email: cut through the clutter
TRANSCRIPT
Email >>Cut Through the Clutter
& Get Better Results
Presented by:Penny Greening
5 things you want to knowabout this presentation…
1. 45 minutes (including Q&A)
2. Send your questions through GoToWebinarat any time during the presentation
3. We will answer timely questions during the presentation and save the rest for Q&A period
4. If we run out of time, additional questions can be answered through our blog post
5. After the webinar, we will send you a link to the recording + a PDF of slides presented
Marqui’s approach to email
1. Each campaign should support business goals
2. Use analytics to improve future campaigns
3. The rules of email are always evolving,stay on top of industry standards
What We’ll Cover Today
• 3 Reasons To Revisit Your Strategy
• Permission Marketing, List Collection Best Practices and Spam Reduction
• Writing Subject Lines that Cut Through the Inbox Clutter (1 of 7 characteristics of an effective email)
• Deeper Segmentation >> Better Customer Relations
• Maximizing Viral Growth >> Email & Social Media
• A/B Split Testing for Improved Campaign Success
• Basics of Campaign Metrics
Campaign Growth
Non-Revisited Email Campaign
3 reasons to revisit your Email Marketing Communications Strategy
1 customers own their inbox and are increasingly less tolerant of “time-wasters”
2 just because email is low costit’s only effective if you’re trackingthe customer’s response Creative is perfect, but results are saying something else?Ask yourself:
• Are we using campaign metrics to measure success?
• Are we benchmarking against industry standards?
• Did we OFFER something tangible to the customer for their efforts?
3 you may have lost trackwhy you’re using email in the first place
“If Search is the Key to Acquisition,Email is the Queen of Retention.”
Quoting eMarketer Digital Intelligence
Customer Retentionthrough Direct Email
The customer gave you permission to build on your reputation with them “one-to-one” when they signed-up. You can create the perception of one-to-one through segmentation. Don’t blow it with “batch & blast” email tactics. Find ways to segment to your niche markets.
Campaign Success is…..
Reaching & Engaging your Target
• HOW? compelling and relevant subject line, design and landing page that speaks to the PREFERENCES of your LIST
• WHAT is a LIST? Individual PEOPLE with Thoughts, Feelings and Needs (remember?)
• WHY care about PREFERENCES once you have their email?Because the consumer told you what they wanted when they signed-up and THEY are the masters of their inbox.
• ME-mail
What is
Permission Marketing?
It’s a process, not an event.Marketer’s Assumption:
“They opted-in! Now I can send what I want.”Reality: You need to ask their permission
• “How often would you like to receive email?”
• “Which one of our (niche) offerings do you want to hear/read about?”
Provide tools to allow for personal preference changes.
How Marketer’s see
the Clutter
Web SitePromotions
Social Media
PPC Mobile
CAMPAIGN
TV
Radio
Newsprint
In Store Promotions
How Consumers see
the Clutter
Health & Fitness
Friends
Pets
Children Spouses
LIFE
Parents
School
Work
Fun & Obligations
Housekeeping(Bills, Chores etc.)
Vacation
Leisure
How is
Permission MarketingRelevant?
It forces you to ask:
• What does our customer want to know about our product or service? (VS. What do we want to tell them?)
• How can we deliver what they want in a way that’s meaningful to their lives?
How Marketer’s Can Use Permission
to Cut through the Clutter
Channel =Direct EMail
Marketer’sCampaign
Message = Specific OfferRelevant to
MY LIFE
Consumers’ Preferences
(I asked for that – you listened.)
PermissionImproves response rates and conversions
based on a more
personalized approach
List CollectionBest Practices
• Email segmentation begins with understanding customer preferences
• Remember to provide multiple options with choices the customer will remember– Think of Category Subsets you can offer
– Ask their preferred Email Frequency (weekly, bi-weekly)
• Once you have the email, don‘t batch & blast
If the consumer doesn’t recall signing up, they’re more apt to flag your email as SPAM or
assign it to their JUNK FOLDER.
Be memorable and specific to their needs.
Timing Isn’t EverythingBut It Helps
Day of WeekMonday (now more popular over Tuesday and Thursday)
Time of Day8am - 10am or 4pm - 6pm(Avoid high volume times between 10am & 2pm)
FrequencyFollow customers' expectations . Don’t try to guess this.Remember – it’s a Consumer-Centric ME-Mail space. If you don’t know, survey them to find out.
