2. –McKinsey, 2014
91% of all U.S. consumers still use
email daily.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/why_marketers_should_keep_sending_you_emails
3. –McKinsey, 2014
Email remains a significantly
more effective way to acquire
customers than social media—
nearly 40 times that of Facebook
and Twitter combined.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/why_marketers_should_keep_sending_you_emails
4.
5. –Ascend2 Digital Marketing Strategy Survey, 2014
“Email’s popularity is due, in
large part, to the fact that it is not
only the most effective type of
digital marketing, it is also the
least difficult to execute.”
http://ascend2.com/home/wp-content/uploads/Digital-Marketing-Strategy-Summary-Report.pdf
7. –Pew Research Internet Project, 2013
In 2013, 52 percent of cell phone
owners accessed their email
using their phones.
http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/16/cell-internet-use-2013/
9. Email is a medium, not a content
type or platform.
10. Strengths and opportunities
Not tied to a service
Opt-in: People ask for it
Replies
The inbox: Emails don’t flow by in a stream
Inexpensive and easy to execute
Easy to reach people on mobile
11. Types of email newsletters
Weekly or monthly newsletter
News events and roundups
Fundraisers
Event invitations
E-commerce
Letter from the president
18. Use the tools you have
Signup forms and groups
Reports
Segmentation
Performance testing
A/B testing
Automation
19. NYT Store: Segmentation and
subject line testing
Saw 50% increase in sales
when they started using
segmentation and reports
Segmented to most engaged
readers and customers
Tried out different subject lines
Immediate language worked
best: “today only,” “five hours
away,” etc.
https://blog.mailchimp.com/the-new-york-times-store-focuses-on-email-sees-50-increase-in-sales/
20. Steve Spangler Science: Browser
testing and mobile optimization
Tested across email clients and
browsers
Found that many readers are on
mobile
50% increase in ROI for
campaigns that were tested
Clicks doubled, complaints
dropped by a third
https://blog.mailchimp.com/steve-spangler-science-experiments-with-inbox-inspector-optimizes-for-mobile-increases-roi-by-50/
21. Walker Art Center:
Collaboration and editing
Subject-matter experts review
and comment on their sections
Photo editor processes images
Design team approves templates
Send drafts and tests ahead of
time to 30+ people
Publication-style process
Everyone cares!
https://blog.mailchimp.com/behind-the-scenes-of-walker-art-centers-email-collaboration/
22. Dropcam: Automation and
segmentation
Announced iOS update to only
iPhone users
Add loyal readers who reply and
share testimonials to a special
segment
Put email signup on landing page,
then automate a series of emails
100% of newsletter signups from
the landing page purchased
That’s ALL OF THEM
https://blog.mailchimp.com/dropcams-clever-segmentation-and-impressive-conversions/
23. Voice and tone
Write with personality
Think about people’s frame of mind when checking
email
Reader may be distracted, curious, interested, busy
Adapt your tone based on the message: informal, warm,
friendly, clear, direct
24. Think beyond the message
Subject lines
Subscribe and unsubscribe flows
Header and footer copy
Landing pages
From address
From name
25. Tips for subject lines
Tell what’s inside, don’t sell what’s inside
Don’t repeat subject line for multiple newsletters
Stick to 50 characters or less
Personalization works
So does localization (city name)
http://kb.mailchimp.com/campaigns/previews-and-tests/best-practices-for-email-subject-lines
29. –David Carr, The New York Times, 2014
“Email newsletters, an old-school
artifact of the web that was
supposed to die along with dial-up
connections, are not only still
around, but very much on the
march.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/business/media/for-email-a-death-greatly-exaggerated.html?_r=0
35. ● Grow readership
● Mobile Friendly
● Clean look to match the newly
redesign Gazette website
● Stronger emphasis on photography
● Provide flexibility in format
46. A Case for Change
Connecting Parents
to the College Community
November 7, 2014
Colin
Manning
|
Senior
Communica1ons
Officer,
FAS
Ana
Davis
|
Director,
FAS
Communica1ons
and
Marke1ng
Strategy
Lori
LoTurco
|
Director
of
Communica1ons
Strategy,
Harvard
College
48. • Lacked
parent-‐focused
messaging
• Incomplete
distribu1on
list
• Needed
increased
flexibility
for
mul1ple
content
types
• Anecdotal
evidence
=
newsleLer
not
engaging
Diagnosing
the
problem
49. • Connect
current
parents
to
the
vibrant
life
of
the
college
• Ensure
we
are
reaching
every
parent
we
can
• Draw
parents
in
so
they
are
“plugged
into”
their
children’s
Harvard
experience
• Make
parents
feel
that
they
are
a
part
of
the
Harvard
community
• Let’s
give
them
what
they
want,
while
s1ll
giving
them
what
we
want
to
give
them.
Why
a
redesigned
newsleLer?
50. • Create
a
“new
voice”
that
speaks
to
parents
• Content
must
be
fresh
and
invi1ng.
• Limit
increased
demands
on
staff
1me
• Breakdown
communica1ons
silos
• Develop
editorial
calendar
• Generate
a
new
distribu1on
list
• A
new
template
for
the
NewsleLer
• Partnerships
are
key
Crea1ng
a
strategy
51. • Important
Dates
and
Resources
are
a
must
• Include
social/digital
content
• Repackage
GazeLe
ar1cles
in
a
way
that
is
not
cut
and
paste
• Develop
editorial
calendar
• Generate
a
new
distribu1on
list
• Include
useful
contact
links
and
numbers
How
should
template
achieve
our
goals
52. • Immediately
worked
to
foster
beLer
communica1ons
among
the
offices
of
the
College;
know
who
is
sending
what
out
to
whom
and
when.
• Coordinated
with
the
Parents
Fund,
AA&D,
Freshman
Dean’s
Office
(FDO)
and
the
Office
of
Student
Life
(OSL),
to
determine
where
our
audience
overlapped
and
where
there
were
gaps.
• Convened
larger
group
across
FAS
and
the
University
to
share
distribu1on
lists
and
discuss
how
to
generate
more
robust
lists.
• Alter
repurposed
content
so
it
addressed
parents
and
did
not
appear
to
be
simply
recycled
material.
• Work
closely
with
Digital
Strategies
team
(HPAC)
to
design
a
new
template;
one
that
is
not
only
more
visually
appealing
but
also
provides
flexible
“modules”
to
allow
for
placement
of
diverse
and
more
targeted
content
–
text,
photos,
videos,
etc.
–
which
can
change
from
month
to
month.
The
Process
53. Introducing
…
The
old
Harvard
College
Newsle1er
becomes
…
Harvard
College
Parents
Connec9on
55. • ‘In Case You Missed It’
acknowledges this is
repurposed material
• Link to Gazette
subscription; important
feature from previous
newsletter
In
Case
You
Missed
It
56. • Action-oriented links;
connects to Parents
Programs web page.
• ‘Did You Know?’
designed to be fun, yet
informative, deepening
the connection to the
community.
Get
Involved/
Did
You
Know?
59. Connec1ng
the
dots
• Look
at
the
bigger
picture
• Not
an
isolated
communica1on
–
part
of
a
larger
suite
of
resources
for
parents
• Provide
more
value
by
inser1ng
the
newsleLer
into
a
larger
communica1ons
plan
• Raise
awareness
and
increase
engagement
by
promo1ng
the
family
of
communica1ons
63. Open Rate:
• August 59.03%
• Sept. 54.57%
Click Through:
• August 26.83%
• Sept. 14.6%
Still too early to claim success. Open
and click rates very strong, part of this
exercise is re-engaging and growing
the audience which takes time.
Anecdotal
feedback
has
been
posi1ve:
“Wow,
the
Instagram
dean!
This
is
a
new
age.
The
newsle1er
thing
is
good
-‐
I
don't
recall
geCng
anything
like
this
previous
and
it
sets
a
nice
tone.”
–
Harvard
College
parent
Were
we
successful?
