Does length matter?

In the number of email characters used - yes! Turning common perception on its head, while email subject lines of 60 characters or less generate higher open rates (often because they can be ambiguous), those above 70 characters encourage higher click-to-open rates. See here for the 5-page white paper from Alchemyworx.

If your clients want to send do-not-reply emails...

Don't let them send it! This post by Seth Godin talks about the wasted opportunity and aggravation caused by companies requesting recipients 'do not reply' to the email just sent. If it's important enough to send, surely it's important enough to acknowledge and respond to emails about it. You can create a reply-to email that may go to a group of people who can respond to it. One thing he doesn't mention however, is if your client sends out an email that could elicit responses, to put on adequate numbers of (temporary) staff to handle the influx.

Online marketing for Christmas starts now

While it's still 5 months off, now is the time to plan for online marketing for the all-important Christmas sales season for our retailers. This article gives a rather handy (but full-on!) 10-week countdown of marketing elements to include each week in the lead-up to Christmas. See the article at http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=27057

Hello John, we know all about you

Segmentation and personalisation seems par for the course in email marketing now - but don't overdo it. It seems that excessive personalisation can create a negative, Big Brother-ish style experience if that personalisation is irrelevant to the email contact. See the article at http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/iland/2008/07/can-you-have-too-much-personalization.html

Don't discount discount snail mail offers

We've become so keen to get in touch with the wired-up Gen Ys that we've over-emphasised electronic contact at the expense of direct mail. It turns out that they are now so un-used to receiving direct mail offers in the physical mailbox at home that teens really like being contacted this way. Ironically, this seems to be an (pardon the pun) "under the wire" way to reach them.
See the article at http://www.marketingprofs.com/news/marketing-inspiration/index.asp?nlid=454&cd=dmo121&adref=NmiM378

How to test if you're accidentally sending spam

Found a great little spam-testing tool at http://www.localnews.biz/SubjectLine/ValidateSubjectLine.asp which lets you enter any given subject line you intend to send out on your client's behalf and gives it a range of tests to see if the spam filters would pick it up and block your campaign.

Mobile Advertising Key to Reaching Consumers in Economic Downturn

[Thanks to MC Marketing Charts for this interesting post on leveraging mobile advertising]

Despite rising fuel and food prices, over one-third of consumers say the economy will not affect their spending habits - so most say it will - and one way for advertisers to grab consumers’ attention in such times may be via their mobile devices, according to a new study.

For marketers interested in reaching fickle consumers during this economic downturn, there’s hope in that 41% consumer say they have no plans to stop or cut-back on the purchase of cell phones, found a Harris Interactive study on people’s attitudes toward the economy and technology.

Most (60%) of consumers who say they will limit their discretionary spending will curtail going out to restaurants (74%) and purchasing electronics (71%), among other choices like buying fewer clothes and taking fewer vacations.

Meanwhile, the use of mobile phones has become an indispensable part of their lives for many, and many are even severing ties to landlines: 16% of US homes are using wireless phones exclusively - more than double the number from four years ago, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

These trends support the push by marketers to leverage mobile advertising as part of an integrated marketing program to promote their brands and sell products and services, Harris analysts conclude.

Mobile Advertising Findings

Mobile advertising can gain a foothold if it is unobtrusive, targeted toward an individual’s personal tastes and offers something unique, Harris said:

Among teens surveyed, over half (56%) said they would be interested in viewing mobile ads with incentives, while over one-third (37%) of adults noted that they would be receptive to such advertising.

As the best mobile advertising incentive, cash is king, with 80% of adults and 70% of teens identifying it as the top incentive for responding to mobile advertising:

Entertainment downloads (61%), free music (57%) and complimentary minutes (53%) also are popular incentives among teens.

Among adults, free minutes (49%) and discount coupons (37%) are appealing incentives. Free entertainment (31%) and music (24%) downloads also captured the attention of adults.

As for types of ads preferred, adults tend to favor dining deals (53%) whereas teens are interested in outdoor activities, travel and entertainment (70%).

Text messaging is the most preferred advertising approach for over two-thirds (69% of adults and 64% of teens) of consumers:
Teens are more willing to accept advertising images on their mobile phones (47%), versus adults (35%).

