It’s smart to do some testing before you send your e-mail campaign to your entire subscriber list. Most e-mail marketing services let you send tests to yourself, but do you know what to look for?

Here are some handy tips for testing your e-mail marketing campaigns:

• Don’t just rely on a pop-up preview. That’s a rough approximation of how your e-mail would look in the best of circumstances. You need to actually deliver your campaign to real e-mail addresses to see how it works “in the wild.”

• Setup e-mail accounts with as many e-mail services as possible (it’s usually free). Use the most common services, like MSN, Hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail. You might also setup an account with AOL.

• Don’t change any of the default settings for the test accounts. Don’t add yourself to the address book either. You’ll want to test whether or not your e-mail campaigns get spam-filtered to a typical e-mail account.

• Set up a “test list” via the e-mail marketing service you’re using (you can do this in one click by replicating your “real” list) and import these test addresses.

• Try to recruit co-workers, friends and/or family members who use different e-mail services to become testers for you. That way, they can tell you how your e-mail looks in various types of e-mail programs. If you have the resources, setup a testing computer in the office with multiple operating systems and e-mail programs.

• On your sign-up form, are you giving users the option to receive the plain-text version or mobile version of your emails? If so, be sure to sign-up one of your test emails to receive plain-text only and one to receive the Mobile version.

• Send as many e-mails as you can to your test addresses. Knowledge is power and this will help you anticipate mistakes and fine-tune the look of your e-mails.

• Did your campaign end up in the junk folder for any of the email accounts? If so, you might want to include a one-sentence note at the bottom of each e-mail to remind your subscribers to add your e-mail address to their address book. This will help prevent your e-mails from automatically being marked as “spam.”

• Most e-mail programs leave images turned off by default (you have to click a link or button to display images). How does your email look with images turned off? That’s the first impression people will have.

• Do you have “Alt-text” coded for your images to entice recipients to click the “show images” button (Alt-text is the “alternative text” that’s displayed when an image can’t be seen in a web browser or e-mail program)? When we say “entice” we don’t mean you should resort to sales-like rhetoric such as, “CHECK THIS OUT!” Sometimes, a really descriptive alt-text is enticing enough. For example, “Screenshot of the new feature we just launched” is short and sweet.

• When you click “show images” for your e-mail, do all the images work? Do they download fairly quickly or do you need to go back and optimize them?

• Just in case people choose not to display your the images in your e-mails, do you have a link at the top of your e-mail, allowing them to view your message online (i.e. through their browser)?

• Click on as many links as possible (yes, this is mind-numbing, but necessary). Do they all work? Are there any broken links?

• Did you enable click or open tracking? If so, click and open some of your e-mails. Log in and check your campaign stats. Double and triple check that everything is working properly.

Was this helpful? Let us know if you followed these tips in your own e-mail marketing campaigns and had any success in growing your business!

You can also check out HRB’s Marketing blog or Internet Technology blog for more tips and news about utilizing e-mail marketing campaigns.

FTC Looks at Opt Out Option for Behavioral Targeting

If you have not been following the discussions surrounding online behavioral targeting and the resulting data gathering on individuals, you may want to start. Whether you are using behavioral targeting as a marketing technique or you are a consumer, you could be affected.

According to MediaPost, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering a “do not track” list to address Internet advertising privacy concerns, similar to the Do Not Call Registry pertaining to telephone solicitations. To learn more about behavioral targeting visit the FTC’s Wikipedia page.

What Are America’s Favorite News Sources?

As a former journalist, I find the rapid changes in news consumption habits fascinating. Of course, age, technology and access all play a role in how we get our news.

According to a new study by Gather, Inc., individuals are increasingly turning to the Internet to find, receive, share and discuss news. The report reveals trends in how people are receiving and interacting with various Internet news outlets and starting millions of conversations across America.

For instance, a whopping 53% of people still cite newspapers as their main source of news, although 65% of respondents younger than 25 years old described their news habits as interest-based, only reading about breaking news stories or stories of interest. 70% of respondents in this age group turn to the Internet to learn more about a breaking news story and share information with others via social networks.

