Blue Sky Factory Driving Email Marketing Performance Shake & Bake Your Email Campaigns Into 2010 Joanna Lawson-Matthew & DJ Waldow November 5, 2009 1:00 to 1:45 PM ET Twitter: #bsfwebinar Baltimore, Maryland
Your MCs (DJs?) Joanna Lawson-Matthew Senior Account Manager DJ Waldow Director of Community Location: San Francisco Location: Salt Lake City Image credit: http://www.unionstreetinn.com/ Image credit: http://www.bon-voyage.co.uk/
About Blue Sky Factory Blue Sky Factory is both a full & self service ESP. Design, execute, and track your email marketing campaigns with Publicaster ( That s the name of our application)
1. Review & Reflect 2. Email Marketing Strategy 3. Remember the Holidays 4. Shake & Bake, Baby! 5. ESP / ISP Relations 6. Review Other Components 7. Q & A 30-45 Minutes of Education and Fun!
Review & Reflect
Review & Reflect Review your emails from 2009 What worked? What didn t work? What did you change from 2008 to 2009? Was that successful?
Review & Reflect Which campaigns got the highest/lowest: Open rate, Click through rate Conversion rate, Forward rate Unsubscribe/Complaint rate Share rate (SWYN) Mobile version views
Review & Reflect
Review & Reflect Ask (and answer) the following: 1.What day(s) did you send on? Was that successful? 2. Did you try any A/B testing? What were the results? 3. Did you make any changes to your creative? Did you see improved results from this? 4. Did you try any different approaches for your offers, timing, frequency, & social aspects? 5. What did your competitors do?
Review & Reflect Use this information to plan for 2010 What are your email marketing goals for 2010? How will you measure your success? Photo credit: http://smallbizadvisor.org/
Email Marketing Strategy
Email Marketing Strategy Budget Email Types & Frequency Start Small, But Consider Big Picture Other Departments
Email Marketing Strategy
Email Marketing Strategy Questions to ask (& again, answer) 1. Do you have a budget? 2. What portion is dedicated to email marketing? 3. Is this amount increasing or decreasing? Why? 4. Are you forgetting about email & focusing on shiny new tools? Photo Credit: Flickr - sgw
Sales and/or Promotion
Pros Show me the money Clear call-to-action Sales and/or Promotion From Name: Backcountry.com Subject: Final Day for 20% Off Cons Not (necessarily) relationship building Overmailing risk Frequency Monthly - not enough Weekly - just right? Daily - deal of the day
Alert and/or Notification
Pros Timely, Targeted Clear call-to-action Alert and/or Notification From Name: American Airlines Subject: Your Trip Is Now Eligible For Check-In Cons Not (direct) revenue generation Frequency As necessary Too much - 2 days, 1 day, 1 hr Not enough - 1 hr before
Survey
Survey From Name: malumni Subject: Alumni Association of the University of Michigan membership satisfaction survey invitation Pros Short, To-the-point (Relatively) clear call-to-action Cons Can be boring Another survey? Frequency As necessary: Post interaction/visit Monthly - too much? Quarterly
Informational and/or Newsletter
Pros Consistent (expectations) Great content Informational and/or Newsletter From Name: Chris Brogan Subject: Goals, Competition, and Friction [bnl] Cons No clear call-to-action No (direct, measureable) $$ Frequency Monthly just right? Weekly need fresh content
Email Marketing Strategy 1. Start Small, But Consider Big Picture Have a plan Build a calendar Be flexible 2. Other Departments Are others sending email too? Coordinate
Remember the Holidays
Remember the Holidays 1. Include the end-of-year holidays in your email plan Develop a schedule leading up to holidays (work backwards from launch date) Consider planning a campaign series leading up to the holiday Keep busy emailing days in mind 2. Get post-2009 holiday emails in your plan now
Remember the Holidays Smith-Harmon Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season http://www.smith-harmon.com/
Remember the Holidays Smith-Harmon Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season http://www.smith-harmon.com/
Remember the Holidays Can t get enough? Need more tips & ideas specific to the end-of-year holidays? Check out our webinar: Tis the Season to Start Planning Your Holiday Email Campaigns
Remember the Holidays 1. Use other annual holidays in your plan too Don't forget the smaller holidays (Valentine's Day, Memorial Day, Halloween) Use the holidays to build relationships with subscribers (messages of goodwill) 2. Not sure what others are doing for holiday email campaigns? Sign up for your competitors' emails now!
Remember the Holidays
Remember the Holidays Photo Credit: http://www.retailemailblog.com/2009/02/season-finale-christmas-2008.html (Chad White)
Shake & Bake, Baby!
Shake & Bake, Baby A B Testing Creative/Template Refresh Rendering Targeted. Timely. Relevant. Permission.
