October 24 2002

October 24, 2002

Dear Reader,

There's a lot going on so this issue is a bit longer than the usual. I'm including three (count 'em, three!) links to PDF research reports, on topics ranging from spam filters to branding. There's also a new article on viral marketing, a great 'what works' article and a funky site that talks about the origins of 'spam' and 'surfing' the Internet. I list my top five highlights from a recent Email Newsletter conference in my Publisher's note. And lots more.

Are you going to the ClickZ conference next month in San Francisco? I am, so if you are too let's meet for coffee. Shoot me an e-mail (mailto:publisher@jenningsreport.com).

Table of Contents
1. Publisher's Note Jeanne S. Jennings
2. Building Brand Loyalty With Email Quris
3. Origin of the Term 'Spam' to Mean Net Abuse Templetons.com
4. Avoid the Spam Filter Trap Assurance Systems
5. Direct Marketers Endorse Anti-Spam Laws ZDNet News
6. Poll: Do you Support the Concept of Regulating Email at the Federal Level?
7. Last Issue's Poll: Does Your Organization Publish An Email Newsletter?
8. 2002 Consumer Email Study DoubleClick
9. Viral Marketing, Email Style (Part 2) MarketingProfs.com
10. Behind the Scenes: What Works and What Needs Work ClickZ.com

Content
1. Publisher's Note Jeanne S. Jennings

This issue I give my top five highlights from the Email Newsletter Publisher's Workshop I attended earlier this month. Whether you're on the editorial or marketing side of the e-mail business, there was something here for you! Also: a brief note about the closing of Netpreneur.

Bonus Links!
Read MarketingSherpa's Conference Wrap-Up.

Order the Full Transcript, only $99 until November 1

2. Building Brand Loyalty With Email Quris, October 2002

More good research from the folks at Quris, showing that your e-mail initiatives do reflect on your brand and your bottom line. 56% of those surveyed said e-mail was an important factor in their perceptions of a brand. Quris also found that these folks were more likely to buy online -- cha ching! And if you can keep people engaged with e-mail for two years or more, there are even more benefits. Check out this free report for more statistics and insights.

3. Origin of the Term 'Spam' to Mean Net Abuse Brad Templeton, Templetons.com

Do you know when the first spam message was sent, and who sent it? You may be surprised -- it didn't involve Nigeria, medications or acts of questionable taste. And who coined the term 'surfing' to describe what we do online? This page, while rather homegrown, is a trove of information on the earliest days of online. Very cool, especially the links to the full text of the e-mails he's referencing.

4. Avoid the Spam Filter Trap Assurance Systems, October 2002

Spam and spam filters continue to be a huge issue for legitimate e-mail marketers. This is the first report I've seen which quantifies the damage: 12% of the permission- based e-mail tracked was tagged as spam. There's a concise and easy to understand overview of the three kinds of spam filters, and some basic tips on getting past them. Assurance also includes pitches for their various products in the brief.

5. Direct Marketers Endorse Anti-Spam Laws Declan McCullagh, ZDNet News,
October 22 2002

"We absolutely need legislation." With these words, the Direct Marketing Association ended their vocal and long- standing opposition to e-mail regulation. While they still aren't advocating opt-in, this is still a radical change for them. It will be interesting to see if other groups follow suit.

6. Poll: Do you Support the Concept of Regulating Email at the Federal Level?

Give us you opinion (three questions or less!); you can look at the results-to-date right away, and we'll publish the full results in the next issue.

7. Last Issue's Poll: Does Your Organization Publish An Email Newsletter?

Thanks to everyone who took part in last issue's poll. The results can't be extrapolated to the population as a whole, but they do tell us a bit about the folks who are reading this e-mail newsletter. And it will help me target content to meet your needs.

I was happy and surprised to find that 77% of those who responded are publishing an e-mail newsletter, a bit higher than the 66% that e-Dialog reported in April. 23% of poll-takers actually publish more than one.

As far as as format goes, both HTML and text was the most common answer, with 67% saying they publish in both. Text only (18%) held a slight lead over HTML only (15%), which surprised me; I would have thought the number of folks publishing in HTML only would have been much smaller.

As far as the send, most people (64%) are using in-house software as opposed to outsourcing it (36%).

8. 2002 Consumer Email Study DoubleClick, October 2002

Most of the statistics in this report are focused on e-mail marketing by retailers, but there are still some great numbers that apply to all. Many quantify things that folks in the industry have known for years, like the fact that 60% of those surveyed use the "from" line to determine whether or not to open an e-mail. The report also talks in general terms about e-mail volume and frequency. In the retail realm, we learn that e-mail is effective at driving offline purchases and providing customer service, and they report that women find free shipping more appealing than men do.

9. Viral Marketing, Email Style (Part 2) Lynda Partner, MarketingProfs.com,
October 15 2002

More good stuff on viral marketing. Lynda presents 13 best practices for viral marketing, and don't miss the viral marketing case studies she lists at the end (why don't they link to them?!?). Good reading if you're doing or thinking of doing viral marketing.

10. Behind the Scenes: What Works and What Needs Work
Joanna Belbey and Karen Gedney, ClickZ.com, October 23 2002

If you didn't see this article on ClickZ, you'll want to click-through and read it. Joanna and Karen include tips for subject lines, newsletters, lists and other elements of e-mail marketing from two of the top agencies.

Closing
Thanks for reading! Please drop me an e-mail and let me know what you liked in this issue -- and what you could have lived without. We'll be publishing again on Thursday, November 14th. Have a safe and fun halloween.

Bye!
Jeanne
mailto:publisher@jenningsreport.com