Marketers Increasingly Seeking Online Tracking Metrics

Marketers are slowly but consistently moving more of their marketing budgets from traditional to online sources. And, the more they spend on SEO and social media marketing, the more they want to measure ROI.

The Forbes Insights and software and analytics firm MarketShare Partners reveal that marketers and agencies continue to struggle with finding the metrics to justify dollars spent on online campaigns.

Strategic Growth Planning for Business and Marketing Success

Ever wonder why some companies turn everything they touch into gold while others struggle to capture great market share? Why marketing doesn’t work with sales?

These questions keep CEOs from sleeping at night. It takes guts and experience to bring accurate, honest analysis and advice to today’s company executives. When it comes to growing a business, most companies struggle to find just the right balance of all the right growth ingredients.

Download the HRB GROWTH brochure and perhaps you’ll see how the “domino effect” can work for your brand.

Can the iPad Slow Newspaper and Magazine Readership?

Earlier this year, just as the iPad was being launched, BtoB Magazine carried a front page story about the possible effects the Apple iPad could have on reviving the ailing print media industry. For one thing, with its vertically-oriented color screen that mimics the size of a single magazine page, the iPad is seen in some circles as an ideal device for reading digital versions of print publications.

“We feel it’s an exciting, new, major media platform, and it can’t be ignored,” said Jason Snell, Editor of IDG’s Macworld, which is currently developing an iPad application.

My observation was that his experience became his most notable handicap. He eliminated vision and relied on historical practices. “Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke?” He never knew it was breaking. The engine still looked good from the driver’s seat.

I’ve been in this industry for 35 years. At the maturing age of 56, I’ve built a firm and successfully sold it for a tidy profit. But, judging by the death of my friend’s company and the shared struggles that drift in from other friends, it’s time for today’s operating agencies to take the hardest look in the mirror that they’ve ever taken.

Monster marketing trends are impacting our industry and it’s extremely important that we pay attention to them. And like most businesses I’ve worked with, the more successful an agency’s history, the more likely they are to ignore the need to rebundle themselves as their marketplace moves right out from underneath them.

Today’s marketing megatrends include the following:

a) An increasing devaluation of an agency’s creative and Web design roles as internal staff members assume some of those responsibilities;

b) An increasing demand from clients for agencies to participate in increasingly complex strategic growth plans;

c) A communication revolution of technology, message sending and message digestion that lends itself to a confusing array of what Web services and traditional marketing tactics might still work;

d) A global marketing expansion that brings new external and internal environments to client companies, each accompanied by new challenges in people, product, pricing, packaging, positioning and most notably, performance;

e) A substantial movement in the marketplace of buyers and prospects as shifting populations, economies and technologies continue to change who a client’s customers might be;

f) A growing demand for more accountability of agencies’ work; and

g) A huge move from mass marketing controlled by message sender to relationship-based marketing controlled by message recipient.

As such, agencies’ roles are rapidly changing. Traditional and creative values—while still a very high expectation—are no longer the only aspects included in today’s successful communication campaigns. Our clients are asking for MORE, not less. They’re asking for complex proposals that include a delicate mix of traditional media, emerging media and creative design elements.

Realizing these needs, we’ve decided to “rebundle” our own brand to not only set an example for our clients but also showcase our awareness of such trends. To lead the charge into change, HRB recently leaned up our core historical staff to reflect marketplace trends. We’ve hired a number of younger, hands-on innovators who can utilize Facebook, Twitter, SEO, Internet marketing, e-mail marketing, blogs, mobile marketing and all other “new” and “emerging” communications channels into an effective marketing campaign. We’ve also started a division called Growth, wherein new client relationships are born by establishing a measurable growth goal, conducting exhaustive research and contemplative analysis and concluding with a written strategic growth plan that entails all things “sales” and all things “marketing.”

The frosting on the cake is that HRB now offers its clients a pay-for-performance reimbursement relationship should they choose to participate in goal-based, long-term strategic planning. This is NOT just another service; it’s a complete rebundling of who HRB is and what it offers its clientele. It doesn’t get any bolder than that.

