Based in Boston, MA, a highly reputable organization in the music industry is looking for a Product Manager. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a creative and dynamic environment. They are looking for someone with lots of energy, experience and a passion for music!

Details here!

Cynthia Edwards of Razorfish had a great post Monday asking a very good question:  Do your eMails reflect the emotions that define the holidays? She used half a dozen classic Christmas songs to illustrate the moods present during the holidays and suggest an approach. This is excellent reading and good advice but, she pretty much steered clear of something that has become a touchy subject: the holidays and the inclusion of many cultures and beliefs being integrated as our global village grows.

A few years ago in Toronto the debate heated up when a civil judge ordered the removal of a Christmas tree from a courthouse after a complaint was lodged. I remember thinking at the time that in the season of giving here we were taking something away and worse, in a season of sharing here we were depriving ourselves of an opportunity to do just that.

Why remove a Christmas tree (or any holiday symbol) for the sake of equity when what could have been done is to add the cherished symbols of other faiths and share the joy which comes from understanding our differences rather than the ignorance which comes from fearing them?

Unfortunately, eMail marketing is not a lobby in a courthouse or the atrium of a shopping mall which is open for passive traffic and can afford to be a bit more inclusive. An eMail arrives in your inbox and all you see is the subject line. If that subject line is not inclusive to you then you likely won’t open it. This has nothing to do with your feelings towards other seasonal celebrations – if you aren’t shopping for Hanukkah gifts then you probably won’t open an eMail from a marketer wishing you a happy one.

In order to cast the widest net, eMail marketers have to use the most generic terms possible and that means recognizing the holidays and the emotions that they engender but, not the specifics which may alienate someone. The good news for marketers is that these holidays all seem to share some basic emotional qualities such as love of family, good will and reflection. As Cynthia suggests, you can key on these emotions to connect with your potential market.

Perhaps you might want to include a thank you card with best wishes for the New Year written in a number of languages or even a corporate video holiday card with staff holiday greetings. Perhaps the staff might want to suggest some good presents to buy from your company while they are at it?:) All kidding aside, in the end what this will really do for you is humanize your brand by showing the people behind it and that’s a good warm fuzzy. Afterall, while it’s the holidays which bring us home…it’s the people, family and feelings which make home worth coming back to.

I’d like to hear your take on the whole issue of holiday marketing! Post your comments!

Takeaway: Your holiday eMail marketing campaign should touch on the positive feelings common at this time of year and focus on what the holidays all share.

Smart eMarketing is about building relationships and in order to establish those relationships you have to know how to communicate with those you want to reach out to. Would you call someone who’s ordered your catalogue and begin reading it to them over the phone?

In our Google News roundup last Wednesday, I mentioned an article about eMail relevance and how the “wired” generation perceives different communication tools. That generated a lively discussion between myself and Jeff, our Chief eMail Officer here at The eMail Guide. He isn’t entirely sure that I’ve painted a clear enough picture with my explanations and now I want your input! Have I got it right? Post your thoughts! Apparently Jeff, has never heard the term “yada yada” or something like that.

SMS & IM – The telephone (yada yada)

Social Networks – A corner to stand on (be seen)

Forums – A soapbox to stand on (be heard)

Twitter – The digital postcard (wish you were here)

eMail – The follow up (give me details)

The twitter-verse is all…well…a-twitter about a new study released by smartFOCUS this past week regarding the prefered channels for direct marketing. eMail ranks number one while the least liked method was telemarketing and that doesn’t surprise me at all. Look, eMail is kind of like a puppy wagging its tail at you and waiting to be picked up for a snuggle. Telemarketing is more like your next door neighbour’s Rottweiler greeting you when you arrive home from work by tackling you and licking your face like an empty peanut butter jar. You get the idea, it’s an intrusion while eMail is more passive since you choose if and when you want to open it.

Take a look at the snippet below then read the link to Frank Cuttita’s IDG blog since he has a slightly different POV on things.

Clothing and accessories most popular purchases; telemarketing ranked ‘least preferred’ channel of communication Email is the preferred channel of communication for US consumers, followed by direct mail, social media and finally telemarketing. These are the findings of a new survey conducted by smartFOCUS, a leading international provider of multi-channel marketing software and services.

When asked to rank their preferred methods of receiving marketing messages from vendors, the majority of respondents (62%) said that email was their preferred channel of communication, followed by direct mail (23%), then social media (13%). The least preferred way to be contacted was telemarketing, with 80% putting it at the bottom of their lists.

Read more…

After you read that, be sure to take a look at IDG’s Frank Cuttita’s blog post from earlier in the week since he has a slightly different take on things. He argues that the continuing upswing in the percentage of time on social media sites and the finite time available to all of us to both roam the blogosphere and read eMail will skew away from eMail towards social media channels. Who’s right? You tell me!

I’ve always believed that it’s an important to hit people with your eMail or blog posts no later than 8:30 in the morning and this is one reason why we here at The eMail Guide make sure we have our latest blog post up early. We want the information piping hot and sitting on your desk for your morning intellectual repast. Of course, we continue to post all day long because it’s like breathing for us.

However, the best time to get that email in the box may hinge on what you are delivering. According to a report from Pure360 the prime windows of opportunity fluctuate depending on the material. For example, some 27 percent of all eMail marketing restaurant promotions and 19 percent of live event promotions are opened first thing. While the mid-afternoon period between 3 PM and 5 PM (the post lunch slump) seems to be the time for people to go for those eMails promoting “chance of a lifetime” or “life changing” opportunities.

