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February 28, 2006
What The Generals Are Saying about the EFF Action
There are always a few sides to the story. Mine, your and the truth. So all sides are weighing in on this latest action. My vote is still up for grabs. I think that it is something that will need to play out a bit before we all know what the impact will be to all of us. In the previous post you can see some estimated costs for Certified Mail. I think that these costs are legimate and many email marketers will not be able to afford this certified mail system. Whether or not this hurts opt in email marketers is out to vote at this point in time. Many large agencies are not seeing this as a hinderance but rather a benefit to the email campaigns they send out for large companies that can afford this cost to be a cost of doing business.
The EFF and MoveOn are behind this latest round of idiocy.
Here's what leading anti-spam experts had to say about them:
Every time someone blocks MoveOn for spamming, they send out a press release that it's a right wing political plot.
-- John R. Levine, Chairman of the Anti Spam Research Group at the Internet Research Task Force
EFF posting is not a balanced story, it is a hatchet job. Cindy’s not doing any service to herself, or to the EFF, by posting that.
The EFF’s done a lot of good things. But they’re simply way wrong in their single point agenda “spam filtering is bad and is a restriction on free speech”. Especially when their two favorite examples of this restriction are a chronically open relay that keeps getting abused, and a political action site with poorly managed mailing lists.
-- Suresh Ramasubramanian, Manager of antispam operations at Outblaze (~ 40 million users), Coordinator, CAUCE Asia Pacific
MoveOn has just about as much email clue as the EFF. Maybe less, if that's possible.
I would set up an "AOL can do as they please" petition.
-- Brian McNett, Forensic Spam Investigator
MoveOn has a history of sending spam. They have a history of mailing people who never asked for their mail and of not stopping when asked, and I expect that would not meet with Goodmail's standards.
-- Bill Cole, anti-spam expert
I think MoveOn have been very unreasonable and now there's such a siege mentality vis-à-vis email issues that they don't seem interested in listening.
-- Ray Everett-Church, counsel for CAUCE, an anti-spam advocacy group
Well, I backed their original stated goal, which was to get Congress to stop trying to impeach Clinton, and that was it. When they emailed me later on with some unrelated political screed, I considered that spam, tried to unsubscribe several times, and finally marked them down as scum who figured they could email me whenever they liked because I had once supported what I thought was a limited scope issue.
-- Steve Champeon, CTO, hesketh.com
Even if there are issues for concern regarding Certified Email, the MoveOn.org campaign against it is so fraught with inaccuracies and hyperbole it's simply irresponsible behavior for a serious organization seeking to influence policy.
-- Steve Ratzlaff, Senior Vice President, Greyware
I'd rather sign the "AOL is a private service, they can handle their inbound email however they want" petition.
-- Al Iverson, long time anti-spam activist and deliverability manager at Digital River
To be sarcastic about it: 20,000 signed the petition, while 2,980,000 told MoveOn to stop spamming them.
-- Seth Breidbart, Ph.D., creator of the Breidbart Index to measure spam.
Note: the statements above do not necessarily represent an endorsement of the CertifiedEmail service by the experts quoted.
What are your thoughts? Post your comments about the issue.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 9:17 AM | Permalink
Groups Gather to Fight AOL/Goodmail "Email Tax"
EFF To Fight E-Mail 'Tax'
THE CIVIL LIBERTIES ORGANIZATION ELECTRONIC Frontier Foundation has assembled a disparate group of nonprofits and entrepreneurs--including Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, the Gun Owners of America, MoveOn.org Civil Action, and the Association of Cancer Online Resources--to fight America Online's plan to charge marketers for guaranteed e-mail delivery.
The EFF says it's afraid that any system that gives preference to paid e-mail senders will ultimately hinder the flow of information online. "AOL is selling something that they don't really own, which is access to their users' in-boxes," said Danny O'Brien, activism coordinator at the EFF. The group Tuesday will announce that it intends to protest AOL's new e-mail plan.
Read Full Article on MediaPost
Read the article on The Boston Globe site as to what mailers could anticipate to pay for this delivery service.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 8:50 AM | Permalink
February 27, 2006
Equifax Spams Again and Again and Again
I want to know what puts one of the largest credit bureaus in the US outside of the law in regard to spamming people. I found this interesting artilce on the SpamKing blog today that I wanted to share with you. I find it very bothersome that Equifax is running shell companies and sending out email from Major US brands as opt in records. Really a shady pactice.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:23 AM | Permalink
February 24, 2006
A Transactional Email at It's Best
I signed up for some emails from Buy.com to test some of the parameters of the content they would send me based on my visits and profile. What has been interesting is that they have switched some days to text from HTML. Good practice to test what works, but is was confusing to me as I signed up for HTML only. Maybe I did not click so the next time I got Text. Not sure.
But one thing I wanted to bring out was the fact they when it hits my preview window in my email client, all I see is ads. I guess it works, but I would have rather seen something better than a banner ad at first take.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:45 AM | Permalink
February 23, 2006
I Heart EClubs That work
As simple as this program is that Fishbowl runs for Red Robin (text only never much in the meat of the message), they do hit the timing right. If you have a consumer audience I really think that a B day club or annual gift is a good one.
**********************************************************
Happy Burger-day from Red Robin
**********************************************************
An eClub birthday treat, just for you! Bring this in for a Gourmet Burger of your choice on us*.
But hurry, this offer expires 3/7/2006.
..........................................................
*Offer expires 14 days from date sent. This certificatemay only be printed and used once. Must present this coupon to your server. One coupon per table. Dine-in only. Not good with any other offers, discounts or promotions. No cash value. Any alterations to this certificate make it null and void. Certificate void if sold or auctioned. Please bring ID so we know it's you. > Visit Us Online: http://www.redrobin.com
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 11:53 AM | Permalink
An UN-Friendly Unsubcribe Message
I was removing myself using the unsub from a newsletter that I had been watching for a while. Simple process and should have been painless. But if you see from the image below, they had the list I was on publically listed as a "Prospect" list. Not a very nice thing to show someone on you list.
