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6 Steps to More Engaged Subscribers

Posted by Paradise on June 10, 2009 at 9:30am
6 Steps to More Engaged SubscribersTakeaway notes from a DMNews webinar. By Aliza Bornstein, copywriter, Melissa DataIn “The New Email Imperative: Subscriber Engagement” webinar on May 20, Loren McDonald of Silverpop insists email marketing in not dead. However, bad marketing is on life support. In this sense, subscriber engagement becomes imperative.Step 1: Give subscribers a stake in the relationship. If there’s no data, there’s no relevance.Target communications based on age• Under age 26 targeted- age centric subject line- sent to recipients under 26 years- open rates around double average open rate• Mailing for the over 50 crown- targeted discount offer- open rates 75% above average open ratePreference center touch points• At opt-in• Welcome email• Normal email stream• Transactional emails• Web site/transactional process• At opt-outStep 2: Welcome emails—Start the relationship right away.Research by marketing publisher Marketing Sherpa shows mail subscriber interest begins to disintegrate as early as two weeks after the opt-in, as measured by the open rate. Within two months, the open rate typically falls 20% to 25%.Welcome Emails: Goals and purpose• Goals- speed up conversion- minimize list churn- strengthen brand perception- reduce inactivity• Purpose- educate subscriber- reward/incent- instill/reinforce trust- enable immediate “email experience”- provide administrative informationStep 3: Make it human—use personality. Customers want a personal note, not a direct marketing promotion. More than ever, customers want to connect with brands via real people (think Twitter).Step 4: Get them involved. Ratings, popularity, top sellers, most read articles, top 10 albums, top springtime recipes, etc. Social email is the new rival.• Are your messages share-worthy?- are you a trusted source?- tribal interests—what motivates your interest groups?- simplicity of message- ease of sharing- obvious value- timely and relevant contentStep 5: Use the data and create value through additional email streams. Use relevancy based on purchase data.• Cart AbandonmentDiapers.com implemented a cart abandonment reminder campaign. Compared to previous email campaigns they tried, they saw big results after only one month.- 48% lift click through rate- 129% lift in net conversion rate• Break through the clutter with new message streams- triggers- notifications- alerts- reminders- aggregators- updates- closeouts- …and moreStep 6: Don’t let them disengage or walk away.List Churn and Inactives—The Good and Bad News• The Bad News- A typical list will lose 1/3 of its members each year. (Bounces, spam complaints, and unsubscribers account for 2-4% per month).- 25% to 80% of your list is inactive. (Subscriber has not opened or clicked in specific time frame of 6 to 12 months).• The Good News- Churn can be reduced- You control most of your destiny- Some inactives can be reengagedIt’s hard to get people back once they’ve unsubscribed, so ask for feedback on how you’re doing or create a ratings system within a survey. Also, promote alternatives to unsubscribing. Offer email preferences on your unsubscribe page.---Source: DMNews May 20, 2009 webinar (www.dmnews.com). Loren McDonald is the VP of Industry Relations for Silverpop. Reach him at lmcdonald@silverpop.com.
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Are you listening to your customers?

