Introducing the new and improved eConnect Email, your go-to email marketing platform. Featuring enhanced usability, customization and security- the new eConnect Email will make building your email campaigns a breeze!

To begin, we restructured eConnect Email from the ground up with several new and exciting features. We now have a template builder where you can create custom rock-solid templates optimized for both desktop and mobile applications.

How about those clients of yours in different time zones? Yep, the new eConnect Email will automatically send your email campaign to your recipients in their specific time zone. In addition, we have beefed up security on both ends with back-end authentication and relationships with top ISPs and industry-leading mail servers.

Worldview

See who is opening and what they’re clicking on with real-time data, all beautifully displayed on Worldview (our gorgeous maps app). Don’t forget about the bread and butter, you know, ROI- the new eConnect Email boasts in-depth reports on your email campaign’s performance and deliverability.

Social Integration

Social. Yes I said it and yes we did it. You can now allow your Facebook friends and fans to subscribe to your newsletter directly from your fan page. We also report every “Like” and “Tweet” your campaign receives as part of our stunning reports. So now you can see not only which subscribers are sharing with their friends, but also what they’re saying about you.

So what are you waiting for? Dive in and set up a new eConnect Email account today for free!

Today’s consumers have moved beyond being impressed with social media marketing efforts. Nowadays, it’s not impressive; it’s expected. But that’s old news for most marketers. If you don’t have a solid social media strategy in place, you’re a step behind. For those of you that do, the next step is integrating the various aspects of your marketing approach so that they work together.

Far from being competitors in the marketplace, email marketing and social media should be viewed as allies in your broader marketing approach. To accomplish that goal, start by integrating some of these popular email apps:

Social Sharing

This is a broad category that includes sharing buttons for a variety of popular networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, and more. Create a copy of your email to share with your social media contacts with the click of a button.

Facebook Share/Like

Even if you don’t include a variety of social sharing buttons, you’ll want to at least make it possible for your subscribers to share your email content on their Facebook pages. Include a share/like button and recruit your loyal followers to help spread your message among their friends.

Continue…

With the advent of social media, online marketing arenas have been altered permanently and drastically. People love the instant gratification social media offers as well as the increased possibilities for conversation and relationship. For businesses, that means capitalizing on those aspects of social media that help increase trust and brand recognition among your target audience. However, don’t let the flashy attractiveness of social media overshadow your tried and true email marketing techniques. Instead, look for ways that you can intertwine the two in order to benefit both.

It’s a Big, Big World Out There

One of social media’s greatest attractions for marketers is that it grants potential access to millions of previously unreachable contacts. When people like your posts or share your articles, this is now visible to all of their friends, giving you the chance to win their attention as well. Savvy email marketers have begun capitalizing on this opportunity by posting an email list sign-up form directly on their Facebook pages. Not only do you reach friends of your current fans, but potential fans can find out immediately how to subscribe to your email list without having to dig deep. And Facebook isn’t the only way to gain greater visibility. Encourage fans to share your email campaigns by including options for them to easily share your messages on sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, etc.

Mobilizing Your Email Marketing Campaign

Incorporating social media into your email marketing campaign is great, but statistics show that ever-increasing numbers of people check their social media accounts not from their desks or laptops, but from their smartphones. Mobile phones have become the go to resource for many people to stay up-to-date on all their digital correspondence, including email, Facebook, and other social media venues. In order to reap the most benefit from an email marketing effort that includes social media, you’ll need to make sure your signup form works with a mobile phone.

Great Openers Demand Great Follow-Ups

Once you’ve engaged the viewer’s attention enough for him to subscribe to your email list, it’s vital that you follow through with an excellent welcome email. Consider including a time-stamped special offer, encouraging readers to take immediate action for further engagement with your company.

eConnect Email can walk you through every phase of your email marketing campaign, from list  building, to email creation and testing, to autoresponders and support. As you start to plan your next campaign make sure to leverage social media.  If there is ever anything we can help you out with be sure to let us know.

