Contemporary Innovations, Secrets and Strategies to boost email marketing results in 2012 and beyond
Click on the email examples in slides 50 and 53 to see live video/animation.
Unblocking The Main Thread Solving ANRs and Frozen Frames
The NEW New Rules of Email
1. The NEW New Rules of Email
INNOVATIONS, SECRETS AND
STRATEGIES TO BOOST RESULTS
Florida Direct Marketing Association
March 15, 2012
Karen Talavera, President Synchronicity Marketing
2. Your Speaker: Karen Talavera
• Nationally-recognized email marketing expert,
educator, writer, speaker and consultant
• DMA Email Marketing lead training instructor since 1999
• Member Email Experience Council, Only Influencers
• Top 100 Women in Ecommerce 2012 (WE magazine)
• President and Founder, Synchronicity Marketing
– Founded 2003
– Email Marketing Strategy, Training & Consulting
– Based in south Florida serving clients worldwide
3. Our Agenda
Email Marketing 2012: The NEW New Rules
Welcome Aboard: List Growth & Subscriber Retention
Strategies
Getting the Open: Subject Line Secrets and Lies
Good-bye Vanilla: Content Options and New
Creative Tactics for more flavorful marketing email
10. You’re Probably Already Doing These
Website
Paper (order form, etc.)
Phone (customer orders, etc.)
In Person (POS, check in, etc.)
11. But Are You Using ?
Free consults/
discovery sessions
(strategy sessions,
breakthrough
sessions) immediately
engage and qualify
interest
“Selling by Way of
Serving first”
29. List Growth & Subscriber Retention
Key Takeaways
In summary:
1. Leave no stone unturned
2. WIIFM
3. Set expectations
4. Create comfort
5. Alleviate anxiety (pre-pave the subscriber
experience)
6. Create trust with reassurance, choice and control
32. Average Marketing Email Open Rates
According to Epsilon's Email Trends & Benchmarks Report
33. New Research on Subject Lines
In 2011 Alchemy Worx tested and analyzed common
assumptions about subject lines
Short (< 35 characters) outperform long
Single vs. Multi-proposition
Analyzed 205 million delivered emails across their
entire client base
Total of 646 subject lines examined
Source:
34. Subject Line Length Analysis
The longer the
subject line
the lower the
open rate, but
the higher the
click-to-open
rate
Source:
35. Subject Line Length Findings
Subject Lines (SLs) under 60 or more than 70
characters generate the highest response
Shorter SLs generate higher open rates, an initial measure of
interest, but much lower click-to-open ratios
Longer SLs generate a higher click-to-open ratio, an indication of
ongoing interest and true response
Open and click-to-open rates intersect at about 60-70
characters, a “dead zone” where neither metric is optimized
Source:
36. So if Longer Might Be Better . . .
What Do You Say?
Multiple vs. Single Propositions (topics)
Longer subject lines can accommodate multiple vs. single propositions,
which increase relevancy
Get detailed (about the offer, benefit, or content)
Use length to get specific enough for subscribers to decide how relevant
each message is to them
The more relevant they consider the message, the more likely they are to take
response action beyond the open
Use separators between major points if multi-proposition
37. Single vs. Multi-Proposition
Single – often but not always shorter; longer can work for specificity
Multi – can be short, but at any length must get to the point
v
v
38. Subject Line Key Takeaways
They act as a relevance filter
The more information you can get into the subject line, the higher the
percentage of your relevant target market will open
Length not as much an indicator of response performance as
specificity
Keep them in perspective
With “average” open rates around 22%, the vast majority of email does
not get opened no matter who you are or what you do
39. New Content & Creative Strategies
Innovations and tactics that get them to engage
43. Performance of Triggered Blows
Broadcast Out of the Water!
