Affiliate Email Marketing Manager – Eddie Bauer

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Email Marketing Manager – LindenLab

The Email Marketing Manager will be responsible for developing and executing tactics to drive customer conversion and retention. The ideal candidate must have a proven track record of working on online marketing campaigns for successful online and emerging media companies as well as have a passion for new forms of interactive social networking. This role will primarily be focused on email marketing communications.

• Work with Product Managers, Design, PR and Customer Service teams to deliver customer facing communications focused on acquiring and/or better monetizing customers, including all customer facing email and communication through social media channels.
• Manage newsletter process including, theme development and integrating user generated content into all communications.
• Lead efforts to convert new Residents into active users of Second Life.
• Lead marketing copy writing, content development, design and event marketing projects focused on more effectively engaging customers throughout their lifecycle.
• Create and follow principles and processes that ensure brand integrity, consistency, clarity and growth.
• Lead email best practices efforts & own email sending platform.
• Provide results analysis showing incremental value of campaigns.
• Other duties may be assigned.

View full job description

Email Marketing Manager – Uprinting

UPrinting.com, an online printing company that has been ranked on the INC 500 | 5000 list of fastest growing US companies for the second consecutive year at position #522, is seeking an experienced Email Marketing Manager to join their online marketing department, at its head quarters office in Van Nuys, CA.

The ideal candidate for this position would have at least 3 years of experience managing emails and offers for an e-commerce company with an opt-in email list of over 500k subscribers. They should be familiar with customer/offer segmentation strategies that rely on business intelligence data. Hands-on experience with email design/delivery, performance tracking and a/b testing is a must!

Responsibilities:
- Manage weekly promotional email design, development and deployment
- Strategize and implement a program to gather client segmentation data
- Research and develop trigger-based email marketing program
- Manage all email communications (confirmations, receipts, quotes, reminders)
- Work with business development team to design and deploy offers with partners and affiliates

Requirements:
- BS/BA college degree required
- 3+ years of experience in email marketing managing a list over 500k
- Advanced Photoshop / Illustrator
- Advanced HTML/CSS
- Strong understanding of online marketing

View full job description

After a successful year at The eMail Guide, Jim Ducharme has decided to pursue other opportunities.

Our last year working together has been both fun and exciting. Jim has taught me many things that I will probably bring to the table in a loving post called:

“5 lessons learned from Jim Ducharme”

Until that time comes, I wish Jim and his family great success in the future and best wishes for 2011.

Watch our email marketing job board, we will have new shoes to fill.

We originally posted this for Canadian Thanksgiving a few weeks back. Since our friends in the U.S.A. are celebrating this Thursday, we thought it would be a great time to share it again!

Happy American Thanksgiving and please be careful while travelling!

It’s not as easy as you may think! The first time my wife and I tried roasting a turkey, everything seemed to great till we took the bird out of the oven and realized we’d forgotten to take the plastic bag with the guts out of the bird.

1 The family turkey dinner

2 The boys turkey dinner

3 The cook it, deep fry it or grill it recipe

4 The how-to turkey cooking video

5 The “I’m terrified I’m going to screw it up” turkey roasting video guide

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Source: Email Yogi

by Sundeep Kapur

Have you ever hosted a focus group discussion amongst those you serve? It is a great idea to stay in touch with the consumer as you can take pulse of the campaigns that you are sending and listen to direct feedback. This can be held in person, over the web, or even by a simple survey. Here are some questions to ask the consumer.

1 – Why did you sign up for email?
Have them list the reasons they signed up for your newsletter. Ask them what other campaigns they receive (from other companies). Share with them the goal of your newsletter and see if there is agreement. Use this feedback to see if you are meeting their general expectations.

2 – What do you like about our campaigns?
Have them list three to five things they like about your campaigns. Ask them about specifics – see if they remember some of your past campaigns (without showing them any of these campaigns). Ask them to help you prioritize your content. See what people like to read within your campaigns. Ask them what they think about campaign resends (to non openers).

Seal users have reported an average opt-in rate increase of more than 17%.

One daily feature we’ve had here at The eMail Guide since day one is our Google news for Email Marketing. However, we’ve been thinking we could take this to a higher level and make the Google news feature into something even more valuable to you.

Starting tomorrow, you’ll see a new feature in place of our daily Google news at The eMail Guide! We call it “The Buzz” and it’s daily focus will be on the best and brightest blog posts about email marketing from around the web! We’ll sniff out those insightful posts which really resonate and gather them here all in one place for you each day.

