Edition #119
Last night I had dinner in Washington DC with Tom Kulzer, the CEO of Aweber.
In case you didn’t know, Aweber is the company I use to manage my email lists (such as Eric’s Tips).
We talked about some of Aweber’s new features, several of which I was not even aware of. One of the cool things that I didn’t previously know about is their “geo-targeting” feature.
It allows you to segment your list by geographic location. It’s not perfect, but it gives a good estimate of most locations.
So if you received an email about this edition, please let me know: is the location in the subject line of the email close to where you live? If you’ve got a minute, I’d appreciate if you could post your location in the comments of my blog. I also think it will be neat just to see where everyone is from.
Aweber also has a mapping function. I’ve posted a map below which shows where all of my subscribers are located around the world:
According to Alexa.com, only about 50% of all visitors to the Eric’s Tips blog are from the US, and the map from Aweber seems to coincide with that number.
It’s a little mind-boggling for me to think about all of you reading this all over the world, and very humbling at the same time.
We also talked a lot about email strategies and statistics. Tom is fanatical about that type of stuff, and he gave me a lot of great information. He actually posts a lot of great tips on the Aweber company blog, which is a goldmine of information for their customers.
Since a lot of you have been asking me for “more tips” lately, I’ll share a couple of them with you here.
Best time of day:
Morning is by far and away the best time for emailing your list. Most emails are opened in the 9AM-10AM range. While I don’t always stick to it, I often send my emails just a little earlier than that, to make sure they arrive shortly prior to this hot zone.
Best day of the week:
While it seems that it might be getting a little overly-used in the internet marketing community, Tuesday is often the best day to send an email to your list.
Avoiding spam filters:
While you should avoid spammy keywords in your emails (to stay out of spam filters), you should NOT use special characters and weird spellings in an attempt to get around the spam filters. Doing so will only make you look more like a spammer (I need to go fix that on some of my older autoresponder messages).
I hope you found those helpful, and Aweber has many more helpful materials and tips for their customers. If you’re not already building a list, you NEED to be. And if you don’t already have a company that you’re using, I highly recommend Aweber.
Remember to post your location in the comments so we can see where everyone lives 🙂
Have a great day!
Hello Eric,
Mesa, AZ is correct.
Thanks for your info.
Hi Eric,
You were close, I live in Coquitlam not Port Coquitlam which is the neighbor city to the east. Both are in the greater Vancouver area of Beautiful British Columbia the best place on earth to live. Come and visit us for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Hello Eric!
From up in the frozen tundra of Appleton, Wisconsin here!
Keep up with the great tips,
Scott
Hi Eric,
Aweber is correct. I am from Singapore.
Hi Eric,
Your email is right, I’m from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Thanks
Willie
Hi Eric,
No not in Texas at all…although we have Steaks to compete with the Texans any day…
I receive your e-mail correspondence in Craighall Park (Johannesburg), Gauteng, South Africa.
Our Country is beautiful and full of wonderful people. Sure, we have our share of issues that we are working on, being still an infant in our recently established Democracy – which is requiring a lot of change…but on the whole we are doing well. Thanks for your great articles.
We look forward to seeing you in sunny, wonderfully wild, South Africa.
Cheers Angus
Hello neighbor! I am down the road from you in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
I’m in Newton KS,about 9 hrs north of Dallas on I-135,so you were a wee bit off lol lol…Dusty
Hi Eric
I am from Indonesia , I live in Bandung, West Java
Thanks
Erwin
Hi Eric
Nowhere near Auburn, though am in Australia sure enuff…am in Melbourne
Thanks for a very good newsletter
Cheers
A
Yes ,,,Tilburg, NL
Correct, I’m in Sacramento and the weather was just gorgeous today.
Hi Eric, I am directly west across the mountains from you in Palisade, Colorado.
Hi Eric,
I am in Netherlands (suburb of Amsterdam) but the email server I am mailing from is based in London.
So, the email had the mailserver location just right, but not my actual location.
Cheers, RJ
yes, for yr info we live in the Fuengirola-Mijas area of the malaga province in Spain
Hi Eric,
You got my country right – Yes I’m from Malta, but Paola is way off! I’m from Balzan.
Stephen
hi eric,
i’m from the philippines.
Hello Eric!
L. A. here, posting from Indianapolis, Indiana. Even though I am not a big football fan, you can ‘hear’ me say “2007 Super Bowl Champs – The Indianapolis Colts!!”
