A few principles to keep in mind when trying to create email messages to connect with your audience.

1. engagement
Engagement is a word that means many different things:
What comes to mind when you hear the word “engagement”?

2. diagram
it can be an appointment, a new job,
connecting two things together…

3. Battle?
Often we view our online engagement as a
battle: we need to overcome the resistance of
our target, and get them to sign up for…
whatever it is that we’re talking about.

4. Online engagement
When trying to reach a large audience, the best advertising creates a character that we can care
about, and ties them closely to a brand. In this case, it was possible via social media to have an
actual conversation with the character from that advertising.
Is this the best example of online engagement yet? Some commentators think that its
combination of social media, advertising, and product placement makes it so.

5. It takes a big
team to do
something
like this.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_old_spice_won_the_internet.php

6. What about us?

7. beyond
“let’s put our old stuff
up on the web”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7941044@N06/2865644230

8. Keeping it simple
For my example, I’m going to talk about
something that we use every day: email.

9. online engagement:
using digital means
to generate interest in
your message
I want to suggest that the way we use email
(and any other digital means) should be that of a courtship.

10. Did you get
my email?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/undream/2100521994/
This isn’t quite what I’m talking about.

11. how does an
institution build a
connection with
its audience?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24100730@N08/4014629377

12. One
clear
tailored
message
at a time.

13. you might think you're
talking to a crowd.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acousticskyy/3651475141/

14. you're not.

15. you have an audience of one
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acousticskyy/3593761024/

16. online
engagement is a
courtship
If you propose – if you make that big request -
without building the connection first, you'll get
nowhere.

17. how do we build the connection?

18. Get to know your user.

19. What does their online life look like?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fncll/135465558/

20. When do they access
your message?
Ideally, you want to find a time when they’re interested in reading something, and they’re not
overwhelmed with a lot of same-y emails to work through: that gives you the best chance of
having your message read.

21. Are they online
from the start of
the day?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/montage_man/1473232665/
If someone is checking their email then, they’ll
likely be inundated with emails from any
overseas sites they’ve subscribed to.
If you have a way of getting their day off to a
good start, this might be a good time to send a
message out.

22. Are they checking
their messages late
at night?
Late at night, they probably have other
commitments to worry about.
How internet savvy is your target audience? http://www.flickr.com/photos/62337512@N00/1427324899

23. What device
are they using?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johanl/4365558047/
Google breaks down mobile users into three behaviour groups:
"Repetitive now“ – waiting for the latest update to a piece of data
"Bored now“ – time to kill
"Urgent now” – need to know something *right now*

24. Do you have their
complete
attention?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tallkev/4082110101/
We like to imagine that people are sitting down
with a cup of coffee, have cleared their desk, and
are concentrating on what we’re telling them. In
reality, they are battling any number of
distractions.

25. How they use a computer
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/06/06/business/kord-pano.html
When you read a brochure, it’s generally the only thing that you’re doing.
When you use a computer, there are all kinds of built-in distractions –
perhaps more than you think!
Here is an example of a power-user working on their computer.
The blue circle grows in size the longer they look at one thing on screen.

26. Your message:
more important to you
than to them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64419960@N00/3545127104
The biggest trap that a message-sender falls into
is over-estimating how important their user finds
the message.

27. Have a good relationship?

28. They’ll read your message.

29. Ignoring everyone?
http://newyorker.tumblr.com/post/862788932/cartoon-of-the-day
You don’t want to go on someone’s “ignore” list.

30. Are you listening to them?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonofgroucho/3346955081
Before you send a message, have you worked out how
you’re going to respond if your user tries to get in touch?
Have you made it easy for them to contact you?

31. What to say.

32. Conversation:
Quantity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35444427@N00/4801604476
The right amount of information – not too
much, not too little.

33. Conversation:
Quality
Nothing false, nothing for which you lack evidence.

34. Conversation:
Relevant
You can use what you know about the person to include or exclude content.
This helps cut down on the parts of the message that will just bore or irritate them.

35. Conversation:
Manner
Not obscure;
Not ambiguous;
Be brief;
Be orderly

36. Subject line
If you can get past their spam filter, and perhaps their
executive assistant, this might be as far as you get in your
communication with them.
Are you giving them a reason to open the message?

37. Does your message still work if the images
haven’t been downloaded?

38. Breaking it off
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82862943@N00/367490867/
Don’t smother them – give them a way to end the relationship.
If you try to hang onto them too tightly, you’ll lose them.
Unsubscribe links can also help you get past the “spam” filter.

39. write for scanning,
not reading
Use headings where you can.
Use images and formatting to allow people to get an
overview of the message, even they don’t read it all.

40. every message needs
a call to action
What do you want them to do – is it clear to them?

41. Practice this every time you send
an electronic message

42. Write the
message your
user wants to
read…

43. …and wants to
share with
others.

44. CHECKLIST
Before you hit send:
• is this a message they want to read?
• is this a message they want to share?
• Have you told this in a human way?
• Have you made it as uplifting as you can?
Does this help them see the world in a new way?

45. And one last thing

46. Checking the
health of your
relationship
Don’t just think that everything is fine in the
relationship because they signed up once upon
a time.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/undream/2100521994/

47. Analytics
• Are people opening your
message?
• Are they clicking through?
• Keep improving your messages

48. final piece of the old spice story

49. Summary
• Get to know your user
• Send messages they want to read
• Be ready for the proposal when
the moment comes