The allure of video imagery in mobile advertising is down 10% among adults from last year, but adults are now more open to ads’ being transferred automatically to their email (30%) than in the past.

Providing personal information to marketers to help them target advertising messages and products has always been a sensitive topic, but more than half (54%) of adult respondents say they are comfortable doing so for mobile advertisers, especially if offered for the right incentive. 

Others agree, but want to choose who sees this information (21%).

Teens, surprisingly, are guarded about their personal information - only 35% would divulge it, even if an incentive is offered, and 25% say they would never provide personal information.

About the data (pdf): The 2008 Consumer Acceptance of Mobile Advertising study was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive in February 2008 among 1,000 US adults age 18 and over and 200 teenagers age 13-17. The 2008 Telecom Report was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive in April 2008 among 1,000 US adults age 18 and over. The data were weighted to reflect the US population.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/email/mobile-advertising-key-to-reaching-consumers-in-economic-downturn-4750/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Retirees Surf and Respond

According to the Vertis Communications 2007 Customer Focus Tech Savvy study, twenty-one percent of total adults in 2007 have responded to direct mail advertising in the past month by visiting a sender's Web site. Findings also revealed that older men's responsiveness to direct mail advertising through the Internet has grown the most, with 28 percent of men ages 55-64 indicating this behavior and 15 percent of men 65 and older exhibiting the same pattern.

Jim Litwin, vice president of market insights for Vertis Communications, noted that "...targeting the older population may greatly increase the overall effectiveness of marketers' spending, particularly as men reach retirement and find more time to surf the Web."

The study further shows that women ages 35-44 have been the most likely to change their cell phone providers throughout the years, with 22 percent planning to switch providers in the next year, compared to 13 percent in 2005. And, women who earn more than $30,000 per year switch mobile phone providers more often, with 16 percent planning to change in 2007, compared to 6 percent in 2005. Older men ages 55-64 have remained the most satisfied with their cell phone companies over time, as only 13 percent of respondents indicated plans to switch service in the next year, no change from 2005.

The study, which surveyed 2,000 consumers via telephone, provided additional details:

When expressing interest in a product or company, 55 percent of total adults prefer some form of interactive follow-up communication from the company, which include e-mails personalized to their needs, generic e-mails or text messaging

Key observations, according to the Executive Summary:

• Twenty-three percent of young men ages 18-24 are the most open to follow-up communication via text messaging,versus 5 percent of women their same age and 6 percent of total adults
• Women 65 and older are the least interested in personalized or generic follow-up e-mails.
• Forty percent of men 65 and older prefer an interactive e-mail from a company they have expressed interest in, compared to 23 percent of their female counterparts
• While 91 percent of men ages 25-34 have access to the Internet according to Vertis' study, 56 percent of these men do not read e-mail advertising
• For women earning more than $75,000 a year, overall e-mail readership has increased during the past two years to 50 percent in 2007
• While only 1 percent of total adults read all e-mail advertising available to them, 20 percent occasionally read e-mails personalized to them
• Twenty-eight percent of young men ages 18-24 would consider receiving investment advice through the Internet, compared to 13 percent of women their same age
• Twenty percent of men earning $75,000 or more each year would consider using financial products, services or receiving investment advice online, compared to 13 percent of total adults
• Women earning between $30,000 and $50,000 per year are least likely to consider receiving financial or investment advice online, at 8 percent, down from 11 percent in 2003

Social-Network Traffic Surpasses Web-based Email’s in UK

October traffic to the top 25 social networks, such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, accounted for 5.17% of all UK internet visits, compared with 4.98% for the “Computers and Internet - Email Services” category, such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Gmail, according to Hitwise (via ResearchRecap).

That marks the first time that UK internet visits to social networks outnumber visits to web-based email services, Hitwise UK Research Director Robin Goad writes.

“A growing proportion of the UK online population is choosing to communicate with friends via social networks rather than email,” he adds.

Moreover, social networks now send as much traffic to retail websites as do web email sites, according to Hitwise data:

Younger internet users - those age 18 to 34 - tend to visit social-network sites more than they do web email sites, whereas the reverse is true for those 35+, Goad writes.