SKYLIST and Return Path Join Forces to Maximize Delivery of Opt-in Email by Reducing "False Positives"

Marketers Now Have Better Tools to Avoid Spam Traps and Filters

AUSTIN, Texas - October 25, 2004 - According to email performance management company Return Path, at least 19 percent of opt-in email is mistaken for spam and is inappropriately blocked by Internet Service Providers-an undesirable effect referred to as 'false positives' in the email marketing industry. To give marketers tools to better navigate the bumpy road to the inbox, SKYLIST, a leader of deliverability best practices and #2 ranked self-service email service provider, today announced a new partnership with Return Path.

As a first step, SKYLIST has tightly integrated Return Path's Message Checker spam-trigger identification system into the SKYLIST StormPost™ email marketing automation system. Now, StormPost system users can easily view a detailed spam-trigger report to iteratively test the message and make necessary changes without leaving the campaign creation process.

"Unfortunately, spammers have diluted the effectiveness of key marketing terms that are highly powerful when communicated via offline channels," said Lana McGilvray, vice president of marketing and sales, SKYLIST. "Old adages and promotional terms such as 'SALE' are no longer in our email marketing vocabulary because between 19 and 30 percent of legitimate opt-in messages are incorrectly flagged as spam based on the content and key words. With intelligent tools, marketers can increase deliverability benchmarks and overall campaign success rates."

Prior to extending delivery capabilities with Return Path, SKYLIST offered some of the highest deliverability rates and transparent metrics in the industry. Integrating Message Checker allows SKYLIST to focus on other delivery challenges such as bounce analysis, connection limiting and frequency control. Message Checker is provided at no additional charge to all hosted StormPost system customers and may be activated for an additional charge by those who have purchased a StormPost software license.

"There's no doubt that reliable delivery is the key challenge in the email marketing space today," said George Bilbrey, general manager of delivery assurance solutions for Return Path. "SKYLIST steps up to the plate to address this challenge for its customers by showing a strong ability to innovate and respond quickly to changing market demands."

About Return Path, Inc:
Return Path is an email performance management company dedicated to improving the reach, delivery performance and overall success of permission-based email programs. More than 1,500 companies use Return Path's services to generate superior results from their email programs, taking advantage of Return Path's pioneering innovation in deliverability, ECOA, list hygiene, double-opt-in list acquisition and best practices strategy. Solutions include list maintenance, deliverability, data acquisition, online sampling, marketing technology and email strategy. Return Path Delivery Assurance Solutions are the industry's original and premier email deliverability tools and services, and remain the only full-circle solution for solving email deliverability issues. The company's investors include Sutter Hill Ventures, Mobius Venture Capital, Flatiron Partners, and JP Morgan Partners. For more information, please visit www.returnpath.net, email info@returnpath.net, or call toll-free 866-362-4577.

About SKYLIST:
Founded in 1996, SKYLIST is an email service provider that 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 license and hosted-form, is in use by Ediets.com, Sybase iAnywhere, the Ad Council and Anheuser-Busch Credit Union. SKYLIST is driving adoption of emerging standards such as DomainKeys, Sender ID, SPF and email sender reputation and actively engaged in dialogues and initiatives involving current and forthcoming legislation including CAN-SPAM. For more information, please visit http://www.skylist.com.

Media Contact:
Kathleen Bagley Formidoni
blast! PR for SKYLIST
919-833-9975
kathleen@skylist.com