4. Company
Snapshot
• Our
Vision
WhatCounts
offers
the
most
complete
array
of
deployment
op7ons
including
self-‐service,
– Recognized
for
our
flexible
technology
and
collabora7ve
service,
and
full
service
as
well
as
an
on-‐premises
appliance
that
runs
on
the
solu7ons
for
marke7ng
professionals.
same
applica7on
code
base
as
does
its
hosted
offering.
• Our
Mission
David
Daniels
– To
change
the
marke7ng
game
through
innova7ve
technology
and
service
• Background
“Outstanding
service,
knowledgeable
staff,
cost-‐effec7ve
solu7on.
Beyond
their
easy-‐to-‐
– 75+
Employees
use
applica7on,
Blue
Sky
Factory
con7nues
to
impress
for
their
excellence
in
client
– HQ:
Atlanta,
GA
sa7sfac7on.
From
live
chat
to
personal
account
management,
they
ac7vely
listen
and
– Offices:
Bal7more,
DC,
SeaNle,
NYC,
con7nually
respond
with
enhancements
to
their
product.
I
would
recommend
Blue
Sky
Sydney
AUS
Factory
to
anyone
in
the
market
for
a
powerful
and
affordable
email
service
– Proven
customer
focus
with
>
90%
provider.”
reten=on
rate
Rose
Norred
8. Opt-‐in
Form
Checklist
Opt-‐In
Form-‐
Best
Prac=ces
Checklist:
Opt-‐In
Form
–
Checklist
Client List
WhatCounts
recommends
using
this
checklist
as
a
guide
to
opt-‐in
form
prac=ces.
Decide
on
fields
to
be
included
on
opt-‐in
form
Build
form
and
integrate
into
email
marke7ng
deployment
pla_orm
If
deployment
pla_orm
is
different
than
email
storage
pla_orm,
set
up
an
API
to
connect
the
two
systems
Add
strong
calls-‐to-‐ac7on
for
email
sign
up
on
every
page
of
the
website
Ensure
sign-‐up
page
showcases
details
about
your
email
campaigns:
types
and
frequency
Set
up
opt-‐in
form
or
subscriber
preference
center
to
allow
subscribers
to
choose
which
campaigns
they
will
receive
Ensure
form
features
privacy
pledge
Consider
social
features
such
as
Facebook
Connect
(for
ease
of
sign-‐up)
Put
a
Thank
you
page
in
place
Set
up
an
automated
Welcome
email
9. Deliverability
–
Best
Prac+ces
Deliverability–
Checklist
Deliverability
-‐
Best
Prac=ces
Checklist:
WhatCounts
recommends
using
this
checklist
as
a
guide
to
delivery
best
prac=ces.
Email
is
DKIM
signed
• A
digital
signature
(DKIM
–
domain
keys
iden7fied
mail)
helps
to
verify
the
sender
of
the
message
while
also
ensuring
that
the
email
has
not
been
altered
in
transit.
SPF
and
Sender
ID
records
are
published
for
the
MAIL
FROM
domain(s).
• Sender
ID
and
SPF
(sender
policy
framework)
both
help
verify
your
iden7ty
to
the
ISPs.
Entering
these
TXT
files
into
the
appropriate
DNS
allows
the
ISPs
to
verify
that
the
email
engine
you
are
using
is
allowed
to
send
email
on
your
behalf.
Sending
IPs
are
whitelisted
with
major
ISP
and
enrolled
in
ISP
provided
feedback
loops.
Role
accounts
(abuse@
and
postmaster@)
need
to
be
set
up
and
ac7vely
monitored
for
complaints
Opt
Outs
and
Feedback
Loop
complaints
are
removed
on
a
7mely
basis.
Test
email
rendering
across
mul7ple
email
clients
to
ensure
proper
rendering.
Test
email
content
and
subject
lines
for
possible
spam
filtering.
Seed
distribu7on
with
large
list
of
monitored
email
addresses
to
ensure
inbox
vs.
bulk
delivery
10. Crea+ve
–
Best
Prac+ces
Crea=ve
–
Checklist
Client List
Crea=ve
-‐
Best
Prac=ces
Checklist:
WhatCounts
recommends
using
this
checklist
as
a
guide
to
crea=ve
best
prac=ces.
Keep
email
width
under
650
pixels
Design
above
the
fold
Keep
it
short
and
simple
Code
by
hand
when
possible
Avoid
the
use
of
Javascript,
Flash,
etc.
in
email
campaigns
Avoid
background
images
Use
image
alt
tags
Make
your
design
compelling
Test
your
email
design
in
all
email
clients
and
through
spam
evalua7on
services
2011
WhatCounts
email
Design
Guidelines
hNp://www.blueskyfactory.com/resources/bsfemaildesignguidelines.pdf
11. Social
Integra+on
–
Best
Prac+ces
Social
Media
&
Email
Integra=on
-‐
Best
Prac=ces
Checklist:
WhatCounts
recommends
using
this
checklist
as
a
guide
to
successfully
integrate
your
social
media
and
email
efforts
Ask
people
to
follow
you
on
social
networks
via
email
links,
landing
pages
and
your
website
Include
links
to
your
social
media
pages
in
all
email
communica7ons
Include
a
Share
With
Your
Network
tool
in
all
emails,
and
encourage
sharing
with
valuable,
share-‐worthy
content
Men7on
your
social
presence
in
all
marke7ng
channels
Include
an
email
opt-‐in
link
whenever
you
share
content
on
social
sites
Remember
to
be
consistent
to
your
brand
across
all
channels
Iden7fy
your
objec7ve
for
each
social
channel,
and
tailor
your
message
on
that
channel
to
your
audience
there
12. Performance
–
Best
Prac+ces
Performance
Metrics
-‐
Best
Prac=ces
Checklist:
WhatCounts
recommends
using
this
checklist
as
a
guide
to
easily
and
effec=vely
monitoring
your
email
marke=ng
performance
metrics.