The take away from this is if you are showing the lists that people are subscribed to, make the public facing name something nice. Like "Newsletter Subscribers". On the back end of your ESP you should be able to have an internal list name or at least a DB field that allows you to segment and organize by client or prospect. I will leave the company's name out, but take note for your own email marketing lists.
Get a guide on our site about eMarketing best practices.
View Large image
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 9:20 AM | Permalink
MoveOn.org Civic Action Update
MoveOn.org is rallying the troops. Not only are they sending to their lists, but they are using a trigger to ask you to send it on again to those that you know. They even write the response you will read below that you can copy and paste to your contact list.
Dear friend,Please ask AOL not to auction off preferential "certified" access to people's inboxes to giant emailers, while leaving everyone else wondering if their emails are being delivered at all. AOL's proposed pay-to-send system hurts the Internet.
America Online
Phone: (703) 265-1000
Press 0 for operator or 3 to leave a message. (If AOL transfers you to a tech support person, just let them know your concern and thank them for their time.)
Help track our impact by letting us know you called at:http://civic.moveon.org/call
Before calling, it would be good to read the below summary of "AOL Claims & Reality" so you are prepared for what AOL may say.
After calling, please take a moment to invite your friends to sign the petition—especially those who use AOL or care about keeping the Internet free. You can just forward the sample letter that's below.
Spreading the word is critical, but please only pass this message along to those who know you—spam hurts our campaign.
Thanks for all you do.
–The MoveOn.org Civic Action Team
AOL CLAIMS & REALITY
CLAIM: Nothing would change for non-paying email senders. This is just an extra service for paying senders.
FACT: AOL currently has a financial incentive to put top-notch maintenance into their free email system and make sure legitimate emails don't wind up in spam filters. This helps everyone--corporate senders, non-profit senders, and regular senders. The moment AOL switches to a world where giant emailers pay for preferential treatment, AOL faces this internal choice: spend money to keep spam filters up-to-date so legitimate email isn't identified as spam, or make money by neglecting their spam filters and pushing more senders to pay for guaranteed delivery. Despite their denials that things will change for regular email senders, which choice do you think they'll choose?
CLAIM: Charging a fee will help deter spammers.
FACT: AOL hasn't officially made this claim, but they've let it be implied in news articles and it's completely untrue. AOL's "email tax" would not prevent giant senders from sending email, especially since many of these same senders are willing to pay a lot more money to send advertisements through the postal service. AOL's pay-to-send system would actually make it a sweeter deal for them to send masss emails - giving guaranteed delivery to people's inboxes with a preferential high-priority designation. Additionally, those who break the rules and spam recklessly right now have no incentive to reduce spamming because of AOL's proposed policy.
CLAIM: This is not an "email tax."
FACT: If AOL has its way, the only way to guarantee mail is being delivered will be to pay. For email senders, it amounts to an email tax--except the money goes to AOL instead of the government.
CLAIM: This MoveOn email is a hoax, we will not charge email senders.
It most definitely is not a hoax, and the charge to email senders has been publicly announced in the New York Times, the Associated Press, and other media outlets.
HERE'S A SAMPLE MESSAGE TO SEND TO YOUR FRIENDS:
Subject: Stop AOL's email schemeHi,
I just signed an important online petition because the very existence of online civic participation and the free Internet as we know it are under attack by America Online, and we need to fight back quickly.
The petition's at:
http://civic.moveon.org/emailtax/
AOL recently announced what amounts to an "email tax." Under this pay-to-send system, large emailers willing to pay an "email tax" can bypass spam filters and get guaranteed access to people's inboxes--with their messages having a preferential high-priority designation.
Charities, small businesses, civic organizing groups, and even families with mailing lists will inevitably be left with inferior Internet service unless they are willing to pay the "email tax" to AOL.
The petition says: "AOL, don't auction off preferential access to people's inboxes to giant emailers, while leaving people's friends, families, and favorite causes wondering if their emails are being delivered at all. The Internet is a force for democracy and economic innovation only because it is open to all Internet users equally--we must not let it become an unlevel playing field."
AOL's proposed pay-to-send system is the first step down the slippery slope toward dividing the Internet into two classes of users--those who get preferential treatment and those who are left behind. We must preserve the Internet for everybody.
Can you sign this emergency petition to America Online?
http://civic.moveon.org/emailtax/
Thanks!
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:22 AM | Permalink
February 22, 2006
AOL is threatening the Internet as we know it - From MoveOn.org
Just had to share this. It was sent to me from an employee at eROI. Looks like others are turning up the heat. Let's see if a grass roots and not industry action fan the flames.
rom: Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org Civic Action [mailto:moveon-help@list.moveon.org]
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 1:15 PM
Subject: Stop AOL's email tax
AOL is threatening the Internet as we know it.
They want to charge an "email tax" for sending email. Those who don't pay would risk their emails not being delivered.
Can you help change AOL's mind by signing this emergency petition?
Dear MoveOn member,
The very existence of online civic participation and the free Internet as we know it are under attack by America Online.
AOL recently announced what amounts to an "email tax." Under this pay-to-send system, large emailers willing to pay an "email tax" can bypass spam filters and get guaranteed access to people's inboxes—with their messages having a preferential high-priority designation.1
Charities, small businesses, civic organizing groups, and even families with mailing lists will inevitably be left with inferior Internet service unless they are willing to pay the "email tax" to AOL. We need to stop AOL immediately so other email hosts know that following AOL's lead would be a mistake.
Can you sign this emergency petition to America Online and forward it to your friends?
Sign here: http://civic.moveon.org/emailtax/
Petition statement: "AOL, don't auction off preferential access to people's inboxes to giant emailers, while leaving people's friends, families, and favorite causes wondering if their emails are being delivered at all. The Internet is a force for democracy and economic innovation only because it is open to all Internet users equally—we must not let it become an unlevel playing field."
Sign here: http://civic.moveon.org/emailtax
AOL is one of the biggest email hosts in the world—if we stop them from unleashing this threat to the Internet, others will know not to try it. Everyone who signs this petition will be sent information on how to contact AOL directly, as well as future steps that can be taken until AOL drops its new "email tax" policy.
