Email Marketing News and Tips

Deliverability and your email domains

Brian Wright — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:02:09 +0000

With more and more stringent spam filtering products coming onto the market, it’s worthwhile to keep up with some of the newest issues that may affect your email campaigns.

Custom Domains

While some email service providers may lock you into using a From: address that they’ve already provided to you, the reason they do this is that it simplifies their system and reduces your chances that your outbound campaigns may be filtered.

At Boomerang, we offer the ability to use personalized custom domains in the From: line. Of course, we require that you have access to an email address within the domain you plan to use in the From: line. This verification process proves that you at least own an address within that domain.

By properly verifying your addresses, this also means you can use these verified addresses in the From: line with your campaigns here at Boomerang. But, by using a custom domain, you may also run into issues related to the domain you use in that from line.

Spoofing

With the ability to use a custom domain in the From: line, comes additional issues that you my not be aware. For example, if your From: line is From: “Jane Smith” , emails being sent to, for example fred@myllccorp.com may be blocked as spoofed. Why is that? Any given email server knows which domains it is authoritative. That means, the mail server for myllccorp.com knows that only mail generated by this mail server may contain myllccorp.com. So, if an email arrives from outside this mail server (for example, Boomerang sent the email), the mail server handling email for myllccorp.com may look at the email and determine that it didn’t create or originate the email and then either delete it, quarantine it or divert it to a spam folder.

So, how do you get around this issue? You have to get your mail server administrator and/or IT staff involved. They must be able to either whitelist Boomerang’s IP addresses to not be recognized as spoofed or they have to relax their spoofing blocking methodologies globally.

Most IT admins are not likely globally make a change to allow one mail server through. So, whitelisting is the only other method. This means you may need to obtain the IP addresses used to send your emails and then supply these to your IT mail administrator.

SPF and Domain Keys

Other technologies that may help include SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and Domain Keys. These technologies use DNS of the domain used in the From: line to authenticate any given IP address as a legitimate sender for a specific domain. Note, however, that not all mail administrators use SPF or Domain Keys, so these technologies will have limited benefits at corporate sites. With large ISPs like Yahoo, Windows Live Mail and Gmail, these technologies are usually employed.

By that same token, however, I do not recommend sending emails from Boomerang with email addresses from hotmail.com, gmail.com or yahoo.com as the sender even if you do own that specific account. If you are trying to sell a product or service for your company, you should always use a domain associated with the product or service. Never use ISP domains as these make your products and services look much less legitimate to would-be buyers. Domains are not that expensive to purchase and set up. So, take the time to set up a web site and use an actual domain that you own and control. Owning and controlling the domain is very important to using technologies such as SPF and Domain Keys.

Dedicated IP address

Additionally, Boomerang can provide you with a dedicated IP address for your company’s exclusive sending use. With a dedicated IP address, you can much easier whitelist the IP and keep the whitelisting maintained. Should any issues arise (blacklisting), it’s easier to manage this as well. However, through proper list cleanup and proper verification processes (such as double opt-in processes), you can substantially reduce your chances of being blacklisted with a blacklisting service.

Through the use of whitelisting, SPF, Domain Keys and a dedicated IP address, you can improve your chances of delivery success. There are even more advanced methodologies that can be employed, but these are the basic minimums necessary to maximize your deliveries at a fundamental level. If you are having difficulties sending emails with the sender from a domain to that same domain, it’s likely the emails are being blocked as spoofed. So, you will want to refer back to this blog article for tips on how to manage those issues.

Can Salesforce Account Data be Merged into the Email Message?

Rami Saker — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:24:32 +0000

In its standard integration with Salesforce, BlastWizard for AppExchange is designed so that users can merge data from both standard and custom fields that belong to either the lead or contact object. Some customers have asked us if they could merge data from ‘account’ fields, and the answer is “yes”! One of the most popular fields that our users like to merge from the ‘account’ object is the account name. When the lead is converted into a contact in Salesforce, the lead ‘company’ field is mapped to the account filed called ‘name’ and becomes the account name.

While we are currently developing the functionality to read fields directly from the account object, there is an easy workaround that will enable our BlastWizard for AppExchange users to read and merge any type of data from any of the fields in the account record. This is accomplished by creating a custom contact field and mapping it to the desired field in the account object. Here are the steps:

From the top right of your Salesforce screen, click on Setup.
Under App Setup in the left-side menu, click on Customize | Contacts | Fields.
Scroll down to the Contact Custom Fields & Relationships section, and click on New to create a custom field.
On the next screen, Step 1, select your field data type as ‘formula‘ then click Next.
Under Step 2, type in your Field Label (e.g. Company), select ‘Text‘ for Formula Return Type then Next.
Select Advanced Formula in step 3, then click on the Insert Field button
In the window that pops up, leave ‘Contact >‘ selected in the first column, select ‘Account >‘ in the second column. In the next column, select the field that you would like map to the new contact custom field (e.g. Account Name)
A box with the name of the field and the object it belongs to (account.name) will appear. Click the Insert button inside the box then Next.
In step 4, you may edit Field Level Security if you wish. Click Next to go to the last step.
Select the page layouts that should include this field, then Click Save to complete.