Posted by LaTosha Johnson on June 9, 2009 at 7:23pm
Some may chuckle at the notion of listening being a skill because you are not “doing” anything. After all, you are just waiting for the other person to stop speaking so you can share your information? However, it is this mindset that has gotten companies into trouble. Many companies have gotten into the habit of planning their responses while their customers are still talking. It is amazing to me how many situations could be avoided or at least solved in a timely manner if companies took the time to listen to their customers. If companies are truly listening to their customers they would do the following:Acknowledge their presence. I know this seems like an obvious point, but if companies are truly seeking to learn about their customers then they should be willing to answer their questions. How many times have you called customer service because you were experiencing an issue with a product/service and while the customer service representative is working on “resolving” the issue you had to endure sitting through a speech about their new product/service? If this is your organization’s idea of a good time to “pitch” a new service you are sorely mistaken. Timing is everything and being forced to learn about a new service when a customer is currently experiencing problems with the old one will only frustrate them.Summarize. You should be able to repeat your customer’s needs if you were listening (it goes without saying that a customer’s duty is to clearly convey the problem). After all, you will not be able to resolve the issue if you are unable to identify problem. Repeating what the customer has just said indicates that you are concerned and allows the customer the opportunity to correct you in the event that you misunderstood them.In the event that you do not understand the issue your customer is experiencing, it is okay to ask for clarification after they have completely explained their situation (many times your question will be answered if you let the customer finish speaking). The majority of your customers will not give you a hard time about asking them questions–especially if it will help speed up the process in getting their issue resolved.Seek feedback. Companies can further demonstrate their ability to listen to their customers by actively seeking their customers input about their product/service by conducting market research (i.e. surveys, focus groups, etc.). The only way to confirm that you are on the same page as your customers is to actively pursue their opinions. You might be surprised at how accommodating your customers would be in assisting your organizations’ s efforts to improve your service. Companies should be more than willing to adequately reward their customers (i.e. chance to win a prize, discounts, etc.) in order to further increase the chances of receiving their customers cooperation.Just imagine what might happen when companies start listening and customers start talking–a conversation!
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Would you invest $100 to gain ownership interest of Apartment Complexes?

Posted by Lorri Jackson Brown on June 9, 2009 at 5:06pm
Would you invest $100 to gain ownership interest of an apartment building?We at Freedom Real Estate are presenting you this opportunity. Hello and allow me to introduce myself, my name is Lorri Jackson-Brown and I am a Real Estate Investor and partner with Freedom Real Estate here in Atlanta, Georgia. If you are looking for additional income and would like to find out how you can invest in ownership of multi-family apartments beginning with just $100, please call President of the company, Larry Lanier, at 404-848-7729 at our Buckhead office and tell him Lorri referred you.We will be closing on Post Oak Landings in Clarkston on June 25th and having our “Take Over Party” that evening at 6:00 p.m. Everyone is invited for lots of fun and free food and drinks. We will be celebrating our new name change from Post Oak Landings to Freedom Landing. It is not too late for you to invest your $100 to be a part of this great opportunity.We are located on Facebook under Freedom Real Estate and you can see us at http://my-freedom.net as well.Lorri Jackson-Brown
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Unrealistic Expectations: The Email Marketer's Enemy

