Your List Has Typos

No list is immune from the introduction of typos.  These errors tend to be introduced through three different mechanisms:

1. User Caused

If you accept email addresses from your website, you probably experience a 1-8% typo rate (or more!), depending on the stringency of your email address validation routines and the carelessness of your visitors. Typical mistakes include:

• joesmith@aol - missing the ".com"
• joesmith@aol.c - input box too small, user stopped typing
• j
  Best Affiliate Marketing Program Will Have These 3 Features
  Make no mistake about it, if you simply have a good affiliate marketing program you'll be a successful affiliate, imagine what you'd do with one of the best affiliate marketing programs.Now I know I'm talking like they are easy to come by. Like they can be picked up off the net somewhere, even if it is for a few bucks. Actually I'm going to shock you. They're widely available on the net and mostly they're free. The reason why most people have never come across one of the best affiliate marketing programs is because they wouldn't recognize it even if it hit them on the head. So a good place to start would be to start with a simple description.The Best Affiliate Marketing Program Will Be Easy To Duplicate The best affiliate marketing program will not only be easy for you to implement and quickly get to see the results in terms of increased revenue from your affiliate program, but it should also be easy for you and others to duplicate. The reason for this is obvious. To start with it will mean that you can quickly duplicate your success with other blogs and dozens of other affiliate programs thus dramatically and quickly increasing your affiliate revenue.Then there is another even more profitable reason. We have been highly recommending in this blog that you choose affiliate programs that are at least two-tier at the very least, meaning that are able to earn revenue from people you introduce to the program. This revenue can be substantial
  Introduction

  Shrewd marketers devote a great amount of attention to crafting their email messaging campaign.  They scrutinize the subject line, fuss over the content, and carefully monitor the timing of delivery.

  Once the perfect message has been created, it is just as important to focus on its successful delivery to the intended recipients.  Unfortunately, it is likely that your current email address list has a number of significant problems.

  
  Your List Has Inappropriate Addresses

  The beauty of the Internet is that it connects you to everyone.  The danger is that there are people out there you would rather not be connected to.  Obviously, you want to keep these people, and their moments of malice, off your list.  Some common situations include:

  1. Bogus Addresses

  Some of your visitors will never disclose their email address to you.  If an entry is required, they will make something up.  A frequent occurrence is some variation of "asdf@asdf.com", which happens when the user hits random keys.

  2. Prank Addresses

  An innocent person may be getting added to new lists daily, simply because they made enemies with the wrong person.  Sometimes the abuse is a prank subscription from one friend to another; other times it targets a public figure (e.g. billg@microsoft.com).

  3. Malicious Addresses

  Another common type of abuse is when someone targets your company.  Without you noticing, your email message is directed to someone who will make your life miserable.  This might be an email address to report spam (e.g.

  
  Your List Has Old Addresses

  Unfortunately, people change their email addresses all the time - when they switch jobs, move, switch Internet service providers, or enter or graduate from school.  Technical advances such as cable modems, as well as ISP pricing competition, mergers and failures continue to encourage this movement.

  In addition to their ISP-provided email address, users acquire additional email addresses from their jobs or schools, hundreds of free web-based email services (e.g. Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.), and even pagers and cell phones.  According to IDC, registrations for webmail accounts are growing at 91% annually, and now exceed 100 million addresses.

  Email address changes are also fueled by the growth in unsolicited email, as users switch email accounts to escape "spam". Services such as AOL allow users to create and manage separate screen names and associated email addresses, which may be used and abandoned at will.

  As individuals change addresses and maintain multiple working email addresses for multiple purposes, it is unlikely that they will make a point of updating you.  Recent studies indicate that nearly 35% of Internet users change their email addresses each year, and this does not account for the multiple working email addresses being added every day.

  Ideally, you are aware of this problem, and monitoring the percentage of your database that is bouncing.  Every bouncing address is an unread message.  After repeated testing, you may determine that some addresses are truly "dead" (rather than being a short-term bounce) and be tempted to remove these from your list.

  It is equally important to pay attention to a much harder statistic to track - what percentage of your database are old addresses that aren't bouncing?  These are messages that are ending up in abandoned or throwaway Hotmail accounts, unread school accounts, ignored AOL screen names, etc.  Messages sent to old addresses will remain unread no matter how much you tweak your text, change your subject line, etc.  Or worse, the email account has been recycled, and you are actually reaching the wrong person.