Is your email marketing program in need of a redesign? If you haven’t evaluated your marketing practices since last year, then it’s time to ask some pertinent questions about your marketing objectives and strategy. Consider these best practices and start your new year off on the right foot.

1.     Craft Your Welcome Letter as a Marketing Email

Don’t settle for a run-of-the-mill boring welcome letter. Instead, use it as an opportunity to start building a solid relationship with your subscribers.  Invite your subscribers to connect with you via social media and include links to additional content about your products/ services. Need help?  We’d be happy to give you some pointers or help you craft and design an effective welcome email.

2.     Use Emails to Follow Up on Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment rates are astonishingly high, but you can draw some of that lost business back by using emails to follow-up with customers who bailed out before buying. Remind them of their selections and use the email to cross-sell or up-sell. You can also give them the opportunity to leave feedback or offer an incentive for them to come back and complete the purchase.

3.     Use Split Tests to Achieve Higher Open and Click Rates

If you don’t test various options, then you’re essentially guessing what will entice readers.  Split Testing allows you to choose the most effective subject line, call to action, images, and copy for every email campaign.

4.     Give your Subscribers Options

Give your readers the chance to unsubscribe, modify details, or change email preferences without jumping through hoops. Making this process easy leaves a sweet taste in their mouth even if they choose not to remain on your mailing list.  With eConnect Email’s list management options, you can stay on top of subscriber information and make sure your emails reach their intended destinations.

5.     Integrate Social Media with Your Email Campaign

With the rise of social media you’ll want to make sure you adapt your email campaign to the new landscape. You can increase your overall reach by giving your subscribers the opportunity to share your campaign on the various social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

As you rethink your email marketing initiative, take advantage of the tools and solutions available with eConnect Email in order to further engage and interact with your subscribers.  If you have any questions or there is ever anything we can do to help you out let us know!

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 and your family a very wonderful Thanksgiving. eConnect Email has a lot to be thankful for this year! We are continuing to work on providing a superior email marketing platform and wanted to share with you our latest product updates. As always we welcome your feedback!

Update Your Social Share Message

This feature allows all of our clients and partners to update the default messaging that appears when a user clicks the Social Share icon.

For our private-label partners, they can even edit the system-wide default message in their agency model, found on the Admin page.

It’s easy to use and easy to update. If you can type in a text box and click ‘Save’, you’ll be able to figure it out!

To try out this new feature, read our help article first and then jump into the application.

Highlights

• Social share text is fully customizable
• Easy to update for admin and accounts
• Available and fully operational now

Label and change your links easily with Link Labeling

Experience complete control of links…even after you send a campaign.

One of our most requested new features is now live as Link Labeling is available for all clients and partners.

Link Labeling includes two key features:

Labeling: Instead of trying to figure out what a ridiculously long URL was in your campaign, just apply a label to your links after you send. Easy, simple, done.

Changing: We’ve all made the mistake of including an incorrect link in an email. Now we’ve removed that helpless feeling with a great one: the ability to completely change a link after you’ve sent it out. Even better, the change is immediate!

To try out this new feature, read our help article first and then jump into the application. Link Labeling is ready and waiting for you!

Highlights

• Label long URLs with shorter names
• Change incorrect links after deployment of a campaign
• Available and fully operational now

Scheduled Maintenance This Sunday At 6:30 PM

eConnect Email will be undergoing scheduled maintenance Sunday, November 28th, from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM (PST), giving our clients and partners a chance to spend more time with their Thanksgiving leftovers.

We recommend that any sends be deployed outside this maintenance window.

As always, we thank you for your business!

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As the average person’s email habits have evolved over time, the goals and strategies of email marketing have had to evolve as well. People no longer open and read every email they receive and they often maintain two or more accounts to help them filter out promotional messages from personal ones. In order to continue reaching their target audience via email, savvy email marketers must keep up with rapidly changing strategies while maintaining tried and true best practices that win reader loyalty.

