Digital Relevance

I signed up to receive email marketing from a site I recently found, which I thought demonstrated great design, look, feel and branding. A week later I received my first email, wow! All the elements that had been applied to make the site great had been abandoned in the email marketing and then some. The missed opportunity to further engage with visitors was significant and surprising as most actions required would simply take the re purposing of their web strategy. This led me to compose an email with some suggestions as detailed below. It would not be fair to name the site, so please don’t ask but today’s Friday fun is simply to request pointing us at similar brand gaffs. On a more serious note more suggestions on how web and email work effectively together would definitely be welcomed.

Regards

Denis

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Hi ‘xxx’,

A few ‘Top Tips’ on email marketing

1.   The subject line has an extra question mark in the wrong place, reducing open rates.
2.   As you are only sending in text you cannot see who opens, reducing the ability to target message content and segment accordingly.
3.   You present the whole message instead of using links, ‘xxx’ tips for example could be linked to on a web page, the clickers can then be segmented by type of dance tip.
4.   Not everyone who registers wants to learn to ‘xxx’, the message assumes this increasing unsubscribe rates.
5.   Punctuation is poor, this will matter to some people, if it is correct nobody will notice.
6.   The text is too big, so is received and interpreted as shouting, increasing unsubscribe rates.
7.   The fonts are mixed, just poor presentation.
8.   The subscriber options should be a link. This should link to an unsubscribe page that details features, advantages and benefits to staying on your email marketing list, reducing unsubscribe rates.
9.   HTML allows you to brand your emails, your website has a strong brand and you should reflect that brand as it will increase engagement with your brand. You have built a brand, maintain it.
10. Outsource to a specialist, the results will more than pay for themselves.

The best email information site out there is - http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt Hope you find this useful.

Regards

Denis

The Times’ iPad edition,which went on sale along with the tablet’s UK debut Friday morning, sold 5,000 copies in three days, News Corp.’s CEO Rupert Murdoch told AllThingsD’s D8 conference Tuesday, at which he also spoke about the true value of content.

At the app price of £9.99, that’s £49,950 income in just a few days, before Apple’s commission. Not bad for a few days’ work, and could be a relatively nice earner…

But whether significant numbers of  iPad users will renew the £9.99 subscription each month, after that first-week flurry of app excitement, remains to be seen.

WSJ

Also at D8, Murdoch said his Wall Street Journal app now has 10,000 customers, paying $17.29 a month or free to those already subscribed to the website/newspaper…more

BP is attempting to prevent further brand damage from its oil spill crisis by offering to pay for the construction of six sand barriers off the coast of the US state of Louisiana.

The oil giant has admitted the spillage crisis is costing it millions and says the project will cost about $360m (£244m). According to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, the White House had ordered BP to pay for the construction of the sand barriers.

BP estimates that the disaster has so far cost the company approximately $990m (£674m)…more

Government advertising expenditure could fall “by at least 50%” during this financial year with only essential campaigns unaffected, the Central Office of Information has warned agencies in a letter seen by Marketing Week.

The letter, which is signed by Peter Buchanan, deputy chief executive of the COI, says the coalition government is looking to achieve savings of around £160m in its marketing and communications expenditure and warns that a spending freeze “will take effect immediately…more

The winners of the inaugural Marketing Week Engage Awards have been revealed amid a shower of champagne corks and streamers…

As the country returns from a trip to the polling stations and election fever fizzes out, how much impact has digital really had on helping to shape the final votes? A straw poll in my office says no, but digital marketers say yes. Which is it?

This election was originally largely hailed as the digital election. The mainstream use of social media and the Internet at large meant MPs had more ways than ever to lobby for your vote.

In many ways they did this. All three of the main parties had special campaign websites, which were frequently updated. At one point or another, they have all used YouTube to post updates. Personal messages have been posted on Facebook and MPs have used Twitter to convey the personal touch of life on the campaign trail (in some cases going too far!)

Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the owner of household brands including Cillit Bang, Air Wick and Vanish, is moving a significant part of its global marketing budget into online video advertising. The shift in strategy follows the investment the US arm made last year in video ads. RB stated last week that it intends to spend $40m this year in the US and £4.3m in the UK on online video advertising.

WPP, the marketing services group, has raised its full-year revenue forecast to 2% growth after reporting an upturn in client marketing spend in the first quarter.

A Leicester couple who drove their car to ASDA, only to have their car break down in the car park.

The man told his wife to carry on with the shopping while he fixed the car.
The wife returned later to see a small group of people near the car.

On closer inspection, she saw a pair of hairy legs protruding from under
the chassis. Unfortunately, although the man was in shorts, his lack of
underpants turned his private parts into glaringly public ones..

Unable to stand the embarrassment, she dutifully stepped forward,
quickly put her hand UP his shorts, and tucked everything back into
place.
On regaining her feet, she looked across the bonnet and found
herself staring at her husband who was standing idly by watching.

The AA mechanic, however, had to have three stitches in his forehead

The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), the voluntary organisation looking to force a change of ownership at the Premier League club, is calling on United’s corporate sponsors to join its battle to out the Glazer family.