We've crossed the Rubicon and there is no going back.
Research firm Outsell predicts that thanks to a 9.6% increase in digital advertising in 2010, US advertisers will for the first time ever spend more advertising on the web, search marketing, eNewsletters, social media, direct-to-customer communication, and mobile web than on traditional print magazine and newspaper advertising.
Significant? A game-changer for those of us who straddle the worlds of eMedia and Print media? No doubt. But also, no surprise. The momentum has tilted in favor of eMedia for the last 10 years, growing faster and picking up speed every year.
Thankfully for traditionalists, the value of print is still strong, borne out by Outsell's optimistic prediction that print advertising, too, will see an increase this year--of almost 2%. That's good news for publishers who have been slashing costs associated with our magazines, journals and newspapers to offset the declines of previous years.
My gut tells me that eReaders like Apple's new iPad will push the margin between print and eMedia even wider. I also think that colorful, graphic-rich devices like the iPad, Sports Illustrated's Tablet, Hearst's Skiff, and an new HP tablet, all due out soon, will either force current eReaders like Kindle and Nook to upgrade to magazine-like layout, navigation and multimedia or be kicked to the curb by the sexier newcomers.
And what of mobile reading? If you've tried it, it's not ideal for obvious reasons. Mobile works best for quick bites of information, not for a leasurly perusal of a magazine. And the advertising community--main source of revenue for all media--is voting with their feet, planning to spend 16% less on mobile this year than last. Maybe the financial model for mobile media is paid subscriptions or sponsored content, but ads just don't move me on my phone.
Conclusion: 2010 is a bounce-back year for most media and we need to take full advantage of the increased attention we are getting from advertisers to strengthen the bond with our readers to ensure a successful future, whatever the medium we employ.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The email signature phenomenon
Look Familiar?
Michael DeLuca l President l Meister Media Worldwide
Office Direct: (440) 555-5555 l Mobile: (216) 555-5555
37733 Euclid Avenue l Willoughby, OH 44094
This email signature style has gone viral. Everywhere I look, folks are using this format to give their emails, both business and personal, a snappy, sophisticated look.
I wish I could take credit for creating it, but I can't. I first saw it in 2004 or 20055 in an email from Mark Willis, a friend who worked at the Cincinnati advertising/marketing/pr firm Northlich. I immediately appropriated it and have been using it since. If I'm not the creater, maybe the propogator, though. Makes me wonder: did Northlich create it or appropriate it, too?
It's appeal must be universal, because wherever I work, people who were using another format or no format at all in their email switch to this format or slight variations thereof. Likewize as I meet new folks and develop email relationships, I often find their subsequent return emails suddenly sporting the new signature style.
I've seen entire corporations like it so much they have mandated their employees adopt it.
Don't get me wrong. I like it. I just wonder what is so special about it that is seems to be sweeping the emailing world. I've not seen another signature style that has been copied like this one, and wonder if we might try to come up with one and watch it spread!
Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?
Michael DeLuca l President l Meister Media Worldwide
Office Direct: (440) 555-5555 l Mobile: (216) 555-5555
37733 Euclid Avenue l Willoughby, OH 44094
This email signature style has gone viral. Everywhere I look, folks are using this format to give their emails, both business and personal, a snappy, sophisticated look.
I wish I could take credit for creating it, but I can't. I first saw it in 2004 or 20055 in an email from Mark Willis, a friend who worked at the Cincinnati advertising/marketing/pr firm Northlich. I immediately appropriated it and have been using it since. If I'm not the creater, maybe the propogator, though. Makes me wonder: did Northlich create it or appropriate it, too?
It's appeal must be universal, because wherever I work, people who were using another format or no format at all in their email switch to this format or slight variations thereof. Likewize as I meet new folks and develop email relationships, I often find their subsequent return emails suddenly sporting the new signature style.
I've seen entire corporations like it so much they have mandated their employees adopt it.
Don't get me wrong. I like it. I just wonder what is so special about it that is seems to be sweeping the emailing world. I've not seen another signature style that has been copied like this one, and wonder if we might try to come up with one and watch it spread!
Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Resolved. . . be a better boss
Ever notice that a conversation overheard on a plane, in a theater, in an elevator or some other place in which you are confined is alternatively boring as hell or obnoxious--or both? Maybe it's me.
