Email Marketing Conference: Event Summary and Key Learnings

Sharing below the Key Learnings from a recently visited Email Marketing Conference.

Date: 6th March 2014

Venue: ShangriLa's Eros Hotel, New Delhi

(+) Email Marketing Trends 2013-2014:

We got to know about major shift,  that have happened in email industry, were by two Mail Services Yahoo and Gmail. Yahoo started declaring those email address as inactive and expiring them where no open activity has been for 1 year. Gmail came up with two changes one of which was introduction of tabbed inboxes for auto categorization of emails in various tabs which impact the open rates by 14%. Second change by Gmail was caching of images (Dec 2013) where images started loading automatically resulting in increased open rate and ease for user.

Learnings:

- Removal of inactive email ids (every 3-6 months) who have not opened/clicked their emails.

- Inactives are monitored by anti spam bodies so updation of email database is required.

- Providing relevant content only which the user wants to see and engage in.

- First Segment the user and then target on basis of their behaviour of mail opens, location, email/web clients etc.

- Have conversation style email campaign where user can reply back (which makes from email id added in address book).

- In coming years, Email Marketing is growing and going mobile (50% emails are opened via mobile devices).

- More and more people are reading emails on mobile devices, so make emails thumb friendly.

- Timely emails which are sent when the user generally opens it up.

- More accurate analysis of BIG DATA by companies to increase on ROI, as data is increasing by many folds in terms of 3 Vs: volume, velocity and variety.

(+) Engagement of User During his Entire Subscription Journey

Got to know about important emails such as welcome messages, usage of subject line, preheader text, mobile and SMS integration during the subscriber's journey.

Learnings:

- Double-Opt in is important for generating and maintaining quality email data.

- Email frequency, content are important aspects about which the subscriber should be aware of.

- Subject lines is important for an email to get opened. Keep it short and clear rather than flashy or confusing one.

- Email + SMS when combined increases the Open Rate.
- SMS to those user who do not open email or Not Clicked for their re-engagement.

- Preheader text “snippet” that appears straight after the subject line in many email clients should be used.

- Test, Test, Test for formats, CTA (call to action button), color, subject, from line to get the best results.

- Personalized communication is required for customization which is based on user's past purchases, search keywords etc.

- Emails should be mobile responsive in terms of color, font type, navigation and content

- 

(+) USPs of ESPs

This session had panel discussion wherein DS Sir threw light on most striking features (USPs), as follows, which need to be considered while selecting any ESP (Email Service Provider) to work with for best outcomes.

Learnings:

- Technology of hardware, software being used by ESP

- Robust Analytics- email clients, location etc.

- Pro-active customer support

- Delivery

- Trustworthy

- Having multiple (at least 2) ESPs, instead of one, is good approach

Reboot Your Success with Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Oh Shit!!! This file processing is taking too long. Why this download stopped? Come On!!! Come On!!! And after a while, we realize that the computer, we are using, is at halt. Ah Snap!!! All of us, working with our computers, might have come across such situations which makes us too irritating and affects our efficiency during the work too. 

So what is the global solution to this?

Yeah! You guessed it right. Pressing the combination of Ctrl+Alt+Delete which is also popularly known as “The 3 Fingers Salute”.

Our daily professional life is also like a system (computer in this case) which faces slow downs, needs up gradation, requires regular maintenance, sometimes lack of efficiency (virus effect), monotony,  or a halt all of a sudden.

Taking a cue from The 3 Fingers Salute we too can imbibe an inspiring message to reboot our success by bringing & pressing the key combination of “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” in our professional life.

So here it goes!

  

1. CTRL:  The very first key in the “3 Fingers Salute” combination is- The Ctrl Key or Control. Controlling means to regulate or to eliminate the flourishing of any element. So what we want to control or eliminate in our daily professional life, to reboot our success? Well on the this front, we have to analyze ourselves as professional on two criterias: 1)- Where we want to reach as a professional in our work profile and 2)- Are we on right track? Answers to these two questions need introspection and guidance from the experts (if needed). Deciding our target as a professional and taking the right path, to reach there, will help us in avoiding any kind of distraction and sticking to it. This is controlling yourself to meet your goal of success and eliminating all the obstacles coming in your way. 

2. ALT: Second key in the subject key combination is- The Alt Key or Alternative (for convenience). Alternative is about making choice of one from the two or more possibilities. Here I would like to mention the use of Alt Key to not only choose but to first find the various alternatives, available and helpful for your growth as professional. Here are few: 1)- Always keep updating yourself about the news, information and latest happenings in your preferred work area. 2)- Upgrade your skills and knowledge with professional courses. 3)- Socialize by joining groups and associations related to your industry. So by keeping yourself professionally updated will give you a an extra edge over the others and will keep you alive in modern world of the cut-throat competition.

