The answer to this question is provided via Google. Two tools will help you create and pick the best subject lines for testing: Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool and Google’s Wonder Wheel.

Let’s start with Wonder Wheel. Let’s say you have a citrus substitute, like Blue Sky Factory client True Lemon. Let’s say they wanted to send out an email campaign promoting their main product along with an offer. What would give them a decent open rate?

Start by Googling their company name or primary SEO keyword. Click Show Options, then choose Wonder Wheel.

Immediately we see two potential options: true lemon packets and true lemon coupons. Let’s click on each.

Under true lemon coupons, we find that searchers are also looking for printable coupons and coupon grocery. We can surmise that an email subject line incorporating these terms and ideas might open well, such as:

“Printable True Lemon Coupons inside!”

or even better, the more specific:

“Printable Coupon: $1 off True Lemon inside this email”

Under true lemon packets we find searchers are also looking for source of vitamin C and drink more water. We can surmise that subject lines such as:

“How to drink more water every day with True Lemon”

“How to get more vitamin C every day with True Lemon”

might also open well.

Let’s not stop there, though. Let’s take those phrases plus a few other obvious phrases and rank them using the Adwords Keyword Tool. Feel free to try this yourself; just copy and paste the list below.

true lemon
lemon substitute
lemon powder
true lemon coupons
printable coupons
printable true lemon coupons
true lemon packets
drink more water
lemon flavoring
lemon flavor
lemon water

Sort the list by Global Monthly Search Volume.

Unquestionably, printable coupons rocks nearly everything else on the list. This tells us the subject lines that talk about printable coupons are likely to do well, and would be a good starting point for a subject line testing campaign. If True Lemon has or wants to have an email-based coupon campaign, the probability of it doing well is better than average as we’ve determined.

The next step, after crafting the subject lines you want to test, is to load them into your subject line testing tool. In the examples below, we’ll use Publicaster 7. Using the same creative, we’ll copy and paste 3 subject lines, use 30% of our list size for testing (10% per subject line is a good rule of thumb), specify that the email with the most number of clicks (not opens) is the winner, wait 48 hours for results to come in, and then send the winning subject line to the remaining 70% of the list.

You’ve now got a reasonably scientific methodology for crafting a list of subject lines for testing, which you can feed into Publicaster 7 to derive as much value as you can out of your email-based campaign.

While many businesses often highlight their largest, most well-known clients, I want to take the time to introduce North Ridge Wine & Spirits.  Another one of my prized clients, North Ridge shows that businesses of all sizes can benefit from email marketing.

North Ridge is a laid back, family run establishment located in a suburb just outside of Baltimore, and they haven’t been afraid to dive head first into the world of email marketing.  It has paid off.

As a small business, I’m sure starting email marketing initiatives can be a bit intimidating.  “How do I get an email list?  Am I supposed to know HMTL code?  What is CAN-SPAM anyway?”  Nonetheless, with North Ridge’s willingness to learn, coupled with our help and expertise, these guys have been in email marketing for a year now and are reaping the benefits.  Let’s see how they started from scratch.

Step 1: Building A Proper Website

North Ridge didn’t even have a proper website, so first and foremost we worked with them on this.  Their owner and our creative director collaborated to build a fine-looking, but reasonably-priced website.  We got rid of the shopping center photo, gave the design a “richness”, and, of course, added opt-in options on every page of the site.   It didn’t need to be too flashy or complex, so we developed a simple six-page website that they would be able to update on their own.  As a result, North Ridge’s web traffic increased dramatically.

Step 2: Creating An HTML-Designed Email Template

Another creative piece we helped them develop was an email template.  First impressions are a big deal, so looking professional, sharp, and cohesive when beginning an email marketing program is very important.  Luckily, North Ridge was smart enough to understand this, and in no time, we created a top quality email template that they could easily update with their new content each time they were ready to send out an email.  It does take some initial investment, but with it comes the confidence that you have a professional and functional email that is spreading your “brand” positively with every send.

Step 3: Don’t Sleep On Your Content

The importance of including new and interesting content with every send cannot be stressed enough!  North Ridge does a fantastic job of understanding their client base and giving them fresh content that isn’t too overwhelming or overstimulating.   And that isn’t just my biased analysis – the open rates prove it.  They reach open rates above the 21% industry average with every send – every send!

