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Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

This is absolutely one of my all-time favorite quotes. As a results-oriented-marketer, I've spent many days (and nights) pouring over data, trying to understand why things are they way they are. But the reality is, data only paints part of the picture.

This is a fantastic blog post from MarketingExperiments, Optimization 101: How to get real results from A/B testing by Paul Cheney, illustrating the entire picture to successful testing. I really liked alot about this post, but this paragraph in particular really rang true to me:

So while most marketers can certainly slap together two treatments and see which one gets a higher conversion rate, the marketer that asks “why” more customers responded to one treatment over the other is gleaning the maximum customer insight.

This may seem like a really basic statement, but how many of us actually take the time to combine numerical data with anecdotal data from prospects, customers or other stakeholders? I'd actually love to have your response! Please reply in the comments section with the types of data you collect to run your testing.

What we find from many of our managed email marketing clients is their need to outsource much of this testing to ensure their projects get done, the right way. As marketers, we've all been there, awesome intentions to run a comprehensive A/B campaign only to get side-tracked with another priority mid-stream. Sure you may glean some high level wins, i.e. a particular subject line yielded higher opens than the other... but by taking it one step further and asking "Why" just might yield the biggest win of all.

At Delivra, we're an email marketing agency that provides software and managed services to our clients. We enjoy putting together testing campaigns and ensuring we paint the entire picture of their email marketing programs. If you're looking for an email marketing partner, give us a call at 866.915.9465

When Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook, he probably didn't consider what a tremendous opportunity this social media website would present for corporations all across the country and even across the globe. In conjunction with Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, and more recently, Google+, social media platforms are quickly becoming crucial components of any successful Internet marketing strategy. 

Despite the opportunity offered by these social media websites, reports have shown that many email marketing consultants are failing to take full advantage by connecting professional email marketing with social media marketing for ultimate exposure. If you want to enjoy greater exposure and subsequent success for your own company, consider the following tips for leveraging social media in your professional email marketing campaign. 

Provide Easy Sharing Features

If you want your emails to be shared more often, you can start by simply making your emails easier to share. If you're thinking, "But our emails already include a 'forward to a friend' feature," you are part of a surprisingly large group that is missing out on incredible opportunities for brand exposure through social media. According to a 2010 study by eMarketer, 48 percent of marketers allow email recipients to forward the email to a friend, while just 13 percent offer special features for sharing emails on social networks. A study by MarketingSherpa discovered that the simple addition of social media sharing buttons in a managed email marketing campaign led to a 25 percent increase in reader interaction and dramatic surges in Internet traffic to a company's website. With the promising results of this study and the slow pace of the competition, integrating easy sharing could dramatically enhance your company's professional email marketing campaign. 

Cross Promote

Cross promotion is a highly effective strategy for maximizing exposure. If there is an unusual imbalance of subscribers on your accounts, this likely indicates that your company could be doing a better job at cross promoting. For example, if your company has 16,000 Twitter followers and only 2,000 email subscribers, it's likely that not all of your subscribers are aware of the benefits of subscribing to your email newsletters. Encourage your subscribers on each social media outlet to subscribe to receive emails from your company and stay connected through other social networks. Asking nicely may not work every time, which brings me to my next point: 

Offer Incentives

Despite the fact not every company makes it easy for consumers to share emails on social networks, nearly every business in the country has at least one social networking account. This poses a problem for businesses because tougher competition leads to higher selectivity from consumers when choosing which corporations to follow to prevent cluttering news feeds with promotion after promotion. To successfully encourage more email subscriptions, or to follow you on social networks, you need to be able to answer the tacit question of the consumer, namely, "What's in it for me?" Incentives can include discounts, sweepstakes, freebies and other attention-grabbing benefits of this nature. 

Because trends in both email and social media marketing change at a rapid pace, an email marketing agency is the most effective way to maintain momentum and stay ahead of the competition. With a world of opportunities available through social networking, your professional email marketing campaign could generate more attention than ever before. 

Newsletters have been considerably popular vehicles of information for businesses, clubs, societies, and various organizations since before the Internet was even a concept. Although the advancement of technology could have easily caused newsletters to become obsolete, they survived - or rather, successfully adapted to - the digital age for one very simple reason: both subscribers and organizations continue to find them useful. In accurately describing the power f the newsletter, "useful" is actually a mild characterization of the many benefits that come from this medium. Newsletters grant organizations the opportunity to share current promotions and reviews of previous events in a friendly, journalistic tone. 

Why It Works 

While the underlying purpose of the newsletter is to increase subscriber interest and ultimately generate more business, the conversational nature and structure of newsletters gives companies the opportunity to build a more personal and relaxed relationship with consumers and partners. Although newsletters come with several inherently positive qualities, they have even greater potential than the average professional may be able to recognize and uncover. A newsletter is more than just formatting and content - it is an opportunity to expand your business and improve customer outreach. 