AOL's proposed pay-to-send system is the first step down the slippery slope toward dividing the Internet into two classes of users—those who get preferential treatment and those who are left behind.
AOL pretends nothing would change for senders who don't pay, but that's not reality. The moment AOL switches to a world where giant emailers pay for preferential treatment, AOL faces this internal choice: spend money to keep spam filters up-to-date so legitimate email isn't identified as spam, or make money by neglecting their spam filters and pushing more senders to pay for guaranteed delivery. Which do you think they'll choose?
If AOL has its way, the big loser will be regular email users—whose email from friends, family, and favorite causes will increasingly go undelivered and disappear into the black hole of a neglected spam filter. Another loser will be democracy and economic innovation on the Internet—where small ideas become big ideas specifically because regular people can spread ideas freely on a level playing field.
If an "email tax" existed when MoveOn began, we never would have gotten off the ground—indeed, AOL's proposal will hurt every membership group, regardless of political affiliation. That's why groups all across the political spectrum are joining together with charities, non-profits, small businesses, labor unions, and Internet watchdog groups in opposition to AOL's "email tax."
The president of the Association for Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) points out the real-world urgency of this issue:
In essence, this is going to block every AOL subscriber suffering from any form of cancer from receiving potentially life-saving information they may not be able to get from any other source, simply because a non-profit like ACOR—which serves more than 55,000 cancer patients and caregivers every day—cannot afford to pay the fee.1
Can you sign this emergency petition to America Online and forward it to your friends?
http://civic.moveon.org/emailtax
Thank you for all you do.
–Eli Pariser, Noah T. Winer, Adam Green, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
P.S. The Electronic Frontier Foundation summed up the "email tax" issue beautifully:
Email being basically free isn't a bug. It's a feature that has driven the digital revolution. It allows groups to scale up from a dozen friends to a hundred people who love knitting to half-a-million concerned citizens without a major bankroll...
Once a pay-to-speak system like this gets going, it will be increasing difficult for people who don't pay to get their mail through. The system has no way to distinguish between ordinary mail and bulk mail, spam and non-spam, personal and commercial mail. It just gives preference to people who pay...3
Sources:
1. "Postage is due for companies sending e-mail," New York Times, February 4, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1453
2. "AOL's New Email Certification Program: Good Mail or Goodfellas?" L-Soft Release, February 2, 2006
http://www.lsoft.com/news/aol-goodmail.asp
3. "AOL, Yahoo and Goodmail: Taxing Your Email for Fun and Profit," Electronic Frontier Foundation, February 8, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1454
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:34 AM | Permalink
February 21, 2006
Fight Back Against Spammers
A little off topic in a sense as this is a new system I saw to fight spam on blog comments and track backs. It interested me as it is cataloging email and IP addresses.
WWW Robots (also called wanderers, spiders, crawlers, or bots) are programs that crawl the Web continually retrieving linked pages. When a spammer's bot visits your website, blog, forum, etc, all pages and sites linked to it will be searched looking for email addresses.Now you can fight back against their robots!
All you have to do is link to this page so that whenever a spammer's robot scans your page, it will be sucked into this one.
My Favorite part might be that they are posting all of the spammers email addresses publically. I like this approach, fry them with their own tricks.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 8:03 AM | Permalink
February 20, 2006
More Confusing State SPAM Laws
I can only tell you that every state taking on a new law is only going to hurt this from the standpoint of companies and customers getting email. We need a national standardized act, oh wait we do.. the CAN SPAM act, that keeps the rules in one place. Each new state law is creating an additional level of confusion to businesses in each of these states as well as to national companies and brands. They are creating more costs, ontop of existing costs, pay per email costs and in turn actually validating email addresses should a spammer want to clean their list. How hard is it to "sync" the list with each state and then take the ones they removed from your file and then spam the hell out of valid emails from another IP? Not a good solution in my humble opinion.
Do Not E-Mail' Registries Percolate In Five States
NEW PROPOSALS TO ESTABLISH CONTROVERSIAL "do not e-mail" child protection registries advanced this month in three states, bringing to five the total number of states now considering such legislation--Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, and Iowa. Michigan and Utah remain the only states to have established do not e-mail registries, although Utah's law currently faces a court challenge.
The laws generally prohibit marketers from sending material considered harmful to minors to children's e-mail addresses. In Michigan and Utah, parents can submit their children's e-mail addresses to a registry, and then marketers of potentially inappropriate messages pay a fee to ensure that their e-mail lists don't contain any addresses on the registry.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 9:03 AM | Permalink
February 17, 2006
Email and RSS - Will They Merge?
I can't say that RSS will replace email at this point in time. Although I love my RSS news Reader, I know that they are two different beasts at this point in time. We took the high road on this in December 2004 by adding RSS to our emailROI platform for our clients. We thought that it was good to be ahead of the curve. Some ESPs are adding it now and hyping it like the invent of electricity. Actually like they invented electricity. Now in educating our clients about it for over a year, only 10% have taken the plunge of checking a button in the list settings to automatically make their newsletters RSS feeds as well.
I think that at this point in time we are starting to see the consumer adoption of RSS coming to light, but still it is not going to replace email anytime soon. It is there to give people options of how they want to interact with your brand online. Now isn't that what it is about, giving people choices? I think so. RSS is still only used by maybe at max 10% of the online population from recent reports, but I encourage you to use and ESP that does have this as an option.
WIth testing to your lists, educating them about the availability and adding to your subscription forms, newsletters and sites, you are taking the high road of being an early adopter. I know that in a year we have seen about 30-40 new RSS subscribers a day to our email newsletter, and many of these are the same people that take it as email as well. The read rates have not dropped off, nor the click throughs from the emails themselves, but the interaction has picked up on times that we are not sending a newsletter and the touch points have been extended.
