Well here are some ideas that may help.

Of course, the Statistical Charts provides a wealth of Executive Summary type information and charts by date range.  Most client results are impressive and this report has a plethora of dat and charts to make the meeting room silent (in a good way). Delivery % decent, Unique opens great!, Unique Clicks great should be your main metrics.

Most clients find these reports most helpful for executive reports in addition to Statistical Charts:

Breakout of Email Clients and Mobile Devices.
Compare Jobs Side by Side
Open and Clicks by Domain Name ** (some nice charts here as well

As far as by domain performance tracking, I like the “Opens and Clicks BY DOMAIN” report.

If not, you can also try the “Export Subscriber Interactions by Date Range” report to research open and clicks by subscriber and then sort ALL subscribers by domain names if you wish by exporting report.

I also use the Email Tracking Report, click on the tab I want and search specific domain terms such as @gmail.com, etc.  Count results are in the bottom right corner.

There are over 25 reports and variations in the White Cloud system so report away and make that e-Team happy.

Reminder that our eMail Networks team provides hourly and project consulting to improve you email results as well.

We have our 50 point eMail Networks Email Score Card ™ that takes snapshot of your email program status.  Call us to schedule today.

How Businesses Can Get More Engagement on Instagram

Instagram is definitely the place for pictures. So if your business is a photography studio you should have joined Instagram long back! But, Instagram is not just about who has the best photography it is an awesome way to showcase your brand, tell your story and interact with potential customers.

So why the Instagram platform?

According to stats – Instagram has over 300 million daily active users, and the monthly new follower growth rate on the average account is about 16%. Instagram pulls in over $595 million dollars in mobile ad revenues and engagement rates are 58x higher than Facebook and 120x higher than Twitter. Getting your business on Instagram is a no brainer.

Using social media will help you grow your email list.

Drive more customers into your website when you use your bio link. The benefit of growing your social media followers can also help you grow your email list using your eMail Networks eMail Marketing Suite. Simply send your users to a landing page where you can capture their contact details. Make sure that when you collect contact data or new subscriber data you always verify it to make sure it is real. You can use a real time email verification tool like XVerify to quickly approve or reject incoming email data so that you avoid dreadful hard bounces and improve your deliverability.

Captivate consumers with beautiful photography.

The secret is you don’t have to be a photographer, you can put beautiful stock photography that coordinates with your brand on your Instagram which will attract followers. Another thing that instagrammers love is motivational messages over top a background image. For one of my personal favorites I enjoy using the wordswag APP to create attractive photos.

Other Apps Great for Photo Editing:
Boomerang – Instagram’s app for creating animated Gifs from your Camera
Over – An app for putting graphics over images contains over 10k graphics, fonts and images
Afterlight – Quick straight forward editing of images such as filters, cropping, framing, textures.

Captions allow you to tell your story and you get a lot more space than Twitter allows.

Instagram don’t make it easy for link sharing, as you can only place one hyper link in your profile bio, but when it comes to letting you caption your images they don’t limit you like Twitter does. I use to think no one is here to read these captions, they just want to look at images. But I was wrong, dead wrong. People are reading those captions and responding to what you have to say.

Make your captions Whitty, funny, motivational, creative, invoke emotions, or simply ask your followers a question. The captions are there to allow you to share your special moments so this way you can stand out from the competition by adding something unique.

@Mentions aka Shoutout

Make people feel special by giving them a special message that you are paying attention to them.
This will draw their attention to that post. If you see another post that you think one of your followers would also enjoy you can tag them over there as well.

Hash Tagging

The cool thing about being on the Instagram platform is that you can go buck wild with hashtags, it’s just not recommended. The idea is to do your hashtag research and find out which ones are going to be the best fit for the image you are publishing. As a rule of thumb it is a good idea to keep your hashtags to less than 15 per image.

