July 10 2003

July 10 2003

Dear Reader,

Whether you do e-mail marketing or publish an e-mail newsletter, we've got some great info for you in this issue. Don't miss the Survey of Email Format Preferences (very detailed!) or the article on legal issues surrounding permission ('Consent and Solicitation'). And my Publisher's Note talks about common things that drive e-mail publishers crazy -- and really shouldn't. Dive right in, the water's fine!

Table of Contents
1. Publisher's Note: When 'Perfect' Gets in the Way of 'Good Enough' Jeanne S. Jennings
2. Email Marketing Tune-up Subscriber Mail
3. How Red Hat has Kept its Email Newsletter Open Rates Higher than Average for Four Years in a Row Marketing Sherpa's Email Sherpa
4. Consent and Solicitation: Not Just a Federal Issue The Smart Marketing Report
5. The Only Way to Can the Sp*m BusinessWeekOnline
6. Stat Heaven: Survey of Email Format Preferences and Programs Web Marketing Today

Sponsor

Content
1. Publisher's Note: When 'Perfect' Gets in the Way of 'Good Enough' Jeanne S. Jennings, July 10 2003

Some common things my clients -- and I -- worry far too much about with regard to e-mail. Simple thoughts on freeing yourself from your own expectations and 'doing a lot of good with B+ work.'

2. Email Marketing Tune-up Subscriber Mail, July 2003

A good basic checklist which covers the before, during and after of an effective e-mail program. Great for those new to e-mail marketing or anyone who needs a little reminder. It's 4 pages in PDF format (you'll need Adobe Acrobat to read it).

3. How Red Hat has Kept its Email Newsletter Open Rates Higher than Average for Four Years in a Row Lynda Partner, Marketing Sherpa's Email Sherpa, June 26 2003

Great article with some statistics and lots of tips that I've also had success with, like giving the newsletter a personality, encouraging readers to interact with you and keeping it relevant to the audience. Also includes a link to samples of what's working for Red Hat -- which ups the value exponentially.

4. Consent and Solicitation: Not Just a Federal Issue Bennie Smith, The Smart Marketing Report, June 2003

Written by DoubleClick's Chief Privacy Officer, this is a must-read for anyone sending e-mail. Covering four key areas, it gives you a framework for evaluating your policies and processes to see if you are in compliance with the major state laws on unsolicited commercial e-mail. I wish it were more in-depth, but then it would be a novel instead of an article, so...

5. The Only Way to Can the Sp*m Alex Salkever, BusinessWeekOnline, July 8 2003

Not an industry pub, but after walking through all the proposed sp*m solutions, he comes down on one that he actually believes will work -- and I think he's on to something. A good overview of the issues that anyone sending e-mail is facing these days.

6. Stat Heaven: Survey of Email Format Preferences and Programs Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Web Marketing Today, May 7 2003

This is a gem! Dr. Wilson surveyed almost 1,000 people (some techies, some not) on issues we all wrestle with, including what program they use to read their e-mail (even down to what version of AOL), whether they can view HTML messages (99% are able, he estimates) -- and whether they prefer HTML or text and why. Relevant for both B2B and B2C e-mail marketers.

Closing
Happy Summer! We'll publish again on Thursday, July 24.

Best,
Jeanne
publisher@jenningsreport.com