Step 4: List Building

This is where I see a lot of companies looking to start email marketing just shut down.  They (and possibly you?) don’t know how to start their email list(s) so they figure, “I’ll just buy one”.  However, every ESP will turn down a potential client if they use a bought list.  This is where discouragement lies – but it didn’t for North Ridge.  They wanted to do things right, so last year they simply started getting their employees to ask for email addresses at the only touch point they currently had – at the counter.  Seriously, each employee would ask at the point of sale if they wanted to sign up for specials, announcements, etc, and they would hand write their email addresses in a notepad.  In March 2009, they sent their first email to a list size of 54.  Yeah, 54.  Last week’s send was to a list of 1,886.  All from in-store sign ups and online opt-ins – all done the right way.

Step 5: Understanding How To Measure Your Own Unique Success

Now, I’m not going to hide that they usually have a click-through rate of less than 1%.  But for them, that’s fine.  There is no big e-commerce option on the North Ridge Wine & Spirits website, and their entire stock list isn’t kept online – that would be too much for their business.  So while a high click-through rate is usually the goal for most email marketers, it isn’t for them, and they understand that.   The exponentially growing list size, the open rates of over 25% consistently with every send, and the drastically increased sales since they’ve started these online initiatives are their measurements of success.  But again, it’s different for every business, and it’s up for each marketer to decide what makes the most sense for them.

So Why Haven’t You Started Email Marketing Yet?

Are you a small business that is still apprehensive to start email marketing?  Follow in the steps of North Ridge Wines & Spirits, and you will have no problems at all.  Sure, there is some initial work to put in, but email marketing works, not to mention it has one of the top ROIs of all marketing methods.  So don’t be scared, start a conversation with us.  It would be our pleasure to watch another account grow into success.

Elena Hekimian
Client Services Manager, Blue Sky Factory

_______________________

Things are looking up!  Now is the time to be aggressive in your market, and email marketing will help.  Learn more today.

“But how do you break through the clutter? I get annoyed by most of the emails I receive, and sometimes I even put in fake email addresses because I feel that way. Wouldn’t the potential subscribers I’m targeting feel the same, and if so, then what’s the point of email marketing?”

Here’s where I butted into the conversation.

I totally understand this statement. Even in my different email accounts right now I have my own email opening prioritization: work inbox (1), personal inbox (11), marketing inbox (29).  Heck, I’ve added fake email addresses before, but I’ve also submitted my correct email address as well.

Herein lies the game changers – the 5 elements that separate solid email marketing campaigns against weak, unsuccessful ones.

1. Make The Sign Up Worth It

First and foremost in your email campaigns is the element enticing people to sign up.  Would I sign up for Kashi emails to find out about their newest product releases? Probably not, but free samples?  Now you’re talking!  I realize that’s a fairly easy B2C example, but this can be applied to any business. It’s important to find out what your potential audience wants.  If they really want what you’re offering, they will take the time to opt-in and read your emails.  Subscribers might even choose to read your emails over the bank statement email still in their inbox or the work email that just came in.  Not sure what type of emails would actually interest them enough to sign up (with a valid email address) and maybe even whitelist your from address? The key is to provide many options. Check out Blue Sky Factory’s Subscription Center for a good example.

2. Set Accurate Expectations

Commitment is tough – especially without really knowing what you are getting yourself into. If I’m going to a restaurant, I want to know where it’s located, the type of cuisine, pricing, variety of the menu, atmosphere, etc. I like to know what to expect.
Why would it be any different here?  If you will be sending emails once a month on company news and once a week for specials, let subscribers know.  Set expectations about frequency and content.  Check out this Social Media B2B signup form (Blue Sky Factory client).  Trust is an epic characteristic, earn it.

3. Show The Love

People love to be recognized, to be acknowledged, to be thanked. Take the time to thank your potential subscriber for their interest and enthusiasm for your brand.  When you’re spending money and or time (which to some may even be more valuable), a thank you is always ALWAYS well received.  It’s such an easy extra “umph” to get them to sign up.

