e-mail direct marketing - a comprehensive presentation

www.stratadigital .com

Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, March 2014

E-Mail Direct Marketing


ARUN N. NAIR

Arun is the founder of Strata, a venture he started in 2012. He is also principal consultant for all assignments, drawing from his wealth of experience to guide businesses on their digital strategy.

He was Head – Digital with Mahindra Holidays and was one of the pioneers of introducing digital marketing within the entire Mahindra group.

In 2008, he was recipient of the prestigious best practice award from the Mahindra group, the jury was headed by Anand Mahindra.

Recently, he was conferred the Top 20 Digital Marketers citation by the world brand congress (WBC) and the CMO council.

Arun is a regular speaker at digital marketing and social media conferences across the country. He is also passionate about teaching and conducts workshops, guest lectures on digital.

About the Trainer


Implications of Direct Marketing in the Digital Era


Digital has not only changed marketing, but changed the way we live for good.


We live in an era of instant gratification. Marketers certainly understand that.


Responding to conventional direct marketing is passé. Even traditional direct marketing is becoming hybrid#


The 3Ds of Digital Direct Marketing


Deliverability: Instant and follows the consumer.


Dynamic: Message tailored based on immediate purchase and behaviour patterns.


Decisive: Helps you take decisions quickly and effectively.


E-Mail Marketing is Digital Direct Marketing


Though other means and mediums exist in digital direct marketing, e-mail marketing remains the most popular.


Statistics & Observations on E-Mail Marketing


Did you know, companies view e-mail marketing as a better return on investment than PPC, content marketing, social media, offline direct marketing, affiliate marketing, online display advertising and mobile marketing!

Source: Adestra


The average click-through rate for B2B marketing emails in Q2 2013 was 1.7% Source: Epsilon


60% of marketers believe email marketing produces positive ROI.Source: Marketing Sherpa


54% of emails sent by businesses are marketing messages. Source: Epsilon


838 billion marketing messages have been sent in 2013.Source: Forrester


91% of consumers check their email daily.Source: ExactTarget


74% of consumers prefer to receive commercial communications via email. Source: Merkle


66% of consumers have made a purchase online as a result of an email marketing message.Source: Direct Marketing Association


Structure of an E-Mailer


Body

Footer


The Subject Line


Email subject lines are a form of headline. They perform the same function as a headline by attracting attention and getting your email content a chance to be read.


She’s likely to make a snap judgment based on that line about whether to open, ignore, delete or mark as spam!


Subject Lines Typically Perform One of the Following Actions …


Educate“7 things content marketers can learn from fiction writers”

Ask a question“Did you miss this?”

Announce a sales or new product“Save up to 50%: Our annual sale starts now.”

Offer a solution to a problem“Pay down your loan”.

Jump on a popular topic“The state of Facebook newsfeed: What’s working now?”


Avoid generic subject lines; always choose clarity over creativity.

“Humming Summer of Innovation”“Summer Internship Opportunities”


Keep it short (16-39 characters) where the first 10 characters make sense if viewed on a mobile device.


When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tell what’s inside, and the worst subject lines sell what’s inside.


The Pre-header


The short summary text that follows the subject line when an email is viewed in the inbox.


The Pre-Header also referred as a Johnson Box or Super Subject Line, is seeing a resurgence in email marketing circles.


It gets the key offer into the preview pane. The chances are that at least some of your recipients don’t have much time and want to go straight to your key offering


It reduces Spam complaints and helps deliverability, since it gives your users a clean and concise overview of your e-mailer.


Provide an offer or coupon“Spring Sale Offer | Use coupon SPRING14”

Free shipping“Free Shipping for a Limited Period”

Summary of the email message“Includes an ultimate social media guide for marketers”

Thank the customer“Thank you for your interest, here’s something special for you”

How are companies using pre-headers?


Under Armour, 5/21/13 — Built To Tackle The Sun & Sand It's Always Sunny Somewhere — Shop Now | View Online.

Urban Outfitters, 5/20/13 — Are you ready to get the party started? Shop Summer Party Essentials

GOOD


Victoria’s Secret, 4/16/13 — This one's for you, Angels... You have asked to receive emails from Victoria's Secret. If you have received this email in error, please unsubscribe here.

Monterey Bay Aquarium, 5/21/13 — Bid Now for the Oceans: Last Chance! Having trouble reading this message? View it online.

Ann Taylor, 5/20/13 — FINAL HOURS! EXTRA 50% Off Sale Final Hours: Take An Extra 50% Off All Sale Styles!

BAD


West Elm, 2/18/13 — Today only: free shipping (plus a Presidents Day surprise) Use promo code FREE4PRES at checkout, some exclusions apply

Threadless, 4/24/13 — Aerosoiled and 9 more new goofy designs by MADE artist Aaron Jay! Plus, hang out while we interview Aaron Jay at 11:30AM CST.