Feedback from the clients who have jumped at the opportunity to develop a comprehensive sales and marketing growth plan are heralding the new approach. “We were once just a middle-of-the-road player in our industry,” said one HRB client. “Writing and following a strategic growth plan has steadily moved us to a leadership position within our industry. The directness, the honesty and the outside perspective that HRB has bundled into a methodical plan has tremendous value.”

The most noted value, according to clients, is the powerful understanding of agency principals that allow their business to grow and profit. They have products to sell and they are now utilizing an impressive array of sales and marketing forces that can make them a powerful client ally. And remember, where value trades hands, so should money.

There’s no better reason to reflect on what your agency is offering and what difference those offerings are making to your bottom line.

YouTube’s New Video Editor

With the launch of YouTube’s Web-based video editor, are we about to witness a hyper acceleration in consumer-generated media? Perhaps, but we’re not making any promises. As part of a broader push to empower even more online content creators, YouTube’s lead engineer Rushabh Doshi and product manager Josh Siegel created a video editor that will eventually include transitions, effects, title screens and audio layers. “It’s going to be a huge deal for anyone who uploads to YouTube on a semi-regular basis,” said Techcrunch.

Cinema Advertising Industry Revenues Increase by 2%

For anyone considering buying spots on cinema screens, you may be in good company. According to The Cinema Advertising Council (CAC), total advertising revenues for CAC members—which account for more than 82% of the 38,794 people who purchase U.S. movie screens—grew by nearly 2% to $584,067,000 in 2009 as compared to a total of $571,421,000 in 2008. This is despite a year that saw spending in other traditional media decrease significantly. The growth seems to be directly attributable to the number of blockbuster films released in the past year. Read about Cinema Advertising revenues.

Paid Search Leads Global Online Advertising

According to a study by MAGNAGLOBAL, a division of IPG’s Mediabrands, paid search has quickly become the most important component of online advertising. In 2010 this segment will account for $29.8 billion of total revenue, a substantial increase of 16.5% over 2009 totals on a constant currency basis. Although Google is the current global leader in paid search, all other online advertising—which is much more diffused with a handful of global portals, such as Yahoo and Microsoft—will account for $31.2 billion of total revenue. Read the full story on paid search by Jack Loechner of MediaPost Publications.

E-mail Marketing Still the Workhorse

We marketers are living in a revolutionary age where technology, customer expectations and an explosion of new communication channels are transforming virtually everything—from the way we do our job to our roles in our company’s success. While some employees tout e-mail as one of the more “boring” methods of communication, it has actually served as an important tool for today’s new marketing model. Here are two marketing trend examples from MediaPost that justify the relevance and vitality of e-mail marketing campaigns.

Speedier Calls to Leads Means More Conversions

When I read this study conducted by lead management company, Leads360, all I could think was WOW. According to BtoB magazine online, the study—which assessed some 20 million Internet-generated leads among its clients—reported that sales leads called within 60 seconds of being first generated online showed a fourfold (391%) advantage over average conversion rates. Leads called within 24 hours were still 17% more likely to convert than those that were not called, and 88% of leads that eventually convert were called within the first 24 hours. Impressive, to say the least.

I confess that for me watching soccer (a.k.a. “fútbol” to most of the world) is as interesting as watching a group of quilters sewing a blanket. It’s 90 minutes of guys in shorts chasing a ball, tearing up the middle of a huge field. Getting a shot past a goalkeeper is so rare that scores of 1-0 aren’t uncommon. It’s an excruciating exercise in waiting for something exciting to happen.

That said, I do find listening to or watching the fanatical fans in the grandstands to be incredibly entertaining. Now there’s some serious brand loyalty! A loyalty that has caused dangerous, even deadly riots between rival team fans to break out. Not something you could imagine at even the most hotly contested Yankees-Red Sox game.

This week, a major beer marketer, family-owned Dutch brewer Bavaria, took advantage of the World Cup frenzy with an ambush marketing campaign. A group of 36 Dutch women, wearing skimpy orange dresses, the brand color of Bavaria, entered Soccer City stadium to watch the Netherlands play Denmark. The orange-clad women made a very overt distraction for the other thousands of fans and global TV viewers. And FIFA officials.

