How 'Little Data' Basics Yield Big E-mail Results

E-mail marketers can get lost in "big data" analytics and lose sight of the "little data" basics of e-mail delivery that reveal faster response improvements, advises Scott Roth of consumer intelligence company Return Path in a recent ClickZ post. Roth's "little data" fundamentals go beyond engagement rates to inbox placement rates, authentication policies and domain security, and Roth provides a number of real-life examples of how analyzing these basics improved e-mail results. For example, large U.S. retailer Dillard reversed a trend of declining open and click-through rates by checking inbox placement rates across all major mailbox providers. Dillard found that 20% of promotional e-mails failed to reach subscribers, with many e-mail addresses no longer existent. Plus, subscribers who did get e-mail marked it as junk at an above-average rate. The retailer focused corrective actions to pump engagement rates 100% and push open rates above pre-decline levels. Similarly, when another brand saw inbox placement rates drop 50%, they checked their sending basics and discovered that an improperly configured authentication policy for their sending domain had caused most mailbox providers to treat e-mails as spam. With corrective action, the brand saw inbox placement rise 46% to 92%. Financial firms especially need to track basic data for signs of security problems, as Roth points out. For example, he notes how a financial services firm tracking a rise in suspicious domains and call center traffic was able to correlate its e-mail data with phishing outbreaks and then implemented e-mail security protocols. For the whole article, read http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2410356/sweat-the-small-stuff-big-results-through-email-marketing-fundamentals

How Direct Mail Beats E-mail in 4 Basic Ways

Despite the predominance of e-mail marketing articles, direct mail is still a key marketing tool, and mailing lists and direct mail support continue as a thriving part of AccuList USA's services. So we naturally welcome mainstream business media support from other champions of direct mail's virtues. For example, Entrepreneur magazine recently published an article by Craig Simpson, owner of Simpson Direct, Inc., titled "Four Reasons to Use Direct Mail Marketing Instead of E-mail Marketing." Simpson points out that direct mail's first advantage comes from e-mail's well-known drawback: inbox overload and the high percentage of e-mails filtered out or deleted unseen. By comparison, an Epsilon study found 77% of consumers sort through their physical mail as soon as received, and USPS data shows 98% check their mail daily. Next, mail is a directly personal experience, touching consumers physically in-hand and in-home, as opposed to an e-mail subject line scrolling on the screen of a multitasking computer or mobile device user. Third, direct mail avoids the growing trust problems of digital marketing. Because of online security hacks and phishing scams, people may avoid even opening an e-mail much less clicking on links or attachments. In contrast, consumers know they can safely open and browse a direct mail piece, where bells and whistles are bonuses not red flags. Finally, direct mail has more tools for standing out in the inbox and inducing an open and response: colored or oversized envelopes, personalized messaging, intriguing dimensional mail, and even physical inclusions such as premiums. "When was the last time you got a pen in an e-mail?" Simpson asks. For the full article, go to http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242731