Apr
02
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
Our good client Andrew Magpantay, Senior Product Manager at Reunion.com, coined a great expression when he spoke at our client seminar in Los Angeles on Thursday. He said that reconnecting with non-responders on the file is like gathering up the "loose change." Sure, there is some value there, and if you have a lot of it lying around it adds up to real dollars, but the risk is that complaints rates are higher from these subscribers and there is a risk of spam traps from old addresses. To extend his analogy, the trick is to figure out if it's worth the work to overturn the couch for a few dollars.
Categories: Response
Mar
26
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
Imagine email marketers who really want their subscribers to unsubscribe. It seems blasphemous, until you realize that it's really just smart product marketing.
At Return Path's Email Expert City Seminar in San Francisco yesterday, two companies with very large files talked about how they use transactional email messages to build a compelling subscriber experience and drive customer behavior. Nicole Bartholomew of eBay sends 18 billion messages a year and Serge Tyurin of Facebook sends about 170 million a day. Both of them have worked hard to make sure that customers are receiving only the types of messages that they really want. "I'd be happy if someone unsubscribes," Nicole says. "It's a way of making sure that we don't bother them! I'm not necessarily proud of that 18 billion as a number -- I want to send messages that are well received and have value."
Tell me moreCategories: Response
Mar
12
By Anita Absey
SVP, Sales & Marketing
So you are sitting at your desk, staring at your email promotion calendar thinking "Is there a single new idea left in the world? What do my subscribers really want? What are the newest rules for getting to the inbox? What are other marketers doing to get out of the rut?"
If this describes you, then you need to come to Return Path's Email Expert Seminars . The smartest minds in email today will be on hand to give you a fresh perspective on email. You'll view the world from the perspectives of subscribers, ISPs and your fellow marketers. You'll also get a fresh perspective on email acquisition and learn some bold new ways to apply those same old best practices.
Our experts are coming to ...
Tell me moreCategories: Acquisition | Email Deliverability | Response
Feb
26
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
It's a fascinating phenomenon here in New York City. As soon as it starts raining, there magically appears on nearly every street corner a gentleman selling umbrellas. When the sun is out, these men are no where to be seen. They must be lurking somewhere, watching the seismic reports. As soon as the drops hit the sidewalk, you can hear calls of "Uuuhhmmmbrellllaaaa's" and see them hawking their wares.
My reaction is one of respect and gratitude. They are there exactly when we need them, and no more. Your email program could take a lesson from these entrepreneurs. When subscribers are in market, send them more email that speaks to their specific needs. When they are not in market, don't send as much email.
Categories: Response
Feb
19
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
It's a common trap that retailers and many other email marketers find themselves in - slaves to the discount. Once we start to regularly offer discounts or free shipping in email messages, subscribers become hooked, and they torture us by not responding as well to other types of messages. As a result, it becomes harder for email marketers to break out of the trap of sending discounts and free shipping offers when we are judged on revenue at the end of every month. However, as revealed in our fourth annual Holiday Email Survey, discounts do not trump value.
Tell me moreCategories: Response
Feb
12
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
At this morning's kick off to the DMA/eec's first annual Email Evolution Conference, eec founder Jeanniey Mullen showed a number of "man on the street" interviews with "real people" talking about email.
It was amusing and insightful to hear people talk about their inboxes and how they must actively manage them. (Watch the videos online at the eec website if you get a chance). Better, were that the comments completely synched with Return Path's Fourth Annual Holiday Email Survey where subscribers tell us that they mostly just deleted unread emails -- defined as "junk from companies I know but is just not interesting to me."
What really struck me was the video participants' storytelling. They talked about email as a sort of stew - our marketing messages are mixed up in there with notes from grandma, various lovers, a three-year old's parents and even one gentleman's new job announcement.
Categories: Response
Jan
22
What: Using Incentives to Grow (and Maintain!) Your List
Who: Rock Creek Outfitters
Why we love it: Lots of retailers use contests to encourage newsletter sign ups. Rock Creek does it one step better with a simple approach that drives high dividends for subscribers and sales. First, they partner with manufacturers to provide the contest prize. This promotion is viewed as so valuable by manufacturers that Rock Creek has the sponsorship sold out a year in advance! That also ensures that the prize is really valuable to subscribers. Even better, Rock Creek not only allows but actively encourages subscribers to re-subscribe every month for a new entry. What a great list maintenance idea! It doesn't change the economics of the contest, but ...
Tell me moreCategories: Response
Jan
15
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
It's like the old axiom about how people talk about lawyers. People love their own lawyer, but hate lawyers in general. It seems that subscribers may feel the same way about email marketing these days.
Subscribers report a general love of email as a channel and say they find value in many email messages. Yet, respondents in our fourth annual Holiday Email Survey also report that overall, email marketing connections are fatigued, and many are just plain weak.
Categories: Response
Jan
02
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
Subject lines could be the single most important factor in open rates and response. Yet they are much neglected. Too bad for the industry, but what a great opportunity for you to boost results and nudge out the competition.
Last week we touched on a few tactical best practices regarding subject line length and content that will grab subscriber attention. Here's a few strategic issues to consider when writing subject lines that are sure to maximize impact in the inbox.
Tell me moreCategories: Response
Dec
27
By Stephanie Miller
VP of Strategic Services
True in email as in life, you only have one chance to make a first impression. It's your subject line. Unless the reader has a preview pane, the subject line is your first and only chance to encourage a subscriber to actually read and respond to your call to action. So what are the magic words that will entice your subscriber to take the next step? In part one of this blog posting, I'll provide you with a few do's and don'ts that will help you find the best combination to elicit a higher response.
Tell me moreCategories: Response
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