Make your Christmas event stand out

Christmas is the perfect excuse to hold a corporate event to promote your brand/product, or just to schmooze with clients, yet it is also a highly competitive time. You’re up against party season, shopping season, and general ‘jolly’ season – Christmas party hangovers cost UK businesses £740 million in 2012. So, when it comes to creating the perfect Christmas event, how can you ensure that yours is the hottest ticket in town?

Do something different

A Christmas event is a Christmas event, right? Wrong. If you want people to take time out of their busy schedules to attend, arrange something more inspired than just a swanky dinner with dancing. Investigate awe-inspiring or intriguing quirky venues and devise a theme with wow-factor, with activities on offer for all. Enlisting the help of experts can ensure that you come up with an idea and create an experience which reflects your brand and who you are. If you want people to talk about your event and, by extension about your company, dare to be different; aim to create a memorable event that will live on in their minds for all the right reasons.

Mini-marketing campaign

When it’s time to contact your potential guests, create a sense of intrigue and prestige around your event by promoting it through a mini-marketing campaign of its own. Think outside the box and use your creativity; approach the planning just as if you were devising a major campaign for a new product or service. Send out teasers and clues to intrigue and tempt your invitees, before the final big reveal as to what the event actually is. Originality and mystery are irresistible.

Innovative invitations

When it comes to your actual invitation, it’s time to go all out in your email marketing design. Make your invitation personal, make it quirky, make it sophisticated, make it interactive . . . How about a live countdown timer to the big event? Or include a competition or challenge within your invitation to really grab your invitee’s attention. This way, you’re creating an invitation experience that is much more memorable than a simple RSVP, which is easily ignored.

Click-through rates on mobile devices rose 26% in the first week of December 2012 compared to the average for normal shopping periods (a 5% increase on the same holiday period in 2011). Be mindful of the fact that people are likely to be on the move during this busy time and more likely than ever to check their emails via mobile device.  So, whatever the style of your invitation, tailor your email marketing design accordingly and make it really easy for your invitees to click ‘yes please’ from wherever they are.

Invite more than one person per company

We’ve all been there – those awkward solo corporate events that you dread, where you loiter around the bar willing anyone you know, just anyone, to walk in. Budgets are tight, it’s true, but, if you really want a certain client, or prospective client, at your event, make it easy for them. Send them a ‘plus one’ invitation or, better still, invite a couple of their colleagues along too. Now is the perfect time to grow your marketing database.

As the big day nears, enticing reminder emails are important too.

Don’t peak too early

Timing is everything. Be sensitive to the fact that people don’t really like to have Christmas rammed down their throats in mid-October. Tailor your invitation campaign accordingly and steer clear of overtly seasonal imagery and wording until late November (or preferably December) at the earliest.

To do list

To create the right level of buzz, and ensure great attendance at your Christmas event, make sure you:

• Think outside the box when it comes to organising your venue, theme and activities.
• Create a mini-marketing campaign to promote your event, not simply one-off RSVP invitations.
• Go all out on your email marketing design and really push the creative boundaries.
• Make it super-easy for your clients to interact with (and say ‘yes’ to) your invitations.
• Think of the event as an opportunity to grow your marketing database.
• Don’t bombard your client list with the Christmas spirit too early.

Want to take the guesswork out of ensuring a good turnout at your event? Download our free eGuide now: 6 Easy ways to get more people to your event

The post Make Your Christmas Event Stand Out – Our Ideas appeared first on Adestra.

Sometime in the first week of December, Google started redirecting the URLs for images embedded in emails through its own proxy servers.

What this meant for Email Reporting

As most open tracking methods (including those in MessageFocus) rely on embedded images, this meant:

• Gmail clients were no longer identified.
• The browsers used by Gmail users were incorrectly identified, as Googles’s proxy server is passing back false identification.
• Only the first time an email is opened is tracked, not any repeat opens.
• Because of the proxy server hosting, all Gmail contacts’ geographic locations were identified as being at Google’s HQ in Mountain View, California. Which probably isn’t the case.