List Collection
to Reduce Spam Flagging
Opt-In = single click sign-up
Double Opt-In = enhanced permissionbased sign-up
Canada’s FISA
Bill C-28
FISA | Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act
By September 2011 Bill C-28 is expected to be passed into Legislature. It requires senders of email within or into Canada to have, or to obtain, explicit permission from their intended recipients. Protect your business with proper opt-in and unsubscribe procedures.
(About understanding Target Audience Needs)
“ Men won't read any email from a woman that's over 200 words long. ”- Douglas Coupland
(About writing a better Call-to-Action)
“ I don't believe in email. I'm an old-fashioned girl. I prefer calling and hanging up. ”- Sarah Jessica Parker
The funny thing about Communications and People
what does “cut through the clutter”
look like in action?
How do we influence ACT NOW?
7 Characteristics of
an effective email1. understand & respect target audience needs
2. respect the list
3. subject line has a clear call-to-action
4. compelling content | design best practices
5. test on multiple email ‘clients’
6. enhance tracking with landing & goal pages
7. measure and improve when needed
1. Understand & Respect
target audience needs
Provide subscribers with detailed sign-up options so they have a clear idea of what they will receive. Sometimes subscribers drive complaints because they aren’t receiving the content they wanted or expected.
2. Respect the list
Don’t “Batch & Blast” and you’ll:
• Build a sense of mutual respect(Brand Marketer: I understand you… now will you love me back?)
• Lower unsubscribes
• Reduce spam complaints
3.Subject Line has a
clear call-to-action
Ways to Get Noticed1. Write a compelling Benefit Message
(It’s ME-Mail – think like the consumer)
2. Write a clear Call-to-Action
3. Include the name of your brand
4. Personalize, using first name, whenever possible
Email inbox competition is heavy and consumers OWN their Inbox.
Make the Benefit Message crystal clear in your Subject Line to optimize your chance of getting noticed.
4.Contains
compelling content
• General Rule of Thumb | Keep it Simple• Email creative must align with subject line• Write for the Customer| What’s the benefit message? • Is there a sense of urgency in the headline?• Does the campaign creative embed your overall brand
creative?• Avoid SPAM triggers: include unsubscribe link and
company contact information• Add any relevant social media icons and links
5.Test on
multiple mail clients
• Not all email clients display the same
• Test your email for Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook (2003, 2010) & Apple Mail
• Be sure to preview the email as it appears with images turned ON & OFF
Gmail
HotmailOutlook
5.Test on
multiple mail clientsDO DON’T
• Preview email client window panes
with images turned off AND on
• Test multiple email clients
• Forget you can’t control email client
resolution. Vision challenged
customers always have the ability to
“zoom in” and break the layout , but
fortunately as they are causing the
zoom effect, they typically know they
are the cause of this visual effect.
6.Enhance tracking with
landing & goal pages• Real lead nurturing happens beyond the “read”• Landing page metrics are more reliable than reads• The Landing Page is a place used to collect more data
(eg. through forms)• The Goal Page is a place where the end-goal
transaction occurs (eg. sign-up for other offer, download or commit to sale)
• A good CMS allows you to connect all of the above into one campaign and accurately measure the campaign from release to transactional response metrics
6.Enhance tracking with
landing & goal pagesDO DON’T• Ensure consistency. The landing page
should apply same call-to-action
(copy & design) as email creative
• Ideally, make the only clickable area the
call-to-action itself (and the logo
to return to “home”)
• Supply the opportunity to capture more
data in return for the offer on the
landing page
• Ensure the goal page delivers on the final
offer (free or paid download, etc.)
• Collect data on the landing page with no
apparent reward
• Collect more data than you need or that
the consumer will perceive as
“unnecessary” (builds trust)
7.measure & improvewhen needed
If you don’t have a benchmark it’s difficult to measure success.
Improve existing results incrementally:
Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Repeat
Deeper Segmentation
• In email marketing relevance drives success
• Smaller, more targeted lists perform better
• Tap into your data sources
• Making your emails more relevant allows
customer to feel heard and drives engagement
• If you don’t segment your data now, think about
ways you CAN
Deeper Segmentation
Less Relevant to ME
Generic Message(to: single list)
Batch & Blast Method
MY Preferences were considered
Personalized / UniqueMessages
(to: various sub-lists)
Segmented Method
Campaign
Deeper Segmentationthrough Drip Email
• Helps you to further classify your segment based
on actions & preferences which they aren’t
TELLING you about, but they’re DOING
• Allows you to automate campaigns based on
intervals:
– Timed
– Specific response (eg. Click-through activity or web downloads)
Drip Email & Lead NurturingAutomated through Marqui
Email Campaign
Email #1Call-to-action
Landing PageAction Taken
Ready to Convert
Goal PageConversion
Complete or Ready for Opportunity
Funnel
Idea
l Cu
stom
er
Email #2Reminder after
1 weekCust
omer
Re
quir
es
Nur
turi
ng Email #3They abandoned the
campaign at the landing page and didn’t convert…
Maximizing Viral GrowtheMail & Social Media
“The combination of social and e-mail is significantly more powerful than either channel on its own.”
