Content Jam 2016: Email Marketing: Good to Great, Guaranteed with Jessica Best

Email Marketing Master Class: Good to Great, Guaranteed

Jessica Best @bestofjess | #ContentJam

Email Marketing Master Class

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Images go here!

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Email Marketing is…

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Optimization

Content List

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Email Marketing Part I: Nailing the Basics

q  What should I expect out of Email Marketing?

q  Best practices (and common missteps)

q  Applying the basics to your own campaigns

q  Email Marketing metrics to watch

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Why Email Marketing? What can it do for me?

Email can send direct: ü  At the time that it’s most relevant to the recipient

ü  With the products/content that are personalized

ü  Can track individual recipient engagement

ü  … and automate your follow up

Email gets read: ü  Average email read rate: 25-30%

(compared to < 10% with social)

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Consumers prefer it. (Yes, even millennials.)

(And Gen Z)

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Source:AdestraConsumerAdop2on&UsageStudy(2016)

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Email can drive as high as 30-50% of a company’s revenue

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Email drives the highest return on investment (ROI) of any medium.

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$27.74ROI

For every $1 you invest in email marketing, on average, you can earn $28 in return on investment… IF you’re doing it right.

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- Direct Marketing Association

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The Anatomy of an Email

2010 #ContentJam

2016

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The Anatomy of an Email

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2

3

4

5

6

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1.  Subject Line

2.  Pre-header

3.  Branded graphic header

4.  Main message

5.  Call-to-Action

6.  Supporting Message

7.  Footer

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Email Marketing Master Class: From Good to Great

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The Basics: Best Practices

& Content

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8 Email Marketing Basic Best Practices

Use DATA to be relevant: Personalize.

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Use DATA to be relevant: Segment.

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Make it accessible with images OFF

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Make it accessible on all devices: desktop, tablet, mobile

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Business-to-Business

Desktop 75%

Mobile 25%

Business-to-Consumer

Desktop 45%

Mobile 55%

Source:AdestraConsumerAdop2on&UsageStudy(2016)

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Make it accessible on all devices: desktop, tablet, mobile

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Mobile Design Cheat Sheet (for “Non-Designers”)

ü Lots of white space between headlines, body copy, and calls to action

ü At least 40px tall/wide buttons

ü Minimum 13pt font size

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Mobile Design Cheat Sheet (for “Non-Designers”)

ü Limit words in images (that don’t resize well)

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Make it short.

ü Skimmable

ü Concise

ü CLEAR

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Don’t start from scratch. Email = blog + social + video ++

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Make it part of your content plan.

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Use the subject line + pre-header to get the open.

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The dirty, rotten secret of email marketing is: Just because you sent it, doesn’t mean it went anywhere. #deliverability


- @bestofjess

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To help your email get to the inbox, avoid spammy mistakes like:

•  Sloppy HTML code

•  Typos

•  All IMAGE, no text

•  Spammy words

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7 •  FREE FREE FREE

•  Marketing, Pharma, Money

•  $ % !!!

•  ALL CAPS

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TEST to see if your content will get you filtered as spam.

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Tell stories.

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Tell stories.

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GRADING THE PROS

What grade would you give these email marketers?

Remember, email marketing should be:

ü  Personalized, segmented

ü  Accessible for all readers/devices

ü  Brief, concise

ü  Part of a content plan

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ü  Strategic with subject line and pre-header copy

ü  Not spammy in content

ü  Tells stories

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GRADING THE PROS

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GRADING THE PROS

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GRADING THE PROS

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GRADING THE PROS

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GRADING THE PROS

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GRADING THE PROS

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GRADING THE PROS

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HANDS-ON ACTIVITY: Wireframe your next email

1.  What does it look like on desktop? On mobile?

2.  How long is it (words, paragraphs, “inches”)?

3.  What's the subject line/pre-header?

4.  Who will it go to?

5.  What's the hook/WIIFM?

6.  What data could make this email more relevant?

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Email Marketing Metrics to Watch

ü  Set goals that align with business goals. Branding | Awareness | Sales

ü  Define goals and how you’ll determine success before you start creating.

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Email Marketing Metrics to Watch 1.0

ü  Views

ü  Clicks

ü  Click-to-Open Ratio

ü  Bounces

ü  Unsubscribes

ü  Complaints

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Email Marketing Metrics to Watch 2.0

ü  Open & click rates on desktop vs. mobile

ü  Active/Inactive %

ü  Conversion rate (and Revenue)

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Your brain can only procure what your rear can endure.