Next on the list has to be some clod reounting their New Year's Resolutions.. I am going to start exercising, eat better, go to church, learn a new language, read a book a month, blah, blah, blah.
Rather than go that route, I take this one: resolutions on conducting myself in business. As a newly minted president of Meister Media, I am both humbled by the charge and excited about the opportunity of what we can accomplish in this new decade. But since wishing and hoping is a pretty lame strategy, I lay out for anyone who is interested, my plan. Here are 10 things I resolve to do in 2010.
1. Show up early, but enough with the 12-hour days (so I can get home before 7 and exercise, eat better, learn French, read a book . . .)
2. Ask "What if?" What if we were a startup. . . What would we write, produce, promote? What would our processes look like. . . our staff?
3. Walk around the building every day I am there. Look for fires, listen to the staff, be accessible and open to their opinions and ideas.
4. Read a magazine a day--one of ours, a competitor's, a trade magazine, or just for fun. Plus go deep into one of our websites. Look hard at our content and how we present it. Think about ways to make it better, or learn from other media.
5. Schedule as much of the must-attend meetings and events as we can for the year. Let everyone know where I am going and what I am doing, and give the staff my office days for client interaction or brainstorming. Also, try to keep meetings to 30 minutes or less. Any more than that and your are probablty wasting someone's time.
6. Every month give the company an update on how we are doing. Revenue, profit, performance metrics, project progress, awards, and what's ahead for the next month or so.
7. Smile, be upbeat. Be an enthusiastic cheerleader and an inspiring coach.
8. Expect the very best from everyone; recognize them when they do their best, but don't let anyone get away with sloppy or careless work.
9. Talk to at least one reader or customer every day. Thank them for allowing us into their lives and businesses. Ask them about what concerns them most this year. Promise to help them.
10. Block 30 minutes each day to:
What do you resolve to do this year? Post your answers here and I will enter you into a drawing to win a red 1st generation 4gb iPod Nano that one of my kids bequeathed to me when she got the Touch. It's old, but it does the job. Great for runners. Happy New Year, friends.
Next on the list has to be some clod reounting their New Year's Resolutions.. I am going to start exercising, eat better, go to church, learn a new language, read a book a month, blah, blah, blah.
Rather than go that route, I take this one: resolutions on conducting myself in business. As a newly minted president of Meister Media, I am both humbled by the charge and excited about the opportunity of what we can accomplish in this new decade. But since wishing and hoping is a pretty lame strategy, I lay out for anyone who is interested, my plan. Here are 10 things I resolve to do in 2010.
1. Show up early, but enough with the 12-hour days (so I can get home before 7 and exercise, eat better, learn French, read a book . . .)
2. Ask "What if?" What if we were a startup. . . What would we write, produce, promote? What would our processes look like. . . our staff?
3. Walk around the building every day I am there. Look for fires, listen to the staff, be accessible and open to their opinions and ideas.
4. Read a magazine a day--one of ours, a competitor's, a trade magazine, or just for fun. Plus go deep into one of our websites. Look hard at our content and how we present it. Think about ways to make it better, or learn from other media.
5. Schedule as much of the must-attend meetings and events as we can for the year. Let everyone know where I am going and what I am doing, and give the staff my office days for client interaction or brainstorming. Also, try to keep meetings to 30 minutes or less. Any more than that and your are probablty wasting someone's time.
6. Every month give the company an update on how we are doing. Revenue, profit, performance metrics, project progress, awards, and what's ahead for the next month or so.
7. Smile, be upbeat. Be an enthusiastic cheerleader and an inspiring coach.
8. Expect the very best from everyone; recognize them when they do their best, but don't let anyone get away with sloppy or careless work.
9. Talk to at least one reader or customer every day. Thank them for allowing us into their lives and businesses. Ask them about what concerns them most this year. Promise to help them.
10. Block 30 minutes each day to:
- Think.
- Play guitar.
- Exercise.
- Call Mom and Dad.