Another brand, Anheuser Busch’s Budweiser, is the official beer for the tournament and world soccer’s governing body vigorously defends its sponsors from brands which are not FIFA partners. The result was some of the women were arrested, FIFA started legal proceedings against the Dutch brewer, news stories about it were seen all over the world … and I’m now addressing it as a blogger in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

So the question is, was the Bavaria ambush marketing campaign a misguided stunt that ended up getting their brand in trouble? Or, was it an absolutely brilliant stroke of publicity that allowed them to get their brand name talked and written about around the globe for the price of some tickets and orange dresses?

I’d say it’s the latter … and I toast a cold Budweiser to them for their efforts!

When the Russians went into space, they also took highly effective extraterrestrial writing instruments. Pencils.

That little historical account is a reminder that the answers to questions and problems we face are often right under our nose. Things that we’ve overlooked in search of the “latest and greatest.”

Recently I became reacquainted with some old friends … pencil and paper. We used to hang out a lot but haven’t spent much time together in the past few years. With all the new high-tech tools, they just didn’t seem as interesting or as useful as they used to be. Or maybe, just not as cool. But for several reasons, namely an expensive swan dive of my iPhone on to a cement floor, I’ve decided to keep a pencil and notepad close at hand on a more regular basis. It’s been very enlightening.

Connect with HRB:

I’ve found that the flow of ideas from my hard drive (a.k.a., my brain) to my desktop (a sheet of paper) has significantly improved. The simplicity and ease of use is mind-boggling. Plus, when I need more storage space, I just turn the page. Pretty sweet, huh?

The “search” feature has been great also. Flipping back through the pages I can quickly see my notes, list of things to do and all the small drawings I’ve done to occupy my mind during boring meetings. Of course, if anyone out there sincerely believes I’m totally missing out by not having a 3G iPad with Wi-Fi and a 64GB flash drive, please feel free to send me one. I’ll be happy to try it out for a month or two. Or more.

In the meantime, I’m keeping my notepad handy and pencil sharp!

Of course, if I’m going to be a client, I’m not going to arrive in that next life with a blank slate. No, I plan on taking everything I’ve learned while working here on the agency side with me. It will be my “decision data base.” This won’t be my attempt at retribution for all those concepts I worked long hours on only to have them summarily rejected. Like the one that was trashed because I’d used purple in it and the client had once seen Donny Osmond wearing a purple shirt. (That actually happened.) It was killed by association with the wrong color.

I’ll be a great client and make my agency love to work with me. How, you may ask? By adhering to a few simple tenets:

First, in choosing an agency, I won’t have a cattle call of ten agencies and make them all jump through hoops just for a sniff at my business. I’ll pick agencies whose work I respect, three at most, and then offer them some compensation for the time they’ll spend trying win my account.

Assuming I’ve chosen three agencies who could all perform well for my company, ultimately, I’ll choose the agency whose people I most want to see every week. This will always be a relationship business, in whatever decade I return.

I will share every ounce of relevant information my agency asks for, encourage them to meet and interview company staff at every level, as well as customers and prospects. Better information and understanding leads to better, more effective work.

I’ll enter the creative process with an open mind and expect the agency to come to me with ideas that my “inside out” vision wouldn’t allow me to see. I’ll encourage my agency to be fearless in their recommendations and then listen to what they have to say. Even if they tell me I’m doing something all wrong.

I will work with my agency to set clear and attainable goals. Nothing sours a client/agency relationship more than when expectations don’t match. Regular meetings to review our mutual progress would be a must.

I’ll make a commitment to them for a mutually profitable relationship, one that could and should last for years. Changing agencies like socks isn’t good for anyone, and certainly not good for my company’s brand.

Finally, I’ll insist on everyone having some fun in the process. Developing and managing a marketing and advertising program is important work with serious considerations to be made, but no one will die from an ugly logo or a typo in a web site. Those can be fixed.

