20 FUNDAMENTALS DM News • E-Mail <strong>Marketing</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> 2007 time, instead of a one-time opt-in for multiple offers. ■ Never allow third-party permission or sharing of consumer data. This goes not only for online lead generation providers and e-<strong>mail</strong> marketers, but their partners and advertisers as well. Remember, permission is not transferable. ■ Don’t bombard your cus<strong>to</strong>mers with e-<strong>mail</strong>. Respect their wishes <strong>to</strong> receive messages from you at a rate they are comfortable with. ■ Be sure the e-<strong>mail</strong> promotions you send are clear and easy-<strong>to</strong>understand. Never hide special promotional requirements in the small print or in a separate “Terms and Conditions” agreement. ■ Use language that consumers can easily understand. ■ Be clear and understandable through the entire process. ■ Let consumers know exactly what <strong>to</strong> expect when signing up for a promotion or offer. ■ Clearly outline the intention of your promotion. If a purchase is required <strong>to</strong> qualify for a promotion, tell them up front. By following responsible online marketing best practices, marketers create a win-win situation for both the consumer and the brand. The result is more profitable companies that enjoy trusting, long-term relations with cus<strong>to</strong>mers, and consumers who receive offers for products and services they want. Jere Doyle is president and CEO of Prospectiv. He can be reached at jdoyle@prospectiv.com. Why and how <strong>to</strong> switch e-<strong>mail</strong> service providers BY ELIE ASHERY In a perfect world, your e-<strong>mail</strong> service provider is flexible, responsive <strong>to</strong> your needs, knowledgeable of new technology and cost effective. It is not a perfect world, and working with an e-<strong>mail</strong> vendor can be frustrating as you negotiate contracts and cus<strong>to</strong>mize service plans. Abandoning the vendor and moving <strong>to</strong> another bigger, faster, cheaper or closer provider is not always the best answer. There are more than 100 e-<strong>mail</strong> service providers (ESPs) selling their services in the market <strong>to</strong>day, and all of them are on the hunt for new cus<strong>to</strong>mers. Taking the time <strong>to</strong> evaluate your options will prevent getting locked in<strong>to</strong> an annual contract Elie Ashery with a vendor that doesn’t fit Gold Lasso your needs. Following are “decision points,” fac<strong>to</strong>rs that make it worth your while <strong>to</strong> consider finding a new ESP. ■ You are made <strong>to</strong> share an IP address with any of your ESP’s other clients. If so, there is no distinction between the two companies. Organizations don’t get blacklisted, the IP associated with the organization does. ■ Your ESP cannot handle the volume of e-<strong>mail</strong> you send. ■ The ESP does not provide high-level features <strong>to</strong> create one-<strong>to</strong>one campaigns, or makes you pay a premium for them. ■ You cannot integrate with a third-party system. ■ Your ESP’s cus<strong>to</strong>mer service is lacking. ESSENTIAL GUIDE ■ You pay a premium <strong>to</strong> send HTML-formatted e-<strong>mail</strong>. ■ You are locked in<strong>to</strong> a service contract. ■ You are required <strong>to</strong> send a minimum amount of e-<strong>mail</strong> per month. ■ You paid a set-up fee just for turning on your account. ■ You pay upfront <strong>to</strong> send e-<strong>mail</strong> without getting a discount. ■ Your current ESP charges high fees for inadequate training. On the other hand, if you have low delivery rates or your campaigns are not garnering the response you hoped or planned for, don’t assume it is the vendor’s fault. For as many reasons as there are <strong>to</strong> look for a new provider, there are also key reasons <strong>to</strong> stay. ■ Have you updated your lists? If you don’t take steps <strong>to</strong> maintain and update your list, your campaigns may not succeed. ■ Are you just trying <strong>to</strong> save money? Because cheaper isn’t always better. How <strong>to</strong> Make the Switch If the reasons <strong>to</strong> find a new vendor are compelling enough <strong>to</strong> warrant a search, use the following guidelines. ■ Gather data on your current e-marketing efforts and discuss what was lacking with your previous vendor. Consider what type of service you need, how flexible your budget is and what kind of partnership you want. ■ Plan out your search. Ask your colleagues and friends. Request references from professional associations and listservs. ■ Export invalid (bounced) e-<strong>mail</strong> address and opt outs from old ESP and import <strong>to</strong> new ESP. ■ Export and set up templates <strong>to</strong> keep consistency and implement a seamless transition for cus<strong>to</strong>mers or members. ■ Make sure you are looking for an ESP that offers DNS configuration — DNS configuration allows e-<strong>mail</strong> <strong>to</strong> be sent from your domain instead of your ESP’s. Reverse DNS legitimizes this process allowing <strong>mail</strong> servers <strong>to</strong> identify this domain and who it belongs <strong>to</strong> increasing deliverability and preventing “spoofing.” Elie Ashery is president and CEO of Gold Lasso. You can reach him at eashery@goldlasso.com. Getting <strong>to</strong> the guts of great e-<strong>mail</strong> BY GEORGE LE PERA Have you ever done an au<strong>to</strong>psy on an e-<strong>mail</strong>? Taken a digital solicitation and spread it out on a table, cut it open and looked at what lay inside? I did just such a thing not long ago. A client wanted <strong>to</strong> know why some of her solicitations were thriving, while others flopped. So I printed a bunch of her e-<strong>mail</strong>s and put them side by side. After looking at more than 20, and their corresponding response rates, a consistent pattern started <strong>to</strong> emerge: It seemed that the best performing e-<strong>mail</strong>s didn’t look or read very much like e-<strong>mail</strong>s at all. While the losing e-<strong>mail</strong>s seemed <strong>to</strong> be piled high with gizmos and gimmicks, flash and animation or elaborate designs and clipped, nearly unintelligible copy, the winners looked and read like good old-fashioned direct <strong>mail</strong>. My first instinct was <strong>to</strong> scream heresy, <strong>to</strong> recite the conventional
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