Email Marketing 101 by Josue Sierra

I presented these introductory concepts for better understanding email marketing, and some of the key best practices to help you succeed in starting up your email marketing program. I also touch on social media, and how it should integrate with email marketing.

ABOUT JOSUE:
I am passionate about helping people & organizations communicate with clarity using digital tools so they can develop stronger, more meaningful relationships & impact their world. Currently looking for new career opportunity in Email Marketing, Digital Marketing or Online Product Management.

Learn more about me at: www.linkedin.com/in/josuesierra/

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Josue Sierra is a Digital Marketing executive with Epsilon, a global marketing agency, and has over 15 years of experience in all forms of online marketing. He has also done extensive work in email and social media consulting and training with small businesses and non-profits. Josue is a resident of Cecil County, MD and a semi-regular customer at the Elkton branch of the Cecil County Public Library. You can sign up to get updates on digital marketing & social media from his website by going to www.josuesierra.net (top right hand corner) or by following him on Twitter (@jmsierra) at www.twitter.com/jmsierra.

Ability to personalize content & click links.Easy to segment, and do narrow targeting.Timely and detailed response & engagement metrics (opens, clicks, etc).Easy to integrate across channels, and measure impact across channels.

Mobile matters because your customers are already mobile-active. When we say mobile active, we’re not talking about how many people own smartphones. What we’re talking about are the millions of consumers already interacting with your emails anywhere, anyplace and anytime. The mobile movement isn’t happening. It’s already happened. Just this past April 2013, mobile overtook desktop and webmail as the top environment in April 2013. Even more recently, opens in mobile devices increased by 80% in the last six months. Look even closer and you’ll see the iPhone has become the most popular email client out there. Not Outlook, not Yahoo, not Gmail. A mobile device has overtaken them all. Mobile is no longer an afterthought. It’s now the most dominant player in email marketing and represents the single most significant change to the medium since it came into existence. Yet, email isn’t the only thing people are using their mobile devices for. They’re using their smartphones and tablets as multi-use platforms for all their needs. From Business and Shopping to News and Entertainment, mobile devices are the main instrument for need fulfillment.

Say hello to responsive emails. They detect the pixel width of the device screen they are being viewed on and adapt by adjusting their size, shape and layout.

Go there, demo. http://eepurl.com/Nqln9

The five most essential elements of a mobile Optimized Email creative There are two major considerations that influence the visual framework of a mobile optimized email.Don’t Forget: 1. Small screen: when your screen is the size of a business card, text and structure must be easy to understand quickly.2. Touch: when input methods are imprecise (compared to a mouse!), opportunities for engagement must be clear and usable.

Subject Line Best Practices (guidelines, not rules…always test)DoKeep to 35 characters or lessPersonalize when possibleKeep it strong, consistent and simple. Relate it to content. Entice your audience with excitement and mystery Don’tUse all caps and lots of punctuationUse spammy words like FREE, cash bonus or call nowUse starting words like urgent, emergency or last chance

Pre-Header Text (very important for iPhone users & Gmail users) Keep to 80 characters or less for MOST email clientsKeep to 40 characters or less for ALL email clientsIMPORTANT: Provide a CTA link at the end of the sentence to complete your message and help lift engagement.

LayoutDOInclude visual brand (logo, color scheme, graphics)Make readable and usable on a small screen, scaled or notPut the most important content in the top left 300pxUse strong language and visuals on primary CTAUse grid based layout for repeatability and predictability – for both creators and users. DON’TMake wider than 600px

Scaling and Text SizeHeadlines: 22pxor higherBody Copy: Between 16 and 22pxiPhone will automatically scale up text under 12 px320px email width = scale factor320/600 = .53

ButtonsEstablish a CTA hierarchy:Large button > Small button > Text linksAlways use active language (Verb)Fixed elements: An icon with text is often easier to read and use than either on its own.

ContrastUser controlled with wide varianceConsider bright vs. dim elementsTest readability, convert to grayscale and decrease overall brightness by 50%. Can you still read the hierarchy, headline, and CTA?

As of Jan 2013. Also consider Pinterest (for artist or visual oriented business) or Instagram, and YouTube for local business with specialized knowledge (mechanics, plumbers, contractors, etc). There are literally hundreds of other social media sites – find out which ones your customers are using, and go there!Make sure to include these 3 in all your emails to help drive shares!!

Just broadcasting, without engaging or responding to customer engagement.Not talking about anything broader than your own products. Listening to customers but not taking action (might as well as not listen) Getting defensive and forgetting about “the customer is always right” (picking a fight…bad idea!!)

Be great. Have a great product. Provide great service.Not good. Great! Social media and the internet magnify and empower your consumers or constituents to be a voice (either negative or positive) for you.

Josue Sierra is a Digital Marketing executive with Epsilon, a global marketing agency, and has over 15 years of experience in all forms of online marketing. He has also done extensive work in email and social media consulting and training with small businesses and non-profits. You can sign up to get updates on digital marketing & social media from my website by going to www.josuesierra.net (top right hand corner) or by following me on Twitter (@jmsierra) at www.twitter.com/jmsierra.