A B Testing Test Adjust Test Review Results Test Send Tweak Test Test Test
A B Testing
A B Testing What to test... 1. Day 2. Time 3. Subject line 4. Creative 5. Call-to-action 6. List 7. (Everything, but one variable at a time)
Creative/Template Refresh
Creative/Template Refresh
Rendering
Rendering
Timely. Targeted. Relevant. Permission. The Secret to Successful Email Marketing
Timely. Targeted. Relevant. Permission. Send Timely, Targeted, Relevant Emails To Subscribers Who Have Asked For Them delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. S. Godin (1999)
2008 Return Path Study... Timely. Targeted. Relevant. Permission. 60% did not send a welcome message; 30% failed to send any message at all (within first 30 days) While 70% asked for more than email address at sign up, 75% didn t use this info to personalize or customize messages Took an average of 9 days for the first regular email message to arrive (65% percent of those emails didn't contain a special offer) Return Path, 2008 Study: http://www.returnpath.net/downloads/resources/greatsubscriberexperiences.pdf
Timely. Targeted. Relevant. Permission. Return Path, 2008 Study: http://www.returnpath.net/downloads/resources/greatsubscriberexperiences.pdf
Timely. Targeted. Relevant. Permission. Return Path, 2008 Study: http://www.returnpath.net/downloads/resources/greatsubscriberexperiences.pdf
Timely. Targeted. Relevant. Permission. Return Path, 2008 Study: http://www.returnpath.net/downloads/resources/ecommerce_study_v030509.pdf
ESP / ISP Relations
ESP / ISP Relations Domain/IP Reputation Get to know your Account Manager Push the limits of what your ESP can do
Domain / IP Reputation
Account Managers The lovely female voice you hear
What Can Your ESP Do For You? Photo Credit: Wikipedia
What Can Your ESP Do For You? *"Microsoft Word 'power users' use <2% of the application's features." *This is not a real quote. I heard it from a B-school professor once. I believed him.
What Can Your ESP Do For You? How to become an Email Marketing "Power User" in 4 easy steps: 1.Read, attend industry webinars, tradeshows, mixers, etc 2.Ask your ESP (Account Manager) 3.Roll up your sleeves 4.Sign up for your ESP s resources - blog, newsletter, webinars
ESP / ISP Relations Take the time now to make sure your IP reputation is in good standing, work with your ESP Ensure you are subscribed to all available Feedback Loops (most ESPs will do this automatically) Set up authentication records (Sender ID, SPF, Domain Keys) For more on authentication: http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/industrytrends/threeways-to-improve-email-deliverability/
ESP / ISP Relations However, none of the ISP relations stuff matters unless you... Get Permission: Ensure email list is 100% opt-in Segment: Avoid "batch & blast" or "spray & pray" Remember the Mantra: Send timely, targeted, relevant emails to subscribers who have asked for them
Review Other Components
Easy to find, Easy to fill out Review Other Components - Opt-in Process o Opt-in form on all pages of website o Ask for minimal info, gather more data later Set expectations regarding frequency, content Explain benefits of subscription (W.I.I.F.M.) Give subscriber options for targeted emails No pre-checked boxes (affirmative consent) Link to Privacy Policy / Terms & Conditions
Review Other Components - Opt-in Process
Review Other Components - Welcome email Send an immediate email to welcome and acknowledge new subscribers Remind subscribers of benefits of subscription Outline the types and frequency of emails they can expect from you Consider including a special offer as a "thank you" Option to change preferences or opt-out completely Ask subscribers to whitelist your From address
Review Other Components - Welcome email
Review Other Components - Transactional emails Transactional emails are the most read emails o Average open rate: 47%1 o Average click through rate: 20%1 Use your branded email template to shake them up Perfect opportunity for a marketing/sales push, as long as the main purpose of the email is transactional 1. Transactional Emails: Make Your First Impression Count. Loren McDonald, Thursday, April 23, 2009. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=articles.showarticle&art_aid=104687
Review Other Components - Transactional emails
Review Other Components - Transactional emails
Review Other Components - Landing pages Ensure your landing pages are optimized for conversions Is your landing page call-to-action easy to find and click on? Is your call-to-action clear? Be consistent between email and landing page (Avoid "am I in the right place?!?")
Review Other Components - Landing pages Not-so-subtle sales pitch: Interested in this offer? Enter Now
Review Other Components - Opt-out Process Ensure your opt-out mechanism is easy to find on your emails, and works! Remember that all opt-outs must be removed from your lists within 10 days Consider also adding an opt-out mechanism to your website Dare Alert! Move your opt-out link to the top of your emails (Welcome the Unsubscribe)
Almost Done
Are We Really Done? Review your emails from 2009 and reflect on the results. Use this info in 2010. Plan what types and frequency of emails will be in your 2010 email marketing strategy. Don t forget to wish your subscribers happy holidays (and remember, it s not always about the sale).
Are We Really Done? Don t be afraid to shake things up in 2010 with A/B testing, creative revamps and more targeted emails. Become BFFs with your ESP and the ISPs. Remember there s more to your strategy than just emails (and this coming from an ESP!).
Stay Connected Thank You! Please submit your questions now. Joanna Lawson-Matthew Senior Account Manager joanna@blueskyfactory.com @joannalm DJ Waldow Director of Community djwaldow@blueskyfactory.com @djwaldow www.blueskyfactory.com blog.blueskyfactory.com @blueskyfactory