4. Be Extra Awesome With Your Follow Up

I’m confident that you can get subscribers signed up through the above techniques. However, there is one other major element to continue your all-star email marketing. You must follow through. Whatever you promised them in the way beginning, be sure you give it to them, and in a timely manner.   The content, the frequency, the privacy levels, everything you stated previously – you must ACTUALLY do it.

5. Think Like Your Audience

I don’t normally write posts “selling” email marketing, after all, isn’t that DJ, Amy, and Nikki’s job?!  But this time I just couldn’t resist.  Sure, email marketing isn’t as easy as buying a list and sending whatever you could throw together, but it’s just a matter of thinking about the customer.  Put yourself in their shoes.  What do you appreciate about other companies that are trying to entice you?  Think.

I personally love the increase of competition that e-commerce and online marketing has created.  It’s forcing every business to be better.  So, marketers, how do you break through the clutter?  Be better.

Elena Hekimian
Client Services Manager, Blue Sky Factory

__________________

Think. Be better. Share with Your Network (SWYN).

While this still holds true, we are going to add a new word to our vocabulary: engaged.  Get to know it, live it, and love it.  Otherwise, you may find yourself on the short end of your email deliverability.

ISP Changes

“What?” you say.  Well, the ISPs that accept the email you send are starting to change the rules a little, and they are going to start tightening the reins on your email deliverability.  In other words, the large ISPs are starting to measure the engagement of subscribers with your emails.  (How are they doing this?  Well, for now let’s just say it’s magic.)  So if a user has opted-in to your emails – but never opens or clicks on links – your email stands a good chance of being bulked!  This can be some scary stuff.

Subscriber Engagement

It’s no longer going to be enough to send permission-based email.  It’s time to focus – even more than before – on sending to targeted, engaged subscribers.  This means you’ll also need to stop sending to those who are not interacting with your email communications.

I guess this really isn’t news if you already send timely, expected, and relevant emails because your subscribers are already interacting with you.  If this is the case, then keep doing what you’re doing.

Our Advice

To the rest of you: our best advice is to start targeting and focusing your email campaigns on those subscribers who are engaging with your messages.  Here at Blue Sky Factory we are working to help you measure a subscriber’s engagement behind the scenes in Publicaster.  Stay tuned for details!  In the meantime, contact your client services manager with questions about engagement or your email marketing strategy.

Ken Pfeiffer
Director of Deliverability, Blue Sky Factory

__________________________

When it comes to planning your email campaigns, think inside the box.  Give your subscribers what they want.  Learn more about email deliverability & subscriber engagement today.

It’s 2010, and we’re living in an online world.  When looking for a new restaurant to try, a new book to read, or a new bag to purchase, all you have to do is ask your Facebook friends or Twitter followers, check out the endless online product reviews, or do other online research.  But, as the example above shows, one-to-one communication and personal recommendations still have value.

When planning your email marketing campaigns, you need to give subscribers the option to share and recommend your products, brand, or message to friends.  But how?

FTAF & SWYN FAQ

Forward to a Friend (FTAF) allows your email subscribers to simply forward your email to specific friends.  Share with Your Network (SWYN) gives your subscribers the opportunity to share your emails with their social networks.  We’re talking Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn, and more.

So which is better for your email campaigns?  SWYN seems like the logical choice, a no-brainer.  It gives your email so much more potential to be seen (and acted upon) than FTAF.  So if SWYN is so great, then why allow subscribers to Forward to a Friend as well?  I mean, what difference will it make?

Why I love FTAF

Us social media junkies assume that the whole world is on Twitter and Facebook; we can’t believe some people don’t see the value in these platforms.  The reality of it is that not everyone is on these sites.  An October 2009 eMarketer study showed that email is still the most popular channel for sharing content online, beating Twitter and Facebook.  FTAF allows your subscribers to share your email, even if they’re not on the popular social networking sites.  And what if they are active on social sites, but their friends aren’t?  FTAF gives them options.