When doing hashtag research and you come across a tag that may not be the most popular it can still be just as valuable. Keep in mind that popular hashtags will push your image down fast, while hashtags that are not as popular will be more likely to display your photo longer when looking at recent posts for that tag.
Comment Comment Comment

Instagram is a platform for communication, and that’s exactly what it wants to you to do. You should comment on your follower’s photos. When you comment on their photo it tells that you have interest in them and will help them keep your brand in mind.

Let them know what you think, and they will be likely to reciprocate. When other users see that you are also getting comments on your photos it will inspire them to join the conversation as well.

Don’t forget you can also comment and ask users to take some action such as clicking on the link in your bio, but if you want them to do that then you should be offering something of value. For example, offering them a discount code or telling them about a current promotion and asking them to click the link in your bio.

Direct Messaging

Direct messaging is amazing. Being able to engage in a one on one conversation with someone is priceless.  In the Instagram community you can message anyone, if they don’t like what you are saying or find you offensive they can block you but most messages get engagement. You can even create groups to have a discussion.

Keep your users engaged by asking them questions in group chat. Other people will chime in and that will build up a conversation.

Bring Users into Your Site
Promote, the link in your bio. Remind users to click the BIO link and have it coordinate with something that you are posting about. As you drive new users into your site don’t forget to capture their contact data. If you are not driving the users into a landing page where you collect their details then you are missing a window of opportunity.

Start taking action today

If you don’t already have an Instagram account I challenge you to set one up this week. As a business it is a good idea that you post about 7-10 images per week and make sure you have a strong call to action. Strategically set up your bio so that it lands on a lead capture page so you can draw those interested into your email list. As your number of followers increase so should your post engagements, but make sure you carve out time to like, comment and message others on the platform.

Contact our sales team today at (866) 271-5908 to learn more about email marketing best practices including email list verification.

Here are 5 tips to help you increase your email’s click-through rates:

1. Ensure your emails are opened

Admittedly, this sounds obvious, but it isn’t as easy as it seems. Just because your email is delivered to your recipient’s inbox doesn’t mean the recipient will open your email. There are many ways to increase the open rates of your emails. Here are the most important ones:

Increasing your open rates starts with using a reputable Email Service Provider (ESP) that will host your opt-in database.  Be very clear on your sign-up forms of what subscriber is signing up for, and what kind of information they can expect to receive.

How many times will they receive your emails?  You’d rather have one opt-in who reads your newsletter, than many that delete it without even opening it.
Identify yourself: Make it perfectly clear for the recipient who the sender is. Use your name, your company name or both.
Write an appealing subject line: A well-written subject line invites the recipient to open the mail. Be sure to stick to a maximum of 50 characters (20 if you have a lot of mobile readers) to prevent it from being cut off in most email clients.
Compose a strong snippet or pre-header: This is the first text that’s displayed underneath or next to the subject line. Often the snippet contains text like “Unable to read this mail? Open the web version.” You can do better.

2. Have a clear call to action

Click Here!    Call 1888 456-7155

“Create an account now!” “Buy product X!” Having multiple calls to action (CTAs) only makes it confusing for your recipients. Determine what the main goal of your email is, and make sure your call to action serves that goal, and that goal only.

Also, a CTA should make clear for the reader…

What is expected of him
Where the CTA will take him
Why he has to go there

The best CTAs answer those three questions, using as few words as possible:

Contact us.
Apply now.
Sign up now.
Create an account.

and so forth.

Avoid CTAs that state the obvious. The internet has been around long enough even for the biggest technophobes to understand that they have to click on a hyperlink to make it work. In other words, don’t use “click here.”

3. Create mobile-proof emails

In 2012, the amount of mobile online traffic was 12 times the size of total Internet traffic in 2000. And mobile data traffic is still skyrocketing. But while more and more companies prepare their websites for mobile visitors, only few of them do the same with their emails.

In the meanwhile, according to Litmus research, 38% of all emails are opened on a mobile device. That makes mobile phones the most popular medium for reading emails.