• Respect Your Subscribers

Considering the irritation and even anger with which most people view spam, it’s puzzling why so many companies still attempt to send unsolicited emails. If a subscriber asks to be removed from your list, remove him and don’t send additional messages. eConnect Email’s list management options allow you to stay on top of reader preferences and build trust by respecting privacy.

• Target Your Audience

You can build a list of subscribers who are tuned in to your messages by being up front about your email intentions and then by asking them to forward messages to their friends or share it via facebook, twitter, etc. If you provide compelling information, you’ll be able to organically build your subscriber list as newsletters and articles get passed along. eConnect Email offers a social sharing option that allows readers to pass messages along, while also allowing you to track user activity.

• Craft a Compelling Subject Line

Before a subscriber ever clicks through your email, he’ll make a decision about whether your message is worth his/ her time based on your subject line. Avoid clichés and over-the-top claims that readers will ignore. Instead, focus on building well-crafted, concise subject lines that entice the reader to find out more.  For additional tips on how to write a killer email subject line visit the link provided.

• Balance Education and Promotion

One newsletter I received included a statement at the very top that instructed the reader to ignore the ads, explaining they were just there to pay the bills. You know what? I did ignore them. I never bought anything from the company and when I changed email addresses, I didn’t bother to re-subscribe. The company undermined their goal of selling a product by apologizing for the ads in the hopes that subscribers would continue to read. The lesson? Don’t overwhelm readers with ads, but don’t let them off the hook by foregoing a call to action altogether. eConnect Email can help you craft dynamic content for your emails in order to achieve results for your email marketing campaign.

Keep it Interesting

With so much competition in the inbox these days it’s even that much more important to compose great content with catchy subject lines and impressive graphics.  This process is made easier with professional email marketing companies like eConnect Email.  Just remember to have fun and deliver campaigns that you would like to receive because most likely your subscribers will have similar tastes and interests as you.  As always, if you have questions along the way we are here to help!

Our development team is always working to make our email marketing application the most robust in the industry.  We are always introducing new features or helping our clients improve their inbox results.  So, I wanted to take a few minutes to outline some pretty cool features about our system that you may not know about. Take advantage of them – they’ll make you a better email marketer.

