Database Marketing

How to track opt-ins?

Friday, June 19, 2009 by Al Iverson

A client wrote me in response to a previous blog post on spam complaints, asking about the best way to track how people opt-in. That's a good, but complicated question. It might be too detailed for a blog post, but here are my thoughts on the topic. (Feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions.)

If you're using an online method of list signup, track all the variables you request from the person. Name, address, phone number, whatever. Also, make sure you track the IP address they signed up from. If you're really technology savvy, track browser information (Firefox on Linux, for example). All of this data will help prove to ExactTarget that the person opted-in, if there is ever a spam complaint issue.

If recipients opt-in to your mailings when ordering a product or service from you, the transaction details are important. Obviously we're not going to ask you to provide the person's credit card number, but the rest of the details (what was ordered and when, with details) helps to make the case. I used to work for an e-commerce service provider, and that data was always excellent protection against spam allegations.

If the signup method is an offline signup method like a paper form, record all that information obtained via the paper form. I'd recommend recording it in something like an Excel file or Access database. On the (unlikely) chance somebody would ever sue you for spam, you probably should keep those paper forms, too. Make sure you record the date that the form was filled out.

You don't have to actually upload all of this extra information into ExactTarget. It can amount to a lot of data, and if you're not actually using it for segmentation or personalization, I wouldn't bother. The important thing is that you keep this data somewhere that you can access, in the event that we contact you about a spam complaint. Keep it in an Excel file, an Access database, text file, your CRM system, or some place similar.

Keep in mind that we're going to ask you for this info only in unique situations. We're not asking you to pull this information and send it to us for every single spam complaint received back from an ISP, for example. We have a process wherein specific complaints are escalated when the potential for a broader spam issue is observed, and that's when we're going to reach out.

And thank you everyone who has helped us resolve a spam complaint issue by providing this information upon request. As I've mentioned before, there's a direct tie between resolving these issues and getting your mail delivered. I'm very appreciative of how helpful our clients are in working with us to ensure their deliverability isn't negatively impacted by a spam issue.

Effective List Growth Webinar

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Morgan Stewart

Tamara Gielen, founder of the Email Marketers' Club, and I will be presenting highlights from the 2009 List Growth Study in an upcoming webinar Effective List Growth: Insights from the 2009 List Growth Study. If you have already downloaded the whitepaper, you know that it is full of charts and analysis of current trends in email list growth. Believe it or not, less than one half of the charts we created from the study made it into the final whitepaper.

During the webinar, we will provide actionable strategies, examples, and tips for growing and nurturing your most precious asset--your subscriber database! We'll also have a time for Q&A. If you have a question you would like to submit in advance, leave a comment or send me an email at mstewart(at)exacttarget(dot)com.

Register here!

Details

When:
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 2:00 pm EST

Presenters:
     Tamara Gielen, Founder, Email Marketers' Club
     Morgan Stewart, Director of Research, ExactTarget

Duration:
     1 hour

Description:
Join ExactTarget’s Morgan Stewart and Tamara Gielen, founder of the Email Marketer’s Club, as they present highlights from the 2009 Email List Growth Study whitepaper. Get the inside scoop on developing a successful list growth strategy with examples and insights from experienced B2B and B2C marketers. You’ll learn:

Keys to developing a sustainable list growth strategy
How to find the right subscribers for your list
The hot new tactics you should consider trying in 2009
What both B2B and B2C email marketers around the world consider the best list growth strategies
Which list growth tactics you should approach with caution

If you’re ready to create a successful, compliant, ROI-producing list growth strategy, be sure to attend this information-packed webinar. Sign up today!

Permission Failure: Exchanging Business Cards

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Al Iverson

I received a B2B spam email today. That’s not too remarkable. I get anywhere from four to eight of them a day. The volume is irritating enough that I log them, and I always reply and ask where they got my email address from. (Some day, I might even “out” some of the worst offenders, highlighting their lack of permission for the whole world to see. And to shine an uncomfortable spotlight on those awful “business contact database” selling companies, who sell B2B lists.)

This time, I got a reply back to my query. The sender indicated that I gave them a business card at a conference.

Okay, so it’s somebody I’ve actually met. That’s fine, that’s good. I give out a lot of business cards at conferences. People always want my business card, and often ask me if it’s okay to email me a deliverability question or two at some point in the future. Time permitting, I welcome deliverability questions via email, and answer as many as I can.

