Email Marketing a Popular Topic at the 2006 OMMA Conference and Expo

The 2006 OMMA Conference and Expo was bustling with ROI-focused marketers who were seeking out the best mediums to drive profits online - particularly email marketing. With the theme of this year's show being 'The Internet: Back on Speed,' nothing fit more appropriately in the category of comebacks than email. After falling out of the limelight, email marketing has bounced back (no pun intended) as an important medium in the eyes of marketers.

Proving the resurgence of email, the Email Experience Council (EEC) set up shop on the exhibit floor of this year's show. Several marketers flocked to the booth to learn more about the email industry. The EEC, which has only been in existence a few months, is a global organization that strives to maintain the image of email marketing and communications, while celebrating and actively advocating its crucial importance in business, and its ROI value.

The level and depth of questions the EEC received from attendees proved just how important email still is to today's business-minded marketers. The EEC tackled a variety of questions ranging from compliance to deliverability and was thrilled with the turnout over the course of the 2-day show. Even if the EEC couldn't address all of the concerns and questions attendees had about email, there were several panels that offered marketers intimate lessons on the medium.

Day 1 of the conference featured a panel led by some of the industry's most respected experts - Sean O' Neal, CMO, Datran Media; Eamon O'Neill, VP of Product Management, BlueStreak; Jean Brandolini Lamb, Director of Brand Strategy, Enterprise IG; and the moderator, Andrew Goldman, Associate Director of Email Marketing, OgilvyOne Worldwide. "A Million Little Touch Points: Why Your Email Champion Should Attend Media Plan Meetings" addressed many of the topics that are on the minds of today's marketing professionals. About 50 marketers attended the panel to learn about setting up their lists and deploying their creative.

The 45-minute session explored many topics including B2B vs. B2C lists, how to keep your lists fresh, and email's importance in viral marketing, a popular discussion among the audience. "Email is really the backbone of all digital marketing touch points," explained Sean O'Neal. "It is a catalyst; it really has an impact on everything else you are doing and should definitely be a part of your media mix."

In the end, the attendees walked away with a better understanding of email as a marketing tool and we in the industry walked away confident knowing marketers are increasingly grasping the value of email.

For more information on learning some of the secrets to launching an effective email program that will benefit all of your marketing touch points, contact us.

For more information on the Email Experience Council, you can visit their website here.

Official Spelling of Email Does Not Include the Hyphen

The Email Experience Council (EEC) remained awfully busy at the 2006 OMMA Conference and Expo having announced the results of the first of five strategic initiatives centered around the evolution and standardization of the email channel: the "official spelling of the word for electronic mail" - no hyphen between "e" and "mail."

While discussing the importance and relevance of the email channel, a seemingly simple yet relevant observation was made by the co-founders, Paul Beck and Jeanniey Mullen. The most basic standard in email had not been set. There were multiple spellings of the word email. After years of debating dash or no dash, it's been collectively struck. The EEC conducted formal research in announcing this formal position. They referenced the spelling of other words like "online," which evolved over the years from the combination of two separate words in much the same way: electronic mail, to e-mail, to email. This may take many some time getting used to; even Webster's Dictionary is going to have to update its entry. As readers of The Outperformance Marketing Review, you know that we here at Datran Media have been spelling it that way all along. Coincidence?

Q: I have a lot of customer information that I update on my website quite often. Does it pay to start sending this kind information in the form of an email newsletter?

A: Yes, of course! Email newsletters can be a great retention and acquisition tool. From promoting new offerings to updating your clients on your latest news, email newsletters are a cost-effective way to communicate with your audience. When someone signs up for an email newsletter, they are making a declaration that they are interested in your company.

Your customers are very busy and you cannot assume that even your most loyal customers will return to your website on a regular basis. However, if you can offer a compelling reason to your audience - both long-time customers and prospects--to opt-in to your mailing list, you will be able to market to them on an ongoing basis, not just for the few seconds they spend on your home page. Basically, you will have the power to send updated "Web pages" directly to their email box on a regular basis.

Also, newsletters keep you fresh in the minds of your customers. You know what your audience wants and needs and you can tailor messages to meet their needs. Essentially, you can use the newsletter as a lead generation tool. Besides promoting your services and products, newsletters represent a sign of good faith as it allows you to continually keep in touch with your customers and share news and announcements that might benefit them as well as you.

You can even include a "forward to a friend" option which will let your audience share your news with their colleagues. Setting this up is simple. Just a few things to keep in mind: make sure your customers are opted-in and can easily unsubscribe if they choose to. Also, don't overdue it. Try testing a quarterly newsletter and then slowly move to a monthly. The last thing you want to do is inundate your customers.

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