My advice is for you to test RSS as an addition to your email campaigns. If not as an additonal way to fet your marketing, but try doing it for a different marketing idea, maybe a special offer newsletter that you do not offer by email. We can only test to see what your audience wants.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 12:30 PM | Permalink
February 16, 2006
Tips for Testing Personalized E-Mail Salutations
ClickZ has a good article today about testing emails that are personalized to the receiver. I think that this is a good idea always, but many marketers should see what they have in thier data base to target with. If you are not adding past purchases, type of client/prospect, geo location, gender, etc to your data base, I think you are behind the curve. List hygeine and data is the key to any online relationship. Make sure that you are asking for more information from time to time to create a better picture of each person. Remember that just like in the offline world, we want people to have a relationship with us and make us feel like a person with every touch, and not just a nobody.
Read the Article and See the Test Results at ClickZ
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 6:41 AM | Permalink
February 15, 2006
Spam Blocks When Referencing Other URLs
I was not sure if it was common knowledge with many of you out there, but we often see that when some clients link to sites other than their own, they run the risk of a delivery issue. This is due to some IPs or URLs being on a spam watchlist. This can have a negative impact on your email being delivered to the inbox and even impact the delivery itself.
In talking to some clients, they were unaware of this and it is a good practice to send the email to a seed list or internal and external test accounts (like Yahoo, AOL, MSN, etc) to see if you have any blocks in place with URLs you are using before sending out your campaign.
A simple tool to use as well is RBLS.org
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:16 AM | Permalink
February 14, 2006
Everything's Contextual in Gmail
It was funny to read that it was not only me that noticed the Spam recipes in my gmail account when I was cleaning out junk from the SPAM folder. It found it amusing, but also good that someone else noticed it too.
See the post on the ClickZ Blog
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:11 AM | Permalink
February 13, 2006
Yahoo Sets Spam Afire
Recently I noticed that Yahoo beta email had added an email on fire as the indicator of spam. Not that the garbage can did not tell me what to do, but lighting email on fire might give someone a better feeling about reporting it.
Many ISPs are really calling out REPORT spam in a way that should cause an emotional interaction with junk mail. At least I hope for marketers that it is only Junk mail that is lit on fire and not the messages that these subscribers actually opted into. This kiss of death is that false spam reports can have a negative affect on opt in marketing and I caution you to tread carefully about reporting spam. False reports can cause you to not receive the emails you want it too many people report false positives in the inbox.
I can only imagine that the in house Alpha for this was a small head of a spammer on fire.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 9:32 AM | Permalink
AOL CertifiedEmail Is Not E-mail Postage
ClickZ blog tries to clarify the positioning of the Goodmail/AOL services. Seems that there are more details coming to light spelling out what affect it will have. From some initial conversations with Goodmail and other ESPs that we had this past week, not all the details are really hammered out. We will learn and see more in the coming months.
AOL is not charging postage for e-mail.There's been a lot of misinformation about that point in the past week, as a result of competitors' intentional misrepresentation, AOL's missteps in talking about its plans, and -- dare I say it -- misunderstandings of journalists.
The implementation of Goodmail's CertifiedEmail announced last week is a paid service that provides additional benefits to senders, like automatic display of images and links, adding a "trust symbol" to the message in the user's inbox, bypassing content and volume filters for guaranteed inbox delivery, and enhanced reporting.
An e-mail from a legitimate sender, who follows best e-mail practices for permission and list maintenance, will not need to pay to have their messages delivered. What they will have to pay for is those added features.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:06 AM | Permalink
February 10, 2006
Spam in Different Languages
Spam is spam is spam. But really if you are going to take the steps to send something, shouldn't you know the country you are sending it to and use the right language? Relevancy is everything and you need to know your audience. I am not sure how many emails you get that are in other languages, I know we get a ton in Asian languages, but it is not only frustrating that it is spam, but that I can't read it.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 9:20 AM | Permalink
Video in Emails - Does it work?
I love video, but I have reservations about it in email. I state this as in recent studies as well as from our own trials, Video (and flash for that matter) only works in about 4 of 45 email clients. What I would have liked to have seen in this email is some images holding the spots for the video to draw in my attention and make me want to take the step to click. Without images, I am a little leary of what might be on the other side and a carrot is a better way to lead someone down the path by setting expectations.
Overall it is a good email, just need a little finesse.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 8:39 AM | Permalink
February 9, 2006
AOL-Goodmail Webinar
It might be good to take a look at this issue from AOL themselves. There is a webinar Feb 15th that might shed some light.
AOL & Pivotal Veracity to hold webinar
Pivotal Veracity announced that it will be holding an exclusive webinar on February 15th with AOL to address the many questions that enterprises have regarding how to effectively and successfully communicate with their AOL customers.
"Our goal is to wade through the hype of the last two weeks, to educate the industry on the facts behind AOL deliverability and to foster empathy and team-work between the receiving and mailing community," said Deirdre Baird, President, Pivotal Veracity. "This is a unique opportunity for mailers to engage first-hand with the experts at AOL and to learn not only what is required to optimize communications with their AOL customers but also how to objectively evaluate whether options like Goodmail CertifiedEmail might lend value to their email programs."
Webinar February 15th at 2pm Eastern
Originally planned only for Pivotal Veracity clients, this exclusive webinar has now been opened to the general mailing community and will be free of charge. Due to a limited number of seats, non Pivotal Veracity clients will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis.
If you are interested in attending, please register no later than Monday, February 13th at:
http://pivotalveracity.com/contact/aolwebinar.php
Please specify Invite Code: 0209DN.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 8:36 PM | Permalink
List Spammers Selling Names
One of my biggest peaves in email is the spam I get (because we are an ESP) that is hawking more lists to buy for rock bottom prices for spam lists. I have removed myself from this list (that I did not opt in to) countless times. I did so again today, only because it is karma to report it. But next time it goes to the Spamcop.
With emails like this, it is no wonder that we still see people spamming. They make it look so easy to buy a list and blast. We need to put and end to guys like this.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 2:46 PM | Permalink
On the Record on Paid Emails
From Bill McCloskey at Email Insiders.
There are several things wrong with the concept of an e-mail payment plan.
First, all it does do is allow a company to buy their way around AOL or Yahoo!s spam filters.
