Presentation on 11/19 by April Mullen

1. HOW TO USE EMAIL
MARKETING TO GROW
YOUR BUSINESS
April Mullen

2. About Me
@aprildmullen
http://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildmullen
Sr. Marketing Strategist, StrongView
Adjunct Instructor, UMSL

3. Agenda
Getting Started
• Why Implement an Email Program?
• Laws and Regulations
• Technologies to Get Started
• List Growth
Strategies for Success
• Welcome Emails
• Segmentation
• Design and Content
• Measurement
Innovations

4. GETTING STARTED

5. WHY IMPLEMENT AN
EMAIL PROGRAM?

6. Email’s Relevance
Q: How do you rate
the following
channels in terms
of return on
investment?
(company
respondents)
Source:
https://econsultancy.com/blog/64614-email-remains-the-best-digital-channel-for-
roi#i.179m3ypqnif7qs

7. Investment Shows Priority
• 52% of marketing executives planned to increase spend
on email marketing in 2014. 46% on social media.*
• Email is more relevant today than ever before as
consumption continues to grow on more platforms.**
*Strongview’s Marketing Trends Survey Results
**Return Path’s “Mobile, Webmail, Desktops: Where are we viewing email now”?

8. Effective in Acquiring Customers

9. Effective in Retaining Customers

10. Email Plays Well With Other Digital
Channels
• Increases engagement in social media and vice versa
• Optimizes well for mobile experience
• Operates more effectively when working with other digital
channels vs. in a silo

11. LAWS AND
REGULATIONS

12. CAN-SPAM Act (U.S.)
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and
Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM)
• Regulated by the Federal Trade Commission
• Applies to Commercial Email Only

13. CASL (Canada)
Canadian Anti-Spam Law is stricter
than the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act and the
penalties are much stiffer for violations.

14. Privacy and Data Protection Laws
Email marketers must be aware of privacy laws that affect their
particular business:
• Affiliate sharing between brands
• California and Vermont
• European Privacy Laws
• Data Protection Directive
• Etc…

15. RECOMMENDED
TECHNOLOGIES

16. Technologies to Get Started

17. LIST GROWTH

18. List Growth
All subscribers are not created equal.
• Add only engaged subscribers
• Unengaged subscribers can cause deliverability issues.
Best acquisition sources are always close to your brand
and shopping experience. Tell subscribers why they should
sign up for emails with your brand.

19. List Growth
31% of consumers in a recent Forrester study
said, “I often wonder how companies that send
me email offers got my name and email
address”.*
Stay away from purchased or rented email addresses. Only
acquire your list through opt-in practices and remind subscribers
of the value they’ll be getting by providing their information.
That will ensure that you have engaged subscribers and not just
a larger list for the sake of having a larger list.
*Forrester study: Consumer Email Attitudes Continue to Improve (2013)

20. List Growth Tactics
• Website registration page

21. List Growth Tactics
• Embed email opt-in forms on Facebook.

22. List Growth Tactics
• Ask for email opt-in during website purchase.

23. List Growth Tactics
• Create a popup on your homepage.

24. List Growth Tactics
• In-store personnel opt-in purchasers at the point of sale.

25. List Growth Tactics
• Ask for permission at in-person or online events.

26. STRATEGIES FOR
SUCCESS

27. WELCOME EMAILS

28. Welcome Emails
Send the email
immediately:
After a customer has
made the effort to sign
up for an email
newsletter it’s a good
idea to send a welcome
email as soon as
possible to acknowledge
their interest.

29. Welcome Emails
75% of brands are sending their Welcome Message the
same day the subscriber opts-in. 13% send it one day after,
7% send two or three days later, and 5% send the email
more than three days later.
- ReturnPath "The Email Subscriber Experience 2008-2013" (2013)

30. SEGMENTATION
STRATEGIES

31. Segmentation Strategies
The days of “batch and blast” are over in email marketing.
Email marketers must segment lists in order to ensure that
the message is relevant.

32. Segmentation Criteria
Responsys Confidential
There are many different types of
information to segment off of.
Marketers vary on their most effective forms
of segmentation, likely due to how evolved
their approach is.
Isolating the most important segmentation
criteria is key to driving an optimized digital
communications program.

