May 13, 2008

Email Render Rate and Conversions

Loren McDonald explains it well. With rapid agreement among email industry insiders, Loren really nailed the answer to the question of the relevancy of the common email metric "open rate."

The MediaPost article begins:

Email Open Rates: What's the Alternative?
by Loren McDonald , Thursday, May 8, 2008

MY PREVIOUS COLUMN, "WHY THE Email Open Rate Must Die" spawned a spirited debate, mainly on these three topics (click here to read the first column and all 17 comments):

Don't kill the open rate, but view it in the proper perspective.
PLEASE let it die!
What can we replace it with? You don't offer any suggestions other than to say we can do better.

I stand guilty as charged of not offering an alternative to the open rate in that first column. I will remedy that in this column.

The Open Rate: Rename, Rethink, Redefine

So, what are the alternatives to the open rate?

1. As I understand it, none exist today or in the near future. Some have suggested using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to track opens, but many email clients also block CSS. The major email providers (Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail/Live Mail, Gmail) can more accurately track "open or read rates" because the email client resides on their servers and does not have to hit an external server. But, the chance of these email providers sharing open data is as likely as world peace.

2.So, let's rename it the "Email Render Rate" or something similar that reflects what the tracking images really measure. My proposed "render rate" would more accurately reflect what occurs when images are loaded in a recipient's email client. This includes in preview panes, software clients such as Outlook or Web-based services such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

This redefinition (nothing else changes) will benefit retailers and others for whom product images are important to conversion. A render rate of 25% lets the sender know that their email rendered with images in 25% of the messages seen by recipients' inboxes or smart phones.

Analyzing the subscriber base by render rate over time would help the marketer better optimize creative for subscribers who normally view images and for those who don't. As smart marketers and the industry make this shift, I'm sure dozens of other creative uses of the render rate would also emerge.

3.Next, let's de-emphasize the open rate and focus the email scorecard on output and business metrics. I'm not devaluing email process metrics. In fact, I find tremendous value in spam-complaint and unsubscribe rates, for example.

But ultimately, the only metrics your CEO and CFO care about are those that measure how the email program supports business goals such as growing revenues, increasing margins, improving customer retention and lowering communications costs.

Read the full article here >>

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:43 PM | Permalink

March 22, 2008

Important New Email Survey: Cradle & Grave

Here at eROI we go to great lengths to keep you up to date on the latest trends in email marketing. Our latest survey asks for your input on the Subscribe/Unsubscribe Process.

This survey should take just a minute or two, and we will share the results with you when complete.

All survey participants will be automatically entered to win one of a handful of iPod Shuffle mp3 players!

Take the Survey Now »

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:29 PM | Permalink

June 13, 2007

Webinar: Acquire an Eye for Email Design

On June 21st at 11am PST, Eyetools Inc. CEO and founder, Greg Edwards will join eROI's Dylan Boyd to speak about best practices in email design and how eye tracking studies can impact your design. You will be amazed at how eye tracking is so different from click tracking and what it can tell you about how lift your email campaign results and metrics.

Learn the ‘What to dos’ and the ‘What not to dos’ from these seasoned industry professionals. They’ll be looking at some before and after case studies to explore the difference even the smallest tweaks can make to the performance of your emails.

Register today for next week's event.

Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 3:39 PM | Permalink

June 11, 2007

Email proves itself

A recent study from DMA shows just how critical an element email is when it comes to successful direct marketing campaigns. While the study’s main focus is to show that the lines of direct marketing and brand marketing have blurred through multi-channel campaigns, the study’s statistics point to the predominance of email – and web in these campaigns. It is email’s ability to personalize and track and motivate with clear calls to action that makes it a key ingredient. By Integrating and coordinating across multiple channels, marketers can create cohesive brand messaging that can lead to powerful brand experiences.

How does email fit in? In a fully integrated campaign email is an element that can breathe “interactive life” into 2 dimensional print campaigns. Direct mail and print advertising should no longer be stand alone elements. Email and web can be coordinated with traditional marketing efforts to dynamically drive messaging. Even more, email opens the lines of communication with your audience allowing them to respond, participate and own your brand. This leads to a better understanding of your audience and your brand, which will improve messaging, targeting and personalization. Check out the study to see how email is influencing today's best direct marketing tactics and principles.

Comments (0) | Posted by maureen at 10:03 PM | Permalink