But, just because I gave you my email address, how does that mean that I wanted to be subscribed to your company’s newsletter? A competitor company, even. Think of how poorly considered this is, on multiple levels. Wanted mail is well delivered mail. Did I want this mail? No, I didn’t ask for it, and I didn’t expect it. Also, do you think it’s wise to obtain competitor email addresses at conferences and sign them up for your newsletter? Do you really want to broadcast what you’re doing, directly to your competitors?

The real issue here is the logical leap (or lack of one) from “you may have my contact information” to “please send me your newsletter.” I stated the former by handing over my card. I did not state or even imply the latter. So how does somebody make the logical leap from contact info to permission? I’m not seeing it, because there’s a step missing: Asking me if I wanted to receive your newsletter. That’s what permission is all about. Ask, don’t assume.

In this case, the guy assumed. And that assumption was a bad one, and it colored my opinion of him, and his company’s permission practices, accordingly.

I’m sure somebody somewhere will take a different point of view and suggest that gosh, this email was really targeted (or should have just been targeted a little better), and then it would have been fine. That’s untrue. “Properly targeted” spam is still spam, and the proof is in the spam complaints. Send mail to people who don’t want it, even if it’s on topic, and it garners spam complaints. It’s that simple.

In this case, I know I wasn’t the only person who received this mailing, and I know that some of the other recipients were similarly unhappy about it. I guess I’m not alone in thinking that a business card exchange doesn’t equate with opt-in permission.

Hidden but Engaged Subscribers

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by Chip House

We have worked with a number of customers on understanding which segments of their email database are most engaged and why. As I've mentioned previously, often the unengaged portion not only are a drag to your ROI, but they can cause deliverability issues. Subscriber segments that joined your opt-in database over a year ago, but haven't opened or clicked, could be especially problematic since there is a direct correlation between complaint rates and age (time since opt-in). When complaint rates go up, deliverability rates go down.

However, the solution is not as simple as cutting or reopting subscribers in after 6 or 12 months. It could be that drastic, especially if your deliverability reputation is already in the tank. But, your actions could be as simple as reducing frequency, changing content, or finding the "hidden but engaged" segments I recently wrote about in the Email Experience blog.

As I wrote there, here's what I recommend:
"First, rather than automatically re-opting in unengaged subscribers or discarding them from your list, try reducing frequency. A recent test of ours showed we were able to get 4 times the number of subscribers to reengage by reducing from weekly to monthly mailings when compared to sending a single re-optin campaign.

Second, entice your offline-only shoppers to use a coupon or other tracking code that will help them identify themselves.

Finally, provide a number of ways that recipients can share their emails with their friends – either standard viral links or via new technologies allowing sharing with social networks."

For the latter, you might want to try our new Social Forward solution we're introducing to our customers via our Innovations Lab on May 1st, and will be rolling out in our summer release.

Words of Wisdom on Email Marketing from Stan Rapp

Monday, April 20, 2009 by Joel Book

Hats off to Simms Jenkins of Brightwave Marketing for his outstanding interview with the legendary Stan Rapp that appears in today’s iMedia Connection.

The article, “Why Email Marketing Deserves More Respect” should be required reading for any CMO or CEO who is looking for ways to improve marketing ROI.

In 1987, Rapp introduced the business world to the concept of one-to-one marketing with his international bestseller MaxiMarketing. In his newest book, "Max-e-Marketing in the Net Future,” Stan shows how cutting-edge companies are using proven techniques like email to more effectively target, acquire, and maintain long-term relationships with valued customers.

Stan Rapp on the Importance of Email
As Chairman of Engauge, Stan Rapp continues to serve as one of our industry’s most prolific catalysts for clear thinking when it comes to improving the way brands use technology to connect with consumers. Among the notable observations made by Stan Rapp about the importance of email are these:

“In today's economic turmoil the new marketing mantra is ‘show me the ROI.’ Email, at 43-to-1 return on the dollar, is the undisputed ROI leader. Get it right, and the ROI speaks for you.”

“The tightest one-to-one link you can have is a relationship in which the consumer invites you to talk to them. The beating heart of the internet is the inbox. Its pulse pounds away as each of us clicks open and sends out our hourly emails.”

