April 25, 2002
Dear Reader,
Litigation, permission, poll results and chocolate -- this issue of The
Jennings Report is chock-full of information for you. We bring you an
interview with a company being sued for spamming, a nice piece on
permission vs. relationships, results from a poll on Internet usage and
how chocolate -- yes, chocolate -- provided a lift in e-mail responses.
Dive in!
Table of Contents
1.
Chocolate's a Winner for BTB Campaign,
iMarketing News
2.
Yahoodwinked,
ClickZ.com
3.
More Internet Users Signing Up for Microsoft
Passport, but Mostly to Get Other Offerings,
Gartner
4. Follow-Up:
E-tracks.com Email
Litigation, Opt-in News
5.
Does Your Email Newsletter Have a Content Formula?
ClickZ.com
6.
Are You an Email Marketing Miner or Manager?
MarketingProfs.com
7. Stat Heaven:
Results of Poll of Canadian
Internet Users, Ipsos-Reid
8.
The Distinction Between Relationship and Permission,
User Relationship Journal
9. Rest in Peace:
iMarketing News Shuts Down,
BtoB Online
Content
1. Chocolate's A Winner for BTB Campaign
April 11, 2002, Ken Magill, iMarketing News
Did you receive chocolates from a lawyer
lately? If so, they may have been one of the ones who responded to this
lead-generation campaign. Attorneys who signed up for a free trial of
the company's web-based continuing education program got the chance to
send Godiva chocolate, free of charge, to anyone in the country. The
chocolate incentive resulted in a 60% lift in leads. Weak point of the
article: No stats on the end game, conversions, since the trial period
was still going on as the article went to press.
2.
Yahoodwinked April 16, 2002, Mark
Sakalosky, ClickZ.com
I liked the tongue-in-check tone of this article, as well as the
alternative revenue-strategy Mark presents, which was the brainchild of
an associate of his in Atlanta. I know you're sick of reading about it,
it's been in all the papers. But I promise you won't be disappointed if
you click on the link and check it out.
3.
More Internet Users Signing Up for Microsoft Passport, but Mostly to Get
Other Offerings April 17, 2002,
Press Release, Gartner
Interesting. The number of users registered to use Microsoft Passport
has doubled in the past six months, but 84% of those surveyed say they
signed up because it was required, not because they have an interest in
the service. As an e-mail marketer, that would make me think twice about
renting any list with a lot of MSN e-mail addresses on it. Why? Because
I never check the MSN address I had to create for myself when Windows XP
required me to get a Passport account. And I bet I'm not the only one.
4. Follow-Up:
E-tracks.com Email Litigation
April 15, 2002, Clint Symons, Opt-in News
Note: Link stopped working in mid-August 2002 and was removed.
Last issue we featured an article from the Los Angeles Times about spam
which briefly mentioned a law firm that was suing an e-mail solutions
provider in California. Here's a follow-up: a more in-depth discussion
of the charges, the statutes involved and an interview with the
defendants corporate counsel. Issues raised include who is responsible
for verifying that the list is permission-based, what relationships
constitute permission outside of an opt-in, and whether the frequency of
the messages makes a difference. A good read, and although I'm not sure
I agree with the defense, I must say it raised some valid points to
consider. BTW, the law firm was contacted for the article but had no
comment.
5.
Does Your E-Newsletter Have a Content Formula?
April 17, 2002, Debbie Weil, ClickZ.com
If you write an e-mail newsletter (or a monthly column, for that matter,
both of which I do) you're bound to run into it sometime: writer's
block. In this article, Debbie provides oodles of suggestions for
keeping your content fresh, some of them pulled from a new book by
copywriter Bob Bly. In addition, she provides guidelines on e-mail
newsletter departments, word count, packaging the articles and editorial
standards. A must-read if you write an e-mail newsletter.
6.
Are You
an Email Marketing Miner or Manager?
April 16, 2002, Mark Brownlow, MarketingProfs.com
Mark highlights the increase in e-mail volume and subsequent decrease in
response rates that we're all seeing. His five questions to ask yourself
to see if you are mining, rather than managing your list are great; he
also hits on the high points (quality over quantity, a planned campaign
or e-mail newsletter program rather than one-offs, and a relationship
focus) of effective e-mail marketing.
7. Stat Heaven:
Results of Poll of Canadian Internet Users
2001, Ipsos-Reid
This 10-page PDF features beautiful color charts and great quantitative
data on what people like and dislike about e-mail, as well as how much
they receive, where they receive it and what the content is (Surprise!
While only 4.2% is subscription-based at work, over 13% of the mail they
receive at home is subscription-based. Another data point for those
interested in paid content.) Respondents were also surveyed on security
concerns on the Internet, and those charts are here too. Warning: some
of the data is a year old, but it seems to have a shelf-life.
8.
The Distinction Between Relationship and Permission
April 2002, Jeffrey Tarter, User Relationship
Journal
Great tips on going past "opt-in theories" and really building a
relationship with your clients and prospects via e-mail. Jeff states,
correctly, that it's not asking for permission that gets results; it's
the relationship you build that keeps your reader engaged. A really good
article.
9. Rest In Peace:
iMarketing News Shuts Down April
22, 2002, Matthew Schwartz, BtoB Online
Say it isn't so. Another resource for e-mail marketers is going away.
Well, not totally going away. The staff was let go and it's being merged
with DMNews. Still, with the demise of IMT Strategies (one of my
favorite research organizations until they shuttered earlier this year),
it suggests a frustrating trend--fewer knowledgeable and focused people
covering strictly online/e-mail issues.
Closing
Bye for Now! We'll be back on Thursday, May 9 with more. Have a happy
Cinco do Mayo in the meantime!
Jeanne
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