On Track Nov. 2002

Nov 2002

Hi,

Thanks so much for your overwhelming interest in last month's issue of On Track. Our opt-in list may not be huge, but judging by the metrics, it sure is qualified and full of readers who truly want to hear from us. Would you believe we had a 92.3% open rate and a 25% click-through! Now the pressure is really on for us to continue to deliver e-newsletters with a punch and that's exactly what we plan to do. We've also been busy orchestrating many new and exciting e-initiatives with our clients. Take a minute and check out our updated portfolio!

Speaking of numbers, did you know that Christmas is in just 6 weeks! On that note, check out this month's Top Trend featuring VISA Canada! If you're like most of us, you're probably considering a little online shopping this holiday season. After all, who has time to search for good parking spots, lug heavy bags and sweat it out at crowded malls? Yes, without a doubt, the online checkout is a cool alternative!

Warm regards,
Carolyn Gardner
President, cardcommunications

PS: Want your e-newsletter to stand out from the others in cyberspace?
Read our recently published "best practices" article.

You could have the most compelling email campaign but if your subject line doesn't measure up, you risk the dreaded delete factor. What can you do to capitalize on the correlation between great open rates and great subject lines? First, be sure to avoid the use of "Spam-like" words including "*Fr*ee*" or excessive punctuation like multiple exclamation marks or dollar signs. And second, in about seven words or less, tie the subject line into an actual benefit contained within your email campaign.


	VISA Canada predicts that Canadians will almost double their online holiday spending this year to more than $1-billion, compared with $560-million last year. E-commerce offerings can be promoted in many ways - one of the most effective and immediate methods being permission-based email campaigns that include "buy now" links. Buying and selling online has never been easier!


	According to Forrester Research, almost 1 out of 5 North American homes with Internet access had a broadband connection at the end of 2001. Every year, almost 1 out of every 3 Internet users change their email addresses, according to a survey by NFO WorldGroup.


	How ACERRA Maintains an e-Marketing Edge With 75 learning professionals and over 20 years' experience with corporate training in Canada, ACERRA is a fully integrated provider of blended learning solutions. ACERRA's integrated learning solutions include consulting services, e-learning, management training and technology training. All initiatives are designed to improve both individual and organizational performance levels. The Challenge Like many organizations, ACERRA's marketing team was motivated to increase revenues, awareness and web site traffic. To accomplish this, they had relied on a wide assortment of tools including conferences, open houses, special events and print-based direct mail. In 2002, with clear goals to ensure maximum return and a competitive advantage, ACERRA's marketing team redesigned their contact database in order to begin a series of permission-based email marketing campaigns. The ultimate objective would be to build their customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities and balance out their marketing mix. The ACERRA team knew that it wanted to develop a monthly e-newsletter along with special e-bulletins, but one question remained unanswered: would ACERRA manage this comprehensive email marketing program in-house, or would it look to an external provider? Read on...

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