Tracking of clicks within emails remain unaffected, and we continue to record all click details as before.

Obviously the open tracking situation isn’t ideal.

So, we made some changes just for Gmail

We’ve implemented the following improvements to the MessageFocus tracking system:

• Identification of Gmail clients was corrected for Gmail users reaching us through the new proxy servers.
• Repeat opens are now recorded after we modified our response to Gmail proxy servers for tracking image requests.
• Browser detection was disabled for requests from the Gmail proxy server. This information is not passed on to us by Google.

Unfortunately, as we do not receive any direct contact from the Gmail user for email opens, we’re still unable to identify the user’s geographic location. If this changes we’ll make sure the information is recorded.

On Thursday 12th December Google explained the reason behind these changes by announcing that images are to be enabled by default for Gmail web users and from early 2014 mobile users will also get this feature.

Adestra were able to make the necessary changes to handle the Gmail proxy servers before this announcement was made. This means that, although we have lost some valuable information about Gmail user locations and browser preferences we believe, on the whole, these changes are not a negative outcome for MessageFocus users.

With images enabled by default we gain more information about when Gmail contacts are reading emails, and they are more likely to see and appreciate the efforts you have taken to make those emails beautiful.

The post Gmail image changes affect email open tracking – and the MessageFocus fix appeared first on Adestra.

Are longer or shorter subject lines best?

Optimum character length for email marketing subject lines is a thing of some contention. Recent studies by MailerMailer and Informz found that shorter subject lines clearly had the best open rates. However, MailChimp’s 2012 study of more than 12 billion emails suggested that there was no strong correlation between subject line length and open rates, and that quality and not quantity was the key.

Confused?

What is clear is that optimum subject line lengths vary depending on a host of factors including your industry, your target audience and, not surprisingly, the type of information you are trying to convey.

What about mobile devices?

Here’s where things get a little simpler…

Most mobile devices are only able to display between 20 and 30 characters in their subject line. If mCommerce is your target, or if you know that the majority of your clients are likely to read your email on the move, then these are the limits you should try to work to.

Why optimise your subject lines for mobile email?

• 41% of all emails were opened on mobile devices in the second half of 2012, with 29% opened on smartphones and 12% on tablets.
• 68% of UK consumers have used their mobiles to check emails in the past 30 days.

How to make the most of your 30 characters

1.Understand the purpose of a subject line

A subject line is a sales pitch, but what is it selling? Your company? Your exclusive offer? The email itself? The truth is, this depends on how your recipient reacts to your message. For those who don’t open your email (and there will often be more people who don’t than who do), they will still have glanced at your subject line, albeit momentarily, before deciding to ignore it.

Think of it as an exercise in brand awareness; they might not want to hear from you today, but it doesn’t hurt to remind them of who you are and what you stand for. Meanwhile, for those who are hesitating, the purpose of your subject line is to persuade them to read on.

Example: You are sending out your company’s newsletter. You put in your subject line: ‘[Company name’s] newsletter for May.’ Or ‘Latest news from [Company name]’. WRONG. Your recipients probably receive hundreds of newsletters each year; why would they want to open yours? Think about the elements of your newsletter that your customers are most likely to want to read, and sell your email accordingly. For instance: ‘Our top five design tips for 2014’.

Three seconds: The length of time it takes for a recipient to decide whether or not to open your email.

2. Clear communication

When it comes to writing a killer subject line with such a restricted character count, it is often best to brainstorm the important elements of what you are trying to convey. Then, you can decide what to run with and what to ditch. In other words, decide what you want to say, break it down in order of significance, tailor your choices to your recipient’s preferences and be sure only to convey the most important elements of your message.

3. Think mobile

Don’t be afraid to use punctuation, acronyms, and symbols where appropriate in order to write succinctly and get your message across in as few characters as possible.

