Return On Subscriber – Email Marketing Blog

One of the bread & butter stats of Email Marketing, the “Open”, is really only the beginning of the story. The company Quantivo, who sent me the email that inspired this post,  could never know the damage this “Open” did to my perception of their brand. All they know is that there is a good chance I saw this email and possibly read/scanned it.

But why did I open it?  Because they played a trick on me.

I only do “Name & Shame” posts when I think there is a valuable lesson to be learned. This is definitely one of those moments.

While this was a clever trick to get me to open the email, the ramifications of this action are much worse. (more…)

I received an email from Jet Blue today that is great example of how to notify your subscribers that you are changing your “From” email address that you use in email marketing.

Subject Line: We are changing our email address…

This email can serve as a template for you.  Here are the elements that make this a success:

1. Clear Subject Line – No need to get cute with an email like this.  Get straight to the point if you want them to take action.

2. Whitelist the new Address – “Add us to your Address Book” is a clear call to action.  Some brands,such as Travelocity, go as far as to show the subscriber how to do this for each email client.  That choice is up to you.

3. Provide New Email Address – Jetblue provided the address not once, but twice in this email.  I would say the only optimization here is that they sent this email from the new address, not the old one.  This may have missed the inbox for a few folks who had whitelisted the previous address.

There are many environments that do not show your “From” mask, just the email address (see AOL post). It is important to both brand the email address as well as be consistent with the address that you use. If you do need to make a change, due to a new ESP or optimization, make sure you notify subscribers in a fashion similar to this.

The economy is bringing the timeless art of coupons back to the forefront.

A few recent statistics:

34% of female consumers are using coupons more frequently today than they were six months ago, & nearly 70% of the 4,500 respondents said they would print and redeem Internet coupon for products they would be interested in purchasing. - Burst Media

Google searches for the term “coupons” last month for the first time surpassed those for “Britney Spears.” – Ad Age

51% of 18-24 year-old shoppers indicate that they would be very likely to use coupons presented to them online – Platform A & IRA

While historically ambivalent to traditional coupons, younger couples are the most likely life-stage group to use online coupons, indicating an opportunity to influence product choices within this segment – Platform A & IRA

Young couples without children are among the respondents most likely to use a coupon they found online, followed by shoppers with younger children – Platform A & IRA

Like it or not, coupons are moving purchases in the current economic climate. Email Marketing provides the unique ability to hyper-target offers to specific subscribers based on past activity and past purchases.  For example, the Burst Media survey found that three-quarters (75.2%) of women ages 35-54 indicated they would print and redeem an Internet coupon, compared to 62.2% of women ages 18-34 and 67.7% of women age 55 and older. Do you have those segments?  Are you using them? (more…)