The Whitelist

Email Marketing Best Practices: Pull the Trigger and Stop the Sends

Not only was Trigger the name of Roy Roger’s trusty steed, a horse with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. It’s a key word for email marketers in 2012 as well…and it might be a trick you want to keep up your sleeve for improving ROI in the year ahead.

We all know about overcrowded inboxes, email-weary consumers, and overzealous marketing that sends emails far too often. The answer is to send fewer emails by using triggered emails instead.

Does that sound counter intuitive? Probably. But then our emphasis on building quality in-house email lists over quantity lists does too, yet it’s email marketing best practices to do so.

In reality, sending less by triggering more might not mean fewer emails sent. But it will mean more targeted emails because each one sent will be triggered by the consumer based on an action or an event. In comparison, plain old sending can look like old fashioned batch-and-blast because those messages are going out to a group based on the marketer’s needs or schedule, not the user’s actions.

By their very nature, event-based emails are extremely targeted and relevant. Whether the email is sent as a confirmation of a purchase, a welcome after a subscribe, a reminder about a renewal or a follow-up after abandoning a shopping cart, these email messages speak directly to the recipient in a way a general “send” can not.

If the relevancy argument doesn’t sway you, consider the potential ROI. These kinds of targeted triggered emails have a higher open rate which usually translates to higher ROI: The more emails opened, the more potential for action on the part of the recipient.

Your sends will never cease. Emails such as newsletters or promotions still have their place in your email marketing program. But cutting back on the big batches and focusing resources on the triggered type will definitely benefit your email marketing bottom line…and your customers too.

Three Easy Ways to Prevent Being Flagged as Spam

Consumers are in a hurry and think nothing of flagging your legitimate email as spam, hurting your sending reputation despite your adherence to email marketing best practices. What’s an email marketer to do?

Everything in your power to minimize the use of that Spam button, that’s what!

The latest ClickMail Marketer has three easy tips for making spam reports fewer in number and keeping your email delivery rate high as can be:

1) Manage expectations from the start

2) Get through the first three hurdles

3) Make the Unsubscribe easy to find and do

Learn more about each, how it protects you, and how to implement it by giving the newsletter a quick read.

As an email marketing agency, we predict the Spam button will remain a threat to legitimate email marketers, and maybe even become more of a threat as inboxes get ever more cluttered. Follow these three tips, and protect yourself and your sending reputation by diminishing the use of the Spam button.

Read our latest email marketing newsletter here.

When a Dirty In-House Email List Costs the ISPs Money, It’s Time to Clean Up!

If your in-house email list hasn’t had a good scrubbing lately, it’s time to clean house. A clean list has always ranked high among email marketing best practices, but now even more so as ISPs crack down on email marketers who waste their time…and their money.

As an email marketing agency focused on numbers and deliverability, we understand that it’s hard to see the size of your list shrink when bad or dormant email addresses get removed. It’s worth it though. Remember, your goal is a quality list, not a quantity one. You’re far better off with 5,000 names that respond to your content than 15,000 that don’t.

Scrubbing your in-house email list might mean fewer names, but it also means higher ROI from your email marketing because you’re marketing to a more responsive audience. In addition, you’re improving your email delivery rate by improving your sending reputation. And you’re pleasing the ISPs, who are the ultimate gatekeepers between you and your prospects.

ISPs still see emailing to bad and inactive addresses as sloppy and careless on the part of the marketer, and they will be more likely to flag your emails as spam if you continue to do so. But now we’re seeing the major ISPs thinking of these unnecessary emails as an expense too. If you’re already annoying an ISP because you’re carelessly sending to people who haven’t responded to your emails in over a year—showing an obvious lack of interest in your content—imagine how annoyed they’ll be when they think of those wasted emails as costing them money to boot?

The answer was and still is good list hygiene. Start with email marketing best practices that require an opt-in. Use a Preference Center to give subscribers control. Then keep your list squeaky clean with regular scrubbings.

Your list will be clean, your subscribers responsive and the ISPs pleased. What more could you ask for?

Get tips for scrubbing your in-house email list.

Email Marketing in 2012: A Few (More) Predictions for the Upcoming Year

One thing about being an email marketing agency: One must always have a finger on the pulse of and an eye on the blogs of the industry! Email is blessed with so many knowledgeable, insightful people who can look at the big picture and help guide our everyday strategic and tactical decisions. ClickZ is a wonderful resource for this kind of insight. In particular, ClickZ’s latest blog by David Daniels has some predictions for you for 2012, a few of which intrigued us enough to expand upon here.

