Sign Me Up!: A marketer's guide to creating email newsletters that build relationships and boost sales (Return Path Books) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ Matt Blumberg (Author), Michael Mayor (Contributor), Tami Monahan Forman (Contributor), Stephanie A. Miller (Contributor) "People love to complain about advertising..." (more)
Key Phrases: email newsletter program, list hygiene, email marketers, Creating Email That People Want, New York City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sign Me Up! Imagine it: prospects actually asking you to email your marketing information to them. At a time when people are reluctant to give out their email addresses and skeptical of most email, it’s harder than ever for legitimate marketers to separate their emails from spam. Not anymore.

This first-of-its-kind book reveals the secrets behind running a permission-based email newsletter program that motivates customers and prospects to sign up for your emails and respond to your messages. It shows you how you can use email to

• Sell more products and services
• Boost customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Attract new customers to your products and services

Sign Me Up! delivers valuable insights and ideas on creating and sustaining an email newsletter program. It’s packed with real-world examples from eBay, Amazon.com, CoolSavings, iVillage, BabyCenter and more.

You’ll learn how to

• Write and design great newsletters
• Build and maintain responsive and targeted lists
• Increase response to every email you send
• Test and measure the effectiveness of your email program
• Make sure your messages reach the inbox

Sign Me Up!

About the Author

Matt Blumberg and Michael Mayor are the driving forces behind Return Path, the original email performance company, which helps top-tier marketers generate superior results from permission-based email marketing programs. Collaborating on this project are their colleagues as well as email strategists Stephanie A. Miller and Tami Monahan Forman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1000 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (October 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595335861
• ISBN-13: 978-0595335862
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #899,292 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for Anyone Involved in Email Marketing, March 7, 2005

By	David Linn (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book because our company has been disappointed with the results from our email marketing efforts to date. Unlike many business books out there that can seem generic and "fluffy," I was very pleased to discover detailed recommendations and examples of best practices throughout the book on key topics such as building our list, crafting our content, and ensuring that our email is being viewed by our customers. The book gave us specific and actionable recommendations for how to improve our results, and we are already beginning to see the improvements! I recommend this book to anyone involved in email marketing.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the first email book you should buy, November 5, 2005

By	K. Hosman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't normally write these things - but I feel like I owe something to the author. I bought this book and another (also on newsletter marketing) - and while I'm not crazy about the second one, I can tell you that I read this book with my yellow marker out. You might go a couple of pages before underscoring something - but then you'll come upon a page (and this is frequently, mind you) where the book pays for itself over and over. Also, if you're in the mode to buy this book, one of the best books I've ever read (on sales/marketing/the science behind it) was written by Paco Underhill and called "Why We Buy." Anyway, you should probably also know two things (about the book "Sign Me Up"): 1) It doesn't have that "get rich quick feel" that some other books in this vein have (thank goodness) and 2) as I write this (Nov '05) this book is current - as opposed to picking up one of the Guerrilla books that doesn't mention the internet because it didn't exist when the book was written). Anyway, great book, you should buy it and cross "newsletter books" off your list.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Signed Up for this Book - Must have for E-Marketing, October 10, 2005

By	Scott McKenzie (Louisville, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an outstanding book on permission based e-mail. Anyone considering doing or who is doing a newsletter should consider getting this book. It contains excellent insight and ideas on how to execute and improve an email newsletter program. The Team at Return Path has valuable expertise and experience in optimizing e-mail strategy and tactics.

One of the keys to a successful program is Relevance, Relevance, and Relevance. If you provide something useful or interesting to a client or customer they will give you permission to send regular communications. By its nature e-mail allows for personalization, customization, and targeted marketing. This is a great opportunity to build a relationship and better communicate to the needs of any client or customer base. Personalized product and content recommendations are what people are interested in.

If you are looking for a way to add value to your marketing efforts, this book will help with the ingredients to create, launch, and sustain an e-mail newsletter strategy and campaign. The book gets into content, list, and optimization strategies. The team at Return Path covers topics like:

1. Creating E-mail that People Want to Read
2. Writing and Managing an Email Newsletter Program
3. Designing and Formatting Emails for Maximum Performance
4. Building a Large and Responsive E-mail List
5. Keeping Your List Clean and Well-Maintained
6. The Importance of Testing
7. Make Sure Your Message Reaches the Inbox
8. CAN-SPAM and Other Email Legislation

The books covers tidbits of information like, "Research has found that newsletters with several short stories typically get read more than emails with one long story." Another good quote is, "People will gladly accept advertising in exchange for information and entertainment, so the creation of a content-filled email newsletter is the best strategy to deliver your advertising message to your audience with success"

As someone who works in the direct marketing industy, I highly recommend this book to anyone in the advertising and marketing industry. As a friend of someone who has MS I appreciate the fact that 10% of the purchase price of this book is donated to The Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis.