EMAIL MARKETING By Rebecca L. Cooney, MSC Clinical Assistant Professor Washington State University Email marketing is the targeting of consumers through electronic mail (email). Often associated with data mining, email marketing can be used to impact consumers in a variety of ways. In general, email marketing is a more evolved, digital form of traditional direct mail marketing. -Techopedia
PERSONALIZED COMMUNICATION Email is still the most used, most valuable and for the smart marketers, the most prized real estate on the Internet. - David Graham, Managing Director at Ether Digital
HOW EMAIL MARKETING WORKS Deliverability 1. List development or acquisition a company s owned names list or one they purchase Segmentation Marketing Goals 2. Creative html layout and messaging + personalization 3. Distribution using an engagement marketing tool 4. Measurement and tracking open rate, click-thru, bounces, opt outs List Creation & Management EMAIL MARKETING Analysis & Reporting Branding + Look & Feel SOURCE: SEO Optimizers
10 EMAIL MARKETING BEST PRACTICES
Contact database -- make sure you have permission to send emails to your desired target audience. Evaluate your distribution plan determine how often you will be sending emails to select lists based on campaign objectives. Avoid spamming. Use an email creation and tracking tool (aka email client) for best results such as Constant Contact, Emma or Vertical Response Don t write in all caps Avoid spam words like free Use the autoresponder feature to provide timely response to customers who engage and request more information or have taken an action that warrants confirmation or thank you. Track metrics of user behavior and email effectiveness open rates, click thru rates, forwards, opt-outs, etc. Create emails in both html and text format (based on audience preference) Don t use symbols or characters Incorporate a call to action EMAIL TIPS So how do you stand out amidst the ever- growing throngs of online marketers who are taking advantage of the current power of email? The solution is a simple idea to convey, though not always as easy to implement...give them value, or give them nothing at all." Kim MacPherson, contributing author at ClickZ
PROS AND CONS OF INCORPORATING EMBEDDED VIDEO IN EMAILS In 2013 Chad White, author at Litmus Software, Inc., predicted that video in email will finally take off. Three years later in 2016 he has updated his statement to say that video in email is still a very fringe design element because Apple discontinued support for Html 5 video, compressed video gifs work in only some of the current email clients and Gmail now has an integration with YouTube. So, bottom line he says, video in email is the epitome of a patchwork solution.
EMAIL CHECKLIST Goals & Audience Optimize Inbox View Content Design Distribute & Monitor What is the main goal? Desired outcomes? Recipients? Who is the email from? What email receives replies? Apply key words in subject line. What info is most relevant? What is the CTA? Check for brand and message continuity. Include unsubscribe link. Is content viewable and functional? Test functionality and links. Confirm no images or links are broken. Add analytics code and tracking. Verify subscriber list is current. Run spam filter test.
1. Be brief (max. 50 characters) 2. Be personal (i.e. incorporate the recipient s name in the subject line) 3. Be specific (incorporate language related to goal in the subject line) 4. Be real (no false promises) 5. Be exclusive (create a sense of urgency with deadlines and limited time language) 6. Be timely (send emails when subscribers are most likely to open them) 7. Be succinct (numbers are effective such as top 7 lists ) 8. Be inquisitive (ask a question in the subject line to draw subscribers in) 9. Be direct (if personalization is not an option use you language) 10. Be relevant (if an customer has already taken an action acknowledge it in the subject line) SUBJECT LINES BEST PRACTICES Not enough talk about the importance of brand in email. Customers don t sign up for email they sign up for your brand. - Bob Frady, Chief Marketing Officer at Maropost SOURCE: Olivia Allen, Digital Strategy Coordinator from Kforce
They never signed up (or don t remember signing up) Emails arrive too frequently Viewing issues contact is unable to see key images or video or there are issues in responsive design Email is cluttered or unprofessional Irrelevant content Unending sales pitches Content is boring, repetitive or uninteresting Tell customers that they are subscribing to an email list by providing an opt-in checkbox on forms Let subscribers determine how frequently they want to receive communication Check the email on multiple devices and platforms to ensure readability. Use templates that are well-designed and configured for html email distribution Segment subscribers based on their preferences and campaign activity. Avoid constant sales emails. Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% should feature helpful tips or strategies related to your industry 20% can be sales-related Give customers a reason to click through or take advantage of an opportunity. Provide coupons they can actually use, make it easy to sign up for something, AVOIDING THE OPT OUT Once you have a loyal customer or prospect you want to keep them. According to SuperProfile on any given day, the average customer will be exposed to 2,904 media messages, will pay attention to 52 and will positively remember only four.
Example Email Components: The Offer Headline > Subheadline (offer) > Call to action Html emails are designed at varying levels of sophistication and quantity of content. Some are very short and sweet with limited copy, a photo and call to action. Others are more elaborate such as e-newsletters giving organizations much more real estate to work with and new opportunities to showcase products, feature testimonials or highlight offers and coupons.
Example Email Newsletter Components Headline/Masted Offer Intro Copy Section Titles Section Copy Call to Action (CTA)
EMAIL MARKETING TOOLS Top Email Marketing Software Products from Capterra (2016) Campaign Monitor ActiveCampaign AWeber Email Marketing Desk.com SharpSpring Email client is a desktop application that enables configuring one or more email addresses to receive, read, compose and send emails from that email address(s) through the desktop interface. It provides a central interface for receiving, composing and sending emails of configured email address(s). - Techopedia