Shorter Email Subject Lines Rule




	Optimization: 20 Tips for Better B2B Newsletter Content Successful B2B newsletters focus on compelling content. Here are some tips for better results. Delivery Trends: Updates on CAN-SPAM and SenderID What's new with the CAN-SPAM Act. SenderID is rejected by standards group. The Lab: Analyzing & Acting on Email Results by ISP/Domains Email metrics can vary dramatically by domain - here are sample metrics from four representative messages across the major ISPs - and tips for dealing with the underperforming domains. Quick Tip: Link to Web Version - Minimize HTML Issues To ensure your recipients can view your email as it was intended, add a link to a Web version. StatWatch: How # of Links and Subject Length Affects Email Results Our analysis suggests shorter subject lines and more links produce better results. E-Newsletter Tips: 3 Reasons to Publish an Enewsletter & a Blog Debbie Weil outlines what you need to know about blogs and RSS as an adjunct to your email newsletter efforts.



	20 Tips for Better B2B Newsletter Content by Loren McDonald For most B2B companies email newsletters are an extremely effective vehicle for building and enhancing prospect and customer relationships, establishing thought leadership and generating leads. Achieving these goals, however, requires that these newsletters contain valuable content for the readers, or your clients, partners and prospects will simply stop reading your newsletter. To ensure that your B2B newsletter continuously delivers value, consider the following 20 tips for better approaches to format and content. Full Article \| Feedback



	Email Status Update: CAN-SPAM and Sender ID by Kirill Popov CAN-SPAM Act In early September the FTC ended the comment period of a proposed clarification of the definition of "primary purpose" of an email, as provisions in the act apply to email which have a primary commercial purpose. The FTC is proposing three criteria to determine the primary purpose of an email (included in the full article). The test for whether an email is commercial in nature is dependent on the reader's interpretation. If you have commercial or promotional information in your transactional messages, I would still recommend that you add your company address as well as provide links for the reader to manage their subscription options. You should also include a link to your privacy and/or email policies. Read the full article, including the Internet Engineering Task Force's rejection of Microsoft's Sender ID.... Full Article \| Feedback Blocked Images - Current ClickZ Column \| Past ClickZ Columns



	Analyzing and Acting on Results by Domain/ISP by Loren McDonald Do you know how your email messages are performing by key ISP and domain? Are one or more domains significantly underperforming others? In the June 2004 issue I wrote about the importance of dissecting your message results, including by ISP/domain. Why? The point of analyzing your results by domain is to uncover issues and trends that are caused by domain-specific factors - such as filtering, blocking, email client issues and demographics/psychographics unique to each domain. Below is a partial chart showing four examples of how email performance can vary dramatically by domain. See the complete chart and read the full article that outlines what drives some of the differences and some tips on what to do about it. Partial Chart - see Full Chart. Full Article & Chart \| Feedback



	Minimizing HTML Rendering Issues - Provide Recipients a Web Version While the vast majority of email clients and email Web interfaces (i.e., Yahoo, Hotmail) render HTML correctly (for the most part) providing your recipients the ability to view a Web version of your HTML email or switch to the Text version is always a good idea. If there is a rendering issue or the recipient is using an older version of Lotus Notes or AOL, for example, it ensures they can view the email as it was intended. Some tips to keep in mind then: Include a "View web version of this message" link at the top of your email. The link can be automatically generated to a Web-hosted version by your email service provider or to a link to your Web site where you've posted it (perhaps along with back issues in the case of newsletters). One EmailLabs client is seeing about 0.40% of recipients clicking on the Web version link, not an insignificant number if you have a large list. Also include a link to the Web version in the footer or admin area of your email. Include "Format Preference (HTML or Text)" on your opt-in form. Also include a note such as the following: (Text is recommended if you use Eudora Light, Eudora Pro 3 and below, Lotus Notes versions below R5 or AOL 5.0 and under.) Be sure to include a link to a "Profile Update" page enabling recipients to change the format they are receiving from HTML to Text if they prefer. Web Version of Article \| Feedback



	How Message Size, # of Links and Subject Length Affects Email Results Literally dozens of variables affect the performance of email marketing messages. Recently EmailLabs analyzed three variables - message size (as measured in kilobytes), length of the subject line and the number of hyperlinks contained within the email. While the results listed below (scroll to see chart) should not be taken as "conclusive for all situations," they do generally support many long-held beliefs. Generalizing then, email marketers should: Try to limit subject lines to under 50 characters. Shorter subject lines are easier easier for subscribers to scan (when scrolling through their inboxes) and determine if they want to open the email. Include as many links as possible - the more links there are the greater chances that one or more will resonate with the recipient and motivate them to click through. Not be overly concerned about the size of their messages. The general rule to keep messages under 40K or 50K is a good one, but larger messages are ok. Very large messages, however, may get bounced due to size limits on the receiving end. Test, test, test. As always, test these and other variables to determine what works best with your recipients. For more details and analysis, read the full article. Full Article \| Feedback



	3 Reasons to Publish an E-newsletter AND a Blog Despite various concerns about spam and deliverability, email marketing is alive and well, and is still the preferred means to communicate with subscribers. But many newsletter publishers have started to supplement their enewsletter efforts with blogs and RSS distribution. In this article Debbie Weil outlines what you need to know about blogs and RSS as an adjunct to your email newsletter efforts. Debbie's article also provides links to some great RSS and blogging resource sites. Bottom line, according to Debbie, consider adding a blog to your site to serve as an instant publishing tool, to increase traffic from search engines and to extend the reach of your email marketing efforts. Full Article

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	September 2004

A question I'm often asked is: "What works best, short or long subject lines?" Well recent analysis we've conducted across our client base strongly suggests that subject lines less than 50 characters produce higher open and click-through rates. Read below for more. Till next issue...

Loren McDonald

Want To Boost Open and Click-Through Rates? Use Shorter Subject Lines and Increased Links, EmailLabs Analysis Shows

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EmailLabs is a leading provider of advanced email technology solutions to agencies, publishers and marketing, sales and customer service departments of middle-market and Global 2000 companies. Headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., EmailLabs is a service of Uptilt, Inc. Founded in 1999, Uptilt is privately held.

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