We like David’s statement about behavioral segmentation. As an email marketing agency, we’ve been pushing segmentation as an email marketing best practice for years. Why? Relevance. Segmenting means targeting. Targeting means relevance. Relevance means increased email delivery rates and higher conversion rates. As David describes it, behavioral segmentation is even more useful because it is based not only on demographics, but on a customer’s past behavior, making it a predictor of future behavior too:

“The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and the marketer’s ability to digitally understand customer’s desires and actions begins with segmenting audiences based on click-based engagement.”

As this becomes a standard email marketing best practice in 2012, it will also become a competitive advantage. Make sure behavioral segmentation is something your email marketing team is at least considering in the very near future.

David is also the bearer of good news, predicting businesses will pay a little less attention to the glitz and glamour of social media marketing campaigns and get back to measuring concrete results: “the focus will rightly turn to the return on investment of those social efforts.” David expects the kinds of reporting and analytical features we’ve come to expect from email marketing solutions will be adapted to measure results across channels. That kind of insight will only improve our tactics and techniques as email marketers, resulting in deeper knowledge about the effectiveness and inter-relatedness of each marketing channel and—ultimately—a higher ROI.

David also predicts security, breaches, and legislation will increase in 2012, a scary thought and something to consider as you plan out your year. He is also optimistic, saying marketers will understand the penalty of emailing to dormant addresses, a topic near and dear to our email marketing hearts because emailing to dormant addresses can have a negative impact on your email delivery rate. (Get tips on scrubbing your in-house email list for improved email deliverability.)

Let’s close with where David starts his post, about the longevity of email. As we keep saying, email is still alive and well and David concurs. So let’s just make that a given. Email will continue to offer the best ROI, to be the glue that holds other marketing channels together, and to be the foundation upon which countless marketing campaigns will be built…through 2012 and beyond. Long live email!

Three Common Email Marketing Challenges and How to Tackle Them

In our last blog post we wrote about the upcoming can’t-miss Email Marketing Summit 2012 from Marketing Sherpa. If you attended last year’s summit, you know how valuable it is, and this year’s is shaping up to be the best yet.  One of the most important insights from last year’s summit was a roundup of the most common email marketing challenges to plague email marketers, and how to handle them. These are just a few of the challenges that were discussed, and the solutions that came out in the email marketing summit last year:

1. How do you increase engagement if you have a limited list?

Even though you may have a small email list, there are a number of ways in which email marketers can increase engagement, and ultimately, ROI. For example, you could start by expanding your company’s web presence and visibility. One great way to do this is by guest blogging for online industry publications. By getting your name out there as an expert in your industry, you’ll attract more followers and grow your list while increasing conversation and engagement. Also consider integrating social media into your email marketing program: a strong social media program will not only help grow your reach, but also show your followers that you are posting great updates (and thus encourage them to sign up for an email newsletter). Finally, consider offering incentives to your email subscribers to share your offers with others, which could be another way to integrate sharing, engagement, and social networking.

2. How can effective results be achieved through an email marketing program without being repetitive?

As we always say at ClickMail Marketing, the best way to address this challenge is to be consistently creating excellent, specific, and relevant content. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time; you simply need to get creative about repurposing your key messages in ways that draw prospects in and keeps current customers engaged. If you’re feeling stale or need inspiration, you can always develop creative content and new ideas based on customer surveys, industry trends and other insights. Be open to feedback and take suggestions from your audience. Often, your customers ask the same questions your prospects are silently wondering.
3. How are maximum results attained through optimal frequency and timing of email marketing messages?

If you’re struggling with this question, don’t worry: you’re not alone. Most email marketers wonder about the best timing and frequency to send out email marketing messages, and we’ve written about this question recently ourselves. Even though HubSpot’s social media scientist, Dan Zarrella, discovered that Tuesday at 11am is one of the worst possible times to send out email campaigns, this day and time may not apply to your audience and their behavior patterns. The best way to find out the most optimal frequency and timing for YOUR specific email campaigns is to engage in testing, another email marketing best practice we regularly espouse. In order to determine your ideal email frequency, the best thing to measure is your total open and click rates under different email frequency conditions. Consider running an A/B split test with different email frequencies and comparing the results.

For even more takeaways from the 2011 Email Marketing Summit, see Marketing Sherpa’s roundup!

What are some of the email marketing challenges you’ve encountered as an email marketer? Share them with us and we’ll try to address them in future blog posts!

Register Today for Marketing Sherpa's Email Marketing Summit 2012

If you’re starting to plan your schedule for 2012, make sure to block out February 7-10 for Marketing Sherpa’s Email Marketing Summit 2012 in Las Vegas! This is the world’s largest vendor-neutral, research-based email marketing event so you definitely don’t want to miss it. And save $700 on the registration fee, as a ClickMail Marketing blog reader (details below)!

Marketing Sherpa writes: “This year’s Summit is shaping up to be the best yet as we have a full slate of sessions aimed at overcoming your top email challenges with actionable training, grounded in rigorous research and science.”