FTAF is also more targeted if you ask me.  My Facebook friends consist of people from high school, my extended family, and friends of friends, with only a few from the world of online marketing.  So if HubSpot’s latest blog post lands in my inbox and I want to share with my fellow marketers at the Factory, I can email it to them, rather than share with all 300+ people on Facebook who could care less about what marketing lessons you can learn from the Jersey Shore.  Sending a direct email to a friend is more targeted than sharing it with your thousands of friends on Twitter, hoping that friend will see it.

While I want to make sure you don’t dismiss FTAF, I still love SWYN and think email marketers need to use this feature to its fullest.

Why I love SWYN

Take this Jason Falls email newsletter for example.  By using SWYN, Jason Falls increased his newsletter’s reach by 74.8% and grew his subscriber list by 33%.  That’s huge!  If email marketers are providing shareable content, they should by all means include SWYN in their email campaigns.    SWYN extends the reach of your email, grows your email database, and allows you to pinpoint influential subscribers.  Email and social media have a happy future ahead of them, and SWYN is an important part of the equation.

Group Hug

I’m not saying you should only use FTAF – or that you have to choose between these two options.  What I am saying is that FTAF isn’t dead.  Give subscribers the option to do both!  By giving them the opportunity to share with their Twitter followers or to simply email your message to a few people, you’re letting them decide how to share.  Remember: it’s all about your subscribers.  Word of mouth has endless potential when it comes to your marketing campaigns, no matter what channel is being used.  Again, just make sure your content is shareable, and make sure your FTAF and SWYN links are easy to find in your emails.

Sharing is key when it comes to your email campaigns – whether it’s emailing a friend or posting for 1,000 Twitter followers to see.

Amy Garland
Marketing Manager, Blue Sky Factory

P.S. Thanks to meg//mac for use of the photo.

_______________________

Extend the reach of YOUR emails with SWYN.  Learn more today.

It’s Only Natural

These feelings are only natural. Most people find it easier to be friends with those who have similar personalities. They enjoy the simple flow of conversation, the sharing of similar interests, and having the same tastes. But can people be judged this way with their online interactions? The answer is most likely “yes”. In an e-business class I recently took, I learned about online behaviors and biases and how they affect online initiatives. It is important to understand that behaviors and biases exist online, much like they do in the offline world. So just as that annoying guy is not someone you get along with, people react poorly to undesirable online behaviors and positioning.

The Media Equation

Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass of Stanford University, ran “numerous psychological studies that led them to the conclusion that people treat computers, television and new media as real people and places”. This idea is called the media equation. Computer effects such as motion, sound, and pictures may affect someone the same as it would in real-life. For example, a large screen shot of a person may make the individual feel as though their personal space is being invaded, much like that annoying guy.  (Check out my class textbook for more information, “Internet Marketing and e-Commerce”)

Why Should Email Marketers Care?

So why is it important to understand this? Well, for email marketers it is important to not only know the demographics and possible interests of your audience, but also their behaviors and physical responses . When you think of real-life scenarios and what is bothersome or obtrusive to most, it is important not to include such nuisances in your email marketing campaigns. What may seem “cool” to you may not be so “cool” to others.  How exactly can this be achieved?

• Subscriber Preferences. Collect information through subscriber preferences or at the opt-in.  Then send emails based on what your subscribers’ likes and dislikes or wants and needs are.  How?  Enter segmentations.
• Segmentations. Don’t expect your entire audience to want to receive the same message.  Not only should you collect information from them through subscriber preferences, but also monitor their behaviors (click-throughs, if they forward and share your emails, etc).  Give subscribers what they want – make your emails valuable and relevant to them.
• Frequency. You wouldn’t call your friends every hour to see how they’re doing, would you? Just like there’s a contact protocol in real life, you must also contact email subscribers when they want to hear from you. Ask them how often – daily, weekly, monthly – then follow through with that schedule.

I’ve taken a lot from this class and applied it as an email marketer.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Judgments and assumptions made in real life campaigns are generally valid online.
• Manners matter just as they do in the real world. Users prefer “polite” computers and respond favorably to flattery online.
• Individuals will react positively to websites and online messages matching their own personality.
• Biases and stereotypes persist online just as they exist in the real world.

By customizing emails to the interests of the recipient, and understanding real-life behaviors, you will have a much more successful email marketing campaign – all things that Blue Sky Factory can help you with!

