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Email Campaign Application

AMPscript Tip: Links in a Data Extension

Friday, November 20, 2009 by Kristeen Hudson
Have you ever tried to pull a URL from a Data Extension and use it as a link in an email within the ExactTarget email application? If you have you have probably noticed that when your link is clicked it doesn’t work. Here is an example of what I’m taking about:

<a href="%%= v(@link)=%%">%%=v(@type)=%%</a>


Note that in this example @link references a value from a Data Extension.

If you have done this then you know that instead of taking you to your URL that is stored in the Data Extension you get directed to a long URL starting with “http://cl.exct.net.”

The good news is there is an easy way to fix these links. There is an AMPscript function called RedirectTo() that must be used when referencing links in a Data Extension. So your new link would look like this:

<a href="%%=RedirectTo(@link)=%%">%%=v(@type)=%%</a>

If you want more information about the RedirectTo AMPscript function or about creating targeted emails using AMPscript there is some good documentation on the Documentation Wiki.
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How Can I Link ExactTarget with My Web Analytics Provider?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 by Dawn DeVirgilio
When looking for ways to drive successful email campaigns, clients often ask us, “What are the ways ExtactTarget can integrate with my web analytics provider?”

They’re in luck!  By leveraging existing technology, ExactTarget is able to offer customized integrations through partnerships with leading analytics vendors.
 
Thanks to these partnerships, there are three ways for ExactTarget to integrate with your web analytics provider:

Web Analytics Connector
The Web Analytics Connector allows you to send information to your web analytics tool through links in the ExactTarget email application. If you are currently using a web analytics system, your web analytics tool stores the URL used to call individual pages whenever your website is displayed in a browser. To connect this data with ExactTarget, you can include attributes in the target URL of the links in your emails.  For example, if you included a campaign ID in the target URL of your links, you could identify the web traffic generated by that campaign.

Exporting Tracking Data
A second way to integrate is by exporting tracking data from ExactTarget into your web analytics package.  By extracting email tracking data - such as opens, clicks and bounces - and pushing the data back to your analytics package, you capture a 360-degree snapshot of email performance.  Both link performance and overall email performance data can be extracted from ExactTarget.  These extractions allow you to assess the impact of email campaigns with online activity, where you can facilitate data exchange to consolidate reporting.

Automating a Behavior Marketing Campaign
Segmenting messages based on email and web analytics data is possible through our third form of integration.   ExactTarget has the capability to automate a behavior marketing campaign for you, which begins with importing web behavior data into the ExactTarget application.  (Typically, the data you will be importing will relate to products viewed, products purchased and cart abandonment information.)  This data can be queried to allow deeper segmentation, thereby allowing you to create more personalized and targeted email.   By automating the daily feeds of individual web data to trigger emails, you ensure timely, relevant emails to your subscribers.

For more information on how you can integrate ExactTarget with your web analytics provider, contact us via email at info@exacttarget.com or at 1.866.558.9834. 

Till next time,
Patty Rayl 

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The Invention Known as Email: Today (2009) and Yesterday (1971)

Friday, August 14, 2009 by Kyle Schroeder

So, I am no history expert, but I am interested in the history of the communication source I use all the time: Email.

 

A quick browse across the internet has led me to the year 1971.

 

“In 1971, Ray Tomlinson developed the first ARPANET email application…he chose the "commercial at" symbol to combine the user and host names, providing the naturally meaningful notation "user@host" that is the standard for email…”

 

1971 was 16 years before I was born.

 

What happened in 1971?

·     End of the Gold Standard for American Currency

·         Bangladesh is created

·         Disney World Opens

·         Voting Age Lowered To 18

·         Debut of Southwest Airlines

·         A new stock market index called the NASDAQ

 

I guess email should be added to the list.

 

We have been seeing email out there for a long time now. Granted, it has changed a little bit since day 1.

 

Today, ExactTarget has a powerful, industry-leading, one-to-one email marketing application that allows companies to build specific, relevant, and professional-looking emails for their customers—those who have opted in.

 

Kyle Schroeder

Slingshot Summer Intern

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Aptera Software Overhauls Email Marketing Strategy and Increases Lead Production

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 by Joel Book

Aptera Software is a great example of how a small B-to-B marketer can produce big results by using email for lead generation and brand building.  After overhauling its email strategy, Aptera is consistently generating open rates of 30% and click through rates of 10%.

