Marketers and sales people will do crazy things to get your information.  Technology has made it easier to find new and creative ways to do so… visit a web site? Your email may be grabbed without you even knowing it.  In meatspace, your credit card can be used to link together your personal data into a mailing address (and other things). 

Before you all call the tinfoil hat police, let me explain.  Like a crack addict jonesing for a fix, sometimes marketers lose perspective on what lead capturing is all about.  In your rush to meet some sort of misguided sales goal, marketers take heed:  just because you can track a customer, or potential customer, it doesn’t mean you should. 

It’s become commonplace nowadays for all of us to have a few plastic dongles on our keychains for supermarkets, record stores, and wherever you crazy kids shop nowadays.  We accept this. For a few cents off canned peas, we’ll let them track everything about all our purchases to be scrutinized and analyzed for greater sales yields.  (It annoys you that you’ve done this, don’t deny it.)  What about permission-based lead capture on ‘the interwebs’?  To me, there is nothing worse than traveling through a series of tubes, only to be blocked by a page requiring me to enter my name, my email, my income, and my bank account number -  for the Prince of Nigeria for all I know. 

What good marketers should be asking is: What do we lose when we ask for this information?  How many customers are turned off from a brand because the lead you are squeezing out of them for that drop of content is just too much?  Forcing users to sign up before reading an online newspaper article, forcing users to give information before you can access any sort of web content: it’s bad for usability and it hurts the overall brand experience.  Wouldn’t you rather have people visit your content, be completely excited about it and forward the bejeezus out of the link?  This would be bringing you more ad revenue, but not more precious leads.  Well, let me remind you:  quantity does not mean quality.  Wouldn’t you rather people like your content so much they voluntarily subscribed to an email newsletter about related content?  It may be fewer leads, but they would be more relevant.

Let me put it this way:  For a user of your site, it’s like showing up for the free day at the state fair and then finding that there’s a $10 cover charge.  You end up going, “Aww, man…” and then you and your friends go wander around the Wal-Mart for a couple of hours instead.  There will be sites out there that get it, employ laissez faire lead capture and ultimately have a better user experience and more return users.  Isn’t that what it’s all about? 

I was in Barnes and Noble the other day looking for a book for one of my classes when I happened upon the bargain table (LOVE the bargain table). I have collected books ever since my English Literature Major days, and now have an extensive library. So, when I get a chance to add to it, I do. There is an author who writes about Western Pennsylvania (where I’m from) and one of her books was on the bargain table. WHOO HOO. Jackpot. I gathered up a few other goodies on sale (plus the original book I came for), whipped out the Amex and was on my way. So, what’s the big deal? Well, the other day, I get THIS email:

“Ok, cool!” I thought. At first. Then I thought about it. I bought that book in the STORE with my CREDIT CARD and they somehow knew who I was and how to contact me. EW. Anyone else kinda creeped out about this or is this the new, cool target-marketing method?

I was thinking the other day about the differences between my generation (think Breakfast Club, Parachute Pants and Members Only Jackets) and today’s kids and how vastly different our communication tendencies are. For instance, if I wanted to send out a message to most or all of my contacts, I’d either send an email or use LinkedIn. If a 15-year-old wants to do that, they’d probably send that message through a site like MySpace or Facebook. If I want to tell someone something quick and short, like “Oh my God Becky, look at her butt”, I might call them or send them a quick instant message. The 15-year-old would most likely text that message with their phone in blazing, I can’t be bothered writing whole words speed - “OMG bky c hr a**?”.

My point is, in ten years when these kids are in the work force, will they be using email the same way that we do today? I hear more and more about college classes communicating via wiki’s and we all know how popular Facebook is with the college crowd, so the idea that they will stop using social websites to communicate once they are out of college may not be a viable one.

The Internet is starting to absorb email as a form of communication. Prior to the past few years, peer-to-peer communication was not easily done through websites. Now its practically built in to every new website that’s created.

