Please join us in welcoming another new client to our growing list, SoundExchange! We get amped about all of our clients as we have some of the coolest in the world, but we get extra excited when our clients are out there doing good for the community! They explain it best themselves, so as taken from SoundExchange’s website;

“SoundExchange is the non-profit performance rights organization that collects statutory royalties from satellite radio (such as SIRIUS XM), internet radio, cable TV music channels and similar platforms for streaming sound recordings.  The Copyright Royalty Board, which is appointed by The U.S. Library of Congress, has entrusted SoundExchange as the sole entity in the United States to collect and distribute these digital performance royalties on behalf of featured recording artists, master rights owners (like record labels), and independent artists who record and own their masters.”

We are thrilled to be working with SoundExchange and if you’re interested in learning more, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter @soundexchange, or on the web at; www.soundexchange.com.

Startup businesses and entrepreneurs often have a great idea, but lack the knowledge and knowhow that enable them to take their idea and transform it into a viable business. In todays growing technical environment, this can be an even more difficult task and this is where General Assembly steps in.

General Assembly “provides the necessary support, infrastructure, and educational framework for aspiring entrepreneurs to start new ventures.”  In a campus setting and geared towards the growing community of entrepreneurs in multiple cities across the world, General Assembly’s community of educators and resources helps provide a place for learning and collaboration, a vital tool especially in addressing the technology and design aspects of a modern business.  We’re pretty excited about this new venture so please join us in welcoming General Assembly to the FanMail family!  You can check them out on Facebook, on the web at; generalassemb.ly, or give them a follow on Twitter @GA.

In preparation for the upcoming concert season, Riverbend Music Center, in our home town of Cincinnati, recently replaced the grassy lawn in the amphitheater with an all new turf similar to what can be found in many of the nations top sports arenas.  This turf  is touted to be much greener; not only is it made of recycled materials, but it can be recycled as well when replacement time comes.  It also eliminates the needs for pesticides, lawn mowing, watering, and fertilizers.  Green benefits aside, all of these things relate to expensive maintenance costs, so Riverbend is expecting some huge savings (lets just hope that means cheaper tixs!).  Riverbend sees this as the next big thing for outdoor venues and plans on marketing this new turf to venues across the globe, under it’s own branding of ‘RMC Amphitheater Turf’.    The original grassy lawn has been notorious for it’s slippery slopes and the makers of the new turf, The Motz Group, claims that there will be no more mud issues.  While the environmental and economic benefits are all great things in our opinion, we still have to wonder how the new turf will change the concert experience!?  Personally I’m a sandal wearing, grass between my toes type of guy, but I do look forward to seeing how or if this will change the dynamics of a concert.

Time to sound off, what say you?

It’s that time of year again to get the broom out, open up some windows, and get your spring cleaning on.  Just as your home can get stale and dusty, so can your email marketing list.  2011 is wrapped up, metrics have been pulled and analyzed, and now it’s time to make the most of what you’ve learned in the past year.  Below are four easy ways to help you take action on your  subscriber list and ensure this year will make for  some of the freshest and most effective engagement campaigns you’ve had thus far.

#1.  Remove “Dead” Subscribers

You’ve probably heard this a million times but have you actually done it!?  The success of a good email list is more about quality over quantity, it’s about engagement more then the number of emails you send, and it’s about ROI!  The standards of what is considered spam are changing.  No longer are “spammy” words the only reason to be blacklisted.  If you send to an email address a subscriber no longer uses, you can get caught in a spam trap.  Besides, what’s the point of sending an email to someone who never gets it, this only costs you money and hurts your reputation with the ISPs, especially if you’re sending large volumes.  And what about sending emails to people who never open them or take action, is it really a good idea to be trying to engage this type of person instead of focusing on those that do want and interact with your communication?  Both of these instances can lead to poor analysis of opens, click-through rates, and more importantly conversion rates.  So break out the metaphorical brush and get your scrub on!  This means address all hard bounces and get them off your list.  Take a look at your soft bounces and unengaged subscribers and with these look at creating an ‘inactive subscriber’ list instead of just removing them, this list can then be used for a re-engagement campaign…..

#2.  Run a Re-Engagement Campaign

The subscriber mentioned above decided to receive interactions from you for one reason or another, the fact that they aren’t engaging now doesn’t mean it’s time to drop them.  This is a good time to run a re-engagement campaign to see how many of these subs need to actually be dropped or moved back to a good list.  Send out a special offer, ask straight out if they want to continue receiving communication, and figure out new and creative ways to keep them engaged.  One important thing here to remember is that engagement most always drops over time, so keep your list and communication fresh and utilize schedules and drip campaigns to keep em around and active for years to come.

