Book Signing with Martha Rogers & Bill Price

This morning at the Return2Customer conference in Atlanta (kudos to Art Hall for putting together an impressive event) I was signing copies of The Truth About Email Marketing alongside the closest thing the marketing world has to a rock star - Martha Rogers of Peppers & Rogers fame. She was signing her new book as was Bill Price. Most people were lined up to get Martha's book (as was I) but I was honored to be at the same table (picture shows me signing a few books and obscuring Martha and Bill).

The Truth About Email Marketing - Part 2 of Podcast

As promised, The Truth About Email Marketing - Part 2 (audio)

Simms Jenkins and Mike Moran discuss "The Truth About Email Marketing" in part two of this 3-part series. Learn about the opportunities and challenges of Email marketing and learn easy-to-use techniques that drive sales and build relationships.

I hope you find this informative.

Don't Forget the Customer/Event/Book Signing

I will be speaking next week in Atlanta at the Return2Customer 2008 which has an impressive agenda, great lineup of speakers and very appropriate name.

If you are in Atlanta or up for a quick but educating trip, be sure to attend. I will be signing some books as well as giving some away. If you don't care about my book, you should be interested in Martha Rogers (of Peppers & Rogers fame) and Bill Price as they will be signing books as well during the Tuesday 10:00 AM Break.

Martha Rogers, Ph. D, of Peppers & Rogers will be on hand promoting their new book "Rules to Break & Laws to Follow: How Your Business Can Beat the Crisis of Short-Termism". Bill Price is the author of The Best Service is No Service.

Sounds like a great event.

Date: August 26-27, 2008
Location: Villa Christina - Atlanta, GA

Podcast Series - The Truth About Email Marketing - Part 1

Through my speaking engagements, business meetings and networking, I have the benefit of meeting some really interesting and smart people. I recently had the good fortune of being introduced to Mike Moran, a fellow author, IBM Distinguished Engineer and expert in various Internet technologies. Mike's Blog (Biznology Blog by Mike Moran Where Business and Technology Come Together) is among the highest ranked blogs by Ad Age.

We recently sat down to discuss my book, the email marketing world and trends and predictions for a 3 part podcast series.

The first part is available here. I hope you enjoy it as I thought Mike asked some great questions and was a silky smooth host.

BrightWave Marketing CEO Simms Jenkins discusses key concepts from his book, "The Truth About Email Marketing," with IBM Distinguished Engineer Mike Moran in this 3-part series. Learn best practices and bite-size, easy-to-use techniques that get results.

Snooze Button for Your Inbox

On TechCrunch, I read about an interesting new service called Hit Me Later for consumers.

Essentially, it will resend any emails at a later time back to your inbox. Of course, this could have implications if adopted by an email marketer's subscribers.

Those 24 Hours Left or Last Chance To Register emails may not find their way to the desired inboxes of some subscribers well after the deadline. If subscribers snooze their emails for a few days or weeks would that have a major impact on how and when you send email campaigns?

Nothing But the Truth: New Titles from “Truth About” Series on Social Networking, Email Marketing, Identity Theft From FT Press are Must-Reads

The official news release on my book, (The Truth About Email Marketing ) hit the wire today.

If you read the book, I would love to hear any feedback (good or bad). Also, if any blog readers are interested in a special discount, please let me know.

By the way, the other two books released with mine sound fascinating and I plan on checking them out.

Thanks and happy reading!

What's Your Email Program Worth? How About $125 Million?

I try to help our clients put a value on their email program and subscribers to help them build a business case and justify the importance of what they do, often to get more resources from their C level executives while also educating internal teams.

One prominent email newsletter, DailyCandy, a publisher of shopping- and culture-focused newsletters for young women, was sold to Comcast for what people briefed on the matter said was $125 million. The New York Times covers the deal here.

With 2.5 million subscribers, that places a value of $50 per email subscriber. Not bad for a company whose main product is an email newsletter. Granted they have expanded into websites but this demonstrates the real value of a loyal and targeted email program.

Sam Schwartz, executive vice president for Comcast Interactive Media, says it all right here:

“What we saw was a really engaged audience, a very loyal audience, as well as very local properties and great relationships with advertisers.”

This is good news for all email marketers.

11 Ways to Improve your Email Marketing in a Few Hours

Email marketing improvements may seem daunting but they don't have to be. Carve a few hours out of your normal schedule to focus on some key areas worth reviewing. Here are a few ideas to get you going...

1. Plan a subject line test

2. Compare your current email metrics to data from the past year

3. Document your current email campaign process and see where some efficiencies and improvements can be made

4. Sign up for industry newsletters and read email executive blogs

5. Work with your design team on optimizing your email creative (especially in regards to image suppression)

6. Build a presentation for your CEO that outlines how important your email program is (you may not have the luxury of presenting it to her but I guarantee it will be helpful in other ways)

7. Simulate your email user experience, from the email registration to clicking on links to replying and unsubscribing from an actual email campaign

8. Ask your email team and/or partner for the best and worst 3 things about your email program

9. Plan an email focused subscriber survey asking subscribers what they want

10. Review in detail your competitors email promotions and newsletters and document what can be learned from them

11. Read The Truth About Email Marketing which reveals 49 proven email marketing best practices and bite-size, easy-to-use techniques that get results. For more information, please visit http://www.thetruthaboutemailmarketing.com/ or find the book anywhere where books are sold.

The Truth Arrives...

I am very proud to announce my book, The Truth About Email Marketing, is due in stores sometime next week. The official publication date is today, August 1, but the book industry isn't like the movie industry. The books get to stores when it gets to stores. So don't expect huge Friday opening numbers (although Amazon does rank in it in the Top 20,000 books pre-launch - not bad) but do expect to see it anywhere books are sold.

The process was a long and challenging one and now comes the fun part. I await your comments if you do happen to buy it. Please let me know if you are interested in an autographed copy.

The initial reviews are strong as is the press from bloggers and the email marketing industry so I am encouraged that the book will appeal to a wide audience and be worth their time and money.

If you are holding off on buying it, sign up for the book's email newsletter (what else?) where you could win a signed copy of the book.

-Buy It Here