Opt-Out Email Provides Opportunity for Marketers

When someone leaves our mailing list, we always wonder why. Perhaps we send another email to confirm the opt-out or ask the subscriber to share why they are leaving. There is more you can do.

Silverpop, a leading provider of permission-based email marketing solutions conducted a multi-phase Retail Email Study, and the results uncover tactics for maintaining list growth.

Silverpop found that 12 percent of companies give customers the chance to change their email preferences in addition to simply opting-out.

We should remind recipients of the value of being on our list and some customers will stay. This process may also uncover useful information while leaving a lasting positive impression of your company.

We have all received an email that has no opt-out mechanism, makes us opt out of several different programs by entering our email address, and then tells us it will take 7-10 days to take effect. Not exactly professional, is it?

"You should try to get as much information as you can before the customer is gone for good,” Silverpop CEO Bill Nussey said. “Were they receiving too many email messages? Are they no longer interested in your product or service? Was the content not relevant enough? You can even provide an empty text box on the Web site in which they can add their own feedback."

The full report of Phase III includes data on the number of days companies took to remove a name from the list, the pros and cons of various opt-out methods, and shows examples of how some retailers say goodbye.

Download the report here for free.

Tags: eMail Marketing, opt out email, Silverpop, eMail list

Sally's Incredible Adventures in the Global Matrixx

Sally's Incredible Adventures in the Global Matrixx is an ebook about:

• the story of how a lost marketing beginner is found by a secret group of physicists, engineers, internet marketers - how and what they teach her -- and what happens to her on the way.


• the making of RockHoundStation1, a new website and private membership club for rock, gem, gold, fossil, and general treasure hunters.


• the information that the Internet marketing gurus never told you.

Sally's Incredible Adventures in the Global Matrixx is a guide for anyone:

• building a website without technical knowledge.


• marketing your new business on the net.


• hoping to become successful without a spending your retirement.

Sally's Incredible Adventures in the Global Matrixx is just the beginning of one woman's journey on the e-marketing trail. Survivor has nothing on this Warrior.

Perceived Privacy Issues Hurt Internet Shopping

Internet privacy and personal security issues such as hacking, computer viruses, phishing and spyware are preventing many consumers from becoming online shoppers.

As stated by Jeffrey Grau, author, Online Privacy and Security: The Fear Factor, online retailers are losing business due to

alarming news reports of high-tech scams used to steal credit card numbers over the Internet or the latest information breach at a large corporation...

Forrester Research (2004) found credit card fraud the most frequently cited reason (62 percent) for NOT shopping online.

Gartner (2005) predicted that fraudulent Internet activities like phishing, identity or credit card theft would cut 1-3 percent off e-commerce growth rate in next three years.

According to Nilson Report, Internet credit card fraud is triple the rate of fraud in the offline world.

For full report, view eMarketer website.

Tags: Internet, shopping, Internet shopping, online shopping, security, eMarketer, Internet fraud

Americans say NO to governent monitoring of Internet activities

A survey of American adults, conducted by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis (CSRA) at the University of Connecticut, found that:

Although the public is split over whether companies should turn search information over to the government, they do not support either Internet companies storing such information or the government monitoring it.

A full 65 percent of respondents oppose monitoring the Internet use of Ordinary Americans by the governent, with 30 percent of respondents supporting governent intervention in the online lives of Ordinary Americans.

When asked if Google (and other search engines) should comply with the governmental request to turn over information on search requests, 50 percent said the search engines should NOT comply with the government request, and 44 percent stated the companies should comply.

Evidently, the use of the Internet does not make a difference in the opinion of the respondent. Political beliefs may make a big difference, with 67 percent of Democrats but only 30 percent of Republicans opposing the information being released to the government. Independents split 52/48 on the side of NOT releasing the information.

Tags: search engine, online searches, search Internet, Center for Survey Research, Ordinary Americans, government intervention

A brave new web is awaiting you

According to eMarketer, the Internet experience may be split into discrete categories and time spent on each activity can be tracked. Their categories are: Commerce, Communication, Content and Search.

As popular as search is, more Internet users spend time on content and communication sites than on search sites. These activities are simply more engaging than search. Beyond engagement is Web 2.0, where Internet users choose their own content, share and tag their content (blogs, websites, images, recipes) for easy reference by others.

According to O'Reilly, network effects from user contributions are the key to market dominance in the Web 2.0 era. O'Reilly points to the examples of Wikipedia, del.icio.us and Flickr, where Internet users write or tag content so that others may find it. He also states that most successful internet entreprenuers do not advertise their products; instead, their success is driven by viral marketing, also known as WOM (word of mouth) marketing.You may almost make the case that if a site or product relies on advertising to get the word out, it isn't Web 2.0.

This may be the frontier of a brave new web of advertising and marketing. How may you best take advantage of this new web? There are many paths in Web2.0. Here are a few: Blogging and syndication, tagging with Technorati, del.icio.us or your own tags, writing and submitting useful articles, joining online communities like Gather.com, and applying for publisher status on Blogburst.com.

Tags: Internet, advertising, web2.0, web 2.0, Wikipedia, Flickr, Technorati, Gather, BlogBurst.

Search Engine revenues falling in 2006

comScore Networks reported Tuesday that, while still rising, the rate of growth in search activity, has slowed considerably.

In January 2006, Internet users made 5.48 billion online searches, an increase of 11 percent since January 2005. While this is an increase, it is markedly less than the increase from Janunary 2004 to January 2005.

Google handled 41.4 percent of all searches conducted in the United States, while Yahoo ranked second with a 28.7 percent share, and MSN ranked third with a 13.7 percent share.

Google also took top share in toolbar search, with 49.5 percent of all toolbar search. Yahoo! accounted for 45.5 percent of toolbar searches.

During December 2005, 57.2 percent of search results included a sponsored ad, up from 49.1 percent a year earlier.

While search engine advertising revenues may be increasing, the slowing of search activity may mean less overall Internet advertising revenues.

Tags: search engine, online searches, search Internet, comScore, Yahoo!, MSN