“The arrival of broadband in a majority of U.S. households three years ago marked the beginning of the digital age for marketers. The value of an opt-in address reportedly is about $118 for knowledgeable marketers. Coke, for example, has more than 12 million reward program members, which it uses to gather info and deepen relationships. This means Coke has an asset worth more than $1.4 billion in its email opt-in database for MyCoke Rewards.”

Email Summit: Allstate Email Marketing Case Study

Monday, March 16, 2009 by Jeffrey Rohrs

John Heidrich and Joe Nettum of Allstate presented a great case study this afternoon at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09. Entitled "Combining List and Trigger-Based Campaigns to Fully Leverage Your Database," the session focused on how they took their email program from an inconsistent, somewhat haphazard approach to a more structured methodology that not only valued and respected email subscriber interests but also improved ROI.

An interesting point was how the team tackled what they termed "credibility gaps" between the email subscriber's experience and their desired brand experience. Through an audit of their processes, John & Joe determined:

Marketing & IT owned different pieces of email process, broadcast & delivery
Email addresses were spread across a variety of databases and were often not up-to-date
Proper value wasn't being placed on the email address let alone the communication process

This story isn't so different than many I've heard from clients over the years. And much like those situations, rather than hyperventilate, Allstate's team took a very strategic approach to the problem by:

Locking down processes around email address management
Instituting re-engagement efforts to clean up their subscriber database
Formalizing the email marketing production process
Getting marketing to collaborate to identify triggered and other automated messaging that would deliver quick wins
Sending email closer to moments of greatest customer influence in the insurance purchase/renewal process

The net effect of their efforts has been to:

Improve delivery and response rates for all email marketing communications (triggered or campaign-based)
Improve acquisition of email subscribers through agents (as they have seen real benefits from the changes and, therefore, what all of their customers/prospects in the email marketing loop)

A final interesting note, Allstate mentioned that it works with Pivotal Veracity to ensure that emails render as intended. If you haven't seen the ExactTarget's Inbox Preview powered by Pivotal Veracity be sure to contact us today!

ExactTarget Clients and Partners - Center Stage at MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit Next Week

Thursday, March 12, 2009 by Joel Book

Several ExactTarget clients and partners will be speaking at MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit ’09 which kicks off on Monday in Miami.

Leading the pack will be Heather Marsh of Johnston & Murphy who, along with Nick Godfrey of ExactTarget Reseller/Partner Customer Portfolios, delivered an outstanding presentation at the recent ExactTarget webinar titled, Building a Retail Email Powerhouse.

Other ExactTarget clients and partners who will be speaking are:

Sergio Balegno, Senior Analyst, MarketingSherpa
Stefan Tornquist, Research Director, MarketingSherpa
Dan Heimbrock, President and CEO, Hyperdrive Interactive
Andrew Ecklund, CEO, Ciceron
Michael Kilgore, VP, Marketing, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

Following are the session titles and times for each speaker:

Monday, March 16th
10–10:45am
Featured Case Studies: Targeting and Messaging Strategies that Effect Behavior
Rok Hrastnik, Internet Director, Studio Moderna
Heather Marsh, Director of Customer Information, Johnston & Murphy

Tuesday, March 17th
11:30am-12:00pm
Launching and Managing International Email Marketing Initiatives
Sergio Balegno, Senior Analyst, MarketingSherpa

12:00-12:30pm
Email and Word of Mouth Marketing.
Dan Heimbrock, President and CEO, Hyperdrive Interactive

2:00-2:45pm
Strategies for the Long-Term Care and Feeding of an Email Database
Andrew Ecklund, CEO, Ciceron
Moderator: Stefan Tornquist, Research Director, MarketingSherpa

2:45-3:45pm
Long Live Email: Enabling the Continued Success of Social Marketing
Michael Kilgore, VP, Marketing, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

You can view the full agenda for next week’s Email Summit ’09 here.

Email Acquisition Tip of the Week: Coupons

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 by Jeffrey Rohrs

USA Today's Money cover story entitled Coupon Search Clicks: Sweet Sound for Web Marketers caught my attention today as did one of the stats it included:

Coupon distribution and redemption was flat in 2008 until the fourth quarter, when coupon distribution rose 7.5% and redemptions rose 15% vs. a year earlier (Promotion Marketing Association)

The article goes on to discuss how marketers are using paid search advertising to drive coupon distribution, but this got me to thinking--how many advertisers are leveraging their coupons to get more email subscribers.

