What impact do these new notions have on your customer and subscriber base? Are these forms of ratings, measurement, a path to engagement? Or a just a new way to passive engagement?

Over the past 12 months we have been witness to the sweeping changes that social media has brought to email marketing. Eight months ago I could count on my hands how many companies were adding social media links to their email programs… today I would need to get an abacus to keep count. But just as companies are getting up to speed with the add-on of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to their email headers and/or footers, early pioneers are now moving toward content level sharing WITHIN their emails. I will wager this trend will surge before the end of the year as marketers see that the propensity to “share” specific articles, promotions and news begins to jump the shark.

But what does it mean?

We are all gaga (and I don’t mean Lady Gaga here) right now over the way that consumers, customers, and subscribers are openly jumping in to help promote companies’ marketing efforts. Within email we can see this engagement jumping to the off-the-chart levels that we saw in the early days of “Send to a Friend”. These two “features” are actually grounded around the same concept, only the medium has changed. But what makes this medium different?

1. Social sharing with “Like” is passive. I know it sounds almost contradictory to say it is passive, but it is true. Sharing will increase the overall engagement with your programs or content, but it does take a toll on comments and contributions to content. It’s a “hey check this out as you might like it as much as I did” type of action. Liking content simply allows your subscriber base to push it out there for others to see or stumble upon via their social networks. Social sharing can bring a massive extension of reach and drive campaign results higher, but it can’t yet be relied upon to accomplish the exact goals of your campaign, as it is still relatively immature – like mobile. Over the next 12-16 months it will begin to mature and we will gain a better understanding of its use, but for now consider it a bonus multiplier. Now is the time to experiment with the how, when and why you use it.

2. People often share without reading or processing value. How many times has your interest in a particular piece of content been piqued because you saw someone “recommend” it via social media, only to be disappointed with what you read/watch? It happens; there is no way of getting past it. And as a content provider it’s just a reality that you have to accept – not everyone who views your content will be interested in it.

Depending on your connections and the level of people being presented with “like”, “tweet” and other sharing options, the waters can get a little muddy from time to time. There are some things you can do however to decrease the occurrence of this situation and better deliver on content value. First – use the first 1-2 sentences of your content to summarize what you will cover. Even a simple qualifier introduction can help the most prolific sharers to understand what it is that they are sharing. Second – keep it brief. Ideas that are shared are quick to understand and process. They are starting points of an experience or engagement, not the end point. Third – decide how you position the content to provide a path for next and not first. Think about how this shared content can result in a longer term engagement using opt-ins, bookmarking, RSS or even a fan/follow us system. You want the people that do visit at the word of their friends to have a way of engaging directly with you form that point on.

3. Drives awareness or drives traffic? A little of both but there are ways you can focus your efforts based on your goals. Often times the main benefits of social sharing are the lift in awareness, followed by the rise in associated traffic. However, unless traffic is the end game for you, you must integrate additional tactics that can build off of the the increased awareness and/or traffic you receive. Think about how you can use promotions and programs to encourage additional participation. Is the email the only thing socially sharable about your content? If you aren’t doing so already, add social buttons and attributes to your product pages, articles, video and other forms of media. Doing so will provide additional visibility that your organic lift in traffic and awareness won’t provide alone.

Now my advice is don’t over do it. Think about which social networks are both relevant to your visitors/readers and more importantly, which are worth you making the time investment into. Sharing into sources that you have no commitment to will rarely lead to an increased engagement. Start simple – stay focused or you will be forcing yourself to drink from the water hose instead of the fountain.

4. Content sharing vs. brand following. Which is better? This might be my personal belief, and it could change in the future, but sharing of content by a “friend” is often more valuable than following a brand via social media. Now I am not telling you that I do not “follow” or “like” any brands, but they are few and far between. Some people might be more liberal with their social “friending” than I am, but from what I have seen there is a tolerance level for how many we participate with. Keeping that in mind, don’t plan on everyone that shares your content to become immediately associated with you in your social networks. Your audience can only engage with your brand through so many channels and the impact of engagement at too many points of intersection can often lead to the reduction of touch points in others. There is a balance and they will find it on their own. I encourage you to monitor and tie your social and email CRM together using APIs or Rapleaf to help you get an idea of the changes across media. You might trade one media relationship for another (this is ok) but what ever you choose, you’ll want the ability to measure and track it.

5. Often times it is in a river not a stream. Many social media sites call a set of updates a news “stream”. Depending on how many friends your audience has, how often they interact with their social networks and how often you actually post, your messages and those shared via your email campaigns may float right by your audience like a log traveling downstream in the Colorado River. I often miss things that my own family posts due to the fact that there are so many medias going on at all times. Now unless your subscribers or fans spend hours going back in the “stream” or you provide them hip waiters to head up-current, know that not everyone will see everything. That is part of what you still cannot control in social media versus email. Direct one-to-one messaging is still a hit or miss but when it hits stand back as the impact will sometimes outperform your email metrics.

I have seen many brands do a great job integrating their social and email marketing programs. They use stratgies like posting a link to their email newsletter or promotion/campaign into their social stream, then re-posting at least 2 times a day over a few day period to make sure it is seen while in the stream. Additionally, they use other influencers in their companies or partner ecosystems to help expand the reach. Be creative, just don’t look like your are shouting “HEY LOOK AT ME” when using these techniques. If you can show your value, you will find success with it.

What should your drivers be?

“Educate, Inform, Participate, Activate, Motivate, Inspire, Listen” – these are the basics you must take into account when planning your approach to using social within email.

I’ve seen social/email integration work best with contests (of course), important news items, coupons and video content. Top level content seems to be the main driver in many cases. The leading placements I have noticed have been the “Hero” (aka eROI in Italian) shot or main article/promo box.

As of now we are still in the awkward teenage years with social, many still fumbling, learning and getting a grasp on how it works best with their programs. And this is OK. My advice is take risks, measure, monitor and then repeat – or what I always refer to as the Shampoo Effect (lather, rinse, repeat). Better to learn now what impact social has for you so you can decide on how you want to commit to it before your competition eats your lunch and has stolen all of your “friends”.

Article Overview:

National Geographic asks for your preferences, your profile, your desire for each email type, and, most importantly, your permission
Timberland’s emails stand out due to brand consistency, large calls-to-action, clarity of messaging, and easy-to-measure creative tests
Banana Republic has stepped into its own in testing, experimenting, and being different
Rethinking “best practices”

What is “right”? Is there a correct way? Do best practices always work?
The answer to these and almost every other question in email marketing is, “It depends.” I know it’s a cop-out of an answer, but in all honesty, there is no right answer. There’s no global best practice that makes your campaign stats jump, no design layout that wins every time. It takes constant trying, tweaking, analyzing, and risk-taking. Calculated and meticulous risk-taking, I might add. And yes, in the end there is no “right,” only good job, mission accomplished, and what’s next?
Yet over the years of not just observing thousands of email campaigns but also creating them, I have weeded through the good and the bad to find those brands that are marketing in ways that move audiences and drive results. This isn’t about presenting you with empirical campaign data. This is about what works for me, and why.

Here are seven brands that are doing it right.
Read the full article

Marketing online is taking a turn to marketing automation. There is not way using past techniques that we can always be there to know when someone is ready for A or B to happen. But using the new systems of marketing automation we are finally gaining ground to creating trigger based campaigns on actions, behavior and timing. It is something that has been a long time coming. I hope you are ready to take the bull by the horns and make the leap out of the chutes.

What are triggers in email marketing? Well they can be all of the following and more. Depending on what you are able to do I suggest you review these and saddle up with one or all of them.

1. Time based triggers. I typically refer to these as customer lifecycle. They can be in the welcome emails, thank you emails, and sales prospecting emails. When someone comes to your site and does something you can actually start a clock that sends out emails based upon a “day plus X” factor. Using time based triggers you can continue your conversations based on the path you want to take someone down. Now the trick with time based email campaigns is that you need to always be reviewing and adjusting them. Just because you want people in the first 30 days to see X/Y does not mean that the timing always lines up with the actions. If you are using time based campaigns from a subscription you should be constantly fine tuning the spread on the days to find the optimum times. There is not a magic formula I can give you as every one is different. But I have some ideas. I like to work in multiples of 3’s personally. By using a 3 day spread you can move them back and forth allowing the frequency to have enough room so as to not overwhelm your subscribers with so many emails that they unsubscribe faster than you can saddle up your horse. The goal is to hitch your wagon to the right team so that they can all pull together moving the subscriber down the golden road to engagementville.