Example: “RSVP: Executive lunch conference” conveys in 32 characters what “Invitation to attend our top-level roundtable discussions and executive lunch” does in 77.

4. Segmented lists and targeted subject lines

Don’t adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, especially when tailoring your email marketing for mobile devices, where every character counts. By analysing your customers’ preferences and characteristics, you will be able to take a much more personalised approach and send the most effective subject lines to different segments of your audience.

5. Testing

Learn from your own mistakes. Subject line testing delivers the highest ROI of any form of email testing. So why aren’t more people doing it? By tracking your results over a period of time, you can learn what resonates for your database and what falls flat.

6. Word choice

A great deal of research has been undertaken in recent years to analyse key words and phrases which do and don’t work well in email subject lines. This research has proven that, above all, subject line success is highly specific to industry and audience. It pays to truly understand what your target market wants, especially when every word counts.

Further reading:

Adestra’s 2013 Subject Line Analysis Report analysed 2.2 billion emails to see which keywords and phrases resonate best with specific audiences, overall, and by industry. The key findings are summarised in the Subject Line Report infographic.

Summary:

When writing subject lines for mobile devices, remember that your character count is vital. In order to make these 30 characters speak volumes you must:

• Prioritise your messaging.
• Personalise your content and communication.
• Write clearly and succinctly.
• Segment your lists.
• Test. And then test again. And again.
• Understand your target audience.

Do you know which words and phrases in email subject lines resonate with your particular industry and audience? Take a look at Adestra’s Subject Line Report.

The post The 30-character Sales Pitch appeared first on Adestra.

Adestra Integrates Conversion Capture and Magento to Create a Quick, Easy, and Revenue Generating Abandoned Cart Program.

Adestra today announced their integration of Conversion Capture, Adestra’s advanced abandoned cart technology, and the Magento eCommerce platform.

The powerful and easy to implement extension provides Magento customers with the tools to effortlessly boost revenue by scheduling automated, targeted reminder emails to basket abandoners on their Magento online store. The seamless link between Conversion Capture and Magento creates the ultimate in automated basket abandonment remarketing.

Automate powerful remarketing campaigns quickly

Adestra’s Conversion Capture extension is available now from the Magento marketplace, and the implementation is incredibly easy. The necessary website code used to trigger Conversion Capture emails is automatically added to a user’s Magento store pages, allowing customers to start targeting basket abandoners with remarketing emails as quickly as possible.

Adestra client and Magento user Lucas Frank, an online children’s clothes retailer comments:

“What a great module. Seamlessly integrated into our Magento shop and begun tracking conversions instantly. The visitor’s information can be viewed from the Conversion Capture campaign within our Adestra account and a follow up email can easily be added and sent out. By far the quickest, easiest and most accurate conversion tracking system for Magento shops that we have tried so far and we have tested quite a few! Highly recommend.”

Optimize abandoned cart processes with Adestra’s advanced abandoned basket technology

• Create beautifully designed email campaigns using the feature-rich MessageFocus HTML editors.
• Boost your sales: enjoy increased revenue and ROI by automating abandoned cart programs.
• Track your success: view campaign and ecommerce performance reports with the detailed, dashboard-style reports.
• Comes with expert support: Adestra’s experienced project managers will guide users through the set-up and ensure everything is covered.
• Optimize for success: boost campaign performance with split-testing capabilities.
• Nurture & drive conversions: Send multi-step campaigns to cart abandoners, to encourage conversion.

For more information, go to www.adestra.com/conversioncapture 

Adestra corporate information - - Proven digital marketing technology

Adestra has been providing enterprise-level digital marketing technology solutions to organizations around the globe since 2004. Clients trust Adestra’s proven email, automation, social, and mobile marketing technology to deliver successful and cutting-edge marketing programs to their valued customers. Founded on the principle that marketing success takes more than technology, customer service is at the heart of their business. Adestra isn’t just Software as a Service, it’s Software AND a Service. For further information, follow @adestra on twitter, or visit www.adestra.com.

