Return Path Switches Site to Blog
E-mail delivery firm Return Path Inc. relaunched its site yesterday for business customers - in the form of a blog.While more businesses are adding a separate blog Web site, Return Path transformed its site at www.returnpath.net into www.returnpath.biz, two-thirds of which is a blog with postings educating visitors about online newsletters and other e-mail marketing topics.
Readers of the blog can respond to the postings or sign up to receive e-mails and RSS feeds.
"This is a different way than the traditional methods of publicizing a company," said Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path. "We're designing this to be a lot more informative, transparent, entertaining and interactive."
The other one-third of the site lists the New York company's products and services via text across the top of the page and along the right column.
The company decided to transform the site to focus mainly on the interactive blog format because "in this industry, thought leadership is needed on a daily basis," said Bill Levine, vice president of marketing for Return Path.
Return Path also wanted something different than the standard corporate blog.
"We're not exactly sure what a corporate blog is 'supposed' to be - we're inventing it as we go," Blumberg wrote in his first post.
Blumberg expects many of the 10,000 recipients of the company's two online newsletters to read the blog, along with new visitors to the site. Blumberg expects that about half of the blog readers will choose to receive information via RSS feeds, and the other half will likely choose e-mail.
Running the Web site as a blog is a shift in mindset for company employees and executives, who are expected to share their insights and knowledge on a regular basis.
"A lot of folks aren't in the habit of doing anything like this at all," Blumberg said. "It's something they would do for an individual client. We're already thinking about who's writing what, next."
Christine Blank covers online marketing and advertising, including e-mail marketing and paid search, for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
Christine Blank covers online marketing and advertising, including e-mail marketing and paid search, for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
