DMNews editor in chief Cara Wood sits down with JupiterResearch's David Daniels as well as e-mail experts from StrongMail, Wetpaint and eHarmony at the DMA 08 Conference & Expo to discuss best practices and the importance of relevance when considering transactional e-mail.

In e-mail marketing, reputation is everything. Users are able to make a decision about your e-mail without even opening it — if they don't like what they see in the "Subject" or "From" lines, the delete key is never far away. Marketers also must contend with the negative connotation of "spam" — consumers apply the term to any unwanted e-mails, even if they are legitimate marketing messages to which recipients have opted in. To top it off, ISPs — always looking to streamline their networks and respond to customers' frustrations — create their own barriers. Our experts examine the ways in which e-mail marketers can manage their reputation.

With explosive growth of social media sites also has been a rise in intra-network communication, a growing alternative to personal e-mail. Our experts debate the effect on marketing.

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of consolidation in the e-mail space. Acxiom acquired Digital Impact in 2005, and Experian acquired CheetahMail in 2004.

E-mail services firm JangoMail has upgraded its e-mail marketing service in a move to improve usability, and UK-based software developer Camrivox is using this update to help improve sales.

E-mail has always been an effective hook, but recently, use of e-mail first hand got me both hooked and sold. I am reminded and humbled of the tangible benefits of leveraging what we know as we decide how to implement and execute our marketing strategies.

As e-mail marketing usage grows, so does its benefits. Marketers now use e-mail as part of their business-to-business and business-to-consumer integrated marketing mix, as most recipients accept and even welcome targeted, opt-in e-mails.

FreshAddress, an e-mail change of address services firm, has signed an agreement to purchase Return Path's ECOA business in an undisclosed deal.

In the spirit of Halloween, Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Florida have transformed the park's attractions into haunted houses featuring Freddy Krueger, Jason and the Texas Chainsaw family. Beyond scaring their clientele, Universal is using the Halloween Horror Nights event for e-mail newsletter registrations.

Singer Direct, a strategic business unit of the Omnicom Media Group, has formed an online ad network for transactional network called Online Media Network. The Online Media Network is powered by Singer Direct's Live Decisions marketing tool and lets marketers use transactional e-mails to target consumers by their demographic make-up and purchase behavior.