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Now that we’re living in the digital age, the ‘four Ps of marketing’ (product, price, place, promotion) should have a fifth P added – personalisation. But consumers today get a lot more marketing messages than ever before – via emails, social media, blogs, links, reviews and testimonials, eGuides . . . and consumers are also much more savvy. Research has found that 70% of them think most personalisation efforts are superficial. So how can you convince them otherwise?

Well, the same research revealed that, despite the social media storm that’s overtaken many marketing teams, email is still the most influential channel both pre- and post-purchase. Personalisation that refers to previous purchases or preferences, and creates a truly customised offer, really does make people feel valued.

The impact of truly customised offers

It’s about creating an online shopping experience that mirrors the offline one you get in a shop. In-store sales teams can offer up products based on what a customer’s appearance tells them, but also because they can have a conversation with them to find out what they are looking for. Doing this online means you have to have the right technology to get you the data you need, and the skills to interpret it.

Getting it right can deliver huge benefits:

• In the short-term it can increase sales and profits.
• In the long-term it develops relationships, keeps people engaged and helps to generate brand loyalty.

For great examples of personalisation check out this article from The Marketer: ‘The personal touch: why personalised marketing matters’.

Why some marketers get it wrong

Many businesses try personalised marketing and it doesn’t quite work, and doesn’t get them the results they want or expected. Why is that? It’s because they don’t have the right tools and skills to make the most of the data that helps them to get it right. To make personalisation work you need a combination of marketing automation, web analytics and CRM; and you need them all linked together, giving you the full customer story. How that story is revealed is through data, so marketers today need to have new analysis skills to support the creative ones they’ve always relied on.

Making the most of data

If you’ve got the right tools gathering the data for you, then you need to make the most of it to deliver truly personalised marketing. Software is key to success in creating truly customised offers. The case studies in these articles show how companies are making the most of their tools and data to do just that:

• How TfL uses big data to personalise its marketing campaigns – shows how the data available to Transport for London is not only being used to create campaigns but also to help develop a new website personalised for each visitor.
• Tips for personalised ecommerce and the savvy eshops that inspire them – shows how online retailers are tapping into the psychology of exclusivity with their personalisation.

With all this data now available it’s also easier to perform ‘predictive analysis’, which instead of selecting the best customer for every campaign, selects the best marketing campaign for each customer.

Predictive analytics is the next big thing in marketing, and in case there was any doubt, the fact that global retail giant Walmart just bought its very own predictive analytics company should show just how important it’s set to become. The soon-to-be sixth P of marketing . . . ?

Get more advice on increasing revenue in our eGuide: Five ways to prevent shopping basket abandonment.

The post Me-commerce – How Personalisation Is Transforming Ecommerce Marketing appeared first on Adestra.

The email newsletter is often regarded as the poor sibling to a ‘proper’ sales email – the kind you send to prospects to see if they’re interested in a dialogue – because the motivation behind each is perceived to be different. Traditionally, a newsletter is for achieving softer marketing goals, such as generating brand impressions, communicating with customers and creating a ‘relationship’ to influence purchasing decisions. A sales email is traditionally used to achieve harder revenue-producing goals, such as generating new leads, inquiries, and direct sales.

‘Promotions focus on persuasion, newsletters on trust and loyalty. Promotions look for immediate returns, newsletters for long-term benefits. Promotions make an offer, newsletters offer value.’

Mark Brownlow, founder of Email Marketing Reports

However, ultimately all B2B and B2C emails  and newsletters are intended to sell – some are just more blatant in their goal than others. Which is why metrics for newsletters are just as important as for a promotional mail.

The usual metrics are important to measure, such as delivery, open and click-through rates.