33. Reasons to Segment
• Out of the 91% of consumers opting out or unsubscribing
from email programs, 46% do so because the messages
are not relevant.
• 41% of consumers would consider ending a brand
relationship because of irrelevant messaging, and an
additional 22% would definitely end the relationship
because of irrelevance. -Marketing Sherpa

34. DESIGN AND CONTENT

35. Mobile is Here
Among 18-54 years olds, 79% of smartphone users check
email more than making calls on their device.* 80% delete
a mobile email when it doesn’t render properly and 30%
unsubscribe.**
The web is no longer just a desktop experience.
*2013 Digital Publisher Report by Adobe
**Blue Hornet’s Consumer Views of Email Marketing, 2013

36. Responsive Design
Responsive design allows
for superior rendering on
desktops, tablets and
smartphones. This
provides a great user
experience for subscribers.

37. Design 1. Enlarge fonts
• Minimum of 13px
2. Know your Scale
• Consider trimming your emails to
between 320-550px wide to reduce
scrolling
3. Call to Action
• Make it tappable. Minimum of 44x44
px
4. Streamline
• Simplify! Content real estate is even
more valuable
5. Cut to the chase
• Be short, concise and to the point

38. Design 7. Layout
• Optimize responsive layouts
8. Be Obvious
• Visually indicate that links and buttons
are clickable. Hover states aren’t
supported
9. Finger Targets
• Bigger is better. Use white space to
reduce ‘fat-finger’ errors
10. Ergonomics
• Remember mobile users are often
holding the device in their hand. Keep
important buttons, images, and links
within easy reach.

39. Email Process Micro-Conversions
EMAIL
FROM NAME
SUBJECT LINE
PREVIEW PANE
ABOVE THE
FOLD
COMPLETE
EMAIL
CLICK THROUGH
LANDING PAGE
HEADLINE
SUB-HEADLINE
FIRST
PARAGRAPH
BODY
CALL-TO-ACTION

40. Open
• From Line
• Subject Line
• Preheader Text
Engage
• Email Body
Act
• CTA Button

41. Subject Lines
• Write subject lines that are 25
characters or less
• Keep 2-2-2 Principle in Mind
• First 2 seconds are critical to
compel subscribers
• First 2 words of subject line
determine if subscriber will read
the rest of it
• Why does your email matter
“2”day?

42. Pre-Headers
Three purposes of a good pre-header:
• Continuation of a message that led to the open
• Support the primary Call-to-Action
• Transition smoothly into “view
with images” text
Subject Line Pre-Header

43. Body Copy
• Scannable copy
• Bullet points
• Top 5 lists
• Just enough copy to answer “Why?”
• Be relevant
• Write the headline last, but spend the most time on it
• Front load, prove credibility and accurately summarize content
• Promote social presence

44. Email Measurements
Distribution
Sent
Delivered
Total Opens
Unique Opens
Total Clicks
Unique Clicks
Unsubscribes/Spam
Complaints
Cleanliness
of List and
Deliverability
Brand and
Subject Line
Creative and
Content
Irrelevant
emails

45. INNOVATIONS

46. Context is the Opportunity

47. Countdown Timers
Let your audience know that it's time to act now. Showcase the days,
hours, minutes, and seconds remaining until a certain event by using a
countdown clock.

48. Device Targeting
“Device Targeting allows you to display a different image for each device
you would like to target. It also offers the ability to launch any mobile app
recipients might have on their smart phone or tablet.”
• iPhone
• Android
• Blackberry
• iPad
• Android Tablet
• Kindle Fire
• Other Mobile
• Windows Mobile
• Desktop

49. Live Social Feed
Live Social Feeds can be put into emails to pull in Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook results for any search term(s) you select.

50. Video in Email
You can now play full video and audio for subscribers opening in HTML5
email clients. The app also automatically generates an animated GIF from
the original video file to show in all other email clients.

51. Gmail Engagement Through Innovation
Source:
https://litmus.com/blog/6-gmail-changes-every-email-marketer-should-know

52. QUESTIONS?