 

As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Aptera specializes in custom software development and website design. The company serves clients in Healthcare, Manufacturing, Financial Services, and Retail segments and is fast gaining a reputation for its innovative solutions.

 

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Aptera’s co-founder, TK Herman and Brooke Francesi, who heads up email marketing for company. One of the things that impresses me about Aptera’s email strategy is their “less is more” philosophy regarding the size of their email subscriber database. As Francesi points out, “We’ve learned that it is far better to have a smaller list of highly engaged subscribers who want to hear from us than it is to have a big list of people who are passive.” As evidence of this commitment to list quality, Aptera’s list of subscribers for its quarterly newsletter is a lean 2,600. And the list of subscribers for Aptera’s monthly newsletter for users of Aptera Scorecard, a web-based firm management tool designed to meet the needs of a variety of Professional Services firms, is 15,000.

 

Both Herman and Francesi are quick to point out that, in addition to keeping their email subscriber list clean, the other big keys to their success in B-to-B email marketing are engaging content and engaging design.  As TK Herman says, “If you provide information that is of value to the subscriber, and deliver that content in a newsletter that is attractive, you’ll generate response.”   

 

Karen Bannan of BtoB Magazine recently interviewed Brooke Francesi about how Aptera re-tooled its email strategy after switching to ExactTarget for its email campaign application in early 2008. You can read the full article at BtoB Online.

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Best Practices for Successful B-to-B Email Marketing

Friday, July 17, 2009 by Joel Book

Sallie Anthony is one of the smartest email marketers I know. As Field Communication Manager for the Retirement & Protection division of Genworth Financial, Sallie’s job is to use email to keep Genworth connected to – and top of mind with – Insurance Brokers, General Agents, and Independent Financial Advisors.

 

In her recent presentation at the Annual Conference of the Business Marketing Association in Chicago, Sallie discussed the value of personalizing email content to the needs of individual subscribers. Two statistics stand out:

 

  • Email personalized with photo and contact information for the Genworth sales person produced a 7-10% higher open rate compared to non-personalized email
  • Sales were 39% higher for Genworth customers who received personalized e-newsletters compared to those who did not

You can view and listen to the entire presentation at the BMA website.

 

3 Guidelines for Effective Email Personalization

Having observed how email has become the backbone of successful one-to-one marketing solutions, I have 3 guidelines that will help you use personalization for more effective B-to-B email.

1. Remember that People buy from People.

With all due respect to brand marketers, creative directors, and copywriters, it’s important to remember that nothing is more important in selling than the customer’s relationship with the person with whom she is doing business. That person may be a dealer, an agent, or a field sales representative.

When you send email, send it on behalf of the “relationship owner” and include that person’s photo and contact information so it’s easy for the customer to contact him. This type of personalization dramatically improves email marketing campaign performance.

2. Serve. Don’t Sell.

Customers don’t want to be sold. But they do want to be helped in making their buying decision. That’s why using email to deliver information and offers that aid the customer’s decision-making process is the best way to support – and accelerate – the buying process.

Once a person has been attracted to your web site, use email to engage with and move the prospect through the consideration and evaluation stages . . . all the way to purchase. Serve your subscribers well, and the will reward you with their business. In fact, Forrester Research reports that “those who buy products marketed through email spend 138% more than non-readers of email.”

3. Put the Customer in Control.

One of the smartest things you can do to maximize email marketing performance is to personalize email content to the subscriber’s needs. When a new subscriber opts in to receive email from you, invite her to go to your preference center where she can check off her needs and topics of interest relevant to the products or services you offer. Then, use the Dynamic Content feature in your email campaign application to deliver content that’s relevant and timely. This is the essence of the Subscribers Rule mantra.


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Text in for a Free Sandwhich

Friday, June 26, 2009 by Kyle Schroeder

I was on my way home from my internship at ExactTarget yesterday when an advertisement came across the radio for a common fast-food restaurant. What caught my attention was how the commercial ended:

It had me text (mobile originated) a one-word keyword to a five-digit short code. I then received a text message (mobile terminated) back and received a coupon for a free sandwich on my next visit.

This made me think of three different things:

1.       This is excellent Gen Y college student marketing.

2.       This is great one to one communication.

3.       They could take this one step further.

This is excellent Gen Y college student marketing. Why?