But until my transmigration to the client side, I remain …

Coincidentally, yesterday I had the opportunity to drive through the city where the original SPAM is manufactured (fused? glopped together?) – Austin, Minnesota. There’s an actual SPAM museum there where you can spend an afternoon being enamored by SPAM history and trivia, even watch a movie called “SPAM. A Love Story.” (Eating SPAM means you never have to say you’re sorry?) SPAM was created before WWII to use up what was left of the pig after the best and most palatable parts of ham had been removed. Yummy! (http://www.spam.com/recipes/)

I’ve long thought there should be an even wider definition of SPAM … one that applies to traditional media of print, radio and television. It’s when advertisers reach for those canned words and phrases that are so trite and hackneyed that you wonder whether they believe their target audience has any taste at all.

Some of my favorites are: “total solution” … two words that say we really don’t know what our product does best, so we’ll just say it does everything. “Call today!” … Really? If you didn’t remind me I might forget that I could call today. “ … and a whole lot more” … right up there with ‘total solution’ for lamest description of a product’s value.

And how about, “Let us (fill in the service here)” … it’s the epitome of a weak, passive plea for business. “… your past credit history.” … that’s like ‘repetitively redundant.’ History is the past, isn’t it? “… it’s cutting edge (or, state-of-the-art) technology” … every time I see those words, my eyes start to glaze over. “… the best-kept secret” … it’s no secret that you haven’t been advertising your company very well.

I’m thinking the ultimate “spam” copy in a print ad might be, “Let us be your cutting edge total solution for (fill in product or service) and a whole lot more. Call today!”

Hey, I just got another piece of junk email … for “strapless, seamless, sporty, sexy bras and a whole lot more.” As Graham Chapman screamed 30 years ago in Monty Python’s famous sketch, “I don’t like SPAM!!”

Okay, now I feel better!

• “Shall we meet next Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon?”
• “Would you prefer to product one or product two?”
• “How about we get started next week?”
• “You’re the expert, so I know you understand why this is important.”
• “I’m not the expert on this, but the guy I work with is dynamite in this area.”

Study after study has shown these approaches are dying a rapid death and being replaced with transparency and inbound marketing. I’m not saying that there’s no need for sales in an organization, but I am saying the buyers of your product or service have gotten a lot smarter. The Internet (specifically social media) has increased transparency to a level where you can’t baffle everyone with BS. People still buy from people, but your next customers will likely know a lot more about you than what your aggressive sales person force feeds them. This is one reason why inbound marketing is the fastest growing segment in the marketing industry. Inbound marketing is when prospects seek out your company rather than the other way around.

In Building an Effective Online Marketing Approach – Part One, I talked about the importance of getting your Web site design ready to receive marketing. How you plan on marketing your Web site should be decided well before your site is even designed. In other words, are you ready to do some inbound marketing?

I have yet to find a company that couldn’t benefit from either a blog or news section as part of their Internet marketing strategy. In the natural progression of things, this is the next step. So what are you going to blog about? What should you include in your news section?

Rule #1 – Don’t do this:

Nobody really cares how cool you think your product or service is. They will judge that for themselves. Remember, the Internet has made business very transparent. People will be looking at your products or body of work to decide for themselves how “cool” you are.

It’s great your company won an award for this or that, but your future customers and clients care about how you can help them achieve their goals and objectives.

A wise man once told me, “The most boring person at the party is the one who spends the night talking about himself.” Give that a little thought… You just got an image of someone, right? Don’t be that person.

Rule #2 – Do this:

Educate and inform your audience about things they care about.

Regardless of what your company does, you are the experts. If you’re a law firm, then tell your audience about changes in the law and how it will affect them. If you’re a college or university, then tell your audience about the happenings on campus. If you’re an HR consulting firm, then tell people how the changes in health care will affect the business sector. The examples are endless. You have valuable information that can help people so share it. This simple act positions you as an expert who cares. Isn’t that the kind of organization you want to associate with?

So the decision is made. You’ve designed your new Web site and decided to start a news section or a blog. You’ve given it some thought and you have a general idea on how you can educate and inform your audience. Your next step will be to put a plan in place to ensure you are effectively delivering the content to your target audience.