Catch that buzz starting Tuesday here, @ The eMail Guide!

If you’ve got something juicy to share via The Buzz, just tweet @TheeMailGuide!

Love to hear your comments and suggestions too!

Never in the history of iPhone edeavors has so much been owed by so many to so few.

A gent named Sam Butterfield came up with the idea  and the folks at Dot Tank Studios then designed what we believe to be the coolest thing since the iPhone bread slicing app. iPhone Pilot allows you to turn your iPhone into what every grown kid would love to have: a toy fighter plane to fly around the house or office!

Don’t believe us? Gather your office squadron mates around your desk and prepare to blow boredom out of the skies with these video demonstrations of iPhone Pilot!

Thanks to Sam, never again will there be a “phone too far”…
Takeaway: Mix it up! Marketing your business or product shouldn’t always be a straight line.

The 17th annual SXSW® Interactive festival will take place March 12-16, 2010 in Austin, Texas. An incubator of cutting-edge technologies, the event features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer. From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future, SXSW Interactive has become the place to experience a preview of what is unfolding in the world of technology. Join us March 2010 for the panels, the parties, the 13th Annual Web Awards, the ScreenBurn at SXSW Arcade, the Film and Interactive Trade Show and Exhibition, Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator at SXSW and, of course, the inspirational experience that only SXSW can deliver.

The 24th annual SXSW® Music Conference being held March 17 – 21, 2010 in Austin, Texas will attract thousands of music professionals for one simple reason: the love of good music. The music conference provides a forum for keeping up with the rapid changes in the music industry brought on by mergers and technology. Registrants are offered the opportunity to hear from industry leaders about the changes taking place now and what is on the horizon. Also in the convention center is the SXSW Music Trade Show featuring businesses that span the spectrum from CD/DVDmanufacturers, gear and merch companies to magazines and record labels with representatives from the UK, Canada, Spain, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. During the mu­sic festival, club-hopping registrants can hear a staggering array of music from all over the world. Good music and the business which surrounds it are explored, presented and debated.

The 17th annual SXSW® FilmConference + festival® will take place March 12 through March 20, 2010 in Austin, Texas. A uniquely creative environment featuring the dynamic convergence of talent, smart  audiences and industry heavyweights. Ahotbed of discovery and interactivity, the event offers lucrative networking opportunities and immersion into the art and business of the rapidly evolving world of independent film. Over the first five days, the Film Conference buzzes as world-class speakers, creative minds, and notable mentors tackle the latest filmmaking trends amidst the unmatched social atmosphere of the SXSW experience. Simultaneously, the internationally acclaimed, nine-day Festival celebrates raw innovation and emerging talent, with a truly diverse program ranging from provocative documentaries to subversive Hollywood comedies.

MarketingSherpa - Email Marketing Handbook 2nd Edition 4.3/10 (6 votes)

Infographic: How fashion retailers grow their email marketing lists by Claudiu Murariu @padicode 4.3/10 (6 votes)

Practical eCommerce - Email Marketing: 3 Ways to Increase Relevancy 4.3/10 (6 votes)

What Acquisition Email Can Learn from Retention: Be Bold! by Mary Byrne @marybyrne 4.5/10 (6 votes)

What Customers Want In Their Inbox? 5 Creative Ways to Find Out by Jessica Sanders @cantyoucook 4.3/10 (6 votes)

Creating Your Digital Marketing Content Plan For 2012 by Jessica Best @emfluence 4.2/10 (5 votes)

The Top 25 Questions You Must Ask Before Sending Any Email Newsletter by Denise Keller @benchmarkemail 5.0/10 (4 votes)

The 80/20 Rule: How to find your priorities in email marketing by Jeff Ginsberg @dad_ftw 4.3/10 (4 votes)

Constant Contact - How B2Bs Can Keep Email Open Rates High 4.3/10 (3 votes)

Jordan Lane blogged Wednesday about an interesting Zappos marketing eMail he got recently regarding their holiday plans. The eMail informed subscribers that they would be seeing an increase in mailings and even named the dates when they could expect to see them.

Seems like a very considerate thing for them to do and of course, Zappos get’s to remind their subscription base once again to keep them in mind for holiday shopping. However, as Jordan observes, they forgot to include any way for people to opt-out of the increased frequency of emails without unsubscribing altogether. In the midst of the holiday rush it may be that not many will remember the “heads-up” eMail and may consider the increased eMails as spam.