Staying Consistent

The potential for greater success is not something that an opportunistic company would or should take lightly. With managed email marketing by a well-trained and highly experienced email marketing agency, crucial marketing tactics and strategies can be applied to your company's newsletter to ensure a consistent message and maximum appeal to the consumer. Effective email marketing requires more than just creative content and an attractive newsletter design, but requires supervision from an educated and experienced email marketing consultant to integrate specific strategies, tactics and various idiosyncrasies involved in professional email marketing. 

Email marketing practices are not something learned overnight, either. Keeping up with popular marketing trends and monitoring the competition are two highly important elements of a successful managed email marketing campaign. Marketing trends aren't always black and white. In other words, what may be an effective strategy for one industry many not be as effective for another. Often, determining the most effective marketing strategy requires a continuous cycle of trial and error to create a solid set of appropriate tactics. With the fast pace of the Internet marketing sphere, these strategy trends change on a weekly, even daily basis. 

Get Results

Since time is money in the world of business, most companies can't afford to sacrifice the time (let along the effort or expertise) necessary to create effective newsletters on a regular basis. The cost of hiring a highly qualified and well-experienced email marketing consultant at Delivra is affordable and logical for businesses of all sizes due to the impressive return on investment (ROI) that comes with this business decision. The Direct Marketing Association reported that ROI for email marketing at $40.56 for every dollar invested in 2011. Although this figure is projected to decrease slightly in the year 2012, it is expected to still remain highly substantial at $39.40 for every dollar invested. With the promise of high returns and effective, competitive strategy integration, the question you should be asking is: Could my company's newsletter generate a more successful response and greater impact with the benefits of professional marketing? 

Since the advent of social media, Internet marketing has evolved at a rapid pace. These dramatic changes have caused many people to question whether professional email marketing is still a profitable component of the marketing campaign. It's true, email marketing has company in the Internet marketing sphere, but those who disregard its marketing potential will miss out on a consistently performing opportunity despite the increasing success of social media outlets. 

Although social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others give users the opportunity to communicate through messaging features, studies have shown email still retains its popularity. During an earnings call in January 2012, Google claimed to have 350 million active Gmail users. In October 2011, Hotmail claimed an identical user base, while Yahoo! reported a figure relatively close at 310 million users -- and this is just coming from the three major hubs. Studies also show most of these users are checking their email every day, which makes this medium a tremendous marketing opportunity for businesses. 

When it comes to the value of email marketing, most companies don't need much convincing. Data has shown they are already willing to invest large sums toward professional email marketing strategies. Forrester Research has projected companies will spend approximately $1.676 billion on managed email marketing in 2012 and approximately $1.649 billion on social media in the same year. These statistics indicate many companies have equally assigned values to both email marketing and social media marketing. Actually, with email marketing leading by $27 million, it appears this component is considered slightly more important than social media marketing alternatives. 

So, we can see email still has a large user base and is still considered highly valuable by American corporations, but does it pass the test of being effective for generating sales? According to Adrian Mullan of WebProNews, email marketing is not only effective for generating online sales, but offline sales as well. A reported 59 percent of email users claim to have made an offline purchase after receiving an email promotion, which indicates that while one email advertisement may not lead to an immediate sale, it certainly leaves an impression on the buyer. Further research reveals that the average shopper comes into contact with an item nine times before making a purchasing decision. This means each marketing technique plays a key role in encouraging a sale. Leaving email marketing out of the equation can cause this exposure to fall short. 

Unlike social media, managed email marketing through an email marketing agency has a unique value because it ensure a personalized and continuous relationship with the consumer. Maintaining the relationship with current customers is highly important, since studies show acquiring a new customer is eight to ten times more expensive than selling to a current customer. New sales are certainly not to be disregarded, but keeping up with current customers through email has proven to generate repeat sales estimated to be four times more profitable than the first purchase. 

To take full advantage of the many benefits that come from managed email marketing, an experienced and educated email marketing consultant is essential. With proper execution, your company can soon begin to see why email marketing truly does matter. 

 

What could be more appropriate in finishing up our series on industries benefiting from email marketing than a spotlight on government? With the upcoming presidential electing approaching rapidly, political interest and publicity is on the rise. Organizations involved in government on multiple levels can all use this heightened interest to their advantage through professional email marketing. In fact, many of them already are. 

It's so easy to see why managed email marketing might be appealing to governmental entities. For one, an email marketing agency can specially tailor an organization's marketing campaign to approach the issues in an effective, personalized manner. For example, say a government-sponsored public housing sector was looking for support in expanding a certain kind of housing into another district. Residents of the affected district would have to be approached from a  more sensitive angle than those in surrounding regions unaffected by this expansion. Under the supervision of an experienced email marketing consultant, candidates can depend on customized messages regarding these types of sensitive political subjects. 