As a side benefit, you know who to avoid at your next party…

As an agency creative director, I’m by nature more visual and less wordy. Lucky you. After 30 years in the advertising and branding business, I do think I have a few insights worth sharing but I’ll keep them brief so you can get back to your “LOST” episode updates quickly. (Then maybe you can help me figure out who John Locke really is and what his purpose on the island might be.)

One thing I am sure of is that today’s crescendo of marketing messaging and their sources is immense … and will only get bigger. Meaning the struggle for audience attention will only get harder. So how will smart marketers be seen and heard? Not necessarily by being the most artistically pleasing, cleverest or the loudest. That’s relatively easy to do. The hard part, and not coincidentally the most important part, is finding that “thing” prospects and customers really, really care about, then are willing to invest their valuable time to learn more about.

Today, effective advertising isn’t as much about finding the “hook” as it is about finding the “who cares?” (hook heirs?)

The kind of thing that would’ve made me yearn to stay in touch with Susie Wicklund. Wherever she may be.

Steve Erickson
Partner/Executive Creative Director
HRB

Today, it may be all about one-to-one and relationship marketing, but if your messaging is unclear or too long, you risk losing the interest of your customers and prospects. This is the point in marketing where experienced marketing firms or ad agencies can provide a helping hand.

Why, exactly, would you want to work with an agency? Here are a few reasons it might make sense for your company.

1. Serious agencies or marketing firms position themselves as independent, third party communications experts that are in business to solve marketing problems. Independent means they are not tied to any specific advertising or promotion media like a newspaper, television station or online trade journal. Third party means they look at your particular marketing challenge objectively and help you solve it by finding the best message and the best way to deliver that message to the target audience. Advertising agencies should always make sure your messages support your brand and your branding position.

2. Agencies tend to think in ways that company marketers don’t. Marketers may struggle to come up with new themes, ideas and concepts to promote their products and services. While the agency staff may have produced many ideas over the years, your project is new to them and they will bring a fresh approach to the marketing problem. Outside insights can be valuable and helpful and shorten your time to roll out the concept or idea – the solution to the problem. Agencies often use research with customers, prospects and former customers to develop new insights.

3. After working with dozens of clients in dozens of industries, agency professionals may actually have a very good handle (following some download conversations and insights from you) on how your customers think. These creative teams have not lived with the company day and night. In a sense, they don’t know too much and can bring you tantalizing concepts that cut through the clutter and deliver your precise and powerful message with impact. This can be especially helpful in the areas of creative design and Web design.

4. Use an agency on a consulting basis to review your ideas, concepts and plans. You don’t have to form a permanent, contractual relationship to get some great new outside thinking. Ask senior members of the agency staff for a few hours of time to discuss or review your approaches to a new marketing theme, the launch of a new product or just putting a fresh face on your marketing messages. You may come away with some valuable new ideas that will more than pay for the agency’s consulting time. In some cases it could benefit you to start your conversation with the head of the public relations department, since those practitioners tend to have the broadest experience in internal and external communications.

5. As the pace of business life accelerates and marketing staffs become leaner, outsourcing certain marketing tasks may actually help you get more work done. Outsourcing opportunities are especially relevant for repetitive tasks such as producing email marketing materials, Web site and search engine optimization, newsletters, direct mail and collateral, Internet marketing and social media activities. Though the agency professionals may never know as much as you do about your company and its products, they can take on recurring tasks and make sure they are done on time and on budget – letting you focus on your larger, primary marketing objectives. Outsourcing your media buying services could certainly save a lot of staff time, and it could even save you money by making your buys more effective.

Don’t be afraid to contact an agency and talk with principals or senior staffers about your marketing challenges. Most agencies or marketing firms do not charge for one or two meetings with your team to get a download on the issues or challenges you face. And, most provide detailed estimates or proposals that marketers must sign before any work begins. Legitimate agencies are always willing to discuss timelines, deliverables and billings at any time. If you don’t see details you want in the estimates or proposals, ask the agency to add them before you sign off. Don’t work with an agency without signed estimates and timelines so you can avoid performance issues later.