The real question is: does your eMail delivery technology have the capability to offer “frequency throttle backs” for this kind of scenario and if it does would you want to offer that option to your subscribers? Post your comments!

Takeaway: Recency frequency rules are a great way to prevent attrition or “churn and burn syndrome”. Does your technology offer this? If it doesn’t have you considered technology solutions that do?

Our friends at EmailBrain have put together a comprehensive glossary of eMail marketing terms. It’s a living document and we’ll keep adding to it as needed.

Takeaway: Knowledge is power but, sharing is wisdom.

Please feel free to post any additions you think we should add!

A/B Split

A mailing list is divided into two equal segments, and each is tested for different offers in order to determine which is more effective.

Above-the-fold

The portion of a web page that you first see without scrolling. “Above-the-fold” is generally the more desirable location on a Website because it is the most readily visible. Any opt in links, tags or banners are better placed at this location.

Ads or sponsorships

Advertising space purchased in an email newsletter or that sponsors a specific section, article or series of articles in an email newsletter and that targets a given audience. The copy can be inserted into the body of the email as text, HTML or both.

Auto Reply

An automated reply message usually set up by the user that alerts the sender when the intended recipient of the email is ‘out of the office’ or ‘away on vacation’.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to the volume of information that can be moved over a network such as the Internet in a specific amount of time.

Blacklist

List of domains or IP addresses that have been identified as senders of SPAM (unsolicited commercial email). ISPs often use blacklists in their filtering process to determine which IP addresses will be banned from their servers, thus protecting members from unwanted email.

Blacklists, however, also include legitimate email service providers that end there after a few spam complaints.

Blocking

Action usually taken by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or corporate servers that prevents email messages from suspected spammers to reach the inbox in their intended destination. Usually, the ISP bounces back a message to the sender to inform the their email has been blocked.

Bonded Sender Program

The Bonded Sender Program identifies legitimate email traffic. Legitimate email originators post a financial bond to ensure the integrity of their email campaign. If you receive an unsolicited email from a Bonded Sender, you can complain to their ISP, enterprise, or to IronPort Systems (sponsor of the program) and a financial charge is debited from the bond. This allows email senders to ensure their message reaches the end user, and provides corporate IT managers and ISPs with an objective way to ensure that only unwanted messages are blocked.

Bounce

A ‘bounced’ email is one returned to the sender, usually with a message, which indicates that an email sent to a particular address could not be delivered. This happens when the address is no longer valid or the recipient’s ISP and/or email servers were not functioning for 3 days in a row. Bounces can be ‘hard’ or ‘soft’.

(See also: Hard bounce; Soft Bounce)

Call-to-Action

Wording that encourages taking a certain action: “Click here to subscribe to the newsletter”, “Register today for a free trial of our marketing resources!”

CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, describes penalties for spammers and companies who advertise their products in spam messages if they violate the law, gives consumers the right to ask spammers to stop sending their messages.

The CAN-SPAM Act can be found here

C-27

Canadian ecommerce bill similar to the U.S. CAN-SPAM act. The bill is comprehensive, wide reaching and and eMail marketers must be compliant with the new law which is expected to be passed by the end of 2009 – more info here.

Click through Rate (CTR)

CTR is an indicator of response to a given email message. It is measured by the percentage of recipients that click on a link enclosed in the email. To determine the click through rate, you divide the number of responses by the number of emails opened and multiply the result by 100 to express it as a percentage.

Confirmed Opt In (or Double Opt In)

This formula of obtaining permission to send email messages and/or campaigns requires that the subscriber confirms his subscription by clicking on a confirmation link or by replying to a confirmation email, before you include them in your opt in list. See also: Double Opt in

Content

The copy (text), graphics and images in a web page, Website and or presentation.

Contextual Link

A link to a Web location that is incorporated into a line of text in a simpler way than a conventional link. For example, click here [[not an actual link]] to return to the EmailBrain home page.

Conversion Rate

A measurement of a campaign’s success, this is the number or percentage of people out of the total population reached with a specific campaign that actually respond to the call-to-action in a message. The conversion can be measured in sales, subscriptions, appointments, phone calls, etc.

Copy

The text in a web page, Website or campaign, as opposed to the images and graphics.

