Datran Media's Affiliate Network is the First to Provide Secure and Audited Email Compliance

Datran Media's affiliate marketing network has announced the official launch of BrandShield, an email compliance dashboard and enforcement tool, that has been integrated into its leading affiliate marketing platform. NetMargin's BrandShield dashboard provides the compliance data that advertisers, publishers and list owners need to monitor and manage compliance, preventing potential delays and other mailing challenges that are associated with a decrease in brand equity and campaign performance.

BrandShield integrates the privacy and CAN-SPAM compliance solutions from UnsubCentral and reputation monitoring services from LashBack across NetMargin's network. BrandShield automates suppression list management and secure exchange as it monitors email addresses for compliance and privacy abuse in real-time. This dual approach helps NetMargin's partners protect their brands, maximize the efficiency of their affiliate marketing programs and increase their return on investment.

According to Eric Castelli, chief technology officer for Lashback, "Although other affiliate marketing networks promote compliance, with BrandShield, NetMargin was the first to mandate and technically support it to this extent. It is my belief that others will now follow."

"One key advantage of BrandShield is its ability to immediately identify and resolve potential mail system issues before they have a negative effect on revenues or brand equity," said Quinn Jalli, chief privacy officer for Datran Media. "Addressing these challenges strengthens our media supply chain, builds partner loyalty and provides the actionable data we need to stay ahead of the game and make sure the NetMargin network is as efficient as possible."

"BrandShield provided us with the framework we needed to engage in third-party marketing. Working with an affiliate marketing provider that is committed to compliance was fundamental in earning our trust and business," said Todd Taylor, director of affiliate marketing for Tax Brain® who has been working with NetMargin since BrandShield soft launched this past March.

For more information about BrandShield, contact us today.

DMA Reacts to Growing Interest in Email Channel

Fresh off its one year anniversary, the Email Experiene Council (EEC) finds itself merging with one of the biggest and oldest industry organizations, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

The EEC was originally formed to develop best practices and guidelines for email list growth, deliverability and rendering, enhancing user experiences, and other issues. In the past year, the EEC has gained hundreds of members and shined a well needed spotlight on the email marketing industry. Understanding the interest direct marketers have in the email channel, the DMA feels the EEC could provide its members the attention the email channel deserves.

Under the new structure, EEC founder Jeanniey Mullen will be made an executive co-chair of the new DMA division. Mullen is also executive director, senior partner, worldwide email marketing at OgilvyOne Worldwide.

Datran Media has been a strong supporter of the EEC and is excited that email will now be top of mind for members of the DMA. Just next week, Datran Media and the EEC will team up to celebrate and host the first annual Outperformance Marketing Mixer. Check out the Come Meet Us section of this newsletter for more information.

Q: I've found email marketing to be very cost-effective and I want to take it to the next level. My company is relatively new and we have been struggling with building our list. Any strategies on how to quickly grow and monetize our list while staying CAN-SPAM compliant? Thanks!

A: Great question, thanks. With so much content and media competing for the eyes of online users this day and age, it is important to offer something of value to grab the attention of a potential customer. Consumers are not going to sign up on your website for nothing, especially if they are not completely familiar with your brand. One of the most effective methods for increasing your customer list is to offer incentives. If you are a retailer, offering discounts and coupons, in addition to a newsletter, is an effective way to grow your list. If you are a B2B marketer, you can provide targeted white papers or case studies. These are all proven techniques that have helped other marketers increase the size of their house file.

Once you have a substantial customer list, you’ll want to mail only the most relevant and targeted up-sell and cross-sell promotions. However, start with simple correspondence like confirmation emails, you don’t want to inundate your subscriber list - you want to gain their trust overtime. To be sure you are following CAN-SPAM regulations; you’ll want to use an industry standard compliance solution like Unsub Central™. Here, you can manage all industry compliance regulations including third-party and joint email campaigns, one-to-one emails sent from your own sales team and synchronize suppression lists.

Finally, once you have built your list and have followed all CAN-SPAN laws in regards to permission-based email marketing, you can begin generating even more revenue by promoting 3rd party offers to your customers. Of course, you’ll want to send relevant offers from trusted companies. Datran Media excels in producing additional revenue from your customer list through our relationships with some of the world’s top advertisers. You don’t have to spend a dime or do any extra work, Datran manages the entire process and delivers a new revenue stream that you can in reinvest into your marketing so you can acquire even more customers. Check out the "Datran Spotlight" in this issue to learn more about our list management services.

Send your questions to askanexpert@datranmedia.com. If we answer it, we'll send you a FREE Datran Media t-shirt!