So you have a fancy email newsletter? It arrives (almost) on time every month, and hardly ever contains any errors... but is anyone reading it? Well, if you sent your newsletter through 3W Studios, you have a range of reporting tools available to you.
First of all, we recap the mailing total and the delivery rate. Emails that bounce are flagged in the system and can be updated or removed, but will not receive further email. This way your list stays clean.
Next we can look at who opened the email and who clicked through to more information. This helps you determine whether your message is being read and whether the content is of sufficient interest. You can go further and see which links were clicked and who clicked them.
Over time, you may notice trends. Perhaps users click on pictures more than text, or vice versa. Maybe the articles about your products get more interest than your staff news. Studying the responses to each campaign can let you fine-tune your message content.
"That's good," we hear you say, "but what kind of numbers represent a successful campaign?" Well, industry values vary, but recent reports suggest that a consumer-based mailing list can expect a 35-45% open rate. Business to business email may be higher, and rates can vary greatly by industry and audience.
Sound low? It should be noted that some users may read your email without being counted (if they receive plain text emails and don't click any links). It is also worth comparing this rate with advertised success rates of broadcast (or spam) email from a few years ago, which were around 1.5%! Even direct mail can only boast a mere 3% ROI, so don't be discouraged by numbers below 50.
Microsoft has announced that a beta version of Internet Explorer 7 will be available this summer. The emphasis is on improved security, but web developers are holding their breath to see what features and functions Microsoft might either: finally adopt; finally drop; develop; or simply make up. There are few details available regarding anything but the security enhancements, prompting some to suggest that very little functional advancement can be expected.
As web developers, we have enjoyed a relatively long period of stability in the browser market. The newer players like Safari and Firefox have been nothing but a joy to work with. We can only hope that their significant dent in the market will spur Microsoft to adopt more and better standards in this next release.
Related links: Microsoft PressPass Article
