Shorter, more succinct e-bulletin-formatted emails outperform their longer, more information-filled newsletter counterparts, says a report by Ottawa-based email marketing firm cardcommunications.

"We've long suspected this trend," says cardcommunications' founder and president, Carolyn Gardner. "But now we’re able to prove it with actual data."

The report shows that over the last quarter e-bulletins achieved average open rates of over 44 per cent, and almost 40 per cent of those opens also clicked through. E-newsletters show an average 32 per cent open rate and 20 per cent click-through rate.

Cardcommunications’ data also shows e-bulletins have the lowest opt-rates, the highest deliverability, the highest open-rates and highest click-through rates.

Cardcommunications is the only Canadian email service provider publishing quarterly trends reports. Since Q1 2006, the reports have examined delivery, open, click and opt-out rates of emails sent by Canadian companies in industries including B2B, B2C/retail, non-profit and event planning.

"Canadians have different online habits than our American neighbours," says Kelly Rusk, communications manager and author of the reports at cardcommunications. "Our reports provide more accurate benchmarks for Canadian e-marketers."

It’s not difficult to make assumptions about what’s happening in the world of e-marketing, but who’s to say these assumptions are correct?

“We keep an eye on what’s working in the inbox,” says Gardner. “With the results we calculate, we’re constantly evolving our client’s e-marketing strategies.”

The company website contains archived reports that give an indication of where email marketing stands each quarter. Along with these reports, the cardcommunications blog, e-Buzz, is a hotspot for current and future trends surrounding the ever-changing e-marketing world.

See the report

More highlights from cardcommunications’ quarterly reports:

• In all four 2006 reports, it was found that smaller, segmented lists perform better than larger lists
• In Q4 2006, E-vites had the lowest delivery rates due to irregular frequency
• Q3 2006 showed non-profit organizations and associations achieving the best results when compared to other industries. This is most likely because these groups have the best relationships with their databases
• Event planning emails generate the highest open rates
• List quality (relationships) has proven itself  as one of the most important elements of any email marketing campaign

About cardcommunications  
cardcommunications is an Ottawa-based email marketing service provider focused on creating emails people love to receive. Started in 2001, cardcommunications offers solutions ranging from blended to fully outsourced email services, specialized training and customizable programs that meet client’s specific needs.

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