Second, it will increase the amount of SPAM that a customer will effectively see. Note that SPAM is more than just penis pill pushers and con-artists.
Third, it will make it harder for AOL or Yahoo! to effectively fight SPAM. A company can claim that they had a pre-existing relationship, while the user will claim otherwise in their complaint. (Whom do you think will win out?)
Fourth. This opens the doorway to "legitimate" companies that purchased lists of e-mail addresses from other companies that one gave permission to use. (Ever read the fine print on those websites that you frequent? You may want to get e-mail from AMEX, but do you really want them to sell it to one of their partners?)
Why are Yahoo! and AOL doing this? Simple. They need to increase revenues to please Wall St. and their shareholders.
It truly is a bad idea and will probably alienate their users. Think you have seen churn in customers the past few years AOL? Get Ready.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 11:45 AM | Permalink
Spamhaus Rejects AOL
Antispam group rejects e-mail payment plan - Interesting the Yahoo is mentioned.
A leading antispam agency has struck back at moves to charge companies a fixed fee to ensure e-mails are delivered, saying it will erode freedoms.
On Monday, Richard Cox, chief information officer at antispam organization Spamhaus, said that "an e-mail charge will destroy the spirit of the Internet."
"The Internet has become what it is because of freedom of communication. Open discussion is what gives it value. There should be no cost for particular services, and e-mail should be free and accessible to all. This will disenfranchise people," Cox said.
According to reports, Internet giants America Online and Yahoo are planning to charge companies up to one cent per e-mail to guarantee delivery.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:27 AM | Permalink
February 8, 2006
A Great Holiday and Sales Email
I wanted to highlight a great email I got today. It was from Aperion Audio and they do a great job with design as a whole. I encourage you to visit the site to see what I mean.
But as with this email so many things were done right. The Subject line, the creative, the imagery, the simplistic nature, the copy and the call to action.
I would assume that this campaign generates click through and conversions.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 9:35 PM | Permalink
Good Example of Email Done Right
I recieved this email recently alerting me to a Nike sale. I thought it was done well with plenty of options to interact with based on what I might be looking for. But one thing let me down, the links all went to the same page. I was expecting to get right to the meat of the shopping experience not start navigating and searching for what I clicked from. I would say that they can profile with what I clicked on, but would have liked to see the email drive right to the appropriate category. Saves me some time.
And as a Nike shopper, I would like to see more that really talk to me based on what I have bought from them online. Not only for myself, but for those items I have bought from others in my family.
Keep it up, but make it more one to one.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:19 AM | Permalink
February 7, 2006
AOL Keeps Whitelists
So after getting an amazing amount of coverage on the issue, AOL is going to keep the whitelists in place and also add Goodmail as an option. I like to hear that. We are going to test the Goodmail system on a sample account to see the value for our customers. I think throwing the baby out with the bath water was a bad idea. Lesson to be learned, do assume you know what is best for everyone and what everyone wants. Ask your partners, customers and peers, then make an informed decision.
Some e-mail marketers last week indicated that they were unhappy with AOL's plan to use Goodmail, and didn't want to pay extra to ensure their messages would be delivered.
AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said the June 2006 phase-out date for the enhanced whitelist was based on a draft proposal, but the portal now plans to keep the enhanced whitelist indefinitely. "There's been a lot of talk and miasma about the enhanced whitelist. Here's the bottom line: We went into discussions with a lot of people who are stakeholders in the e-mail delivery process; we gave them a working draft about some thoughts we had about the enhanced whitelist," he said. "It was not meant to be a declarative statement. After some internal and external feedback, we believe we've found the right path moving forward."
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:39 AM | Permalink
We Check Email Everywhere
E-Mail, E-mail Everywhere!
Are you as addicted to email as the rest of the US? Email is a staple of life almost not matter what demographic or industry you are in. I find it hard to locate people today that do not use email for communications. I do find some people are less reliant on it on a daily basis as many of us addicts, but that is a work life balance issue that they need to work out... not us. (joke)
Are there emails that you look forward to getting each week or month? Retailers? Sports News, Indsutry News or friends? And where do you get it? The move to people getting content not only in a computer inbox but on mobile devices is upon us and with the new services being launched and text messaging crossing into the norm, we get it everywhere and at all times.
If you are an email marketer, you should start looking at the times during the day that your targeted audience is interacting with your messages and when they come back again.
Ten years ago relatively few Americans had an e-mail address. Today very few do not.
In its "Sixth Annual Consumer Email Study," DoubleClick posits that not only have consumers become increasingly reliant on e-mail, they have become more sophisticated in its use and more comfortable with marketers leveraging data to communicate with them.
The study begins: "Consumers are increasingly reliant on and comfortable with email as a communication channel. It is no longer a novelty, and is fully integrated into the personal and professional lives of most consumers. This integration has facilitated a merging of personal and professional time with most consumers checking work email from home and checking personal email while at the office."
DoubleClick reports that 90% of consumers go online to send and receive e-mail several times a day. 44% report that their use of e-mail is "constant," up 11 points from those who reported constant usage in 2004.
Since people are using e-mail more, it's no surprise that there's more e-mail. The average consumer now receives 361 e-mails per week, a 17% increase on 2004.
70% of all e-mail messages are considered spam. However, it is important to note that the increase in e-mail volumes occurs across all categories, not just spam. The percentage of total e-mail that is perceived as spam has remained stable since 2002.
Even more importantly, the study states that consumers are somewhat less concerned about spam because they are developing strategies to deal with inbox volume. They dump it.
In other words, spam is not "scary" anymore. That is a big turnaround in consumer attitude Ñ of which marketers can take full advantage.
The increasingly important role e-mail is playing in all aspects of marketing and customer services and communications cannot be ignored.
When asked what they would like to see e-mail replace, 51% of respondents said telemarketing, 44% said in-person sales calls and 41% said direct mail. In addition 33% would like to see e-mail replace retail offers and coupons, while 31% said bills and statements.