What if each coupon also includes a call-to-action to subscribe to receive ALL future coupons for that product or company? If coupon distribution and redemption is up in 2009, shouldn't it stand to reason that consumers' willingness to subscribe to coupons via email would also have increased?

Just a thought...and one that may help you increase coupon distribution while growing your subscriber database.

Opt-out append: Don't do it

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 by Al Iverson

From my boss, Chip House, published in the March 2009 issue of Visibility: The Magazine for Online Marketing Strategies. In the article, "5 Ways to Kill Your Email Deliverability," Chip has this to say about opt-out email append:

"The database companies of the world who make money by buying and selling your information will tell you that email appending is a good idea and that “everybody does it.” My advice to you is: don’t do it. If you are not familiar with the term, email appending is where a database company appends an email address by making a match on the postal address. Since most companies have a legacy file of customer postal addresses that is much larger than their email file (often 10 – 100x larger) this allows these companies to have a quick fix to grow their list of email addresses. As you know, if it seems too good to be true it probably is."

Click here to read the rest of it. It's very much all good advice.

Stan the Man Rocks the House at EEC09

Monday, February 23, 2009 by Joel Book

Stan Rapp delivered the opening keynote at the recent 2009 Email Evolution Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Rapp’s presentation, appropriately titled “It’s the E-conomy Stupid!” provided a passionate endorsement for email and underscored why email has become the anchor of direct marketing.

I first met Stan Rapp in 1985 when I was working in Philadelphia for Farm Journal and heading up the company’s Marketing Services division where we built and hosted marketing database systems for many of the country’s top agri-chemical, animal health pharmaceuticals, farm machinery, and seed companies.

Stan had come to Philadelphia to interview me and several of my colleagues as part of the research he was doing in preparation for his book, Maxi-Marketing. He was keenly interested in learning how Farm Journal used subscriber-supplied data about the crops and livestock they produced on their farms and ranches to produce thousands of versions of its magazine. Farm Journal used technology called “selectronic binding” to tailor editorial and advertising content to the profile and information needs of each subscriber. (Today, ExactTarget clients do this every day with email using our “Dynamic Content” technology.)

When Maxi-Marketing, co-authored with Tom Collins, was published in 1986, David Ogilvy said: "Everyone in advertising must read this book." His endorsement started the co-authors on the way to bestseller status. Over 250,000 copies of Maxi-Marketingwere sold worldwide in a dozen languages. And the book became the bible for modern era multi-channel marketing.

Stan has become a passionate advocate for email marketing and his keynote served as an enthusiastic reminder of how critical email has become for keeping customers connected to brands, and why email has emerged as the single most effective channel for direct marketing.

As an industry, we could not ask for a better “senior statesman” than Stan Rapp.

Email Marketing in a Recession

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 by Matt Poston

I know what the thinking is in a lot of marketing departments around the world these days as it relates to email marketing:

"Email? Well, that's just cheap paper."

If you're doing it wrong, it certainly can be. The DMA put out a report in 2007 that said for every $1 spend on email, marketers could expect an ROI of $48.29. I know those gaudy figures are probably tantalizing to business owners and decision makers; so much so that the inclination might be to increase the volume of emails you're sending this year without regard to the quality of the content.

Great email marketing strategy doesn't usually involve sending the same message to your entire subscriber list. The real power of email marketing lies in the power of leveraging your database to target your customers with relevant content or offers - that's how some companies (according to the DMA's statistics) are rubbing dollar bills together and getting fifties back when it comes to their email campaigns.

Now, I know that the "little guy" out there hears me say "database marketing" and they get visions of expensive servers and tune out on such advice in this economy, but it doesn't necessarily mean that at all. Think about the data you're collecting today: obviously email, definitely first name, maybe another random piece of data or two, but you'd be surprised how often that's where the data begins and ends. You just can't do much targeting with that data.

Think about what other pieces of data you SHOULD be collecting. If I own a record store, for example, I'd want to find out who my customers' favorite artists are - that way, when new albums come out, I can let fans of that particular artist know that not only will I be carrying it, but if you buy it on the release date, I'll take 25% off another CD purchase.

You get the idea.

To weather tough economic times, it's important to serve your customers better than the competition. It's far easier to serve your customers well when you know about their preferences - so think of some pieces of data you should be collecting, and start doing it!

Video in Email - My Two Cents: Entry 1

Monday, January 26, 2009 by Chip House

I was reflecting on the advice of some of my esteemed colleagues who are both experts in their own right in email marketing. First is Ryan Warren who leads our solutions consulting team and knows quite a bit about email marketing, design, advertising and database marketing. Ryan posted a blog last week titled: “Forget Using Video in Email.”