CPA (or Cost per acquisition)

A payment model where payment is contingent on certain actions, such as sales or registrations.

Database

A database is an organized collection of information stored in a computer, which can be accessed and consulted in different ways. In terms of email marketing, your database is the software where you store your records, forms and lists. There are numerous forms of databases, including MS Excel, Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape, Oracle, and Sybase.

Double Opt In

“Double opt in” or “Confirmed opt in” is a means of additional security that consists in requiring that email accounts are first opened and later verified by means of a validation message via email that only the person who has access to the account can respond to. Double opt in is regarded as the gold standard for secure email marketing. (See also: Confirmed Opt in)

Email Campaign

When you build an email and send it to your recipients using EmailBrain this is defined as an email campaign. Your campaign may be a newsletter or may consist of offers. Some marketers may define a campaign as a series of email messages using a common theme, but in the EmailBrain system, any email sent is classified as a campaign.

Email Client

An application used to send, receive, store and view email.

Email filters

“Filtering” is a technique used to block email based on the content included in the “from:” and/or “subject:” lines, or in the copy of an email body. Filtering software finds key words that identify an email as spam. In this case, the email messages are blocked on an individual basis.

ESP

Email Service Providers (ESPs) are companies like EmailBrain that provide a service that enable a user to send permission-based email campaigns to other designated users. They are usually Application Service Providers (ASPs) who offer their services in an online fashion. There are also software ESPs as well.

ESPC (Email Service Provider Coalition)

A coalition formed to fight spam and protect the delivery of legitimate email. ESPC members are active in the war against spam.

False positive

A legitimate, permission based email that is false positive occurs when a legitimate permission based email is erroneously filtered and/or blocked as spam.

Font

A type with dimensions and style that are specific to a type family (for example, Gill Sans Serif Condensed Bold 12).

Footer

An area at the bottom of an email where you find information such as disclaimers, privacy policies and subscribe/unsubscribe instructions.

Frequency

Periodicity in the distribution of an email message, newsletter, campaign, etc. Frequency can be daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc.

From: Line

The line at the top of an email message where the sender typically types his/her name/company.

Hard bounce

The failed delivery of an email message that is rejected and returned to the sender due to a permanent reason that cannot be resolved, such as a non existent address, an unknown recipient or a domain that doesn’t exist.

Hard bounced email

(see: Hard bounce)

Header

The header of an email is a part of the document that is usually not visible to the recipient unless ‘view headers’ feature of their email software is selected.

Headers include information such as the server from where the email was sent, the program used to originate it, the route it followed through the Internet, and more.

Headline

The headline in an email marketing message usually speaks of the company sending it and entices the recipient so that he/she reads the whole message.

House List (or retention list)

This is a permission based list that you build over time through your relationship with your customers and use to market, cross sell and up sell, as well as to connect with your customer base. This list is one of your most valuable assets (remember the notion that it is seven times less expensive to market to an existing customer than it is to procure a new one), so make sure you update it and make it grow.

HTML email

This is an email message composed with Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, a language designed for the creation of web pages and other information viewable in a Web browser), as opposed to plain text. Since HTML allows you to apply a wide variety of text effects, graphics, images and background colors, the result is a more appealing message that can increase response rates up to 35%.

ISP

An Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. AOL, Juno, Yahoo!, MSN, Comcast and various local phone companies are common

Landing Page

The page on a website where the visitor arrives, It is not necessarily the home page, but maybe a bookmarked page or a linked page. In the sphere of email marketing, the landing page is the page where the message directs the recipient via link.

Layout

The way the content -copy, images and graphics- is organized in an email message, with the intention that it effectively captures and retains the recipient’s attention.

Links

Text, graphics or images that direct to another online location when clicked.

Load Time

The amount of time it takes for a web page to open completely in the browser window.

Mailing List

A list of email addresses to reach with specific campaigns or email messages.

Multi-part MIME Email

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard format for email. Almost all Internet e-mail is transmitted in MIME format.

Navigation

Moving click by click -around the Internet- from website to website and from page to page in a single website, as well as within a single web page.

Notified Opt In

Notified opt-in a format in which, once an email address is subscribed to the list, a message is sent offering the subscriber a chance to be removed from the list. If the subscriber decides not to unsubscribe, his/her information remains in the list until he/she opts out. This method subscribes the account by default, so it does not require active confirmation by the subscriber.