Complementing the personal approach taken through email marketing, government also has the advantage of cost-efficiency when integrating this strategy. In an environment where government funding is increasingly limited, this components especially appealing. In addition to the more obvious reasons why an organization in a governmental entity might find managed email marketing useful, the strategy has already proven to be effective for governments in other less immediately obvious ways. 

According to several studies comparing the efficacy of email marketing among multiple industries, government ranks higher than the majority of measured industries in several components of email marketing. One particular study, conducted in December of 2010, revealed open rate of 25.66 percent for email marketing campaigns of governmental entities. This rate is higher than ecommerce at 14.98 percent, recruitment and staffing at 15.21 percent, sports at 19.54 percent, and even business and finance at 15.47 percent. This high open rate indicates subscribers are both interested in the issues and concerned about what the local, state and federal government agencies have to say about these issues. 

The click-through rate for the government is also comparably stronger at 5.37 percent for all emails received. This statistic might seem low from a general standpoint, but it ranks nearly 2 points higher than the average click-through rate of 3.7 percent. Since click-through rates indicate how compelling the message is to the reader, this puts government at a significant advantage in terms of general public interest regarding government issues. Government also has considerably lower rates for abuse complaints and unsubscribers at 0.04 percent and 0.20 percent, respectively. 

Ensuring the public's awareness and involvement in government issues is an important component of building stronger communities and a stronger country. With managed email marketing, this goal is made easier than ever for organizations in government, while also offering a convenient outlet for the public to receive word and speak their peace as well. 

Focusing on email marketing may initially seem obsolete when considering how many different forms of media available to businesses as a means of communicating with consumers in the modern digital age. From social media to mobile applications, the consumer base can be accessed with a wide array of media strategies. So, why choose email marketing? One of the best (and most obvious) reasons to stick with the strategy of hiring an email marketing agency is because it has shown incredible success across a wide range of different industries. As a testament to this fact, consider what the travel industry in particular is gaining from this fruitful marketing strategy.

Reaching Out

It may seem elementary, but just being able to get your foot in the door with your consumer base can be a feat in and of itself. To determine the efficiency of email effectiveness, data is collected and analyzed regularly to ensure all emails have been properly sent without error. Measurement of this data is known as the company's "bounce rate," or "non-bounce rate" if the rate of successful delivery is exceptionally high. A 2011 study shows the travel industry has a non-bounce rate of 98.1 percent, with an open rate of 70.7 percent—the latter of which indicates how many email recipients actually open the email. Since the average open rate across several industries is approximately 20.3 percent, this indicates a significant advantage for the travel industry in particular.

Gaining Attention

The real statistic an experienced email marketing consultant would specifically look for is the company's click-through rate in the email marketing campaign. A click-through rate indicates how often a consumer feels compelled to click the link provided in the email they received. Essentially, this rate indicates the appeal of the product or promotion the company is highlighting in the email. Studies have shown the travel industry has a measured click-through rate of 6.4 percent, which is higher than many other leading industries, including the retail apparel industry at 3.5 percent and the consumer services industry at 4.1 percent.

Generating Profit

Let's face it: the bottom line of any professional email marketing campaign is to make money, which is why this is the most important factor in determining the success of email marketing. According to Ken Magill of the Magill Report, the return on investment (ROI) for email marketing in 2011 was $40.56 for every dollar invested. This exceptionally high figure is predicted to drop slightly for the year 2012, with an estimated ROI of $39.40 for every dollar invested. Overall, email marketing is predicted to generate $67.8 billion in sales for the year 2012, indicating businesses involved in the travel industry can expect big gains for the year 2012 by implementing email marketing into their campaigns.

With excellent consumer response to current email marketing strategies implemented by the travel industry, companies who have yet to adapt to these trends or would like to capitalize on the success of the strategy can benefit greatly by utilizing the services of an experienced and well-trained email marketing agency. Integrating managed email marketing not only ensures maximum appeal and outreach to the consumer, but also ensures a substantial profit considering the projected promise of the industry.

Creating segments can be tricky when you aren't directly selling online or don't have specific preferences for clients to choose from. If you have been using an email marketing agency like Delivra, then you already have exactly what you need to get started. Create activity based segments. Start out by splitting up your audience based on the following criteria:

No activity (No Engagement)- Never opened, never clicked a link to learn more, or never forwarded or shared with any friends. These people have done nothing with your emails, ever.

No recent activity (Past Engagement)- These members were interested at one time. The time frame you use is up to you, but my recommendation is to keep it under 90 days or three emails. If there has been no action in 90 days or three emails, your members should be in this segment.

Members who have opened an email (Moderate Engagement)- These members have opened an email in the same time frame you set above.

Members who have clicked through (High Engagement)- These members are your most engaged audience. They appreciate and somehow use the content you are sending them.