Newsletter subscribers tend to be long-term, loyal customers, so you should look at the days and weeks following each newsletter. Are subscribers making newsletter-inspired purchases? Have they logged into their accounts? Is there an upswing in wish-list additions? While a 2% click-through rate for an online ad campaign is typically considered a success, email newsletters can consistently get 15% to 25% click-through rates.

However, to measure the true impact of newsletters – and to identify opportunities for improvement – it’s necessary to look beyond these metrics. Here are four assessments you should be making, against your objectives, of your newsletter marketing strategy.

1. Responder segmentation analysis

What did you want your newsletter to achieve? Use your database search tools to profile which of the people on your mailing list actually clicked on one of the calls to action in your newsletter. Do this on a campaign-by-campaign basis, and in aggregate for all campaigns conducted quarterly/semi-annually/annually to reveal valuable trends. For instance, you might find that analysis by age indicates that your subscribers aged 35-45 are more responsive than 25-35 year-olds, or analysis by geography might indicate that your subscribers in Europe are more responsive than subscribers in the US. This information would change your choice of content, how you position your offers, and affect your creative decisions for copy, fonts, images etc. It would help you to improve targeting and segmentation of future newsletters. It would also enable you to adapt newsletters to improve response on less-active segments.

2. Newsletter subscriber engagement analysis

A responder segmentation analysis tries to paint a picture of who responders are. However, a newsletter subscriber engagement analysis is concerned with measuring the total reach and effectiveness of newsletter marketing to your list.

Use your database tools to analyse cumulative actions by responder during defined time periods (e.g. quarterly or annually). Analysing the frequency distribution of clicks, queries and actual sales across your list over time will tell you a lot about the depth and breadth of your newsletters’ impact. It will enable you to uncover both the most active responders and also inactive list segments. You can use this data in various ways, such as: offering best responders ‘rewards’; enticing infrequent responders with ‘incentives’ to see if this improves engagement; and either seeking to rejuvenate or deciding to dismiss weak or non-responsive segments.

3. Channel contribution analysis

This analysis tries to determine the bottom-line economic impact of newsletters on your business, whether by direct sales revenue or other measures such as: leads generated, social media connections made, increased site traffic etc.

4. Subscribe/unsubscribe ratio

People naturally unsubscribe from newsletters as their interests change, but your business needs to ensure that they are replaced. Where unsubscribers outnumber new subscribers, you need to investigate what the cause could be. Critically, have people lost interest? Or is your newsletter content irrelevant?

Soliciting feedback from unsubscribers will instantly tell you what they do and do not like. Then you can adjust your email marketing strategy so that future newsletters have a lower unsubscribe rate. Give the customer what they want and they should keep coming back for more.

‘If you handle it right, the dialogue between you and your customers can become the lifeline of your business. To establish and maintain a healthy flow, customer feedback must result in change your customers can see. Change is the most powerful currency to reward vocal and consultative customers.’

Whitney Wood, managing partner of the Phelon Group

Don’t forget:

• Email newsletters can be up to 50 times more effective for click-throughs than a standard marketing email.
• Newsletters do have an ROI, but the calculation is slightly different to that of an email with a single offer included.
• Less isn’t necessarily more. Recipients expect up-to-date, up-to-the-minute news and articles. The quicker you can get your article to them, the better chance you have of getting a response.
• Keeping subscribers on-board is more valuable than trying to attract new ones.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback if things appear to be going badly.
• It doesn’t matter what sort of email you are sending, collecting and analysing metrics to identify trends will help you improve ROI and revenue.

For more thoughts on analytics, download your free eGuide: Big data = big fad?

The post The Four Metrics Every Newsletter Creator Should Measure appeared first on Adestra.

LastPass have setup a page where you can check if your details were compromised and shared online.

What does that have to do with MessageFocus?

With users having so many online accounts these days, many people re-use username and password combinations across services. With the leaked list of Adobe usernames and passwords, anyone with that data can try those combinations on any other web service to try to gain access to those accounts.

