Knowledge Marketing  Ranks on the 2010 Inc. 500|5000 List for Second Consecutive Year

Minneapolis, MN , August 25, 2010 – Inc. magazine yesterday ranked Knowledge Marketing No. 2,968 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. In 2009, they ranked 384 on the 500 list. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Music website Pandora, convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Brooklyn Brewery, and Radio Flyer, maker of the iconic children’s red wagon, are among the prominent brands featured on this year’s list.

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression,” said Inc. president Bob LaPointe. “The 2010 Inc. 5000 showcases a particularly hardy group of entrepreneurs.”

Knowledge Marketing (KM), an on-demand email marketing software and services company provides an affordable enterprise level eMarketing platform integrating Email Marketing, Online Surveys/Data Collection, and Digital Editions. These solutions, along with their cross platform reporting, drive their mission to help marketers successfully build, manage, and grow a profitable online channel. KM is trusted by a span of industries including: B2B, retailers, publishers, non-profits and more.

The 2010 Inc. 5000, unveiled today on Inc.com, serves as a unique illustration of the profound changes taking place in the U.S. economy.

“We are honored to be recognized by Inc. for the second straight year,” says Duane Crandall, CEO of Knowledge Marketing. “We continue our fast paced growth thanks to our dedicated clients and ability to attract and retain talent despite the challenges the economy continues to present. “

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found on www.inc.com/5000.

Methodology

The 2010 Inc. 500|5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2006 to 2009. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by June 30, 2006. Additionally, they had to be based in the United States, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2009. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2006 is $80,000; the minimum for 2009 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. The top 10 percent of companies on the list constitute the Inc. 500, now in its 29th year.

About Inc. Magazine

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc. (www.inc.com) is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies that delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. With a total paid circulation of 712,647, Inc. provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology. Visit us online at www.inc.com.



Subject and From Lines

You should use a consistent name in the From line of your email. This will help the reader to recognize your email from a trusted source. For the subject line, as little as 15 characters may be viewable so you will want to make it as short as possible to ensure the most opens. If your email subject line is longer, put the most relevant information in the beginning of the subject line to ensure its read. For those subscribed to Knowledge Marketing’s ECN services, you have a feature available that will allow you to preview subject lines in multiple browsers, including the blackberry.

Formatting

For those that are sending HTML messages, send emails in a multi-part MIME format. This means that emails will be deciphered in the most complex format showing the email in the best way. The benefit is the recipient sees the email regardless of the device they are using.

You’ve seen optin forms with ‘check for your preferred format’ and you can select HTML or Text. But even a better practice would be to ask the subscriber if they will be reading your emails on a computer, mobile, or both.

The Message

All marketers know they should make the email as relevant to the reader as possible, but with mobile email marketing this is especially important. According to Marketing Sherpa, the average email reader only spends 15-20 seconds looking at your email (if it’s even opened at all). Try to keep your emails concise and clear to ensure that the message can be understood by those just skimming emails from their phone. Also, keep the email short as mobile email readers will not want to scroll down to get to the heart of your message. And lots of links and images will make it appear longer than it really is, causing the readers to have to do a lot of scrolling.

The Design

Many mobile devices, such as the blackberry, have limited displays that may limit the width to 320 px. That being said, marketers should be sure to optimize valuable top text space by using ‘pre-headers’, they are text links on the top of your message and it’s the first few lines your subscribers will see. Rather than just including Forward to a Friend, you may want to highlight the offer or the main message of your campaign to ensure your subscribers engage with your email message. Another item you can do is to use alt tags to describe the images so, if the image isn’t rendered, the reader will still know what they are suppose to see. Lastly, include a phone number on your message. While an email received at work, may cause a reader to click through to the link, a mobile reader may want to call for more information. Having a click to call available makes it easy for the reader to reach you directly.

By following these suggestions your mobile email marketing is sure to be a success. Visit our website for more information, or schedule your personal demo with one of our solution experts.