The explosion of social media and mobile devices has proved to be a game-changer for email marketing. While email marketing is alive and thriving, strategies must change to capitalize on consumer behavior in order for companies to leverage their email marketing campaigns most effectively.  As we look back over 2010, we can note the shifts in online behavior and use those to project the coming trends for email marketing in 2011.

1. Consumers want real-time value.

The ability to post instant updates, tweets, and comments have trained consumers to expect those things from marketing campaigns as well.  You can begin incorporating real-time value into your email marketing by tracking customer behavior on social networks and using that data to create automated campaigns that deliver relevant messages based on triggers and auto-responders created with eConnect Email.

2. Mobile versions increase in popularity.

Some experts predict that 2011 will see mobile device sales outperforming PC sales for the first time in history.  Because people check email on mobile devices more frequently than ever before, you’ll need to make sure your email templates/ campaigns are designed to accommodate these users.  Curious how your email campaign will display within a specific email system or mobile devices?  We’ve got you covered, check out Inbox & Mobile Previews, a premium feature available within eConnect Email.

3.     Social media takes center stage.

2010 was the year social media came into its own, and 2011 will be the year that it takes center stage in a wide variety of marketing efforts, including email marketing. You can incorporate you social media efforts into your email marketing campaign by including links to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites within your email campaigns. You can also include eConnect Email’s built in social sharing tools which will allow your subscribers to share your email campaigns via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Buzz (talk about expanding your reach).  Now also available is a feature that allows you to integrate a Facebook “Like” option into your email campaign, the whole process takes less than 10 seconds!

4.     Social media gives back.

Not only can you use email to help promote your social media efforts, but you can also begin using social media to increase email opt-ins. By placing opt-in opportunities on your Facebook fanpage and in your Twitter posts, you can increase the number of overall subscribers.

5.     Dynamic content becomes the norm.

As people share their opinions and product review information, they’ll become more likely to expect businesses to incorporate this data into their marketing campaigns. Using eConnect Email’s Dynamic Content tools will allow you to create a one-to-one email marketing experience which will keep your subscribers engaged!

As email marketing sets sail in 2011, businesses will need to embrace social media and look for tools that will enhance and engage your subscribers like never before.  eConnect Email can help you stay on course by giving you the tools you need to meet and exceed user expectations every time.

The year 2010 brought huge changes in the way consumers interact with companies online. As social media opened the door for increased interaction between businesses and their customers, marketing efforts were often left scrambling to keep up with the changing demands of the new marketing landscape. As we head into 2011, the lessons we learned in 2010 can point us in the right direction and keep us on the right track.

• Customer expectations constantly change.

Because customers can now interact in real time with businesses, they expect faster responses to their concerns and requests. For your email marketing campaigns, this means staying on top of customer interests and providing real-time value. eConnect Email can help you achieve these goals through email automation by the implementation of email triggers and auto-responders.

• Social media is here to stay.

While no one knows what the next big “thing” in social media will be, we do know that social media as a technology is not going anywhere anytime soon. While that idea can be intimidating to some businesses, social media actually provides excellent opportunities to grow both your email marketing list and also engage your social media followers online.  This being said, we have embraced social media and have actually integrated with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Buzz.  Click here for information about the integration of social media with eConnect Email.

• Customers expect stellar service.

While customer service has always been a top priority for successful businesses, customers now expect even greater attention to be paid to their needs due to increased interaction online. This means staying on top of subscriber’s preferences and making sure each email arrives at its intended destination.   eConnect Email ensures that your mailing lists stay up to date by using list cleansing, suppression lists, list segmentation as well as giving your subscribers the ability to manage their mailing list subscriptions through the online preference center.

• What works for someone else may not work for you.

It’s easy to put together a list of best practices and slap them up on a website for others to emulate, but building a truly successful email marketing program takes a little more planning and insight. The truth is that what works for one company may not work for another, so it’s vital that you incorporate testing into your email marketing strategy. That’s why I would recommend that you A/B Split Test each and every email campaign.  Split Testing will help ensure that you deliver only the most effective messages to your audience.