3. DELETE: Last but not the least. The third key combination in the series of “3 Fingers Salute” is- The Del Key or Delete. Thinking about how the Delete or Remove key will define our success rebooting? Ok, let me explain. There is no denial to the fact that in our daily professional life, some of us (may be not all of us) come across with negativity, lethargy, irritation, lack of concentration, shouting in anger over some issues, arguing with colleagues. These are the few elements that hamper our success process in the long run. We should not provide any place to these factors and delete them as and when they pop-up. Yeah, I know that it’s quite tough to handle such situations, so I have few suggestions for your: 1)- Stay healthy and say Yo to Yoga. Yes it works as it’s tried and tested formula to manage the stress. 2)- Remove all the clutter around you. Manage your work area, arrange your files, papers etc in proper order. 3)- Avoid the company of those who talks negative or have bad mouth for the organization.

Thanks for reading my post.

Please do share your experience, if you follow “The 3 Fingers Salute” of Ctrl+Alt+Delete to reboot your success and let others know about it.

03 Movies of the Year 2011 that Ushered the Bollywood from Childhood into the Adulthood

The beginning of a new year is a nice time to sit for a while and look back into the time that we left behind with sweet and sour memories. The memories of the time spent with family, colleagues or friends and sometimes with our own-self. We all love to enjoy the company of anyone or all of these and doing what we love: a day out with family in the weekends, fooding out, going for a long drive with your boyfriend/girlfriend, just taking a stroll on a deserted road in search of inner peace, reading or writing something etc. etc. to a never ending list of such things.

But there is one activity which is common (if not for all) for many. Yes, you got it right: “Movies” “Movies” and “Movies”. Watching bollywood movies is among the favourite leisure time activity for many Indians and I am not an exception to that. What encouraged me to write this post is a cautious excitement that I felt after watching 03 very special hindi movies: “No One Killed Jessica”, “Delhi Belly” and “The Dirty Picture” in the year 2011. I used the word cautious because of the bold & somewhere prohibited transformation that these three movies have brought in with them has transformed the Indian Cinema, specially the bollywood, to the new world which is more bold & daring, more sexy and very hot to handle.

I have put these three movies on the criteria of (1) the subject and (2) the dialogues especially the usage of obscene language & the body language (Reader’s discretion advised). So here I go:

1.No One Killed Jessica: My first movie under consideration is a movie which is based on real the story of a Delhi-based

model Jessica Lall, who was shot dead in 1999 at a restaurant in Delhi by the son of an influential politician of Haryana. The movie depicts the background of this infamous murder case, its trial and the initial acquittal of the accused Manish Bhardwaj by the court that resulted into the nation wide uproar against the acquittal and finally re-opening of the case, finding Manish guilt and his life-imprisonment sentence. So this was the subject of the movie under consideration which had some uniqueness in terms of the controversial background attached with it. But there was one thing that deserves mention here in terms of the transformation in bollywood and thats the character played by the actress Rani Mukerji. In this movie Rani played the role of a tv news Reporter who was seen using abusive words every now and then beep..beep..beep…. and the icing on this cake was frequent use of middle finger by her and that’s too every now and then. The character played by her in the “reel life” was not appreciated by the “real life” reporters claiming that the reality is not like that actually. So this movie of the year 2011-No One Killed Jessica- fits well in the bandwagon of the controversial, critically acclaimed and abusively decorated movies which were made earlier (not so many) and after that.

2.Delhi Belly: Released in the mid of 2011 with its punch line “S#!t Happens”, Delhi Belly sets off with a blast at the

box office and makes Rs. 92 crore after the budget of Rs. 25 crore. If this line not appealing enough to you then read this: Delhi Belly was heavily loaded with abusive words & offensive scenes (I am serious) from the start till the end. Delhi Belly is a story developed around three roomies (one journalist and two photographers) living in a ramshackle apartment in Delhi and leading a debt-ridden life and falls prey to the gangster in their commitment of delivering a secret package. The continuous use of vulgar language, tummy rumbling, farting, the shots of small by-lanes of old delhi went so well with all the characters in the script in the movie that made it so hilarious and engaging to the youngistan of India. The usage of the popular expletive of North India D K Bose, D K Bose at a quick pace in a song “Bhaag D.K. Bose” turned out to be the USP of the movie and made the phrase so popular in entire India from just North India.