2. Event Based Triggers. Someone comes to your site and because you are a cowpoke that has saddled up some automation magic you can actually reach out to them based on what they have viewed. Imagine someone comes to your site, looks at your services and does not do anything. If you have the systems in place you can actually have some flows set up that trigger a re-engagement email that gives them information based on those events or pages that they just looked at. The big benefit here is that you are providing content that is focused at the “event” or moment of what they were interested in. The trick here is not to come our of the chutes too fast. If you hit them immediately it can come off as a little big brother. Give event based triggers some time. Maybe an hour to a day. Longer than that risks them moving past the event in their minds and may not connect based upon what occurred.

3. Behavior Based Triggers. Lets say you came into an ecommerce site, looked at a shirt and a hat, compared some features, or read some product reviews. Armed with this knowledge you could send an email next that uses that product(s) placed in the email. Even staying simple like colors or categories can make an impact on tying relevant content to the campaign.

4. Conversion Based Triggers. Similar to a event, conversions can be used based on goals set up in your analytics flows. Using a goal page to tie the visit to the subscriber you can start a series of emails based on the goal or conversion. Think about how a B2B company could use it for a white paper download. Now of course you are going to trigger the download email and thank you, but what about taking a delayed approach for 3-7 days later to ask them to review, rank or share a few other relevant studies with others they know. By using goal based results you can continue to provide focused content to that subscriber.

5. Transactional Based Triggers. One of my personal favorites around email. Often these emails are light simply providing the transactional info from a sale. Now when you add in other variables like asking for a review, upselling like products, or even giving them an offer on their next purchase you are building a solid customer relationship. Other things that we see work well with these triggers are customer surveys 10-30 days after purchase to ask them how the product is working for them. Did it meet expectations? Would they recommend it to someone else? Do they have any feedback for you? Instead of simply focusing on the sale, focus on how to build that relationship and open up the opportunities to continue to connect in a meaningful way. People that purchase can be the greatest source of telling someone else about your product. These are the ones you want to keep engaged as it is easier to keep a happy customer as a repeat customer than it is to continue to always seek out the next customer.

We could go down the path to create more ideas around triggers, but cowboy these are some good places to start. If you can be good at these five ideas you can develop a strong trigger based email marketing and marketing automation engine that will take you to the next level.

The trick here with any of these is to not get stuck in mindset of once it is live it is done. These types of emails need to be continuously monitored, measured and changed up. If you get into the rut of just letting it go, eventually the impact will wear off.

Why not use it in a Welcome campaign? What an ideal point to introduce it. If social media is a prime part of your overall digital marketing you need to make sure it is out in front of them. And adding not forcing social media introductions in a welcome campaign work well. These touch points are going to be one of your highest performing campaigns EVER so choose your focus wisely. If you have other goals do not make social front and center, but do introduce it in.If you have read this blog for any time at all, seen me speak, or worked with me on your campaigns you know how important I find welcome emails to be in a program.

In looking at the Community site we built for Wacom (now 3 generations/versions in) for PenScrappers we made sure it was part of the email template in a way that stood out but did not steal the attention of the goals of getting started and exploring content. It is a light way to include it in the flow of the email and actually becomes a nice way to leave it as an expected element in future emails.

When working with Banfield they wanted to use email to introduce their subscribers to what they were doing in three social media channels. Now instead of just saying follow us/friend us they choose to add some value around what they were doing in these channels and showing a little of each in a way that reveals what is going on while leaving a little bit behind the curtain to help to engage the click. When you put some context and show what they might be interested in adding to the social tools their subscribers were already using, they actually help to build value and a story as to why it might be something or somewhere they would want to engage. People LOVE their pets and giving content that helps them with these relationships they cherish helps to solidify the approach.