Keep
tabs
on
all
metrics
but
pay
close
aNen7on
to:
delivery
rate
clickthrough
rate
open
rate
opt-‐out
rate
Ensure
your
email
campaigns
are
performing
their
best
by:
A/B
split
tes7ng
segmen7ng
s7cking
to
the
expecta7ons
you
set
for
subscribers
during
opt-‐in
14. Poor
Delivery
Client List
Poor
Delivery
If
your
bounce
rate
is
increasing,
it
is
important
to
evaluate
the
following
aspects
of
your
program:
1.
Authen=ca=on.
Are
your
Sender
ID
and
SPF
records
set
up
properly?
These
important
measures
can
help
you
communicate
your
legi7macy
to
the
ISPs
(Hotmail,
Yahoo,
AOL,
Gmail,
etc.).
2.
Make
sure
you
are
adhering
to
the
expecta=ons
you
set
for
your
subscribers
originally.
It
is
impera7ve
that
send
the
type
of
content
your
subscribers
signed
on
to
receive
at
the
7me
of
opt-‐
in
(e.g.-‐
if
you
originally
only
sent
event
emails
but
now
send
a
weekly
newsleNer,
as
well,
subscribers
may
become
unengaged).
Frequency
evalua7ons
should
also
be
made
(e.g.-‐
are
you
sending
a
lot
more
frequently
than
you
or
you
were
originally?).
Once
you
begin
straying
from
the
expecta7ons
you
originally
set,
the
complaint
rate
typically
begins
to
rise
and
blocks
can
occur.
3.
Age
of
list.
As
subscribers
switch
companies
or
email
clients,
their
email
addresses
omen
change.
Therefore
old
lists
omen
contain
many
inac7ve
addresses.
Sending
to
an
old
list
with
many
inac7ve
(no
longer
ac7vely
used)
addresses
can
lead
to
a
high
bounce
rate.
15. Low
Clickthrough
Rate
Client List
Low
Click
Through
Rate
To
address
a
decreasing
click
through
rate,
implement
the
following:
1.
A/B
split
tes=ng-‐
Test
calls-‐to-‐ac7on
used
and
call-‐to-‐ac7on
placement,
as
well
as
overall
messaging
used.
2.
Segmenta=on-‐
Send
more
targeted
emails
to
increase
user
engagement
(e.g.-‐
include
topics
subscribers
have
historically
shown
interest
in
by
clicking).
3.
Stronger
calls-‐to-‐ac=on-‐
Consider
changing
the
verbiage
used
to
generate
interest/ac7on.
To
visibly
make
the
callouts
more
no7ceable
and
aNrac7ve,
consider
replacing
links
with
HTML
buNons.
4.
Crea=ve
check
up-‐
Check
with
your
email
Service
Provider
to
ensure
that
your
design
is
up
to
current
industry
best
prac7ces.
WhatCounts s
basic
design
guidelines
-‐
hNp://www.blueskyfactory.com/resources/bsfemaildesignguidelines.pdf
16. Low
Open
Rate
Low
Open
Rate
Client List
A
low
or
decreasing
open
rate
is
typically
indica7ve
of
the
following:
1.
Lack
of
tes=ng-‐
WhatCounts
recommends
A/B
split
tes7ng
the
subject
line
for
each
campaign
to
garner
the
highest
open
rate
possible.
2.
Poor
engagement-‐
Poor
engagement
is
omen
a
result
of
untargeted
campaigns.
To
increase
your
recipients
desire
to
open
each
email,
make
sure
the
content
is
relevant
to
them
by
segmen7ng
based
on
subscriber
data
and
previous
repor7ng
metrics.
3.
Ineffec=ve
subject
line-‐
A
poorly
constructed
subject
line
increases
the
chances
that
your
subscribers
will
pass
over
without
opening.
Use
a
subject
line
structure
that
seems
to
work
for
your
specific
list
(which
can
be
revealed
through
A/B
split
tes7ng).
And
follow
these
best
prac7ces:
Keep
it
35
characters
or
less;
Consider
using
your
brand/company
name;
Avoid
spammy
words
and
phrases;
Per
the
CAN-‐SPAM
Act,
avoid
decep7ve
subject
lines;
Make
it
ac7onable
by
providing
a
sense
of
urgency
and
call-‐to-‐ac7on
(think
verbs!).
17. Rising
Opt-‐out
Rate
Client List
Rising
Opt-‐Out
Rate
Similar
to
complaint
rate,
the
opt-‐out
or
unsubscribe
rate
may
increase
if
you
do
not
s7ck
to
the
expecta7ons
originally
set
for
your
subscribers.
Below
are
the
top
6
reasons
people
choose
to
unsubscribe
from
email
campaigns:
