Since 1974, Dorling Kindersley has published an extensive range of internationally acclaimed adult and children's titles.

The UK's market leader in non-fiction, Dorling Kindersley prides itself on creating books that offer comprehensive information and superb design. Founded in 1974 and now part of the Penguin Group, the company continues to go from strength to strength, publishing across a wide range of subjects including childcare, health, gardening, food & wine, travel and business.

DK’s main customer newsletter has built to more than 30,000 subscribers a month since it began in 2003. With Email Reaction’s easy to use tracking system, DK can measure click-throughs, see what parts of the website readers are interested in and then plan its marketing strategy accordingly.

When timing is everything
Building on this success, DK’s Online Marketing department has now expanded and segmented its newsletter output with campaigns targeted at the readers of particular authors.

Three titles were chosen for the initial trial: ‘Superdate’ by Tracey Cox; ‘The Food Doctor Everyday Diet’ by Ian Marber and Dr Miriam Stoppard’s best-selling ‘Conception, Pregnancy & Birth’.

Timing is more complex than for the main newsletter because the numbers of subscribers fluctuate in line with book purchase and because the tailored newsletters are sent to subscribers, at different times, for a finite period – eg their pregnancy.

In the case of Miriam Stoppard, subscribers get a newsletter every three weeks tailored to their pregnancy stage. Unlike the myriad of rival ‘count-down’ pregnancy newsletters, DK’s customers get a chatty and personalised sequence from one of the world’s leading experts on the subject.

Each newsletter refers to sections of the book, and as visitors to the DK website can sign up before buying the book itself, the newsletter becomes a persuasive cross-promotion tool.

Training for self-sufficiency
Jill Kidson, Head of DK’s Online Marketing, praises the ease of Email Reaction’s short training programme, which enabled her team to become self-sufficient in composing newsletters as well as the reporting and tracking functions provided by the system. Email Reaction has also provided design advice and helped DK set up website-based customer surveys.

“Our experience of Email Reaction has been really positive,” says Jill. “They’re very organised, turn things around very quickly, and in terms of support they have always provided a very good service, helping when we phone or email them about any queries we have.”

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