• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, May 4, 2011

Silverpop's Loren McDonald said email marketers can fall into a trap of only evaluating an email's effectiveness based on transactions.

"There needs to be maybe some new metrics or new way to be thinking about it," he said.

There are some brand-building advantages that can lead to purchases later. So an email, maybe with some valuable content that's not overly commercialized, can prompt purchasing with a follow-up email maybe with a 10% discount offer.

"What does that engagement do to the overall lift to the next email that goes out," McDonald said.