eNews Specifications

Our most common ad format for eNewsletters is referred to as a text based ad, but an image actually accommodates the text. The ad inclusion is 35-40 Words of copy with an image - jpg or gif (NO FLASH) - that is 125 x 90 pixels- and thats 125 pixels across, 90 pixels in height. The headline will be the company name or a supplied headline that should be just a few words that should appeal to a very short attention span. And of course we need the specific URL for click through.

Example here - facing left side of the enews.

Summary again-

• Headline or Company Name with 35-40 Words & URL :: Plain text document or Word

• Image 125×90 pixels, jpg or gif

Deliver files to us via our robust ftp service located http://www.designworldonline.com/adcenter/

Just click the ‘Upload Creative’ button and select eMedia as the receiver. We will notified automatically of any uploads. File transfer this way avoids any email server issues. The service allows multiple file uploads making it easy to submit multiple creative files and Word or plain text documents.

Its important to remember email servers will deny Flash files or scripts, thus the limitation of gif or jpg image files.

Submitting new product releases and press releases

At a recent meeting with our editorial team the topic of new product release information was discussed. The really great news is that we are experiencing a high volume of new product considerations for print and and web posting. Please keep them coming and Design World in mind.

Here’s some best practices tips when submitting new product information and pr to Design World:

1. We prefer receiving word documents.

2. If sending a PDF, we suggest that the pdf be unlocked to edit the release. Also, please see tip above.

3. Preferred format for photos is jpeg.

4. When sending the jpeg do not embed it into the word , please send the jpeg and word document together in the email.
By following these best practices, we’ll be able to quickly respond to your new product for print and web consideration.

Thanks a bunch,

WTWH, Scott

Video Platform Upgrade

And we’re fired up to be launching improvements to the DW video platform. Our new improved player from Fliqz sports a cleaner interface, easy embed, sharing and email features and several under the hood improvements. A great example can be found here on 3D Scanners - happens to be interesting video from Next Engine on re-creating obsolete parts on a classic Bugatti by scanning the old part and creating a new watertight 3D CAD part from the generated mesh.

Also on the video front, we can take these video formats:

.avi, .flv, .mpg, .mov, .wmv, .mp4, .mov, .avi, mpeg, .wmv, .3gp, .mod, and .movieclip

Just go to our video upload link found here - Use the simple interface to upload the file and your done. Once uploaded, the video can literally be placed and shared across any website, social network, or blog by way of simple embed code generated by clicking the get embed <> link on the player.

Next time an article or PR is in the works, consider a video to go along with and we’ll embed on the page contextually with the copy.

Calculating CTR%

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about CTR% - Click Through Rates- and what constitutes a ‘good’ or successful rate. First to point out the way to obtain CTR% and the different ways I’ve seen the rate calculated when it comes to eNewsletters.

For web metrics, its pretty straightforward. An advertiser gains 10,000 impressions, or unique page views where the ad resides. 100 people actually click on the ad, and the CTR% is effectively 1%.

For eNews delivery we calculate CTR% by measuring the amount of emails that were successfully delivered, say 55,000 for example, and measuring against total delivered, versus total opened. I have seen metrics calculated both ways, and they obviously give different results.

So if the open rate is 25%, 13,750 is our viewer number, but CTR is still calculated from successful send figure. If the click through is say 1500 total clicks, the CTR for that enewsletter is effectively 2.7% or rounding up for example 3%, If you based CTR off the opens, then your CTR would be almost 11%. So its wise to find out how the CTR is calculated to compare apples to apples.

Further, for each call to action, the click % for each unique link may be based off the pool of clicks or the 1500 number. So if one call to action yields 700 clicks, the clicks are 47% of the total clicks. But NET CTR now based off our total successful sent emails for this action is 1.2%.

So as an advertiser you may see numbers like 11% CTR and 47% share and feel great, while the 2.7% CTR and 1.2% NET CTR seems like a disappointment, but in the end, your result was the same.

So what is a successful CTR % rate? If you are after branding and mind share, this may have less importance that on a specific call to action to receive a catalog, whitepaper, video, or CD offering. Calculating the DW way based on an enewsletter with multiple advertisers, NET CTR of 1% is outstanding - or to use the click pool method- say 4-5% of the clicks. Even better is that we also provide levels of contact information and metrics associated with the click, so further, the advertiser can determine the quality of the lead, which carries much greater value than just a click of course.

And for those calls to action, its important to be compelling. Rino Mechanical recently ran a series of enews ads where they stated a specific technology was obsolete. This bold statement got people clicking - 20% of the total click pool in a single enewsletter.

At the end of the day, if its not a brand new technology or breakthrough, a message with no call to action, no offer, or lacks anything compelling probably will not get a decent CTR to materialize no matter how you calculate it.

TraceParts officially launches operations in the US

Great news for US suppliers on the 3DCAD catalog front. TraceParts, a leading global supplier of 3D Engineering Content, announced TraceParts, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary based in New Hampshire that will be offering customers the software and services needed to create, manage, and distribute web based 3D product catalogs. Industry veteran Bob Noftle will be heading up operations.

Form the Release:

The new operation will be led by industry veteran Bob Noftle. Bob has over 25 years experience in the CAD/CAM industry, most recently with the SolidWorks Corporation where he was the General Manager of 3D Content Solutions.

“To support our U.S. customers, and our European and Asian customers with U.S. operations, it was imperative that we form this subsidiary”, says Etienne Mullie, TraceParts founder, CEO and President of the Board. “With his vast experience in the content field, coupled with his knowledge of the marketplace, Bob is uniquely qualified to lead the U.S. team.”

“The establishment of TraceParts, Inc. signifies another important move for TraceParts as it continues with its expansion plans,” said Bob Noftle the newly appointed president. “I am happy to be part of a team that is so focused on the needs of the customer.”

The new subsidiary will allow TraceParts to provide global support to component manufacturers in the creation and publishing of their 3D catalogs. Many leading suppliers including Asco Joucomatic Numatics, Bosch Rexroth, Festo, Igus, Ina/Fag, Legris, Misumi, Schneider and Trelleborg, have already selected TraceParts for their innovative technology and effective marketing support.

The TraceParts Online CAD portal already has more than 650,000 registered users worldwide. For more information about TraceParts, see www.traceparts.com.

Driving traffic to www.designworldonline.com and related network offerings

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is “what are you doing to drive traffic.” It is an interesting question because we probably have the same internal conversations that our marketing partners have in their meetings.

Currently, you’ll see a couple successful efforts taking place by leveraging site syndication with an active RSS feed exposed on several of our network sites. This subtle formula taking place in our 3dcadforums.com and 3dcadtips.com site drove an additional 1,000 plus unique visitors to www.designworldonline.com.

Not staggering numbers, but when you start to think about leveraging the technology across multiple platforms and online initiatives it gets really interesting especially when your web team has several more projects in the queue to roll out this fall and early in 2008.

In addition to site syndication, we have a print advertising campaign running across multiple leading trading publications including: Electronic Products, Today’s Medical Developments, Aerospace Design & Manufacturing, Design2Part, and Automation World magazines. Here’s a look at the first ever Design World print ad - sure to be a collectors item.

These are just a couple visible ways that we are driving traffic to www.designworldonline.com. If you have any ideas or thoughts please feel free to share them with me.

WTWH, Scott