  
  Your List Has Typos

  No list is immune from the introduction of typos.  These errors tend to be introduced through three different mechanisms:

  1. User Caused

  If you accept email addresses from your website, you probably experience a 1-8% typo rate (or more!), depending on the stringency of your email address validation routines and the carelessness of your visitors. Typical mistakes include:

  • joesmith@aol - missing the ".com"
  • joesmith@aol.c - input box too small, user stopped typing
  • jo
    Before hiring Live Music for a Corporate Party 4 Crucial Ingredients Event Planners must know
    Involving live music into any corporate event is not as easy as it seems. Besides deciding on the band, there are 4 aspects you must consider in order to have a hope of having a successful event. They are, in the order of importance: 1) Venue 2) Agents 3) Technical Set Up 4) Band CharacterIn a moment I'll tell you the details of the crucial issues that can aggravate and potentially ruin an otherwise beautifully accomplished occasion. It will just take a few minutes, but as you read this page, more and more, you will start to feel better and better about hiring live music for your next corporate or social event. Most importantly is . . .Venue Selection As an event planner, your ability to keep numerous things in mind when hiring musicians. Selection of the perfect venue is the first ingredient you will need. This ability alone may distinguish you as a professionals in an industry filled with amateurs.When choosing the venue, be certain the room size is in proportion with the number of guests who will be attending. I got into this business as a singing piano player. When I am performing I need to connect with the audience. If the room size is proportionate to the crowd size, I can do my job successfully. If the room is too big and there are not enough warm bodies in attendance, the audience will feel too intimidated to approach the band. When you keep the band close enough to your gu
    disclose their email address to you.  If an entry is required, they will make something up.  A frequent occurrence is some variation of "asdf@asdf.com", which happens when the user hits random keys.

    2. Prank Addresses

    An innocent person may be getting added to new lists daily, simply because they made enemies with the wrong person.  Sometimes the abuse is a prank subscription from one friend to another; other times it targets a public figure (e.g. billg@microsoft.com).

    3. Malicious Addresses

    Another common type of abuse is when someone targets your company.  Without you noticing, your email message is directed to someone who will make your life miserable.  This might be an email address to report spam (e.g.

    
    Your List Has Old Addresses

    Unfortunately, people change their email addresses all the time - when they switch jobs, move, switch Internet service providers, or enter or graduate from school.  Technical advances such as cable modems, as well as ISP pricing competition, mergers and failures continue to encourage this movement.

    In addition to their ISP-provided email address, users acquire additional email addresses from their jobs or schools, hundreds of free web-based email services (e.g. Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.), and even pagers and cell phones.  According to IDC, registrations for webmail accounts are growing at 91% annually, and now exceed 100 million addresses.

    Email address changes are also fueled by the growth in unsolicited email, as users switch email accounts to escape "spam". Services such as AOL allow users to create and manage separate screen names and associated email addresses, which may be used and abandoned at will.

    As individuals change addresses and maintain multiple working email addresses for multiple purposes, it is unlikely that they will make a point of updating you.  Recent studies indicate that nearly 35% of Internet users change their email addresses each year, and this does not account for the multiple working email addresses being added every day.

    Ideally, you are aware of this problem, and monitoring the percentage of your database that is bouncing.  Every bouncing address is an unread message.  After repeated testing, you may determine that some addresses are truly "dead" (rather than being a short-term bounce) and be tempted to remove these from your list.

    It is equally important to pay attention to a much harder statistic to track - what percentage of your database are old addresses that aren't bouncing?  These are messages that are ending up in abandoned or throwaway Hotmail accounts, unread school accounts, ignored AOL screen names, etc.  Messages sent to old addresses will remain unread no matter how much you tweak your text, change your subject line, etc.  Or worse, the email account has been recycled, and you are actually reaching the wrong person.

    
    Your List Has Typos

    No list is immune from the introduction of typos.  These errors tend to be introduced through three different mechanisms:

    1. User Caused

    If you accept email addresses from your website, you probably experience a 1-8% typo rate (or more!), depending on the stringency of your email address validation routines and the carelessness of your visitors. Typical mistakes include:

    • joesmith@aol - missing the ".com"
    • joesmith@aol.c - input box too small, user stopped typing
    • j
      Email Marketing - The Critical First Step In Developing A Relationship With Subscribers
      The old saying goes, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” This is especially true in email marketing since you don’t have the convenience of a face-to-face interaction with your readers. It is absolutely vital that you make your first email distinct and attractive so your readers will be eager to open any further emails you send them.Remember, you’re trying to develop a long-lasting relationship with your subscribers, so you don’t want to screw this up.Always Exceed Your Subscriber’s ExpectationsYou usually offer some sort of incentive to encourage visitors to sign up to your mailing list. This incentive often consists of a free report, a mini-course, a downloadable ebook, etc… As always, you should include a link to the download page for the sign-up bonus in your welcome email, but you should also include something extra.Include another bonus, one you did not mention on the sign-up page, which compliments the original incentive. You can say something like, “To show you my appreciation for subscribing to my newsletter, I’ve included an additional bonus I feel you will find very helpful…”They will not expect this and it will likely achieve an increase in their opinion of you – creating that vital first step in developing a relationship where your subscribers value reading your emails.Do Not Try To Sell Something Right Away – Be PatientOne of the biggest turn-offs for many subscrib
      fortunately, people change their email addresses all the time - when they switch jobs, move, switch Internet service providers, or enter or graduate from school.  Technical advances such as cable modems, as well as ISP pricing competition, mergers and failures continue to encourage this movement.