“I know you. You tell me what you want. I make it. I remember next time.”
-D. Peppers and M. Rogers, Tools for Competing in the Interactive Age

Christy Bednarczyk
Marketing Coordinator, Blue Sky Factory

Definition of a GREAT Email Marketer

Try looking up the definition of a Web 2.0 Warrior, and you’ll probably find the meaning of an email marketer. Email marketers are the champions in your company that are dedicated to two things: attention to detail and creating a interactive communication channel for your company. They live, eat and breathe best practices, compliance, deliverability and relationships of above all things. Great email marketers are the ones who know their audience, and they know which messages work and which messages do not.

Email marketers are the gatekeepers between your company and your target markets. They bring value to your company and your clients. They are the ambassadors of cool and the creators of brand evangelists. In other words, you wouldn’t go to battle without Maximus Decimus Meridius, so why live without a great email marketer on your team?

My Interview with an Expert Email Marketer

I had a chat with fellow Blue Sky Factory employee, Amy Hollomon, an email marketing client services manager. I wanted to talk with an email marketing expert to find out the real deal – the nitty gritty – on email. In other words, I wanted to find out the juice on email marketing.

On a sunny January afternoon…

Nikki Schiavonne: What’s up Amy HOLLAmon? What’s the low down on the Client Services Department at Blue Sky Factory?

Amy Hollomon: (Giggle, giggle) As you can see, Nikolater, another busy day in the world of Client Services. What isn’t going on, you know?

NS: Amy, so tell me: what is it that you love about email marketing?

AH: I love the simplicity and the complexity of email marketing. A lot people have a misconception that emailing or “blasting” is really just a quick, plug and chug, cookie cutter mentality, but rather it’s the very opposite. It’s my job to assess every situation, and they are always different.

I like that. I like that things are always different. However, the one common thread that I tell my clients is to TEST, evaluate your performance and really try to customize your email templates.

NS: Why creative templates? Why is that so important?

AH: I have a serious love for creative best practices. I went to school for design, among other things, and love advising my clients on how to optimize their templates.

I understand HTML, I love assisting my clients on the back-end in order to help them better understand why and how to achieve better email performance through their creative template.

It makes all the difference in the world for subscribers. Producing great content, then organizing it in such a way in an email, is art. It’s not easy, and I like being able to help refine that art.

NS: By the way, what do email marketers eat? Any special fuel you can’t live without?

AH: Potatoes! Fried, grilled, baked, sautéed, mashed, creamed (haha). I’m Irish, so it kind of goes hand and hand, right?

NS: Awesome! So tell me, what else do love about email marketing?

AH: The whole project and time management aspects of it. I like seeing a project evolve. It’s exciting to get all the pieces, then slowly start to put them all together. Not just press “send”, but build the relationship with my clients, understand their goals and objectives, then help them see it through.

You can’t rush great campaigns, and I help my clients plan out their campaigns. We create editorial calendars and deployment schedules. With proper project management, I can provide my clients with the expertise needed to equip them for success.

In the end, it’s the best feeling in the world to know that all the hard work paid off and my clients are seeing better conversion rates, higher open and click rates and an overall increase in subscriber engagement and ROI.

NS: Good stuff, Amy! I have a tough one for you: what is the best email marketing tip you could give a newbie email marketer?

AH: (haha) How about an acronym? SWYN! There’s a word. It stands for Share With Your Network. It allows subscribers to share their email content with their own social networks. Email marketing now has an even greater reach than ever before. It’s my favorite feature in Publicaster, and you would be surprised how many “oooh’s” and “ahhhh’s” I still get when I tell someone about it. (See recent SWYN webinar, “Email & Social Media: 2010’s “It” Couple”)

NS: What do you do outside of email marketing? I mean, is there anything else in life? (smile)

AH: Great question, and honestly when I’m not emailing I’m networking. I love being around people, learning about the industries of social media, email and design. I also love eating potatoes, doing yoga to work the potatoes off and doing anything outdoors.

NS: Alright, last question, Amy: what are your top three email marketing best practices that you would like everyone to know?