Start out by sending the same content to each segment. After you establish your baseline then start targeting these groups in unique ways. What ways do you segment your audience?

Still need help identifying your audience for more targeted email campaigns? Check out 3 Segmentation tips for B2B Email Marketers and 5 Segmentation Ideas for 2012. Need one-on-one help? Schedule a consultation with Delivra.

Recently, I had to call the pharmacy to make sure they had been able to refill a prescription for me. The lady was very nice and said it was ready. In addition, she asked if I would be interested in signing up to receive a text message when my prescriptions were ready in the future. 

Of course!

How convenient to be able to get a text message when my prescriptions are ready for pick-up. CVS also allows you to sign up to receive emails to better manage your prescriptions, receive health information, and receive special offers throughout the store. And that's just one example! They're taking advantage of several different types of marketing channels to make their program more efficient for customers. Many email marketing firms are encouraging their clients to expand into other channels to increase their reach to audiences. 

Only working in one channel right now? Pairing with an email marketing agency, like Delivra, can help you implement other programs in addition to your email campaigns. It might make sense to set up an SMS program (outbound test messages) as a way to communicate with you audience. Or they might be able to help set up a text to subscribe program as well. Text to subscribe refers to having people text you their email address to join your email marketing list. It's a great way to build your email list without much effort on your part. 

For the best email marketing results, incorporate it with other channels, whether that's mobile marketing, social media marketing, blogging, or all of them!

I'm looking forward to receiving my first update from CVS via text and email (now that's I'm signed up for it). Want to learn more about managing your email marketing and incorporating some additional channels? Reach out the email marketing consultants at Delivra today! 

A week ago, three members of the Delivra team and one of our clients attended the 2012 Email Evolution Conference. On several occasions, I heard the conference referred to as "an email pep rally." It was exactly that - a place to meet and network with others in the industry, learn more about the latest email trends, and represent our email marketing agency. 

As a group, we shared amongst ourselves information we gleaned from the different presentations we went to. I attended Auditing Your Email Marketing Program to Improve Performance presented by Jeanne Jennings of JeanneJennings.com and Sanije Gjokaj of Scholastic and Essential Email Prospecting Strategies to Test in 2012 by Jay Schwedelson of Worldata. They were both incredibly informative presentations and left me with tangible advice I could consider implementing into our email campaigns. 

Unicode: In Jay Schwedelson's presentation he mentioned emails that included Unicode in the subject line received an increased open rate of 18%. Not a perfect fit for all email programs, but perhaps a good addition to some email campaigns. If nothing else, it should be monitored and tested. 

Exclusivity: Again in Jay's presentation, he mentioned that a subject line which mentions exclusivity generates an additional 27% open rate in email campaigns. Whether it's presented by 'Invitation Only' or 'For CFOs Only' - might be something to consider testing. 

Improvement: Among other things, Jeanne recommended in her presentation to improve how email marketing is managed and measured by justifying sends and by implementing test programs. We've been focusing on the processes of our email marketing program at Delivra for some time now. It was good to be reminded of and motivated by the importance of doing so. It was also helpful to leave with information about how analyzing data can enhance performance. 

Anthony Scott from the Eiteljorg Museum and Delivra's Director of Marketing, Megan Glover, were also in the presentation line up. Their presentation was about Combining Text and Traditional marketing Channels to boost Subscribers and Sales. It was a real use case of how Eiteljorg Museum was able to use Delivra as their email marketing consultants to help build and implement a text-to-subscribe program in addition to their email campaigns and other traditional marketing efforts. Based on this success, the museum now plans to expand the text-to-subscribe campaign and include SMS (outbound messages) as well. 

Find out more about setting up a text-to-subscribe program or SMS. 

Although email marketing has proven effective across a wide range of different industries, the strategy has recently shown especially notable promise in the restaurant industry in particular. This promise is evidenced partially by a recent study that revealed a 20 percent open rate of all emails sent by restaurants in 2010. This may not sound like an impressive statistic by itself, but when compared with other industries surveyed, it ranks considerably higher. For example, the entertainment industry came in at just a 16 percent open rate, followed even further behind by the medical, dental and healthcare industries, which have a 13 percent open rate.

What Email Offers

Again you might be thinking: What's the big deal if customers are opening more of their emails from restaurant companies? According to Forrester Research, this open rate increase is complemented by a 17 percent revenue increase from each customer in this population. This inference is based on a study conducted by Forrester Research, which revealed that there is a 17 percent increase in purchase value of email subscribers versus non-subscribers. Although opening an email may not necessarily solidify a sale right then and there, it can still have an influence on the customer in the future. A reported 87 percent of consumers in the same Forrester Research study claimed email marketing impacted their future purchasing decisions.

