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Fear for no peers!Can a Guru Match Wits with the Mighty Yahoo! Search Marketing Machine?
Who would have the best read on which day of the week to send your e-mail offers to get the best results: Yahoo! Search Marketing or an Internet Marketing Guru? One analyst knows the recommendations of both, has tried both, has noted the results, and says this: I will go with the guru in this case, and skip the Yahoo! brain trust.
A couple of months ago (well, September 30, 2006 to be exact) an e-mail popped up on my monitor from Yahoo! Search Marketing touting the Best Practices for 2006 Holiday Planning, analyzing some key statistics from last year's gift-giving season. Included was the "preferred day" (not the best day, mind you, but the preferred day) for B2C (that would be Business to Consumer I believe) marketing e-mail campaigns. (Apparently, in Internet Marketing it is mandatory to communicate in Internet Marketing "speak " so as to distinguish marketers as somewhat unique, or perhaps distant, from the English language.) The best day, according to the brain trust at Yahoo! Search Marketing is Friday, rated at 31% (one assumes, always dangerous but necessary in this case since it is not given by the source), apparently for the response rate. In Internet Marketing, you see, everyone is supposed to know what you are talking about. My perception is marketers explain their every offer to death with 30-plus-page sales letters in order to justify the investment, and then turn around and spout out important technical terms with very little explanation at all, other than, you should know. That said, Yahoo! Search Marketing (hereinafter referred to as Yahoo! because you are supposed to know) identified the worse day of the week to send an e-mail offer as Sunday, rated at 11%. In between, in descending order, was Wednesday (26%), Tuesday (22%), Monday (20%), Thursday (19%) and Saturday (16%). OK. There you have it, folks, keep those cards and letters coming, preferably on Friday, leading into the leisurely weekend when the surf's up and people have more time. I was now going to reveal to you the results given in one guru's confidential report covering, among other information, the same topic as Yahoo! addressed, but I cannot. In reading the preface to his or her (to protect their identity) report, I am enjoined from doing so as it would be a violation of their copyright. I am an authorized holder and user of the information in question. Suffice to say, their advice differs dramatically from Yahoo! research. I have found no other worthy sources on the subject, and so cannot make the comparison. So what can you learn from the information I have given? One thing might be that if you are a guru, and have something to say worth listening to, then write a report on your exact results, and offer it up as an inducement in building an opt-in mailing list, the probability is you are going to get a lot of takers. Whether there is a guru out there with genuine results that is willing to sell the information for a profit I do not know. When I do, I will let you know. If I had to choose who I will listen to, I will go with the guru in this case, and skip the Yahoo! brain trust.
Category:Internet Marketing Published: 7-Sep-2004