With a new branded entertainment game show/interactive game we built for Starlicious this year (now don’t go losing yourself for the next 2 hours catching up with celebrity gossip and playing for prizes) we used a combination of the survey after we published a majority of the shows to then engage with the social channels. When introducing a new brand/property it is important to first build the relationship before asking them to take some steps that might not make sense. If you are to simply tell people to jump in and engage in these social channels without proving the value of your content you simply create a reason for churn. And the goal is not a constant battle for new points of engagement, but prolonged engagement that supports the building/continuing of relationships.

We also did something a little different by introducing one of their brand partners, Gain, as the channel for the Facebook relationship, as they have commitment to the channel and content to support it. Why bit off more than you can chew? It is better to focus on building and supporting one than to try to take on everything. Being fortunate to have a partner to not only promote but tie in and support benefits everyone with this method/approach.

So how are you tackling your company’s approach to integration, introduction, and value positioning by using email to support your social programs. There are many ways to do it, and I am not saying that we always do it right, but hopefully these are three examples that might help you think about how it might work for you and your email subscribers in a positive way. Happy Tweeting.

We have had the pleasure of working with OK! Magazine  and a host of other magazine publishers and I wanted to share with you how some of them our email marketing automation engines to gather content, produce a newsletter and get it out to their subscriber bases in record time.

Knowing from years of writing, producing and executing on email marketing newsletters and campaigns, we developed a platform extension a few years back that helped us to focus on the content production. After all the creation of the content is often the thing that holds back a newsletter or campaign from getting out the door on time. When you can place your energy on your job in publishing of updating the content so that you are the first to publish and not worry about the curation of the content in order to produce the email you can have more time to do your job.

We went to the drawing board a few years back with first RSS and then a Wordpress plugin that allowed content producers and publishers to continue to spend their time writing and curating on their sites, blogs and web properties while our engines grabbed the content, arranged it, moved it into custom email layouts and distributed it automatically to their subscriber lists. Sounds easy right and a no brainer. But it took a little work to get it right.

Content always has formatting issues and images sometimes blow up in emails, so taking the time to make sure that these engines could grab and format HTML and text versions (and now even mobile versions) took a little testing and fine tuning. We put all the work on our shoulders so that clients that work with us need not to worry about it. These two engines can effortlessly grab content from custom feeds, regular RSS feeds, or even from posts and assets tagged in the Wordpress engine to build beautiful and timely communications.

We have our team working on some new engines that you might see in the coming months that will add even more integration with other platforms, CRM systems, social media platforms, ecommerce engines and more. So keep your eyes out if you are looking out for ways to make your job easier and the email you send out work for you and your subscribers instead of you or your team working to produce them.

We have the pleasure of working with marketers of all levels. Some are just starting out in digital with years of experience in database marketing; some are brand new hires that are excited about doing the right thing and want to learn. The more established are busy segmenting, testing and evolving their email marketing programs. Remember that no one is an expert and no one can cheat evolution. In the Email Wars, there is no Captain America, and no injections of Super-Email Marketer Serum. That is one of the best things about marketing. In order to get wins, we are all in constant state of testing ideas, plans, reviewing past campaigns and finding new ways to do our jobs. Now, if that is not a good path for evolving then I do not know what is.

I remember this past February, at the Email Evolution Conference, when the audience was asked to raise their hands based on how long they have been email marketing. At first the air was full of hands with 1-3 years of experience. Then, the air started to clear as we moved to 3-5 years. As we reached 10 years, there were only a few hands in the air. Now, this wasn’t a case of people not sticking it out in digital marketing, but the fact was made readily apparent that we are still in a young medium (interactive/digital/online – or whatever you want to call it) that changes weekly. Heck, I wake up most days and am exposed to something new within minutes that I never considered before. What a great time to be alive and in marketing as long as you can digest the noise, sort the clutter, and make rational decisions.

This leads us to the fact that we all need to keep evolving, no matter your current level. Sticking to what you know or are comfortable with is a sure fire way to watch your campaign metrics slowly slide down to results with which you are not happy. As with any evolution, we need to grow, adapt, and become the vehicle that matches our environment, eludes predators, and makes us stronger.

So what are the stages?