Triggered email messages can generate 10 times the revenue and
20+ times the profit of broadcast campaigns
44. Customer Email Program Example
Hewlett Packard monthly
newsletter
– HP Newsgram sent to all
registered customers
– Clearly-displayed issue month
and table of contents
– Value-added:
o Free projects
o Interactivity, video
o HP Daily Surprise
o Cross-sells HP products too
45. Other HP Email Message Types
HP deploys a good
mix of newsletter,
sales promotions
(deals), and holiday
greeting emails
47. Apply and Align Messaging to the
Customer Lifecycle
Each stage of the customer lifecycle naturally lends itself to specific
email messages
Use them to shift and direct the dialog
48. Mix it Up
Storyboard your entire email program
Some message frequency and sequencing can be planned,
but allow for triggered
Create a flowchart illustrating message types, timing,
frequency
Don’t be “the friend who only calls when you need
something”
Although accustomed to heavy promotional message volume
from retailers, consumers also want conversation, community,
news and fun
49. Compelling Email Content Ideas
Evolve, supplement or refresh your static HTML or plain text
email with
Animation
Video
Temporally-relevant campaigns
Dynamic Content
Movement and multi-media = more clicks
Time, place and quantity-specific content = greater relevancy
= more clicks
50. Animation
Use minimally
and
strategically
Movement is
eye-catching
Can enable
more content
than static
images
51. Video in Email – Two Approaches
• Link to self- or web-hosted
• Preferred for now due to spam blocking, filtering, image
rendering and streaming video support issues
• Streaming video into inbox
• Video or animation streams into the message over an
open connection to the Internet
• Requires no plug-ins or media players on subscriber end, works with any ESP
• Requires HTML5-based message design
• Current environments supporting video in email:
• Windows Live Mail (Hotmail) (H.264)
• Apple iPad mail client (H.264)
• Blackberry (BOLT 2.1) (OGG Theora)
• Apple iPhone mail client (H.264)
• Apple Mail 4 (H.264)
• Thunderbird (OGG Theora)
• Leading current solution: Liveclicker (www.liveclicker.com)
52. Self- or Web-Hosted Video
Video in email tips:
Alert them that the
email contains video
Subject line and headlines
Put video front and center
Play/pause console should
be visible
Host in your domain or
Host on your YouTube
channel for longer shelf
life
53. Streaming Video into Message
Liveclicker’s Video Email
Express is integrated with
several ESPs
Generates simple HTML
code for inclusion in email
They host and deliver
video content
Style Campaign also
handles video in email
(sans audio)
Example courtesy of StyleCampaign.com
54. Temporally-Relevant Content
Beyond seasonality
and holidays,
leverage major
events, news
But, tread cautiously
or know your
audience
55. Dynamic Content
Big and getting bigger
Content served can be based either on:
database-attributes (i.e. gender)
Aka “custom publishing” in which you predestine certain content for
certain users based on database profile attributes
real-time response behavior (open on mobile)
Use location, time and device to sense what should be served
Aka evolutionary optimization
Not just for email content – can define landing pages
too
56. Time-Based Dynamic Content
Movable Ink’s
technology allows
emails like this one
(to a conference
attendee)
to display live counts
of people attending
the event
To have an offer that
changes by the date
or time
Example courtesy of Movable Ink
57. Other Dynamic Content
Approaches
This retail message
displays
location-specific store
information
Real-time inventory
updates
Time-based offer
updates
Example courtesy of Movable Ink
58. Content Key Takeaways
When it comes to your email program, serve a multi-course
meal, not the same dish over and over again
Greater message variety = less predictability = higher interest
and engagement
Continuity programs create high trust, so some email should come on a
regular schedule (newsletter)
However the unpredictable gets noticed more
Static HTML is fine, but with HTML5 video in email is again
possible
One size-fits-all is out. Triggered and dynamic content will
dominate email of the future
59. Want More NEW Rules of Email?
Join me Wednesday March 28th at 11:00 AM for a
free training call
The NEW Rules of Email
Email Marketing Innovations, Tactics and Secrets
you MUST Know to Generate Sales, Revenue and
Business Growth in 2012 and Beyond
Sign up for call details at
www.synchronicitymarketing.com/newrulesofemai
l
60. Thank You! Questions?
Site and Blog
www.synchronicitymarketing.com
Email: karen@synchronicitymarketing.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SynchronicityMarketing
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/KarenTalavera
Twitter: @SyncMarketing
Phone: 561.967.9665
Notas del editor
Our roadmap for this seminar begins with an understanding of permission, then moves into a review of the law and how to be in compliance with it. Finally, we ’ll explore the universe of receiving networks for email – largely dominated by the big Internet Service Providers like Google, AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Comcast who establish rules for which email to let into their networks, and which to keep out. But before we get into the intricacies of legal compliance and anti-spam measures, let’s start with understanding – really understanding – what permission is and why it is so paramount to ethical email marketing.
