Supermarket Specials Email marketing meets integrated marketing.

Whilst I have been an Internet marketing 'evangelist' for some time, folks that know me will tell you I have never seen it as a panacea for all marketing problems. This article - Research Shows that Mail is Still the Best Way to Reach Consumers - shows that good old fashioned post is preferred to email by many people.

This article - Email Creative Critical Analysis - looks at the objectives of email campaigns, but from a design creative angle. One niggle is the author's use of the phrase "in ascending order of nuance" when introducing his list of desirable elements. I'm not sure if he/she [Jamie?] meant there to be a most important to least important grading to the list. As it is I have distinct views as to which is the most important, but then I am looking at it from a business perspective rather than that of a creative. What do you think is the most important?

Some interesting stuff in this article - The Cradle & the Grave - but more interesting is that it is quite critical of email marketers, and yet it is by email marketers.

To email marketers I think this one - Relevance Remains a Challenge for E-Mail Marketers - is a statement of the obvious, but it is nice to see stats to support supposition.

I have always maintained [and taught] that double opt-in is the way to go for legitimate email marketing, this article – Why Aren't You Using Double Opt-In? - explains why. This one - email industry disagreements: where do you stand? - considers the same subject as well as others related to it.

I'm not so taken with the philosophy of this article - A Love/Hate Affair With E-Mail Marketing - but I do like the list of things people might do with your email when they receive it.

Earning Our Keep -- From Opt-in to Unsubscribe is - sadly - evidence of bad practice. Others can learn from it, however.

I've a number of comments on this article - Line Length Matters - [1] there are some good stats, but nothing groundbreaking, [2] it is an excellent example of how 'practitioner' research is every bit as good as, if not better than, similar stuff done in academia, and [3] there is a link in the article to the full paper.

This article - Half of Opt-Outs Are For Irrelevant Material - gives an insight into the kind of emails marketers should [and shouldn't] be sending.

What is the best time/day to send an email is an important issue, this article - Timing as Important as Message - considers how long it takes for the receiver to open it, and so becomes part of the equation.