Posted by Paradise on June 9, 2009 at 12:57pm
Unrealistic Expectations: The Email Marketer's EnemyAl BredenbergFounder of EmailResults.comWatch out for these common misconceptions that can torpedo your email effort.As primary contact person for the EmailResults.com Marketers' Market (http://emailresults.com), I come in contact with dozens of business people every month who are trying to use email as a marketing tool. In many cases, these marketers are preventing themselves from being successful by harboring unrealistic expectations.Granted this is not necessarily their fault. For one thing, suppliers within the email marketing industry are sometimes guilty of hyperbole creating the impression that this marketing medium is magic. Here are some common misconceptions and some ways people set themselves up for disappointment in the realm of email:1. Lowball BudgetIt's true that email can be an inexpensive alternative compared to postal direct mail marketing and other methods. However, many small business people have the idea that they're going to be able to run an email campaign on a budget of $200 or $100 or even $50.By and large, the only possibilities on budgets of that size are spam lists ('We'll email your ad to a million people for $79!') and small-circulation newsletter advertising. If you've read my other articles on the subject (http://www.emailresults.com/articles.html), you know that I don't recommend spam lists.It is possible to find email newsletters that will accept ads for under $500. This can be a good alternative for a business on a limited budget. You can search for email newsletter publishers at EmailResults.com (http://market.emailresults.com). Although you might be able to find a newsletter you can get into for $100 or $200, one newsletter placement is probably not enough to get an idea whether your ad really works. I recommend testing your ad in at least three or four newsletters. This will increase your costs but will give you a chance to find out what really works.A newsletter ad can help you reach a targeted audience, but your ad will only be a small part of the newsletter's content, so response might not be huge. You're more likely to get a decent response with a solo ad sent to a good opt-in list. However, this is where a lowball budget becomes an insurmountable obstacle. Most list owners have a minimum order of $1,000 or even $5,000. You might be able to cajole a sales rep into letting you test a list for $300 or $500, but it's not easy. And then you have the risk of hitting the wrong list and getting skewed results. Again, I recommend testing three or four lists to get a realistic idea of response rates for your offer.2. Phenomenal ResultsUnrealistic expectations about response and conversion rates are not limited to email marketing, but they are common in this field. An email promotion that offers high value to a well-targeted audience can pull well. I've seen response rates as high as 30%, but I've also seen response rates that were effectively zero.There's no such thing as a "standard" response or conversion rate. Your response will depend on the quality of your list, offer, and creative. The only way to find out what kind of response to expect for a particular campaign is to run tests. In fact, you should always be running tests to increase your return-on-investment. Work hard to find the most responsive lists, the best email and Web copy, the most compelling offer.By now, you might be thinking, 'Wow, this email marketing game is starting to sound more expensive than I thought.' And you're right. But marketing expenses are part of the cost of doing business. If you don't have the financial resources (as well as the time and patience) to promote your product, don't quit your day job just yet. It's possible to build up a business on a shoestring through grit, wile, and toil, but it takes time.3. Buying or Renting the ListHere's a common misconception that doesn't do much harm but comes up frequently. In the email marketing business, we talk about "renting" lists and "buying" media. Many newcomers assume that when they rent an email list they will receive the addresses and send out the promotion themselves. This isn't the way it works.In the email list rental business, you pay someone else to send out your email ad for you. You'll be able to see a sample of what your ad looks like, but you will not handle the email addresses yourself. Opt-in email and subscriber lists are jealously guarded, and I have hardly ever heard of a list owner who will let that list get into anyone else's hands. The exception is the provider of a spam list, who might sell you an email database on CD, but I strongly discourage you from going that route.If you're in the email marketing business, this might sound so elementary that you're surprised I'm even bringing it up. But the fact is that every day there are hundreds if not thousands of business people who decide they want to find out what 'this email thing' is all about, and they are out there shopping for email lists. So I see a big need for basic education in how this business works.That said, there is one email list that you will get to handle yourself: the in-house email list that you build up yourself over time, through signup forms on your Web site, warranty and registration forms, contacts collected at your trade show booth, or whatever other source you can mine. You might use this list to send out a newsletter, company announcements, weekly specials, or some other content. You can certainly benefit from renting others' lists and advertising in others' newsletters, but your own list is a unique and valuable asset that allows you to get in front of your target audience regularly.4. Pay for PerformanceI hear from many, many business people who say they will only use email media on a pay-for-performance (PFP) basis, such as CPC (cost per click) or CPA (cost per acquisition). As an advertiser myself, I can understand this point of view, and I've had good results with PFP media for certain campaigns.It's certainly possible that you could run successful campaigns on this basis, given the right product and target market. But for most advertisers, insisting on CPA won't work and will be self-defeating. The fact is that the vast majority of email list owners simply won't work on a PFP basis. Whether you like it or not, they insist on getting paid up front. If you insist only on using CPA media, you might be missing out on just the email list that could make your business. I've seen very promising products that never made it to market because the marketer wasn't willing to bear the cost of buying and testing media to figure out what works.Unrealistic expectations often result in disappointment. Understanding the realities of email marketing can help even the beginner to plan a marketing effort with more likelihood of success.
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The Economy Equalizer!!!!!

