Red Hat tweaks, trims and tests to maximize e-newsletter impact

摘要

Red hat, a provider of Linux and open source technology, has an internal house list of about 800,000 names. Most came from a newsletter launched three years ago when Red Hat Linux was free software that could be downloaded by anyone. As a result, some of the names on the list are hobbyists and home users, a group that the company has moved away from with its 12-month software subscription business model. Still, Red Hat sends out about 32 different e-mail marketing messages each month, splitting the list based on different verticals and interest-specific opt-ins. Recently, those communications hit a lag. Fewer people were opening and clicking through. The company, like most, said Bran- don Blell, manager, customer marketing at Red Hat, needed to be smarter with its communications.