A creative approach to email marketing

Thinking creatively about email
Mike Teasdale
mike@harvestdigital.com
@miketeasdale

Joined up digital thinking…

But paid search is getting more expensive

While email is still growing fast
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Source: radicati.com, Email Statistics Report, 2009-2013

It’s time we took email more seriously

And recognised how hard it is to get it right

Here’s the main reason it’s hard…

Do we even know what spam is?

Spam is whatever your customers think it is.
Consumer research – known versus unknown sender
Marketing Sherpa, November 2007

Spam = boring stuff

Perhaps we need to learn email etiquette?

Rule one:make a good first impression

Subject line
From field
Auto-preview screen
Email’s golden triangle

Subject lines
Subject line tests - uplift in CTR
Astropop: space is yours (100)
Play Astropop for EUR19.95 (122)
Discover the perfect taste (100)
Don’t forget to buy a present for yourself (105)
Win a case of your favourite tipple (146)

All the reader wants to know is…
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

You can put Free in a subject line!

From field – well worth testing
Testing uplift in CTR
From: PriceMinister (100)
From: Alexandra at Priceminister (135)
From: Wanadoo (100)
From: Caroline at Wanadoo (188)

Rule two:make it personal

Relevance comes from…
Triggers, like registrations
Understanding the customer’s life cycle
Personalisation
Following behavioural cues, like web browsing

I
Choose
I Want
I Buy
I
Become
Aware
I Use
I Need
I Enjoy
Sony Welcome programme
|23

Survey information said:
Within the 1st 30 days of ownership Digital Still Camera users want added memory, camera accessories, batteries, shooting kits, advice etc.
Within the 2nd 30 days of ownership Digital Still Camera users are more likely to be interested in PRINTING their photos
|24

Messages or Programmes?
Welcome Message
Thank you
Welcome programme
Thank you
How was it for you?
How’s the new camera?
Want some help?
Need some memory?
How about printing?
|25

It pays to be relevant
Source: David Daniels, Jupiter Research

And personalisation also improves CTRs

Rule three:ask questions(it’s a conversation!)

Switch statements make relevance easy to achieve
masthead
contents
Personalised intro
Segment one: Customers –Here’s stuff about your local restaurant
Switch statement delivers a relevant message to each group
Cross-sell
Segment two: Prospects – Here’s a generic offer
Lead story #2
Member get member
User generated content
unsubscribe

£4m revenue in 2006
|31

Rule four:being persuasive doesn’t mean being ‘salesy’

‘The psychology of persuasion’, Robert Cialdini

Six principles of persuasion
Consensus
Authority
Commitment / consistency
Scarcity
Likeability
Reciprocation

What’s the value of a mint?
No mints = control
One mint with bill: tip rises 3.3%
Two mints with bill: tip rises 14%
One mint + personal mint: tip rises 23%

Rule four:learn when to shut up

(Thanks to Catherine Toole from Sticky Content for this)

Rule five:keep it simple

Assemble the creative assets
|45

Craft the copy
|46

“We literally made the decision to go to sale on the Thursday morning, and by Friday lunchtime, it looked like we were on for the biggest single day in Howies history!”
www.nonlineblogging.com
|48

Rule six:keep it even simpler

Who likes this book?

Ruleseven:Keep it short and scannable

Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what's left.
Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
Steve Krug, 2006

Body copy style – usability research
“How people read on the web” - classic usability testing by Jakob Nielsen
Same site written 4 different ways
Each site then tested against basic usability principles
|56

How people read on the web
Results of usability research for Sun.com
|57
Source: Neilsen/Morkes

Get rid of half the words...
|58

Scanability?
|59

Don’t boast
|60

Best Combination
|61

In summary
|62

Eye tracking on emails
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 Email
First part of para important
F shape eyetrack
Email intros skipped
Use to personalise and engagee.g. with hyperlinks

Rule eight:don’t mumble

Auto-preview issues

Images switched off

Images on

Images off

Rule nine:watch out for the fold

Working around window sizes
http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/

http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/

Is this link below the fold?

Yes – for >60% of internet users

Designing for the fold

Rule ten:think community, not customers

Icanhascheezeburger.com

The lolcats customer engagement funnel
Rate photo
Share/steal photo
Comment on photo
Re-caption photo
Submit photo

Rule eleven:everything is starting to join up

Email and social media are making friends
http://rapportive.com/ - plugin to Gmail via Firefox / Chrome

Rule eleven:content is still king

Be interesting!
Just a stock cube?
Recipes
Tips and tricks
Video demonstrations
Competitions

Thank you.
Mike Teasdale
mike@harvestdigital.com
@miketeasdale

http://www.slidescene.com	121
http://www.harvestdigital.com	79
http://www.indolent.com	69
http://antoine-dupin.com	9
http://harvestdigital.com	5
http://feeds.feedburner.com	5
http://ermko.blogspot.com	1
http://indolent.com	1

A creative approach to email marketing

by Mike Teasdale on Aug 23, 2010

Accessibility

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

8 Embeds 290

Statistics

A creative approach to email marketing — Presentation Transcript