Posted by Christa Middlebrooks on June 9, 2009 at 2:30am
No matter How Good or Bad the Economy Gets... People will still drink coffee!!!The Lucrative Healthy Coffee Home Based BusinessA few coffee facts:Americans consume over 500 millon cups of coffee dailyOn average... people pay over $4 per cup for Gourmet CoffeeMost coffee drinkers drink at least 3 cups of coffee a dayWe are introducing a product line that has been needed since the first cup of coffee was poured. We all know the long term damaging affects of coffee and yet over 500 million cups of coffe are poured in North America everyday.We found a way to put healthy in peoples coffee without sacrificing the gourmet flavor.For over all health and vitality the coffee is packed with the 100% Certified Ganoderma Lucidum(red mushroom) which has been acclaimed for over 4000 years as the "The King of Herbs".GanodermaA few of the major benefitsRich in antioxidantsHelps to eliminate body toxinsSupports the immune system100% organicRejuvenate and Promote LongevityReduce Mental and Physical FatigueImprove the Body's PerformanceHelps Promote Healthy Weight LossWere proud to boast that it is a "Fair Trade Coffee". You'd be hard pressed to find a better tasting higher quality blend with nutrition in every cup.Also have Green Tea and Hot Chocolate 100% GanodermaFor free samples please email at christa.healthycoffee@gmail.comWebsite www.cbrookscoffee.comFor income opportunity go to www.wowitshealthy.com"Changing our Financial Directions for Future Generations"Momentum Corp World Wide
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BANNER UP!!!!

Posted by Ms. Felecia on June 9, 2009 at 1:05am

IT’S WRITTEN!! IT’S TIME!! BANNERS UP!!!Some words are scripture written, so let us banner up. In times Like these we need a word from the Lord.In the book of Psalms 20: 1& 4-6, “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble…..” “Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil thy counsel” “ We will rejoice in thy salvation and set up banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions” “ Now know that the Lord saveth his anointed. He will hear him from his holy heaven with saving strength from his right hand”We are living in trouble times and we travel in unknown territory, I say Let us BANNER UP!! Let Us Cleanse our hearts and renew our mind all ye people.We are among the Blessed and we have battle many fights, yet it is written our VICTORY is won. I choose to banner up, I claim Victory from his right hand .With these words of wisdom in mind I give reference to Altina Background4u. Set up your business advertising with stylish and professional Banners. Get prices and service that meets your needs, Let us Banner up!!Stop by my site and get more informationThanks10744020490?profile=originalBACKGROUNDS4Uhttp://http://backgrounds4u.ning.com/
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ATTENTION!!!!

Posted by Ms. Felecia on June 9, 2009 at 1:03am

Attention All MembersSpecial for the weekJune 8 - June 10Computer Maintain Cleanupwhich will include removal ofad ware and spy ware, defragmentationand security check up.For the low price of $45. Have it done by Computer and security Systems.Click on Link BelowThanks!!
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WEDDING SINGERS

Posted by Javona Dominica Leann Williams on June 8, 2009 at 7:56pm
HEY EVERYONE,I JUST WANTED EVERYBODY TO KNOW THAT I'M JUST STARTING MY BUSINESS, I NEED ANYONES SUPPORT RIGHT ABOUT NOW. IF YOU KNOW OF ANY UPCOMMING WEDDINGS, PLEASE BE SURE TO REACH OUT TO ME BY CONTACTING MY EMAIL...JAVONAWILLIAMS@ROCKETMAIL.COM. I WRITE MY OWN SONGS AND I WILL SING ANY SONG OF YOUR CHOICE AT CEREMONYS, ANNIVERSARY PARTIES, AND MORE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME IF YOU ARE AN EVENT PLANNER, I'M LOOKING FOWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.
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Women are searching for relief from overwhelm, fear and reliable resources to assist in the realization of empowerment “Spirit, soul and body."