Nth Sampling

A secondary mailing list that is produced based on every Nth address. For example, in a Tenth Testing, an email is sent to every record in the list that is a multiple of ten (10, 20, 30, 40.).

Open Rate

The number of recipients who actually opened your HTML email message -of the total messages sent or in a given marketing campaign. In either case, it is typically measured as a percentage of the total number of emails sent.

The open rate is considered a useful measurement of the response to an email marketing campaign. Open rates for messages in text can not be calculated.

The rate is only valid when the message has actually been opened, but some email clients allow recipients to scan the content in their messages before opening them, which renders false opens.

Opt In (or subscribe)

The action of actively agreeing, via email or other means, to receive messages from an email marketer, thus giving the particular individual, website or company permission to send their messages to you.

The opt in or subscribe to formula often fans out an assortment of products, services, and areas of interest for the potential customer to choose from. It tends to render a higher response rate than the opt-out method.

There are different types of opt in practices, some more complex than others.

(See also: Double Opt in, Notified Opt in, Opt out, Single Opt in)

Opt Out (or unsubscribe)

The action of actively demanding, via email or other means, to be removed from an email marketing or membership list. The recipients will continue receiving messages unless they clearly state that they no longer want to remain in the list.

Usually, in order to opt-out or unsubscribe, the individual has either to click an “Unsubscribe” link placed in some conspicuous area of a website or email message, or reply to an email message after typing the word “Unsubscribe” in the subject field.

The opt out formula of building a list tends to render lower response rates than the opt in method.

Permission based email

The practice of only sending email marketing messages/newsletters to a list of recipients who have agreed (opted in, subscribed or requested) to receive them from an individual, a website or a company.

Legitimate, professional, reputable email individual or company marketers use this method to build their business.

(See also Acquisition list)

Personalization

The practice of writing the email messages in a way that makes the recipient feel that it was composed specifically for him/her.

Including the recipient’s name in the salutation line, references to his/her message/purchase in the body, and suggestions based on previous business with the recipient, all contribute to the personalization of your message.

Phishing

A scam in which a spammer poses as a reputable third party -such as a bank, a government agency or an educational institution- that might be trusted by the recipients of an email designed to impel these recipients to disclose personal information (Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers) or to purchase illegal or counterfeit products or services. (See also: Spoofing)

Privacy policy

A thorough description of how a website or company uses the information collected from and about subscribers and/or visitors to the website.

When subscribers, customers and prospects trust you with their information, they expect that it will be safe. If you expressly state your privacy policy, subscribers, visitors and prospects will more readily share information that adds value to your relationship.

Rental list

A rented list of prospects or targeted (by interest category, demographics, profession, etc.) group of recipients who have opted in to receive information on chosen topics.

A rental list must be permission based, usually costs between $.10 and $.40 per address and is never sold.

Beware of inexpensive ‘targeted’ or ‘clean’ list offers that don’t certify that they are opt in, permission based.

(See also: Permission based email/email marketing)

Salutation

The first line in an email message, where you address the recipient. It can be a generic salutation (‘Dear/Valued subscriber’, ‘Dear/Valued member’) or a more personalized one (‘Dear Jean’, ‘Hi, Peter.’, ‘Hello, Tom!’)

SenderID

An email industry initiative headed by Microsoft and other industry leaders to offer a technical solution against phishing/spoofing -a popular deceptive practice used by spammers. (See also: Spoofing and Phishing)

Signature File

A short block of text automatically posted at the end of an email message identifying the sender and providing contact and other information on them.

It can be used as a means to communicate a message and/or add a call-to-action with a link.

Single Opt In

It is the most widely used method of winning subscribers, compiling email addresses and obtaining permission -through the subscriber’s proactive participation and after an acknowledgement email.

A single opt in list is created by inviting visitors and customers to subscribe to your email list through a sign up tag on your Website. The subscriber immediately receives a message from you acknowledging the subscription, and should state what the subscriber signed up for and indicate how he/she can edit his/her interests or opt out.

However, single opt in email practices are susceptible to spam traps -email addresses or domains that have not registered to receive any email. Sometimes people deliberately or inadvertently subscribe spam trap addresses to their lists, and are then blacklisted by the ISP or the organization operating the spam trap.

Soft bounce

The failed delivery of an email message that is rejected for a temporary reason -such as full mailbox on the recipients end- or because the receiving server is unavailable due to maintenance or repair.

