Today’s new feature is quite simply a button that lets you resend a campaign to those contacts that didn’t open the original email, therefore reducing the time and effort it used to take before. Sorry about that.

This new feature works by automatically placing these ‘unopened’ contacts into a new group for you, which you can rename and then select when scheduling your campaign to resend.

How to use this auto ‘create new group’ feature:

1. Go into the report for the campaign you previously sent and underneath the ‘More Reports’ section, click on ‘Not Opened Report’.

2. At the bottom of the list of contacts displayed, click on the new link titled ‘Create a new group with these contacts’.

3. A message bar will then appear saying the contacts are being importing into a new group and might take a few minutes.

4. Refresh your screen after a few minutes and you’ll see a new contact group has been generated, which you can rename if wish.

5. To resend the email campaign, go to Send/Schedule Campaign and simply select the new contact group of unopened contacts.

If you have any questions or need any help using this feature, please call Mark on 0845 313 0912.

By sticking to this checklist, you can help guarantee more opens, clicks, responses and ultimately sales, (if that’s your goal?)

Branding:

• Does your email feature your logo, corporate branding and colours?
• Does the branding on your email match the same style and feel as your website?

Content:

• Does your message contain the benefits to the reader? How will they benefit from your offer, latest news or new product or service etc?
• Does your email include well-placed, clear and compelling call-to-actions? Is it obvious what you want them to do next?
• Is your email well structured and have an even balance between text, images and links?
• Have you avoided using spammy words in your subject line and body text?
• Is your subject line intriguing and persuasive enough to make the recipient want to read on?

Personalisation:

• Have you tried personalising your email with the customer’s name, yet without over-personalising the email?
• Is your ‘From Name’ a named person or just a generic one such as info, sales or support? Using a name can help make it feel friendlier.

Data Management:

• Have you recently checked to see how up to date your email address data and contact groups are?
• Is your sign-up process as easy as it can possibly be? Have you personally tested it recently?

Legal Bits:

• Does your email contain any of your corporate details? Full company name, head office address, a contact number?
• Is your unsubscribe link clearly visible, simple and straightforward?

Technical Design & Testing:

• Have you tested the your email to see how it renders in different mail clients and web browsers? Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo etc?
• Have you included a link for the email to be viewed in a new web browser page?
• Do your images have alt text so that content will still appear even if the images cannot due to certain mail client settings?
• Have you kept the resolution size of your images and logos small and checked that they load properly and quickly?

If you can tick all these boxes, you’re ready to go!

Email Insider has raised some very useful points when commenting on the hot topic in a LinkedIn group on ‘whether collecting business cards at a networking events, meetings, social functions, etc, gives people/companies the right to add someone’s details to their database and start sending them their e-newsletter?’

The article first clarifies what Email and Email Marketing are, and then defines the differences between them and whether the above form of data capture is permission based or not for the sending of future emails/email campaigns.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=130082

When it comes to the design of your email campaign, keep the content and layout simple.  The design of your email is important, from a readability, usability and branding viewpoint, but in the end the design is not the main element that will get you conversions.  Always remember the basics (your subject line, main heading, the width of the email, how it looks in the preview pane, etc.)  Avoid making the email look 'too busy' by not having too many messages or offers on there.

Be original

There’s a good chance that your recipients receive plenty of emails on a daily basis, so you need to distance yours from other emails by being original and different.  Making your email stand out you will help lead to increased attention.  Of course, this doesn’t mean you should forget the basics.

Gain attention

The initial purpose of your email template design is not to impress your recipients, but to grab their attention. Once you have caught their eye, it is the job of your content to do the rest.  Do not let your email design become too excessive: keep to a simple, effective design and make sure your content is visible and engaging.

Remember it’s the copy that sells, not the design.

Consistency is key. Using a custom email template will give your emails a familiar look and feel each time you send, helping your customers instantly recognise your brand. Using a custom built template for your company and brand is a great way to direct traffic straight to your website.  By providing links to key landing pages, you are making your products and services easily accessible to your recipients, as well as directing your customer to exactly where you want them go to.

In short, custom built email template designs at a minimum help improve delivery, promote brand exposure and increase traffic to your specific landing pages.  So, are you using a custom email template for your email marketing campaigns?

For more information on how to order your custom built email template, please visit http://www.26.co.uk/customEmailTemplate

From the comfort and convenience of your own office you can now become an expert in the art of email marketing with Suite26.

Master how to:

• Import your contacts with ease

• Create and send targeted and personalised email campaigns in minutes

• Import your own customised template, logos, links and more to personalise your messages

• Track, follow-up and improve on your campaign performance

• Collect email addresses and build your database from your website

• And much more...

We guarantee you'll be able to create and send HTML emails, track responses and measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns to your customers. See firsthand how easy it is to use Suite26 to expand your business.

Call Ricky or Mark on 0845 313 0911 or email enquiries@26.co.uk to book or find out more about your One-2-One training session.

Free Suite26 Training Seminars
Every Wednesday throughout February 2010.

We've put together another jam-packed, interactive seminar, which teaches you everything you need to know to grow your business using email marketing.

It doesn't matter whether you're a complete novice or have some experience of email marketing, as we show you how Suite26 makes it quick and easy to:

• Manage multiple email marketing campaigns
• Create and send professional looking, personalised HTML emails with images and logos
• Import your existing contact lists and create targeted customer groups
• Track and analyse individual customer responses
• Measure and improve on your campaign performance.

Your seminar includes:

• Helpful How-To Guides
• 250 FREE email credits + 250 if you book early
• A Free Lunch

Venue: Unit 2, 6 West Road, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2DU

Dates: Every Wednesday throughout February 2010

Running times: 11am - 2pm

Check out the full range of benefits you get when you attend a Suite26 training seminar.

Call 0845 313 0911 today to book your free place or to find out more about these seminars. Don't delay, book by Friday 8th January and receive 250 FREE extra credits.

Please feel free to invite anyone else you know that is looking to use email marketing to help develop their business.

Taking place at our Harlow offices, this three-hour interactive seminar is jam packed with detailed information, tips and know-how, which will equip you with everything you need to know to use email marketing to grow your business. Whether you’re an email marketing novice or expert, we’ll show you how Suite26 makes it quick and easy to:

-          Manage your email marketing campaigns.
-          Create and send professional, looking personalised html emails.
-          Import existing contact lists and create segmented customer groups.
-          Track and analyse individual customer responses AND
-          Measure campaign performance.

The Seminars are designed to fit in around your busy schedule and each free seminar comes with: 

-          Helpful Tips & FREE Support.
-          750 FREE Email Credits (1 credit = 1 email address you send to).
-          A FREE Lunch.

If you would like to attend one of our new Suite26 training seminars or wish find out more information, please contact us on 0845 313 0911 or sales@26.co.uk

Don’t delay, book your place by 7^th August 2009 and receive an additional 250 free email credits on top of the 750 email credits you earn for attending. That’s potentially 1000 free email credits for you.

Not everybody has access to a web server for hosting image files, but this is not a problem when you use Suite26.   You can use the built-in File Manager for storing any images for your campaigns.   Just ensure the images you upload are kept within the Public folder.

To make things easier the WYSIWYG editor includes a handy "Insert Image" button which will can link through to the File Manager, making it simple to add images into your e-mail campaigns.

You can find more further details in our Help Centre:

- Using the File Manager
- Adding images into your HTML e-mail campaigns (FCKeditor)
- Adding images into your HTML e-mail campaigns (TinyMCE)