In this four-day summit you can plan on expanding your email knowledge and expertise dramatically, learning new ways to analyze your current email strategy and leaving with a workbook full of “next steps” for lasting email success in this rapidly changing world. Whether you identify yourself as an “email marketing newbie” or “advanced email marketing guru” you’ll find sessions designed to help you get ahead – and stay ahead – of your competition.

Learn from best-in-class professionals on the evolving and expanding role of email marketing including creativity, personalization, segmentation, social media integration, testing and pristine list management. Here are just a few of the many reasons you should attend:

1. Interactive, How-To Training Sessions on email and social media integration, mobile, list growth tactics, relevancy, mobile, deliverability and measurement.
2. Multiple Case Studies, war stories and lessons learned, presented by your email peers and mentors (past speakers include marketers from Oracle, Siemens, Cisco Systems,among many others).
3. Latest 2012 MarketingSherpa Email Research and benchmark Data on spending, tactics, conversion rates, budgets and more.
4. Interactive Panel Discussions with subject matter experts on optimizing your email program, increasing ROI, create relevant contagious content and more.
5. Extended Face-to-Face Networking opportunities with seasoned professionals, trainers and peers over meals, breaks and receptions.
6. Proven Email Strategies, campaigns and tactics you can immediately apply to get more done with fewer people, less time and more limited budgets.
7. Interaction with Colleagues sharing successful campaigns and tactics to inspire and hone your marketing skills.
8. Become an Email Certified Professional by taking a pre-Summit workshop taught by email experts who provide a proven methodology with step-by-step tactics on how to maximize your email results.

This year’s Summit also features case studies, training and panels from companies who have found success through new strategies and refining existing programs.

If you’re ready to make 2012 THE year for your best email marketing ROI ever, you have to attend the Email Summit 2012. And ClickMail Marketing makes it even easier for you to attend: to save $700 on the registration simply enter this priority code: 185-ST-1003 at check out. We’ll see you there!

Tips for Successful Email Campaigns During the Holidays and Year-Round

It’s that time of year again…when the stores sparkle with holiday lights, people start making a list (and checking it twice), and email inboxes become even more flooded with email marketing messages. As an email marketer, you’re probably wondering how to maximize your email marketing ROI during this busy time of year, and how to ensure your email marketing messages stand out from the rest.

In the latest issue of the ClickMail Marketer we summarize five easy-to-implement tips to ensure that your holiday email marketing campaign is, much like Santa’s sleigh, a flying success. And the beauty of these tips is that each one of these can (and should) become part of your email marketing toolbox the entire year round.

Even though spending is down a bit in the current economy, following typical annual trends, total holiday sales are estimated to pick up through December. Different this year is the increase in online purchasing: nearly half (46.7%) of the polled respondents said they will buy online, up from 43.9% last year. These internet shoppers will also spend about 22% more than in-store shoppers. In addition, the rise of mobile shopping is increasing dramatically in 2011. About half of those who own a smartphone said they will use their device to research and purchase holiday gifts and items.

As an email marketer, you can probably guess where we’re going with these numbers. The first tip on our list is Optimize your email marketing campaigns for mobile viewing! 2011 has seen a massive rise in smartphone and tablet use, and the numbers are only going to increase. This is the year of mobile email marketing and the time to capitalize on it is now. We also talk about the importance of Analyzing your subscribers’ behavior, Testing, and more.

If you’d like more details on these and other effective and easy-to-use email marketing best practices, check out the December issue of the ClickMail Marketer. And if you need more information about any of these tips, give ClickMail a call. Taking some time around the holidays to implement these email marketing best practices for a great start to your 2012 email marketing program. Find out how to get started in the December ClickMail Marketer.

ClickMail Marketing Ranks On Yet Another List!

Email services provider ClickMail Marketing, offering the nation’s largest selection of email service providers (ESPs), has made yet another list! As recognition for our rapid growth over recent years, we’ve been ranked as being one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States. In September of this year, Inc. Magazine announced that ClickMail made its estimable annual list of 5,000 fastest growing companies, joining ranks with other notable companies like Intuit, Microsoft, Timberland, Patagonia, and Oracle. Our most recent recognition comes from the San Francisco Business Times as ClickMail Marketing achieved a high ranking on their list of the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area.

The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal has also ranked ClickMail Marketing as one of the top 50 fastest growing private companies in Silicon Valley, and CilckMail has achieved the additional honor of being recognized as one of America’s 13 Fastest Growing Email Marketing Companies.