Soft Bounced Email

(See: Soft bounce)

Spam

Spam, the common reference to UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) refers specifically to email of a commercial nature that a recipient has not subscribed to or actively requested.

Spam is unwanted, unexpected email from a sender unknown to the recipient.

Sending email to people who have not requested your messages will likely result in spam complaints.

Spoofing

Spoofing is a scam in which malicious individuals forge a sender’s address on email messages in order to impel the recipient to read and respond to deceptive mail.

‘Spoofed’ mail often involves phishing scams, damages the reputation of the individuals or companies whose names are used to send the messages, and threatens the online privacy of consumers.

(See also: Phishing)

Subheadings

Subheadings (also referred to as ‘subheads’) are lines of text in the copy that serve as subtitles for the content that follows. In a layout, subheads break up columns of type and render a page more dynamic, appealing, and easier to read.

Subheads

(See: Subheadings)

Subject Line

The field in an email message where the sender indicates the topic of the message. In email marketing, it is often used to motivate the recipient to open the message and read its content.

Targeting

Delivering your emails to those recipients who are most likely to be receptive to your message, according to geographic, demographic, psychological and behavioral criteria.

Teaser

A short, enticing text or compelling image in a message designed with the purpose of causing the reader to explore further into the message or website before the actual offer or promotion is revealed.

Timing

Scheduling the delivery of email so that it reaches the recipient at the best time.

Timing might be seasonal (spring break, summer vacation, back to school), dependent on holidays (Christmas, Easter, Independence Day), etc. or on a standard schedule (Monday mornings, Friday evenings, every two weeks).

The day of the week and the time of day when a mailing goes out are important. Mailing out messages on a Friday afternoon can be great for a retailer, but Monday mornings are best for business to business, for example.

Tracking

Identifying, collecting and evaluating data that reveal the effectiveness of an email, a mailout or an email campaign.

Type

A size or style of typewritten or printed character. For example, a serif typeface, a sans-serif typeface, a bold type, a 12-point type, 14-point type.

Unique Forwarders

The number of unique individuals who forward an email. Each person that forwards a particular email counts as one individual, no matter how many times they forwarded that particular email message.

Unsubscribe

(See: opt out)

Up Selling / Cross Selling

Offering existing customers the opportunity to purchase products or services related to items in which they have shown interest or purchased previously.

URL

Acronym for Universal Resource Locator, a website, web page or address to any other document located on the Internet. URLs pinpoint the location of every file on every computer accessible through the Internet.

Usability

A measure of how easy it is for a user to complete a task on a software or online. In the context of email marketing, it refers to how easy a subscriber or prospect can opt in and opt out of a list, and how easy it is to find and use the resources they are offered.

Value

The overall appeal and usefulness prospects and customers find in a product or service.

Viral Design

Elements, functions and content included in a communication that render the message ‘contagious’ in the sense that recipients feel impelled to pass it on to others, thus leveraging the marketing effort.

Viral Forwards

The number of referrals sent.

Viral Responses

The number of recipients who actually opened a forwarded message and clicked on a link.

Viral Marketing

A method of marketing in which a company’s customers participate voluntarily. It is often referred to as word of mouth (or WOM) advertising. With tools that motivate people to refer or recommend a product, service or specific offer to others (lines such as “send this to a friend”), this method is very popular for email marketing.

Whitelist

The opposite of a blacklist, this is a list of commercial emailers (individuals, companies and ESPs) who have been approved to send mail through a certain ISP. Each must provide the ISP with a list of the IP addresses from which email will be sent, and sometimes must also complete a test period after which each will be approved or rejected.

An IP address included in a whitelist is authorized to deliver email even when blocking measures are in place.

When an email service provider states that they are ‘whitelisted’, this means that their IP addresses are registered with and authorized by specific ISPs, which is a guarantee that the messages sent through this provider will be delivered.

(See also: Blacklist)

Thanks again to our friends at eMail Brain!

Here’s what you can expect to find out:

• Understand the costs involved with implementing Mobile Campaigns
• Create Premium text message programs
• Learn how to Develop a Mobile Web Site
• Build a Mobile Marketing Database
• Manage Opt-ins and Opt-outs
• Track mobile campaigns and measure success
• Sell your content, product, services via Mobile

Get the details here!

