SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) all help to combat phishing, spam and spoofing. But some myths about how far they go and what else marketers can do still linger. 

ExactTarget announced today its acquisition of marketing automation company Pardot for $95 million, and its purchase of predictive analytics firm iGoDigital for $25 million. 

Website Magazine today published its list of the top 50 Email Service Providers. Instead of a qualitative assessment based on feature set and customer feedback, the list is instead compiled based on website traffic to the ESP's main site (not including clicks on shortened URLs sent in messages by the ESP's clients). iContact sits at the top of the list, followed by Vertical Response and NetAtlantic.

The IAB released online advertising industry revenues for the first half of 2012 today. Total revenues across all online ad categories was $17 billion, a 14% increase over the first half of 2011. Included in the breakout are email advertising revenues, which dropped slightly from $79 million to $78 million. 

Rethinking your email program means incorporating behavioral elements for customers and prospects. Doing so breathes new life into reactivation programs, provides a more measured response to the frequency question and turns a single email campaign into a targeted behavior-based program.  Read the full article on the Silverpop blog.

A new study by the CMO Council found that 51% of marketers are using mobile communications to nofity and inform customers and 43% are delivering content and services, many are missing opportunities to deepen relationships. Only 23% use mobile for customer care, 19% gather real-time insights, and 18% use the channel to acquire or reactivate customers.

A South Carolina Judge has ruled that email that has been open and resides in the inbox may not be protected under the Stored Communications Act, conflicting with the ruling of the South Carolina Court of Appeals. At issue is whether an opened email constitutes "electronic storage" or if it is "backup protection." The case went to trial when a man sued his wife, daugher-in-law and a private investigator after they hacked into his Yahoo! email account and discovered damaging emails between the man and his paramour. 

Graymail - those newsletters and daily deal alerts you signed up for but have begun to overwhelm the inbox with their frequency and persistence - is the target of Unroll.me, a new service launched in June and updated last month. Unroll.me's CEO and Founder is Josh Rosenwald, a college student in New York. 

Retailers sent their customers over 15.5 promotional emails in September, an increase of 15% over September 2011 according to a new study released by Responsys. The YoY for the full year to date is 19% above 2011. 28% of retailers have already mentioned the holiday season in emails by September. 

In addition to an audience targeted by affinity towards specific content, newsletters also afford advertisers the opportunity to benefit from a Halo Effect, where the inclusion of the ad is perceived as a tacit recommendation from the newsletter's trusted voice.  Read the full article at The eMail Guide.