BEST


The From Name


The "From" line is just as important as the subject line, if at times even more so.


The “From” name is critical, however, given that most recipients look at the "From" name first and will discard or mark as spam messages from senders they don't recognize.


Keep it consistent. Do not change “From” names repeatedly on the same publication. Many people sort their inboxes or filter based on name.


Do not use just an email address as your From line. This does not look good because most subscribers are use to seeing a name in that column.


Company or Brand NameVodafone, Flipkart, ShoppersStop

Product or Service“Mileage Plus” is sometimes used by United Airlines as a From Name

Personal NameUse the name of a specific employee at your company (e.g. a sales executive that manages the account)

With a Phone NumberInclude an office or mobile number so your customers can contact you easily after reading email: “Amit Joshi | 90011 12345”

Campaign BasedFlipkart Sale, Marketo Events

The Different Ways to Set-up From Name


The Body


The body is the meat of the email marketing message. The body is where the magic should happen. Taking the reader from initial interest to reading and action.


It’s overwhelming to have to digest an email that is trying to get across too many points. Instead, direct recipients to reply, call, or take another action to learn more.


GOOD


BAD!


BEST!


Mobile Friendly Designs


Yet even with all this explosive growth in mobile email, 58% of email marketers are still not designing for it. Source: Marketing Land


Even worse, 31% of marketers don’t even know their mobile e-mail open rate!Source: MarketingSherpa


Responsive: The layout of a page responds based on the proportions of the screen on which it’s presented.


GOOD


BAD!


BEST


Testing


One of the most powerful aspects of email marketing is that it can be tested (and thereby optimized).


There are no golden rules because what works for one audience won’t necessarily work for another. Testing is your biggest ally.


Start SimpleTest subject lines and headers first. It doesn’t take a lot of time or creative work to come up with a few simple variants, and the returns can be significant.

Test One Element at a TimeIf you test more than one element, you won’t be able to tell which variant drove the success.

Control for Time of Day and Day of the WeekIf you’re testing other variants, then send on the same day and at the same time to eliminate the timing variant.

Keep a Log of All Your TestsRecord your findings so you can refer back to the specific variables tested and, more importantly, learn from them

6 Tips for Pro Testing


Run on a Sample that is RepresentativeRun tests on groups that are small, but large enough to determine a clear winner. The winning variables should then be incorporated into your larger mailing.

Nothing is ObviousEven the most insignificant of variables might have the most damming impact on a campaign. In the words of Sherlock Holmes “… when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth”

6 Tips for Pro Testing


What to Test?


Subject line

From name

Day of the week

Time of day

Frequency

Copy length

Links vs. buttons

Number of links

15 Elements to be Considered for Testing


First name personalization — in the subject line

First name personalization — in the email body

Font colors

Font styles

Call to action

Call to action — placement

Tone — human vs. corporate

15 Elements to be Considered for Testing


A/B Testing or split testing is a method of optimization in which the conversion rates of two versions of an e-mailer — version A and version B — are compared to one another using live results.


A/B testing takes the guesswork out of e-mailer optimization and enables data-backed decisions that shift business conversations from “we think” to “we know.”


Variant A Variant B


Multivariate testing uses the same core mechanism as A/B testing, but compares a higher number of variables, and reveals more information about how these variables interact with one another.


Campaign & Delivery


Building the Database


Purchased lists have a low quality rate and so using them will have a negative effect on your bounce, unsubscribe, spam and delivery rates which will all hurt your email reputation and future deliverability.


Building an opt-in database takes time and effort, but the rewards will be worth it as you should experience better KPIs like higher response and conversion rates at a lower cost.


GOOD


BAD!


BEST


Double Opt-in Confirmation


When a person “doubly opts in” they can be sent any email and it will appear directly in their email’s Inbox and not in the spam folder.


The Welcome E-Mail


A welcome e-mail show your new subscribers you appreciate having them as part of your subscriber community.


Welcome emails are also great for reminding subscribers exactly what they signed up for.


Welcome emails also give you, the marketer, a chance to promote other things like offers, upcoming events, etc.


Anatomy of a Welcome E-Mail


GOOD


BAD!


BEST


Segmentation & Targeting


Consumers are becoming more and more comfortable with targeted advertising and personalized content.


They expect marketers to know almost everything about them, and to use that information to create customized experiences.


Segmented email campaigns produce 30% more opens than undifferentiated messages.

Source: Monetate’s Intelligent Email Marketing that Drives Conversions


Small, segmented sends are more engaging than large, untargeted sends.Source: Marketo Benchmark on Email Marketing Study


Multiple E-MailsTo pull targeted lists, and send different emails to each segment.

