Posts Tagged myemma.com
Join us at the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer!
There are all kinds of things to look forward to in October. Cooler weather, of course. Halloween, obviously. Columbus Day, maybe not so much. But we’re also eagerly awaiting the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer in Scottsdale on October 22-23, where lots of marketers are going to be gathering to talk about email, search and social media. We’re sponsoring the event, but we’re also looking forward to all the sessions, presented in the stylish way that the ‘Profs pull off so well.
If you’re thinking about going, you can save $200 on your registration just because you know Emma and you’re reading this right now. Get more details and register here, or sign up elsewhere and use the code ESPNA08.
And perhaps the $200 you save might be a nice starter fund for a certain Columbus Day party you were hoping to throw?
[tags]MarketingProfs, Digital Marketing Mixer, myemma.com, Emma[/tags]
We’re at the Creative Freelancer Conference
Are you at the Creative Freelancer Conference in Chicago this week? We are. But you knew that from the headline of this post, didn’t you? Our own Steve Turney is there, talking with freelance photographers, copywriters and designers about showing off their services with email marketing. If you’re there, email Steve and say hello.
[tags]CFC, Creative Freelancer Conference, myemma.com[/tags]
Emma’s on the Inc. 500 list
Inc. Magazine’s profile of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. hit the stands last week, and we’re rather proud to be on this year’s list. Specifically, we’re #312.
Did you want more numbers? Okay, then. We’re officially ranked #24 among advertising & marketing companies, #4 in the greater Nashville area, and #1 among companies who managed to sneak the word ‘kickass’ into their Inc. profile.
We’re thrilled to be named in such a fine roster of companies. We’re so thrilled, in fact, that we’re ordering a plaque – partially to commemorate the honor, but mostly just to get the word ‘kickass’ engraved on something.
[tags]emma, Inc 500, Inc Magazine, myemma.com, nashville[/tags]
Is my email campaign any good?
In our latest Ask Emma (that’s our email marketing Q&A newsletter, which you can sign up for here), we’ve published a 5-point checklist that’s designed to help you give your email campaigns a quick review before you hit send.
It’s *also* designed in 5 different colors, so you can download your favorite, print a copy to pin-up by your desk, then color-coordinate your checklist with your favorite pantsuit. Or jumpsuit. Or windsuit.
Okay, seriously, lose the windsuit already.
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What are the things you *always* review before sending our your campaigns? We’d love to hear ‘em…
[tags]email marketing, checklist, ask emma, myemma.com[/tags]
Learning from our podcasting friends.
I’m at the New Media Expo in fabulous Las Vegas this week, where hundreds of online content creators – bloggers, podcasters and the like – have gathered in 108-degree weather to talk about ideas, new technologies, best practices, and how friggin’ hot it is. Tomorrow, I’ll be teaming up with Greg Cangialosi over at Blue Sky Factory to talk about email marketing, but today I sat in on a podcasting basics class given by Scott Whitney at Podworx.
I was struck by the similarities between the process of creating an email newsletter and creating a podcast. For podcasters, you start by identifying yourself and your brand at the outset, much like email’s From Name and From Address. You follow that with a short audio teaser about the upcoming podcast designed to entice curious listeners without giving too much away – a subject line of sorts. But I had to stifle a squeal when he flipped to the slide with ideas for episode content. If you’re just getting started with email marketing, if it’s been awhile since you sent an email because you aren’t sure what to send, or if you’re looking for new content ideas to help you move beyond an email newsletter, this list is the perfect starting point:
1. Interview an executive.
2. Create a series about your product/service.
3. Write educational, how-to tips and articles.
4. Interview a customer (or member, or fan).
5. Write about an event you’re attending, from the event.
6. Share some behind-the-scenes information about your company or product.
7. Promote thought leadership articles.
8. Share company successes and awards.
9. Repurpose content from a seminar.
10. Showcase a partner company or service.
11. Interview an employee.
12. Broadcast news from your industry.
Hope this list gets you to thinking about your next campaign – or heck, your next twelve. If you’ve got another content type to add, please leave us a comment and let us know what you’re up to.
[tags] email campaign ideas, email marketing, NewMediaExpo2008, podcasting, Podworx, Scott Whitney [/tags]
What makes an email personal, anyway?
We toss the word “personalization” around a fair amount in email marketing, and most people associate it with “Dear Bob” personalization — that technological parlor trick of dropping a first name placeholder into the greeting of an email. But the people getting the best results are the ones going beyond first name personalization and customizing emails based on geography, loyalty, purchase history and more.
How do I know this? I’ve read the Aberdeen’s report on email marketing, which Emma helped to sponsor. They identified the companies with high open, click and conversion rates in their campaigns, and they found the patterns of how those companies have set up their member databases, copywriting strategy and internal processes to create truly personalized emails.