The Noob: The newbie (or in 1337 speak the n00b) is someone just entering the world of online marketing. This not age specific, as people are all moving into the digital realm. This person is enamored with the things that they do not know. They cling to those that they think know everything. They are attracted to the next shiny thing instead of working on being good at what they know, looking for those that stand out, copying the behaviors of those they notice are doing well (look to your competitors or those outside of your space that have it down by signing up for EVERYTHING under the sun), and grow into a role. Just as in nature, many noobs will be eaten. It is those who produce, learn, test, and adapt who move up.

The Recruit: These are the people that have found out how it works and have acquired a mentor. Mentors can come from internal sources, external resources, or tracking and mimicking those that are leading the way. The recruit is going to take some risks while focusing on the basics. We like recruits as they are limited in their risk-taking and rely heavily on lessons learned. If mentored properly, they have the ability to evolve faster.

The Commando: Once they have a few years under their belts and have seen some action, the Commando is a person that leads new initiatives, is not afraid to taking some risks, and tries more things that are unconventional while using the lessons learned to drive success. They are often more driven and focused than others – even those that are further evolved – but sometimes their actions have surprise repercussions. They shoot from the hip based on experience and not facts. Companies looking to move fast, attack new markets and drive innovation need these people. However this can lead to unaccounted for situations akin to falling on one’s own grenade. A noble trait, but the Commando needs guidance as well from those that follow the core principals. These people need a length of rope to run with – but need to be kept close enough to not hang themselves. Look for 1-2 of these people to have in your fox hole, but keep an eye on them as they could fall on a grenade or trip a marketing landline.

The Field Marshal: We all need this person on our team. They have risen through the ranks (often through acts of valor as a Commando) but have the ability to see the whole field – in front of them, behind them, and on their flanks. This person may not have had a ton of experience in email marketing, but this person likely has a larger knowledge of marketing as a whole. They are key to have on your team, and those that can find this leader to fight the day to day field battles and civil wars are indeed lucky. Without a clear view of the multiple challenges you will get outflanked.

The Veteran: Now if you are fortunate enough to find one of these people (many of them you can find on The Insider List – which is an invite only list of email marketers) you should give them the respect that they deserve. There are not many of them out there (I can only think of 40-50 that I have ever met in this young medium, although I am sure there are more out there) and if you have the pleasure of aligning yourself with them, you should spend more time listening rather than talking. These people are part of a rare breed that have weathered innumerable email campaigns, digital marketing strategy sessions, C-Level briefings and late night conference BS sessions. They have seen it all and often, if you listen to them, you can find ways to evolve to climb the ranks of knowledge faster than you might on your own.

Unfortunately so many marketers that are pressed for time and resources stop evolving. Don’t let this be you. What are you going to do to evolve smartly?

Consider the following:

Disruption Is Dead: If you believe that your email marketing simply happens on your own schedule – then you are not going to evolve. Dig deep into your campaign results to look for trends on day, time, offers, and life cycle engagement. A great place to start is with your first three emails: The Thank You, the Welcome, and the First Touch. Use that as a baseline for testing and seeing if you have an immediate decline in results.

Take time to review even a standard newsletter, if that is what you produce, and look at how you can change it to work better not only for you, but those that have given you their time and allowed into enter their inbox.

Move Beyond Awareness – Focus on Engagement: Sure, it’s great to have a campaign that people share, tweet, and write about… but if you are not focusing on the core promise you delivered to your subscribers of being of value to them, you will lose the battle on engagement. Awareness is sexy and sexy is not a business metric.

Drive Results:If you do not have business goals set on your campaigns, even newsletters, then you are simply sending to send. Every email campaign should have a planned result. Are you driving traffic? Selling a widget? Pushing people up the lifecycle? Pick one metric at a minimum to focus on and to hold yourself accountable. Most importantly, let others on your team know what it is. By opening up your goals you enable others to hold you accountable. Very few people can actually hold themselves accountable consistently.

Reinforce Connection: Does everything you send hammer home basic principals or brand promises? Are you falling short of delivering on the reasons you have an email program? A good, quick way to check is to look at where opt-ins for each touch point start. Work backwards to see if your subscribers have lost the trail and forgotten why you want them to receive your campaigns. The better you can keep the connection going, the less churn and burn will take its toll on your lists and results.