Right after the blog was first posted on 1/16/09 it quickly yielded a few comments – all of them disagreeing with Ryan’s premise. Ryan went on to clarify his position, which is essentially that video and email aren’t a good fit due to file size, software protection interruptions, and lack of ability to measure “engagement” when someone is just viewing a video in an email. Ryan’s point (which I mostly buy into) is that it is better to “link” to a video in a landing page that is armed with web analytics than to run the video in the email body. His reasoning is that a click to a video would indicate a higher level of customer engagement in your campaign, whereas you wouldn’t know how much of a video (if any of it) had been watched while the email was open.

Personally, however, I can think of a number of reasons why you’d like to get the video rolling when an email is opened. The video can drive engagement, not just be the recipient of it. In fact, we already know it works as an engagement device since we have a number of users that get more clicks from web pages with videos than they do for static text or HTML pages.

Yet, Ryan makes a compelling case. And he is likely very right in some cases, for some set of brands or consumers. But, he could be wrong for yours, which is all that is relevant to you. Ultimately email (direct marketing in general) is about testing.

See Morgan Stewart’s post if you want to get a perspective on the concept of “Best Practices.” From this post:
“I like the definition on Wikipedia that basically says a "best practice" is a technique, method or process which is:
1)    more effective, more efficient, or both
2)    than any other technique, method, process, etc.
3)    based on repeatable procedures over time for large numbers of people”

However, above and beyond any argument we have on the effectiveness of video in email, actually running a video in email has had its set of technical challenges in the past. As I learned from our partner Goodmail Systems, this could all be changing. They plan to introduce a Certified Video product this year that leverages their agreements with ISPs to run video right in the body of the email.

Stay tuned for some head to head tests.

Do you know who's on your list?

Monday, January 26, 2009 by Phil Schott

Lately I've been receiving marketing emails from a large marketing advocacy group. The problem is, I don't recall signing up for them. However, given my line of work and ExactTarget's likely association with this group, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they would send me messages. So, I've been unsubscribing from the messages using the included unsubscribe link.

Yet, I keep receiving more messages from them. Odd. It appears that every time I unsubscribed from one of the five emails I've received that it was from a different list of theirs.

I happened to Twitter about my experience (http://twitter.com/philschott) and not five minutes later somebody from said marketing advocacy group emails me asking for my email address so he can take me out of their database. Good deal.

I give him my address and he responds that he can't find my address in their database. Huh? After sending him a couple of the offending emails, he somehow locates my address and informs me that I'm finally off their lists.

After reflecting on how they could have gotten a hold of my address, it dawns on me. At a conference I attended recently, I threw my business card into a fishbowl to win fabulous cash and prizes. The drawing was sponsored by this group.

Here's what I think about this whole experience:

1. Having a fishbowl at a conference or tradeshow for a prize drawing is one way to gather names and email addresses, but a poor way to build loyalty or interest. Especially when you don't let folks know that by giving up their business card that they're going to be emailed again and again and again.

Folks often give you their business card for a chance to win whatever you're giving away for free and not for the chance to receive email from you.

2. Make it easy to unsubscribe from one or all of your email marketing campaigns in one easy step or click. I don't know how many lists I was on or how many more emails I would have had to endure. In my experience, most folks would have just clicked on the "spam" button after receiving an email or two that they weren't expecting.

3. Know who's on your list and in your database. I can't explain why a marketing advocacy group would think that it's okay to spam a deliverability consultant. They had my business card, therefore they knew who I work for and what my role is. They either didn't pay attention to the details on my business card, don't care, or are more interested in blasting out email than in my needs and expectations.

If you're truly sending email to build relationships with your subscribers it's not an unreasonable concept to understand who they are, what they're expecting from you and to meet their needs and preferences.

