The John Caples International Awards honors the best in direct and interactive marketing around the world.  It was founded in 1978 by Andi Emerson, a direct marketing pioneer, in order to honor well-recognized copywriter John Caples.

The Awards are open to any agency, client or individual involved in direct marketing and relationship marketing communication throughout the world.

For more information on the details of entering and what category may be the best fit, please click here!

For those of us that have not been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably witnessed the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, where Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Ron White (my personal favorite), and Larry the Cable Guy put on a comedy act that has entertained the masses.  One of the more infamous segments of their act is the “You might be a redneck if…” piece.

If you have, you’ll recognize my spin off: You might need an email makeover if…

• You do not have a strong call to action in the email telling your readers the next step you’d like them to take.  A strong call to action should be placed in the email subject line that also shows up in the preview pane.  In the content of the email, there should also be a hyperlink to the call of action.
• You are using too many pictures and not enough text.  Sometimes all your pictures won’t load and you want to make sure people aren’t losing the message because they can’t see all of it.  Put enough words in your content so that people can understand the message without the pictures!
• You haven’t considered how it looks on mobile devices.  Many people are checking their email on mobile devices, so shouldn’t you be considering how your emails look to them?
• You haven’t inserted social media links into your email marketing campaign. So many people are involved in the social media world, you want to make sure you give them the opportunity to share your emails or parts of your emails to their followers and friends.

So, I have to ask…are you guilty of making some of these email marketing mistakes?  If so, DON’T PANIC!  Delivra can help!

Lucky for you, Delivra has launched its first ever Extreme Email Makeover Contest and you still have time to participate because the contest doesn’t close until July 31st.  That gives you plenty of time to upload your email designs.

Don’t forget what you could win! If the winner is a current client of Delivra, they will receive a custom made, sophisticated email template placed into their established account for use in future mailings.  If the winner is not a Delivra client, they will receive one custom designed email template, one hour of email strategy consultation, access to Delivra 101 and 201, and a 90 day trial account.

So, don’t be embarrassed if you have a terrible email design, enter it in the Delivra Extreme Email Makeover Contest and save yourself!

Lavon Temple | Marketing

It’s very important to use design elements – such as color, art, logos, etc. – to make visual connection between your Web site and your e-mail.  When you sign up e-mail list members on your Web site, you want the e-mail to be an extension of the site that your customers recognize.  If there is a disconnect because the e-mail doesn’t look like the Web site, your subscribers may think your e-mail is spam.

Conversely, when you send out e-mails with a call to action that takes recipients back to a landing page, you don’t want to confuse those readers by sending them to a Web site that doesn’t look like the company you portray in your e-mail.

To read more of the BtoB Magazine article, Should my e-mail design match my Web site?, click here!

If you could use some guidance in figuring out the best way to make your e-mail design look more like your Web site, then call Delivra today at 866-915-9465 . We’re here to help and look forward to assisting you in your email marketing efforts!

Carissa Newton | Director of Marketing

Here at Delivra, we are excited to announce to our faithful readers that we’ve been selected by customer relationship manager (CRM) solution provider AddressTwo as its integrated email service provider.

AddressTwo is a great company that provides small businesses with technology and processes for managing sales, marketing and productivity.  With more than 1,200 users, the company eschews call center support and instead partners with local companies to provide hands-on support and a unique customer experience to small businesses.

“Delivra is a great choice for us because we have very similar customer service philosophies,” said Nick Carter, president of AddressTwo.  “I know that the Delivra email platform is reliable and I feel good knowing that I can talk to a real person at Delivra immediately if I need to.”

To read more about the Delivra and AddressTwo partnership, please click here to go to the full press release available on the Delivra website!

I’m very excited to announce we have been recognized as one of the 2010 Indiana Companies to Watch, an awards program presented by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, its Small Business Development Center network, Purdue University and the Edward Lowe Foundation.

Forty-one companies from Indiana have been recognized as outstanding second-stage companies and will be honored during the third annual Indiana Companies to Watch awards program, held on Aug. 26 in Indianapolis.

Delivra is among 41 companies recognized in 2010. Click here to read more…

Carissa Newton | Marketing

In an earlier blog post, we announced the winners of the Infuse Initiative, a business grant program.  In the next couple of blog posts, we’d like to take the time to introduce the winners in more detail for those of you interested in learning more about them!

Today’s blog post is highlighting the Indianapolis Early Learning Center, this year’s non-profit Infuse Initiative winner.  Indianapolis Early Learning Center, located at 3901 West 30th Street, Indianapolis, is a non-profit preschool that invests in a successful future for all preschool-age children, regardless of their socioeconomic status.  The school accomplishes this by ensuring that all families have access to the best early childhood education programs to prepare their children for school and for life.

The Infuse Initiative business grant also provides them with pro-bono marketing, technology, accounting, legal and sales training services.  Delivra will provide the Indianapolis Early Learning Center a free email software subscription, professional services and technical support for one year to improve their email marketing efforts.

Amanda Byrd

“Recently, I was able to attend the event announcing and congratulating the winners of the Infuse Initiative.  I had the opportunity to sit next to Amanda Byrd, the Founder & Executive Director of the preschool.  She seemed extremely grateful to be receiving the award and has big plans for the future and I can’t wait to see what she does!” said Lavon Temple, Marketing Intern at Delivra.

Stay tuned to the Delivra blog for more information on the other Infuse Initiative winner – Professional Conventions & Meetings.

