CCT356: Online Advertising and

MarketingClass 3:

Email Marketing

AdministrationWiki signup

Articles?

First assignment (online ad critique)?

Note terms at the beginning of every chapter – they are potentially testable.

Email MarketingOld, but still a key component of CRM

Very cost effective

Can be targeted and measurable

Inbox is still a common access point to Internet

Can adapt to mobile access

Again, some historyEmail still relatively new for mass market (again,

less than 20 years)

Interaction patterns change, as well as etiquette around unsolicited email

Allows for direct marketing at a far cheaper cost than snail mail

Also more viral – no one passes around pamphlets, but might forward/post email

Types of customer outreach

Transaction emails – e.g., requesting quote, confirming purchase

Newsletters – e.g., regular updates on corporate activities, or push reminders to posts on blogs (e.g., SheridanInsider)

Promotional emails – new sales/services, for immediate action

Retention – building long term relations/loyalty

Email Marketing KPIsWhat do you want users to do? Open email?

Click links? Refer friends to grow customer database? Buy things? See if they’re still alive/interested? (30% email churn a year a good estimate.)

How will you measure if this is successful? Some measures easier to trace than others

Conversion and bounce/unsubscribe rates

Email Service ProvidersManual email sending obviously not very efficient –

doesn’t handle customer DBs well, often done poorly (e.g., 300+ cc’s, which is a privacy and info overload problem.)

ESPs registered with certification authorities avoid automatic identification of email as spam

Often based on ISP reputation – do not run email campaign through free ISP account.

Ease of use, database integration, reporting built in

Look at MailChimp later.

Establishing a DatabaseGenuine, opt-in databases best

Email important but other factors can be important for targeted marketing: e.g., name, nature of relationship, demographics, frequency of communication requested

Take care to limit info request – too much info on signup = less signups

What kind of targeting information would you include?

Best practices for signupsMake sign-up location obvious

Make privacy/anti-spam policy clear

Make call for action and benefit clear

Estimate frequency of communication (and stick to it!)

Ideally link submissions directly to database (reduces manual entry/error) – an iPad/laptop on site would be better than a paper form.

Text vs. HTML?HTML – allows for richer content/branding

Text – quicker download, more compatible with some mobile devices

Allowing both options (and changing options) best practice

Email segmentsPreheaders – can be useful instructions (e.g.,

click here for mobile version) but also might be confusing (e.g., http://blog.mailchimp.com/time-to-reconsider-preheaders/)

Header – standard to, from, reply – from should be personal (even if it’s really not.)

Subject – most important part, and a target for spam filters (e.g., Sheridan’s banning “report”); consistent format/language builds rapport

Segments #2Greeting – can be personalized if you have that

information

Body – finally, your message – where text/HTML issues are key, esp on mobile devices

Footer – Further contact info, policy info – but most important part is unsubscribe. Making it hard to unsubscribe = junk status.

Template DesignESPs allow for design of emails (esp HTML

emails).

F-pattern: where should your key ask be?

Design #2Email design != web page design – e.g., HTML5 or

advanced CSS might not work as intended or at all

Design for preview window – is your identity and ask obvious on quick view? Put logo/call for action early on (subject header or top left of body for preview panes…)

Use alt text for images – some clients (esp. mobile) only load text unless requested

Test, test, test – on as many platforms/devices as possible.

Design for mobileWhat technological/contextual limitations exist

with mobile email access?

How do you design around these issues?

Consider email as a means of bridging to web page, blog, Facebook profile, Twitter account, video channel, etc.

Effective CRM reaches customers through whatever medium they wish to use at the time

Email AnalyticsWhat’s delivered?

What’s bounced (and why?)

Unsubscribed?

Pass on rate?

Conversion?

Test around subject lines, time/day of delivery, copy style, media use etc. – further segmentation

Avoiding being spam80-85% of email identified as spam

Spam filters imperfect but powerful

What can you do to avoid being spam?

MailChimp hints600px width for all devices

Simple layout – consider email clients as bad web browsers, and KISS.

Avoid background images – use solid colors –complex CSS, and interactive bits (e.g., Flash)

Keep privacy, spam, and unsubscribe obvious to avoid being spam

Design text emails as much as HTML – assume 60 char width, and don’t assume consistent wrapping

MailChimp hints #2Avoid absolute URLs – use relative

Be careful with sneak opt-in (e.g., random contacts at tradeshows, other people’s lists, fishbowls, etc.) – just because it’s in the fine print, doesn’t mean they like you. Tread carefully.

Avoid spam filters – key spam phrases/words, colors, etc. (http://spamassassin.apache.org/tests_3_0_x.html)

Be aware of corporate firewalls

Avoid domain being blacklisted

Test, test, test – in many clients/platforms

Sharing Tips from Mailchimp

Links to FB, Twitter, Reddit, iTunes, Eventbrite, etc. prepped with proper tags, titles, URLs, etc. – easily customized in default interface

Time sharing to days/times compatible with audience

Track likes, tweets, retweets

Next weekAffiliate Marketing