SKYLIST Urges Email Marketers to Authenticate Messages to Maximize Holiday Campaign ROI

Leading Email Service Provider Gives Marketers Incentive by Discounting SKYLIST Authentication Package for Remainder of 2005

AUSTIN, TX and NEW YORK - November 7, 2005 - SKYLIST, an email service provider and deliverability leader, urges email marketers to implement email authentication standards before the busy holiday season. To help all marketers jumpstart authentication efforts, SKYLIST unveiled the SKYLIST Authentication Package, an industry-first program that offers a risk-free, start-to-finish process proven to quickly and dramatically demonstrate positive ROI. The new Authentication Package showcases the ease-of-use of email authentication standards while justifying the investment in authentication of outbound email marketing campaigns.

As an added incentive, SKYLIST is offering a $1000 discount on the Authentication Package, which usually starts at $6000, depending on requirements. Authentication is recommended for all companies who don't want to lose email due to incorrect configurations and who want to maximize deliverability and ROI. With little or no reliance on email marketers' or IT time and resources, SKYLIST leads the team through the authentication process-from set-up to completion-easily proving significant ROI while improving deliverability rates and campaign performance.

SKYLIST deliverability experts work with email marketers to:

• Review current email sending sources and DNS configuration
• Issue a formal report recommending implementation strategies
• Handle the deployment of the standards and conduct technical training of in-house teams
• Run and optimize campaigns developed for this package
• Evaluate results and ROI

"With the holiday season approaching, email marketers must ensure messages reach customers' inboxes," said Joshua Baer, CEO of SKYLIST and co-chair of the Email Sender and Provider Coalition technology committee. "Authentication is an industry-supported movement and while it is not a complete solution, it is the necessary first step toward creating a framework for combating spam and phishing."

Microsoft, Yahoo!, America Online, the ESPC, the Direct Marketing Association, the Internet Advertising Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have all urged the email marketing industry to adopt authentication standards. The ESPC and DMA actually require members to implement an authentication standard. Baer, who is also an email analyst for Ferris Research, estimates that, despite such measures, 50% of all online advertisers have not yet begun authenticating their outbound email, a statistic that he finds shocking. "Sending unauthenticated email messages will lead to a severe decrease in campaign performance and deliverability rates," he said.

Named #1 overall business value in JupiterResearch's 2005 Email Marketing Buyer's Guide, SKYLIST was the first ESP to authenticate its outbound email with SPF, Sender ID and DomainKeys. The company has since remained on the forefront of the authentication movement and is committed to helping all companies, not just SKYLIST customers, get authenticated.

Founded in 1996, SKYLIST gives companies that rely on email marketing a distinct competitive advantage by enabling them to efficiently deliver highly targeted, optimized and measurable opt-in email campaigns. The SKYLIST StormPost email marketing automation system, available in licensed and hosted form, is in use by eDiets.com, Sybase iAnywhere, the Ad Council and Anheuser-Busch Credit Union. For more information, please visit www.skylist.com.

Media Contact:
Morgan McDowell
blast! PR for SKYLIST
919-833-9975
morgan@blastpr.com