6 Email marketing tips

Email Marketing Best Practice Six BIG questions to improve results presented to: E-business 2009 Conference, The National B2B Centre 17 th September 2009 Dave Chaffey, Marketing Insights Limited www.davechaffey.com/presentations www.twitter.com/DaveChaffey

About Dave Chaffey

Agenda – Email Marketing Best Practice: 6 questions to improve your results Image blocking, banner blindness 5 Is our creative effective? Event-triggers, dynamic content insertion 4 Are our emails contextual? Reputation 2 Are our messages REALLY getting through? Google Analytics, Bounce rates 6 Are we tracking “after the click”? Activity levels 3 How engaged are our audiences? Run-of-site, Value-led call-to-action 1 Are we maximising signup and profiling? Key theme Email question

Question 1 Are we maximising signup and profiling?

Use a run-of-site, above the fold sign-up

Capture key profile fields Tips: 1. KISS 2. WIFM 3. Identify 2-3 key fields for lead qualification and targeting. Make mandatory. 4. Pre-tick sign-up – implied opt-in under Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 5. Use incentives or show value to maximise signup.

“ Learn more through time”: “Watch or Ask”

Question 2 Are our messages REALLY getting through? Not bounce rate, but Inbox deliverability

Why don’t your messages get through
According to a DMA UK National Benchmarking report ( www.dma.org.uk ) average hard bounce rates are around 3%. The typical breakdown for an email bounce is:
Address does not exist, c30%
Invalid address syntax, c15%
Invalid domain, c25%
Mailbox full, c15%
Message too large, c2%
Blocked as spam, c8%
www.returnpath.net for US and Canada

Actions to help delivery
1. Before you send email (Content)
A. Limit use of spam keyphrases
B. Test e-mail against spam checker, use: www.lyris.com/resources/contentchecker
See www.spamassassin.org
C. Test delivery / renderability in ISPs/Firewalls
D. Educate your list members to whitelist you
E. Setup Email server with best practice: Use subdomain: http://email.domain.com , SPF, SenderID, etc
2. After you send Email (Reputation):
A. Remove bounces after 3 times (automatic)
B. Track complaints through ‘closed-looped systems’
C. Track Opens and Clicks across web mail companies and main corporate clients

Question 3. How engaged are our audiences?

3 advanced ways of measuring email engagement
How do you measure engagement with email?
Open/clicks/CTOR is NOT good enough, instead…
Measure % Activity = Opens/clicks/CTOR/sales:
1. At position in lifecycle
2. By segment
3. By offer / email type
4. Aggregated over a longer time period

Measuring list activity – email engagement
These “hurdle rates” are for whole list. Repeat:
By segment
By product categories purchased
Tip. Measure the overall health of your list through activity / inactivity levels over time

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/gamages/advertising-fireworks-social-bonfires

E-newsletter success is all about relevant content
B2B
Make my work easier
Help me develop
Make me look good
Give me a great deal
B2C
Make my life easier
Help me learn / have fun
Make me look good
Give me a great deal
See http://snipurl.com/26g8j

Integrating your email newsletter with social media: a virtuous circle 1 Blog 3. Company Twitter 5. Email Newsletter 2. RSS Feed 4. Facebook Fan page Track with bit.ly Track with bit.ly Track with Google Analytics Track with Feedburner Track with GA or ESP system Manual update or automatically withTwitterfeed Automatic feed with Feedburner Most popular topics selected Auto Update With App

Question 4 Are our emails contextual?

Why Right Touching? The most famous touch

What is “Right Touching”?
Right Touching is:
A Multi-channel Communications Strategy
Customised for Individuals
Which…
Delivers the Right Value Proposition
Accompanied by the Right Message
With the Right Tone
At the Right Time
With the Righ t Frequency and Interval
Using the Right Media / Communications channels
To achieve…
Right balance of value between both parties
Tip: Automate email touches, targeting and content where practical

Examples of basic registration triggered e-mails B2B registration follow-up B2C brand education

BT - It’s all about past actions… “Recognition of activity” and dynamic content insertion Purchase Dispatched +7d +14d +21d Recognition of previous purchase

More Amazon triggered examples Recognition of previous category browsing Recognition of previous category browsing

5 Is our creative effective?

Using eyetracking research to inform Email design
Heading and subhead copy critical
First 2-3 words most important
Make hyperlinked
Large fonts work well
Images often missed
Use text link calls-to-action
Readers scan down the left of an E-mail
First part of para important
F shape eyetrack
Email intros skipped
Use to personalise and engage e.g. with hyperlinks
Need to deliver Scannability and Skimmability

Test! Test! Test! “Data Trumps Intuition” Test version A Send Volume: 10,000 Sample criteria: Random Click through rate: 6.1% Test version B Send Volume: 10,000 Sample criteria: Random Click through rate: 4.5% Main Broadcast Send Volume: 180,000 Click through rate: 5.8% Source:

Which layouts do you use / work? Source:

Effective B2B Enewsletter template layout

Before After
Aims:
Use left column
Disrupt symmetry
Use scannable headlines
Introduce editorial

Don’t give too much choice?!
Six different jams. 40% of the customers stopped to taste. 30% of those bought.
Twenty-four different jams. 60% of the customers stopped to taste. But only 3% bought! http://sivers.org/jam

How many links should we have? Source:

Get seen! Beware image blocking

What makes email recipients click?

6 Are we tracking “after the click”?

Define standard email tracking codes – example:
Name: &utm_campaign=SBIT210809C
Source: &utm_source=ES_BITE_Email
Medium: &utm_medium=Internal_Email
Content: &utm_content=SBIT210809C_Cabaret_Image
Tip: Use conversion goals and bounce rate to assess effectiveness

Thank you!
Download this presentation from:
www.davechaffey.com /presentations
Any questions, do e-mail me:
[email_address]
Subscribe to my E-marketing Essentials, monthly briefing on what‘s new in E-marketing
www.davechaffey.com
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www.twitter.com/DaveChaffey

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6 Email marketing tips

by Dave Chaffey on Sep 17, 2009

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6 Email marketing tips — Presentation Transcript