Do Something Different: Sure, it sounds like something we all know. But knowing and doing are completely different beasts. Start simple with testing. Test subject lines, test images, test copy length, test offers. After you get some of the basics down and learn from them, you can move into larger creative changes and start pushing the envelope on things you want to do. Be good at the basics before you try to get too advanced.

In the end, I want to see everyone move forward in the evolution of a great email marketer. I know you have it in you – and I, like many others, are here to help you learn, test, and grow.

There is a movement due to the growth of the mobile device market to use more single column image driven layouts. While this a good strategy to simply think about how to best render on the device, does it fit the real understanding of what marketers really know about the devices? In a recent survey we are just completing, we learned that many of the marketers feel that mobile design and rendering is important, while the majority of them still do not know what percentage of their readers are actually checking content on mobile devices. We will all get there, but it will take time. So instead of designing for the what if, think about designing around the content and messaging you have to work with. Let the content drive the layout and design. If you are coding these using best practices then your versions (html, text, mobile, etc) will fall into place.

Where to start? Start with the assets you have control of and work forward from there. Designing simply to fit a layout takes too much time and effort for the end result. Controlling time, costs and resources is paramount in our world today.

I have a version of an email we coded from last year that fits this approach that I want to share. Sure, it’s a little radical being that we did a horizontal approach, but the content drove the layouts with the business goals supported by the the content positioning. I featured the horizontal version of this email in a past post about wide format emails. But I never share the vertical approach that ended up being used.

So let’s look at them in order to frame this conversation.

We had a magazine layout to begin with, which does not lend itself well for an email. But in looking at the visual assets and goals of the campaign, we took the assets apart in order to find attributes that we could format to help tell the story of why this was an important thing to be a part of. It was something that was special and not going to be available forever. We needed to communicate the importance and value of the content while driving the action to want to get something here you could not find anywhere else.

Notice how we used the copy size to clearly communicate the message. Font colors and sizes help to quickly read the email while not needed to spend a day reading the actual content. I know we all love copy, but in truth many people never spend long enough reading an email to focus on too much copy. Start at the top level and work down. Understand (sorry here copywriters) that the copy is often secondary to the the headlines, images and calls to action. Build to scan and hook. Add copy to help push the point if you got them past those first few important decision-making seconds.

Using the blue bars we were also able to focus on the messaging in a way that made the program attributes clearly stand out from the images as well.

But then we took those assets and flipped them to see how they would work in a horizontal layout. Sure vertical is what we are all used to, but at times flipping an email can help it to stand out and give you a few more seconds with your audience than you’d get with an email they’re used to. Sure it sounds a little contradictory but mixing it up from time to time can make an impact. Past horizontal formats we have tried have actually outperformed in the open, click, and conversion rates based on the fact that they make the audience pause to engage with the email.

So here is what it looked like when we took the goals and creative assets. Radically different in the presentation method, but the content informed the design direction.

As you can see (click on the image to view a larger format), we had to approach some things differently to accommodate the format. We had to add multiple call to action buttons (due to the side scroll that could hide the last one as you move through the panes), and we simplified the blue bar to highlight the  important points of the content.  It was incredibly important to test this version in multiple email clients for both iPhone and Android. We had to make sure that the  scrolling worked from a practical standpoint, as well as a content standpoint.

I hope that this example gives you some fodder to try some different approaches that serve your content, instead of trying to make it all fit in a template when it does not make sense.

A great way to start with this is to get back to basics and use rapid prototyping methods with wireframes first. Using active (coded) wireframes can allow you to see how things work before you add in the copy and images. Fine tuning our wireframes often helps us with email layout ideas when looking for fresh, surprising approaches to lift engagement.

It got me to thinking about “what was right for me” and started me thinking about what if the only things that came into my inbox were things that I wanted… just right then. Now what does this mean? It is hard right as no one no matter how AWESOME they are in data mining, behavioral marketing, content targeting or even trigger based emails could ever hit it perfectly. I mean delivering exactly what I want right at the moment.

So it started me thinking that no matter how much we try we might never see a day where every email we get has the right time of day, day of week, offer, color scheme, buttons, subject line or even the images that I wanted in the moment. But that does not mean email is dead or does not work. Email is about marketing. And marketing is about learning about your audience enough that you can get close to not only delivering an offer that is compelling, but changing the way that we look or think about something.