With 2010 in the past, businesses will need to take the lessons learned over the past twelve months and build on them to create a strategy that will effectively meet the challenges of 2011. eConnect Email stands ready to help you accomplish this goal with a vast array of tools and features that will help keep your email marketing strategy on the cutting edge.  If you have any questions about the capabilities of our application we’d love to hear from you!

The team at eConnect Email would like to wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and best wishes for a prosperous 2011!  We have put together some tips and tricks to making your email marketing a success in the new year.  As always we welcome your feedback and if you have any questions about our software, we are hear to help.

Have a merry little email and a happy new marketing campaign…

For This Month’s Tips & Tricks – CLICK HERE

Believe it or not, there were some techie types (otherwise known as nerds) who thought that Twitter, Facebook, etc. would completely eradicate the need for and use of email.  Well, here we are in 2011 and email isn’t going anywhere, at least not in the foreseeable future.  The smart ones have figured out how to incorporate email marketing with the social media outlets.

One example is Biz Stone, who launched his first edition of the new Twitter Email Newsletter.  Yes, he could have done the Twitter thing with it, but it is one smart guy who realizes that information flows through various channels, and people tend to receive information in a variety of those channels.  Also, tweeting a newsletter in blocks of 140 characters at a time is a little less than efficient.

The big thing holding all the social media together, according to some, is—you guessed it—email.  Where do updates and recaps of your day in the social media appear?  Your inbox.  One such example is Nutshell Mail , where you can sign up for these types of updates to hit your inbox a few times daily.  Also, Brady Sadler wrote a great post on Gowalla.  Gowalla uses email to try to create a more personal bonding experience with its users.

What about Google Wave?  I doubt that it will replace Gmail anytime soon.

Yes, the bottom line is that email is the foundational tool for communication.  You use it every day.  At work, at home, at school, and at play.  Goodmail is creating ways to use video in the inbox and companies like Brightcove should join the bandwagon. Gmail has let us know that you can run YouTube videos inside an email sent to your Gmail account. And Outlook 2010?  Yes, even  Outlook 2010 is going social, streamlining social communications into one platform.

Features of Inbox 2 recognize the many data streams constantly bombarding us and this is a perfect opportunity for the creation of a unified platform.  Exact Target has bought CoTweet.  HubSpot has packaged Inbound Marketing in such a way that demonstrates that they understand the whole “email is glue” concept.  It also demonstrates that they know how to turn potential customers into customers.  So what is the point of all of this?

Email is the way things are and the main line flowing through the Internet. As far as we can see into the future, it will remain so.  Just ask Mark Cuban.

Exciting things are happening at eConnect Email.  Our October Newsletter will give you the low down on the release of the new interface and what to expect as we move forward.  Over the last month we have also rolled out our new affiliate program… so make sure to click on the link before for all the details.

For This Month’s Tips & Tricks – CLICK HERE

There was a time in the recent past when email was king of the mountain in terms of online marketing. Nowadays, email has to compete with Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and RSS feeds to even get noticed, much less to capture attention and direct action in a meaningful way. Even so, the question “Is email dead?” is rather simplistic. Of course it’s not dead. People still use email and they still sign up for e-newsletters and promotional emails. But that’s not really what most people want to know when they ask the question. They want to know whether email marketing is still a good investment for their company.

What’s the Right Question?

A better way to consider the effectiveness of email marketing is to ask “How have the habits of my target market changed with regard to email and can email still help me accomplish my marketing goals with that market?” Of course, any great question opens up the field to follow-up questions. Some that you should consider include:

• How and where does my audience check email? (mobile phones, work, home)
• What type of email will my audience most likely open and read? (promotional, newsletter, educational)
• How can I build trust with my audience so they will be more likely to interact meaningfully with my emails?

How Does Today’s Market use Email?

I have two separate email accounts. One I use primarily for business-related communication and personal communication. The other I use for promotional emails and newsletters. However, if there’s a particular company whose emails I think I’ll read more than the average e-mail ad, then I’ll switch them over to my personal account. The majority of your target market probably thinks the same way. The goal for your business, then, should be to move from the “check once a month” account to the “daily” account. eConnect Email can help you do this in several ways:

• Build Trust—Send informational, carefully timed emails that offer genuine value to the user in order to avoid the spam list. Also, eConnect Email deals only with permission-based email campaigns rather than purchased or rented lists in order to protect the privacy of recipients.