Please note that merging from Salesforce custom fields is not enabled by default in your BlastWizard account. You will need to send an email to onlinesupport@boomerang.com with the “API Name” of your newly created custom field (e.g. company__c) in order for it to appear in the merge code dropdown when editing your email document. Our customer support team should be able to set it up right away.

Does BlastWizard Support Salesforce Person Accounts?

Rami Saker — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:18:08 +0000

What is a Person Account?
A ‘Person Account’ in Salesforce is a combination of an ‘Account’ and a ‘Contact’ that allows users to set up a business-to-consumer (B2C) relationship, as opposed to business-to-business (B2B). It is ideal for situations where there is a one-to-one relationship between the business and the customer, such as banking clients, mortgage clients, insurance clients, etc.

How are Person Accounts different from Business Accounts?
Business accounts in Salesforce can have many contacts, while the distinction between an ‘account’ and a ‘contacts’ in person accounts is eliminated. Business accounts do not have standard fields for email address and job title, while such fields do exist in person accounts.

How do I know if Person Accounts are enabled in my Salesforce org?
Person accounts are not enabled by default in Salesforce. A quick way to verify whether your organization uses person accounts, check to see if you have an option to select ‘Person Account’ as the ‘record type’ when you create a new account.

Can I send to person accounts using BlastWizard?
Person accounts can be used as contacts in most situations that involve contacts. Person accounts consist of a combination of fields from both the account and the contact objects. Consequently, BlastWizard will treat person accounts exactly the same way it treats contacts. The same contact fields used by BlastWizard will be used query and update person accounts in Salesforce. Also, you can associate person accounts with campaigns like you would associate contacts, then use those campaigns as your recepient lists.

Managing and Sharing Your Email Account

Sandra Watters — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:46:29 +0000

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to an Email Marketing account. For example, you can have many divisions, departments and users all using one account. Sometimes you may need to keep templates, reporting and billing separate. You may need to share templates and reporting and have separate billing or any other combination. You may need to limit what certain users have access to. Some organizations have multiple unsubscribe lists. With Boomerang’s BlastWizard and BlastWizard for AppExchange we can accomodate all of your company’s needs.

Boomerang will customize your BlastWizard or BlastWizard for AppExchange account to any specifications. Call 800 779-7792 x2 for more information or www.boomerang.com to sign up for a free trial.

E-mail marketing out-performs other advertising channels

Hap Leonard — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:58:32 +0000

When the market gets tough the marketers turn pro. E-mail marketing is as effective as ever despite the economic conditions, but don’t take our word for it. Read what other industry experts are saying.

The Marketing Institute of Ireland states on Newsweaver.ie that with a “noticeable improvement” in the open and click through rates of email campaigns, “Irish marketers plan to spend more (44%) rather than less on email marketing over the next 12 months”. http://www.newsweaver.co.uk/emailnewsletters/?p=360

According to internetretailer.com, although online retailers are spending less than they expected for annual operations, 24% of the companies interviewed planned on increasing their spending in areas such as e-mail marketing. http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=30341

Datran Media conducted its third annual marketing and media survey and found solid evidence that e-mail marketing out-performed other advertising channels, and the e-newsletter is clearly the preference to future marketing plans of the companies that were surveyed. http://www.datranmediasurvey2009.com/

According to research at Directmag.com, Ken Magill states, “Commercial e-mail returned a whopping $43.62 for every dollar spent on it in 2009.” http://directmag.com/magilla/1020-e-mail-roi-still-slipping

In another article by Ken Magill of Directmag.com, entitled “Shop.org Study Shows Healthy E-mail Metrics”, he writes about the impressive results that retailers have enjoyed by sending e-mail to their house files.
http://directmag.com/magilla/study_email_metrics_0408/

Kate Maddox from btobonline.com discusses how the economy of 2009 effected the marketing budgets of many companies and how 2010 promises to see an upturn in spending among the surveyed companies. http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091116/FREE/311169986

According to a Q2 2009 survey by Round2.com, the obvious reallocation in marketing spending left digital media channels the clear winner over traditional marketing approaches such as print. http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007275

Researchers at emarketer.com found that aside from SEO, smaller marketers found e-mail, and e-newsletters to be the most effective marketing strategy. http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007131

The Direct Marketing Association, National Client Email Survey report states that they expect %70 of email marketers to increase their spending in 2010. http://www.dma.org.uk/news/nws-article.asp?id=5177&t=Email%20marketing%20spend%20set%20to%20grow%20in%202010

Private equity firm, Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), states that they expect e-mail marketing spending to increase over the next 5 years at a rate of 18.5% per year. http://www.dmnews.com/E-mail-fastest-growing-direct-marketing-segment-expands-double-digits/article/141154/

Bill Siwicki of internetretailer.com reports that despite the recession respondents in their survey of “275 web-only retailers, chain retailers, catalogers and consumer brand manufacturers” stated that over half of their conversion rates remained unchanged. Surprisingly however is that over %25 reported that conversion rates are up. http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=30268

An Interesting Article About the State of Email Today

John Viray — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:59:17 +0000

Just under 90% of the world’s email is spam.
- Jerry Upton, MAAWG’s executive director

During the last week of January, anti-spam experts at Cisco saw the volume of spam top 400 billion messages a day for the first time.