      In addition to their ISP-provided email address, users acquire additional email addresses from their jobs or schools, hundreds of free web-based email services (e.g. Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.), and even pagers and cell phones.  According to IDC, registrations for webmail accounts are growing at 91% annually, and now exceed 100 million addresses.

      Email address changes are also fueled by the growth in unsolicited email, as users switch email accounts to escape "spam". Services such as AOL allow users to create and manage separate screen names and associated email addresses, which may be used and abandoned at will.

      As individuals change addresses and maintain multiple working email addresses for multiple purposes, it is unlikely that they will make a point of updating you.  Recent studies indicate that nearly 35% of Internet users change their email addresses each year, and this does not account for the multiple working email addresses being added every day.

      Ideally, you are aware of this problem, and monitoring the percentage of your database that is bouncing.  Every bouncing address is an unread message.  After repeated testing, you may determine that some addresses are truly "dead" (rather than being a short-term bounce) and be tempted to remove these from your list.

      It is equally important to pay attention to a much harder statistic to track - what percentage of your database are old addresses that aren't bouncing?  These are messages that are ending up in abandoned or throwaway Hotmail accounts, unread school accounts, ignored AOL screen names, etc.  Messages sent to old addresses will remain unread no matter how much you tweak your text, change your subject line, etc.  Or worse, the email account has been recycled, and you are actually reaching the wrong person.

      
      Your List Has Typos

      No list is immune from the introduction of typos.  These errors tend to be introduced through three different mechanisms:

      1. User Caused

      If you accept email addresses from your website, you probably experience a 1-8% typo rate (or more!), depending on the stringency of your email address validation routines and the carelessness of your visitors. Typical mistakes include:

      • joesmith@aol - missing the ".com"
      • joesmith@aol.c - input box too small, user stopped typing
      • j
        What Does Your Penny-Pinching Friend Have To Do With Self Storage Marketing?
        Imagine for a moment that you get a call from a good friend…They invite you to dinner to discuss something “very important”. You have no clue what this “very important” subject is, but they’ve peaked your curiosity and accept their invitation. You have other things to do but are dying to know what’s so darn important that they’re willing to buy you dinner. After all, this friend is the biggest penny-pincher you know, they never buy you anything, let alone dinner!They pick you up from the office and take you to the nicest restaurant in town. You think to yourself: “Wow, this must be really important if they’re taking me here!”…After a brief wait in the lounge, you are seated at the dinner table with your friend and you place your drink order.You just can’t take it any longer, you break the tension with a question: “So, what is this very important thing you need to discuss with me?”They reply with, “Oh, nothing, it’s not a big deal”They continue, “I just need you to call this phone number or stop in at this address and give them your credit card number”“What on earth are you talking about, have you lost your mind?” you exclaim.“Oh, it’s nothing major, just call or stop in, everything will be okay”…I’ll end this simulated conversation here for the sake of brevity. But think for a moment. What would you do? Would you stop in or call with your credit card info?Of course not!You need mor
        sed and abandoned at will.

        As individuals change addresses and maintain multiple working email addresses for multiple purposes, it is unlikely that they will make a point of updating you.  Recent studies indicate that nearly 35% of Internet users change their email addresses each year, and this does not account for the multiple working email addresses being added every day.

        Ideally, you are aware of this problem, and monitoring the percentage of your database that is bouncing.  Every bouncing address is an unread message.  After repeated testing, you may determine that some addresses are truly "dead" (rather than being a short-term bounce) and be tempted to remove these from your list.

        It is equally important to pay attention to a much harder statistic to track - what percentage of your database are old addresses that aren't bouncing?  These are messages that are ending up in abandoned or throwaway Hotmail accounts, unread school accounts, ignored AOL screen names, etc.  Messages sent to old addresses will remain unread no matter how much you tweak your text, change your subject line, etc.  Or worse, the email account has been recycled, and you are actually reaching the wrong person.