- Study how other media companies are changing
- Review my resolutions and keep myself on track
What do you resolve to do this year? Post your answers here and I will enter you into a drawing to win a red 1st generation 4gb iPod Nano that one of my kids bequeathed to me when she got the Touch. It's old, but it does the job. Great for runners. Happy New Year, friends.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Under 60 Character Email Subject Lines Increases Open Rate
From the Center for Media Research comes the following post:
According to eROI's latest email marketing survey, The Elements of Email, email marketers are missing opportunities to increase their deliverability, opens, clicks and conversions. The study examines several elements of an Email, recommending that readers test their positions to compare to prevailing practices.
50% of the respondents say they use the company name as the best "from" name choice, while a third say it's based on the campaign. Responses are based on the question: How do you address your "from" line?
The Company... 50.89%
Depends on the Campaign... 31.95%
Individual... 17.16%
Email authentication verifies messages, allowing recipients to automatically recognize the nature of each incoming communication. About 60% of marketers do not know how they authenticate email. Of those that do, Sender ID is the type of authentication used by the majority, with Domain up about one-third. Based on "How do you authenticate your email?" the response is:
Don't Know... 55.07%
SenderID... 32.16%
PF... 28.19%
DomainKeys... 24.67%
DKIM... 10.13%
Many companies avoid blacklists by verifying senders and certifying the email they send. These services are growing, but are still used by only about 25% of marketers. With the majority of email marketers not currently doing this, a large opportunity is presented. Methods of certification include:
None... 70.09%
Sender Score... 10.28%
Other... 10.33%
GoodMail... 7.94%
Habeas... 7.01%
Email marketers seem to be paying close attention to the content of their subject lines, finds the study. 75% say they try to ensure subject line relevance to the content of the email and 50% focus on keeping it concise.
Studies have shown that using a subject line with 72 characters or more gives added relevance, with click through and conversion tending to increase. By going with a 60 character or less subject line, the open rate will tend to increase. The area between 60 and 72 has been shown to be a "dead zone," according to the report.
Respondents report subject lines as follows:
Relevant content... 72.57%
Short and to the point... 50.44%
Testing subject lines... 28.32%
Personalized... 19.03%
Other... 2.21%
Nearly 30% of marketers duplicate their site navigation in email. Of those, 15% find it more effective than the main content in driving clicks, while 11% of marketers find their navigation converts better than the main content of their email.
According to eROI's latest email marketing survey, The Elements of Email, email marketers are missing opportunities to increase their deliverability, opens, clicks and conversions. The study examines several elements of an Email, recommending that readers test their positions to compare to prevailing practices.
50% of the respondents say they use the company name as the best "from" name choice, while a third say it's based on the campaign. Responses are based on the question: How do you address your "from" line?
The Company... 50.89%
Depends on the Campaign... 31.95%
Individual... 17.16%
Email authentication verifies messages, allowing recipients to automatically recognize the nature of each incoming communication. About 60% of marketers do not know how they authenticate email. Of those that do, Sender ID is the type of authentication used by the majority, with Domain up about one-third. Based on "How do you authenticate your email?" the response is:
Don't Know... 55.07%
SenderID... 32.16%
PF... 28.19%
DomainKeys... 24.67%
DKIM... 10.13%
Many companies avoid blacklists by verifying senders and certifying the email they send. These services are growing, but are still used by only about 25% of marketers. With the majority of email marketers not currently doing this, a large opportunity is presented. Methods of certification include:
None... 70.09%
Sender Score... 10.28%
Other... 10.33%
GoodMail... 7.94%
Habeas... 7.01%
Email marketers seem to be paying close attention to the content of their subject lines, finds the study. 75% say they try to ensure subject line relevance to the content of the email and 50% focus on keeping it concise.
Studies have shown that using a subject line with 72 characters or more gives added relevance, with click through and conversion tending to increase. By going with a 60 character or less subject line, the open rate will tend to increase. The area between 60 and 72 has been shown to be a "dead zone," according to the report.
Respondents report subject lines as follows:
Relevant content... 72.57%
Short and to the point... 50.44%
Testing subject lines... 28.32%
Personalized... 19.03%
Other... 2.21%
Nearly 30% of marketers duplicate their site navigation in email. Of those, 15% find it more effective than the main content in driving clicks, while 11% of marketers find their navigation converts better than the main content of their email.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