We’ve already cross-referenced our user list with the Adobe list, and notified common users to re-set their MessageFocus password. Even if you didn’t get a notification, it’s a good idea to audit your own user accounts across all the website and services you use, to make sure you’re using different passwords for each.

What are Adestra doing to help keep my data safe?

As well as maintaining MessageFocus on our own secure servers, and implementing the following security protocols in our own office, we also offer extra options to all our clients to ensure the security of your data.

IP address restrictions

You can use IP address restrictions to control the locations from which your users can access MessageFocus, as well as whether users are permitted to download contact data from that location. These options are configurable per-user, which enables you to take complete control, while providing the flexibility required for marketers to do their job without security getting in the way.

For example, you could restrict access to users on the network at your head office. Or, you could give data download access from your head office, where you are certain the necessary security controls are in place to protect your network, but restrict the ability to download data from any other location.

OTP tokens

Along with IP address restrictions, you can add two-factor authentication to your MessageFocus account. Used in combination with account name, username, and password, users will be asked to enter a 6 digit one time passcode provided by an OTP token (pictured above).

The tokens cannot be shared between users, and codes produced are valid for one use only. They can also be de-activated immediately, in case of loss or theft, with a quick call to our support department. So, if the worst happens and your login credentials fall into the wrong hands, you can be assured that your MessageFocus account will remain secure.

OTP tokens can be used in combination with the IP address restrictions explained above, so along with data download restrictions, you can pick which locations require a token for access, reducing the risk associated with users that need access on the move. E.g. you can restrict data download to users that have logged in with an OTP token.

Minimising risk

You need security that works for you, without getting in the way of your users’ productivity. For Adestra clients, your account manager can run through these options at your convenience, and will be able to advise on which are best to suit your business requirements.

To find out more about the data security functionality and services we offer, please contact us.

The post How secure is your data? appeared first on Adestra.

With the ongoing explosion of different types of email marketing and associated technologies; (more automated email, more triggered real-time emails) it’s important not to lose sight of the basics. Keeping up with email marketing regulations is more vital than ever before, to ensure you don’t inadvertently trip up.

Keep yourself up-to-date and compliant, with our five tips for keeping your recipients and the Information Commissioners Office on your side.

Engage them, don’t spam them

Recipients are tired of spam email, and you don’t want your business inadvertently tarnished with that brush. After all, the merest suggestion of spam can kill your reputation quicker than any investigation by the ICO.

• 14.5 billion spam messages are sent out each day across the planet.
• Spam costs companies $20.5 billion to deal with.

Avoid accusations of being a spammer:

• Use a clear sender name and address.
• Limit the use of CAPS and exclamation marks in your emails.
• Keep file sizes down.
• Don’t send attachments in bulk emails.
• Use words that could set off spam filters (such as ‘free’) sparingly.

[SOURCES:
http://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792293/Spam_in_April_2013#6,
http://www.spamlaws.com/spam-stats.html,
http://blog.imninc.com/email-marketing/email-marketing-all-that-sizzles-not-spam-infographic-friday]

Opt them in ‘softly’

According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, you must not send marketing emails to prospects unless you have their prior consent. The exception to this rule is (and you must meet all three stipulations):

• The prospect’s email address was collected ‘in the course of a sale or negotiations for a sale’.
• You’re sending promotional messages relating to your ‘similar products and services’.
• The prospect was given the option to opt out when their email address was collected initially, and they chose to remain opted-in. This rule only applies to unsolicited marketing messages sent by electronic mail to individual subscribers.

[SOURCES:
http://www.ico.org.uk/upload/documents/library/privacy_and_electronic/introductory/rules_~1.pdf,
http://www.ico.org.uk/for_organisations/sector_guides/marketing]

Empower them

Email marketing regulations state that recipients of your commercial emails must be able to opt-out of receiving further missives from you. To protect yourself:

• Include a clear and valid unsubscribe link in your email.
• Ensure that you keep a list of the contacts who have opted out.
• Remove said contacts from any future marketing lists.