Not preparing your emails for mobile is a mistake you can’t allow yourself to make. Create your email templates using responsive design, which will adjust the email to, for example, screen size used or the orientation of your screen (in the case of smart phones, which you can hold horizontally or vertically).

Also, keep in mind that mobile users click using their fingers instead of a mouse. Make sure all your calls to action are large enough and your hyperlinks have enough space between them. Tip: a finger takes up, on average, about 44×44 pixels on a mobile screen.

4. Be relevant

Your database is one of the most powerful assets you have to increase the number of clicks in your emails. Using the information in your database, you can send your recipients relevant emails that fit their needs.

The most efficient form of email relevancy based on the data in your database is event-driven email marketing. For example, you send emails based on someone’s interests, products someone purchases or didn’t purchase. Abandoned shopping carts, for example, are known to increase click-through rates 20%.

5. Test and measure

Not every target group is the same. That’s why you should use the previous four tips merely to get started. From there, the best way to improve your open rate is by testing various strategies and to keep measuring the results.

Test emails with split-run and A/B tests, including different send times and different subject lines. Keep tweaking and molding until you find the right format and the click-through rate until your reach your campaign goals.

In this webinar recap, learn to ease new subscribers’ fears and lead them to conversion. Gradually get to know your subscribers, and turn them into loyal buyers by utilizing the following three tactics.

“Even as email marketing becomes an elder in the family of marketing tactics, practitioners are still having trouble sending relevant communications,” said W. Jeffrey Rice, author of the MarketingSherpa 2012 Email Marketing Benchmark Report.

“Only 28% of marketers reported that their messages contained relevant content, sent on time, and sent to their subscribers [with] a clear conversion goal,” Rice added, further citing the report.

According to Rice, email marketers need to address the problem of how to create an optimal onboard experience to build a long-term customer relationship with the subscriber.

“Just like in life, it is critical to make a great first impression,” Rice said.

Rice and Meghan Lockwood, Senior Research Analyst, MECLABS, solve this problem with three strategies to convert new subscribers to loyal customers. The webinar can be viewed in full below.

Tactic #1. Invest in long-term relationships
“I just want to remind you that a subscriber is not just an email address. There’s an actual person attached that you’re communicating with,” Rice said. “If you start with the understanding that all marketing comes down to relationships, you need to be ready to improvise as the relationship progresses over time.”

He lists three keys to making a long-term investment in a new subscriber:

Make a good first impression

Gradually learn more about the subscriber

Extend the conversation with a welcome series

Make a good first impression
“People do not fall into your sales and marketing funnel. It’s not a fall, it’s a climb,” said Rice. “It’s a climb onto a steep mountain where each customer makes a conscious micro decision to move forward. … Marketers must keep helping them up this funnel, fighting against the constant pull of gravity, which slows the sales process.”

To help subscribers overcome the friction and downward forces that face them at every micro decision, marketers must lend them a helping hand. Sharing information of value to the consumer –, information that will make their life or job easier — creates an emotional connection and will leave an enduring positive impression.

Newsletters, welcome emails and nurturing campaigns can be excellent opportunities to lay a foundation of trust, and this is especially true when the sale is not imminent.

As a way of showing this good grace to subscribers, Rice encourages the practice of paying it forward.

“The act of giving without any expectation shines a positive light on your brand and distinguishes it from the cold business of facts and figures. Again, marketing is about relationships. When you respect the reader enough to reveal your culture, demonstrate your culture … and serve their needs, you’re going to effectively engage.”

Single opt-in welcome messages

Remind the subscriber of where and how they opted-in to your list.

Deliver value immediately, because, “as in most relationships, manners are important,” Rice said. He advises starting with a sincere thank-you. Give more than expected, share evergreen content (past newsletters, video links, webinars or podcasts), and give a discount or exclusive access.

Confirm content and frequency expectations.

“You also want to consider asking to be whitelisted,” Rice adds. Whitelisting provides subscribers the opportunity to do something to ensure their own deliverability.

