Email has been around forever, it seems, and it has gotten lost in the fast-paced evolution of digital marketing’s omni-channel explosion .  So it might surprise you to know that today, email has become more viable and valuable since perhaps its introduction as a tool to attract, engage, nurture, and convert potential students. We’ll teach you how a prospect’s crowded inbox can become your arena where a targeted, relevant, useful marketing messages can stand out and set you high above the rest.

1. Email Marketing:
The Hidden Hero of Attracting and
Nurturing Prospective Students

2. Straw Poll
ONE WORD
that describes your current email
marketing efforts?

3. Outline and outcomes
✔ Why email, why now?
✔ Defining our audience
✔ Using email at different stages in the ‘buying journey’
✔ Avoiding spam filters
✔ Drip Campaigns & Workflows
✔ Gauging success

4. Why email?
Why now?
4

5. Why email?
Why now?
Relevance
✔ Direct line to decision makers
✔ Budget cuts
✔ Engagement has increased 78%
Power
✔ Low risk
✔ Strong ROI for each $ spent
Mistakes are being made
✔ Repetitive messaging
✔ Blanket mailing
✔ BUT This is your opportunity to stand out by doing it right

6. Email in marketing
✔ The traditional marketing and sales
funnel
✔ ‘Flywheel’ places customers at the
center of the process
✔ Email marketing can play a key role
in maintaining student satisfaction
and building brand advocacy
Sources:
Growth Rocket
HubSpot

7. Email marketing helps schools

8. The ROI of email marketing
69% of education pros say
email generates good to
excellent ROI, compared
to:
✔ 55% for social
✔ 60% for content
✔ 46% for SEO
✔ 19% for display
Source: GetResponse

9. Top Benefits of Email Marketing
Source: GetResponse

10. Common errors in the email field
Source: GetResponse

11. Defining our
audience
11

12. Persona Development: Background Information
Background & Demographic
✔ Aged 27-37
✔ 3-7 years work experience
✔ Most likely interested in MBA course or Micro Credential
✔ Middle East has been strong for school in recent years
✔ Will hear about school through social media or via online
research
Sophie: The international career learner

13. Persona Development: Motivations
Sophie: The international career learner
Motivations
✔ Is looking to improve their skills for international job
prospects
✔ Focused on academic outcomes, but keen to build
their network
✔ Prefers a course that offers the chance to visit other
cities
Their motivations
drive your messaging
of
digital marketing
content

14. Persona Development: Concerns
Concerns
✔ Nervous about the legitimacy of short micro courses
✔ Concerned about whether the MBA will provide a
platform for greater career opportunities and offer
ROI
Your messaging
can be focused
to overcome key barriers
to applying / enrolling
Sophie: The international career learner

15. Persona Development: Key Messages
The International career Learner
Motivations
Wants to be able to develop flexible portfolio
of business-relevant skills
Concerns
Unsure whether these courses will be
accepted by large corporations
Our school offers an extensive range of micro
courses, all fully accredited
Many of our students go on to have successful
international careers and cultural experiences
Key Messages

16. Using email
throughout the
‘Enrolment journey’
16

17. Using email throughout the buying journey

18. Email marketing in the awareness stage
Goal The Role of Email
Gaining visibility
Brand positivity
Your other channels should mostly
be working to drive signups to your
email lists, but...
You can generate leads directly
through email, by building interest
through subscribers/partnerships

19. Email in the awareness stage
✔ Present your courses in line with
your company ethos
(professional, enjoyable etc.)
✔ Keep message brief and to the
point
✔ Direct subscribers to helpful
resources on your website/other
channels through CTAs
✔ Email subscribers expect a
welcome email when they sign
up
74%

20. Using email throughout the buying journey

21. Email marketing in the consideration stage
Goal The Role of Email
Email Marketing at the
consideration Stage is
all about information
provision
This stage is where email
really starts to work for you.
You can deploy email
campaigns that direct them to:
✔ Helpful resources
✔ Upcoming events
✔ Take up direct contact

22. Email in the consideration stage
✔ Providing further information on your
services, financing options, etc.
✔ Testimonials are invaluable
at this stage
✔ Offer interaction with staff
members

23. Using email throughout the buying journey

24. Email marketing in the decision stage
Goal The Role of Email
Your team should be
working hard to connect
with subscribers and
convince them to apply.
Helping prospective students
overcome any final pain points.
CTAs directing them to your
website application areas, and
offer to connect directly if they
need help.