Also, keep a look out for more news as we eventually share a case study and more details on how the Delivra and Indianapolis Early Learning Center teams were able to work together in order to improve their email marketing efforts.

If you are like me or anyone I know, you are likely always on the go.  Life today is not as simple as it used to be.  One of my saving graces has been my smartphone.

• It literally never leaves my side
• It serves as my alarm clock
• It provides me with entertainment
• It has my calendar
• It has my email
• It has my contacts
• I can get movie tickets with it
• I can watch videos
• And so on….and so on…and so on

Sound familiar?  I could go on all day, but simply put mobile devices have become a way of life for everyone these days.  It’s not just businessman anymore.  It’s every generation.  My kids are even using them non-stop.  I was in a restaurant earlier this week and saw an elderly woman pull out her cell phone to call her daughter since there was bad weather.

The point is this, while mobile may be exploding, email is just as important if not more than it ever was!  Why, you ask?  It’s simple…with smartphones today your email marketing campaigns become a quick way a mobile user can get to a phone number, an address, a map, or even a link.  In fact, I will often  forget to save a contact in my email.  My solution…my smartphone.  Where else can I get to a phone number, click on the link and be able to call that person quickly.  Not only that, but my phone is advanced enough to remind me to save that contact while I am at it.  I even use my smartphone to map out directions.  Don’t have an address?  I bet that email I just received has a link!  I was even recently shopping at a store that sends me email coupons.  And as usual, I forgot my coupon!  When the cashier asked me for my coupon I grumbled that I forgot it at home.  She asked if I had the email on my phone.  Can you believe I still got the discount because she was able to take the coupon info right from the email on my smartphone.  ONE DEVICE, but so many uses.  As technology evolves and cost goes down, people like me will be the bulk of your database one day.

Remember, when you are creating email campaigns to include some of those simple things you may think your recipients might already know.  Your website, phone number, address, or even links to email or maps.  Chances are that your recipients might have that info or have seen it in the past.  But if they are like me, they will refer back to emails from key senders for those very links they might need on a smartphone.

You don’t necessarily have to have an advanced or costly mobile marketing strategy.  But, what you should always keep in mind is where your emails might be read, how they render, and what information you include (even if you feel you are repeating often) that might link on a smartphone.

Need help making sure your email incorporates some of these strategies? Contact us today at info@delivra.com or at 877-915-9465 and we’d be happy to help.

Carissa Newton | Marketing

Business is good. We are hiring more staff and Delivra will be needing to expand office space. Planning ahead, I met with a commercial real estate representative from one of the largest brokerages in the world.

He had done his homework by going to our web site to research our business.

It was obvious that this was his first exposure to an email marketing software company. He commented, ” I get what you do. It’s like when I was sending direct mail credit card solicitations while working for a bank in the 1980’s. This is the modern day direct mail.”

“I’m 52 years old you know. I just don’t get all of this Facebook and Twitter stuff,” he exclaimed.

I was tempted to ask if he owned a mobile phone, but was distracted by my own agenda.

For all of you in the generation that was weaned on fax machines, which in their day were the cutting edge for fast communication of information, it’s time to catch up or give up.

Your younger competitors have all the latest technology gadgets and expertise to maintain a winning edge.

Neil Berman | President & CEO

I receive the daily Seth Godin blog posting via email. Most days it’s just entertainment but today’s topic got me thinking.

He commented, “Every 18 months for the last decade, the world has doubled the data it pushes to you. Twice as much email, twice as many friend requests, twice as many sites to check, twice as many devices. When does your mind lose the ability to keep up? Then what happens? Is it already happening?”

YES. IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING! At least for me it is…

Here’s an example. I signed up for a local restaurant’s email newsletter. The first issue arrived yesterday. It contained 60 lines of text and a logo. Do they really think I’m going to read it? Wouldn’t a mouth-watering image of their famous beef sandwich be more enticing? How about a bar-coded coupon that automatically tracks redemptions?

I also noted that they were using an email service provider with prices starting a $10/month.

Take away: With the plethora of data we all unavoidably are required to process, your organization needs to treat customer communications with the utmost care. If you’re a restaurant, don’t budget $10/month and ask the cashier to come up with something to say.

If you don’t have the internal resources to get the job done right, hire it out. Many Delivra clients do just that and the results are truly amazing.

Looking to find out how you can concentrate on your core business and leave email marketing to the experts? Contact us at 866-915-9465.

Neil Berman | President & CEO

Infuse Initiative, a business grant program providing pro-bono professional services to small businesses, not-for-profits and/or government agencies, has announced two Indiana winners.  The not-for-profit winner is the Indianapolis Early Learning Center and the small business winner is Professional Conventions & Meetings, LLC.  Infuse Initiative winners, finalists, sponsors, and supporters will be honored at a reception hosted by Dave and Buster’s in June.

Both winning organizations were selected by Infuse’s sponsors based on their expected ability to grow and succeed with the support of the grant’s services.  Originally each winner was expected to receive $50,000 in free services but due to the generosity of the sponsors, each winner will receive up to $67,500 in value of combined donated services from Synergy Marketing Group (strategic marketing); Appnuity, LLC (technology support); J.D. Walls and Associates, P.C. attorney at law (legal services); Foster Results (accounting and bookkeeping); Lushin & Associates (sales training); and Delivra (e-mail marketing software).

To read more about the Infuse Initiative Business Grant winners, click here.