Ayaz Nanji says, “More than two-thirds (69%) of retail marketers say they use engagement data (opens, clicks, etc.) to improve the relevance of their email campaigns, according to a recent report from Yesmail. The report was based on data from a survey of nearly 200 online retail marketers who attended the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org conference in October 2015. Some 60% of the marketers surveyed say they now use purchase behavior data to send more relevant emails to consumers, and 50% use demographic data such as gender, age, and location“. How Retail Marketers Are... [...]

Monica Montesa says, “When it comes to incentives for email sign up forms, ebooks are the go-to bait. They provide a great way to educate customers, and people love valuable freebies. But if you’re not an experienced writer or don’t have an archive of blog posts to repurpose, the thought of writing 15 pages single-spaced as a means to grow your email list might leave you feeling a little queasy. Fortunately, there are other content incentives you can give away to your email subscribers that won’t give you palpitations. Just take a look at Henneke Duistermaat, a professional writer... [...]

Shelley Kessler says, “Email volume for the 2015 holiday season Volume for the 2015 holiday season was almost 25 percent higher than in 2014. While the large increase in volume led to lower rates for the 2015 holiday season, it is important to note that the actual number of opens, clicks and transactions in 2015 were higher than those received the year before. Holiday email and mobile highlights As in past years, we’ve taken a special look at the holiday trends and performance of promotional emails from over 40 retail brands. This year we’re also following SMS messages of 20 of these... [...]

Jose Cebrian says, “It’s a new year, and predictions abound. I’m not interested in passively waiting to see if they come true; I’d rather take the “make it happen” approach. That means taking stock of where we are, articulating where we want to be, then prioritizing the steps it will take to get there. These are my suggestions for starting 2016 off with a plan to identify areas for improvement in your email strategy and then make those improvements happen. Figure Out Why People Are Signing Up For Your Program I don’t think enough companies really study this part of their program.... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “From deliverability to open rates, email analytics give you real-time insight into the success of your campaigns. So why is it that they often get a bad rep? While these reports may seem overwhelming, they can help you make major improvements to your email strategy. In yesterday’s #emailchat, we asked marketers to share their tips for understanding these metrics: 1. The “most important” email stats are the ones determined by you. Opens & clicks are at the top of my list. They’ll tell you how effective your subj line & CTA are! @KristenWritesIt Subscriber... [...]

Mike Renahan says, “Making a great first impression on a prospect can be tantamount to the success of the relationship. First impressions, after all, are everything. But how can a sales rep get off on the right foot with every prospect? Or maybe more importantly, how can they avoid souring the relationship before it even really begins? It all starts with the first email a salesperson sends. This email sets the tone for the relationship going forward, so it’s important to get right. But many salespeople unintentionally turn their buyers off without even realizing it due to poor word choice.... [...]

Lisa Froelings says, “Email marketing promotion is one of the most essential tools for small businesses to win more clients. Having an established mailing list and consistent frequency allows businesses to gauge what strategy and messaging works best. But what are best possible elements an effective email promotion have? According to research conducted by Constant Contact, there are optimal numbers of images and lines of text small businesses should include in email marketing campaigns to optimize their click-through rates. Senior vice-president of Constant Contact Christopher Litster says... [...]

Jack Simpson says, “Ah, email. The marketing channel that steadfastly refuses to die.  And why should it? Clearly it still works, particularly when it comes to ecommerce. But as an email marketer it can be difficult to know what success looks like. Never fear, though, because in this post I’m going to share some ecommerce email marketingbenchmarks for 2016. The benchmark figures come from some recent research by Remarkety, which studied millions of emails across thousands of ecommerce brands. Newsletters Sending out regular newsletters is important. It’s a chance to promote specific... [...]

Mike Renahan says, “What’s the first step to being more productive? Depending on what you do, many different answers might come to mind. For some it might be managing time better, setting a schedule, or creating a to-do list every day. But this isn’t exactly the answer I’m looking for. The first step to being more productive is to understand what causes you to become unproductive. Ask yourself this question right now: What’s my biggest distraction on a daily basis? If you’re like most people, email is the #1 task killing your productivity. According to Radicati, the average businessperson... [...]

Parry Malm says, “For the last three years, I’ve made predictions about various aspects of online marketing (see here for 2015 and 2014.) They’re mostly right, except for most of them. This year, instead of soothsaying, let’s focus on things I wish would happen… but likely won’t. So here’s some predictions for email marketing that won’t come true in 2016. 1. Automated campaigns won’t annoy any consumers, at all, ever. For reals. Automation! Whoo! Who doesn’t love a “set it n’ forget it” campaign”? Especially because consumers are too dumb to realise that... [...]