The 3 Major Types of Authentication

Dear First Name,
Welcome to our new and improved email marketing newsletter!

We've spent the last few months crafting an email newsletter that not only gives you the scoop on new Benchmark Email features and general industry news, but also delivers valuable tips on how to improve your delivery, make affiliate sales and more.

In this first issue, we're covering lots of ground. We've got two new features you should know about, Social Sharing Links and Email Open Maps, but also great tips on how to boost your delivery, info on why you should join our successful affiliate program and more.

In This Issue:

	Whats New: Boost Visibility with Social Sharing Links
	Get a Map of your Email Openers
	Follow us on Twitter
	New Email Templates: Check Them Out!
	Tip of the Month: Ditch the Text URLs for Better Deliverability
	Good to Know: The 3 Major Types of Authentication
	Partner Program News
	Industry Buzz

of marketing executives surveyed say that email newsletters are tactics that are a part of their 2009 marketing strategy. Datran Media "3rd Annual Marketing & Media Survey Results"

Whats New

Boost Visibility with Social Sharing Links

Facebook. Twitter. Digg and Delicious. You've probably heard of these social networking and bookmarking apps, but you may also wonder how they relate to your email campaigns.

Well, it's pretty simple. When you post your email in the Benchmark Community, you create a Web page that anyone can stumble upon in a search. With social sharing links, Web surfers can find your email or newsletter, read it, and give it the ultimate thumbs up by promoting it via a link in Facebook, Twitter, digg and other social sharing programs.

Remember: the more people promote your email via social networking sites, the more potential customers you'll reach.

Want to know more? Here are the steps to using social sharing links in your email campaigns.

Get a Map of your Email Openers

Want to see where exactly your email openers are located? Well, here's your chance! With Open Maps, you view a color map in your reports section that shows you exactly where your email openers live and work. This new feature helps you create truly targeted campaigns based on economics, weather, or even language and culture.

Create lists of openers in certain states and countries. Send emails that showcase deals in native currencies. Adjust your shipping department strategy based on your findings. This fab new feature gives you a solid look at your audience in a highly visual format.

Find out more about email open maps by visiting our email marketing blog.

Get email tips, news on new features and relevant email marketing industry news by signing up for our Twitter feed! If you're not on Twitter, it's time to sign up. Join our feed and we'll send you daily links to articles, blog posts, demos and more. Twitter is a fast, easy way to keep tabs on your friends, family and business contacts. To subscribe to our tweets, just visit us at www.twitter.com/benchmarkemail

New Email Templates: Check Them Out!

Our template design team has been working around the clock to create new, professional-looking email templates. Here are some samples from the latest batch.

Click here to view our new templates

Tip of the Month

Ditch the Text URLs for Better Deliverability

If you're putting full Web addresses in your copy, it's time to stop. Keep your delivery rates up by using a hyperlink and regular text instead. In other words, don't use a full Web address like https://www.benchmarkemail.com/ in your copy, instead use regular text and a hyperlink like Benchmark Email, for example.

Good to Know

The 3 Major Types of Authentication

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use different techniques and protocols to verify that the sender of an email is who they say they are. Thanks to this system, any legitimate, good practice-using email marketer who uses authentication can enjoy higher delivery rates. Do you know what the three types of authentication are? They are:

	Sender ID Sender ID is a Microsoft protocol that validates one of your email's header fields. It retrieves the Purported Responsible Address (PRA) for the email and then validates that address against the sender. It is used by Hotmail and Windows Live Mail. So in other words, Microsoft is given an IP address the sender uses to send emails. Once that IP address is brought up, it is matched against the email headers. If the header fields do not match what's on file, no delivery ,
	Sender Policy Framework (SPF) SPF authenticates the envelope HELO and MAIL FROM identities by comparing the sending mail server's IP address to the list of authorized sending IP addresses published by the sender domain's owner in a "v=spf1" DNS record. It is used by AOL, Google, Earthlink, Hotmail, and many other providers.
	DomainKeys DomainKeys uses cryptographic authentication to validate the domain name that is associated with the message.

These three methods can boost your delivery in a big way! Find out more about how you can upgrade your email account to include sender authentication.

Partner Program News

If you're doing email marketing, you probably have a Website in some shape or form. Did you know you can easily sign up for Benchmark's affiliate program, sell our packages and make 25% of each sale, every single month?

The Benchmark Email Partner Program includes everything you need to start selling. Banner ads. Text ads. Links. Promotional pages. All of these things can be used in your sales arsenal, and they'll even be coded with a unique affiliate number that tracks every sale to you.

It's totally free to sign up, you can track all your sales through the Partner Program section on our site, and you can earn ongoing commissions, every single month.

For more information, visit www.benchmarkemail.com/Partner

Industry Buzz

Spam gang found guilty – A U.S.-based spammer faces more than 7 years in jail and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after being found guilty of using spam email to raise money and artificially inflate the value of Chinese penny stocks for profit. Alan Ralsky pleaded guilty to a litany of CAN-SPAM violations alongside four other people involved in the elaborate scam.

Email investment on the rise – Despite a rocky economy and advertising cutback all around, email marketing continues to grow. A recent study shows that email marketing investment is expected to top $2 billion by 2014, and that companies still trust it as a great ROI.