So I guess this is the question to the masses, what is the future of email?

My favorite subject line in a long time - sent from a client  - read “FYI… Outlook 2007 is shady.”

Well that’s to say the least. For those of you waiting in giddy anticipation for the privilege of working with Office 2007, let me spare you. At first I thought it was me. If I added up the time it took me to find all of the basic functions that were previously a right-click away … I shudder to consider the productivity lost. But one day I heard music to my ears - the grief stricken cry from a coworker “How the $@#% do you PRINT in Word?” In an effort to “simplify” things for everyone, Microsoft has undone years of routine clicking by reorganizing everything into handy “ribbons”, based on new categories that we must now all learn.

Included in this “simplification” are changes to Outlook 2007 designed to protect us all from the evils of Spam. All whining aside, the changes don’t seem to be too monumental to the way we should all be doing email now anyway.  You wouldn’t know this however, from all of the backlash this change has created.

Are you ready for the earth-shattering list? Find each below with my commentary on how it changes (or not) the way we approach email campaigns:

No support for background images (HTML or CSS).
No big loss here. Anyone concerned about getting email past Lotus Notes system has known about this one for a long time. You are better off sticking with colored table cells & regular images to achieve the same goal. If you feel you MUST use a background image, be certain it isn’t pivotal to your creative or message.

No support for forms.
Since most major email clients don’t support the use of Javascripting – and that’s how error checking on forms is handled – it’s generally recommended to skip using forms in email. This has traditionally been done as a spam filtration and security measure. It’s recommended that you link out to the form from the email.

No support for Flash, or other plug-ins.
This type of rich media and plug-ins are typically searched for, and blocked, by spam filtration tools. Additionally, if the end user does not have updated systems to support the plug-in, your message will be impacted.  If you want to use media like Flash or streaming video, its best to link to a landing page with a hosted version of the component.

No support for animated GIFs.
This one seems kind of silly. It’s hard to think of a security reason behind it quite frankly. The good thing is that using good design, there should be no limitation here.

No support for CSS floats.
CSS Floats are generally used for bigger scale efforts such as website design. The best use of styles for email is “inline” and in context of the actual HTML files being delivered. For a while now, major email programs have not supported external stylesheets. Experienced emarketers have known to avoid using them as there is a risk of your email rendering poorly.

No support for CSS positioning.
This issue is relative to the other CSS issue mentioned above.

No support for replacing bullets with images in unordered lists.
Anyone using images for bullets was probably avoiding the tag already. Your best bet is to stick with tables and include images in a column next to each bulleted item to control how everything lines up. 

There is an Outlook 2007 Tool: HTML and CSS Validator that supposedly helps you identify problem areas in your code if you are so inclined.

So while Outlook 2007 might have a new set of restrictions, the good news is that as long as you are using an experienced agency to design your email, you are in no danger of being “shady”. And no, there is no reason to have Outlook 2007 users receive text versions of your emails. I get plenty of Spam and legitimate marketing email every day that comes through just fine. So relax, take a deep breath and find something else to worry about – like how your emails are rendering.

While I am not typically one to fall into the whole New Year’s resolution “thing” (yes, air quotes would have been appropriate here Britney); I actually have TWO of them this year. I won’t get into too much detail on the first one, except to say it’s fairly standard and involves a battle with myself to exercise a little self control when it comes to all things sweet and calorie-laden. The second, however, I feel is fit to share in this most public of forums.

Those of you managing email programs, it’s time you finally do something about all of the issues that we’ve been reading and talking about for oh-so-long now. How many more conferences and summits do we need to attend to know it’s time? What am I talking about? As technology advances, our emails are starting to look WORSE!

