Thanks to our growing customer base, we’ve successfully planted 16,050 trees since January. I’ll spell that out, just so the significance of that number really soaks in: Sixteen thousand fifty trees. Some may call that a friggin’ forest. And I’d agree.

So let’s keep the proverbial ball rolling, shall we? Take a moment to vote where the trees from our new October customers will be planted.

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September hit the bullseye in the Buckeye state. With 397 new accounts coming on board, we planted 1,985 trees in Ohio. If you’d like to get your state on our tree planting list, reach out to the sweet folks at Plant-It 2020 and let them know. How ’bout a goal of getting all fifty states up there by 2010? Who’s with me now?!

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Chances are, if you’re reading this blog, you’re a bit of an email marketer. Probably a stylish one, at that. So, to reward you for your email savvy (and your blog subscribing prowess), I thought you might be interested in MarketingSherpa’s 2009 Email Marketing Awards competition.

Dig through your archived campaigns to grab your best examples - perhaps you had a record number of sign-ups for a promotional campaign, or an engaging newsletter that boosted web traffic. Whatever the email, this is your opportunity to receive those accolades of praise you’ve deserved all along.

Click here for the entry form and information, and good luck!

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Part two in a multi-part series on alt tags (read part one)

Do you use a preview pane when reading your email? If so, how do you make your way through a full inbox? If you’re like me, you start with one email and click the down arrow to move from message to message, all the while scanning the *content* of the email. What’s the big deal, you say? I’m skipping over some fundamental elements (the from name, the from email address and the subject line) that most email marketers are relying on to brand their emails and let me know who the email is from.

I think Sephora chose their alt text with readers like me in mind. They identified themselves by placing the brand name in the valuable top-left spot. It’s even in all caps, just like when the image loads. I thought that was a nice touch. Here are a couple of screenshots of the email - one before the images loaded and one after.

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344 new Emma users later, California is 1,720 trees more golden than before.

Again, Emma is planting five trees for every new customer in the month of August. A big thank you goes out to all of you who voted for the location of those trees. California received August’s planting, courtesy of our partnership with Plant It 20-20.

Take a moment to vote on where September’s trees should be planted. And, if you’ve got some extra time on your hands, take a look at the work the fine folks at Plant It 20-20 are doing to improve the environment.

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This week, we’re sponsoring Next Big Nashville right here in our fair city. It’s a music festival showcasing the best bands in Nashville’s music scene, but it’s also a conference with sessions designed to help artists use technology to promote their music.

We’ve been talking about the reasons that artists should add email to the ways they stay in touch with their fans, and I thought we’d share ‘em here on the blog:

1. Promote an upcoming show, CD release, tour, video, or limited edition rocker headband, if that’s how you roll.

2. Upload songs, videos, pictures and more, then link to them from your email campaigns.

3. Create web-based email signup forms to capture your audience on MySpace, your website, your blog, or anywhere else your fans watch you (in a normal, fan-like way, of course).

4. Use zip-code radius segmenting tools to find the folks within 50 miles of your next tour stop.

5. Send a welcome email that automatically thanks new subscribers with a song download, merchandise discount or perhaps a thank-you haiku of some kind.

6. Promote your signature style with HTML emails featuring images of your latest merchandise and shows.

7. Make it easy for people to visit your blog, website, or MySpace page — and use response tracking to see who’s clicking, opening, forwarding and more.

8. Keep your fan lists organized with audience groups — one for your street team, one for your CD release show RSVP list and one for your mom.

9. Turn listeners into loyal fans by offering email-only news, ticket prices and merchandise discounts to your newsletter subscribers.

10. Focus on specific sets of your fan base, creating unique messages to appeal to your fans based on their gender, age, purchase history, or any other information you know about them.

Technorati Tags: email marketing, marketing for musicians, next big nashville

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With only a handful of web-safe fonts out there, I find myself having to get a little creative with what’s available. As you may know, a font that is considered ‘web-safe‘ comes pre-installed on a wide range of computer systems and is used to increase the chance that the content gets displayed in its chosen font. If your recipient does not have the specified font, their browser or email program will select an alternative. The most current list of web-safe fonts include: Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, Georgia, Comic Sans, Trebuchet and Courier New.

In my quest to take full advantage of these web-safe warriors, I’ve learned a few tips & tricks.

1. Pick a font and stick with it.
While a menagerie of Times New Roman, Comic Sans, and Verdana sounds eye-catching, too many font faces can really take the look of your email ‘over the top.’ Instead, maintain consistency and style by using variations of the same font. There are many ways to explore this method through use of color, weight, and size. It should still allow for plenty of variety within the email and it’ll also make your font choices easier.

2. Create headers with images.
Ever find yourself just wishing that you could use that awesome, free font you just downloaded in your next email? You can always use the font in an outside program and then bring it into your email as an image. I tried out this trick recently to add a bit of jazz, pizazz, whimsy, whatever-you-wills to my header sections. What do you think?

3. Gray’s the new black.
Here’s a new trend in email design: try using medium and dark shades of gray for your body copy color instead of black. It’s a quick and effective way to transform the look of your emails into something a bit more friendly and casual (assuming that’s the look you’re going for).

Hopefully, this ‘moment of fonti-ness’ has inspired you to get out there and get creative with web-safe fonts. Feel free to stop by and let us know what tricks work for you.

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There are all kinds of things to look forward to in October. Cooler weather, of course. Halloween, obviously. Columbus Day, maybe not so much. But we’re also eagerly awaiting the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer in Scottsdale on October 22-23, where lots of marketers are going to be gathering to talk about email, search and social media. We’re sponsoring the event, but we’re also looking forward to all the sessions, presented in the stylish way that the ‘Profs pull off so well.

If you’re thinking about going, you can save $200 on your registration just because you know Emma and you’re reading this right now. Get more details and register here, or sign up elsewhere and use the code ESPNA08.

And perhaps the $200 you save might be a nice starter fund for a certain Columbus Day party you were hoping to throw?

Technorati Tags: MarketingProfs, Digital Marketing Mixer, myemma.com, Emma

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Inc. Magazine’s profile of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. hit the stands last week, and we’re rather proud to be on this year’s list. Specifically, we’re #312.

Did you want more numbers? Okay, then. We’re officially ranked #24 among advertising & marketing companies, #4 in the greater Nashville area, and #1 among companies who managed to sneak the word ‘kickass’ into their Inc. profile.

We’re thrilled to be named in such a fine roster of companies. We’re so thrilled, in fact, that we’re ordering a plaque - partially to commemorate the honor, but mostly just to get the word ‘kickass’ engraved on something.

Technorati Tags: emma, Inc 500, Inc Magazine, myemma.com, nashville

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In our latest Ask Emma (that’s our email marketing Q&A newsletter, which you can sign up for here), we’ve published a 5-point checklist that’s designed to help you give your email campaigns a quick review before you hit send.

It’s *also* designed in 5 different colors, so you can download your favorite, print a copy to pin-up by your desk, then color-coordinate your checklist with your favorite pantsuit. Or jumpsuit. Or windsuit.

Okay, seriously, lose the windsuit already.



What are the things you *always* review before sending our your campaigns? We’d love to hear ‘em…

Technorati Tags: email marketing, checklist, ask emma, myemma.com

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Last week, the MSPMentor blog showcased the video email marketing work of Emma client masterIT, one of their top ranked MSPs (that’s managed service providers, for those of us who haven’t brushed up on our tech acronyms lately). We’ve talked about video and email before, but we thought you might like to see the post - including the fabulous results they got by using their email to link folks to a video on their site.

How are you using video and email together?

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