Email encoding snafu

Who knew you had to worry about how bulk emails are encoded? Turns out, subject lines can get garbled during transmission if you cut and paste the text from a Microsoft Word document. Read the recap of research by Pivotal Veractiy, then take these steps to safeguard your subject lines:

1. Don't cut and paste from Word into email.
2. Use an ASCII editor to write the subject line.
3. Encode the subject and body separately.
4. Hand code non-ASCII characters.
5. Test in multiple email readers.

Of course, PV has a handy solution: eDesign Optimizer. Has anyone used this?

Online analytics for email

I promised to post a recap of the best how-to tips I learned while researching my story about online analytics for email, ads, search and web sites. Here's a few tips about email metrics:

• Watch open rates as an indicator of interest.
• Compare click-through rates for different calls to action.
• Measure conversions of those who clicked through to complete the actions.
• Track offline conversions through offer-specific toll-free numbers.
• Trace conversions back to the source list to measure ROI.
• Segment lists based on recipient behaviors to target messaging.

Silverpop's Elaine O'Gorman told me that an automated email marketing platform allows you to monitor online behavior to trigger appropriate email communication for “round-trip” marketing. She says, “If you take advantage of it, it’s a sustainable competitive advantage.”

2007 Interactive Marketing Guide

BtoB Magazine's 2007 Interactive Marketing Guide is now available online and for download as a PDF. I used the 2006 guide extensively for research on a story about metrics and analytics, so I'm eager to see what's new in 2007. Kate Maddox, Carol Krol and the other folks at BtoB do a great job.

The guide covers trends in web sites, email, search, advertising, multimedia, analytics, online events and social media.

Email campaign strategy

ClickZ contributor Jeanne Jennings gives us these 10 steps for developing an effective email strategy, excerpted from her new book, The Email Marketing Kit: The Ultimate Email Marketers Bible (SitePoint, 2007):

1. Identify qualitative goals.
2. Analyze the current situation.
3. Complete a competitive analysis.
4. Define the target audience.
5. Determine which types of email meets your needs.
6. Develop a content strategy.
7. Set the frequency and send schedule.
8. Create quantitative goals.
9. Compile budget and ROI projections.
10. Evaluate results and tweak the strategy.

Read the full article (part 1 of 2) for a comprehensive list of questions to ask during the early phases of this process.

Marketing an eBook

Publishing an eBook can generate leads for speaking and consulting engagements. To spread the word about your eBook, take these tips from David Meerman Scott, author of  "Cashing in with Content" and  "New Rules of PR:"

• Post the eBook on your blog.
• Don't require registration to download.
• Don't charge a fee for the eBook.
• Give permission for others to post the eBook on their sites.
• Email a link to your eBook to well-known bloggers in your niche market.
• Personalize your message to each blogger.
• Announce publication of your eBook in a press release to trade press.
• Monitor blog posts and comments, and respond as appropriate.

If your eBook achieves critical mass in the blogosphere, you may end up with a real book deal. Scott did. (Scott shared his insights with  WhitePaperSource Newsletter interviewer Nettie  Hartsock.)

PPC for tagline keywords

ClickZ Columnist P.J. Fusco suggests you can own your catchphrase in a PPC campaign as part of a multi-media advertising campaign. The goal of such an integrated approach would be two-fold: Build brand awareness in multiple media, and push for higher-conversion rates in your online campaign.

For example, google Schwab's ad campaign tagline -- "Talk to Chuck" -- and you'll find that it's the No. 1 search result in both the organic and paid (right column) listing.

If you expect a return on investment for buying your tagline keywords, you must also assume that your customers will search for you using those keywords. That assumes high brand awareness from the get-go. But if I were launching a new product or publication, I would certainly consider adding a PPC campaign for the catchphrase.

Email marketing benchmarks

Download the executive summary of MarketingSherpa's Email Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007 for a quick take on the latest trends -- disproving popular hype that email is losing ground to new technologies such as RSS feeds and podcasting. For example:

• The impact of B2B email marketing is increasing, according to 78% of respondents.
• Improved form design can increase opt-in conversions by 25% to 40% (e.g., a single-column layout outperforms a double-column layout).
• Testing copy, offers and subject lines yields a high ROI, with improved landing page copy delivering the highest returns.
• 80% of corporations now use spam filters, resulting in up to 40% of the email people want to receive at work being blocked.
• Popularity of Blackberries and other mobile devices is impacting the use of email and websites in unexpected ways.

For the full research results, including email tests, eye-tracking studies and ROI studies, order the complete guide at the SherpaStore.

Corporate broadcasting

A corporate broadcasting network is a portal for news and information that you push to the "public" using all the media at your disposal -- webcasts, podcasts, vidcasts, weblogs, wikis, instant messaging ... and even print. By subscribing to your RSS feed, employees, customers, partners, suppliers, analysts and investors can not only stay up to date but become active participants in the corporate community.

I heard Renn Vara and Scott Sigler of SNP Communications talk about their vision for corporate broadcasting at the November SF/IABC Talking Business Program, but I wondered if anyone was living the vision. Then I read about the Hewlett-Packard Change Artists series of webisodes featuring conversations between CEOs and CIOs (free registration required).

This is an excellent example of a corporatel broadcasting portal that uses multimedia to position HP as a solutions provider. If you miss the live webcast, where you can participate by asking questions, you can watch on demand, download the podcast, read transcripts in three languages, and download related content such as white papers, case studies and viewpoints.

With high-quality production values, the content is engaging (I think I even heard "The Voice" do voice-overs for previews -- you know, that guy you hear in 9 of 10 movie trailers). And the writing in the print documents is top notch. Nice. I've subscribed to the RSS feed.

RSS seldom seen

eMarketer reports that only 2% of U.S. employees subscribe to Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, and only 9% know what RSS is. It just proves that you can't rely on RSS to push your corporate news. An opt-in e-mail marketing campaign with news snippets and blog excerpts will reach a wider audience.

Guerrilla tactics

When does guerrilla marketing cross over into the realm of unethical tactics? I was taken aback by this snippet of advice in a recent MarketingSherpa case study on an email marketing campaign for Ellie Mae's Encompass software for mortgage brokers:

"Final note -- if you've been able to headhunt a top sales exec from a direct competitor, consider plastering his face on as many emails as possible as Lewis has. Although prospects might not recall his name, the face may look familiar from past meetings, and hence your click rates get a bit higher."

This strikes me as tricking a competitor's customers into opening your email. If they recognize a trusted face, then realize the rep no longer works for the preferred vendor, will their trust transfer to your company? I think not. It was a dishonest way to get their attention, and the email message is untrustworthy.