1.       College students text. All the time.

2.       College students love free stuff. Anything free.

3.       College students eat. Especially cheap fast food.

 

This is great one to one communication. Why?

1.       The company has called me to action—for me to respond.

2.       I am likely to spread the word to my friends.

3.       It’s not intrusive and a great use of texting and SMS.

 

They could take this one step further. How?

1.       Is there an opportunity to build a subscribers list?

2.       Could I text back my email address to also receive coupons via email?

3.       Could I opt in to receive regular communication from this restaurant via SMS?

 

A powerful ESP platform with an email campaign application and tools for SMS text message marketing can allow businesses to use the power of one to one communication. ExactTarget does just that.

 

When it comes to providing relevant information to the Gen Y college student audience an SMS marketing campaign can be a great way to reach us. Power that with tools that ExactTarget provides and you can see just how effective your campaigns are.

 

Kyle Schroeder

Slingshot Summer Intern


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Solutions Tip: Background images bad, Inbox Preview good

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 by Bob Ullery
While using background images on divs, tables and the body can make a web site really pop, stay clear of using them within emails.

As you may already be aware of, individual email clients render html differently. Some like Entourage for Mac will allow the use of background images, while Microsoft Outlook will block them. Most browser based email clients like GMail, Yahoo, and AOL will allow nearly anything you can embed in a web page to be rendered in their web mail clients.

BUT for the sake of ALL your subscribers, you should take care of your design to accommodate rendering in as many clients as possible, and that means if you do use a background image, also define a solid color for the background as well, that way if the image is stripped, there is a fall back color ready to go in it's place.

You: "Uh oh. I worry that my design team has been sending out bad email creative."

Me: "Relax."

There is a great tool within the ExactTarget Email Application called Inbox Preview that will ease your fear of unrenderablilty (I might have just invented that word). Inbox Preview, powered by Pivotal Veracity will pre-render your emails within ExactTarget and show you what they look like in every major email client.

Every ExactTarget account comes with a few free Inbox Preview reports. To learn more visit the Pivotal Veracity listing on The Extensions Network.
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Give Me a W!

Thursday, January 10, 2008 by Integration Team

When integrating email marketing with other applications, the first step towards success is to make a plan.  I advise clients to use the old journalism “5 Ws and an H” as your guide: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.

Who is going to code / program the integration?  Usually, this resource is an internal developer; but due to time and budget constraints, sometimes this work is contracted out to make a deadline.  Regardless, the “who” decision needs to be made first so the proper developer can be included in the planning process and provide developer-specific details or suggestions if needed.
 
What are your needs for the integration? Is it to automatically send emails based on an action, or is it to pull back tracking from your email application to your database of record or CRM system?  With an open API like ExactTarget’s, there are so many options of how and what to integrate.  Getting a clear sense of everything you want to accomplish from the beginning will help your organization determine whether all of the initiatives should be put into one integration project, broken up into smaller projects in order to keep a timeline, etc.
 
When does the integration need to be deployed?  It is essential to have (and communicate!) a release date so everyone working on the project knows what the schedule is.  Keep in mind that for successful integration, you should build in time to develop and time to test, and make sure to take both into consideration when developing your schedule.  Also, it is good idea to find out what other projects people have on their plate.  While you may want to have an integration running by the end of the month, the developers and / or testers may not be able to keep to that timeline due to other deadlines.

Where will the integration be hosted?  Integrations are typically hosted on a server your company owns, but it needs to be decided if the proper resources (hard drive space) have been allocated to run the project.
 
Why are you integrating? This is similar to the what are your needs, but it goes a little beyond that.  Think big picture: once the integration is setup, how will you utilize it in your business process?  I’ve had experiences where companies want to integrate email with other applications, but do not understand why the integration is important to their business.  What are the ultimate goals you are hoping to accomplish?  Establishing the “why” will help you secure internal buy-in on the investment and measure whether or not the integration is successful in the future.

And don’t forget the “H”…
 
How will the integration be implemented?  In addition to the decision of who will actually implement the integration, you should also determine what the contingencies and risk factors for implementation are as well.  For example, what are you going to do if something doesn’t go as planned?  Identifying and planning for the unexpected factors from the beginning will help ensure your integration gets up and running smoothly.
 
Quite essentially, solid planning is key before starting any integration project.  So remember your 5 Ws + 1 H, and contact ExactTarget for more information.

Jessica Koch, Integration Consultant

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