Email Marketing Success Beyond English

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 by Shelly Griffin

Sometimes it truly only takes a little bit “extra” to drive a successful email campaign. Our most successful Reseller partners are doing just that...taking the best of what ExactTarget has to offer and mashing that up with their own services - equating to a successful customer experience. ListEngage, one of our oldest Reseller partners, has been working with a client to provide their monthly newsletter in nine languages - English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese. The challenge was that the client had a variety of databases, not all of which included a language choice for each subscriber. So the default was to match the language of the email to the country of the subscriber. But what if there is an English speaking reader in China? They found an effective and simple solution. First, each email newsletter is also converted to a .pdf file and stored within the Document Library. Then they included a language bar within the email newsletter that linked to the other emails. With just a couple clicks, readers could choose to view the same email in a different language. This drove higher open rates and higher click-thru rates – not to mention the time saved by the client’s customer support team in not having to resend emails in a different language. Simple yet effective email marketing. More tips can be found at http://blog.exacttarget.com/blog/best-email-programs. Feel free to send me your success stories at sgriffin@exacttarget.com.

Strategy Tip of the Week: Simple Segmentation

Monday, January 19, 2009 by Brett Brewer

The best way to keep your email program for falling into the dreaded "bulk email marketing" category is by segmenting your subscribers into groups and sending targeted email messages to each. In a perfect world, everyone would have lots of subscriber data to segment on--purchase data, demographics, online behavioral information and more. In reality, many organizations don't have this kind of data, can't link it to their email marketing database, or don't have the resources available to analyze the data and create meaningful segments.

If your organization doesn't have robust subscriber data for segmentation, start with a straightforward segmentation approach. Look at your subscriber list and determine which subscribers are engaged and which are unengaged. In other words, determine who is still opening your email and clicking on links, and who isn't. Most email marketing software has the ability to show you who is opening and clicking on your email, and who isn't, and this is a great place to start experimenting with segmentation.

So what defines engaged and unengaged? Our general recommendation is to consider anyone who hasn't opened or clicked on an email of yours in 90 days to be unengaged (assuming you send weekly or more often) but your specific list may require you to change that definition to meet your needs. Experiment with different time intervals and click and open rates until you have two subscriber groups you're comfortable using.

When you've defined your two groups, you can begin testing different approaches to improve performance--especially with the unengaged subscriber groups. Do they open more regularly if you reduce frequency? Do they respond to different subject lines or special offers? Can you re-engage them with a survey or re-engagement campaign? Track and measure the performance of each segment, and keep improving the tactics that work the best.

Targeted email marketing isn't always easy, but leveraging the data you have at hand--like subscriber engagement--can yield great results.

Solutions Designer? What's that?

Thursday, January 15, 2009 by Bob Ullery

Bob Ullery at the Grand Canyon

About Me

Hi all. My name is Bob Ullery and I am the Solutions Designer of ExactTarget.

You: 'Wow that sounds really cool.'

Me: 'Yeah, it is. No big deal.' ;)

Anyways, my job is to design solutions for 1 to 1 Marketing ideas/problems presented to us on a pre-sales level (usually). However, lately I've had the great opportunity to really innovate on the ExactTarget platform with a few collaborations with other departments. (Shout out to Scott Thomas, Lauren Hertler, Stephanie Zircher and Dawn DeVirgilio).

In Q4 of 2008 I developed (Design by KA+A) the ExactTarget Extensions Network. Dubbed XNet, it is the first version of a portal that connects ExactTarget users with our certified partner integrations. The site is developed completely from ExactTarget powered landing pages, data extensions, and AMPScript.

I'm currently working on an internal lab initiative (code name: infinity, soon to be called LABs - learning application builders). Again, built entirely on ExactTarget technology, this site provides users with the 'recipes' to build sophisticated scenarios within their ExactTarget accounts. Downloadable assets including images, html, sample lists, data, AMPScript code, and video tutorials so the user can replicate each tutorial exactly.

LABs Tutorials showcase the power of ExactTarget along with the key notes of solutioning each. A power user of LABs will be able to not only grasp, but also innovate around the following key concepts:

1 to 1 Marketing
Email Programs
Database Marketing
Dynamic Landing Pages

The front-end of LABs is very similar to XNet. However, the site and data extensions are managed by a custom built set of administration tools, including an ExactTarget powered Content Management System!

The tools were built using nothing but landing pages, AMPScript and AJAX.

What this blog is about

I'll be sharing with you how I build some of these unique solutions from start to finish. Hopefully I'll introduce you to some new areas of the ExactTarget Email Marketing Software that you haven't used before, or were unsure of how to effectively leverage.

So sit tight, my first how-to is coming next week.

