When it’s done right, Email Marketing can easily be one of the most efficient and effective ways to keep customers regularly coming back to do business with you – over and over again. Learn how to gain the most from this powerful marketing channel – at all key stages of the process. In this training guide, veteran marketer Nikki Johnson presents various tips, tricks, and best practices to help you capture maximum value through this tool.

1. Email Marketing:
Tips & Tricks to
Increase Conversion
14.04.2016

2. How Can I Build More Business
with Email?
A 2016 EMAIL MARKETING GUIDE

3. OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S WORKSHOP
Email Marketing Session
• The Greater Context
• The Bottom Line: Why It Matters
• Usage Stats
• Tips & Tricks
• 6-Stage Process
• Stage-by-Stage Best Practices
• Samples
• Conclusion
• Additional Resources

4. THE SENDER OF TODAY’S TALK
Credentials for the Speaker
15 Years of Hands-On Marketing Experience
Nikki Johnson
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/nikkijohnsonhqo
> VP of Copywriting - Hotel / Travel Marketing Agency
• TIG Global – Washington, DC
> Founder / CEO / President - My Own Three Companies
• HQO SEO, LLC – Washington, DC
• Copywriting / SEO consultancy for small and medium-size businesses
• Plugin Group – Washington, DC
• White-label marketing services / partnership with ad agencies
• Galileo Tech Media – New York, NY
• Data-driven marketing for Fortune 500 brands and enterprise companies
> Marketing Director - Multilingual, International Firm
• Binary.com – Kuala Lumpur / Cyberjaya, Malaysia

5. A QUICK WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
Many Thanks to Binary.com for Hosting This Email Workshop
Now Hiring Like Gangbusters!
> Careers Page:
• https://www.binary.com/careers?l=EN
> Open Positions:
• https://www.binary.com/open-positions?l=EN
> To Apply:
• hr@binary.com

6. The Greater Context of Email
Understanding the Environment

7. EMAIL MARKETING
The Bottom Line
• Email marketing is big business
• $1.5 billion per year industry, as of 2010
• Growing at a rate of 20% per year
• Expected to reach $6.5 billion by 2018
• 122,500,453,020 emails are sent every hour
[MarketingProfs, 2014]
• Increasingly more complex environment
• Each user has his / her own preferences
• Full range of devices are now utilized
• Best practices must be rigorously tested
to optimize results for clientele of your business

8. 2015 EMAIL MARKET SHARE
• In the past few years, mobile usage has completely
overtaken desktop access!
• 2011: 58% desktop, 8% mobile
• 2015: 55% mobile, 19% desktop
• A full range of devices and browsers are now used
• Significantly adds to the complexity of optimizing performance
Source:
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-
client-market-share

9. EMAIL MARKETING: WHY IT MATTERS
Source: https://www.helpscout.net/list-building/
Stellar Return on Investment, When Done Right
• Email
consistently
provides some
of the highest
rates of return
out of all forms of
marketing
• Cheap to
deploy
• Easy to track /
continuously
adapt as
needed

10. INTERESTING USAGE STATISTICS
• Email marketing is a serious revenue producer,
with a 3800% ROI and $38 for every $1. [Campaign Monitor]
• Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new
customers than Facebook or Twitter. [McKinsey]
• 74% of marketers say targeted personalization increases
customer engagement, and generates 58% of all revenue.
[eConsultancy & Experian]
• Open rate is highest when companies send two emails
per month. [Database Marketing Institute]
• Emails triggered by behavior were responsible for 30% of
revenue in 2014, up from 17% in 2013. [DMA]
Source: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2016/01/70-email-marketing-stats-you-need-to-know/

11. EMAIL MARKETING PROCESS
1. Plan Your Strategy
2. Collect Target Group Data
3. Set Up the Database
4. Develop the Content
5. Prepare & Send
6. Evaluate Results
6-Stage Cycle

12. STAGE 1: PLAN YOUR STRATEGY
Look Before You Leap
• Define Your Objectives, in Order of Importance
• Increase overall sales
• Strengthen loyalty, trust, engagement, and sales with
each customer
• Increase sales of a particular product / service
• Expand size of customer base
• Penetrate specific segments of customers
• Structure Your Approach to Meet these Goals
• Develop content of your emails
to fulfill these objectives
• Approach all other steps of the process
with these goals in mind

13. TYPES OF EMAILS TO INCORPORATE
• Informational / Educational
• Newsletter
• Blog Post / Ebook / Report
• Video / Webinar / Multimedia Content
• Update / Announcement
• Offer
• Sale / Money-Driven Deal
• Other Special Promotion
• Transactional / Triggered
• Registration / Pending Invite
• Order Confirmation
• Drip Campaign
Many Different Reasons to Engage through Email

14. STAGE 2: COLLECT TARGET GROUP DATA
Capture Receptive Customers
• Make it very easy to subscribe
• Include an email-capture feature
on your website
• Display it prominently
• Create link-bait content
• Offer a helpful reference / multimedia content,
in exchange for an email address
• Decide upon single v. double opt-in
• Based upon your needs

15. SINGLE V. DOUBLE OPT-IN
• Single Opt-In
• Definition:
• User is added to your
database right away,
and begins receiving
emails
• Pros:
• Easier on user
• Faster way to build a list
• Less lost emails
• Simpler to deploy
• Cons:
• Greater risk
• Less respectful of user
privacy
Advantages and Disadvantages to Both Approaches
• Double Opt-In
• Definition:
• User receives an email to
confirm interest in further
contact
• Pros:
• Less risk
• Better quality protection
• Higher level of engagement
• Cons:
• Slower list growth
• Percentage of lost
addresses
• More complicated to
deploy
SINGLE
DOUBLE

16. STAGE 3: SET UP THE DATABASE
Load Up and Segment Customer Info
• Build your customer lists
• Import existing lists
• Create new ones, linked to opt-in forms
• Segment customers, for more targeted focus
• Build out separate lists based on various
characteristics:
• Relationship to your company
• Interests
• Geographic location / language / culture
• Allows you to deliver much more customized
messaging to each set of users

17. COMPARE EMAIL MARKETING PROVIDERS
One Size Does Not Fit All

18. SCAN THE REVIEWS, AND TRY FREE TRIALS
A Few Helpful Sources of Comparison from 2016
• MarketingTerms.com Price Comparison
• http://www.marketingterms.com/2016-email-
marketing-service-price-comparison/
• Top Ten Reviews Email Marketing Reviews
• http://email-marketing-service-
review.toptenreviews.com/
• Business News Daily for Small Businesses
• http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8276-
best-email-marketing-software.html
• Reviews.com 3 Best Free Email Software
• http://www.reviews.com/email-marketing-
services/free/

19. STAGE 4: DEVELOP THE CONTENT
Capture Attention Quickly, and Keep It Moving
• Keep content short and sweet
• Less is more
• Focus customer attention
• Make it engaging
• Incorporate images and multimedia
• Balance text and graphics
• Incorporate calls to action
• Include at least two links
• Spread them out throughout the message

20. SUBJECT LINES
The Make-Or-Break Aspect of Email Marketing
• Play Around with a Variety of Styles
• Direct
• Playful
• Curiosity-Inducing
• Personalized
• Scarcity
• Call to Action
• Avoid Spam Words
• Consult this list:
http://www.mequoda.com/articles/audience-
development/subject-line-spam-trigger-words/
• Keep It Tight
• Mobile users can only see first 50 characters

21. SPAM TRIGGERS
Don’t Get Caught
• Use an opt-in process
• Use permission marketing techniques
• Avoid “spam traps”
• Email addresses flagged by ISPs as no longer
being used by a human
• Do not purchase lists
• Avoid spam trigger words / phishing phrases
• Use spam checkers before sending emails
• Free tool: http://www.mailingcheck.com/
• Stay off blacklists, and follow up if flagged
• Free checker:
https://www.senderscore.org/blacklistlookup/

22. TRIGGERED EMAILS
Series of Touchpoints, Based on Customer Actions
• Think about all actions that your customers
can take that could prompt an email
response
• Welcome new subscribers
• Introduce educational resources
• Suggest additional purchases / other actions
• Set up a series of automated emails, in
response to specific customer actions
• Use this process to keep in close contact
with customers easily
• Remain top-of-mind
• Offer assistance at all stages of the business
cycle

23. A/B TESTING
Refine All Aspects of Your Email Content Over Time
• Create Two Versions of Each Email Deployed
• Isolate a single variable to test
• Subject line approach
• Longer v. shorter message
• Delivery of call to action
• Take two different approaches to that specific aspect
• Vary only one element at a time
• So you can pinpoint the rationale for a difference in results
• Compare Results for the Two Versions
• Is there a clear difference in level of engagement?
• Apply Takeaways to Your Next Email
• Isolate a new variable, and test two versions
• Continuously evolve, based on what works best

24. STAGE 5: PREPARE & SEND
Countdown to Launch
• Set up your email content
• Choose a template
• Prepare the content within your chosen
provider
• Optimize images / graphics
• Test it appropriately
• Send a test email to yourself,
to ensure that all looks in perfect order
• View it on different devices and
browsers
• When all is ready, blast it out

25. STAGE 6: EVALUATE RESULTS
Key Email Marketing Metrics
• Examine key metrics to gauge effectiveness
• Open rate
• Bounce rate
• Click-through rate
• Conversion rate
• List growth rate
• Email sharing / forwarding
• Overall ROI
• Gather takeaways
• What worked? What did you learn?
• Apply these discoveries to the next round
• Continue improving and evolving

