Category Archives: E-mail

Email Critique: Adobe Webcast Invite Keeps It Simple

I’ve praised Adobe’s marketing design before in this space, and the email below is yet another example of how a well-constructed brand standard can work equally well across multiple media. In this case, an invitation to download a recorded Webcast, Adobe combines a clean email design with clear, concise selling… Read More

Does Renting Email Lists Make Sense Any More?

I wrote recently in this space about the resurgence of direct mail as a viable outbound component to an integrated demand generation strategy. Most of that resurgence is due to the benefits of using direct mail on its own merits, but there’s another factor: the greatly diminished effectiveness of rented… Read More

When Emails Go Bad: A Lesson in How to Apologize

If you’ve been involved in email marketing for any length of time, no matter how diligent and prepared you are for every campaign, something somewhere at some point will go wrong. And when that happens, a very large number of people will receive a message from you that isn’t quite… Read More

A Simple Technique for Reducing Bounces & Unsubscribes

It used to be said that the average US business mailing address (snail mail) changes once every 9 months. (That’s individuals moving, not companies.) Fast-forward to today’s highly mobile workforce, where people change jobs like the proverbial underwear, throw in a volatile economy, and more than one-third of the email… Read More

Citrix Email Campaign Crashes on Takeoff

Granted, I’m already sold on the value of Web conferencing, but even then, the email below from Citrix (makers of GoToMeeting) leaves me thoroughly underwhelmed. First, there’s the leading candidate for Most Frequently Used Email Opening of 2009: “In these challenging economic times …” Then there’s a string of lukewarm… Read More

Are Social Links the Answer to Lagging Email Response?

Email marketing and marketing automation provider Silverpop just released a timely white paper (registration required) that gives new hope to B2B marketers looking for creative ways to increase response from email campaigns. In “Emails Gone Viral: Measuring “Share to Social” Performance”, Silverpop provides compelling data that suggests adding social links… Read More

Novell Webinar Invitation Needs a New Approach

As I have often lectured in this space, much of what makes for an effective email has less to do with deliverability, mobile compatibility, social media functionality, and all the technical bells and whistles that most people fret about, and more about basic direct response principles such as a strong… Read More