One month ago there was an ultimatum thrown down for Facebook from waay up north. Comply with Canada’s private-sector privacy laws or else.  In this case,  “or else” refers to the Federal Court of Canada which could issue a court order for the California-based company to comply with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

The heart of the issue here is not (yet) the sharing of a user’s private data with thousands of third-party developers in over 180 countries, but specifically the confusing way Facebook provides information on how it shares your information and keeps user info regardless if they opt-out of the service or not.

Today, we should learn if Facebook has satisfied the Canadian Privacy Commission’s concerns. This is a first for Facebook and will provide a very import precedent for colossal social media platforms and the individual user.

I have to admit, this keeps bringing to mind the general advice I have been giving for years to anyone with privacy concerns;  “don’t provide any personal information online you don’t want people to know.” Perhaps that is overly simple but over the last 13 years I have never assumed anything in the cloud is completely private or secure. That’s the nature of the Internet – to provide and find information and something each one of us has to take responsibility for when faced with this choice. If a company asks for information you do not have to provide it – even if millions happily are.

Matt Vernhout announced a new team member today on his Email Karma blog – Scott Jamieson, formerly of SRJ Digital. Scott has an impressive track record of working with various ESPs and his experience in email marketing strategies is a boon for the Toronto-based ThinData.  You can find his LinkedIn profile here, and view the official announcement here. Good luck and congratulations Scott!

Industry’s First Bounce Code Directory Now Available

Believed to be the industry’s first public directory of bounce codes in one location, The Email Experience Council’s Deliverability Roundtable has hosted this very useful resource on Get Satisfaction’s website. Bounce codes are the most frequent and direct method of communication between an ISP and a sender, and currently there is no one universal standard for these.  The next best thing is a list of the most common set of codes to refer to, and the EEC has done a great job in compiling the most important ones. Considering the list of names involved with the Bounce String Code Directory, this is definitely bookmark worthy but hopefully not a resource you will have to engage too often.

Get Ready for the Holidays with a Survey to Your Customers

If I could have Christmas jingles playing with this blog post … then I still would not. There will be plenty of time for that later in the year but right now is the time to pay attention to your subscriber list’s hoilday wish list. The Marketing Blog from Vertical Response is kindly letting us know that this holiday season is bound to be different that previous years so understanding that difference now is going to be the key to success in Decemeber. Janine Popick provides the questions we should be asking for B2B and B2C such as “What will your customers be looking to spend this holiday season?” and “When will they start planning their holiday functions?” and of course answers those questions with some strong strategy. Merry August everyone.

To me, this is the sign of a solid company. I would not hesitate to consider Campaign Monitor as my email service provider especially in light of their response to these attacks. The best measurement for the character of a company during a time like this is the reaction of their customers … and you can see the customer feedback under the original post here.

We’ll keep an eye on the situation and wish the Campaign Monitor team and clients all the best during this difficult time.

Campaign Monitor

Just finished my early morning surf and found this little gem.

Matthew Tommasi from down under has created The Social Media Guide http://thesocialmediaguide.com.au/

This site is filled with great reviews and tons of useful links. I highly recommend checking it out.

Now for the goods! If you like Twitter then you will love The Social Media Guide’s blog post:

The Ultimate List of Twitter Tools Close to 800 links of Twitter tools you can use to help your tweeting.

1. Email Marketing Analyst at Tribune (Chicago, IL): Full/Part Time Full Location IL-Chicago http://bit.ly/3GUIId
2. Email Marketing Specialist at Education Management (Pittsburgh, PA) http://bit.ly/zA3hu
3. Email Marketing Designer (Grants Pass, OR): * 1-3 years of Web Design and/or email design experience * Skilled with HTML  http://bit.ly/14CikP
4. Email Marketing Manager, Customer Contact Strategy at Yahoo! (Sunnyvale, CA): http://bit.ly/140qux
5. Email Marketing Specialist – TransUnion –  Chicago, IL: overall email communications roadmap http://bit.ly/8c9RN

TED – Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world

Have a surf around if you have never seen this site before.

Every time I watch a video here, it makes my brain juices flow.