Posted by Robin Tramble on June 8, 2009 at 5:57pm
Women are searching for relief from overwhelm, fear and reliable resources to assist in the realization of empowerment “Spirit, soul and body.” Robin Tramble aka The Empowerment Diva Provides Mentoring, Coaching, Expert Education,and Advice Through networks, her websites and Free Tele-seminar Series.Elk Grove, CA June 3, 2009 – Women are becoming overwhelmed as a result of the economic downturn. Some are becoming sole earners in their homes as husbands are in transition from either being laid off or other reasons that have led to their current unemployment. Although it has been stated that we may see relief from the recession this year, women are still needing and wanting programs and systems that will assist them in their endeavor to live their best empowered life, allowing them to thrive in the midst of any financial crisis, according to Robin Tramble, founder/owner of Robin Tramble International.“I've heard it from women across the world, in my neighborhood, online and offline.... a sound of fear, confusion, discouragement and possible defeat. You can choose to survive or take action and thrive in 2009! Empowerment is a choice and women must become decisive action taking women if they're going to manifest their best empowered life.” Having experienced some of the same things and now living a life of empowerment through learned systems and experience I can passionately share strategies and keys to get unstuck, overcome overwhelm, fear and how to stay focused in crisis. I have also been rewarded with witnessing the impact it has had on raising 4 children who are now all successful in their own rights including my youngest daughter graduating with her BA and immediately following her graduation travelling to France for the Cannes Films program.”The Empowerment Diva mentors,trains and coaches savvy entrepreneurial women ( and thoseaspiring to be) as they strive to realize their personal, spiritual and professional goals. Robin offers weekly ezines, a community/network where members can participate in forums, blogging and networking. Robin Tramble The Empowerment Diva is currently hosting her free “DynamicWomen of Faith Telesummit” http://www.dynamicwomenoffaith.com , an online mega-event providing keys and strategies for exponential growth and maximized empowerment.13+ Christian women entrepreneurs will share insights on staying fired up in the home, Kingdomand the marketplace. They will cover areas such as internet marketing, social media, communications, blogging, pr/ministry marketing, staying fired up in the midst of chronic illness, health and fitness, personal and spiritual growth including Image development.“The Dynamic Women of Faith Telesummit is an excellent resource for women who desire to have a business and/or ministry but are confused by all of the information out there. They will learn from successful Christian women who share their same values and principles where it concerns the Kingdom life,your home life and the marketplace.It’s the place to be for breakthrough results and to experience the power of like-minded women from across the world in one place striving for their best empowered life”“The Dynamic Women of Faith Telesummit “ runs from June 23 through July 23 with one to three speakers weekly. To register for a complimentary pass to the entire event, go to: http://www.dynamicwomenoffaith.com .For more information visit:http://www.robintramble.comAbout Robin Tramble aka The Empowerment Diva The Empowerment Diva is a definitive resource for savvy entrepreneurial women. The Empowerment Diva passionately empowers women to live their best empower life via a vast array of empowering resources for the express purpose of assisting them as they strive to realize their dreams and desires.Robin Tramble is qualified to mentor women in their life empowerment journey through her experience in the work force, working at home and personal experiences. Robin Tramble is also an author and recoding artist and plans to creatively combine her music into another empowering resource for women.Connect with Robin Tramble (EmpowermentDiva) and realize your best empowered life today!
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Do you have event this weekend? Advertise your event with us! (Free)

Posted by Dominique on June 8, 2009 at 3:30pm
Do you have an event going on this Weekend? Big or small advertise it here. We are looking for writers and authors who have small events going on for the weekend. It could be a small book club meeting in your area or a different type of gather. Whatever it is, list it here and we will post to it to our magazine.http://fromawriterspov.webs.com/writersweekendform.htm
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What Every Black Business Owner Needs to Know

Posted by Zhana on June 8, 2009 at 1:30pm
Download my ebook today. Five suggestions with dozens of highly effective methods to promote your business, establish your online reputation, and attract more potential customers to your website. Things every online Black business owner needs to know.Five Free Ways to Promote Your Black WebsiteJust $2 for all this.Here's to your success!
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Payments All The Time...Everywhere!

