It’s common for people to use general metric standards as a guideline for success when analyzing online marketing data. This can lead to real problems with their campaigns because it doesn’t take into account individualized goals. Each webpage, email communication, or social media post needs to have a clearly defined metric for success rather than being analyzed on general metrics.
Read moreHTML based emails with sophisticated layouts and images are great. Generally speaking HTML layouts also improve conversion. However, email marketers always need to pay attention to images and how they are rendered. Recent studies have shown that only 33% of email users have images on by default. That means two of the three people you send emails to are not
Read moreOnce we get into a system for email and online marketing that works for us we can get lazy and blindly stick with it. As 2011 begins it’s a good idea to challenge what you are doing. If you don’t regularly review your web and email marketing performance, start now. If you are regularly monitoring results, check your trends over
Read moreJakob Nielson wrote a great article on email usability. There is a lot of good points but I wanted to focus on his section about subject lines. As a rule of thumb, if you have doubts on what the subject line should be . . . be direct. There is a great example in the article of a subject line
Read moreAs a broad guideline, at least 50% of your email communications should have a clear benefit for your recipients. A higher percentage is fine, a lower percentage will often result in list fatigue and opt outs. This seems like a simple equation but it gets complicated when email marketers confuse what benefits them and what is a benefit to the
Read moreFor years there were essentially two forms of online communication. Website – A one-to-many media passive media Email – A one-to many or one-to-one proactive media The two have the potential to work seamlessly together. Websites are always available and easily accessed by any interested party. It casts a wide net. Email could proactively promote specific initiatives or be targeted
Read moreIn a previous post, I said that email testing didn’t have to be a monumental task for smaller lists. While that is true, the statement shouldn’t be taken to mean it is easy. Detailed analysis is necessary to get a true picture of how your campaigns are running. An integrated set of reports that takes all of your online initiatives
Read morePromoting events through email marketing is very popular. And why not? It allows for a targeted audience to receive event information and provides a simple and immediate way to register for the event (or at least it should). However, because it’s an ideal tool doesn’t mean a strategy doesn’t need worked out. Plan your email marketing event promotion schedule and
Read moreNever assume you know how you achieved success online. Theories are fine but every theory that we intend to take action on needs backed up with data. Running online marketing campaigns on presumptions will lead to erratic results and makes it impossible for consistent gradual improvement. Recently I was working on an ongoing online marketing campaign to promote events. One
Read moreIncreasingly email and conversion experts are advocating multimedia. They point out how video is engaging and can quickly grab a visitor’s attention. Metrics also support the claim. Here’s what’s lost in translation. Doing multimedia takes more time, money, and/or energy. So while multimedia is advantageous, you need to decide if it’s worth investing in, or whether it’s something you want
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