The Proof isn't in the Pudding—it's in the ROI

Investing in managed email marketing is something both small and large restaurants truly can't afford to miss out on because of its proven efficacy in generating more business. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing generates ROI of $57.25 for each dollar spent on the service. Compared with alternative options for online marketing, such as social media marketing, the ROI for email marketing is 150 percent greater. Looking at it from a purely objective point of view, it's difficult to argue with an investment generating such a substantial return.

A Recipe for Success

If the proven efficiency of hiring an email marketing consultant isn't enough of a motive to take advantage of this highly lucrative service, consider the fact that many other restaurants in the industry are already following this recent trend. According to a study by National Restaurant News, an average of seven out of ten restaurants in the industry are actively pursuing an email marketing agency for their own campaigns. This statistic indicates that restaurants which don't incorporate professional email marketing may lose customers to restaurants which are more accessible, and thus could be left behind by the competition.

Intuition Matters

The success seen in the restaurant industry is likely due to the widespread popularity of using Internet resources to find information about a particular restaurant. Studies show that 89 percent of customers always research information about a restaurant online before dining there. The benefit of email marketing is it can bring this information directly to the customer, which increases the customer's convenience and improves the chances they will choose that particular restaurant over another requiring an active search to acquire the same information.

With the prevalence of Internet usage today, it's increasingly important for all kinds of businesses to maintain a presence in the same spheres consumers frequent. Since email is a primary form of communication among so many people, and because of the proven potential of email marketing, the benefits restaurants can enjoy from following this trend are immense.

For the second year in a row, Delivra, an email marketing agency has been recognized as a Best Place to Work in Indiana. Companies on the list are determined through employer reports and comprehensive employee surveys. 

There are a total of 70 companies included.These companies will find out their actual rankings at an awards dinner on May 3rd, 2012. Delivra is exctied to be on the list with such good company, like Slingshot SEO, Fusion Alliance, Indiana CPA Society, and many more! 

For more information about Best Places to Work in Indiana, please click here.

Looking for email marketing consultants to help with your email marketing needs who are as dedicated to their employees as they are to their clients? Check out Delivra today! 

It's that time of year again - Valentine's Day. For many, it's filled with roses, boxes of candy, and cards telling that someone special how much they mean to you. You wouldn't send those things to someone who ignored you, would you? You would not put in the effort to show them how much they meant to you if they were not going to return it, right?

Should you consider having this same mindset when thinking about your email subscribers? Perhaps. 

An unengaged subscriber is one who does not engage with the email campaigns you send. They don't open your emails let alone click through them. Based on their zero engagement with your emails they are likely not interested in receiving what you are sending. 

So, the question is? Should you continue to send to these people? My suggestion is: 

1) Work with an email marketing agency to create a re-engagement email campaign. Send to everyone that is unengaged, encouraging them to start engaging with your emails. This might include offering an incentive to motivate them to come back. 

2) If they responded...great!  Try to send them an email reminder to update their preferences to determine how often they would like to hear from you. Then start creating those campaigns with the idea they may still need to be motivated to open and click through your emails with catchy subject lines, bold copy, or more incentives. 

3) If they didn't respond? Perhaps it's time to suppress them from future mailings.  It might help your statistics and deliverability to not send to these people. However, you might want to consider continuing to send to them for the off chance THIS time will be the time they open, click through, and buy. 

It's a judgment call. To send flowers or not to send flowers? That is the question :-) 

With all the Super Bowl craziness going on in Naptown this week, it's a little hard to catch your breath! As an email marketer though, you probably know the feeling. This week's madness is really no different than what you normally deal with on a regular basis at the office while trying to send out immaculate email campaigns to your subscribers. 

Do you feel overwhelmed sending out emails because you alone are the entire email marketing team or because you only have a handful of burned out help? It might be a good idea to look into an email marketing agency to help manage your email marketing program who offers more than just the software. An email marketing company can act more like your email marketing partner and offer services to help ease some of the pressure and stress from your team.  Some of those services at Delivra include: 

Consulting. Who wouldn't appreciate an email marketing pro offering advice on how to make your email marketing program the best it can be and boosts your long-term results? 

Design. We have a design team at Delivra who is dedicated to making client email campaigns look professional and get them results. 

Account Management. Each Delivra customer has a dedicated account manager who is paired with them to answer questions, provide email marketing insight, and assist in long-term goals and objectives. 

To find out what else Delivra can help you with, click here: http://www.delivra.com/managed-email-marketing/.

Today, we are excited to announce the launch of our new website!  Delivra's new website was designed to embrace the modern demands of managing email marketing campaigns. Check out our new site! 

The American Le Mans Series is a Delivra client. A friend and I recently attended their road race in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. She commented, "No one asked us if we wanted to sign up for their email list. Shouldn't there be some visibility here?" I make a mental note to discuss that at a later date with ALMS. 

