Email marketing tends to work a little differently for the small- to mid-size business. Compared to a mega corporation with millions of names on their in-house email list, the coffee shop on the corner and the printing plant just outside of town don’t have the means—or the needs—of the big businesses when it comes to email marketing. But they don’t have to. Smaller businesses can reap just as many rewards as big ones when it comes […]

You know the saying one bad apple spoils the bunch? It’s true for apples. And it’s true for email marketing too. Anything that makes consumers suspicious of email is bad for all of us, no matter how rigidly we adhere to email marketing best practices or how squeaky clean our sending reputation. Phishing is one of those bad apples. When the bad guys are phishing, they are trying to get user names, passwords, account numbers and […]

Direct marketing, inbound marketing, permission marketing, content marketing and, of course, email marketing. You’re familiar with all of those. But as marketing continues to evolve, so too does the way we refer to—and think about—it and email marketing best practices. Introducing “servant” marketing, the trend featured in the just-released excerpt from the Email Marketing Handbook: Second Edition. Dubbing it “servant” marketing turns marketing itself on its head, fully and finally, perhaps, shifting the focus to a […]

We see it as an email marketing agency just about every day: A marketing team tries to choose a new email service provider (ESP), yet is frustrated by the apples to oranges comparisons one must make in an industry that lacks standardized metrics. That’s why we publish and keep up-to-date our Digital Marketing Solutions guide. And it’s the motivation behind our creation of the ESPinator online ESP selection tool. Providing you with these tools ensures your […]

Loren McDonald of Silverpop is right on target with his article about subject line testing (Subject Line Testing: Tips for Getting It Right). A couple of his tips really jumped out at us, however, as worthy of emphasizing. As an email marketing agency, we are adamant about encouraging our email marketing clients to test, test and test again. From the subject line to the call to action to the email design to every other variable, we […]

Are you headed to Vegas this week for MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit 2012? If so, you’ll be in good company…very good company. Very good and very big company: Last year, 826 email marketers attended the event! And this year, the organizers expect an even bigger turnout. Can you imagine? Almost 1,000 of your email marketing peers, all learning together, networking, sharing stories and making great connections that will last months and even years after the conference ends. […]

You know the saying about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes? It’s meant to help you develop empathy for another person. You will understand where they are coming from if you walk a mile in their shoes, or “climb into his skin and walk around in it” to quote To Kill a Mockingbird. Developing empathy for your subscribers might go much farther than a mile. As I write this, I have just had a visit […]