Posted by Michelle McBride on June 8, 2009 at 1:00pm
It’s blustery cold outside your home office, you gaze out the front window and see that snow and ice has completely hidden your car from sight. You could attempt to go outside and clear away the 15+ inches of snow off your front porch and car. After all, business must go on despite the weather. As a small business owner, you know that every day you must grow your business in terms of revenue and you need cash-flow to pay the bills.You glance down at your desk and notice that you have collected a pile of checks from customers that paid you recently for some products they purchased. It might be a day or two before you can get out to the bank to make a deposit.So what do you do?You grab a large cup of hot chocolate, turn on your computer and login to your Virtual Terminal, all from the comfort of your home office.With your Virtual Terminal, you can process all those checks and have them remotely deposited into your business checking account. You can easily check the status of those checks daily with the use of customized online reports. You can even download those reports into an Excel or Word file for analysis.Now, what about those two customers that you met at a tradeshow yesterday? You suddenly remember that they didn’t have their credit card information in hand but they really wanted to do business with you. They kind of hinted that they would purchase a substantial amount of product from you if you accepted credit cards. You had scheduled an appointment to meet with them today but that was before all this snow and ice that suddenly appeared overnight.No problem, you can call them on the phone today and get their credit card information so that you can finish processing their orders. There is no need to have costly hardware to swipe their credit cards because the Virtual Terminal will verify the cardholder information and generate an online approval or reject code to you within milliseconds. You can process credit cards online with a sense of assurance that you will get paid.Wow, its 5pm and you have certainly accomplished a lot of work today. You search the online reports on your Virtual Terminal and see that you have processed over $5000 in credit card and check payments all from the comfort of your home office! As a small business owner, you have certainly improved the productivity in operating your business through the convenience of processing customer payments online.It’s Easy to Get Setup with the Virtual Terminal Today!Pay Bizness (888) 992-5551www.paybizness.comemail: info@paybizness.com
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How Not To Become A Victim Of The MLM Curse

Posted by S. Marigny on June 7, 2009 at 11:00pm
We all know someone who every time you see them they have something new to sell, has joined a new multi-level marketing biz. Heck you might be one of them. But this type of behavior is what I like to call the MLM curse.The curse is the cycle of jumping from one business to the next without justifiable cause. This pattern of not being totally committed to one thing can be deadly and cause the mlm junkie to never accomplish the very goal they set out to do the first time the ever joined a mlm business which was to make money in the business.I want to show you how not to fall victim to the MLM curse or if you are already in the nasty cycle of jumping from one business to next I want to provide you with a way of escape.Read the rest of this highly rated article hereMiss SweetGraphic Logo Designerwww.VizionBranding.comVisit Community
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Email List Hygiene: Keep It Clean