Single E-Mail with Dynamic ContentTo customize a single email for different segments using dynamic content. Dynamic content allows you to create one email template with content that varies based on the recipient.

Segments are used in two ways


Who They AreDemographic attributes, such as income, title, age, and location.

What they’ve donePast behaviors and transactions.

Types of Segmentation


Segmentation Based on Demographics


Gender

Age

Job title

Company size

Industry

Interests

Geography

Birthday month

Segmentation based on demographics


Personas are research-based profiles of archetypal customers that represent the needs of many.


Creating personas brings a human element to your campaigns by allowing you to focus on your customers as real people, and then communicate with them on a more natural level.


“Samir the Shopper”Is partial to impulse purchases and likes to “add to cart,” provided that each additional item is under Rs. 1000 and relevant to his needs.

“Chetan the CEO”Is an information-hungry whitepaper hoarder, who is looking to league up with thought leaders in his field.

“Vandana the White White Enthusiast”Will buy any white wine that isn’t a heavily-oaked Chardonnay, and that happens to be offered in bulk at a discount greater than 20%.

Personas


The Page Two ExperienceCapture basic contact information on the first page of your site, andthen ask for more information on subsequent pages.

Preference CenterOnce customers have subscribed to your email marketing, invite them toyour email preference center, where they can customize their profiles andhelp you help them.

Clicks Paths and TransactionsBy paying attention to a user’s click path and transaction activity, you can make inferences about his demographics. For example, marketers at can infer gender based on whether a shopper visits the women’s section of the site or the men’s section.

How do you mine this demographic data?


Segmentation Based on Behaviors


Knowing who your customers are is great, but knowing how they behave is even better.


Learn to Read Buyers’ Online Body Language


When you combine online body language with transactional and purchase data (products purchased or owned, usage data etc.) you have solid and very powerful information to go on.


But when behavioral data is not used, your emails could be considered dissonant interruptions.


Triggered emails and segmenting campaigns based on behaviors are the top tactics to improve email engagement.

www.stratadigital .com Source: MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey


Content InteractionsThe content a consumer views tells you a lot about his interests. Forexample, if a consumer uses the loan calculator on a financialservices company’s website, he is likely interested in loan products.

Revenue StageUse different messages for prospects that have never bought and are notcurrently evaluating solutions, prospects who are actively evaluatingsolutions, and active customers.

Transactional DataUsing actual transactional data can be one of the most powerful forms ofbehavioral targeting. For a financial services company, this can includedeposit and withdrawal transactions. For telecom, it can include data usage and add-on purchase.

Examples of behavioral targeting


Non-activityTargeting emails based on “missing” behavior can be just as powerful astargeting specific behaviors. For example, you can target consumersthat do not respond to a campaign (no open; no click; no conversion) or that have not visited your website in a specific amount of time.

Campaign ResponseTarget new campaigns based on how buyers have responded to priorcampaigns. If a consumer always responds to content downloads butnever to event invitations, stop targeting her for events. Instead, give her more content to download.

Cart AbandonmentCart abandonment is a good reason to use a behavioral targeted campaign to nudge your subscribers to finish their order. Send one personalized email reminder, or even a series of reminders to follow up.

Examples of behavioral targeting


Best Times to Send E-Mail


Deliverability


Without a strong focus on deliverability, sometimes even quality, permission-based emails can get filtered out of your subscriber’s inboxes


Email deliverability is more and more about your reputation as a sender and less about the actual content of your emails.


Many ISPs and independent organizations usethe blacklists as a reference filter applied to their inbound mail servers to aid in preventing spam, and to encourage internet security.


If you are a low-volume sender, a shared IP address might suffice, but if you are a high volume sender, a dedicated IP is usually best.


Your email provider should be able to handle relationships with ISPs and receivers, especially if your legitimate emails are getting marked as false-positive spam.


Follow the Trust and Engagement MantraGive your subscribers a good reason to opt in and set clear expectations about what’s to come. Then, follow through on your promises with timely,targeted, valuable emails.

Use Responsible Methods to Build your ListsVerify all new email addresses before sending your messages, and regularly scrub your contact lists to remove inactive addresses.

Choose a Solid E-mail Marketing Service ProviderMake sure the vendor you choose is sophisticated enough to handle bounces, uptime, robust list-management.

Create Engaging ContentIf your content is boring or irrelevant, people won’t engage with it or, worse, will mark your emails as spam.

6 Best practices for deliverability


Manage your Complaint RateIf your email marketing service warns you that complaints made againstyou are high, take the warning seriously. Set up an email address— [email protected] — that a representative of your emailmarketing service or an anti-spam organization can use to contact youwith any complaints.

Be Proactive About Closely Monitoring your Reputation MetricsGet your email reputation score to learn what you need to changeabout your program in order to improve your reputation and yourinbox placement rates.

