Bulk Email Review

Whenever you're starting out on a new IP address, it's important to slowly and methodologically build a good sending reputation. The IP address is new and unused; it does not yet have a reputation of its own. ISPs are suspicious of mail from new, previously idle IP addresses, as they say that the vast majority of such connections is to attempt to delivery bad stuff, like spam or phishing messages. (Hotmail once told me that more than 80% of time, a new IP address connecting to them is trying to send them something bad.) So they're pretty touchy about that.

It's not that hard to deal with,...

More and more, consumers are taking part in a stage of the buying cycle known as the research stage. Between identifying possible options and making a purchase, they’re looking for product reviews, testimonials, videos, pictures — anything they can get their hands on (in fact, according to research done by Mathew Sweezey, Marketing Automation Evangelist at Pardot, consumers are nearly 2/3 of the way through the buying cycle before they even contact companies). Not only is this true for B2C, it’s also true for B2B, where a growing emphasis is being placed on the research phase of the sales...

1993? At this point you're probably wondering where the heck I'm going with this blog post.

In 1993, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers wrote “The One To One Future,” a revolutionary book about the idea of one-to-one marketing and its impact on the future of marketing. At the time of its publication, this book became the basis for many important marketing theories. Frankly, this book has been left on the shelf for way to long, as its relevance for modern marketing automation is immense.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to read this book, here are a few notable quotes:

“A mass marketer tries to...

It’s a common misconception that SEO, social media, email, and other content distribution channels should reside in silos. There are numerous synergies to be had by launching campaigns that affect multiple channels of distribution. Strategic earned media is just one way to influence these channels simultaneously. When executed properly the social sphere lights up with buzz, landing page conversions increase and search engines take notice.

What a Strategic Earned Media Campaign Looks Like
Earning media has been a public relations (PR) goal for many decades – targeting newspapers, magazines and...

This week, a handful of clients reached out to me and other members of the ExactTarget deliverability team, asking for our "official guidance" on Gmail's "new inbox." Truth is, I don't know that we can't provide anything official as of yet, as we're still digesting this change ourselves. I'm certain you'll hear more from us on this topic in the coming weeks and months.

In the meantime, here's what we can tell you.

Gmail doesn't seem to be enabling the new inbox by default. You have to click on the gear icon, and click "configure inbox" to enable this new functionality.

Mickey Chandler points out...

1. Smart Phone Penetration Hits over 50%. In 2012, eMarketer estimates, "six countries—South Korea, Norway, Sweden, Australia, the UK, and the US—saw smartphone user penetration rates among users rise above 50% for the first time. In regional terms, only North America will boast average smartphone penetration rates above 50% in 2013 among mobile users, as Canada crosses the 50% mark this year. Western Europe as a whole will cross that boundary in 2014."

2. mCommerce and the Mobile Transaction. For the B2C brands, mobile payments have already revolutionized the way consumers pay for products....

Like many social media marketers, you're probably focused on strengthening your content marketing strategy--which means you need a solid policy for outbound publishing and approval of social media messages. And you know that can get complex in a hurry!

Effective content marketing means not only defining who can publish what and where, but also managing the communication stream of creating, editing and approving final content. As your team starts to grow, this whole process can often become a massive tangle of roundabout email exchanges and lengthy Excel spreadsheets.

SocialEngage approvals...

In the first part of our series on deliverability tips, we talked about increasing engagement and reducing list fatigue. Here's the second installment in our Deliverabilty Top 10 List:

Tip #3 - Make Client Communication a Two-Way Street
Currently, many marketers view client communication as a one-to-many process. For them, sending an email is like standing before a crowded auditorium and giving a speech, without the burden of having to stop from time to time for applause. Marketers who continue to engage in this method of communication will likely find themselves marginalized at best, or more...

Marketers have no shortage of inspiration. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by (and the target of) the work of our peers every day, and we appreciate a great campaign when we see one.

It can also be extremely helpful to take a look back at a successful campaign and identify areas of improvement--or new strategies for our own campaigns. That is exactly what most marketers should be doing with the recently completed Arrested Development campaign from Netflix.

Packed full of the snark and quirkiness Arrested Development fans have come to adore, Netflix’s cross-channel campaign leading up to...

What's the biggest challenge facing your email marketing?

If it's the quality of your email database, you're not alone. According to a new study by Econsultancy, 50% of surveyed marketers cited database quality as the biggest troublemaker in their email marketing strategies. Even more compelling, database quality has held that position three years running. So why is database quality such a big problem? 