3.The Dirty Picture: Last but not the least. Bollywood actress Vidya Balan starrer this movie is my last choice in this

list, of transforming movies, which came to stay at the box-office and will be remembered for the years to come. The story of the movie is said to be based on the life of Silk Smitha- the southern films actress of yester years – famous for her erotic roles played. The story works around the rise and fall of Chennai based girl Reshma running from her home and turning out to be known as “Silk” for playing bold characters, seductive dance moves wearing revealing clothes. The film is also about the love, lust and hate depicted by the characters played by Tusshar Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Emraan Hashmi. This movie also projects the character played by Vidya Balan as a strong women who pays her unique contribution in the male dominated society. The sultry dance moves, using a whip, by Vidya, excessive skin show using extra revealing dresses, the bold and double meaning dialogues complemented with the sizzling and sexy voices in between were enjoyable with both eyes closed or open. The famous song “Ooh La La” sung by evergreen Bappi Lahri & Shreya Ghoshal is the real delight and unique in itself.

So that’s it from my part about the three most sizzling, bold and hot hindi movies of the year 2011 that will lead a new way for cinema goers in the near future.

Please let me know as well whether you like or dislike my post.

Good link for travel information.

Hey friends ! ! Just discovered this wonderful website that provides rich content about places to visit in India and also provides worth considering travel packages. I found it good hope you would also.

Here is the link: http://www.visit-in-india.com/

A for Apple & B for Ball will soon be passé.

You must be nostalgic whenever you get to hear the pre-school kids rhyming their alphabets learning: ‘A’ for Apple, ‘B’ for Ball and ‘C’ for Cat in a harmony. Offcourse I am not an exception to this nostalgia. But as the time keeps changing itself, by walking hands-in-hands with the technology, how can the alphabets learning be immune to this change. So the coming generations won’t have Apple, Ball and the Cat to play with, as we all had in our school times.

While surfing the net today I came across with very interesting and the most popular terms associated with all the 26 alphabets (A-Z). Here are the things in fashion, that come as the very first result as you type the first alphabet starting with A to Z at http://www.google.co.in/. Read on and try to guess what can be the new harmony for the alphabets learning.

A for Airtel
B for Book My Show
C for Cricinfo
D for Dainik Jagran
E for erail
F for Facebook
G for Gmail
H for Hotmail
I for irctc
J for Just Dial
K for Kingfisher
L for LIC
M for Make My Trip
N for Nokia
O for Orkut
P for PNR Status
Q for Quotes
R for Rediffmail
S for Songs.pk
T for Time of India
U for UPSC
V for Vodafone
W for www.facebook.com
X for XE
Y for Youtube
Z for Zedge

Isn’t interesting if we have this up-to-date version of alphabets & the most famous term associated with them ! ! Try this and please share your comment here. I am waiting.

MY VIEWS FOR LATEST MOVIE - THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Adding another feather (a feather that cannot be replaced untill another marvelous feather replaces it) into the very small cap of SUPER SPECIAL EFFECTS WALI MOVIES, Tintin is here after James Cameroon's Avatar. Watched it ! Enjoyed it and will always remember it while thanking to the God for blessing me with eyes so that I could watch this amazing movie "TINTIN". 5 Stars are very less to appreciate each and every aspect of this movie. Its really amazing and worth watching. Total paisa vasool even much more than that ! ! Go & watch it and be the part of historical advancement in film making.


The animated characters has been designed nothing short of brilliance with every expression as perfect as a human being can do. No stone has been left unturned to left your jaws dropped with nothing but, simply awesome !


Watching The Adventures of Tintin or Tintin ke Kaarname in Hindi was an unforgettable experience.

My views on Anna Ji and his exemplary movement, via Facebook ! !

Facebook post, 22.08.11

“I also do support anna ji for his spirit to change the system. I support Anna's simple way of living and high thinking. I support anna for a commendable stamina and aggressive nation serving spirit. But I do not support his fast-protest which is getting "excessively" aggressive with the everyday passing. Excess of everything is bad. His health is deteriorating and will be a matter of concern for all, including who are behind him. Nobody is concerned about that. I pray that god bless Anna Ji with good health. Here the "managers" of anna g must be careful while handling and molding the public support."

Facebook post, 19.08.11

"But we should also consider that a clap results only when both hands come together... this bill will definitely be a great thing ever happened in India's civil movement's history...but the point is that not only the govt machinery is corrupted...bt as individuals we are, in one or other way, also corrupt...in the way we talk, in the way we act and in the way we think..sometimes. So Anna's movement is 200% right in its spirit and letters bt when we are talking of changes in the system than the whole system should be taken into the consideration."