Category Archives: email marketing

Calculating Statistical Significance: A Tool for Marketers

A client asks: “For our next email campaign, we have 6,000 names available. Should we test 3,000 names first with two subject lines and then roll out the remaining 3,000 using the winning message? Or just send out all 6,000 and do an A/B test on the entire list?” My… Read More

In Email Marketing, Don’t Ask Questions

If you’re in the, say: Widget Alignment business, you can be forgiven for thinking that your lead generation programs should be laser-focused on finding people who need their widgets aligned. From there, it’s a short and intuitive leap to simply asking people if they need their widgets aligned, or whether… Read More

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

Gmail Priority Inbox: the Death Knell for Email as Lead Generation?

This month, Google released a new feature called Priority Inbox, designed to help Gmail users better cope with email overload by automatically determining which emails are most important to the recipient. For example, messages sent from people that you typically respond to immediately will receive special attention and preferential placement,… Read More

Eloqua’s “Juan Eloqua” Campaign: Email Creative at Its Best

The email below from marketing automation vendor Eloqua is part of one of those rare B2B campaigns that combines email marketing best practices with an impeccably executed creative concept. In the process, what is otherwise a fairly straightforward “get your free report” lead nurturing program is elevated to a degree… Read More