64. • Informa1on
about
upcoming
events
receives
the
highest
clicks;
clearly
parents
want
informa1on
about
“nuts
and
bolts”
informa1on
• Many
parents
want
to
be
engaged
and
are
using
the
newsleLer
as
a
way
to
explore
how
to
do
so.
• Repurposed
GazeLe
content
con1nues
to
perform
about
the
same.
• Connec1ng
to
exis1ng
channels
and
assets,
such
as
social
media
is
key
• Know
who
your
audience
is.
Working
collabora1vely
has
grown
the
distribu1on
list
from
about
6,000
parents
to
over
10,000.
• With
a
more
robust
list,
more
eyes
are
definitely
looking
at
informa1on
the
College
feels
is
important.
Key
Takeaways
65. Ana
Davis,
Director
Communica1ons
Marke1ng
and
Strategy,
FAS
Lori
LoTurco,
Director
of
Communica1ons
Strategy,
Harvard
College
Colin
Manning,
Senior
Communica1ons
Officer,
FAS
A
special
thank
you
to
Chris
Eramo
and
Catherine
Conway
of
Digital
Strategy,
and
Chris<ne
Boehler,
Communica<ons
Specialist
(FAS)
for
all
of
their
hard
work
and
tremendous
insight.
Thank
you
66. A sustainable email
Katie Hammer, Digital Communications Specialist,
Office for Sustainability, Harvard Digital Strategy
67. “Harvard
must
model
an
ins1tu1onal
pathway
toward
a
more
sustainable
future.”
-‐President
Drew
Gilpin
Faust
68. Email by the numbers
Sustainability
at
Harvard
List
size
=
8,500
Distribu1on=
Monthly
Plakorm
=
Mailchimp
69. Target audience
● Primary:
o Undergraduate
and
graduate
students
o Administra1ve
and
facility
leaders
o Employees,
especially
Green
Teams
and
Green
Offices
o Alumni
● Secondary:
o Harvard
community
neighbors
(Cambridge/Boston)
o Peer
higher
educa1on
ins1tu1ons
70. Project goals
● Reinforce
sustainability
as
core
University-‐wide
priority
● Represent
amazing
efforts
happening
across
Harvard’s
Schools
and
departments
● Grow
subscriber
base
● Maintain
awesome
open
rate
(~
22%)
71. Must:
● Update
outdated
email,
eliminate
extra
work
● Align
branding,
messaging,
content
strategy
(1med
with
web
redesign)
● Be
responsive
for
web,
tablet,
and
mobile
viewing
and
sharing
75. Audience survey
300
+
respondents
(51%
staff,
14%
students,
5%
alumni,
5%
faculty)
Audience
wants:
● Simple,
clear
direc1ves
for
living
more
sustainably
(1ps
and
tools)
● Current
sustainability
news
and
stories,
profiles
recognizing
sustainability
innovators
on
campus
● Events,
research
highlights,
and
videos
77. Additional strategies
● Provide
news
and
informa1on
highligh1ng
current
work
and
accomplishments
of
our
community
● Include
content
that
creates
a
dialogue
i.e.
features,
stories,
guest
posts
● Develop
content
that
can
be
shared
and
reused
by
our
community
● Create
an
effec1ve
design
and
iden1fy
a
distribu1on
tool
● Establish
governance
and
support
● Support
best
prac1ces
and
University
standards
78. Getting to work
● Audience Survey
● Shared results with team
● Project charter
● Selected platform
(mailchimp)
● Worked with web vendors
to create template that
aligned with new website
88. Who We Are
As
Harvard’s
ins1tute
for
advanced
study,
we
• GENERATE
ideas
by
scholars,
scien1sts,
public
intellectuals,
ar1sts,
and
students
through
our
three
programs:
– Fellowship
Program
– Schlesinger
Library
on
the
History
of
Women
in
America
– Academic
Ventures
• SHARE
ideas
through
lectures,
conferences,
performances,
and
exhibi1ons
that
are
free
and
open
to
the
public.
