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| November 25, 2002 Dear Reader, Hi! We're publishing a bit early as a result of the Holiday this week. In addition to highlights of the ClickZ conference in San Francisco last week (in my publisher's note), I've included links to a new report on HTML errors in e-mail (they're more common than you think!), an article on some spam filter tests (a hot topic these days) and some practical advice on growing your list and getting your e-mails read. Enjoy! Table of Contents 1. Publisher's Note Jeanne S. Jennings 2. Test Results Show 4% Mail Filtered, Possibly More Email Sherpa 3. Poll: How big an issue are Spam Filters? 4. Last Issue's Poll: Do You Measure Your Email Marketing Efforts? 5. The Broken Link: What Do Recipients Really See? silverPOP 6. Break Through Clutter: Get Your Email Read BtoBOnline 7. How to Grow Your Email List MarketingProfs.com Content 1. Publisher's Note Jeanne S. Jennings I'm just back from the ClickZ conference in San Francisco. If you missed it, check out my publisher's note for highlights on the best of the two day event. 2. Test Results Show 4% Mail Filtered, Possibly More Anne Holland, Email Sherpa / Marketing Sherpa, November 13 2002 In last issue's publisher's note I mentioned this test that Marketing Sherpa was conducting; here are the results. Although there were some potential flaws (Anne lists them in the article), it appears that only about 4% of the messages were filtered. When you look at all the hype lately about legitimate e-mail being filtered as spam, this seems like a small percentage. In addition to the results of her study, Anne also provides an overview of a similar test done by Wordbiz Report, another publisher. Good reading for anyone sending e-mail today. 3. Poll: How big an issue are Spam Filters? Take a moment (just 3 questions!) and tell us whether you think Spam Filters are a big issue, whether your e-mail has ever been filtered as spam, and what actions you're taking to avoid spam filters. You'll be able to see the results to date when you finish; we'll have a complete overview of the responses in the next issue of The Jennings Report. 4. Last Issue's Poll: Do You Measure Your Email Marketing Efforts? Thanks to everyone who took part! Here's what those who responded said: The vast majority (85%) are doing some kind of tracking or measuring. Of those who track, click-throughs (94%), open rates (91%) and unsubscribes (84%) were the metrics most tracked. Spam complaints (34%) were the metric least likely to be tracked. The tracking data was seen as 'very useful' by 72% of respondents; no one who was tracking found the information 'not useful.' I was pleasantly surprised by the results. As a consultant, I meet with so many people who aren't doing any tracking or reporting on their e-mail efforts, and it makes it difficult to measure the effectiveness of what they're doing now. It makes it even more difficult to evaluate when you test changes, since there's no baseline to work from. 5. The Broken Link: What Do Recipients Really See? silverPOP, November 2002 The link above goes to the silverPOP homepage; the report is featured in the bottom right corner of the screen. It's in PDF Format, so you'll need Adobe Acrobat to read it. Do you send HTML e-mail? Then you'll want to review this study in which 42% of HTML e-mails contained errors when viewed. They tested a variety of e-mail clients, including a few versions of AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, Outlook 2000 and Lotus Notes 5.0. They also include data on the percentage of legitimate e-mail flagged as spam (25%), double opt-in penetration (small), and use of confirmation e-mails and personalization. Best of all, it's a quick read with charts and graphs and not too much sales pitch. I wish they had taken the next step and offered some detail on how to resolve errors for each program, but maybe that will be their next report... 6. Break Through Clutter: Get Your Email Read Andy Sernovitz, BtoBOnline, November 11 2002 What does MEATS have to do with e-mail? Check out this article, where Andy uses that acronym to spell out what it takes to get your e-mail opened and read. A great memory jog for anyone using e-mail successfully, and a good rule of thumb for those just getting started. 7. How to Grow Your Email List Jeremy Bachmann, MarketingProfs.com, December 3 2002 While the case study referred to involves a bank, the list of ways to grow your list applies across industries. Jeremy took his client's e-mail list from 300 to 8,000 in four months, which would qualify as a success in just about anyone's book. Closing If you're celebrating this coming Thursday, enjoy your Thanksgiving Turkey! We'll be publishing again on Thursday, December 12. As always, thanks for reading! Jeanne publisher@jenningsreport.com |
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The
Jennings Report