• Provide Value—Go heavy on education and light on promotion in order to keep people reading. Most newsletters have seen success with an 80/20 ratio, more or less.

• Respect Unsubscribe Requests—Don’t earn a reputation for spamming people who have unsubscribed from your list. eConnect Email provides easy mailing list management and automates unsubscribe requests immediately.

By understanding the email habits of your target market and by building an email campaign that respects their privacy while providing value, you can achieve success with email marketing.

We have been in business now for a good 6 years and we can honestly attribute our success to great clients and friends who have used our service themselves or referred business to us.  Most of our good fortune comes not from advertising, but from word-of-mouth.

That being said, we are excited to launch our new affiliate program and start rewarding those that refer business our way.  We wanted to make this whole referral business easy.  Our affiliates (you) simply display one of our pre-designed banner ads on their (your) website and our affiliate software tracks the activated accounts and automatically sends you a check in the mail for every new client, every month that they are active.

Now that’s easy!!

The best part of this affiliate program is their is very little work involved.  15% of every eConnect Email account + $3 for every lead-in (free account) plan activated will be mailed to you each month just by displaying one of our ads on your website.  That sounds like a win-win to me!

Getting subscribers to open your emails can sometimes be a challenge, especially when they are subscribed to numerous email lists. This month’s newsletter will help you rise above the inbox competition and move subscribers to open and read your emails.

For This Month’s Tips & Tricks – CLICK HERE

The eConnect Email Team is excited to announce the release of our Private Label Email Marketing Solution.   With eConnect Email, you can launch a fully branded email marketing service without the hassle and cost of developing and maintaining an in-house solution.  We manage the technology and ISP relationships so that you can focus on building your business and servicing your clients.

We provide you with all the tools of our email marketing platform, the ability to brand our software as your own and establish your own pricing while providing your customers with one of the most sophisticated applications available.

Private Label Features Include:

• Complete Interface rebranding (control of CSS markup and HTML content for maximum control)
• Private Label Sub-domain or custom URL
• Unlimited accounts, sub-accounts  with granular permissions
• All current version features & upgrades
• Discounted volume pricing (wholesale rates) – starts as low as $250/mo.
• Fully automated billing manager
• Deliverability Monitoring
  • ISP Delivery Monitoring
  • Black List Monitoring & Resolution
  • Spam Complaint Monitoring & Resolution
• Email Authentication setup
• Dedicated Account Manager with priority support
• Unlimited render & spam testing available

For more information or to schedule a demo of our Private Label Email Marketing Solution, click here!

Has Outlook Improved with the Release of 2010?

Did the release of Outlook 2010 signify a step forward in the email marketing world? Probably not. In general, most email marketers have been frustrated with Microsoft since the release of Outlook 2007 when they began using Microsoft Word rather than Internet Explorer as their email-rendering engine. Certain HTML email attributes loved by email marketers–background images, animated gifs and some CSS properties —have been unsupported when emailing Outlook users. Most of these issues remain unchanged with the release of Outlook 2010

So What Has Changed?

With the release of Outlook 2010, something must have changed, right? Otherwise, what’s the point. Yes, some things have changed but we can’t necessarily say that it’s for the better.

For one thing, if you choose to use Outlook 2010 to send and receive your emails, you’re all set. Emails received by other Outlook users will be rendered properly. Of course, most of us don’t use Outlook, so we’re still stuck in a difficult position.

Another change that isn’t so good. Outlook 2010 now offers 100 less pixels in the initial rendering space. This means when 2010 users first open your email, more of your information is pushed out of sight. The recipient needs to scroll down to see that information. If your email doesn’t initially entice the user then scrolling down probably won’t happen.  So in short, as a designer we have less space to grab the recipients attention.

What Should Email Marketers Do?

As long as you currently format your emails for Outlook 2007, you shouldn’t have to change much for the new version. Except for paying closer attention to what you put at the top of an email, just keep doing the same things.  Avoid CSS floats entirely, background images and animated gifts. And keep in mind, unless your potential clients add you to an address book, your images won’t appear on his or her screen until they download them (so make sure not to send out emails that are made up of only images).

If you have questions or run into a snag let us know, we’re here to help!