All the time spent planning your campaigns seems like a waste if a large number of your email messages are not making it to your subscribers' inboxes. Moreover, the constant evolution of technology means more people are checking their email with their mobile devices. For email marketers, that means one thing: ... more

"Something that we preach at eROI is to TEST TEST TEST," says Ryan Buchanan in a post at the company's blog. "We believe that testing should be an integral part of every email marketing campaign." If you're not sure how to get started, eROI comes to the rescue with a ... more

Not long ago, the friend of a MarketingProfs colleague—we'll call him Pete—sighed in annoyance as he tapped furiously on his iPhone's keypad. He was visibly angry as he explained he had just received "the thousandth email this month" from a major retailer. "I'm sick of it," he said. "I'm unsubscribing. ... more

In a recent article for MarketingProfs, Karen Talavera discussed the importance of measuring metrics that matter, and outlined the difference between process metrics and contribution metrics. In a follow-up article at the site, she explains how the information you've gathered can be used to produce valuable insights like these: Post-campaign response ... more

There are many approaches to using email-campaign metrics to measure and improve marketing performance. The following are the top five approaches, along with appropriate measures and usable insights for each. more

If you read many email marketing blogs, you've probably noticed their authors tend to hate the word "blast." Scott Cohen is no exception, and—in a post called "The Naughtiest Word in Email Marketing"—he discusses "its general evilness and lack of thought about the recipients." Here's why he believes the word should ... more

Despite your commitment to following best practices, you might still commit minor email-marketing sins on occasion. Well, take heart: You are not alone. In a post at the Email Experience Council blog, Marco Marini recounts asking his staff to create a list of the 10 most frequent mistakes they have ... more

When your company generates revenue from annual subscriptions or memberships, renewal rates are critical to your bottom line. To keep them high, Winston Bowden recommends email programs that use date-based triggers to send automatic renewal notices. In an article at MarketingProfs, Bowden suggests your renewal campaign might include components such ... more

Publishers, membership-based organizations, and anyone who manages subscriptions can benefit from triggered emails by using date-based triggers to remind customers to renew. Automating this process saves time and money. Even more important, using triggered emails can significantly boost your response rates on renewals. The following case studies illustrate how three organizations ... more

While enjoying a recent meal out, Richard King got into a friendly conversation with a fellow diner about his work in email marketing. "After 15 minutes our discussion [came to] the famous question," he recounts at the EmailDirect blog. "'Why wouldn't I just do that in-house?' I quickly replied with ... more

When David Meerman Scott signed up for email alerts about launches and events at the Kennedy Space Center, he didn't expect getaway offers from Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, which operates the space center's visitor center. A close examination of the subscription's fine print, however, revealed an opt-out policy ... more

In a post at the FutureNow blog, Bryan Eisenberg recalls an email from Nikon that caught his attention with the subject line "My Picturetown—20GB for just a few cents a day!" So far, so good. But clicking on the message's call-to-action—Store my photos and videos—led him to a landing page ... more

Marketers face a bit of a quandary in deciding how social to be. There is a seemingly endless number of social networks, all with conversations that might be relevant to the business. When it comes to email, the issue becomes trickier still: If supporting every social network out there is too ... more

Under normal circumstances, writes Dylan Boyd in a post at The Email Wars, the use of animated GIFs in email campaigns can be a dicey proposition. "[S]ometimes they work with a promo or special event," he says, "sometimes they just make things look cheap." Either way, it's a risk probably ... more

Laura Atkins, in a blog at Word to the Wise, recently invited the blogosphere to comment on a reader's claim that direct-mail catalog marketers would soon begin to rent and trade email lists as if they were physical addresses. "Once they figure out how to do this legally and ethically," ... more

Nearly 6 out of 10 adults say they make judgments about an email sender's intelligence based on the email's style, tone, and language. They also assess the sender's age, authority, status—even attractiveness. more

"It's high time email marketers assess campaign performance in terms of the business and marketing goals, objectives, and contribution expectations that matter," says Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs. She recommends placing data into two broad categories to drill down to what really counts: Process Metrics—which are diagnostic in ... more

It's high time for email marketers to assess campaign performance in terms of the business and marketing goals, objectives, and contribution expectations that matter. So how do you figure out what matters? Hint: There is no one-size-fits-all answer. more

While vigorous debate continues over Twitter's real business value—and its long-term viability—high-tech executives and marketers are experimenting with Twitter today, using it to nurture relationships and improve their visibility by sharing information about their business and industry. Not surprisingly, when Twitter and email campaigns are integrated, the effectiveness of both ... more

In a post at Deliverability.com, Andrew Kordek acknowledges the ongoing push for relevant email campaigns—sending the right message to the right person at the right time. But despite these discussions, he worries that email marketers stop short of demonstrating true R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the people on their email lists. "Are you ... more

You probably invite customers to join your email list during their online activity, but do you have list-building strategies for offline interactions? Andy Sernovitz uses a post at Damn! I Wish I'd Thought of That! to suggest offline methods for generating permission-based subscriptions. Here are two low-tech options you may ... more

"For small businesses, it can be a challenge to look uber-polished and sophisticated with every communication and customer-relationship tactic," says Heather Rast in a post at the Insights & Ingenuity blog. "The reality is that small-business budgets are, well, smaller than that of their mid- or large-sized counterparts." And that ... more

"Imagine if a customer in one of your stores asked a rep where to find a particular product and that rep directed [her] to a door that led to the alley behind the store," says Chad White in a post at the Retail Email Blog. "What do you think that ... more

"In email marketing, we seem to tolerate a level of mystery that would not be acceptable in any other channel," says Stephanie Miller in a post at the Daily Fix blog. Take deliverability: You might know, for instance, that you have a "delivered" rate of 95 percent. "This is a ... more

Here's how Nature Made is combining email and social networking to build stronger email connections with customers and prospects. more