This is the secret… look at your ‘ask’! There ’s a lot of ways to collect email addresses… you need to focus on the best ways to get quality email addresses! -deliverable -accurate -primary
Don ’t forget to ASK for folks email address!!
Leave no email address-gathering opportunity untapped
This was a microsite / landing page from a google adword
On the side of the road, on social sites, etc.
ONGOING, not just an initial bribe!
Increase subscriber acquisition by creating comfort , reducing friction and setting expectations
Don ’t put CAPTCHAs on signup pages if you can help it!
Nice job!
Even utilize typical ‘exit’ mechanisms (e.g. an unsubscribe page) to offer the opportunity to resubscribe. Just keep asking!!
When it comes to message architecture, meaning the building blocks of the message such as header, pre-header, body and footer, the one area that merits discussion in our limited time today is an attribute that has a direct impact on overall campaign performance because it is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, influencers on whether your message is opened and read: the subject line. So, I’m singling out subject lines and addressing these in our second new new rule of email creative.
To begin with, think of all email campaigns as one of two types: either broadcast or triggered. You can usually easily see the difference because broadcast campaigns are the same, or substantially the same, for an entire list while triggered campaigns are specific to an individual action, characteristic, or event. When most marketers begin using email they have a tendency to broadcast the same message to their entire list rather than to respond to specific list member actions or inactions. Certain types of email – a newsletter for example – are appropriate for broadcast since newsletters usually contain information relevant to the entire list. There are, however, many other ways in which email can powerfully be used to speak only to specific segments of your list or individuals on it who are in-market or expressly interested in what you have to offer at a specific time. To realize the full potential of email, you ’ll have to supplement your broadcast-style email with triggered campaigns. So, o successfully use triggered email you first have to understand which opportunities lend themselves to it. Unlike broadcast email, triggered email messages are automated, sent based on external events or actions, rules-based, and unique to steps in a consideration path, to individuals, or both.
Did you know the contribution performance of triggered email routinely outperforms broadcast, life cycle and even targeted messages? In fact, triggered email can generate TEN TIMES the revenue and more than 20 TIMES the profit of a simple broadcast campaign. The reason triggered, or dialog email works so well has everything to do with behavioral targeting. By now you know the better segmented and targeted an audience, the more relevant and specific the offer and message that can be sent. Email timed to known events in a customer ’s lifecycle is more effective than one-to-many broadcast style email campaigns. But when targeting is narrowed down to individual behavior or clickstream data, as this chart from Jupiter Research illustrates, email performance is highest.
Not only can you categorize triggered email campaigns and messages as belonging to one of the five main types you just learned about, you can also map them across a customer lifecycle path like this. In fact, I encourage you to use this as a checklist for creating your own triggered email appropriate to each stage. For example, do you have an email list sign-up available to people who haven ’t purchased yet? If so, do you welcome new subscribers to the list? Do you educate and familiarize them with onboarding messages? Do you email them if they’ve been browsing or shopping online and then abandon before buying? Or, when it comes to your customers, do you thank them with bouncebacks after purchase? Send reminders? Acknowledge their birthdays? This graphic illustrates that there are many specific kinds of triggered email messages appropriate for different stages of the customer lifecycle and that you should be routinely using them across your target audience.
There are two ways to include video in your email – you can show a video console player within the email that links to video hosted on a Web site or YouTube, or you can actually stream video into a message over an open Internet connection.
Their unique advantage is you can crop content from any web page. The one variable they handle is the image tag for their clients. It can render on open or stream on open to make their image content super-relevant. Most of the dynamic content choices (like location) are rules-driven (if responder is in NY, then show this store, etc.) The geo-location is IP-driven, not GIS. Goes down to city level, sometimes lower (neighborhood level) but not street-specific.