My favorite part: They acknowledged that the best campaigns don’t stop at personalizing the *content* of emails — they also personalize the *delivery,* using trigger emails to send campaigns based on recipients’ schedules and actions. I was thrilled to read that 33% of those top-performing companies were putting triggers to work in their overall email strategy, basing the timing of their campaigns on a customer’s behavior (buying a product, clicking a link, subscribing to the newsletter). By comparison, only 10% of the lowest-rated companies used trigger emails, which indicates that a triggers play some role in overall email marketing success. Of course they do. A feature that lets you send emails even while napping *has* to be great.
Even if you lack/can’t afford/fear the technology behind personalizing emails, it’s still easy to make sure your emails are written and designed with people in mind — friendly, conversational, human. Nobody wants to read an email that sounds like it was written for robots. With the possible exception of actual robots. For more inspiration on relating to your subscribers as *people,* read Mark Brownlow’s excellent post on the matter here.
The best bowls in Denver.
Recently, we’ve started featuring pictures and stories of Emma customers in our ads that run in various cities around the countries, showing how they use Emma’s email marketing services to grow their brand in style. Now that I’ve been working at Emma’s satellite office in Denver for 6 months, we wanted to show off an Emma customer that’s particularly well known and loved in the Mile High City. Tokyo Joe’s, a local favorite to many Coloradans, came to mind right away. In my lunches with Linden Mundekis, Joe’s director of digital marketing, I learned that they’ve long been courted to be franchised and shared with the rest of the fast-food loving, Japanese-style, sushi-eating world. Vowing to keep it local and not stretch beyond Colorado’s borders, Joe’s appreciates those returning customers – “addicts,” in Joe’s language – who show almost fanaticism towards the lifestyle and culture this 17-location restaurant establishment creates and encourages. Having gone through 3 Addicts cards myself, I think I safely qualify.
Anyway, here’s the ad that’s started running in the Westword. If you’re in Denver, be sure and take a look, and stop by Joe’s for a bowl! The Yakatori bowl is fabulous, and after ordering it 36 times, I should know.
Picture this: a great service for prepping your email campaign’s images
Adding photos to your stylish emails can now be a walk in the park with the help of Picnik, a free online service that allows you to edit, crop, & re-size your photos.
Services like Picnik can add a lot to the look and feel of your email newsletter design. Do you have any large or oddly-sized photos lying around that you’d like to include in an email campaign? With Picnik, you can easily pull those photos from your desktop, scale or crop them to the perfect size and save the new and improved image. Having a consistent image size throughout your campaign will improve the overall aesthetic and increase the readability of the content, not to mention all the positive feedback you’ll receive from your audience members! For an example, check out Ad Age’s email.
Still not convinced? Here’s another good reason to give this site a try. For those of you who simply want to pull the header from your website and resize it for use in emails, Picnik’s got you covered. In addition to editing photos from your desktop, Picnik enables you to edit them directly from any website (including sites like Photobucket or Facebook ). Type in the URL to your personal or business website and, like magic, all of the images hosted there will appear on Picnik. Just choose the header image & scale it down! We recommend keeping the width of your email header between 600 and 650 pixels.
After using a tool as fabulous as Picnik, you’ll be able to create visually stunning emails in no time. You might even have time for a real picnic…
And the tree total to date is…
With June behind us, we’re officially halfway through 2008, the year we set out to plant a tree for every new customer who joins Emma. I’m pleased to announce that we’ve planted a whopping 10,855 trees so far this year, with the latest batch from June on their way to Wisconsin soil to find a home.
Of course, now it’s July, and that means it’s time to vote on a new location for half of this month’s trees. Remember, the other half goes to the equatorial region of Plant-It 2020′s choice (they’re our fabulous partner in all this tree planting business). Also, remember that the states we ask you to vote on come from Plant-It 2020′s list of pre-approved non-harvest sites – it’s not that we’re biased toward states like Wisconsin, although few Emma staffers would turn down a lovely aged white cheddar. Anyway, take a moment and tell us where you’d like to send some trees…
[poll=7]
Good inspiration, better design.
This week, I took a moment to ask my fellow comrades in Emma’s design department to share some web goodness with the rest of the world and share where they go to get inspired. What are some of their sites to live by (or at least design by)? Here are a few gems:
For some good design talk, Jessica never passes up a good read at Speak Up.
“There is always a hot debate about a new design or theory. Reading everyone’s feedback is not only entertaining, but very informative. There are often good tips and tricks mentioned throughout.”
Taylor keeps her homepage locked on goodmagazine.com.
“They’re always really interesting and informative, but usually more on a positive note. I love the design of both the magazine and the site. And they have a blog too.”
This is a great resource for information on topics such as creative ways to do good in the world and the extinction of bananas.
As for me, I like to get my daily dose of inspiration from Design*Sponge. With an average of 6-10 posts a day, the site covers everything that is design, from modernistic chandeliers to typography to where to find a good art gallery in Denmark. Also, the D-I-Y section can bring out the creative in anyone.
What design site keeps you coming back for more? Please leave a comment & inspire us.
Emma is a member of the Email Sender & Provider Coalition and the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group.
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