Here I thought it was bad that my ISP just indicated Greece rather than my excellent island of Paros.
Yet your email had me in Neu-Anspach, Germany.
Cheers,
You were correct i live in Nairobi, Kenya . Cheers
CATE.
Baltimore
Hi Eric,
You and aweber are correct.
My location is around Jakarta, Indonesia.
Wow… everyone posting where they live here.
Well done.
Hi Eric,
I really think Aweber would do better to just indicate the state, province or territory people are from, as they seem to do a lousy job of pinpointing the city. They say I’m in Halifax which is an hours drive away, it would be much more accurate to say Truro which is in the center of Nova Scotia and only 15 minutes away. I sure didn’t expect them to get my actuall village of residence which is Belmont and barely a dot on the map.
It would be a bit like saying you’re from Denver when you’re actually from Fort Collins.
Best Wishes Bill
Dear Mr. Eric,
Thanks for your mail. I am located in Ahmedabad – India. Please give me important online business without much investment. I would really appreciate your efforts.
Best regards,
Deepak Parmar
Yes Eric, McAllen area was correct.
I’m from Malaysia and it is amazed to see malaysia is the best choice for your subscriber…
Eric… I’m located in Southern New Jersey. Your tracker indicated that I was located in Mayslanding… I’m close. I’m actually located in Cumberland County… Centre Grove. It seems as though we’re closer to each other than we think.
Hi Eric,
You are right. Aweber told true , I’m from Paris in France.
Great job are Tips
Regards,
Eddie
I am from melbourne,a nice city where we have just finish Moomba Festival and Tennis Australian Open on January. Also,I am waiting for your present for my birthday….:)
You are right man, I am in Riga, Latvia at the moment. Regards 😉
Jerry Oakman
http://adsense.awardspace.biz
Pretty close to home! I actually live in Eskridge, KS, but I do work in Topeka, KS.
Have A Great Day!
Hello there Eric, From Davison, Michigan, USA
You got it right on the nose with that one.
Hi Eric,
I live here in the Philippines and I’m near Makati area. The geo-targeting of Aweber is correct
Thanks
Yes, aweber (or you) got it right – I’m in Ft. Lauderdale Florida :)) And yes,
it’s interesting how many different countries your readers are from… wow!! (more smiles)
Hey Eric,
Great tips. e_mail didn’t mention a town/city. But I am from Montross, Va., dreaming of Co. 🙂
Ron
Hi Eric,
l leave in Vieux Fort,St.Lucia.Thanks for your good job.
Hey Eric, Aweber’s geo-targeting hit my location on the “nail-head.” Murfreesboro, TN, USA. This has great implications for the emerging “local” internet marketing segment. Regards, KS
Bingo! Nailed my location.
You got mine right…Littleton, CO!
I live in Spokane, Washington. Thanks for the interesting and helpful tips.
Eric,
You are correct, I am from Chicago.
Well you were right. Sublimity, OR That is pretty good software.
Hi Eric
You’re spoton as I am from Singapore
Cheers
You were right I am based in Nottingham, Home of Robin Hood and yes we still have a Sheriff
Hello Eric,
1. hope for you to be well there with family. pl accept the gratitude for the quality of work you are mailin’.
2. yes, you are right in locatin’ me, i am currently residin’ 130km from the capital Islamabad, its an area in the foot hills of himalayas, lovely, would be a pleasure to see you here.
3. once again, thank you very much, indeed, take care, see you around
with profound regards,
zahid
Hi Eric,
I was listed as living in Bremerton, WA. That was close but actually I live in Everett, WA about 30 miles northwest of there.
I sure love all your tips and advice.
Pretty close… Your email said Grand Prairie, Texas – I am in Duncanville, Texas. Both are suburbs around the southwest edge of Dallas, Grand Prairie being the next one clockwise from Duncanville. This was really no surprise to me, Duncanville didn’t even show up on the maps on our local weather forcasts until the last year or so. Good Job!!
Right on for me. Sunny San Diego, California but not so sunny today. I live in the heart near San Diego Bay and at 62 F it feels mighty cold and a big storm is headed our way. Normally the weather here would make you just cry for its beauty!
Great tips, Eric!
Hello Eric:)
Yes we live in Iceland/Reykjavik
My subject line said “Are you in the area”. Nothing listed. I’m in Manhattan Beach, CA.