Although e-mail began mainly as an acquisition vehicle, it is emerging as a critical channel for customer retention and loyalty marketing with 94% of consumers now expecting e-mails to confirm orders and 90% expecting shipping confirmations. Consumers are also clearly open to the idea of e-mails doing even more.
The study confirmed that the "from" line is still the most compelling reason to open permission-based e-mail. "This reflects the significance of sender recognition and the power of brand names critically important as consumers face ever rising volumes of e-mail."
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:16 AM | Permalink
February 6, 2006
Spam is 99% Perception
As we have been telling customers and industry people for a long time now, spam can be anything that someone feels it is. This means that it may be double opt in, they might have been reading your emails, buying your products, telling others about you, but one day, they notice a neat button in their email client and VOILA, it's now a spam report.
This hits valid email marketers all the time and has an impact on their IPs and overall their reputation with ISPs. Now it is easier to just unsubscribe, but with all the ways to report it popping up in every inbox, why not just hit the button. Many ISPs are making this easier to do and actually encouraging this type of behavoir. So remember that it not only impacts the valid sender that you have a long standing relationship with, but in the end will cost you getting the email you have requested from a site you love.
Who Says It's Spam?
Who decides what is spam and what isn't? The consumer perhaps?
What are legitimate e-mail marketers supposed to do? They follow CAN-SPAM guidelines. They use proper permission marketing techniques. They mail only to opt-in lists. Still, recipients are increasing hitting the "This is spam" link.
After all, while marketers may have a set definition for spam, and know that they don't practice spamming, consumers have a broader view. Legally, e-mail isn't spam if a consumer has opted-in to receive messages. However it could also be argued that, if there is something in a user's e-mail box, and they don't want it there, it is spam.
According to a recent survey by Return Path, 34% of consumers said they deal with an increasing volume of e-mail by reporting it as spam to their ISPs, and that is up from 23.4% the previous year.
"Consumers use the 'S' word very easily," Stephanie Miller of Return Path told MediaPost. "Their definition of spam is completely different from a marketer's definition of spam."
That's bad news for e-mail marketers. Being reported as spam increases the likelihood that a company's e-mail will be filtered, whether it is permission-based or not.
Faced with numbers showing that consumers' spam fingers are getting itchier, Ms. Miller added, "It's really easy to report somebody as junk or spam, so the bar is higher for marketers to be really relevant."
"Marketers need to use the data they have to make better decisions about what to send and when to send it," Ms. Miller told the Multichannel Merchant. "If [there is] an expectation that you're going to send a weekly e-mail, and then suddenly during the holidays you start sending a daily e-mail, you're very likely going to get reported as a spammer."
Return Path found that nearly half of the respondents in the survey were surprised by the large volume of e-mail that was delivered to their e-mail boxes after registering. In all, during the 2005 holiday season, some 31% of respondents felt that they recieved an increased amount of e-mail.
A substantial 17% of respondents said the surge in e-mails during the holiday season was "overwhelming," compared to only 10% who felt unable to cope in 2004.
Other findings from the survey showed that the number-one influencer over whether or not consumers will open an e-mail is their past experience with the sender. More than 60% of the consumers surveyed said that knowing and trusting the sender was a key factor in determining if they would open an e-mail. Also, 48% of those surveyed said they opened mail from companies that had previously sent e-mails they found valuable.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 11:07 AM | Permalink
AOL Flip Flops on Whitelist
Does 'Enhanced White List' Mean Anything to You?
by David Baker, Monday, February 6, 2006
THERE HAS BEEN QUITE A rumbling in the industry since AOL announced that it will be "discontinuing" its enhanced white list and instituting a paid-for service that has a relative "postage" fee for e-mail delivery provided through Goodmail Systems. But it's difficult to understand the impact this could have if you didn't understand the benefits of the enhanced white list in the first place.
To clarify this matter, I asked Deidre Baird, president of e-mail optimization firm Pivotal Veracity, for an update about what this means to you. She was kind enough to explain every last detail.
AOL has two white lists - the standard white list and the enhanced white list:
1. The standard white listis what most mailers are on, if they are on any white list at all. You can apply to be on the standard white list, and once approved by AOL, you will remain on this list as long as your bounces, spam complaints and spam-trap addresses remain below the thresholds that AOL sets and monitors (but does not publish). Being on the AOL standard white list provides definite benefits, because it reduces the amount of filtering that will take place on your e-mails, and improves your inbox placement rate. Being on the AOL standard white list does not alter whether images will display. Instead, this setting is controlled by the version of AOL that the recipient is using; AOL 8.0 and lower have images on by default, while AOL 9.0, AOL.com and future versions of AOL have images off by default.
2. The enhanced white list is a subset of mailers (IPs) that are also on the standard white list. The thresholds that AOL sets for spam complaints, bounces, spam-trap addresses, etc. that must be maintained in order to be eligible. are tighter or more restrictive than those for the standard white list. However, you cannot apply for the enhanced white list. Instead, AOL automatically places mailers from the standard white list who consistently meet the more rigorous standards on this smaller list. In fact, only a small percentage of those mailers who are currently on the standard white list meet the standards of the enhanced white list. Similar to the standard white list, the enhanced white list reduces the amount of filtering on your e-mails and improves your inbox placement. Additionally, being on the enhanced white list will change the default setting of images to "on" in AOL 9.0, AOL.com and newer versions of AOL. Thus, the incremental benefit of the enhanced white list over the standard white list is that it enables images in the newer AOL e-mail clients.
More to the point: AOL is not discontinuing either the standard white list or the enhanced white list. AOL did announce to the media that its enhanced white list would be discontinued in June. However, as of late afternoon last Monday, AOL's position on the enhanced white list had changed. The enhanced white list will not be discontinued in 2006. Rather, the thresholds will be tightened and, as a result, there will be even fewer mailers that are eligible for inclusion on the enhanced white list. Since there are only a small fraction of mailers who are on it now, this will not impact 99.9 percent of you, regardless of the tightening restrictions.
So what will happen to AOL's enhanced white list after 2006? Nobody knows, nor would it be prudent for AOL to make predictions about what they'll need to do months from now.