26. Email marketing in the decision stage
Email marketing in the decision stage
✔ Personalised
✔ Relevant Links
✔ Deadlines
approaching
✔ Offer of
personal
support to ‘seal
the deal’

27. Using email throughout the buying journey

28. Email marketing in the enrolment stage
Goal The Role of Email
Complete the application
If successful, become active
members of your school
community
Welcome accepted students to your
school community
Direct students to resources and
encourage them to connect with you
on social media

29. Email Marketing in the Enrolment Stage
✔ Personalized
✔ Make next steps easy & exciting
✔ We’ve prepared great things for you!

30. Quick Tips &
Organisation
30

31. Include
Calls To Action
in every email
Templates and Snippets
Visa info
Pricing
QUICK TIP
Snippet

32. Automated vs. manual template emails
✔ Automated emails are ideal for
sending pre-defined templates
✔ Several-step workflows
QUICK TIP
Automated email ‘Thanks for registering’

33. Automated vs. manual template emails
✔ Manual emails should be sent to answer queries
or connect directly with an individual prospect
✔ Both should be part of your email marketing
strategy
✔ You can also create workflows plans which include
both automated and manual mails
Manual email ‘Thanks for your enquiry’

34. Newsletters
✔ Stay connected with prospects, current
and past students
✔ Promote new offers, courses, facilities
✔ Share brand-building content
✔ Less requirement for personalisation

35. Avoiding Spam
Filters
35

36. Avoiding Spam Filters
✔ Email has 83% inbox placement… could
yours be better?
✔ Spam = Hurt Reputation = Decreased
Sender Score
✔ “Are my unopened emails lost to the spam
folder?”

37. Opt-in Buttons
✔ Each country has it’s own legislation
US = CAN-SPAM
CAN = CASL
UK = PECR
✔ Keep your list databases clean

38. Unsubscribe button
✔ Don’t be afraid of the unsubscribe
button
✔ Keeps your email list clean:
20-30% annual churn
✔ Prevents frustration/badmouthing
amongst peers
✔ Update preferences
✔ Encourages high quality content

39. Use strong subject lines
✔ Can be the difference between
reading/not reading, and spam
✔ Helps you stand out in a crowded
inbox
✔ Personalise subject where
possible
Source: HEM
Different phrases affect open rates:
QUICK TIP

40. Segment email campaigns!
Students can be segmented for email
marketing by:
✔ Location
✔ Course of interest
✔ Lead score
✔ Type of request (Price List, Brochure,
Email Signup)
Source: HubSpot
Organisation

41. Email segmentation example
• Carnegie Mellon University
targets candidates in
specific industries for its
MSCF programme
• https://www.mail-tester.com/
- useful tool
Organisation

42. When you’re in the spam
First thing’s first: Whitelist
Check out these three methods of verification:
✔ SPF
✔ DMARC
✔ DKIM
Technical

43. Drip campaigns
43

44. Drip campaigns – Build interest
Send a scheduled series of carefully customised messages over time
Each message has
unique needs & goals
in mind
Start simple
with an
auto-response
Build your relationship
over time
Include
Calls To Action
in every email

45. Workflows - Drive Consideration & Decisions
Example lead workflow (Aggressive)
Brochure
Download

46. Brochure download workflow
Email 1
Email 2
Email 3

47. Setting up workflows
Use if/then
branches to
qualify your
follow-up
activities
Schedule
delays
between
mails to time
your
workflows

48. Gauging success
48

49. How well do education pros measure email marketing?
Source: GetResponse

50. Get traffic back to your website!
Read More

51. Why create Calls-to-Action?
CTAs can be:
✔ Embedded in multiple locations
✔ Easily edited and updated
✔ Tracked accurately

52. Track/Measure your Email & Newsletters

53. Not all audiences have the same behaviour
Most bookings occurred
after the prospect first
enquired about the course
In other words, they required
nurturing

54. Conclusions
54

55. ✔ Email is a more important tool than ever for business school recruitment – given
current conditions
✔ Follow email marketing content creation best practices – use buying personas and
key message
✔ Use email in a variety of different ways, for different purposes – templates,
automation
✔ Don’t treat everyone the same - Segment your email lists and target people down
to the programme of interest/Type of interaction (brochure download, Request a
consultation etc.)
✔ Measure success, track activities, experiment, improve, repeat!
Key points

56. Free Email / Lead Nurturing Consultation
Scott Cross
North America Regional Manager
514-312-3968 x 117
scross@higher-education-marketing.com
Lara Chuang
North America Client Representative
514-312-3968 x 115
lara@higher-education-marketing.com

57. Thanks!
Archie@higher-education-marketing.com
+44 7957974939