Don’t tweet this. This means it’s break time.

- Ruby Newell-Legner

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Grow Your List to Grow Your

Revenue

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Email Marketing Part II: Grow Your List to Grow $$

q  Being ready for list growth

q  The WRONG way to “grow”

q  Organic growth ideas (inexpensive)

q  Paid and promotion-based growth ideas (fast)

q  Match-Making: Brainstorm the right partners

q  Offline tactics to boost online list growth

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Be Sure You’re Ready for List Growth: Sign-up Form

ü  Offer value in exchange for an email address

ü  Set expectations on frequency and privacy

ü  Keep it short and easy

ü  Make fields long enough for long addresses

ü  Use a clear call to action

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Be Sure You’re Ready for List Growth: Sign-up Form

4 P’s of Email Sign-up Forms:

ü  Prominence

ü  Promise (value)

ü  Proof (peers)

ü  Progressive profiling

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Be Sure You’re Ready for List Growth

What your email platform should do for you:

ü  Clean out bounces regularly (and automatically)

ü  Remove unsubscribes and complaints (immediately and automatically)

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What you should be doing:

ü  Send regularly (at least 1x/month)

ü  Deliver relevant, valuable, engaging content

ü  Welcome and “warm up” new readers

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Before you invite more guests, be sure to clean up your house. #emailmarketing #listhealth


- @bestofjess

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Up to 33% of your email list turns over – becomes a bad address – each year.

Source: Marketing Sherpa

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0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

High Medium Low Bad Rejected

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The WRONG Way to Grow Your List

ü  Don’t buy, rent, trade, or borrow lists. Ask permission!

ü  Don’t harvest addresses. Scraping or constructing addresses does not equal permission (and is illegal).

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The WRONG Way to Grow Your List

Don’t be a “spammer”

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Get Growing Organically: Ask Everywhere

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Get Growing Organically: Lightbox/Modal/Pop Over

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Get Growing Organically: Ask for the Referral

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Offline Boosters to Online Acquisition

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Turn Up the Speed: Paid Acquisition

ü  Create a strong offer, i.e. a cookie, BOGO, a free exclusive report, a hefty ebook, etc.

ü  Try Google, Facebook, etc.

ü  Use your current email list to find look-alike audiences and/or exclude your current readers

ü  Target placement with relevant non-competitive sites

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ü  Choose a relevant partner or vendor

ü  Place content, don’t just swap lists!

ü  Offer value that is relevant to the reader (Swapping offers may not always be a fit)

ü  Exclusivity matters

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ü  Try results-driven placement in email

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HANDS-ON ACTIVITY: Perfect Partner Match Making

1.  Partner up with someone next to you.

2.  Learn about their product/service & buyer.

3.  Brainstorm partners for each other that:

1.  Are compliments, not competitors

2.  Have similar buyers or prospects

3.  Have similar need states

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HANDS-ON ACTIVITY: Perfect Partner Match Making

Who were some of your Perfect Partner ideas?

(Be sure to tell us who you are and who you’re targeting!)

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Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.


Don’t tweet this. This means it’s break time again.

- Anne Lamott

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Optimize: Turbo-Boosting

Your ROI

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Email Marketing Part III: Turbo-Boosting Your ROI

q  2 guaranteed ways to boost ROI (yes, really!)

q  A few other proven winners

q  Trends to try

q  Campaigns that ROCKED their ROI (2000%+)

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2 Guaranteed Ways to Improve Email ROI

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Campaign List Size Expenses Revenues ROI Free Shipping Offer 100,000 $1450 $31,245 $20.55

Free Product With Purchase 100,000 $1450 $24,996 $16.24

New Customer Bounce Back 1,000 $85 $3,513 $40.33

revenue - expensesROI = expenses

To Increase ROI: Increase revenue, or

Decrease expenses

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ü  Say things

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#1 Guaranteed Way to Improve Email ROI

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Only 73% of valid email marketing in the U.S. gets to the inbox.

