I read MediaPost's Segmenting Email With Web Analytics primarily to figure out where NextStage's strategy differs from other companies' email strategies. For those who didn't know, I published a series of AllBusiness.com posts on email marketing, specifically what we're learning and did learn about email marketing in order to start sending out our own newsletter, NextStage Irregular. You can find links at the end of this post. The last in that series will be published on Monday, 2 June 08 around 9amET and is entitled "Email Newsletter KPIs Part 5 - New Conversions, Email Address".
As always when I read such things as Segmenting Email With Web Analytics I'm left wondering, "What?"
I know I come from different disciplines than most people in these fields and that my way of connecting things isn't the norm, but still... Something like "Often the information available to an email marketer is very restricted to information the consumer gives at the point of acquisition." for example.I'll agree that consumers give lots of information at the point of acquisition.
By the way, the translation of the above is "You learn a lot about subscribers when they sign up for your newsletter". I also know that most subscribers don't recognize the amount of information they're providing when they do sign up. Something as simple as an email address can reveal more than most subscribers intend.
I also liked "Likewise, email marketers are used to email metrics -- open rates and CTRs. They judge success by how many people click through." Again, not surprising to know and depressing to have confirmed. I'm willing to bet lots of these metrics come from using standardized tools. Such tools are great...maybe. I mean, once you learn how to use a hammer you pretty much know how to use just about any kind of hammer.
The only problem with that is that everything else tends to look like a nail.
Yes, NextStage is becoming famous for creating our own set of metrics. They're anything but standard, true, yet that does allow them to reveal so much more and be so specific to a specific business goal...
I also had to think about "...finding out whether the landing page they were directed to from the email was a consistent enough message and a compelling enough call to action that the visitor felt they wanted to invest in clicking deeper." Also agree, which is why our study determined that there were certain email designs that worked incredibly well at causing different kinds of response.
Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.
Links for this post:
- Email Newsletter KPIs Part 1 - Delivery Rate, Open Rate, Growth Rate, Cost of Acquisition
- Email Newsletter KPIs Part 2 - ReOpen Rate
- Email Newsletter KPIs Part 3 - Platform Variance, Environmental Variance
- Email Newsletter KPIs Part 4 - Viral Capacity
- Designing an Email Newsletter for Maximum ROI
- How to Design an E-Mail Newsletter to Maximize Your ROI: Part 1 Podcast
- How to Design an E-Mail Newsletter to Maximize Your ROI: Part 2 Podcast
- Make sure your email newsletter is working
- BizMediaScience Email Blog Posts
- Know How Someone Is Thinking in 10 Seconds or Less Half-day training at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 13 June 08
- SUNY Marketing Professionals Conference at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 11-13 June 08
Sign up for the NextStage Irregular, our very irregular, definitely frequency-wise and probably topic-wise newsletter.
Comment Preview