AH:

1. Work with a good, clean list. Size doesn’t matter, and your email marketing lists don’t have to be huge in order to get results. Work with a clean list and you’ll see faster results and have better performance.
2. Have a method to grow your list. Use social media, your website, or other marketing efforts to drive people to opt-in to your email marketing subscriptions. Make it easy for the client to sign up.
3. This is very important, but not always done: make sure you have something to say, but also, make sure what you say is relevant and targeted information. It has to provide your subscribers with value. If it doesn’t, then it’s not worth saying.

Great Email Marketers = Results

There you have it. Just another day in the life as an email marketer. It’s all about project management, relationships, creative design optimization, SWYN, list growth and performance evaluation. As I said above, they live, eat and breathe best practices, compliance, deliverability and relationships of above all things. Email marketers are team players; they build trust between brand and client and help you reach results.

Have some questions for Amy Hollomon or myself about email marketing? Need an expert for your company? Contact us when you have time, we would love to discuss your goals and objectives for 2010.

Nikki Schiavone
Sales Associate, Blue Sky Factory

Want to receive more articles like this, or maybe be the next interviewee? If you don’t currently receive our email newsletter, sign up now to have next month’s edition delivered directly to your inbox. Be sure to check the box next to “Factory Direct Monthly Newsletter.”

Send timely, targeted, relevant emails to those who have asked.

After hearing a presentation from Dela Quist (CEO of Alchemy Worx) at last week’s MarketingSherpa Email Summit 2010, I’m convinced that the secret needs to be slightly modified. When talking about any email marketing campaign, the world relevant should be replaced by valuable. While it may sound like semantics, Dela convinced me that it does matter.

Value. Value. Value.

As Dela says,

Instead of asking yourself: “How can I be more relevant?” Ask how you can add more value to your email communications. You will then, by default become more relevant, and more importantly, you will be providing your subscribers with a reason to stay subscribed and interacting with your email program.

For more details, read the full post and/or watch Dela’s video below.

Therefore, the 2010 secret to successful email marketing should read: Send timely, targeted, valuable emails to those who have asked.

Forget Best Practices (Kinda)

I don’t really mean to forget best practices entirely. However, if your readers find value in what you are sending them, does it really matter how pretty the email looks? Does it matter if the copy pops off the screen? Deliverability issues aside, who cares if it’s one big image? If the email provides value – if people open, click, and convert – isn’t that what’s important?

So, the next time you hit that send button, ask yourself – What value does this email have to the readers?

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory

__________________

Speaking of value, if you can make your email campaigns valuable, chances are they may be shareworthy too, right? Check out our Share with Your Network (SWYN) feature to learn more.

I’m not talking about spam – at least not in the traditional sense of malicious, illegal email that you never subscribed to. I’m referring to that irrelevant, untimely, non-targeted type of unwanted email.

A recent comment by Matthew Glidden on my Slideshare presentation – The Anatomy of an Email – suggested that most emails are just not timely. Specifically, Matthew said:

As a customer (and occasional ad sender), I appreciate businesses with FB & Twitter links, since I can ‘reward’ ones I like without spending money at that moment. However, I still delete 90% of emails–usually unread–because of poor timing. (For example, a shopping ad sent on Monday morning or American Airlines promoting their dinnertime affiliates before noon.)

Now I realize that one person does not make a study, but what if Matthew is a good representative of how consumers digest email? The 90% number seems high to me, but then again, what if we cut that number in half? Would you – the email marketer – be content if nearly 1/2 of all your emails were deleted, sight unseen? What if we go even more conservative, say 25%?

Either way, the percentage is somewhat irrelevant. What does matter is what Matthew said about timeliness. He confirmed what I often preach about timely, targeted, and relevant emails (see slide #43). However, what if subscribers had the option to read your email later, when it was more timely for them? I don’t mean letting it sit – unread – in their inbox. I’m talking about the ability to have the email re-sent when they want to (have time to) read it.

The Email Snooze Button

This concept of reading an email when the subscriber wants to is in many ways the ultimate in user preferences. In his comments, Matthew calls it the “email snooze” button.

I’d like to one-click ’snooze’ recurring emails to get them out of my inbox now and ideally time-shift them to when I’m free. Some businesses include frequency in their email profile page, if you’re willing to do a bunch of clicking. Unfortunately for them, DELETE is more convenient!