“Whitelisting, yes it’s a falling best practice because ISPs are looking at engagement practices and sender reputations, but whitelisting is still critical, especially when you first send a welcome email message.”

Additionally, the initial welcome emails should feature links to both the unsubscribe and privacy settings.

“If a subscriber has buyer’s remorse and wants to unsubscribe, let them. It doesn’t hurt your deliverability at all. For people who are worried about what a company is going to do with their email address, you really want to calm their fears,” said Rice.

Gradually learn more about the subscriber
“You want to take it slow. Just like when you go on a first date, you don’t want to ask someone their whole life story. … You want to get to know them on a gradual pace,” Rice said.

Since opt-in pages request as little information as possible, take advantage of the high open rates of welcome emails to ask follow-up questions. Doing this will harvest more data and remind the subscriber of the win-win proposition.

This is an opportunity to obtain additional demographic and preference data. By including a link to a preference center, you will collect more data to better customize your emails and offers to the subscriber’s specific desires.

Extend the conversation with a welcome series
To illustrate this idea, Lockwood cites a MarketingSherpa case study of StudentBean.com, who set up its own welcome series.

In this case study, StudentBean.com’s first step was setting up timing to where those who opted in received a confirmation email immediately, and a welcome email 24 hours later. The welcome series spanned six days total.

Rice advises two general objectives to abide by for setting up a welcome series:

Design the first welcome email: The first email’s goal was alerting the subscribers to the upcoming messages. This email is a reminder of the value of subscription.

Set up offer strategy: Except for first email, each email should feature a single offer to spur action, based on popularity and profitability, as well as customized by location and self-reported gender.

The goal of the series of emails is to quickly move the subscriber from “kicking the tires” to an educated buyer. Give the new opt-in something to look forward to with a popular strategy of developing a four-part series or a five-week education course.

“You want to create content that they’re going to look forward to and anticipate receiving,” Rice said.

For more information on starting a welcome series, read the full MarketingSherpa case study, “Email Marketing: Six-email welcome increases revenue 13%, open rate 66%.”

Tactic #2. Increase responsiveness
“The second step to converting subscribers to loyal buyers is to really focus on increasing the responsiveness,” said Rice.

To increase responsiveness, Rice recommends automated emails, especially for the initial welcome email.

Automated emails are a single or series of emails created by a defined set of rules based on dates, events or behaviors that are automatically sent to a subscriber, and they consistently achieve higher open rates due to timing and relevancy. Research in the 2012 Email Marketing Benchmark Report shows that 80% of organizations already send automated welcome emails.

“For many, the importance of the welcome email message cannot be understated. This is the first two-way conversation that prospects are going to have with your brand. Hopefully this is going to be the first step in transforming them from a fan to a customer to a brand advocate,” said Rice.

Tactic #3. Reduce reader anxiety
Lockwood sites a MarketingSherpa case study to illustrate a reduction of reader anxiety with a campaign by SavvyMom, a Canadian digital publisher.

SavvyMom’s first step was to define its messages and timing with the readers’ perspective in mind. This allowed the digital publisher to anticipate any needs or anxiety the readers might face.

The overall goal of the series was to gradually warm the readers up to the brand, and then to teach them how they can best engage with it.

The purpose of the first message was to guide subscribers to their next step, the second message to enhance the subscriber experience, and the third message increased the awareness of future emails.

Personalizing content was SavvyMom’s next step. The personalization was based off how subscribers signed up. If they had done so through the website, dynamic text filled in the reader’s name and simply thanked them. If they had entered through one of SavvyMom’s contests, dynamic text reminded readers of the contest name.

For more information on reducing subscriber anxiety, read the full MarketingSherpa case study, “Email Marketing Case Study: 5-step update of welcome campaign leads to 450% increase in new subscriber clickthrough rate.”