This week, we met with Chris McMurry and team, ALMS marketing agency. They laid out two strategies, one which was to increase the fan base. Consequentially, they were planning to pass out 3x5 cards at entrance gates for attendees to sign up for their email list. 

Seizing the moment, we suggested testing our text-2-subscribe tool. It allows someone with a mobile device to sign up for email announcements directly. This email list building tool eliminates websites and manual data entry thereby providing a more convenient and possibly a more accurate way to subscribe. 

ALMS will test both methods (card and text) at their October race in California. I'll get back to you all with the results. 

Successful emailing!

Email preference centers, also called subscription centers, were once an optional feature of an email marketing program. Now, they have become almost mandatory. Best practices, however, still lag.

"For many of the customers we're working with right now, it seems like preference centers are an afterthought," said George DiGuido, VP-marketing at digital agency Zeta Interactive.

These are missed opportunities, since research demonstrates that preference centers can boost the success rate of an email marketing program. For instance, an Email Experience Council white paper released in June 2010, "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumers Demand Relevance," found that those users who visit an email preference center are more tolerant of more frequent mailings. According to the white paper, when asked "When is the best time for companies to send e-mail?" about two-thirds (65%) of respondents who were interested in a more personalized preference-oriented experience answered, "Whenever the company has something important to say." The online survey, handled by Forrester Research, polled 1,033 adults in the U.S. and U.K.

"The punch line is, [buyers] demand preferences and preference center management, and there is a clear connection to buying behavior when it is delivered," said David Daniels, CEO of the Relevancy Group, an interactive marketing consultancy.

Gerry Widmer, general manager of BlueHornet, a business unit of e-commerce solution provider Digital River, said using preference centers can reduce the rate of opt-outs. "We've seen lots of studies that show the two reasons people opt out is because of frequency and irrelevant content," he said. "Preference centers address both of those concerns."

And yet marketers are still having trouble figuring out what to include in a preference center, how to get email subscribers to visit them, and how often they should be updated.

Bottom Line? Every marketer should make it a priority to build an email preference center. Click here to read the rest of the BtoB article by Karen Bannan that features our new Director of Marketing, Megan Glover!

As part of a Marketing Sherpa/MECLabs/Marketing Experiments.com request, I am writing to outline the lessons I have learned in my journey as a marketer.  In honor of Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, I hope to convey some of the lessons learned and things I wish I knew early on...

If you had asked me as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'm not sure I can recall an exact career identified early on.  However, I can say that I was quite the entrepreneur.  As early as age 9, I remember babysitting and creating crafts to sell.  I started small....babysitting my sisters, creating macramé baskets for my mother's friends, and later babysitting neighborhood kids & crafting custom-made hair bows for boutiques.  While I wouldn't have been able to articulate this back then, I was in essence becoming a marketer.  I expertly crafted my materials, handed out home-made business cards, and kept extensive files of my clients.

Aspirations become Realizations-The very first lesson I learned is one that came from my parents with regard to these aspirations of mine, they always listened,  took me seriously,  and encouraged me to blossom in the directions I found on my own.  While this seems simple, it is a key to remember whether you are raising children, building a business, working with customers/prospects, or even managing your own career.  Find a mentor or two in your career.  Build a network of colleagues and let the learning begin.  So listen, believe, encourage and engage!

Once I was in high school things began to take shape quickly.  From the Accounting class that Mrs. Patty Allis taught to the DECA Marketing Classes & Clubs, I found my niche.  Mrs. Allis taught me about the importance of integrity and honesty, let's just say we won't talk about how. I will just say....there are no shortcuts in life and it is best to always operate with integrity.  While DECA taught me to shoot for the stars, even if you do miss your own prom.  The one thing I will never forget my DECA advisor saying to me, "Carissa, No one ever put prom on their college resume."  I got it...new lesson-responsibility.  Although even with all this I couldn't get enough of all things marketing and at that point decided that would be my career.  Now the true work began.  Years of college.  Family and kids.  Then back to work.  Sure I did some consulting along the way, but going back full-time was a big adjustment.

You can't always start at the top, but that's OK-I began my marketing career after staying home with my kids.  Did I start in marketing?  No.  In fact, I got my start as a clerk in major insurance company.  I had to work extremely hard.  I had to do the grunt work.  Believe it or not, I am convinced my sole job was to provide every tedious duty known to man...including being assigned to print my first bosses emails for her once per day, so she could read them and make notes.  Yep, you heard right!  In her defense, email was very new to our company.  One thing I learned quickly, but am sure is well ingrained in me anyway, is that I am never too good to do anything.  I set about my days performing every task ever asked with ease and expertise.  But I also set aggressive goals and in less than a year, I was in the marketing department.  Three years later...management.  And eight years into it managing and running all of the marketing technologies for the whole corporation.  Heaven! I found my passion!  So set goals, work to achieve them, and celebrate when you reach them!