Posted by Paradise on June 7, 2009 at 6:00pm
Email List Hygiene: Keep It CleanBy Spencer Kollas, director of delivery services, StrongMail SystemsLast month, I provided best practices to maximize email deliverability with the first step in this series, data capture. The next logical, and critical step is applying effective list hygiene techniques. Maximizing email deliverability does require managing many factors, but once you understand the various components, the process is fairly straightforward.Even if you've followed all of my data capture advice, you still need to engage in list hygiene to ensure its quality. Without proper list hygiene, you risk losing contact with your customers, damaging your sender reputation and getting your emails blocked by the ISPs.For example, if you continue to send emails to accounts that have been closed for some time (i.e. to "unknown users"), ISPs will take notice, which could lead to getting your email blocked. You also run the risk of getting in trouble with spam traps. Essentially, an unclean list tells the ISPs that you don't care about your customers, or about following best practices. Maintaining a good reputation also requires that you respond to unsubscribe requests and bounce data immediately.Reputation aside, list hygiene also makes financial sense. Restoring customer connections and increasing deliverability leads to increased conversions. If you use an ESP, removing bad addresses will also eliminate the associated CPM charges.As a rule, you should always do an initial list hygiene check before you send from your database or begin working with the ISPs. Even if you don't have any bounce data, you can still verify if you're sending to domains that no longer exist, such as attbi.com and many others.Another item you want to look for is to see if your list includes distribution accounts such as sales@company.com or abuse@company.com. No one person should be signing up for your messages with a distribution email address; not everyone on that list has requested your content.List hygiene best practicesThe following activities are an essential part of a successful list hygiene program:• Scrub your lists regularly.Scrubbing your list is simply making sure that you are keeping it as clean as possible by running your list against a list of known bad domains and role accounts. While you should remove unsubscribes and relevant bounced email addresses immediately, you should also scrub your lists on a regular basis. The volume and frequency of your mailings will determine how often you want to scrub them. Scrubbing should go beyond removing duplicate addresses.• Remove and/or correct bad domains.Bad domains need to be removed or corrected right away. Closely review your failure reports, identify bad addresses and evaluate whether they are the result of a data capture problem or a nonexistent domain. If you're experiencing a high rate of failures, you'll want to determine how those addresses got onto your list and if they're indicative of a data capture problem. Simple data entry mistakes like misspelled domains (alo.com, hotmale.com, et cetera) can be easily corrected.• Remove distribution accounts.Mailing to a distribution account is never a good idea. Not only is it an unsuitable address for connecting with a customer (the equivalent of sending a letter to "occupant"), ISPs are looking for such behavior. Plus, it's also sure to facilitate spam complaints from members of the list. You can easily remove distribution accounts by adding "all," "sales," and other common addresses to your suppression list.• Remove "spam" email addresses.One simple step that can be easily overlooked is to remove email addresses with the word "spam" in them. These are most likely associated with spamtraps, which can lead to you getting blacklisted by ISPs or antivirus companies.• Remove inactive addresses.Review the email activity of your customers and compare open rates with the frequency of the email sent to them. One example might be, if you send a newsletter every two weeks and a customer hasn't opened one email in the last six months, you should remove the address from your master list. This type of program needs to be something that is specifically built around your company and your mailing practices. You can then add them to another list that is designed to reengage inactive customers with other types of communications.• Use data checkers.You can avoid a lot of bad addresses by putting some common data checkers at the point of data collection on your website. These checkers can ensure that the entered email address is properly formatted before it is accepted into the database. Identifying the errors at the point of entry gives you the opportunity to have users correct the mistakes as they make them. One common problem that many marketers run into is a customer entering an "!" instead of a "@" as part of the email address.Feedback loopsAlong with keeping your lists clean, you also need to set up all available feedback loops with ISPs and other receivers. Feedback loops will keep you from sending messages to customers who have indicated that they no longer wish to receive your communications. Not only is it a good idea to respect the wishes of your customer, it is also an important practice for maintaining a positive sender reputation. Abiding by feedback loop complaints can demonstrate to ISPs that you are committed to keeping your list as clean as possible and are not interested in spamming their customers.ConclusionThe importance of list hygiene cannot be overlooked as an essential email marketing practice. By employing the practices mentioned above, you can make great strides in improving your deliverability rates and safeguarding your reputation. Of course, it's just one aspect of deliverability, so be sure to check back next month for the next installment in this deliverability best practices series. Until then keep your lists clean and good luck.