Sent Opens Open % Clicks Click % Expenses Revenue ROI Before 100,000 20,000 20% 5,000 5.0% $1,450 $35,000 $23.14 After 100,000 27,400 27% 6,850 6.9% $1,450 $48,000 $32.10

Your results could show a 37% lift with

100% inbox placement

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Improve Deliverability to Improve Email ROI

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What your email platform does: •  Throttled sending •  Built-in CAN-SPAM compliant

physical address •  Automated/immediate unsubscribe

handling •  Feedback loop subscription &

automated complaint handling

What YOU should be doing: •  Send good content (that garners strong

engagement) •  Ask permission to send to subscribers •  Set clear expectations on value and

frequency •  Send regularly (at least 1x/month)

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#2 Guaranteed Way to Improve Email ROI

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40%NEVERopen

40%didn’topenthis

3me

20%Opened

20% Open rate What you

think your

results are

What your results actually are

Up to 40% of your email list hasn’t opened, clicked or purchased in over a year.

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Re-engage (or Trim) Inactives to Improve Email ROI

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Sent Opens Open %

Clicks Click %

Expenses Revenue ROI

Pre-Cleanse 100,000 20,000 20% 5,000 5.0% $1,450 $35,000 $23.14 Post-Cleanse 60,000 20,000 33% 5,000 8.3% $1,200 $35,000 $29.17

What your results could be if you trimmed your

inactive contacts

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ü  Re-engagement Campaigns

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Email 1 Email 2 Email 3

We Miss You! Come back and

receive [ VALUE ]

Confirm now to stay on the list or

miss out on [ VALUE ]

Sorry to see you go. Re-subscribe at any

time, here.

3-Part Re-Engagement Series

Automated emails earn 2x the open rate of batched sends, and nearly 3x the click-through rate.


- @emfluence

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Turbo-Boost Your Email ROI with Automation

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Turbo-Boost Your Email ROI with Automation

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Turbo-Boost Your Email ROI with Re-Targeting

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Turbo-Boost Your Email ROI with Re-targeting

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Turbo-Boost Your Email ROI by Testing

ü  Content / Copy / Subject Lines

ü  Design

ü  Offers

ü  Segmentation / Personalization

ü  New potential partners

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POP QUIZ: Which Subject Line Won?

a.  Two chances to win

b.  Two chances to WIN

c.  Start a winning tradition

d.  Start a winning tradition!

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a.  I Spy a Winner

b.  Be A Hallo-Winner

c.  Trick or $5,000 Treat?

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a.  Help us solve hunger.

b.  Donating 1 million meals.

c.  You can help solve hunger.

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Most Opens

Most Clicks

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Turbo-Boost Your Email ROI by Testing

How to test effectively?

Get scientific.

If you slept through stat class in college, try this >>

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http://getdatadriven.com/ab-significance-test

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Email Marketing Trends to Try

ü  Relevant motion can drive up engagement 3x+!

ü  What motion uniquely represents your brand, product or benefit?

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ü  Relevant motion can drive up engagement 3x+!

ü  What motion uniquely represents your brand, product or benefit?

ü  HINT: Spastic movement isn’t relevant motion.

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ü  “Video” in email can drive response rates up 3-5x, especially when mentioned in the subject line.

ü  For compatibility, better to “fake” the video.

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ü  Live or “real-time” content updates

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ü  Earned and “earned” rewards

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Email Marketing Campaigns that Rocked $20+ ROI

ü  Spirit Airlines Daily Deals 2.8% avg conversion rate = $100+ ROI for every $1 spent on email marketing!

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ü  CommunityAmerica Credit Union’s 90-day Onboarding

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Nextday 2weeks 6weeks 10weeks

12weeks

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ü  Referral programs

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9-13% conversion

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ü  Time / day test shows Cyber Monday’s true colors:

Sunday’s sneak peek drove 19% more action!

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ü  Coffee Roaster racks up sales with a new product announcement and by telling a good story.

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Over a $20 ROI … without a coupon!

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ü  An eCommerce site uses their best deal of the year as a re-engagement campaign for inactives.

ROI was $27.40

Re-engaged nearly 4% of inactives

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Go forth and make great email marketing! Thank you

Jessica Best @bestofjess | #ContentJam

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GRADING THE PROS, PART II

What grade would you give these email marketers?

Remember, great email marketing:

ü  Is permission-based

ü  Garners a $20+ ROI

ü  Gains new subscribers faster than old ones fall off

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ü  Uses automation to nurture, not blast

ü  Integrates rich media

ü  Supports and is supported by other marketing channels