[SOURCE: http://www.ico.org.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/online/spam_emails]

Inform them

Both the Companies Act 1985 and the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 state that ‘in characters that can be read with the naked eye’, you must include the following information in any marketing email:

• Your company’s registered name.
• Your company registration number.
• Your place of registration.
• Your registered office address.

Potential fine for not including this information: Up to £1,000

Additional penalty for each day said information is not included: £300

[SOURCES:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/6, 
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/495/made]

Protect yourself

If you are handling personal client information, you may be required to register with the ICO as a data controller. Contact the government body here to see if you qualify.

Remember:

• Avoid making your emails look like spam.
• Empower your contacts to opt-out if they want to.
• Ensure your email states your full company details.
• Check if it’s necessary to register with the ICO.
• Make sure your list of prospects have all signed up to being contacted.

Where should you invest your precious marketing budget? Download our free eGuide: Email Vs Social Media Vs Website Marketing: Which Gives the Best ROI? Fight!

The post Back to Basics: Do You Know All the Email Marketing Regulations? appeared first on Adestra.

Don’t worry though, they’re not as worrying as they first appear. Our Abuse and Account Management teams are on hand to help you deal with them.

Why are they important?

To maintain our sending reputation and high deliverability rates, we investigate all complaints that we receive. Whether this is because someone has had difficulty unsubscribing, or they’ve received an email they don’t think they gave permission to receive, we have standard practices and safeguards in place to ensure such complaints are handled efficiently and considerately. These include:

• Adding the email address in question to a global suppression file – so they cannot receive any further emails sent from your MessageFocus account.
• Notifying the complainant that they have been removed from your mailing list.
• Understanding how the record was first added to the database.

To satisfy the complaint, we may be in touch to get some further information about how the data was collected and managed. It is nothing to worry about and purely so we can understand how the complaint originated. We’re looking to establish:

• How the email address was collected – if the data was purchased from a 3rd party list broker, we ask for the name and website of the broker, along with the data collection and verification methods used.
• When the email address was first added to your database.
• The method used to opt-in the data.

Non-Conformance reports may appear more serious than intended. Sometimes they can escalate but more often than not, it’s just about ensuring clear and concise opt-in statements to validate why a contact has been sent a particular campaign. Try including the following in the header or footer of your campaigns:

‘someone@acompany.com’ is receiving this email because they have signed up to receive emails from Another Company.

Once the technicalities behind Non-Conformances reports have been clarified, it’s actually a way of improving your own sending reputation:

• By keeping on top of your data, you can manage how many records are unengaged, out of date, or not being attempted. Try using reactivation campaigns to ensure your mailing lists contain clean and active records, willing to engage with your emails.
• Being responsive and proactive with your data management can go a long way. Knowing when and why people have opted-in, you can use this to target individuals with more direct and relevant campaigns.
• Repeatedly sending to invalid or expired email addresses can harm your deliverability as bad records can become spam traps, compromising your data.

Our Account Management and Abuse teams will be available to make sure any Non-Conformances you may receive are as painless as possible. Please contact us here if you have any queries or want to find out how to best manage your data within MessageFocus.

The post Non-Conformance Reports – do not fear, we’re here to help appeared first on Adestra.

Campaign details

Subject line: Your exclusive offer to WIRED (winning variant, with 35% higher opens than the next-best-performing subject line)
Open: 22%
Click: 4.5% of opened

Context

What data was used?

A list of active Condé Nast subscribers who had opted in to receive promotional emails

Who was the campaign targeted at?

Condé Nast subscribers who match the WIRED subscriber profile

The post Subject line testing of cross-sell promotion leads to big returns for Condé Nast appeared first on Adestra.