89. Our Audience
We
email
27,500
Radcliffe
affiliates:
• Current
and
former
Ins1tute
fellows
• Radcliffe
Alumnae
(‘77
and
prior);
Harvard-‐
Radcliffe
Alumni
(‘77-‐’99)
• Harvard
Alumni
• Harvard
Faculty
• Harvard
Graduate
and
Undergraduate
Students
• General
Public
who
aLend
Radcliffe
Ins1tute
events
or
sign
up
online
90. Our Goals
• Engage
our
local,
na1onal,
and
interna1onal
audiences
in
the
Radcliffe
Ins1tute
people,
programs,
and
collec1ons
through
announcements
and
news
alerts
• Invite
Radcliffe
affiliates
to
aLend
our
free
and
public
events
91.
92.
93. Our E-communications
• We
launched
our
e-‐communica1ons
program
and
plakorm
in
September
2011
– Harris
Tools
– Radcliffe
Affiliates
in
Advance
Database
– New
Design
• In
2012,
we
launched
radcliffe.harvard.edu,
which
allows
visitors
to
sign
up
to
receive
our
news
and
events
• In
2013,
we
consolidated
mul1ple
email
lists
across
the
Ins1tute
that
were
owned
by
individual
programs.
94. Our Design
• Promotes
the
Radcliffe
Ins1tute
brand
• Mo1f
consistent
with
our
website
• Layout:
clean,
one
column
which
is
more
mobile
friendly
– Tested
layouts:
3
columns,
right-‐hand
sidebar
95.
96.
97. Our Segmentation: Geography
• Local
v.
all
affiliates
event
invita1ons
• Now,
only
send
to
all
Radcliffe
affiliates
for
events
that
are
live
webcast
• Why?
The
Data
100. Our Segmentation: Results
• NYC
v.
Greater
Boston
• BOS:
Winter
Schedule
Heats
Up
– Opens:
2654,
36.69%
– Clicks:
547,
7.48%
• NYC:
Winter
Schedule
Heats
Up
– Opens:
1645,
26.80%
– Clicks:
114,
1.18
%
• Segmenta1on
helped
increase
engagement
with
our
all
affiliates
e-‐communica1ons
101. Our Results – Geographical
Segmentation
With
geographical
segmenta1on,
we
• Increased
our
open
rates
for
event
invites:
– 21.5
percent
to
32.3
percent
– 50
percent
increase
• Increased
our
average
click
through
rate
for
event
invites:
– 2.2
percent
to
4.7
percent
– 113
percent
increase
102. Our Best Practices
• Distribu1on
Times
– Sending
between
7:30
AM–9
AM
has
generated
the
highest
open
and
click
through
rates.
• Sender
– Our
audiences
are
most
engaged
in
emails
from
Dean
Lizabeth
Cohen.
• Geographical
Segmenta1on
– Greater
Boston
area
for
events
that
will
not
be
live
webcasts
• Calls
to
Ac1on
– The
simpler,
the
beLer
103.
104.
105.
106. Our Results: A Look at a Year
In
the
2014
academic
year,
we
• Increased
our
average
open
rate:
– 23.55%
(2012-‐2013)
to
26.90%
(2013-‐2014)
– 14
percent
increase
• Increased
our
average
click
through
rate:
– 3.60%
(2012-‐2013)
to
4.64%
(2013-‐2014)
– 29
percent
increase
• Increased
our
effec1ve
rate
(unique
clicks/unique
opens):
– To
16.7%
– 8
percent
increase
107. Our Program Results
• In
three
years,
we’ve:
– Increased
reader
engagement
• Open
Rate:
increased
from
21
percent
to
27
percent
– 28
percent
increase
• Click
Through
Rate:
increased
from
2.9
percent
to
4.3
percent
– 48
percent
increase
• Subscriber
List:
increased
from
23
K
to
27.5
K,
a
growth
of
4
K
– 17
percent
increase
– Without
a
new
subscriber
base
every
year
(i.e.
a
gradua1ng
class
since
we
only
have
50
fellows)
this
increase
highlights
engagement
from
a
new
subscriber
base.
– How?
