I love my birthday. I admit it. I look forward to it every year. I like the cards I get from family and friends. I like the coupons I get from my local restaurant. I even like the birthday card I get from my dentist.

Studies show that I am not alone.

A new white paper from Experian Cheetahmail, The birthday and anniversary report: Benchmark data and analysis for email marketers, illustrates the impact that birthday and anniversary emails can have on your email program.

There are a number of key findings within the report, including the following:

• Total open rates for birthday and anniversary campaigns are 3 times higher than those of mass promotion mailings.
• Transaction rates are five times higher for birthday and anniversary emails than they are for bulk campaigns.
• Birthday mailings sent to all subscribers with known birthdays pull much higher transaction rates and revenue per email than those sent only to select or loyalty members.

I don’t know about you, but on my birthday, I want to be a bit extravagant and spend some money on myself, on decorating my home, or on a good time with some friends!

Here are a few examples of birthday/anniversary emails that have really caught my interest:

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For many email marketers the number one goal of an email is to generate revenue. Occasionally, though, it is nice to mix things up and send a message that is less about sales and more about relationships.

Passing along a funny story or telling your subscribers more about who you are as a company is a great way to build brand loyalty that can pay off in the long run. Your subscribers might be interested in hearing more about your employees, the city your business is in, about the models you use in your emails, etc. The trick is giving them something to talk about.

Here are two great examples. The first is from Eddie Bauer — they introduce their company dog, Eddie, and talk all about him on their Facebook page.

The second is from TheLadders.com, whose email is all about the company and includes pictures. The subject line of this email is simply “Photos of us.”

As any seasoned email marketer knows, there are almost an unlimited amount of ways to segment email marketing subscriber data. In this three-part overview, Jordan Lane provides a summary of some common email segmentation sources, tips, and best practices.

Part I – Behavioral segmentation

Behavioral segmentation relies exclusively on subscriber actions, and does not take into account gender, location, age, or other demographic factors. Behavioral segmentation data is based 100% on email activity and can be customized based on a marketer’s needs and how they define certain types of customers. Because this type of segmentation is usually easy to start and update, behavioral slicing represents an easy win for most email marketers.

Here are some common behavioral categorizations that email marketers use to chop up their master subscriber list:

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Sending email based on web analytics data is a topic we’ve already covered on this site in some detail. As most email marketers know by now, web analytics data can be used in abandoned shopping cart campaigns (ReMarketing), browser behavior campaigns, and other targeted campaigns. But to me, the most important aspect of these campaigns is how the data is being used and what the net effect is on the subscriber base.

Here’s my real-life example that illustrates the issues surrounding web analytics/email integration:

I am a frequent shopper of the online retailer Amazon.com, where I have purchased books, electronics, and baby items exclusively. Last week, however, I received an extremely targeted and somewhat perplexing email promoting Amazon.com’s variety of gourmet and specialty meat selections. Wild Boar 10 Rib Rack anyone?, asked the email. The first line of the message was “As someone who has shown an interest in gourmet meat…”

What? Gourmet meat? Me? From Amazon.com? Huh?

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“Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day. Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick. It would be funny if it weren’t so exciting.”
- Bill Gates on spam

Every so often it is prudent to take a refresher on fundamental email marketing topics and best practices. CAN-SPAM, officially known as the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003, is one of the most important online marketing topics. To follow are some of the basic facts, principals and rules concerning CAN-SPAM legislation. But like most legislation, this is not a simple bill. I recommend reading the entire act to learn more details.

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