Isabel Wall The University of Sussex London, UK | February 2017

1. I m p rov e y o u r c l i c k t h ro u g h ra t e
u s i n g e m a i l b e s t p ra c t i c e
Isabel Wall
The University of Sussex
London, UK | February 2017

3. “Email remains an essential part of every consumer’s day…it is as much a part of
their daily routine as brushing their teeth” DMA Insight: Consumer Email Tracking
Study 2016

4. 81% of people checked
their personal email at
least 2 to 3 times a day.
Only 4% said less than
once a day
66% said they agree that
information about
appointments is best
received by email
76% agreed that
information was also best
served by email

5. Only 16% said that more
than half of the emails
they receive are relevant
to them
74% of emails are deleted
after one day in any inbox
67% read fewer than half
their emails received
40% said that too many
emails from a sender
would prompt them to
mark that email as spam

6. 3 areas of best email practice
1
2
3
Data
Evaluate and Optimize
A winning email plan and creative

7. As a sector we are lucky
that we have a fresh, new
audience that we can talk
to every year

8. Have you got your data capture right?
If your form is too long, people won’t fill it in.
If your form is too short, you won’t have enough information to send relevant
communications.

9. # H U E M E A 1 7
Image and short description option
What is your comms plan?
What do you really need to know for research purposes?
Make your form as short as possible by using conditional logic
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10. Email consent
Law by February 2018 that you can only email/text those who have explicitly opted-in?
Why email someone who doesn’t want to hear from you?

11. # H U E M E A 1 7
Image and short description option
We are all truly terrified of the above
Download and check your data to minimize risk before send –
get someone else to sign it off
Drag or drop your photograph here

12. # H U E M E A 1 7
Image and short description option
A more common problem is sending an email to the wrong data selection on a daily basis.
One poorly targeted email may stop your prospects from reading any more.
Are you sending too many emails?
Segment your data and build a communications plan for each segment.
Drag or drop your photograph here

13. Winning email plan and creative
• Know your audience
• Plan, plan, plan
• Best practice email

14. MEET HENRY
While he was deciding
which Uni to accept he:
• met his first girlfriend
• was in a band
• failed his driving test
• couldn’t be bothered to
read his uni emails

15. What is the objective?
Who is my target audience?
What do they currently think and
do?
What do we want them to think and
do?
What is the single minded key
message?
1
Why should they believe this?
What are mandatories and how do we
measure success?
2
3
4
5
Every email needs a creative brief
7
6

16. Define segments
Write plan for what this segment
should receive – one message per
email
Don’t deviate from the plan
1 Stops over contact
Builds brand across the plan
Stops any unnecessary emails creeping
in
2
3
1
2
3
Every email deserves to belong to a plan

17. Email best practice design

18. Email best practice design

19. Mobile optimised/desktop
compatible
One clear key message
Strong call to action
Use bullet points
Keep it short
1 Use video
Test if you can
Get your timing right
Don’t send too many emails
QA and proof your emails before
send
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
0

21. Every email by segment. Create your own average
CTR by each audience
CTR/Conversion to applicant/conversion to firm
Bin what is underperforming for that segment and
replace with a better communication
See engagement and ultimately conversion
increase
1
2
1
2
Take action to see your CTRS increase
Save yourself some time and energy but not
repeating poorly performing emails
3
MAKE SURE YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

22. Thank you for listening
Do you have any questions?
Isabel Wall, University of Sussex