1. Snippets: Save yourself some time by reusing key elements to your emails like a header, footer, or side bar.  Snippets are small pieces of HTML that you can create and save and use over and over when you need them.
2. Social Share: Did you hear Twitter is going out of business? Me neither. Social media is here to stay and so is email. Insert a simple tag and boom: your subscribers can share your emails with their networks on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Buzz.
3. Cart Abandonment: 7 out of 10 online shopping carts are abandoned.  70%! Wow.  eConnect Email can help you recover those lost sales by firing off triggered emails to each person that abandons your cart with an offer, incentives or reminders to complete the purchase.  Studies show nearly 50% of abandoned shop carts can be recovered and turned into cold hard cash!
4. RSS-to-Email: Why work harder than you have to. With this feature you can update a blog and then reuse your content for your newsletter too, automatically!  Some of our customers do this and use the next item to schedule the deployment and deliver while they sleep. It’s hands-free email marketing, baby.
5. Scheduled, Automatic Mailings: Want your emails to be working for you while you play? Just set it and forget it. The eConnect Email advanced scheduler deploys your emails on time, every time. So while you’re grilling on a Sunday afternoon with Sam Adams, we’ll be delivering your messages whenever and wherever you need ‘em.
6. Inbox Preview & Spam Report: Want to know how your email will render in all the top email providers including the Blackberry and iPhone? With one-click, Inbox Preview will provide a detailed screenshot report ensuring emails appear as intended. In addition, we’ll run it through all of the most popular spam filters (gateway, desktop and server-side) to see if your stuff might be mistaken as spam before you send.
7. Advanced Triggers: eConnect Email can communicate with your CRM. While we provide stock Salesforce.com integration, you may want to integrate with some other system. With a standard SOAP API, you can have us “talk back” to any system you’d like.
8. Dynamic Content: Readers will want to keep reading your stuff if it’s relative to them.  So tailor your emails to your client’s specific interests and you’ll keep them hooked a whole lot longer.  It just takes a little set up but the results will be well worth your time.  It’s no longer a one-size fits all world.
9. Browser Image Editing: We have a simple way to edit your photos or images inside our program.  Photoshop can be overkill and sometimes we just need to make a simple edit.  We have included the most common image editing functions inside of eConnect Email through our integration with Google-owned Picnik. Pretty neat.
10. Auto-responders & Triggered Mailings: Let our system go to work for you once again.  Set up your welcome emails and targeted mailings based on subscriber interactions with an auto-response or triggered mailing series, and relax.
11. API/Integration: For you developers out there, here’s one for you…with our API tools you can integrate your stuff with ours like never before. Want to build a custom reports interface for a client? Want to have your CRM and ours talk to one another? Well now you can.
12. The Free Plan…Forever!: Want something that will really entice you …You can have a free account with us for up to 150 emails per month as long as you wish.  That’s a good one…free emails!  Woo hoo!  Here’s what you get: 150 email/month, store an unlimited number of subscribers, access to all account features, no contract or credit card required!  So give it a spin, activate your free account today and see why eConnect Email is simply, email done better.
13. Email Marketing Services: Need some help with your email design and delivery, or maybe your just too busy doing what you do best? Put us to work for you whether it’s one really important campaign or all of your email marketing efforts. Our professional services team helps marketers design, develop and deploy better email marketing campaigns everyday.
14. The most flexible pricing of any ESP: When it comes to pricing, we’ve learned that flexibility is a cool, refreshing approach. We want you to feel comfortable with how you are billed, whether it be monthly or on a pay as you send basis. You give us an idea of your volume, we’ll show you where you fall. And the greatest part? You’re only charged for the emails you send not the number of contacts you have within your account. Simple.
15. You can talk to us: This one is usually the most pleasant surprise to folks checking us out as a potential solution. Many self-service email service providers even refuse to publish a phone number. That’s ok, but that’s not us. We love to talk to you and want you to feel like we’re in this together. Give us a ring we’re here to help – 888.596.9997.

In case you’ve had your head buried in paperwork, social media is only getting more popular.   In an effort to foster the growing relationship between email marketing and the world of status updates, eConnect Email has integrated Social Sharing into our application and now it can easily be added into your emails with the addition of a tiny little tag, Welcome to Social Email 1.0.

Any emails sent through eConnect Email that include the social sharing tag can now be shared with the following social networks with ease:

Email (of course)
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google Buzz

Our email marketing application simply grabs your email’s subject line and creates a tiny URL using bit.ly to share a copy of your email to your social media world.  We have also integrated the Forward-To-A-Friend functionality in the Social Sharing center, making it easier to send your email to another inbox, although that is so last year.

So now that you’ve done the work to create your campaign you can leverage it to another audience with the click of a button.  Easy right?

Awesome. How easy is it?

Super, duper easy. If you are coding your emails by hand, you’ll simply include the following tags where you want a share prompt.  If your using the editor, simply click Custom Fields and you can insert either a text link or share  image automatically.

%%socialshare-icon%% will give you this:

%%socialshare-link%% will give you this: Share this

Below you will find a screen shot of what the Social Sharing landing page looks like once the “Share This” link or image is clicked.

So, can I tell how often it was shared?

Of course! When you log into your Reports area, you will see a Share Statistics tab.  Every time someone shares with a specific network, that number will be displayed in the reports, broken down by network.

What else should I know?

We started with the most popular social networks to share to, but may add more down the road depending on user feedback (so send us your feedback!).