I went to, where else, but Wikipedia to see how others have shaped the views of marketing and here is what I found:

The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors.

Just in reading those statements a few times over I began to think about my daily goals for my own business as well as for those of my customers in a more focused way. Marketing is a journey of learning, testing, learning, testing, setting objectives, measuring your successes and failures – all while building value for strong customer relationships and driving revenues.

What does this mean for you? And for me? It means that we must seek out to learn more, connect more, develop our relationship channels all while delivering on the promise or goal of meeting the wants and needs of our present and future customers. Quite a thing to think about don’t you think? When you (or I) set out each day are you thinking like this? Are you placing the importance not only on the desires outcome but the way that you can give someone value in the marketing message they receive from you or your company?

I know quite often we are under the gun to perform. I see it all week long in emails and other marketing I get each and every day. So the next time you get ready to hit send take 2 minutes to think about what you are about to place in your subscribers inboxes and think, did I (you) anticipate the needs and wants of my customers with this message? Did I do my best to continue the growth of our relationship? And will it have a positive or negative impact on the values I am trying to extend?

If we can all think of it a little deeper  - we might connect more meaning to our efforts and see the results on both sides of the screen increase.

I love living in the future. Who would have ever thought that things we saw on TV as kids would be here today and in our lives. I know it makes me feel and sound old, but this new device is truly inspiring. Now I have heard some complaints about it, but the funniest one to me so far (that I have heard on multiple occasions) is how heavy it is! Guys, it weighs a pound and a half… is that too heavy for a TV/ book/ magazine/ library/ jukebox/ photo gallery/ email inbox/ web browser/ gaming machine? If it is too heavy – or heavier than you expected – get a 2 pound weight and do some reps or curl that 20 oz coffee mug a few more times a day.

And while I am at it… this post was sent from the future.

I thought it might be interesting (since this post is about reading on the iPad) that I should write (with one fast finger) from mine. Now being that the keyboard is different (do not read “bad” here), it has taken a little longer to make as many typos and grammatically incorrect sentences as I typically do, but give me time and I will be knocking out crap faster than ever and from odder locations.

These thoughts are based on about two weeks on it, and it has been one heck of a two-week stretch, that I only have a few finds thus far. And to preset expectations for this post, I would like to say that more will be found with time and testing.

So, will this be a game changer? Well, if you are talking about video games then yes, just got done running a few laps of Asphalt 5, but this is going to be a device that slowly shifts in how we use it. Regarding email I am not overly convinced it is going to be a positive or a negative yet. It has a little of both.

1. Fewer than 1 million sold so far (maybe more by the time you read this). Now I am sure it will grow, but as an early adopter myself I do not find myself reaching for it more than I do my iPad Foldable XXL(i.e. Laptop) or iPad Nano (i.e. iPhone). Amazingly those two devices are still my primary ways to engage, interact, and work. I expect as more understanding, openness to outside business software, and use grows we will see it make a larger impact. But how? I am not sure yet. 700K were sold out of the gates which is impressive but still not accounting for much of a metric surge in analytics with sites and email clients.

I think that once we see 3G roll out in the coming weeks we might see even more people that were holding out move to acquire a device. I have wifi wherever I go so it really makes 3G a non-factor. I assume that the story will be the same for many that do not venture to places without connections. PS it is ok NOT to have an internet connection or device from time to time; you will not die. Trust me, I have experimented with being disconnected, and I survived. It was a lot like that TV show Lost but with less black smoke monsters and more mai tais.

2. The inbox is sexy. Why? Well it is so big. Yes, size does matter when you are presenting compelling creative. The portrait and landscape modes in the native email clients (which allows you to pull in about ANY email ISP or Corp system) really give you the room to breathe and let your designs run wild.

One the best parts of the email (for now, as I have a feeling we might see some “app” monetization possible with iAds here in the future) is that it has little interference and is simple. It allows you to get the message.

Simple is better sometimes, right?

3. You can actually click and buy without a mobile version. Now you can actually drive sales more easily than in a 320X240 inch screen. Hard to windowshop through a peephole. The iPad allows for a solid ecommerce, form, and engagement experience.