#3.  Get Updated & Better Data

Knowing your subscribers will go a long way.  Now I know you probably have no personal connection whatsoever with the subscribers on your email or newsletter list, but this doesn’t mean you can’t “know” them.  Something as simple as getting a subscribers zip code can greatly increase the effectiveness of your communication by geo-targeting specific campaigns to specific lists.  (On a side note, we actually have a pretty cool tool that can be used in the ExactTarget platform called GeoFreak).  Geo-Targeting is one example but knowing your sub’s likes and interestes, ‘real’ name, gender, etc.. are all valuable pieces of information.  By having this data, you now have the ability to dynamically create and send specific content to those that count.  Use surveys, a “single sign-up” or “social login” tool like Janrain or our GetMore, ask for profile updates, and get your data updated so you can better know who you’re communicating with!

#4.  Analyze your marketing program

After you’ve cleaned and updated your list this is a good time to analyze the effectiveness of the actual messages you are sending.  Now at first glance this might not sound like a simple task, but some basic questions to ask yourself is; how frequent are you sending emails, what type of content are you sending, what calls to actions are you including, are your subject lines attention grabbing, are your messages mobile optimized, and are your communications relevant to your subscribers?   The list here could go on an on but by taking a holistic view at your campaigns and how they are being implemented will go a long way in ensuring you are sending the right message to the right people.

Spring is the season of change so it’s time to embrace this change and make the best of it!  If you need any help, feel free to reach out to us or check out some of our applications that can help you maximize your engagement and effectiveness.

• Doritos ensured themselves to be the talk of the town when they built this monstrosity.  Now, whether the talk is positive or not depends on who you ask.

• Apparently Myspace still has some likes (pun intended), or the people responsible for this banner have a great sense of humor.  I’m going with option #2.

• 6th Street is like Mardi Gras for hipsters.  Evidence below.

• Front Gate Tickets knows how to throw a party, at noon, on a weekday.  Really like these folks, they’re good people.

• Apparently Austin needs a few more bike racks.  That, or this is some kind of super-hip art installation.

• This is the coolest thing you will see all weekend.  You’re welcome.

I’m sitting in the airport in Memphis during a layover enjoying the decor, which reminds me of a Catholic grade school built in the 60′s, and has all the charm of a rusty switchblade.  It does, however, smell like barbecue throughout the place, which is never a bad thing.

Anyway, I thought I’d take a moment to do something slightly more productive than poke fun at this place, so I have listed a few things I am looking forward to at SXSW.

1. Mingling (or networking, for you business types) – My mother would happily tell you, I can talk to anyone, about anything, at any time.  So, a chance to rub elbows with my peers in such a cool setting is right up my alley.
2. Music, and lots of it – Among many other acts, the one I’m most looking forward to is a band by the name of Bass Drum of Death.  Not only is it the coolest name I have heard this decade, but the music is as raw and rough as you would expect.
3. Tacos – Show me a person that doesn’t like a good taco, and I’ll show you a person who doesn’t know how to live life to its fullest.  As of now, there are 3 different events with the word “taco” in the title that I am planning to attend, and I am constantly on the lookout for more.
4. Austin itself – I mean, this is a city with the slogan, “Keep Austin weird.”  Normal is boring.  Music is not boring.  Hence, Austin is the perfect place to have such an event.
5. This actually counts as work- Sometimes you have to stop and take a moment to appreciate how rad it can be to work in this industry.  Yeah, there is plenty to gripe about, but can you imagine how incredibly boring a conference would be if you worked in insurance, or finance?  sdddddcssssscccccccccccccccccccccc…  Sorry, the thought of it caused me to instantly fall asleep and my face got stuck on the keyboard.

If you are at SXSW and you want to meet for a taco, drop me a line on Twitter, @fancentric or @murraystall.  Happy South-bying.

Tomorrow, Thursday the 15th at 11am. Eastern Time, FanMail will be hosting in conjunction with ExactTarget a #NexusCafe Twitter chat.  We’ll be discussing apps and integrations within the ExactTarget platform and how to make the most out of these resources.  You can find a preview of the questions below.  It’s looking to be a good one and should be very informative, especially for those using the ExactTarget platform, those interested in how to make the most of it, or any business with integration capabilities within ET.  To get a head start, checkout our ET Apps page at; etpartnerlabs.com, as well as ExactTarget’s Nexus Partner Ecosystem here.  Let us know if you have any questions or comments beforehand, otherwise use the #nexuscafe hashtag and follow along with us.  And just in case you aren’t privy, ExactTarget will be giving away a gift card to Starbucks to the top tweeter…as if chatting with us wasn’t motivation enough!