        
        Your List Has Typos

        No list is immune from the introduction of typos.  These errors tend to be introduced through three different mechanisms:

        1. User Caused

        If you accept email addresses from your website, you probably experience a 1-8% typo rate (or more!), depending on the stringency of your email address validation routines and the carelessness of your visitors. Typical mistakes include:

        • joesmith@aol - missing the ".com"
        • joesmith@aol.c - input box too small, user stopped typing
        • j
          Power Point Presentation: Five Ways On How To Give Your Business Presentation In 30 Seconds Or Less
          How many times on a daily basis are you asked to tell someone about your business? Have you ever stammered, scrambling for the right words to describe what you and your company are about? Do you feel that your business is so complex that you ramble on and on forever?Preparing carefully ahead of time for such situations can be one of the most important things that you do. It is called your 30 second commercial or elevator presentation. It is basically just that. In 30 seconds you should be able to tell precisely the most important details about your company.If you advertise, you already understand the need to shorten information into bullet points. The same concept applies here.For those of you who attend weekly social networking luncheons, here are some creative things that you can do to keep interest. This is the most advantageous time to practice your point power presentation.1. Have a different theme for each month. Each week can be a variation of your monthly theme. If your company offers different products, highlight a different one each week.2. Be creative. Some people use exactly the same 30 second commercial over and over again. Even though their presentation may be excellent, people tire of them.3. Take advantage of holiday's. Most business's can be fit into gift giving holidays. Jewelry for example can be easily promoted at Christmas and Mother's Day.4. Play a question/answer game. Y
          ding up in abandoned or throwaway Hotmail accounts, unread school accounts, ignored AOL screen names, etc.  Messages sent to old addresses will remain unread no matter how much you tweak your text, change your subject line, etc.  Or worse, the email account has been recycled, and you are actually reaching the wrong person.

          
          Your List Has Typos

          No list is immune from the introduction of typos.  These errors tend to be introduced through three different mechanisms:

          1. User Caused

          If you accept email addresses from your website, you probably experience a 1-8% typo rate (or more!), depending on the stringency of your email address validation routines and the carelessness of your visitors. Typical mistakes include:

          • joesmith@aol - missing the ".com"
          • joesmith@aol.c - input box too small, user stopped typing
          • joesmith@aol..com - double periods, sticky keyboard
          • joe smith @ aol.com - extra spaces
          • joesmith@aol.com" - invalid quotes
          • joesmith@aol.cmo - transposition error
          • joesmith@hotmial.com - likely misspelling of hotmail

          2. Internal Entry

          Many companies collect email addresses through phone centers, mailings, inquiry cards, etc.  The data entry of these addresses is another common source for typos, as often the validation routines are much less stringent internally than on your website.  In addition to the challenges of reading and interpreting handwriting, auditory misunderstandings can enter your database.  One of our favorite typos, entered by a phone customer service agent, is "joesmith@yahoodotcom".

          3. Data Manipulation & Corruption

          Regardless of how careful your company may be to validate or double opt-in every email address, the list is still vulnerable to errors in ongoing database management.  For example, on several occasions we have seen a forced truncation of records, which results in the last few characters of long email addresses being dropped.  Other times, a well-meaning database manager will design a quick (but insufficiently targeted) query to clean up or correct a typo they have seen in the data.  Unless the error is dramatic, faulty data manipulation or data corruption may remain unnoticed in a list for many months.

          
          Your List Has Duplicates

          Duplicate email addresses can result in disgruntled customers and database management challenges for your company.  Obviously, it is unprofessional to email your customer multiple copies of the same message.  Even though many duplicate addresses are the result of double entries by your customers, these very same people often become so irritated by receiving multiple messages that they unsubscribe from your list altogether.

          These "obvious" duplicates are easy to catch and most database managers can quickly do a scan of your list.  Ironically, not all companies catch these duplicates, especially if they maintain several lists and forget to de-dupe between them.

          The more difficult duplicates to detect are multiple unique email addresses owned and read by the same person.  Imagine if your customer initially gave you their Hotmail address, and then later gave you their AOL email address.  You need access to a sophisticated and comprehensive database of email addresses to discover these duplicates and to decide which is the customer's current preferred email address.

          
          So Now What?

          Now that you know your list has inappropriate addresses, old addresses, typos, and duplicates, what can you do?  There are a number of solutions, including:

          Improve your email address validation routines
          Worth looking at, but is this really your area of expertise?

          Switch to double opt-in
          Has pros and cons; won't solve all your problems

          Manually review all email addresses for accuracy and appropriateness
          Requires substantial effort by your staff

          Start building your own block list and use the DMA's e-MPS (and other) suppression lists
          Smart idea

          Consider sending a standalone message confirming your customer's current preferred email address and requesting any updates
          Are you willing to devote an entire message to this?

          Maintain a list of your customer's alternate c