---Source: iMedia Connection Feb 26, 2007 (www.imediaconnection.com). Spencer Kollas is director of delivery services for StrongMail Systems (www.strongmail.com).Email List Hygiene: Keep It CleanBy Spencer Kollas, director of delivery services, StrongMail SystemsLast month, I provided best practices to maximize email deliverability with the first step in this series, data capture. The next logical, and critical step is applying effective list hygiene techniques. Maximizing email deliverability does require managing many factors, but once you understand the various components, the process is fairly straightforward.Even if you've followed all of my data capture advice, you still need to engage in list hygiene to ensure its quality. Without proper list hygiene, you risk losing contact with your customers, damaging your sender reputation and getting your emails blocked by the ISPs.For example, if you continue to send emails to accounts that have been closed for some time (i.e. to "unknown users"), ISPs will take notice, which could lead to getting your email blocked. You also run the risk of getting in trouble with spam traps. Essentially, an unclean list tells the ISPs that you don't care about your customers, or about following best practices. Maintaining a good reputation also requires that you respond to unsubscribe requests and bounce data immediately.Reputation aside, list hygiene also makes financial sense. Restoring customer connections and increasing deliverability leads to increased conversions. If you use an ESP, removing bad addresses will also eliminate the associated CPM charges.As a rule, you should always do an initial list hygiene check before you send from your database or begin working with the ISPs. Even if you don't have any bounce data, you can still verify if you're sending to domains that no longer exist, such as attbi.com and many others.Another item you want to look for is to see if your list includes distribution accounts such as sales@company.com or abuse@company.com. No one person should be signing up for your messages with a distribution email address; not everyone on that list has requested your content.List hygiene best practicesThe following activities are an essential part of a successful list hygiene program:• Scrub your lists regularly.Scrubbing your list is simply making sure that you are keeping it as clean as possible by running your list against a list of known bad domains and role accounts. While you should remove unsubscribes and relevant bounced email addresses immediately, you should also scrub your lists on a regular basis. The volume and frequency of your mailings will determine how often you want to scrub them. Scrubbing should go beyond removing duplicate addresses.• Remove and/or correct bad domains.Bad domains need to be removed or corrected right away. Closely review your failure reports, identify bad addresses and evaluate whether they are the result of a data capture problem or a nonexistent domain. If you're experiencing a high rate of failures, you'll want to determine how those addresses got onto your list and if they're indicative of a data capture problem. Simple data entry mistakes like misspelled domains (alo.com, hotmale.com, et cetera) can be easily corrected.• Remove distribution accounts.Mailing to a distribution account is never a good idea. Not only is it an unsuitable address for connecting with a customer (the equivalent of sending a letter to "occupant"), ISPs are looking for such behavior. Plus, it's also sure to facilitate spam complaints from members of the list. You can easily remove distribution accounts by adding "all," "sales," and other common addresses to your suppression list.• Remove "spam" email addresses.One simple step that can be easily overlooked is to remove email addresses with the word "spam" in them. These are most likely associated with spamtraps, which can lead to you getting blacklisted by ISPs or antivirus companies.• Remove inactive addresses.Review the email activity of your customers and compare open rates with the frequency of the email sent to them. One example might be, if you send a newsletter every two weeks and a customer hasn't opened one email in the last six months, you should remove the address from your master list. This type of program needs to be something that is specifically built around your company and your mailing practices. You can then add them to another list that is designed to reengage inactive customers with other types of communications.• Use data checkers.You can avoid a lot of bad addresses by putting some common data checkers at the point of data collection on your website. These checkers can ensure that the entered email address is properly formatted before it is accepted into the database. Identifying the errors at the point of entry gives you the opportunity to have users correct the mistakes as they make them. One common problem that many marketers run into is a customer entering an "!" instead of a "@" as part of the email address.Feedback loopsAlong with keeping your lists clean, you also need to set up all available feedback loops with ISPs and other receivers. Feedback loops will keep you from sending messages to customers who have indicated that they no longer wish to receive your communications. Not only is it a good idea to respect the wishes of your customer, it is also an important practice for maintaining a positive sender reputation. Abiding by feedback loop complaints can demonstrate to ISPs that you are committed to keeping your list as clean as possible and are not interested in spamming their customers.ConclusionThe importance of list hygiene cannot be overlooked as an essential email marketing practice. By employing the practices mentioned above, you can make great strides in improving your deliverability rates and safeguarding your reputation. Of course, it's just one aspect of deliverability, so be sure to check back next month for the next installment in this deliverability best practices series. Until then keep your lists clean and good luck.---Source: iMedia Connection Feb 26, 2007 (www.imediaconnection.com). Spencer Kollas is director of delivery services for StrongMail Systems (www.strongmail.com).
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