Comments on: Always be testing, and other Email Marketing tips from the Triangle AMA panel

By: Biggest trends in mobile marketing, from Apple engineer Francis Shepherd | Karl Sakas on Marketing, Trains, and Technology

Wed, 12 May 2010 22:03:28 +0000

[...] usage stats about the iPhone: 98% use it for web browsing. 94% use it for email (so no, email’s not dead). 80% use 10+ iPhone features on a regular [...]

By: Karl Sakas

Karl Sakas — Sat, 08 May 2010 19:40:21 +0000

@Kelly: Thanks for sharing several ways to increase deliverability (and for your comments during the session itself)

By: Kelly Lorenz

Kelly Lorenz — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:07:53 +0000

Karl,

A little late to the game, but thanks for providing this write-up of the conference. It was exciting for me to see how many people are interested and engaged in the dialog about email marketing.

To speak further to Erica’s point (an awesome Bronto client, btw!), we do have the spam test tool within the Bronto interface that utilizes Spam Assassin that can give you a good idea on the likelihood of your message reaching the inbox. It’s not fail proof, but it’s there. I would also recommend setting up personal email addresses at each of your major ISPs based on your audience to further measure inbox deliverability. Our Sender Rating tool that Erica mentions is a good indication for our clients on how their doing with deliverability and we are always there to help you “clean up your act” so to speak, if you do fall below that 6 out of 10.

Erica: I’m pumped that you’re planning to use the A/B split test! There’s near limitless types of tests you can do using this tool, so do provide an update on how the testing’s going.

Cheers!
Kelly Lorenz of Bronto

By: Ted Seward

Ted Seward — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 01:53:13 +0000

Great event! Karl thanks for the write up. For all interested in great topics…. keep the ideas coming so we can continue to build on the types of panels and topics. Hope to see you soon at another TAMA event.

By: Reports of email’s death have been greatly exaggerated « Merkle Market Planning – Our Blog

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:52:58 +0000

[...] I attended the Triangle American Marketing Association (TAMA) luncheon last week with low expectations. The topic was a panel discussion on email marketing. The panelists were from the leading email marketing companies: Constant Contact, Bronto, iContact and Exact Target. What could possibly be new and fascinating about email? For a great summary of the meeting, see also Karl Sakas’s posting. [...]

By: Erika Roe

Erika Roe — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:43:54 +0000

@Dan, Bronto has a tool you can test your e-mails for spam and gives them a rating. 10/10 is good and means it won’t likely go to a spam folder based on the content, subject, etc. I think that is very useful. I think if it goes down to a 6/10 they say you have to improve your rating or else you can’t send any e-mails.
Bronto also has A/B split testing. I haven’t used it yet, but after the last AMA meeting with the e-mail panel, I will probably try it out.

By: Karl Sakas

Karl Sakas — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:29:04 +0000

@Dan: You’re right, big brands don’t get a free pass in the inbox. When I’m purging rarely-read subscriptions, I’ll open the most recent message. If it’s good, I stay subscribed. If it’s not useful, I unsubscribe. A marketer’s email has to prove itself every time, and any time.

By: Dan London

Dan London — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:35:38 +0000

Great recap. It is amazing how many big brands are in my spam folder.

Email marketing is an art.

By: Karl Sakas

Karl Sakas — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:01:05 +0000

@Brian: Thanks! The audience had a ton of questions — the panel could have lasted even longer.

What were the key lessons in Postal Design? In some ways, the shift toward digital can make handwritten and paper communications stand out even more, if they’re done well. But that’s definitely more labor-intensive.

Speaking of labor-intensive, the the cookie cutters’ mangling seems to reduce their cookie-cutting capabilities…

By: Brian McDonald

Brian McDonald — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:27:20 +0000

Awesome write-up, I like how you even tied in the Capstrat beat up cookie cutters! I’m amazed at how much email has become our main communication channel. When I first started in marketing I had to attend a Postal design class to build my first direct mail piece. Email marketing is similar to that training in the fact that you need to follow some rules and processes in order to ensure delivery and your expected customer engagement. I thought the panel and turnout was great. Thanks for your reporting, is it OK to link to the Triangle AMA Chapter’s blog post?