The first third of my career I marketed in a corporate environment and it showed me many new lessons I never expected.  I learned the importance of teamwork, relationships, friendships, mentoring, sales process, strategic planning, presenting to anyone, the overall marketing process, but even more importantly how marketing should do more than just create "stuff".

The process is the art, not the science-As my learning progressed I really thought I was learning the science of marketing.  I knew every aspect inside and out.  I even brought new technology after new technology into our discipline.  We had large budgets and large teams.  We even had designers and printers on staff.  We had agencies helping us.  But when I look back at some of that work, I realize that marketing was perceived all wrong.  We were creators of "stuff", we presented at sales conferences our "stuff" and our tactics, never once was marketing a part of the results.  Now granted, the company was and is very successful.  This success happened as a by-product of that "stuff" mentality.  Just imagine if we had started with that end result in mind.   So set a process, create stuff, and maintain consistency-just don't hang your hat on that alone.

Now you may be wondering if the process is the art and not the science, then where does that come in?  This next third of my career I spent building marketing infrastructure from scratch.  I left the corporate world I knew so well for the uncharted territories of the smaller company.  The best part of this with every company has been the entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to create something that would last and grow.  I went into companies with nothing more than a website and a few business cards, being able to craft a plan based on their market was an exceptional challenge.  Something where I could take that plan and implement to drive true results for the company.

Results are the science, and metrics complete the circle-Coming into these organizations I wanted to establish an accountability for metrics and results early on.  You see over the years I noticed the degrading marketing seat at the table.  I saw entire marketing departments let go.  I never wanted that to be me.  I wanted to bring true value even deeper than a brand, an awareness, or a bunch of "stuff".  Now THIS you can hang your hat on!  So measure your marketing, hold yourself accountable and keep that seat at the table to bring results, real results!

There you have it...full circle on my marketing journey.  Although the journey is far from complete folks, we have another third of a career to go if not more.  Can't wait to see what new lessons it will bring for me and for you.  So tell me this:  What's your legacy? What lessons would you pass along to generations to come? Comment today and be part of #LastBlog with me!

Carissa Newton | Marketing

The Last Lecture is a New York Times best-selling book co-authored by Randy Pausch, a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. The book was born out of a lecture Pausch gave in September 2007, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.

Pausch delivered his "Last Lecture", titled Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, at Carnegie Mellon on September 18, 2007. This talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk," i.e., "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?"

A month before giving the lecture, Pausch had received a prognosis that the pancreatic cancer, with which he had been diagnosed a year earlier, was terminal. Before speaking, Pausch received a long standing ovation from a large crowd of over 400 colleagues and students. When he motioned them to sit down, saying, "Make me earn it," some in the audience shouted back, "You did!" During the lecture Pausch was upbeat and humorous, shrugging off the pity often given to those diagnosed with terminal illness. At one point, to prove his own vitality, Pausch dropped down and did push-ups on stage.

Scenario: A businessman, eager to promote his services, collects the addresses of members of a network he belongs to.   He sends them an electronic message inviting them to check out a new product.  Some recipients take exception to the intrusion, leading to a vigorous debate about the businessman's ethics.

If you follow the email industry in 2011, you may recognize this scenario as the one that played out last month involving a businessman (Douglas Karr, CEO of DK New Media) and an offended recipient (Al Iverson, deliverability expert and anti-spam advocate).   The argument that followed, which began on Twitter and continued in a Magill Report article, was about whether DK New Media's email to Iverson's address--which Karr obtained through their mutual LinkedIn connection--constituted spam.

But theirs was not a new debate.  The question of "what constitutes spam" is older even than the use of the word "spam" to describe unsolicited commercial email, almost as old as the Internet itself.

In 1978, the word "internet" had not yet been made into a proper noun.  It was an adjective, used in technical papers as shorthand for "internetworking."  However, there was such a thing as email, on a network called ARPANET, which was the predecessor to the Internet-with-a-capital-I that we know today.  ARPANET was established by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.  It connected ARPA-sponsored researchers at universities and private corporations.

One corporation connected to ARPANET was Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).  In 1978, a new model of DEC computer was available, and a DEC marketing executive thought ARPANET users would find it particularly interesting.  All ARPANET-connected persons were listed in a printed(!) directory, so a DEC employee looked up all the West Coast addresses, typed them in, and sent them this message:
DIGITAL WILL BE GIVING A PRODUCT PRESENTATION OF THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY; THE DECSYSTEM-2020, 2020T, 2060, AND 2060T. THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY OF COMPUTERS HAS EVOLVED FROM THE TENEX OPERATING SYSTEM
AND THE DECSYSTEM-10 <PDP-10> COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE. BOTH THE DECSYSTEM-2060T
AND 2020T OFFER FULL ARPANET SUPPORT UNDER THE TOPS-20 OPERATING SYSTEM.
THE DECSYSTEM-2060 IS AN UPWARD EXTENSION OF THE CURRENT DECSYSTEM 2040
AND 2050 FAMILY. THE DECSYSTEM-2020 IS A NEW LOW END MEMBER OF THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY AND FULLY SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE WITH ALL OF THE OTHER
DECSYSTEM-20 MODELS.