For requests, please email me at bullery[at]exacttarget.com

Twitter: @bobbr

Can the Brand “Opt-in” Survive?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 by Chip House

If the term “opt-in” had a brand manager, they would be fuming! At this point, they’d also likely be fired for incompetence. Ken Magill’s article entitled “Opt-in is Dead” is sadly dead on and the riff-raff that use email as a dumping ground are to blame.

It never ceases to amaze me that I receive spam daily from companies hoping to sell me “opt-in” email addresses. Kind of ironic isn’t it?! They promote their “opt-in” email, database business by spamming me.

Email append is one example of how the spammers and data providers of the world have screwed up the term. See Al Iverson’s comments on his blog.

Al references my 2005 blog entry where I complained about the email append industry relying on confusion around the term “opt-in.” Certainly the email addresses on the append provider’s database have opted into something, but until they raise their hand and ask for email from your company, they haven’t really opted in to anything. So anyone sending email to appended names is sending unsolicited email.

I agree with Ken, the term “opt-in” has been used and abused. We either need to hire a PR firm for it, or come up with another term. Permission-based marketing is another one I’ve used historically to describe sending email only to people that request to receive it. Will that fly, or is that too abused as well?

Do you have any thoughts for “Opt-in’s” brand manager? He could use the input…

Email Append: 2009? Or, 2005 Redux?

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 by Al Iverson

It's amazing to think that now, in 2009, we still have to deal with the topic of email append. Does this thing ever die? It's been on our minds forever. Looking back through the archives, I found my boss, Chip House, talking about the perils of email append all the way back in 2005. Back then, here's what he said on the topic:

"As a deliverability executive I've made the decision to prohibit any appended lists from the ExactTarget system, unless they have used an "opt-in" method for the permission pass (meaning after the addresses have been matched to the client's database). We do this because no true "permission" can exist with a typical opt-out append, leaving the sender open for hitting spamtraps, and eventually bulk folders or blocking.

I've been pushing for this for awhile, but the list industry needs to respond with a legitimate package for providing true "opt-in" append, rather than the same old opt-out appends that can cause so much problem. Unfortunately, the list append industry has thus far preferred the latter - which they believe does a better job of lining their pockets with cash. They might be right for the short-term, but I argue that there is a lot of opportunity for a list append vendor who chooses to take the high road. From a marketer's perspective, I'd much rather pay a premium for a customer that actually asked for my campaigns, than save money on names and teeter on the edge of legitimate permission."

One of the comments on that post is really interesting.

"I still think the biggest obstacle to opt-in email append success is getting the attention of the recipient of the permission email and making it clear in the subject line within the 0.5 seconds someone reviews an inbox list of messages that this is an opt-in permission opportunity. Our experience shows that there is a big difference between not wanting to receive a messages from someone and not being "in market" for the goods or services at the moment a permission message is received."

So, the problem there, if I am understanding this correctly, is that email append vendors can't always figure out how to get somebody interested in what they have to say, so the opt-in rate on opt-in append is very poor. Why does that mean it's okay to short cut permission? I don't think that's a solid excuse to avoid doing it the right way (i.e. opt-in).

As I mentioned before, so many vendors in the space do things wrong -- and/or are complete fly-by-night scam artists, hiding behind phony names and PO Boxes in Florida or in Manhattan. How do you know you're not going to get ripped off? An opt-in append process is one way to protect yourself. An opt-in append process doesn't work if the vendor's list sources are shady, or if the lists are junk and old and filled with garbage. In those cases, the lists are so spammy that very little of the mail gets through, because of spam blocking and invalid addresses bouncing. What does get through mostly goes to the spam folder. Add it all up, and you get few opens and no clicks.

So is it surprising that so few vendors want to do opt-in email append?

OMS ’09 Promises to be a Killer Conference!

Monday, January 12, 2009 by Joel Book

Aaron Kahlow is at it again!

As Founder and Executive Director of the Online Marketing Summit (OMS), Aaron has designed another outstanding program that should be considered a “must attend” event if you’re serious about improving your skills in online marketing and want to network with some of the sharpest people in the business. The conference takes place in San Diego from February 4-7, 2009.

If you’ve never attended The Online Marketing Summit, you’re in for a surprise because OMS is truly unique from any other conference. OMS has one simple mission: to educate marketers on the emerging best practices of online marketing. There are NO Vendors, NO Salesmen, NO Exhibitors/Booths, and NO sales pitches are allowed.

OMS brings together the best minds and brands in Corporate Marketing (Fortune 1000 to local retailers) from around the country. Leading educators in Online Marketing will facilitate a world-class education of best practices in Interactive Marketing.