- Kristen Hersant, Director of Corporate Marketing, StrongMail,in an interview with eMarketer, February 2010
Referencing eMarketer Digital Intelligence, White Paper
on “Maximizing the E-Mail/Social Media Connection”
eMail & Social Media
• 63% of social media users used the same email address for permission e-mail and social network sign-on.
• Even though there are practical and conceptual differences between the two marketing channels, there is a direct link in the minds of consumers.
Referencing eMarketer Digital Intelligence, White Paper
on “Maximizing the E-Mail/Social Media Connection”
Social, Email or BOTH?• Consumers need e-mail to use social media sites as this is
where they receive notifications. Frequent social network users tend to be more frequent e-mail users. These same inboxes, in most cases, are the ones Marketer’s are trying to reach.
• Promote your social media presence in your e-mail marketing, by including Facebook or Twitter logos that link directly back to your profile page, or ask e-mail recipients to become fans or followers.
Referencing eMarketer Digital Intelligence, White Paper
on “Maximizing the E-Mail/Social Media Connection”
A/B Split Testingfor Improved Campaign Success
• Classic Direct Mail tactic to test variables of a marketing piece to determine what’s working and change what’s not.
• Variables tested focus on design elements:call-to-action placement | images | colour | layout
A/B Split Testingfor Improved Campaign Success
WHICH TEST WON?
The Basics of Campaign Metrics
Open/Read Click-Through
Landing PageGoal Page(Converts to Sale, Download, Survey Response, etc)
STARTS
ENDS
Types of Open Rates
Each Email Service Provider calculates OPENS based on different settings. The basic differences are:
• % opened based on # of emails delivered• % opened based on # of emails sent
Some calculate open rates only after REMOVING emails that bounced.
What does Open/Read REALLY mean?
• ESP’s use an invisible tracking image• If Recipient’s browser or email client displays
the email on the screen, even if only for an instant, it’s labeled a READ by tracking standards
• Thus, it’s not a true measure of engagement with your email
• Click-through’s and Conversions are more authentic and reliable metrics
What’s a Good Click-Though Rate?For Email Campaigns 10%
• With proper opt-in, email should be at least 10% CTR
• The most successful campaigns are those that are highly targeted and can see results of 20% CTR
• Direct to consumer mailings are typically lower than direct to business customer CTR’s
• CTR is not a game that one wins, but one that requires constant work and improvement.
Source: Friedbeef.com
Calculating Cost-per-Click
For 10,000 emails sent in 1 campaignHUMAN COSTWeb Editor |1 hour at $60/hour = $60Graphic Designer | 3 hours at $75/hour = $225Total Human Cost = $285
TECHNOLOGY COSTHosting (Landing Page), CMS License + Email Delivery = $542.50*
CAMPAIGN COST = $285 + $542.50 = $827.50
CPC = If your 10,000 emails received 1,000 clicks (CTR of 10%)your Cost Per Click is $827.50/1000 or $0.83
*Technology Cost sample pricing based on Marqui Campaigns Express. $13,000 annually /26 campaigns a year (with a campaign delivery rate, for this particular campaign, once every 2 weeks) = $500/campaign. PLUS 100,000 emails/month package at a rate of $425/10 = $42.50. Thus: $827.50.
Summary of “Cut Through the Clutter”
• Revisit Email Marketing Strategy (Quarterly or Bi-Annually)
• For Better Response Rates:– Understand customer needs– Get permission before you send– Personalize content (starting with the Subject Line)– Segment your list by
• Preferences (which they share with you on sign-up)• Actions (which can have automated “custom” responses)
• Incorporate Your Social Media Channels• Test Your Assumptions About What Works (A/B)• Use Campaign Metrics to
– Gain Insights– Increase Value of your Email Marketing Spend
Summary of 2011 Web Design Trends
1. HTML 5 and CSS 3
2. Using typography as a design element
3. Editorial-style layouts
4. Minimalist layouts and color schemes
5. Large and interactive website headers
6. Link-rich footers
7. Mobile compatible websites
8. Wide layouts
9. Full image backgrounds
Contact me!
Penny Greening, Key Account Manager
604.484.8541
Follow our blog at http://www.marqui.com/blog
Follow us on Twitter @Marqui_CMS
Thank You!