These were statements made at a recent meeting of the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG).

The numbers are staggering and the worst part is, the problem shows no signs of letting up.

While we pay close attention to this because we are in the email marketing field, this is a problem for anyone who uses email. Countless dollars and work-hours are spent in an effort to fight the problem. All the while, the spammers themselves are continually tweaking and adjusting their messages in an effort to make their way past these defenses. Caught in the cross-fire are the legitimate emails that you and I send out.

Read the complete San Jose Mercury News article here.

Getting started with email marketing

Brian Wright — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:02:11 +0000

Maybe you’re sitting on the fence unsure whether to proceed. No need. Email marketing is a very easy to set up and manage. Boomerang’s Blastwizard tool helps you get started very rapidly.

Starting out

Of course, you will need to have three bits of information for your first campaign. You will need:

A list of email addresses
Your content
A time and date to send your campaign

That’s the basics. If you don’t have any email addresses yet, you can easily collect them through our Blastwizard signup widget. Simply place the HTML widget on your blog, website, myspace or facebook page and begin collecting email addresses easily.

Of course, you will need to tell your potential subscribers about your newsletter. This will entice your potential subscribers to sign up. The widget does all the work for you. The widget stores their information directly in your Boomerang account. You can immediately use these collected addresses in your first email campaign. Because the email address is confirmed opt-in, there is no need for concern about spam issues.

Confirmed opt in

This type of opt in means that your subscribers must do a two step process. Your subscriber first signs up through the widget. Then, an email is generated for them to click through to complete the subscription request. This methodology confirms that the user has access to that specific email account and also proves that they truly want to be part of your list.

Once you have your email list underway, you can begin emailing right away!

Blastwizard

Boomerang’s Blastwizard 7 is now easier than ever to use. The email campaign wizard leads you through each step to get your campaign underway. With our free trial, you can sign up and begin sending emails immediately. With Boomerang’s credit system, you can easily add more credit to your account as you need them. The credits don’t expire, so they’ll be there until you need them.

Getting Started has never been easier. Simply go to boomerang.com and fill out our sign-up form to begin. You can then log in to Blastwizard and see exactly how it all works.

It’s very easy and fast to get started. But, don’t take our word for it. Sign up and check it out for yourself.

Great Article On Email Newsletter Design

Dave Kearney — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:18:42 +0000

Here at Boomerang, we spend a lot of time creating newsletters and other email templates for our clients. We also write blog entries now and again about some aspect or another. We even have tools to automate the newsletter process and make it easier and faster. But I have not found a better written article about the whole process then the one I link to below.

I really like the folks over at Smashing Magazine. They’re always writing terrific articles about all aspects of web and email design. I hope you find this one as useful as I did.

Smashing Magazine - Email Newsletters Guidelines and Examples

The Value of Steadily Marketing to Your Customers

John Viray — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:20:42 +0000

Studies have shown that when presented with marketing material, only between 3% and 5% of the recipients are ready to purchase an item at that time.

What happens to the remaining 95-97%?

These people are in your mailing list for a reason (prior purchases, previous interest, etc), so we want to consistently remain in their field of view. We don’t necessarily need to be “in their face”, but we want to at least stay in their peripheral vision.

Informational marketing is a great way to go about this. I recently covered this in a previous article, but it’s worth mentioning again. Informational marketing can sometimes lead to better results over your traditional marketing messages. By providing the customer information, you not only increase the customer’s knowledge, you also position yourself as a leader in the field.

So back to those remaining 95-97%, by combining your regular marketing efforts along with informational material you can steadily stay within their focus so that when they are ready to buy, you’re the first place they turn to.

A great way to go about this is through a Newsletter program. Providing your customers with a regularly scheduled newsletter is a great way to provide a combined marketing and informational message.

In doing so, you don’t appear overly aggressive in your marketing effort as you are educating the viewer as well.

If your company doesn’t currently have a newsletter program in place, you may want to take a look at the new SlingShot newsletter service that we offer.

http://www.enewsletter-software.com

BlastWizard for AppExchange - Speedier Than Ever Salesforce.com Integration!

Sandra Watters — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:41:18 +0000

Everyone loves Boomerang’s BlastWizard for AppExchange. It’s easy to use, flexible, affordable and the reporting can’t be beat! What could we do to make it better? We’ve made it quicker. Earlier this week we released our latest version, BlastWizard for AppExchange 7.1. Enhancements have been made to make job scheduling faster than ever, no more timing out while waiting for larger recipient lists to load.

See yourself why BlastWizard was voted Best Mass Email Tool of 2008. Sign up for a live demo or install a free trial on AppExchange, no obligation. Any questions please call us at 800 779-7792 x2.