The report also states that just over 42 percent of people opened financial services eMails in the afternoon – making one wonder if the open rates for those go up at the end of the month or right after payday.

So, what are the takeaways from this? It’s pretty basic, understand your demographic and you’ll know when they might be most open to hearing from you. Run a survey and ask your subscribers but, make sure you offer them a reward for helping you with a random draw or other such prize.  If your company is large enough then likely you have that demographic right at your fingertips. How about asking them or taking a stroll around the office to observe what people are doing? I’d stay away from setting a duck blind up next to the intern’s desks though.

What time works best for your message? Do you find the early birds get the eWorm or are you having better luck later in the day? Post your comments!

Who doesn’t love the tricks and treats of Halloween? I know I sure do! So, I started looking around for treats to offer you today and decided to serve up top mistakes to avoid from the eMail marketing blogosphere. Your tips are welcome too! Just leave a comment and I’ll add them.

While each list shares a lot in common with the others (that’s good right?), they all offer their own take on the best take-aways for avoiding an eMail marketing massacre. Read them slowly or you’ll get a tummy ache.

The eMail Experience Council’s 9 common eMail mistakes to avoid

http://www.emailexperience.org/blog/2009/08/suggestion-9-real-world-common-email-marketing-mistakes-to-avoid

Cringe-worthy eMail marketing mistakes

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/24532.asp

MailChimp’s common eMail mistakes

http://www.mailchimp.com/articles/common-email-marketing-rookie-mistakes/

Microsoft’s 5 most common eMail marketing mistakes

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/online-marketing/5-Common-E-Mail-Marketing-Mistakes.aspx#CommonEMailMarketingMistakes

Benchmark eMail’s common eMail marketing mistakes

http://www.benchmarkemail.com/blogs/detail/common-email-marketing-mistakes

“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

It is said that the real first test of a business is to stay open for more than a year, and I believe this applies to a blog in the sense of reaching one hundred posts. Many blogs die quickly – if no one reads a post, does it actually exist?- but the problem Jeff and I are finding is too few hours in the day for all the posts we would like to write.

Permission eMail marketing is burgeoning during the recession.

New and exciting social platforms deliver multiple interactions and messages to subscribers. SMS and devices have changed the way we think about email layout. The call to action has become lean, mean and more focused in the sea of noise that is the landscape of our industry. There are many more trends and issues we need to deal as well and we need the help of email marketing experts from all areas and niches to blog with us to cover everything. 

Jobs, reviews, webinars, conferences. We want to hear about it and we want to tweet about it as well. 

So here is looking at another 100, and here is a picture from The eMail Guide official 100th blog posting gala and extravaganza – I tried convincing these sidewalk ice cream vendors that an email marketing campaign was worth their while, but they seemed more interested in chump change.

These ice cream vendors seemed uninterested about our 100th blog post

Through Twitter conversations, we discovered an excellent eMail guide called Email Marketing Reports based in Europe that lists many eMail companies and blogs that are present on Twitter. Why is The eMail Guide not on that list yet? We will be, right after I send Mark Brownlow an eMail, with a clear call to action to add us ….

The Twitter list on Email Marketing Reports

Twitter Accounts for Info on the eMail Marketing Industry:

@KentMcGovern @EmailKarma @deliverability @theeMailguide @MasterMarketing @NewsletterGuy @TPO_Hisself  @EmailManual

Follow Fridays on Twitter is a great way to find quality Tweeters

That’s right, you’ve arrived at the comprehensive web directory of permission email marketing service providers – The eMail Guide. If you had not found us then you would probably have a great deal of trouble and time spent finding even a few suitable companies to handle your particular email marketing needs. Now that you are at the right place, relax and take your time looking through our hundreds of companies offering specialized services.

That’s a lot of information already, we know, but every listing is carefully researched and categorized by our expert staff who have been working within the email marketing industry for over ten years. Our recipe for a successful email relationship is listening to our clients needs and then asking questions and listening again. The result is The eMail Guide, built for email marketers and service providers like you.

Your membership based email communications needs are as individual as the people you building a relationship with. Fundamentals such as list management, data collection and even ISP relations are a great place to start considering what vehicle your message needs to be the most effective and functional design possible.

Looking for more of wow, bam and zing to the content of your campaign? We’ve got the industry leading companies for graphic artists, flash designers and copy writers to achieve the visual impact and creative communications that succeed in this industry.

Of course, the email is only the middle man for this process and strategy, research and consultation are the engines that take you and your demographic where you both want to go. Check out these category listings for experts and gurus who can help guide you and your message to your mission critical goals and achieve the metrics permission email marketing uses to measure success.

Feeling like a kid in a candy store yet? We hope so, because that is how our eMail Guide is supposed to make anyone in our sector feel who needs to find information, a service or a partner to accomplish their marketing and communication needs.

And we want your feedback, your thoughts and your contributions to make The eMail Guide the best possible resource and daily source of information no matter how small or large you are. Our blog is a great subscription service for insider tips and tricks of the trade, as well as keeping on eye on the latest trends and technologies that affect us all. If you are looking for a job or looking to hire someone with the best possible qualifications, our classifieds are a perfect resource. The core of our industry is networking and development, so be sure to be appraised of upcoming events such as conferences, workshops and webinars.

We hope you have found this brief introduction useful to get you started on using this The eMail Guide to it’s full potential to accomplish your goals. Now you can focus your time and energy into your market and let us bring the news and information to you. If you have any questions or comments or still not sure where to start, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to help!

On behalf of The eMail Guide, I’m Chris Healey.