26. 2016 DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS
Stand Out, by Leveraging the Latest Trends
• Incorporate Personalization
• Also known as “contextual emails”
• Made possible through segmentation
• Add Motion
• Incorporate video
• Try including animated GIFs
• Be Responsive
• Use “responsive templates,”
which adapt as needed to
any given mobile device
Source:
https://blog.aweber.com/email-
marketing/4-email-marketing-best-
practices-to-stay-relevant-in-2016.htm

27. Samples
A Few Examples of Effective Emails

28. Educational Email Marketing Sample
• Concise, relatable benefit of
using PayPal
• Engaging use of graphics
• Conversational language
• Friendly way of educating
customers
PayPal
Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32854/10-Simply-Awesome-Examples-of-
Email-Marketing.aspx

29. Activation Email Marketing Sample
• Cute and simple
• Casual language
• Fun, friendly way of informing
customers
Dropbox
Source: http://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/03/20/examples-retention-emails/

30. Informational Email Marketing Sample
• Highlighting / informing
customers about the change at
the top of the newsletter
• Playful, fun approach to relating
important information
ModCloth
Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32854/10-Simply-
Awesome-Examples-of-Email-Marketing.aspx

31. Informational Email Marketing Sample
• A simple welcome message
• Generate long-term results /
engagement
Airbnb
Source: http://myemma.com/blog/article/brilliant-examples-of-brands-
killing-it-with-email-marketing

32. Customer Loyalty Email Marketing Sample
• Simple and straightforward
• Hints at exclusivity
• Makes the customer feel special
• Encourages loyalty
• Promotes sales, without being
pushy
TORY BURCH
Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32854/10-Simply-
Awesome-Examples-of-Email-Marketing.aspx

33. Customer Loyalty Email Marketing Sample
• Simple and straightforward
• Hints at exclusivity
• Encourages loyalty and repeat
purchases
• Creates sense of urgency
HUNTER HAYES
Source: http://www.gigya.com/blog/3-examples-of-personalized-email-
marketing-campaigns/

34. Animated Email Marketing Sample
• A very clear header
• Out-of-the-box animation
• A good way to increase
exposure and engagement by
sharing
litmus
Source: https://mailbakery.com/blog/25-wonderful-examples-of-animated-
gifs-in-email-marketing-templates/

35. Animated Email Marketing Sample
• A very clear header
• Out-of-the-box animation
• Promotes sales, without being
pushy
SAMBAG
Source: https://mailbakery.com/blog/25-wonderful-examples-of-animated-
gifs-in-email-marketing-templates/

36. Announcement Email Marketing Sample
• Humorous approach
• Three points
• Very clear highlight on
Call to Action Button
jetBlue
Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32854/10-Simply-
Awesome-Examples-of-Email-Marketing.aspx

37. Announcement Email Marketing Sample
• Pairing sales message with
useful content
• Builds branding
cotopaxi
Source: http://myemma.com/blog/article/brilliant-examples-of-brands-
killing-it-with-email-marketing

38. Offer Email Marketing Sample
• Engages curiosity, through the
use of an interesting image
• Prompts possible sales
J.CREW FACTORY
Source: http://blog.stamplia.com/buyers/best-email-marketing-examples/

39. MORE EMAIL MARKETING INFORMATION
• Vero – 40 Tips for Dramatically Better Emails
• http://www.getvero.com/resources/guides/email-
marketing-best-practices/
• MailChimp – Email Marketing Field Guide
• Online Version:
• http://mailchimp.com/resources/guides/email-marketing-field-
guide/html/
• PDF Version:
• https://static.mailchimp.com/guides/email-marketing-field-
guide/package/email-marketing-field-
guide.pdf?_ga=1.232350108.226125646.1446169678
• Constant Contact – 125 Email Marketing
Resources
• http://blogs.constantcontact.com/email-marketing-best-
practices-2/
2016 Resources to Explore in Greater Detail

40. ADDITIONAL MARKETING RESOURCES
From Your Friends at Kuala Lumpur Marketing Meetup
• Join Us for Lots More Free Workshops!
• SEO Bootcamp:
• Saturday, May 14, 10 AM – 4 PM
Binary.com, Cyberjaya
• Many More Marketing / IT Subjects:
• Check the Calendar:
• http://www.meetup.com/
Kuala-Lumpur-Marketing-Meetup/
• Follow Us!
• Facebook:
• https://www.facebook.com/Kuala-Lumpur-Marketing-Meetup-203684033319402/
• LinkedIn:
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/7591769

42. Thanks for Attending
Today’s Email Marketing Workshop!
See You Next Time! Bring a Few of Your Buddies!