The following have an impact on your email’s performance:

- Widespread adoption of Outlook 2003 with preview pane enabled
- Web based email clients (e.g. Yahoo!) are now using preview panes
- Images not loading by default in many email clients
- People receiving email on mobile devices

What can you do about it? Well, you have to start by wiping-clean the chalkboard board of your mind - no more of the “same old same old” email look. You know what I’m talking about, the old “banner at the top of the email, with the logo on the left, and the offer on the right”. First of all, it’s boring. More importantly, when that banner doesn’t load, no one sees your logo. And, if your offer is part of the graphic, there is a good chance no one can read it. Expecting readers to download images just to get the gist of your email is asking for more effort than most people have the time to output.

I’ve been saying it for a while, but people rarely listen or are afraid to stray from the norm. You don’t NEED a logo on the top left. People should see who sent the email in the FROM field. That’s what they look at to decide if they even want to open your email. But now that Email Labs is saying it, maybe I will be more credible.

Now, I’m not saying to avoid the use of pretty pictures altogether. Just don’t make your email reliant on them to deliver the message. Use a combination of web text and colored background cells for navigational and promotional information. Once the reader is engaged and decides to check out the entire email, you can wow them with great creative that adds to the experience and strengthens your brand.

So back to resolution two … I won’t take “no” for answer when I tell my clients this is how they need to be doing email. Even if I have to do it without the extra energy from a pre-meeting sugar binge.

CNN.com recently posted an article that commented on an AP-AOL survey and the discovery that there is, brace yourself, yet another generation gap between teens and adults and the way these demographics use technology. Specifically, the AP-AOL poll took a closer look at the outrageous amount of instant messages (IM) that are traded back and forth on a daily basis by a younger American audience.

Although instant messaging has been available for almost 10 years, there are some, mainly adults, that either find this electric form of real-time communication unacceptable, or more commonly, incomprehensible.

The AP-AOL poll revealed a number of statistics that once again compliments the idea that America’s youth are more likely to comprehend and utilize the ever growing technological tools that are available in today’s marketplace.

According to the poll that surveyed 1,013 adults and 500 teens:

- Almost three-fourths of adults who do use instant messages still communicate with e-mail more often. Almost three-fourths of teens send instant messages more than e-mail.

- More than half of the teens who use instant messages send more than 25 a day, and one in five send more than 100. Three-fourths of adult users send fewer than 25 instant messages a day.

- Teen users (30 percent) are almost twice as likely as adults (17 percent) to say they can’t imagine life without instant messaging.

- When keeping up with a friend who is far away, teens are most likely to use instant messaging, while adults turn first to e-mail.

- About a fifth of teen IM users have used IM to ask for or accept a date. Almost that many, 16 percent, have used it to break up with someone.

Though the AP-AOL poll uncovers some interesting statistics, let’s discuss these results juxtaposed to another form of a new age communication channel: e-mail. Should companies scrap their e-mail campaigns for something new and shiny? Before we write off this technology, let’s think about what happened when e-mail was introduced. Did everyone stop sending memos and correspondence via snail mail? No.

The adoption of IM in the younger generation doesn’t mean that marketers have lost the tool of e-mail. Conversely, it means that we’ve gained yet another medium to reach a different audience. There is only one thing a marketer can do in this fast-paced environment if they want to survive – keep up.

We live in a society that relies heavily on the progress and evolution of technology. Teenagers are not only immersed in these technological advancements on a daily basis, but are, more importantly, interested in learning and utilizing these new tools that streamline the lengthy and obsolete customs of a distant past.

There are some demographics that will continue to rely heavily on traditional offline marketing campaigns as their major source for consumer research. The older generations of America’s population have not all purchased a ticket on the trendy technology train. Rather, they still rely on advertisements that they have grown accustomed to, trust, and, more importantly, comprehend. Much like Gen X, the e-mail generation will continue to see e-mail as a useful tool to receive targeted information.

That is why it is important not to jump ship when something ‘new’ or ‘better’ comes along. E-mail isn’t Betamax. E-mail isn’t IM. But e-mail is here to stay.