6 Best practices for deliverability


Measurement & Analytics


Engaging email is strategic email, and to achieve strategic value, email marketers need better metrics.


Sent

Delivered

Bounced

Opens/ Open Rate

Clicks / Click Rate / Click to Open Rate

Unsubscribe Rate

Marked as Spam

The Seven Most Common E-mail Metrics


Sent Your sent metric is the number of emails that actually moved through the sending mail server (your ESP). It depends upon how your ESP tracks what’s been sent (whether or not it includes “bad” email addresses in the final count). Remember, while some of your emails are sent to bad addresses, they certainly don’t get received.

DeliveredDelivered refers to the number of emails that were sent and not rejected by a receiving server. It’s important to understand that Delivered does not mean it landed in the recipient’s inbox.

Common E-mail Metrics


BouncedBounced email is the opposite of Delivered email. There are two types of bounces: Hard bounces are messages that are permanently rejected (emailsdenied due to an invalid email address or because the recipient’s server has blocked the sender’s server).

Soft bounces are messages that are temporarily rejected because the recipient’s mailbox is full, the server is down, or the message exceeds the size limit set by the recipient or ESP.

Tip: Scan your list(s) and check for obvious typos, like a missing period or mistyped domain name (myemail@aol, myemail@aolcom, etc.). These errors can be fixed on the spot.



Opens / Open RateThe number of contacts who opened the email at least once, and the Open Rate as the number of opens / number of mails delivered.Opens are tracked by adding a small, personalized image (“pixel”) to theemail. As soon as the image renders, the ESP will register that the email hasbeen opened. Note that this means Opens is a difficult metric to track, andthere is also no guarantee that an email opened was an email read.

Note: The bottom line is, the Open Rate is not 100% accurate, but it does serve as a good proxy for whether emails are being read, and as a relativemeasure to compare emails against each other.



Clicks / Click Rate / Click-to-Open RateWhen a subscriber clicks on a link, button, or image within your message, a Click is recorded. The Click-to-Open (CTO) Rate is the total number of Clicks (per subscriber) divided by the total number of Opens. Marketers often pay more attention to the CTO than the Click Rate, since the CTO helps to separate the reasons for opening from the reasons for clicking.

Tip: Your CTA should be obviously placed (not hidden on the page) and include plain, clear language. Don’t make your audience work to find orinterpret it.



Unsubscribe RateThe number of contacts who click the “unsubscribe” link in anemail and then follow through to successfully opt out.

Marked-as-Spam RateThe number of subscribers who reported your email as spam, divided by the number sent or delivered.



E-Mail Spam & Regulations


Email spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email (UBE), is a subset of electronic spam involving nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email.


Image spam is an obfuscating method in which the text of the message is stored as an image and displayed in the email. This prevents text based spam filters from detecting and blocking spam messages.


Blank spam is spam lacking a payload advertisement. Often the message body is missing altogether, as well as the subject line. Blank spam can have been sent in a directory harvest attack, for gathering valid addresses from an email service provider.


Anti-Spam Regulations


CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing) is an act that was passed in 2003.


That act is a law that establishes the rules for commercial email and commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have a business stop emailing them, and outlines the penalties incurred for those who violate the law.


DO

• Do include your valid physical postal address in every email

you send out.

• Do provide a clear and obvious way to opt out of every email

you send out, and honor the unsubscribe within 10 business

days.

• Do use clear "From," "To," and "Reply to" language that

accurately reflects who you are. This applies to the person or

business sending the message, as well as the domain name

and email address.

Rules to Follow for CAN-SPAM Compliance


DON’T

• Don't sell or transfer any email addresses to another list.

• Don't make it hard to unsubscribe from emails. You cannot 1)

charge a fee 2) make recipients take extensive steps other

than simply replying to an email or visiting a single page on a

website to unsubscribe themselves from your emails.

• Don't use deceptive subject lines in your emails that

misrepresent the contents of your message.

Rules to Follow for CAN-SPAM Compliance


ARUN N. NAIR

Arun is the founder of Strata, a venture he started in 2012. He is also principal consultant for all assignments, drawing from his wealth of experience to guide businesses on their digital strategy.

He was Head – Digital with Mahindra Holidays and was one of the pioneers of introducing digital marketing within the entire Mahindra group.

In 2008, he was recipient of the prestigious best practice award from the Mahindra group, the jury was headed by Anand Mahindra.

Recently, he was conferred the Top 20 Digital Marketers citation by the world brand congress (WBC) and the CMO council.

Arun is a regular speaker at digital marketing and social media conferences across the country. He is also passionate about teaching and conducts workshops, guest lectures on digital.

About the Trainer

e: [email protected]: +91 91670.86664w: stratadigital.com

THANK YOU!