1. Basics
Prior to constructing your email, make sure that your message is clear and concise. Develop and refine what you want to say so that readers don’t lose interest or get confused about what your call-to-action is. What is your offer? How will reading and clicking through this email help the reader? Make sure they know what’s in it for them. Before and during the building process, continually ask yourself, “What would I think if I got this in my inbox? Would I immediately delete it? Or worse, report it as spam?” Rule No. 1 — don’t be spam.

Even the most compelling message can be rendered ineffective if it’s presented in an undesirable way to your readers. During this process you may encounter many challenges and obstacles. Your design team may want to create something striking and beautiful, but your audience may not want it. At the same time, don’t throw readers for a loop with a design that is off-brand. Your email design should be able to flow well with the look of your website as well as any pieces collateral offered. Consistency is good. Also, design the email around your readers by responding to their personality. Are they tech savvy? Parents? Students?

Loss of confidential data – including intellectual property, business documents, customer data, and employee records – is a pervasive problem among World companies, according to a survey released by Ponemon Institute and Vontu, a San Francisco-based provider of data loss prevention products.

Eighty-one percent of companies surveyed reported the loss of one or more laptops containing sensitive information during the past 12 months, according to the survey, which queried nearly 500 information security professionals.

Email Marketing 2010

Inactivation campaigns will become more important, thanks to ISPs giving weight to engagement metrics when determining whether to deliver to the inbox or junk folder or to block email. Marketers with 50% or more of their list inactive will have to start devising strategies to deal with reducing that level. It will start with each company defining what “inactive” is for them, then progress to segmentation tactics to message inactives differently, and possibly culminate with reactivation campaigns that give subscribers a chance to reaffirm their interest or be dropped from the list.

There was a panel of 20-somethings fresh out of college at the Email Insider Summit . The majority of them indicated that they subscribe to emails that they don’t read and just hold on to in case they are suddenly in the market. These kinds of subscribers are becoming increasingly problematic for marketers.

Mobile and SMS Marketing 2010

Mobile marketing was redefined in 2009 – literally. In November, the Mobile Marketing Association updated the definition to “a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network.”

Describing mobile marketing as a set of practices reflects how it has changed in 2009 and where it is headed in 2010. To understand, it helps to consider the following few trends.

Corporate Data Security 2010

• Convergence Has Only Begun: Movement towards convergence of physical and logical security will continue and become the norm rather than the beta test scenario it was in 2009. While new technologies have emerged to better security efforts, “feet on the ground” in the form of security officers is still imperative. The year ahead will see greater focus on ironing out the convergence of physical and logical security, ensuring a “blend” that delivers both the greatest cost-efficiency and highest levels of security.

• “Big Brother” Oversight: Government regulations will create additional costs and impact a wider spectrum of industry sectors as it pertains to security and personal information. With continued incidents of consumer personal data being stolen, health records being released, financial scandals and more, security executives need to be out-front on compliance. They should also prepare for aggressive auditing in areas such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, Payment Card Industry Security Standards and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Email Marketing 2010

Hi marketers! Ready or not, 2010 is here. It’s time to boost your email marketing sales, right? And according to eMarketer, 2010 is going to be a good year for email marketing. A December survey revealed that 69% of respondents plan to increase spending on email marketing efforts – more than any other marketing strategy. And I mean that 2010 is the year of email marketing!

To ring in the New Year, we’ve compiled 5 email marketing tricks, tips and techniques that are likely to gain even more ground this year.

1. Integrating Email With Social Media.
This email marketing tactic – which picked up steam throughout 2009 as a way to boost customer reach – is likely to spread like wildfire throughout 2010. Consider the results of an early 2009 study by Exact Target, Ball State University and the Email Marketer’s club: 46% of marketers planned to incorporate the two marketing strategies in ‘09, compared to 13% in ‘08—a whopping 253% increase.

Reliable Software Statistics

Shocking email marketing statistics 2009. Avoid these numbers – try reliable software!

1. 21% of email recipients report email as Spam, even if they know it isn’t

2. 43% of email recipients click the Spam button based on the email “from” name or email address

3. 69% of email recipients report email as Spam based solely on the subject line

4. 35% of email recipients open email based on the subject line alone

5. IP addresses appearing on just one of the 12 major blacklists had email deliverability 25 points below those not listed on any blacklists