Email solutions provider ClickMail’s rapid growth is reflected on the following 2011 business lists:

• The Inc. 5000 List of the fastest-growing companies in America.
• The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal’s Top 50 Fastest Growing Private Companies in Silicon Valley
• The San Francisco Business Times’ ‘Fast 100′ list of the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area

Serving clients as an email marketing vendor and email marketing consultants, ClickMail Marketing has achieved its rapid growth organically, with a unique position in the market place as a vendor-neutral email solutions provider. With over a dozen ESP systems in our portfolio, we offer the nation’s largest selection of ESPs so that we can ensure the best match is made for every client. We also pride ourselves on our excellent support team that works with our clients on fulfilling their specific email marketing needs, from increasing email deliverability to achieving maximum ROI.

5 Holiday Best Practices for Increased Email Deliverability

‘Tis the season… for email marketing campaigns to ramp up! Which means increased promotions, increased email volume, and, unfortunately, increased subscriber fatigue. How do you ensure that your emails stay on your email subscribers’ “Nice” list, keeping your email deliverability rates high, and don’t migrate onto the “Naughty” list – resulting in unsubscribes or worse? Here are five simple but powerful holiday-themed email marketing best practices to keep in mind:

1) Fulfill email frequency wishes: This is the most important thing you can do as an email marketer to honor and respect your subscribers’ wishes. And yet it’s one of the most flagrantly abused by many email marketers, especially around the holiday season. If your subscriber requested once/weekly emails from your business, store, or organization, just because ’tis the shopping season, does not also equate to ’tis the time to flood email inboxes. At this time of year, email subscribers are already inundated with more than the normal volume of catalogs, circulars, newsletters, and donation requests in both direct mail and email. The last thing you want to do is annoy your email subscribers with too many emails, especially if they specifically requested the frequency with which they want to hear from you. Honor their wishes and your email deliverability will benefit.

2) Surprise your subscribers: Holiday shoppers are looking for great deals and special savings at this time of year: it’s your opportunity to think of fun and creative ways to offer it to them. Another boring 10% off promotion won’t cut it… this yawn of a sales email results in a “delete” without a second thought! But today I just had an interesting offer hit my inbox that taps into the joy of unwrapping presents because everyone likes a surprise: “unwrap your secret offer to save over 50%!” The code is valid only upon checkout, but I’m already guaranteed a 50% savings, making the offer highly attractive. The added surprise of an additional discount of who knows how much more off just makes it irresistible.

3) Spread holiday cheer: Take this special time of year to be fun, whimsical, and make your subscribers smile. A crowded email inbox means there’s less patience on your subscribers’ part for clicking through and reading. Are your subject lines informative while also inspiring positive feelings or a nostalgic memory? Think of ways to make your email marketing campaign stand out from the rest, and you’ll increase your email deliverability and, ultimately, your email ROI this holiday season.

4) Make a list and check it twice: Email deliverability relies upon sender reputation. Check yours now and take note of where you can improve. Can you improve your email content relevance? Have you segmented your list for increased specificity?  Are you developing targeted email campaigns for different subscriber populations?

5) Inspire with merry and bright designs: Make sure your designs are eye-catching, clean, and fun. Do your emails render well on mobile and tablet, as well as desktop clients? Are they holiday-themed but are any pictures or image files streamlined for quick loading? Keep it simple and be sure to test your designs for effective rendering. What do your emails look like in the preview pane? Always keep in mind your subscribers’ behavior path and design to lead them all the way through to conversion: Preview, Open, Scan/Read, Engage, Convert.

Keeping these five holiday-themed email marketing best practices in mind this season will ensure you’ll sail through the holidays with high email deliverability rates and increased conversions!

ClickMail named one of America’s 13 Fastest Growing Email Marketing Companies

After reaching #2,109 on the esteemed Inc. Magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest growing companies, ClickMail Marketing has been further honored as one of the top 13 fastest growing email marketing companies in America, as noted by EmailExpert.org.

As Shar VanBoskirk, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, Inc., wrote in a April 2011 report entitled The Future Of Interactive Marketing: “Interactive marketing has come a long way in a short time… and now represents 15% of all advertising spend…” it’s no surprise to find a number of marketing automation companies and ESP’s climbing the Inc. 5000 list.

ClickMail strives to stay abreast of the rapidly changing world of email marketing and brings the latest in new services and email technology to our clients. From building an online tool for selecting a new ESP to acquiring the Bay Area’s Strategic Design Group, ClickMail has been creating new tools and offering new services that help our clients keep pace in the ever-evolving email marketing industry.

With over a dozen ESP systems in our portfolio, we offer the nation’s largest selection of ESPs while staying vendor neutral and flexible so we can recommend the right one for specific client needs. In addition, ClickMail always offers flexible contract terms on all ESPs so our clients can be assured they have the right system in place. From increasing email deliverability to achieving maximum ROI with your email marketing program campaigns, let ClickMail Marketing help you with all of your email marketing needs! Contact us today!