1. What apps or integration’s are you currently using to maximize the ExactTarget platform?

2. Of these, which do you find to be most beneficial to your business and why?

3. Have you started to see any measurable results from the use of these apps?

4. What apps and integration’s would you like to see developed and why?

5. What are some resources for apps and integrations to extend ExactTarget?

Online music-streaming service and FanMail client, Songza, has been making its mark in the digital music world with it’s unique interface that separates it from other streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, or Grooveshark.  While you can still search by song or artists, Songza also uses user created playlists, it’s a free service without the annoying audio adds, and one big separation between Songza and the others is its unique playlist offerings and personalization based on listening habits and preferences.  This past week Songza released a cool new feature, Songza Concierge, which only looks to propel their customization and end-user enjoyment.  By taking into consideration certain variables like; day of week, time of day, your mood, current activities, etc…the “Concierge” then offers up various playlists to best fit your listening needs.  I’ve been messing with this for a week now and have heard many of my favorite songs, been exposed to new artists I greatly enjoy, and in some cases heard some I hope to never hear again (sorry Ying-Yang Twins, your just not my cup of tea).  You don’t need to be a genius to know how it works, but let me take you on a quick tour so you can see what the hype is all about.

Depending on what day and time it is when you access the Concierge, you’ll be presented with various options that might best fit the moment.  Below you can see a bit of the differences between a Thursday night and Saturday afternoon selection.

As I write this it’s a beautiful spring afternoon, so lets take a glimpse at Saturday’s selection, “Sitting on a Back Porch” .  Upon selecting the option you’ll be taken to the screen below which narrows down the genre you’re feeling the most.

Feeling I need some good ole twang today, after I select “Bluegrass” you’re then given a list of playlists to further define your mood.

“Pickers Paradise” was the way I went and while its kind of hard to go wrong with bluegrass IMHO, in all honestly the Concierge has impressed me on most every selection I’ve choosen.  (The other option I could have followed here could have been Thursday nights “Love and Romance” which funny enough gives you a “Get Naked” option with further selections narrowed down to “Freak Nasty” or “Cool and Sexy”, they really did think of everything!  Must say although I’m all about some “Freak Nasty”, the playlist presented wasn’t my top choice but it did relate another playlist, “Rap for Indie Rock Kids”, that hit the mark with some of my favorite hip-hop artists like MF Doom, Aesop Rock, DJ Z-Trip, and more.)

Whatever your music collection might look like or tastes might be, it can be hard sometimes to find what you’re looking for.  That’s why the Concierge is so nice, it helps take the guesswork out.   I’ve greatly enjoyed messing around with the Concierge and rather if you are digging on another service or not, you should at the least give the Songza Concierge a whirl…it might just become your new favorite DJ!

 Unless you live off the grid, chances are you’re connected to the web and are involved in one way or another with a social network; rather it be Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, etc…  A couple weeks ago we touched a bit on the state of social media, and the buzz with social networks has been and will continue to be about Facebook for some time, but what about LinkedIn!?!  Consisting of nearly 150 million members and including executives from every Fortune 500 company, it’s proving to be a truly valuable source and not just for the socializing factor.   Unlike Facebook or Twitter, which by the way are great marketing tools for businesses, LinkedIn has it’s grip on the professional world that the others don’t, and it’s not looking to let go anytime soon.

In a basic sense, LinkedIn is a social network that lets you keep your business life seperate from your personal life.  It provides ease of access to those that matter to you in the business world, with it’s model based more on quality of connections then quantity.  Personal users find it effective to find employment, stay connected with past employers, or network with those in their industry.  And businesses use it professionally to connect and network with their peers, clients, prospective clients, and industry thought leaders.  For the business user, it also proves to be a valuable sales tool and with it’s integrations with Salesforce and other CRM tools, and its only improving.

In a recent press release, LinkedIn revealed it’s Fourth Quarter and 2011 financial Results, and its growth rate is astonishing with a 105% increase in revenue from 4thQ in 2010, “the 6th straight quarter of greater than 100% year-over-year grow”, according to LinkedIn CFO Steve Sordello.  The report also notes that they saw a total of 115% growth in 2011 revenue from fiscal year 2010, all in part to their diversified business model with revenue coming from member subscriptions, marketing solutions and hiring solutions.  These revenue streams are important in viewing the capabilities and growth predictions around the social network.  ”Revenue from Hiring Solutions products totaled $84.9 million, an increase of 136% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010…revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $49.5 million, an increase of 77%…and revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $33.3 million, an increase of 87%.”  So this is pretty insane!

Note:  All quotes and stats were pulled from the report mentioned above, must give credit where do!

Note2:  Also unless if you live off the grid there’s no way you’ve missed the buzz about the up and coming NBA superstar, Jeremy Lin, who’s been lighting up the professional basketball scene.  The term “LinSanity” refers to the hype surrounding his rise to stardom.  It’s pretty astonishing to see how this term and Jeremy Lin have blown up on the social networks, quite exemplary of  the power behind social media.  Also to note, looks like “LinSanity” is soon to be trademarked, they teach them Harvard kids right!