in the words of The Week... boring but important

My first impression was, "Is this really the best you can do, Consumer Reports?"  Upon reflection, it's not too bad.  I know exactly what they want me to do: re-activate.  And I know what to press: Go.  And when I look at the Go button, I see my discount.

Now for the weaker points:

1. I don't give a darn about the letter.
2. Seriously, a photo of a laptop with your website is my inspiration?
3. I have no idea what the right nav area says.
4. Who's signing the letter? Don't pretend you've personalized it for me, because I know you didn't.

Rating: 4 out of 5

awesomeness

Matthew Johnson tells us
Why Email Marketing is (Still) Awesome

•  It prompts direct sales

•  It builds relationships through engagement

•  It supports other sales channels

•  It is driven by data

check out his Bus2Comm blog here

time of day matters

eBags determined receipt time - not just day of the week - can improve response rates.
simple idea: email the person the same time of day they had time to opt in to hear from you.

check out this eConsultancy writeup

marketers investing more in email during 2013

The 2013 eConsultancy marketing budget report indicates that marketers are now using email for a variety of reasons, other than straightforward monetary objectives; such as engagement, brand awareness and acquirement. Online channels are being integrated with email to build relationships with customers as well as increase ROI.

One quarter of respondents report that email contributes more than half of its digital revenue.

Also see a bizcommunity article about this.

iPad dominating email space

iPads are becoming the preferred place to read and send emails.  And there are 67.5million iPad users in the U.S., 65% of whom check those iPads for email at least 3 times a day.  This will affect the format and delivery of marketing messages, prioritizing usability.

read complete eMarketer article

signs point --> 2 email (at least in the UK)

Brand marketers ‘bullish’ about email marketing budgets, with 89% deeming it important

New research from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has found that 89 percent of senior marketers called emails "important" or "very important" to their organisation, with 56 per cent “confident that expenditure on email marketing will increase this year”.

According to the senior B2B and B2C brand marketers surveyed for the DMA Email Marketing Council's 2013 National Client Email Report, email delivered an average ROI of £21.48 for every £1 spent last year.

It was also found that over half of brands surveyed reported an increase in open, click and conversion rates in 2012: up five per cent from 2011.

Dela Quist, chair of the DMA Email Marketing Council’s Email Benchmarking Hub and chief executive at Alchemy Worx, said: “The report characterises 2012 as the year where email has defied market trends and carried the load in terms of delivering revenue. This is equally true for our clients, who closed 2012 up on budgets and targets for email but down in other channels. The result of these successes, as the report reveals, is that marketers will be investing even more effort in email in 2013.”

The research discovered that rigger email campaigns generated 21 percent of email revenue.

Originaly from ISHBEL MACLEOD in The Drum

mobile offers

Mobile Spurs Digital Coupon User Growth

check out the full eMarketer article