This, of course, got me thinking. An “email snooze” button. Is that possible?

Practicalities Of The Email Snooze Button

This novel concept brings up a few interesting questions.

1. What would the adoption rate be? Would subscribers actually use this “snooze” button? This one is clearly hard to answer. My gut tells me that it would be a fun, exciting, novel feature. Ultimately it could be yet another “remind me later” button (think: Outlook Calendar Reminders) – you know, the buttons we continue to hit day after day.
2. Is it technologically possible? I’m not an engineer. I’m not a developer. But I do work at a software company with a ton of smart people. My general answer to the “is it possible?” question usually includes the word “yes”. With technology, anything is possible. I think it would add an interesting new metric alongside opens, click-throughs, and conversions. Snoozes.
3. What would the impact be on email marketers? My first reaction tells me that email marketers would lose some control. Then again, have marketers every really had control? We produce content and hope people read/watch/listen/see it. Of course, we do our best to optimize that content, to personalize it for the end user, but we really don’t control use behavior (influence yes, control no). However, what this snooze button is really doing is putting more options in the hands of subscribers – a move from push to pull.

Would You Snooze?

What do you think? Is this a feature that you’d use? Is it worthy of adding? Please let us know. Email Blue Sky Factory (bsfinfo@blueskyfactory.com) or send us a tweet.

Photo Credit: cvogle

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory

__________

This article is brought to you straight from the January issue of Factory Direct. If you don’t currently receive our email newsletter, sign up now to have next month’s edition delivered directly to your inbox. Be sure to check the box next to “Factory Direct Monthly Newsletter.”

List building shouldn’t stop at creating an opt-in form, adding it to every page of your website, or even at creating a promotion to sign up – it must continue through the emails you send out.  So where do the list building efforts continue?  I thought you’d never ask.

Really? REALLY…..??

Take this Safeway email for example. (Click image on left to enlarge Safeway’s email) They’ve done a great job to ensure their subscribers understand what they are receiving with a brief preheader, “12 Days to Save: Day 9″.  They also do a great job to ensure that their subscribers will be able to view the email properly by adding options to view the email in their browser or a special mobile version.  However, where is the option to share this email on social sites?  Even a link to encourage subscribers to “Forward to a Friend” is absent. What about an option to subscribe to further email communications in case someone forwards it?  Don’t worry Safeway… you’re not the only major player to not walk the talk.  Target and Groupon could also step up their game here.

Getting there.

Now here are some examples of those who look like they’re getting the idea that their email creative has the potential to help grow their list.  Take this Sirius email that has a “Tell a Friend” option.  Where are the subscribe and share options?  I mean come on… that’s so 2008.  Or this Nike email that doesn’t promote forwarding.  (Click image on right to view Nike’s email) Although it does have a share option at the bottom, you just might need to break out a magnifying glass for it.  For all that Nike does to get consumers to get pumped up about their brand and products, they do a pretty mediocre job at getting their email subscribers excited to share their email’s content.

Kudos!

Urban Outfitters has done a really awesome job at including everything possible to help build their list through their emails.  (Click image on left to enlarge the email) They include a prominent “Forward to a Friend” option and sharing options across the major social sites.  Not to mention, before the unsubscribe option they allow you to change your mailing preferences, so that if maybe you’re receiving too many mailings from them or just on certain topics you don’t care about, you can edit them.  This not only helps Urban Outfitters target segmentations of their subscribers more effectively, but it also saves many potential opt-outs.  And get this – if you receive a forwarded version of the email, they give you the option to sign up for further UO emails!  So I applaud you, Urban Outfitters, not only for your endless collection of affordable skinny jeans, but your email designs are so 2010.  They surely walk the talk of email marketing best practices and effective strategy.

Get it now?

List building doesn’t stop after the opt-in form; it’s just the beginning.  So what are you waiting for?!  2010 is here – make sure your email creatives haven’t been left behind.

Elena Hekimian
Client Services Manager, Blue Sky Factory

__________________

Make it easy for subscribers to share your emails with our Share with Your Network (SWYN) feature.