The AP-AOL poll should be a wake-up call for the marketing community. Reminding us that there is still time for traditional and interactive marketing to co-exist and serve as a poster child for corporate America’s beloved ‘synergy.’

I just unsubscribed from the Buy.com emails (finally). Those guys really bludgeon you with emails and probably for the better part of six months I just deleted them without even looking at them, like it was part of my daily chores for the day. So I finally decided to unsubscribe. I was surprised that they actually had a preference page to allow me to select one of the following:

- Basic Emails

- 2 Emails per week

- 1 Email per week

- 1 Email per 2 weeks

- 1 Email per month

- Deal Alerts Emails only

- Entertainment

- Technology

- Unsubscribe

A decent choice list by them but the options were radio buttons and not check boxes (meaning I could not choose multiple items)! So I could choose to only receive technology emails but I’d still get them daily. Or I could select to get emails from them once a week but they’d still send me entertainment content which I don’t want. They were so close!

I can’t stress the importance of properly created preference centers for email marketing. And in today’s world if you don’t give your customers as much flexibility and control over how you communicate with them you’re missing the boat. Silverpop, one of our partners and truly one of the best Email Service Providers on the planet, has a great white paper section on their site and in particular they have one entitled, “Give Customers What They Want with Preferences.” It’s a great read. Maybe they should send a copy of it over to Buy.com

As a full service interactive agency, we work with many companies to help them understand the best way to run their email marketing campaigns. One of the mysteries of email marketing is when and how often email campaigns are sent. Over the last several years I’ve read countless analyst reports that attempt to pinpoint the right time, day and frequency an email campaign should be sent depending on the industry (i.e. retail, travel, b2b, etc.). When asked by clients and colleagues when and how often a campaign needs to run, I’m often reluctant to quote these statistics as they try to replicate them for their own campaigns. The fact of the matter is that frequency and timing of an email campaign should really depend on when you have content that is most relevant to the recipient. Now I’ll admit that’s easier said than done, but it is possible for any organization that’s willing to take this approach.

The simplest approach is to tell a client their industry typically sends an offer campaign 4 times a month, and that reports/statistics show that recipients have a high open and click-through rate on Thursday between 10am and 11am. I would have certainly provided sound strategy to my client and we’d end up sending an email once a week on Thursday between 10am and 11am. Granted we’d probably get average and perhaps above average results but so would everyone else.

I’d argue that we all know relevant content sent to a recipient when they want it will achieve the best possible results. For example, getting a lunch coupon for Chick-fil-A at 11am because I clicked or hovered over a banner ad in yahoo mail or hotmail will result in a higher conversion rate of that coupon than sending a blast campaign to everyone in my mailing list once every month. Yet the vast majority of campaigns are sent on a pre-defined frequency and time, typically to an un-segmented list (i.e. the message isn’t relevant to every recipient), and the content/offer is normally pretty generic. These campaigns still achieve good results but the approach can trap organizations into a routine as you scramble to get content based on a fixed schedule and start comprising on creative, content versions, segmenting, and testing in order to keep costs down mostly due to low ROI (cost of production and broadcast fees vs. revenue generated).

We should expect more from the web! So I’d rather tell a client they should send a campaign only when they have unique and valuable content that is relevant to a unique recipient. Stop sending “blast” campaigns to the whole mailing list and don’t create filler content because of a set frequency that recipients find generic. Introducing the concept of life cycle campaigns, trigger-based campaigns, personalized and dynamic segmented content campaigns regardless if the client is ready technically or logically can be a tough sell to any marketing department. Those who understand it embrace it, and those who don’t typically get caught up in the cost of running these types of campaigns, the sophistication in the logic and technology needed, and the change/risk of doing something so different. What we all need to realize is that the power of the tools we have, real-time data, and analytics that are at our fingertips has made this level of campaign available to any organization and can achieve far higher ROI than the typical blast frequency strategy.