Website
feature
(our
highest
traffic
months
generate
spikes
in
sign
ups:
100-‐150
per
month),
Dean’s
remarks
at
events,
sign
up
cards
at
public
events
108. Sign
up
to
receive
our
news
and
event
announcements
online!
www.radcliffe.harvard.edu
Thank
You
117. “Email’s popularity is due, in large
part, to the fact that it is not only
the most effective type of digital
marketing, it is also the least
difficult to execute.
Ascend2 Digital Marketing Strategy Survey, 2014
118. EMAIL IS EASY
“Press send” gives the impression that
there’s one button to push.
120. CHECKLIST FOR EMAIL
CAPABILITY
Strategy
What, when, how often
Project
Management
Workflow
Creative
Copy, design
Production
Templates,
code
Development
List queries
QA
Web, email
testing
Reporting
Analytics,
124. 36 emails
Over 3 months.
1 new platform
That we had never used!
7 departments
To coordinate!
125.
126. EVERYONE GETS A
ROLE
○ Owners: responsible for deliverables
○ Feedback providers: give input
○ Approvers: give the green light
○ FYI: get notice on milestones
happening
127. BREAKING DOWN
‘JUST PRESS SEND’
○ Strategy/project
management
○ Creative
○ Email
production
○ Quality
assurance
○ List
development
○ Support
○ Reporting
129. CREATIVE
○ Include messaging & imagery
○ Build in rounds of feedback for drafts
○ Include subject line, preheader, sender
name & address, and reply-to address
in draft
130. PRODUCTION
○ Develop html and text version of email
□ Test across platforms as you build
□ Test with internal test group
○ Add Google Analytics tagging to email
links to track web traffic
○ Schedule for deployment in ESP
131. QUALITY ASSURANCE
○ Walk through the entire user
experience
○ Make edits as necessary, including:
□ Landing page
□ Registration/donation process
□ Confirmation screen
□ Confirmation/thank you email
○ Test the flow again
132. LIST DEVELOPMENT
○ Identify your list criteria
○ Work with team to pull list in correct
format
○ Upload list to your ESP
133. ACTIVATE YOUR
SUPPORT TEAM
○ Monitor reply
channels:
□ Reply inbox
□ Help desk
inbox/phone
○ Monitor social
accounts
134. REPORTING
○ Report on relevant email and web
analytics
○ Deliver end-of campaign final report/
roll-up
135.
136. ORDER IS IMPORTANT
○ Timing can vary
○ Set expectations up front
○ Work backwards from deployment
140. About
• Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) Marketing and
Communications
• Support FAS and UDO development initiatives and HAA
activities
• Strategy, integration, audience segmentation, messaging
• Email, web, social, print, events
144. Basic Guidelines
• Following a few basic guidelines will help you avoid
common pitfalls:
o Simplify
o Optimize for mobile
o Respect limitations
145. Simplify
• Keep emails simple: you can’t include everything
• Limit the number of images, colors, fonts, and font sizes
• More = more likely your email will not render as
intended
147. Respect Limitations
• Different mail clients treat your code differently
• Your email won’t look perfect across 100% of clients
148. Why Bother?
• You want your email to be opened.
• You want your email to be read.
• You want your recipients to heed your call to action.
• By following best practice guidelines, you can create an
email that looks great in the majority of mail clients.
150. CSS
• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a language which
describes the look and formatting of an email
• CSS separates email content from email presentation
(formatting)
152. CSS
• CSS support varies across email clients
• For best results, manually style elements
• If need be, use Premailer or similar to drop styles in-line
153. Common HTML Elements
• Some HTML elements are compatible across most email
clients:
o Font-family
o Font-size
o Font-weight
o Text-align
o Text-decoration
o Color
154. Text
• So you want to copy and paste…
o Copy and paste text into Notepad or another text editor
o Clear formatting
o Paste into email
162. Buttons
• HTML buttons are preferable to image buttons
• Will display even if graphics are turned off
163. Testing
• Use Litmus or a similar tool to see how your email will
render across a variety of clients
164. Testing
• Open accounts with as many email clients as possible;
add these accounts to your test list
• Check each account on desktop and mobile
• Do not rely on built-in preview mode
165. Evaluation
• Is text easy to read?