Communicate cautiously
Immediately sending a welcome message can prevent future spam complaints while reinforcing expectations set during the opt-in process. This is a place to confirm the subscription, and restate the frequency to the subscriber.

Rice also suggests sending a double opt-in welcome message from a separate server until you determine the addresses are accurate, to avoid hurting the sender reputation of your main IP address.

Establish explicit expectations
Rice suggests the following steps to establish expectations and reduce anxiety:

WHAT – Clearly state what type of content you will be sending

WHEN – Identify how often you will be sending email communications

WHY – Spell out the features and benefits to crystallize your value proposition

WORRY – Add a link to your privacy policy

“You have earned a click to your registration page. That’s huge, that’s a gigantic win. So you want to maintain that momentum by paving a path of logical next step for new subscribers to follow,” Rice said.

To establish those expectations with regard to design, Rice advises reviewing registration page design to maintain creative consistency. The registration page’s style should be similar to the style of the ad or email that brought visitors to it.

With a consistent brand image, language and tone, the potential subscriber will be comforted in knowing he or she has landed on the correct page.

This comfort also relies on keeping the page clean of clutter and multiple messages, said Rice, adding, “It is critical that you just have one purpose.”

Finally, Rice says the key to enacting these tactics is to “review your email from your subscriber’s point of view.” The brand definition of compelling content may differ from recipients’, and consistently delivering what was promised to the subscriber, with consideration to their needs, should be the primary goal of marketers.

Goldfig Travel caters to both consumers and business customers looking to book high-end, upscale travel. The company’s business clients are unique in that they are just as likely to jet off to to an overseas business meeting as they are to take colleagues on a personalized safari. Email marketing is an important part of Goldring’s overall marketing strategy.

Over the three years the company has had its email program in place, Eric Goldring, the Colts Neck, N.J.-based company’s CEO, has learned a lot about what gets people to open and click through to the company’s website or blog. One of the most interesting, he said, is that while his email metrics are high—open rates hover around 75%—customers rarely purchase what’s featured in the emails. “They will see my emails and then call me up asking for something completely different,” he said. “The content of the emails is definitely not the hook or the bait. It’s the little splash in the water that attracts their attention.”

Below, Goldfig details four other email tactics that he uses to entice and interest his business customers.

Take advantage of multimedia options. Goldfig Travel belongs to the Ensemble Travel Group, a member-owned organization of more than 850 travel agencies across the U.S. and Canada. As part of that, Goldfig gets access to an e-newsletter populated with video links and images related to destinations, cruise lines and other travel-related collateral. It’s that content, Goldfig said, that gets people excited about traveling, even on mundane business trips. “I know which offers are in the emails and can target users depending on past travel and destinations,” he said. “Twice a month is the max that I am touching my clients, so something that’s exciting and visually appealing really inspires them.”

Use triggered emails to support sales, and not just before you make a sale. Most companies use triggered emails to remind people when their subscriptions are almost up or when new products are released. Goldfig, however, uses triggered emails post-sale with good results. A week before clients leave, an automatic email is sent to remind them of the trip. Customers get another email soon after they return. “It gives them a way to tell me if they had a great trip or had any problems,” he said. “I want to reach out to them before they reach out to me.” It also presents a perfect way to inquire about future travel needs, he said.

Employ humor to boost interest. Humor is a big part of Goldfig Travel’s email marketing program. For instance, once a month a welcome email goes out to new subscribers. It includes a survey designed to gauge the type and frequency of travel that new subscribers are interested in. “I’ve got funky things in there as answers,” Goldfig said. “Like, “Complete this survey and you might win something—not really.’ I use humor to project my personality, but it also makes people remember the company. I always get comments about it when I get people on the phone to book travel.”

Treat business clients like consumers. Although his business clients get emails that consumers do not, they also receive everything that goes out to his b-to-c clients, Goldfig said. “Business clients do leisure travel, too,” he said. “The consumer emails remind them that I am there for them no matter when they need something.”