“Contactology is an email marketing software built for business. If you want to maximize your permission-based email marketing deliverability, create attractive, branded emails and keep your content out of the spam box, Contactology can help you. We offer enterprise-level features and excellent service at a reasonable cost. Clients come to us for our impressive analytics, premium service and dedication to helping email marketers get their messages out.” ~ www.contactology.com

Last Post: May 27th, 2009 by Winston
First Post: Thursday, March 30th, 2006
Frequency of Posts: about once a week.
Number of Posts: 278
Number of Contributors: Multiple
Target Audience: email marketers
Links to Social Media accounts?: Twitter
How many clicks to get to Blog from the company Website: 1

The blog alternates between posts regarding using their software and overall insights and general advice regarding eMail marketing.  New posts appear about once every week by one author.

You can find out more information about Contactology in The eMail Guide’s Listings here.

Screenshot of the Contactology blog

2. GroupMail Blog

“Figuring out how to communicate with your customers is what can make or break your business. One of the best ways to reach your customers, leads and prospects is by email. With the help of our class leading email marketing and newsletter software GroupMail, you can make email work for you! With GroupMail you can easily create, grow and deepen your relationships with customers, market your products and services globally, expand your online presence and web site effectiveness with newsletters, permission marketing and much much more.” ~ www.group-mail.com

Last Post: April 30th, 2009 by Tom
First Post: Monday, April 23rd, 2007
Frequency of Posts: about once every two weeks
Number of Posts:  not available
Number of Contributors: information is not specified
Target Audience: GroupMail users
Links to Social Media accounts?: no
How many clicks to get to Blog from the company Website: 2

The blog focuses almost soley on product development and support, with a some general email marketing tips and strategies.

You can find out more information about GroupMail in The eMail Guide’s Listings here.

GroupMail Blog

3. Trusted by LashBack

“LashBack invented a technology called, UnsubSafe™ that makes it safe for consumers to safely unsubscribe from unwanted emails. The company started by marketing an anti-spam toolbar for outlook and outlook express, the co-founders quickly saw the value of the data being collected by consumers using their product to unsubscribe from “spam”. The technology is also used by ISPs and Anti-Spam Organizations to reduce the amount of spam they receive. The ensuing data stream has grown and diversified as LashBack’s capacity for automating its analysis has increased.” ~ www.lashback.com

Last Post: Posted on June 3rd, 2009 at 10:46 am by Cari Birkner
First Post: Posted on June 9th, 2004 at 11:28 am by Brandon Phillips
Frequency of Posts: Twice a week on average
Number of Posts: n/a
Number of Contributors:  Multiple Contributors
Target Audience: email marketing industry.
Links to Social Media accounts?: social bookmarks and Twitter.
How many clicks to get to Blog from the company Website: 2

Trends and industry news are discussed and explored in posts by multiple authors about twice weekly.

You can find out more information about LashBack in The eMail Guide’s Listings here.

Trusted by LashBack blog

SMOJOE and Rob Cambell

First up was the man behind SMOJOE, Rob Cambell. Rob talked about his experience as a Search Engine Optimization expert working for clients such as Alliance Films. His observations for the value of linkbacks via forums, articles and blogs were very revealing and I can tell you with great authority that blogs are the single highest rated source of linkbacks you can get.  Of course, there is more to than that – the value of linkbacks to your site from blogs also depends on the ranking of that blog with Google.  To determine the rank of a blog, Google looks at how much of an expert in a particular field that blogger is as well as diverse media, posting frequency and the keywords in your titles and headlines.

Write as the expert in your field, and preferably as niche as possible, and the traffic and ranking will follow.

Christa Jean the Petite Fashionista

Christa Jean the Petite Fashionista, a blogger with a great success story then took the podium. Being less than 5’3″, Christa started a blog giving fashion advice to petite women around the world and became very popular over the next two years. In her third year, she hosted a fashion event in Toronto based around her blog and fashion niche and tied it in with Heroes star Hayden Panettiere by donating proceeds to Hayden’s favourite charity. Christa appealed to a niche, created a social network and put her message in to the physical world.

Raymi the Minx

Next up was Raymi the Minx, an artist who boasts “blogging before you knew how to attach an image to an email”. She also has had more than three million visitors to her blog since 2000 and averages 4000 per day. Wow! She was very down to earth and for someone who is a genuine internet celebrity, I was surprised to learn she was nervous about talking in front of 30 people. However, that is exactly the point she emphasized for a successful personality based blog – be you, warts and all, and people will appreciate it.

More posts with blogging goodness to follow – including breaking down the 4 types of blogs, what Google does not like and what blogging platform Goggle loves. 

How to be Famous on the Internet Blogging Seminar