Registration for the 2009 Online Marketing Summit allows you access to three days of educational workshops as well as access to the 2009 Resource Center where you can download the slide decks and media from all the presentations you missed.

How You Can Become an Email Marketing Rock Star
Want to know what the winners are doing to make their email marketing programs the envy of the industry? Register now to attend the special Email Marketing Fundamentals pre-conference workshop being led by me and Stephanie Miller of Return Path on Wednesday, February 4th.

The course we are teaching is part of the all new Online Marketing Certification Program being offered at the Online Marketing Summit this year. In this 60 minute workshop, you will learn:

A five-point framework for planning your email marketing strategy
Email design strategies that work
Techniques for building your email subscriber database
What you need to know to maximize deliverability, and build your sender reputation
The 5 key metrics you must have to measure email performance
Using customer behavior to execute data or transaction-triggered email programs

This case-study based course will leave you inspired and excited about what you can achieve!

Email: The Secret Weapon of Small Business Success Part 2

Monday, December 22, 2008 by Joel Book

On Friday I talked with John Fell of E-mail Logic about how small businesses are using email to acquire and retain customers. Here in Part 2 of my interview, we talk about how email drives purchases and how small businesses can get started with email marketing!

Joel: At a time when many businesses are slashing marketing expenditures, how can small businesses use email to drive new and repeat purchases?

John: Joel, I work with over 100 independent specialty brick and mortar retailers and the challenges they have are directly consistent with the overall challenges facing our economy – namely the downturn in consumer spending. While every small business has its unique challenges, I remind my clients that there are three things retailers must do and email plays a role in all three.

Small businesses need to survive financially. If they don’t have deep pockets, they have to generate enough cash flow to cover their expenses. To survive financially in a down market, expenditures need to be analyzed as R.O.I. and marketing is no exception. Successful independent specialty retailers will tell you it’s much more cost effective to retain existing customers than it is to acquire new customers. And when you’re faced with deciding where to invest your marketing dollars, retention is the clear winner every time over acquisition. Email is perfect for customer retention because it generates the most bang for the buck.
Small businesses need to “stay connected” with customers. The daily news reminds our customers on a regular basis how bad things are and gives them reasons for not buying. If they are brave enough to open their monthly IRA statements, it gets only worse. That’s why, as marketers, it’s important to have a continual dialogue with the subscriber. In fact, we’re encouraging our retail clients to contact their customers more frequently and provide offers and incentives to return to the store. Email is the perfect tool for staying connected with customers.
Small businesses must learn how to use email. Customers still want what they have always wanted. And just because they’re cutting back, it doesn’t mean they want something different or want it at a lower price. Email enables retailers to do three important things – (1) keep the store name in the inbox an a regular basis, (2) deliver product information and offers relevant to the needs and interests of the subscriber - and (3) most importantly, “wow” the subscriber, so even if he doesn’t come into shop, he notices the email and thinks “wow” about the sender. We want to remind the subscriber that we’re there, we have what he wants and if he can’t get it now, our brand “rules” and we’re there for him when he’s ready.

Joel: What advice do you have for small businesses who want to know how to get started using email?

John: It’s essential to build your email subscriber database. And when someone subscribes, they must be “welcomed” to the store! The first email that a subscriber gets is the most important one. To a retailer I use the analogy of his store window. An effective store window creates a first impression will invites the prospect to come into the store. The same goes for that “welcome email.” The first email that goes out should thank the person for subscribing and remind her of what she can expect in future emails. Even better, the welcome email should include a special offer just for new subscribers that invites her to come in to the store. This is a simple thing to do that pays huge dividends.
As for building your email subscriber database, many stores have a “snail mail” list they been building for years and should look at that as an opportunity. One of the successful campaigns we’ve been running is a “Go Green and Save on the Green” direct mail post card. We design a post card with a call to action to subscribe to the store’s email. Upon submittal, the new subscriber receives an offer that hopefully brings him into the store. Not only does the retailer generate short term sales, he now has a segmented a list of customers who want to hear from him. If a retailer makes a habit of inviting people who walk into his store to register to receive exclusive offers via email, in almost no time he will build a nice base of email subscribers.

NOTE: In our final installment, John and I will talk about how email has revolutionized retailing and how smart retailers are using email to drive results. You won't want to miss it!

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