Imagine actually being presented with a shopping or ecom experience. Having a device that allows you to easily check out might trump “mobile” ecom and help drive more sales with less delay between the cart and the checkout.

4. Mobile does not mean “on the go”. Now although we are seeing heavy use from travelers so far, this device is tethered (at present) to wifi and the majority of time I see it in use is by people sitting and really engaging with it. I am sure 3G will change it a little, but the size of the device makes it very different from a mobile phone  and more in line with how we see people using Netbooks. Don’t plan on seeing me anytime soon reading mine while driving (it’s illegal first of all); it is a device for a time and place. I have seen more people using them infront of a TV, in a reading chair, on the bus, in bed, etc. and not being “mobile.” I think we need to redefine “mobile” as either “untethered” or as a type of device.

5. ISPs are making it work. Now it looks like a majority of the main ISPs are already rolling out a iPad version of their web based email clients to work natively in the iPad. This is good news as they want to make sure their customers are happy with the inbox experience no matter what device they access it on.

6. So many ways to view – the inbox has about 4 viewing options based on orientation. So many things to consider and design for will present a challenge to us marketers. But realize that this device makes it really easy to just turn the object to re-arrage the layout. 1/2 of the challenge is going to be on the user.

7. Content providers, publishers, publications and people are going to “get it.” That’s right. It is going to be understood better as time goes on. Now it is odd to me to say that as intuitive of a device that it is. It is dead simple, everyone knows how to use it when they pick it up, but there is a learning curve as to how we are going to use it as consumers and marketers. The best things we can do now is (ready for this) Test, Innovate, Lead, Learn and Repeat.

So what do you think about it? Will it impact your online marketing, your email campaigns, rendering, or even how your social integrates? I bet it will impact them all in beneficial ways, yet only time will tell.

According to Comscore.com’s recent reports on mobile device usage, the U.S market grew from 9.2 million users in 2008 to 23.8 million in 2009. And it’s not just the 18 – 35-year-old demographic using mobile.

Gartner predicts that by 2013 mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide, exceeding 1.82 billion units. They also predict mobile phone penetration will reach 90% of the world and 6.5 billion mobile connections by 2014.

While almost all sites can be viewed on a mobile device (aside from sites created entirely in Flash), the experience can be unintuitive at best and frustrating at worst, as most “mobile” sites as they exist today weren’t built with the mobile user in mind. Case in point: the typical site width is 960 pixels. The iPhone is only 320. Only two-thirds of the information can be seen from a mobile device. (while the iPad has changed this – still only over 700K sold – and growing)

So where do you start? Here are some important questions agencies and brands should be asking:

1. What are the goals for my website and who are we trying to attract and engage?

2. Based on my goals and audience, does a mobile presence matter?

3. Which mobile devices are visitors using to view my website?

4. Can I effectively accomplish my goals with one site that can be used by mobile devices but is not designed for it?

Apps are great when they fulfill a need or surprise the user. But not all brands truly need a mobile app.

As recently reported in Read Write Web, some industry experts are predicting that the mobile web is going to be centered on cross-platform browser-based mobile websites, rather than apps built for mobile platforms.

Some tips for killer mobile sites? Make sure your site is finger-friendly and lightweight. That it loads quickly over a cellular network. Focus on the user experience and your marketing goals.

And don’t ignore integration with email marketing. We know consumers aren’t just checking email on their desktop or laptop. It’s more important than ever to revisit email best practices – particularly rendering, readability, action paths, ability to complete goals, and need for a mobile version of your website, blog, ecommerce site, or simply a clean and simple mobile version of the content you are presenting.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s a tip: Check out WordPress, which allows you to leverage many of the development community’s plugins to create built-in mobile versions of your sites or campaigns.

The good news is most agencies and brands are in the same boat this point so there is time to explore, plan and react. But the clock is ticking….

For more tips on leveraging the mobile web, check out eROI’s newest white paper, which details the progression of three mobile sites from Wacom Technology Corp., Banfield Pet Hospital and a web application called Moonit.com. (note some of the sites REQUIRE you to be on a mobile device and may default to web version)