Bronto Blog

There is nothing worse than being excited about doing something and having those plans fall through for some reason or another, especially with little or no notice. This happened to me personally while booking a flight recently. I was half way through the process (choosing my seats actually) and with my next click, I was taken back to the start of my search. The itinerary I was booking was sold out. Luckily, I was able to start again and get a similar flight, but it did change my perception of the airline a bit and made me consider using someone else.

Having a subscriber who would like to participate in your offer is great, but if they open your message a day too late they may see the offer and click through only to find that the product is sold out, or the event is full. This can have a very negative effect on your subscribers, and lessen the trustworthiness of your brand in their eyes.

If you send out time sensitive emails, offers that expire, or marketing messages centered on items with limited quantities, it is important to keep these messages working even after the deadline has passed. I’ve compiled a few simple tips to help keep your messages fresh and relevant.

Tip #1: The old Switch-a-Roo

Here is a quick way to make sure that your subscribers are seeing the most up to date information on time or inventory sensitive messages. If you are using an image to show your product or offer, consider creating two versions of the image. One with the image of the product and another that shows the product as sold out and calls them to click for other great deals.

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We’ve talked in the past about APIs, first in the academic sense and then a more detailed explanation, but we haven’t talked much about the doors they open. Today we’ll do just that; first let’s look at a few great uses for an API, then let’s take it to the next level.

The basic idea of an API is the ability to automate things that otherwise would be done by hand. The true power comes in when you extend this automation to include personalization and tie in other applications.

A tried and true application of an API is purchase confirmation receipts. Tie your eCommerce system into an email application in order to provide solid deliverability and best of breed reporting. You can take this to the next level by introducing related product recommendations or related coupons.

Another great idea is to provide an eCard application for your customers. You know the type, you select a card, provide some personalization details and before you know it your friend is greeted by an image of frolicking kittens. This again, can be implemented without much trouble via the API.

A little creativity, business need, and a web developer and you’ve got yourself some great new avenues to drive business.
Read more about leveraging the API

Widgets are hot. Users like them because of ease-of-use, companies like them because they allow for a viral spread of brand recognition. Ultimately, though, most marketers are asking themselves, “How do I really leverage a widget?”

Web widgets, Google Gadgets, desktop gadgets, social media widgets, and more; how do you know which to leverage and how to leverage? First, consider your business objective. If you want to do it just because it’s hot, reconsider. Often times rushing into something without a strategy can hurt your brand, not reinforce it. You can use widgets to extend your brand, drive traffic to your site, create viral tools to reach a broader audience, or embed content on other sites. Determining which, or how many, are the right approach for your business will also help you shape what metrics you would like to use to evaluate success. For example, if you choose to drive traffic to your site, are you ensuring that you are able to track that the widget is indeed driving traffic. If you can create that dynamic, then you will be able to monitor and control where you place your widget and which partnerships and outlets are best performing for you.

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Last Friday, one of my favorite bloggers - Tamara Gielen of BeRelevant! - posted about the Blog Olympics. Loosely following her rules, I am now going to pass on the stick by listing my *favorite blogs (in no particular order).

• The Email Wars - Dylan Boyd
• EmailKarma - Matt Vernhout
• Click Z - multiple contributors
• Email Insider - multiple contributors (need to create account to view)
• The Retail Email Blog - Chad White
• Spam Resource - Al Iverson
• Smith-Harmon EDM Review - mostly Lisa Harmon, but more contributors by the day
• No man is an iland (Email Marketing Reports) - Mark Brownlow
• Word to the Wise - Laura Atkins
• Return Path’s Email Water Cooler - multiple contributors
• Campaign Monitor Blog - multiple contributors
• Email Standards Project - multiple contibutors
• MonkeyBrains (MailChimp) - Ben Chestnut
• Adventures in Email Marketing - Anna Billstrom
• BeRelevant! - the lovely Tamara Gielen, of course

*I really really really tried hard to pare the list down to 7-10, but it was impossible. There are just too many great blogs out there. Like Dylan said, I also read many more than those above and am so appreciative of the consistent value they provide to the email marketing industry. Every so often I’ll manage my RSS subscriptions via Google Reader and attempt to delete blogs I don’t read often. Blog delete FAIL. They’re too good.

Rock on.

DJ Waldow
Account Manager at Bronto

Images are powerful. They evoke emotions and convey 1,000 words, right? So what happens when you have to design your email campaigns to render well with no images at all?

Why spend time, money, and effort designing a beautiful creative for your email only to have it only render well with images on?  There’s nothing worse than opening an email that looks like this. Why spend time, money, and effort designing a beautiful creative for your email only to have it only render well with images on?

In this month’s installment of BrontoFire, Kimberly and I take a look at how some of the major online retailers design their emails for images on and off.

Check out BrontoFire now.

Having trouble viewing BrontoFire? Try viewing it on YouTube.

Cliff Notes For Designing For Images On and Off

1. Use Alt Text
2. Text Is Your Friend
3. Design The Same For Images On/Images Off
4. Be Creative

DJ Waldow
Account Manager at Bronto