WE INVITE YOU TO COME SEE THE 2020 AND HEAR ABOUT THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY
AT THE TWO PRODUCT PRESENTATIONS WE WILL BE GIVING IN CALIFORNIA THIS
MONTH. THE LOCATIONS WILL BE:

TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1978 - 2 PM
HYATT HOUSE (NEAR THE L.A. AIRPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA

THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1978 - 2 PM
DUNFEY'S ROYAL COACH
SAN MATEO, CA
(4 MILES SOUTH OF S.F. AIRPORT AT BAYSHORE, RT 101 AND RT 92)

A 2020 WILL BE THERE FOR YOU TO VIEW. ALSO TERMINALS ON-LINE TO OTHER
DECSYSTEM-20 SYSTEMS THROUGH THE ARPANET. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND,
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE NEAREST DEC OFFICE
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXCITING DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY.
In this retrospective by Brad Templeton, one can see several parallels between the 1978 DEC mailing and the 2011 DK mailing:

• The senders didn't think they were doing anything wrong. The DEC executive thought the ARPANET users would welcome hearing about a product designed with their needs in mind.  Karr believed his LinkedIn network would welcome hearing about goings-on at his company, or else they wouldn't be connected to him.
• The network operators were not amused. A DoD administrator called DEC's message "A FLAGRANT VIOLATION."  One university's system was taken down when the DEC mailing filled up the server's disk (at a time when disk space was much, much more scarce and expensive than today).  Then, as in 2011, system administrators viewed unsolicited commercial email as a serious problem.
• Recipients' reactions were mixed, but tended towards angry. In his Twitter defense of his actions, Karr cited his mailing's high engagement metrics as evidence that not everyone took offense.  And the DEC rep's actions were defended by at least one recipient as being more relevant than some of the birth announcements and other mail sent on ARPANET.  But generally, unsolicited commercial email then, as now, was poorly received.

This last point illustrates a common cause of confusion for marketers: there is not a universally-accepted definition of spam.  Attempts by governments to define spam for legal purposes have fallen short of the practical definitions used every day by ISPs in filtering incoming mail, and by recipients when deciding whether or not to click that "Report Spam" button.

Was Karr's message spam?  Legally, under the CAN-SPAM act, perhaps not.  But whatever you call it, it was a bad idea.  If you have to argue about whether you have permission to send to someone, then for practical purposes, you should assume you don't have permission.

Marketers who only send mail to explicitly opted-in addresses tend not to get drawn into Twitter fights over their practices.  And if your sending practices resemble those of DEC in 1978, then it's worth noting that their DECSYSTEM-20 mailing is widely regarded today as having been "the first spam."  Don't let your mailing be the next spam.

Chris Broshears | Product Development

Email marketing, although barely a decade old, is an established tool for marketers and it plays an important role. How can you improve performance? Here are a few ideas for your 2011 email marketing objectives list.

1. Integrate your email marketing with emerging marketing channels like social media. At the very least this tactic extends your email reach to recipients' friends and followers.

2. Insist that your email marketing efforts produce a ROI. I like to say that a good open rate cannot be deposited in the bank.

3. If your monthly email marketing budget is less than your monthly cell phone bill, you're not doing email marketing. You're starving the marketing channel with the best chance of measurable results.

4. Sending highly relevant content to your target audiences is a key to success. The more relevant your email campaigns, the more  content is required. Developing quality content costs money. Budget for it.

5. Understand email deliverability. A reported successful delivery may not be an inbox delivery. Work with your provider to know the difference. A reported successful delivery to a recipient who has not opened for over six months is not successful. Work with your provider to fix the problem.

6. Building your recipient list is on every new year's resolution. This year, Delivra will have a new tactic - text/SMS to subscribe. Check back for more on this exciting development early in 2011.

7. Have an email marketing strategy. Without it you're just sprinkling the lawn on a windy day (so to speak).

8. Throw out opens and clicks as primary metrics. Instead, focus on post click activity and conversions. Use automated remarketing efforts to make a real difference.

9. Last, don't go it alone. An experienced agency or email service provider can get you started on the road to success.

Best wishes for a happy new year and successful 2011!

Neil Berman | President & CEO

Are you sending email selling something online?  If so, you may be interested in a new resource out there called the Make it POP Blog from Smith-Harmon.  As you may have heard us mention in the past, Smith-Harmon is a leading email marketing design agency that helps clients not only design effective email, but they also share their insight and expertise in this new blog for retailers.  Don't miss out, read it today!