Were the media who reported on the discontinuation last Monday morning wrong? No, they were not. That was the content of the release the media received from AOL on Friday. But AOL had changed its position by end of day Monday--without making an official statement about this change. Thus we may continue to read about a discontinuation of the enhanced white list, even though this is no longer true.
The AOL standard white list has not been the subject of any press this week, but it should be mentioned that this white list will remain in existence as well.
David Baker is vice president of e-mail marketing and analytical solutions at Agency.com. His coauthor this week, Deidre Baird, is president of e-mail optimization firm Pivotal Veracity.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 6:43 AM | Permalink
February 3, 2006
Consumer Courtship Email Statistics
Great news article written by Stephanie Miller at Return Path. I think that it is worth reading and noting what she has found.
EVERY READER OF THIS COLUMN knows that e-mail works when it is done right. Yet the data shows that precious few make that happen in their e-mail programs. Consumers want your e-mail, will open your e-mail, and will buy from you via e-mail--if you build a relationship and keep that relationship relevant. Think of it as a courtship--with better odds.
A recent Return Path survey analyzing consumer use of e-mail during the holiday shopping season showed that consumers respond to e-mail when they have an ongoing positive experience with the sender and have received value from their e-mail program in the past. While that should be a no-brainer, the same survey also showed that most consumers feel that less and less of the e-mail they get is relevant or wanted--so clearly we're all doing something wrong when it comes to executing e-mail campaigns.
More than 60 percent of consumers opened e-mail from senders they knew and trusted. Even more impressive, 47.7 percent actually looked for the e-mails that they liked in the past. Retailers have to expend serious time and energy to end up in that camp.
Too often, tight deadlines and merchandising schedules take precedence over what customers want to receive, or interfere with an otherwise blossoming relationship. If you stopped trying after the first date--or worse, if you decided to propose marriage on the first date--your love life wouldn't get very far. And neither will your e-mail program if you stop paying attention to what customers want after they get onto your list. Instead, actively seek ways to make your e-mail mean something to those who receive it. How? Listen to what consumers say about the e-mail they received this holiday season, and use the data to improve your own consumer relationships before they turn on you.
The following are some basic reminders--as reported by consumers themselves--to help reinforce what you already know about doing e-mail right.
Looks and charm matter. Next time someone tells you not to bother polishing an e-mail campaign, consider these consumer stats:
42.9 percent open based on subject line
25 percent open for discounts
22.9 percent open based on preview window contents
20.9 percent are motivated by free shipping
Substance leads to results. As you pay attention to what your audience wants and needs, you'll see your response rates climb. Our survey showed:
50.2 percent took advantage of e-mail offers
40.9 percent comparison shopped with e-mail
30.9 percent used e-mail for gift ideas
29.3 percent used e-mail to get to familiar web sites
It is worth noting that 42.2 percent said e-mail had no influence whatsoever--they must be the ones who receive too much worthless e-mail in their inboxes.
Breakups are painful. When consumers decide they don't like you anymore, it isn't always pretty. Not getting a second chance is the least of your worries.
68 percent delete unwanted e-mail
33.6 percent report senders as spammers to their ISPs
30.5 percent unsubscribe
That middle statistic is worth noting. Once they hit the "this is spam" button, even those who pine for you can't see your offer because the disgruntled have gotten you blocked at key ISPs. Talk about a buzz kill.
As we move from the holiday season into Valentine's Day, remember to make e-mail relevance a higher priority in 2006. From our survey, it's easy to see that while e-mail works, most consumers see little value from the majority of e-mail they receive. Show consumers the love they deserve, and you will reap the rewards.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 2:22 PM | Permalink
Interesting Comments on Goodmail/AOL from Jupiter
I found David to have some valid points this AM. What this might do well is curb the "blast" mentality of larger mailers to focus on how many emails they are sending (email frequency rates) and work on micro malings and list hygene. That is one good thing that I would like to see. But we have been driving our clients to that for a while, but with a carrot not a stick
From MediaPost Article:
He said that now, only about one in three e-mail marketers target based on open rates or click-through data. The industry would benefit, he asserted, if the extra cost encourages advertisers to stop sending e-mail messages to consumers who routinely delete them.
One reason is that customers would get less unwanted e-mail--which they now mistakenly report as spam. Also, when consumers are bombarded with e-mail, they end up over-compensating and deleting messages they would have otherwise read.
"E-mail marketing is an incredibly efficient marketing channel, because it is so inexpensive. But that is in itself the problem, because it leaves marketers to pound the same lists, when 60 to 70 percent of that list is completely ignoring those messages," he said. "This is going to force marketers to say: "Should I really be e-mailing my entire list every week?"
Daniels said a May Jupiter Research study, "The ROI of E-mail Relevance," concluded that e-mail campaigns targeted with Web analytics can produce nine times the revenues and 18 times the profits of broad mailings."
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 8:29 AM | Permalink
AOL Changes Whitelisting System
Even though AOL has had a steady decrease in new users and a high churn rate, they are still one of the larger collective INBOXES out there. So pay attention and take the steps to get your email delivered, these steps should not be paying for delivery to a company that has a financial stake in the company that they choose (AOL/Goodmail), but based on reputation, best practices, ISP relations, opt in records used by ALL of its customers, complaint rates, and most of all integrity of the Email Service Provider (ESP).
In using a system that allows someone to pay for delivery, you are not raising the bar, but just evening the playing field for those that have a bank account. When you look at the spammers out there, they are not short on resources. They are often the ones that figure out the weaknesses and loopholes ot exploit the systems. The good guys (or ESPs) are the ones working hard each day to implement the right practices, systems and educate not only their employees and clients, but also the general public.
If you look at the costs, the only ones that will be able to use a paid system will be the larger companies in the world, thus shutting off a legal and valid marketing tool for tens of thousands of companies. It will be the small to medium sized businesses that will pay.
We just got done (all the ESPs) working the past few years on SenderID, Domain Keys, using reputation services, bonded sender programs and working countless hours with the ISPs that want their customers to be able to get the emails that they sign up for. Creating another revenue stream for a giant like AOL is really the last resort to drive some additional revenues to a high churn rate portal.
