Cynthia Edwards

Articles by Cynthia All articles by Cynthia

• 'Do You Want Fries With That?' -- The Power Of Context in Email Insider Europe on 05/15/2015
  

  What makes an email successful? Delivering the right message to the right person at the right time on the right device. As a communicator, I like to think of these attributes as context. Here are some ways to get the context right and improve your program.

• 'Do You Want Fries With That?' -- The Power Of Context in Email Insider on 10/27/2014
  

  What makes an email successful? Delivering the right message to the right person at the right time on the right device. As a communicator, I like to think of these attributes as context. Here are some ways to get the context right and improve your program.

• A Copywriter's Tips: How To Write Lean Email Copy  in Email Insider on 06/05/2012
  

  Studies show you have about two seconds to capture attention in the crowded inbox. Once an email is opened, you have five to 20 seconds to attract interest, communicate your key message and call to action, and create engagement with your brand. This is why the copywriter has to be on top of his or her game. No matter how much content properly belongs in your email, whether it's a single slogan or a newsletter full of stories, you have to make every word count.

• Got Content? Get It To Your Prospects With Email in Email Insider on 04/03/2012
  

  Content marketing is the new black dress -- a versatile strategy that makes your company stand out in your industry. Companies today are producing more and more valuable content to enhance their presence online and attract new prospects into their sales funnel.Offering exclusive content is a great way to acquire qualified prospects. But how to get their attention? Email is a fantastic channel for targeting the right people, especially for B2B marketers. In an acquisition endeavor, you want to adhere to the highest possible standards.

• Take A Creative Leap On Holidays in Email Insider on 02/24/2012
  

  Holidays provide wonderful opportunities for email creative teams to break away from the routine and turn their imagination to witty tie-ins. Two factors are essential for holiday email success: the right timing and an appropriate message.

• The Obligatory Post About Email Resolutions For The New Year in Email Insider on 01/23/2012
  

  It may be late January already, but any steps you take to improve your email program are always timely and will pay off throughout the coming year. In considering my advice today, I thought about how pertinent the average person's New Year's resolutions are to email. Without further ado, here are some resolutions you might adopt to improve your program's results.

• So You Want To Be The Next Email Star  in Email Insider on 08/08/2011
  

  Email writers who aspire to excellence can learn a lot from watching "The Next Food Network Star." Just like us, week by week, the culinary contenders are vexed and hexed by unforeseen challenges. They struggle with strange or insufficient ingredients, difficult working conditions, snarling competitors, and ruthless judges. The challenges email writers face are not dissimilar, and may come from a variety of sources:

• Injecting Personality Into Form Language in Email Insider on 06/21/2010
  

  Is there a better way to get people to sign up for your emails than using a form that looks like it was created by the Census Bureau? And is there a better way to assure readers of your good intentions than placing inches of tiny grey type in the legal section of the email?

• More On Globalizing Your Message  in Email Insider on 05/17/2010
  

  In my last article I discussed some of the technical and cultural considerations involved in globalizing and localizing email and other forms of e-marketing. The subject resonated with Email Insider readers, bearing out research that finds 65% of multinational enterprises believe localization is either important or very important for achieving higher company revenues. To dig deeper into this discipline, I interviewed another expert in the translation and localization industry, Yves Lang, vice president, sales and marketing / CSO of ENLASO -- a key member of the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA).

• Don't Say Hi! And Other Lessons In Global Marketing in Email Insider on 04/05/2010
  

  I learned a new word today: transcreation. Transcreation is the art of translating and adapting your email and other marketing assets for use in other countries and regions. Any educated, bilingual person can translate your marketing message literally into another tongue. But can they capture the quip in your headline and render it creatively so it still tickles the imagination in France or Russia? Does your clever tag line - which expresses so much in just five or six English words - become a cumbersome paragraph when rendered in German?

Comments by Cynthia All comments by Cynthia

• Don't Put Ten Pounds Of Copy Into A Five-Pound Page by Jim Gilmartin (Engage:Boomers on 09/11/2017)
  

  Is Henry David Theroux any relation to Henry David Thoreau? :-)

• Subject-Line Optimization: Don't Test Your Way To Mediocrity by George Bilbrey (Email Insider on 05/05/2015)
  

  I agree with the thrust of the article. Another pitfall is to assume that because a certain element of a subject line - such as personalization or a cute icon - showed higher results in a test, that that element should appear in EVERY subject line going forward. What was once new and surprising will become old and stale quickly. My strategy is to follow principles learned in testing AND continue to keep subject lines fresh. Change is good! 

• 'Do You Want Fries With That?' -- The Power Of Context by Cynthia Edwards (Email Insider on 10/27/2014)
  

  Hi Justin, I'm glad you asked that! I love the new context-aware services that are available for email. They are especially useful for time-bounded events (such as conversion emails about limited-time offers) which every retailer can apply. There are of course many other uses for this type of technology which are well worth exploring. Not every marketer has the sophistication, product range, or budget to create, say, geo-targeted offers, but if they do, it's worth going for. Everything that can make an email more special to the recipient should be done. - Cynthia

• Toilet Bowl Morality And Today's Ad-Industry Role Models by Laurie Sullivan (SearchBlog on 07/14/2014)
  

  "Don't be evil" #FAIL

• Nigerian Kidnappings Spur Social Media Campaign by Erik Sass (The Social Graf on 05/08/2014)
  

  Thanks for this article. The hashtag approach to expressing our anguish feels so feeble, and I hope no one is fooled into thinking some terrorist will see it trending on his Facebook page and as a result will have a sudden change of heart. As you say, time to bring on the drones.

• And The Winning Email Is... by David Baker (Email Insider on 09/23/2013)
  

  Love it, David! Thanks!

• The One Thing that Email Marketers Never Complain About by Chad White (Email Insider on 06/19/2012)
  

  Good article. Thanks, Chad.

• Triggered Messages: A Retail Email Checklist by Loren McDonald (Email Insider on 04/05/2012)
  

  Excellent article. I just a statistic today from the Email Experience Council that states, "New metrics show triggered message open rates 96% higher than 'business as usual' messages." Marketers will do well to pay heed.

• So You Want To Be The Next Email Star by Cynthia Edwards (Email Insider on 08/08/2011)
  

  Rita is correct, there are many ingredients to successful email programs. My advice here is confined to the elements for which copywriters in this channel typically have responsibility.

• Women Find Facebook Friends Annoying by Erik Sass (The Social Graf on 03/31/2011)
  

  I enjoyed this article for its humor and also, dare I admit it, I have experienced a few of the reactions listed above myself. However, as with everything in life, one must approach Facebook posts mindful of their context. It's a freewheeling quasi-anonymous forum where people say things they might not say face to face. Facebook seems to strip off a layer of that self-governance that normally saves us in social situations. The shun button concept is funny - thanks! We really do need more types of reaction buttons on Facebook, but as with everything we commonly desire ... there is already an app for that.

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