Is Email Recession-Proof?

mediapost.com – One of the advantages of going before heavy hitters like David Baker and Loren McDonald in the Email Insider lineup is that I get first crack at hot topics. Like this week’s for instance: email and the recession. Loren and David were both lining up to make some comments on the topic, and hopefully my brilliance won’t intimidate them too much from chiming in on their own columns this week. And actually, even I’m not the first to talk about it: Elie Ashery was first up with a column this week on the Email Experience Council blog:

My theory is pretty straightforward. While a recession is certainly not good for anybody, it may have a beneficial effect on email marketing. Or at the very least, email should be less affected by a recession than other marketing channels. Because of email’s low cost, high ROI value and the fact that it is a proven medium, marketers might see themselves directing more marketing dollars to this channel as a sure thing, and away from less proven (mobile marketing, RSS), less direct (banner advertising) or less costly (SEO) channels. Good old email: it works, it’s cheap, and my return is high. It’s a safe harbor in troubling times.

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Must-keep resolutions for online marketers

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/17939.asp

imediaconnection.com -Improve your marketing this year by following this plan of action outlined by Renegade’s director of strategic planning.

I typically start the new year with ideas to improve myself. This year I’m applying that critical lens to my life as an internet marketer. Here are some resolutions I intend to keep; you might want to add them to your list as well:Embrace the negative review
I won’t be so darn sensitive and controlling when people say bad things about me. After all, negative feedback is better than none; it means someone wants to help.The web is a great place to practice because hundreds of consumers will willingly tell you what’s wrong with your product, what’s off-base in your communication, and how to improve.Take Gamespot critic Jeff Gertsmann, who was fired because of his negative review of Kane & Lynch, an advertiser. The gaming community got wind, ranted about Gamespot’s lack of integrity, made it a top story on Digg and viewed it 300,000 times on YouTube. So this year I will not silence my critics, but will listen to their constructive feedback, and admit my mistakes graciously.Stretch beyond paid search
It’s easy to be lazy and keep doing what has worked before, and there’s no doubt that search works, especially for big brands with the money to get their message center stage on Google. That’s great for reaching consumers who know exactly what they want, but not everyone takes the direct route.

Web 2.0 has changed the dynamics of online search. Peer recommendations direct consumers toward second tier, smaller brands that people love enough to tag, or recommend on review sites like CNET, Epinions and BizRate. Googling “cool gifts” produces suggestions that are not as personal as those that trusted peers have tagged on Stylehive or blogged on Gizmodo.

Social SEO is a new approach to picking keywords based on language consumers use when they talk about your brand in social networks, blogs, forums and social media outlets. This year, I will go beyond paid and natural search efforts and tune into the intimate conversation between consumers.

Collaborate with consumers beyond user-generated ads
Sometimes relationships get stale and you have to infuse them with new life. Not long ago it was fresh to ask consumers to conceive ads; the Converse Gallery, MasterCard’s Write a Priceless Ad contest and Current TV leveraged consumers’ brand passion and creativity, but that was then.

In 2008, I will take a hint from Facebook and Google (and Marx) and supply my audience with tools and features to build next generation web applications. I will expose the product-development process to consumers who are invested in participating in my brand. I will not succumb to the comfortable lure of old-fashioned “campaigns” but will stretch to create interactive brand experiences that leave a tangible and indelible impression. Foremost, I will be inventive and open-minded when imagining the future of consumer collaboration.

Hire a social media director
I’m sick of hearing “you never listen to me” from my consumers, so this year I’m going to pay someone to listen for me — a social media director. While listening tools are still rather primitive, consumers are accessible online voicing their needs and frustrations in real-time — the web is one huge user group and opinion lab. Okay, maybe several user groups and decentralized opinion sources, but they are out there 365/24/7.

An influential, thoughtful few are all you need to impact your business. For instance, listening taught us that consumers are confused by technology and leery of products they have to learn how to use. HP made a mint off that insight with its Easy Share photo solutions, so the photos you were so excited about taking make it out of your camera and onto paper in two easy steps. Apple brought us the iPod/iTunes combo so that, even though you can buy music elsewhere for less, you don’t because iTunes is so easy.

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Jupiter says e-mail marketing will double by 2012

btobonline.com – Jupiter says e-mail marketing will double by 2012

Spending on e-mail marketing will reach $2.1 billion by 2012, nearly double 2007’s spending of $1.2 billion, according to a new report by JupiterResearch.

This year, spending on e-mail marketing will increase 5.1% over last year, according to the report.

Jupiter projects that spending on retention e-mail will also double by 2012 and will make up more than half of total e-mail spending.

Spending on acquisition e-mail will grow more slowly and will be made up mostly of sponsorships such as ad-supported e-mail, the report said.

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