Who is next to step up with another program of their own to make more money off the advertisers that are funding record earnings with PFC, banner, Site wrapper campaigns and more. Google? MSN? Yahoo? Earthlink?
I agree that more steps need to take place, but the ISPs and Portals need to choose a method that does not place undue burdens and multiple costs upon the legitimate opt in markers that are already spending so much and working so hard to do the right thing.
I also invite you to read more at Matt Blumberg's (CEO of Return Path) comments and thoughts on his blog.
AOL and Goodmail: Two steps back for email
AOL Broadens E-Mail Authentication
EXPANDING ON A DEAL THAT began last October, AOL's e-mail service will, by next month, phase out a "white list" program provided by Goodmail in favor of the company's e-mail authentication product.
Previously, the e-mail authentication product by Goodmail provided an icon next to certified e-mail messages, indicating that they were from an authenticated sender. When the new system is implemented, certified commercial senders will be guaranteed delivery into a user's inbox; certified messages also will have full e-mail functionality, with all links and pictures active and visible.
According to AOL's Postmaster, Charles Stiles, AOL's previous system--an "enhanced white list"--relies on a single IP address for commercial senders. But such senders often deliver mail from several different IP addresses, resulting in intermittent functionality for the links and images in the mailings. "The difference you're going to see is those participants in the Goodmail system will be able to display their mail to you with full functionality," he said.
Original Post
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=39147&Nid=18057&p=240434
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 6:22 AM | Permalink
February 2, 2006
Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200
If you read this story, you will see why you need to be a CAN SPAM compliant email marketer. Crime Pays. We can't tell people enough about doing it right. The paybacks are worth every minute/hour it takes to follow best practices.
NY Marketer Subject To Maryland Spam Law
AN APPELLATE COURT IN MARYLAND last week reinstated a spam lawsuit against a New York-based Internet marketing company, rejecting the company's argument that subjecting it to Maryland's anti-spam law would burden interstate commerce.
The closely watched case is one of a growing number of decisions about whether individual states can enforce e-mail laws against out-of-state marketers. About three dozen states have their own laws regulating e-mail. To date, appellate courts in Washington and California have also ruled that those states' anti-spam laws don't unduly restrict commerce between states.
The lawsuit accused First Choice of violating Maryland's anti-spam laws because, allegedly, its e-mails contained misleading subject lines and didn't have valid return addresses. The case did not involve the federal Can-Spam law.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 8:02 AM | Permalink
The Viral Sharing of Email, Everyone's Doing It
From eMarketer
Psst! Here's Some Viral Marketing News... Pass It On
How many times have you been e-mailed a joke or cartoon and forwarded it to friends or co-workers?
And how many times have you done it today?
According to a report just released by Sharpe Partners, a marketing agency, 89% of US adult Internet users share content with friends, family and associates by e-mail, and they do so often.
The study on viral marketing reported that 63% of the respondents share content at least once a week, and 25% share daily or almost daily.
The e-mails are also usually shared with more than one person, with some 75% of respondents forwarding content to up to six other recipients.
What kind of viral content is most popular? In a word, humor.
People seem to love forwarding jokes and cartoons, though the second most popular category sent, news, is not always funny.
For companies looking to employ a viral marketing program, the study found that adding overt brand messages only slightly reduces the likelihood that the content will be shared. Over 40% said they are more or slightly more likely to send marketing-related messages. Only 5% refuse to share content that contains a clear brand message
As a Sharpe Partners spokesperson said, "It is clear that viral marketing is a low-risk approach." The vast majority of those who receive e-mails with brand sponsorships, 89%, said they had no adverse feelings.
In fact, the study identified a group it called "Brand Fans," who are so viral they are contagious. Over 80% of them feel positively about Brand sponsored content shared at least once a week, and 35% share daily. They are also most likely to share with ten or more people.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 7:58 AM | Permalink
February 1, 2006
Changes in MSN Live Mail Beta
It was interesting to find today that MSN Live Mail beta added some new home page content. Many of the features are for the best. But what struck me was the call to DELETE. With the tag of "(Ah, doesn’t that feel good?) ". For legit email marketers, this is telling people to delete away instead of interact with the messages that they opted in for. I know that they are more concerned about the user (like me) than the marketers, but aren't the marketers many of the people that pay the bills to keep the lights on with ad campaigns, pay for click, and keyword marketing? Help a brother out Bill.
Posted Message below:
Delete, delete, delete! It’s so easy!
Right click to delete
The ol' check-the-box-then-click-delete routine? Forget about it. Now you can simply right click on any e-mail message and choose "delete." Right clicking will also let you reply, forward, print, and some other stuff, too. Give it a try.
Delete (or move) a bunch of mail at once
You can also select multiple messages to delete them or drag them to a folder. There are two ways to do this:
Click on all the messages you want to select while holding down the control button
To select a bunch of messages in a row, hold down shift and click on the first and last messages you want to move or delete.
Delete junk e-mail with one click
Right click on your junk e-mail folder to delete its entire contents at once. (Ah, doesn’t that feel good?)
You can also choose "Report and Delete" if you want Windows Live™ Mail to know about the junk e-mailers that have been clogging up your inbox.
View Large Image
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 10:28 PM | Permalink
Opera Goes Mini - What Does this do to email
Opera Software officially took the wraps off Opera Mini today, a free Web-browsing service compatible with Java-enabled phones, even comparatively low-end phones which normally have trouble accessing the Web in a meaningful way.
Opera originally announced Opera Mini back in August 2005,, and has quietly been letting users in Europe (and, more recently, worldwide) use the service, with the proviso that it was still in development and could go wonky at any time. Still, Opera Mini has already managed to rack up more than 1 million users, and now it's officially available as a free full-fledged service offering from Opera Software.
Not sure if you understand it, but in a nutshell, they use a server network to recreated the proper formatted web pages for EVERY phone. So email will and can be read in Full HTML glory on cell and mobile devices.
See What Phones are Supported now.
Comments (0) | Posted by dylan at 5:11 PM | Permalink
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