediaLife (by way of MarketingVox): Advertisers can now have their messages etched onto egg shells.
Aside from the obvious humor to be found in this story, we are most intrigued by the ROI one might expect from this type of campaign. Those of us who work in interactive marketing -- particularly email -- are used to being beaten over the head with the need to prove out our campaigns with real numbers, preferably the kind that have dollar signs attached them. So, how does one measure the impact of egg etchings?
Funny you should ask ....
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Feb
14
By: Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
Forget experience, gut feelings and opinions. Turns out that the intuition of marketers was completely unreliable in predicting the best performing creative for online, email and search marketing. Results from this Marketing Experiments Lab are posted online.
What's an email marketer to do? One word: TEST.
All day long our Strategy Group works with marketers to apply best practices to their retention and acquisition emails. We pour over past campaign data and click analysis ...
Categories: Response
Feb
08
By: Tami Forman
Director of Strategic Services
We recently wrote about viral marketing and offered viral content ideas. Maybe you weren't convinced that this tactic is truly important to your email marketing success.
Well, a recent survey by Sharpe Partners should get you thinking otherwise. They found that almost 90% of adult internet users share content with others via email. And the respondents are forwarding frequently...
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Jan
26
By: Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
Every marketer knows that email works when it is done right. Yet the data shows that precious few make that happen in their email programs. Consumers want your email, will open your email, and will buy from you via email--if you build a relationship and keep that relationship relevant. Think of it as a courtship--with better odds.
A recent Return Path survey analyzing consumer use of email during the holiday shopping season showed that consumers respond to email when they have an ongoing positive experience with the sender and have received value from their email program...
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Jan
20
Jan
19
Jan
09
What: User-generated email messages
Who: eBay
Why we love it: eBay has found a way to automate truly targeted, one-to-one email communications for its vast membership. When you do a search for a product on eBay you are given the option of saving the search and having any products that match it emailed to you up to once per day. Since the email is automatically generated off your search term, it is completely relevant. These emails elegantly emphasize what makes eBay so great...
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Jan
07
By: Tami Forman
Director of Strategic Services
In honor of cold and flu season it seemed appropriate to talk about viral marketing. In an earlier edition of this newsletter, we told you that the key to making viral marketing work is to have great content and then surround that content with the right mechanics.
So, what makes "great," virus-worthy content? The most important element is that it be relevant to your target audience. Getting people to forward is fine, but what you really want is for them to forward to the...
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Dec
20
By: Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
We heard some shocking news the other day... that more than 60% of marketers decided NOT to email their customers after the holidays.
While I appreciate the break from the deluge of emails we've all received this season, and I would never encourage marketers to send email messages that don't have meaning and value for their subscribers, I have to think this is a huge missed opportunity! The survey was conducted by Accucast of 52 their own retailer clients, and found that many marketers will pass on the chance to use email for promotions or thank you's to customers post-holiday.
The week between Christmas and New Years' -- which also happens to be Hanukkah this year -- could be a good opportunity for you - both B2C and B2B. Consider some of these ideas...
Categories: Response
Dec
15
By: Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
Looks like the analysts at Jupiter are reading the Sign Me Up! book from Return Path! Excerpt: According to a recent JupiterResearch survey, 16 percent of consumers formed negative opinions because of email newsletters or promotions they received, impacting relevance and creative aspects of e-mail campaigns.
After relevance, clearly written copy drives 40 percent of consumers to click through on email messages. Marketers must adopt best practices such as testing and calls to action...
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