Much like gourmet chefs working with spoiled ingredients, marketers working with outdated or unqualified databases have their chances at success handicapped from the start. If your database...

My colleages and I have dispensed a lot of deliverability tips on this blog throughout the years. But wouldn't it be nice to have the most useful nuggets of delivery-related wisdom compiled for easy reference? Well, your wish is our command.

Over the next few posts, we will, ahem, "deliver" the top ten tips to get your email campaigns to subscribers' inboxes in today's email ecosystem Let's start it off with the first two tips ...

Tip #1 - Subscriber Engagement Is Critical to Email Success
In years past, permission was seen as the key to having mail accepted. But we know things are changing. As...

I had the pleasure of listening to Rachel Botsman, author of What's Mine Is Yours? The Rise of Collaborative Consumption at our ExactTarget Connect Conference in Sydney, Australia. Her presentation was absolutely brilliant and full of ideas about using technology to "empower people to make meaningful connections. Connections that are enabling use to rediscover a humanness that we lost somewhere along the way." 

During her presentation she made a comment that hit pretty hard. 

(I'm paraphrasing here...) We should have never called it social media. It has always been social design. Social design...

Welcome to another edition of the Baer Facts. This is our second in-person interview from Myrtle Beach, SC for New South Digital Conference! Please pardon the sound quality. We had Allie Wallis of the Brandon Agency record the discussion with Jay's iPhone. 

Today we talk about the massive changes that have been happening in the digital and social media space from the Google+ layout changes to Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr. What does it mean for content development? What does it mean for social media? What does it mean for the digital marketer? Jay and I break it down in this 24th edition of the...

In today’s digital era, brands are trying everything to stand out from the crowd. With more channels, more users and more campaigns than ever before, breaking through the white noise is becoming even more difficult. There is no special formula, process or social media "expert" that can guarantee success when it comes to these efforts. For Dick’s Sporting Goods, they have found a way.

@DICKS simply asked, “What do you #RunFor?” It seems like a simple enough question. And then you think about it. Running is hard work. It can be painful. There’s rarely a tangible reward at the end of a run. So,...

Marketers have some pretty bad habits.

From sending the occasional unqualified lead to sales to not segmenting email lists properly, there are little things we do everyday that we know we could be doing better. 

However, like the millions that make and break New Year's resolutions each year, we find ways to convince ourselves that these little slips are OK, that no real harm can come of them, or that nobody will notice. Unfortunately for the imperfect marketer, these excuses provide less protection for us every year.

We are operating in an age of marketing where more is expected of us than ever...

When the quirky and soulful independent hit Garden State was released in 2004, it captured the hearts of audiences around the world and helped creator and star Zach Braff gather a social following any marketer would salivate over. 

However, it is the way that Braff is utilizing this audience for his follow-up project "Wish I Was Here" that is really capturing the attention of marketers.

Braff took the unusual step of funding his new project through crowd-funding platform Kickstarter two weeks ago. The project has over 37,000 backers at the time of writing and over $2.5 million pledged already...

When it comes to email marketing in the B2B space, one of the hottest new trends is drip-nurturing campaigns created with marketing automation. With the adoption of marketing automation reaching as high as 76% in the most progressive industries, it is easy to see why nurturing is the new “black”. So let's look at one of the biggest mistakes people make when creating lead nurturing emails.

First, let's talk about what a nurturing program actually is. Whatever term you use--drip-nurturing, lead nurturing, email nurturing, etc.--a nurturing campaign is an email program that executes automatically...

In the month of May, the entire city of Indianapolis is taken over by “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” – The Indianapolis 500. And for one weekend each year, this historic race captures the country’s attention. That short span of attention is the perfect opportunity for the sport to capitalize. In the digital era, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing becomes the greatest spectacle in social media.

In years past, the “500” – a race so famous it can be called by a number – has been criticized for its lack of enthusiasm around the social media arena. For an event this big, with so much attention...

It should come as no surprise that traditional advertising is no longer as trusted by consumers as it was in the Mad Men era. Today’s consumers are more skeptical than ever. Less than 50% of consumers worldwide trust TV advertising. So what do people trust? 92% of consumers around the world say they trust word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family over all other forms of advertising.

Brands are embracing new strategies and technologies, which allow them to connect and engage with customers in social channels. The most innovative brands are shifting their strategies from traditional...