• Do graphics display correctly?
• Do links function properly?
• Does my email look great across a majority of email
clients?
• Is my email optimized for mobile?
166. Learn More
• Enroll in a Lynda.com course focused on HTML,
Dreamweaver, or email marketing
• Take a course in HTML or Dreamweaver at the
Center for Workplace Development (CWD)
174. Why Test?
● Test Group Basics
● Include both desktop, mobile
● Sender, subject
● Design, text, links
● Links, tracking (opens/clicks)
● Allow time for adjustments
177. Email: Numbers that Matter
Standard email reports include:
● Open rate (% of email recipients that open)
● CTR (Click-through rate) or link click totals
Also consider:
● Effective rate (click rate divided by the open rate)
● Bounce rate (emails sent that could not be delivered)
● Subscription growth
● Unsubscribes
● Variations between email sends
178. Email: Numbers that Matter
Standard email reports include:
● Open rate (% of email recipients that open)
● CTR (Click-through rate) or link click totals
Also consider:
● Effective rate (click rate divided by the open rate)
● Bounce rate (emails sent that could not be delivered)
● Subscription growth
● Unsubscribes
● Variations between email sends
But, what about conversions?
180. Email: Analytics and UTM codes
Establish consistency in naming:
● Medium (email, social, print, etc)
● Source
● Campaign Name
For example, our ‘Medium’ is the most general, then ‘Source’ gets more
specific about the type of email, then ‘Campaign’ is the specific name of
the campaign.
http://www.example.com/?utm_source=weekly-
newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=best-
deals
181. Email: Analytics and UTM codes
utm_source=newsletter
utm_medium=email
utm_campaign=hag
utm_content=aad_comm_all_alumni_2014-10-24
186. Google Analytics dashboards
Resource: https://www.google.com/analytics/gallery/
Things to consider:
● Site goals and conversion metrics
● Visitor technology (mobile/desktop, screen size)
● Visitor behavior (new/returning, event tracking)
187. Distribution examples
Daily:
Gazette email report
Goal:
● Provides overall open/click rate, story clicks
● Compiled in Silverpop, bulleted insights
Weekly:
Dashboard report
Goal:
● Overall top stories, traffic breakdown by Harvard sources
(Harvard.edu, daily email, social)
● Compiled through GA Dashboard, with bulleted insights
188. Distribution examples
Goal:
● Trending analytics and analysis for main Harvard web,
email, social properties
● Compiled through several analytics sources, collected in
shared Google Doc, bulleted insights
Ad-hoc:
Snapshot analytics
reports
Goal:
● Provide consistent, templated approach to collection of
web, email, social stats and examples
● Compiled using several analytics sources, collected in
shared Google doc
Monthly:
Monthly analytics report
200. Content Area
Nested Tables
Media Queries
table {
border-spacing: 0;
border-collapse: collapse;
}
@media only screen and (max-width:
600px)
{
table[class="body"] .row {
width: 100% !important;
display: block !important;
}
}
Avoid CSS for layouts
201. Preheader
PreheaderPlace at the beginning of your body
section
Can be hidden or displayed in the
email itself
<body>
<span>This is my preheader! </span>
<body>
<span style = “display: none;”>This is my
preheader! </span>
202. Header
Graphic (100% or fixed width)
HEADER TITLE
Tagline | November 2014
100%
420px
Text (HTML)
visual impact
not visible by default
difficult to read text at small sizes
Remember your <alt> text!
Always visible
limited style options (support for web
fonts is limited)
easy to edit
<img src=”image.jpg” alt=”This is your alt
text” />
Header
203. Body Text & Images
Image basics
<img src=”image.jpg” width=”250”
height=”180” border=”0”
style=”display:block;” />
● Animated GIFs are supported in
most email clients (not Outlook)
● Background images are not widely
supported
Text Tip: Use non-breaking spaces
to prevent orphan text
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