Blue Sky Factory: The Anatomy of an Email (DJ Waldow 24 Sep 09_

Baltimore, Maryland Blue Sky Factory Driving Email Marketing Performance The Anatomy of an Email September 24, 2009 1:00 to 1:45 PM ET DJ Waldow Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

About Blue Sky Factory Blue Sky Factory is both a full & self service ESP. Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory Design, execute, and track your email marketing campaigns with Publicaster (  that’s the name of our application)

About DJ Waldow DJ Waldow @djwaldow
Married, no children (yet)
Salt Lake City, UT
Dog, 3 cats
U of Michigan, NY Giants
Beer, coffee, people
Former middle school teacher
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

30 Minutes of Anatomy, 15 Minutes of Q&A
A thorough understanding of the various parts of an email
Examples of "good" and "bad" email designs
Tips and advice on where to spend time when planning email campaigns
Suggestions to increase opens, clicks, and conversion
What I’m hoping you’ll leave with today: Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

6 Parts of the Human Body
Head (Hair)
Face (Eyes, Nose, Mouth)
Neck & Upper Body
Abdomen (Guts)
Legs
Feet & Toes
6 Parts of an Email
Preheader
From Name/Subject Line
Header, Navigation, Hook
Main Call-to-Action
“ Other Stuff”
Footer

The Bad – From Name
David Axelrod: Who is David? (also too long)
concierge: Am I at a hotel?
register.welcome: Lazy. Lazy. Lazy.
data: Oops (see #3)
tim.westergen: I don’t know who that is. Do you?

The Bad – Subject Line
Don’t miss this: Spammy!
A Message from…: I still don’t know who Tim Westergren is.
Your upcoming…: Use the data you have.
Your receipt…: See #1 and #3.
TwitBacks Newsletter: Boooooring.
EasyUpdate…: I have no idea what that is? Brand?
djwaldow…: Be careful with first name personalization.

The Good – Subject Line
WEEKEND CLOSEOUTS…: It works. Trust me (they test)
9 hours only!...: Sense of urgency.
Save up to 87%: Random number is catchy.
Miles or discount…: Intriguing. I have a choice?
3 Minutes, 52 Seconds: Interest piqued (think: video)
REI Subscriber Exclusive…: Exclusivity.

Subject Line Takeaways
Length
Exclusivity
Call-to-Action
Sense of Urgency
Dare to be Different
(Test)

Preheader Options
Snippet Text
Whitelisting/Address Book Instructions
View Images
Call-to-Action
Mobile Device
F2F and/or SWYSN
Advertising

The Good
(2) Calls-to-action
Mobile/Text
View with Images
Fun icons
Bonus: “secondary preheader” above navigation bar

Preheader Takeaways
Include it, but don’t over do it
Size matters
Be different
Include call(s)-to-action
Whitelisting option overrated?
(Test)

The Bad
Header: Weak
Navigation: None.
Hook: Appears to be “Hello DJ.”

Bulletproof buttons
Clearance in red
Clear header
Hooks everywhere
The Good Fabric.com email – Images On Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

Header, Navigation, Hook Takeaways
Make it Pop (credit: Lisa Harmon)
Bulletproof Buttons (credit: Lisa Harmon)
Whitespace, but not too much
Clear hooks
Play with the colors
(Test)

The Good (and Main Call-to-Action Takeaways)
Consistency: Subject, Preheader, Image, Call-to-Action
Bulletproof Button (credit: Lisa Harmon)
Image/Text Balance
Colors
Animated gif
Many options to click
Clean

“ Other Stuff” Takeaways
Bulletproof Button (credit: Lisa Harmon)
Image/Text Balance
Colors
White space
Many options to click
Clean
Note: Very similar to “Main Call-to-Action” Takeaways Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

Footer Takeaways
Unsubscribe
Manage Preferences / Update Account
SWYN / F2F / Other Social
Tertiary Calls-to-Action
Don’t Make Them Work For It
Simple, Straightforward

“… delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.” S. Godin (1999) If You’ve Learned Nothing Else Today, Know This “Secret” Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory Send Timely, Targeted, Relevant Emails To Subscribers Who Have Asked For Them

@djwaldow http://djwaldow.com/ http://lmgtfy.com/?q=DJ Waldow @blueskyfactory http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/ http://www.blueskyfactory.com/ http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Blue Sky Factory Let’s Talk Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

http://www.b2bemailmarketing.com	2910
http://emailmarketing.typepad.com	16
http://blog.audrey-fosseries.com	10
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	9
http://www.slideshare.net	8
http://webranding.org	4
http://www.blog.audrey-fosseries.com	3
http://xss.yandex.net	2
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	2
http://www.emailmarketing.typepad.com	1

Blue Sky Factory: The Anatomy of an Email (DJ Waldow 24 Sep 09_

by DJ Waldow on Sep 28, 2009

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