This document provides best practices and recommendations for email marketing. It begins with some key statistics about email marketing returns and poor practices turning people away from companies. It then discusses design elements like layout, images, calls to action and engaging content. Best practices for subject lines, newsletters vs email blasts, list segmentation, follow up emails and send times are also covered. The goal is to help maximize engagement and returns through strategic email campaign design and targeting.

1. EMAIL
MARKETING
MAKEOVER
CECI DADISMAN
PRESIDENT // CARDINAL + COMPANYCECI DADISMAN
PRESIDENT // CARDINAL + COMPANY

2. HELLO!
ARTS MARKETER
PITTSBURGH NATIVE
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEER
RECOVERING OPERA SINGER
DIGITAL MARKETING NERD
TREKKIE
MOM

3. LET’S START
WITH SOME
DATA

4. EMAIL
MARKETING
BRINGS IN $40.56
FOR EVERY
DOLLAR SPENT
DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION

5. NEARLY ⅓ OF PEOPLE
HAVE STOPPED DOING
BUSINESS WITH AT
LEAST ONE COMPANY
AS A RESULT OF POOR
EMAIL PRACTICES
MERKLE SURVEY

6. NOW ON
TO DESIGN
& LAYOUT

8. BEFORE

9. AFTER

10. AVERAGE TIME ALLOCATED TO AN
EMAIL AFTER OPENING:
51 SECONDS
PEOPLE ONLY FULLY READ
19% OF EMAILS
PREDOMINANT BEHAVIOR:
SCANNING
ONLY SKIMMED A SMALL PART
35% OF THE TIME
NEILSEN

11. SOME
ELEMENTS TO
HELP
ENGAGEMENT

12. A COMPANY EMAIL
THAT INCLUDES A
VIDEO RECEIVES AN
INCREASED
CLICKTHROUGH
RATE BY 96%
DIGITAL SHERPA

13. QUALITY IS BETTER
THAN QUANTITY
WHEN IT COMES TO
IMAGES

14. HERE ARE
SOME BEST
PRACTICES

15. FEATURE ONE
MAIN CALL TO
ACTION

16. KEEP YOUR
GRAPHICS IN
CHECK
CHOOSE IMAGES THAT ARE IMPACTFUL AND
KEEP THEM LARGE ENOUGH TO SEE

18. USE ONLY TEXT
THAT IS
NECESSARY
REMINDER: THE POINT OF AN EMAIL IS TO
GET SOMEONE TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION.
LOVE THE “READ MORE…” LINK

20. RECOMMENDED TOOLS

21. LET’S TALK
ABOUT
SUBJECT LINES

22. PERSONALIZATION
INCREASED UNIQUE
OPEN RATES TO 73%
GET RESPONSE

23. SUBJECT LINES
PHRASED AS
QUESTIONS
PERFORM BETTER
THAN STATEMENTS
MAILCHIMP

24. KEEP YOUR
SUBJECT LINES TO
50 CHARACTERS OR
LESS
MAILCHIMP

25. YOUR SUBJECT LINE
SHOULD ALWAYS
REFLECT THE EMAIL
CONTENT

26. Good!
Unclear +
Repetition of
Org Name
Name of the
Newsletter

27. Good!
Unclear +
Repetition of
Org Name
Name of the
Newsletter

28. NEWSLETTER
VS.
EBLAST

29. NEWSLETTER
ONCE PER MONTH
DIGEST OF IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS
FOCUS ON THE “SOFT SELL”
INTERESTING NEWS
COMPELLING CONTENT

30. TED GOAS
MAIN FEATURE
SECONDARY FEATURE
TERTIARY FEATURE

32. EBLAST
FREQUENCY VARIES
DRIVEN BY SPECIFIC EVENT
“HARD SELL”
ONE CLEAR CALL TO ACTION
COMPELLING CONTENT

33. COMPELLING IMAGE
EVENT DETAILS + CTA

34. EVENT TITLE
CTA
TERTIARY FEATURE
DESCRIPTION

35. LISTS AND
SEGMENTATIO
N

36. RELEVANTNOT RELEVANT NOT RELEVANT

37. RELEVANT RELEVANTRELEVANT

38. WHY SEGMENT?
INCREASE OPEN RATES
INCREASE CONVERSIONS
DECREASE UNSUBSCRIBES
INCREASE CLICKTHROUGH RATES
MAKE PEOPLE HAPPIER

39. NOT EVERYONE
SHOULD GET
EVERY EMAIL
HIGHLY ENGAGED PEOPLE CAN WITHSTAND
MORE MESSAGES. LESS ENGAGED PEOPLE
CANNOT.

41. IMPORTANT!
THE MESSAGE
MUST MATCH
THE SEGMENT

42. BEHAVIORAL DEMOGRAPHIC
ENGAGEMENT HISTORY
EVENT ATTENDANCE
CONTEST ENTRY
DISCOUNT USE
MEMBERSHIP HISTORY
GROUP PROSPECT
INVITE LIST
GEOGRAPHY
GENDER
REPERTOIRE INTERESTS
PROGRAM INTERESTS
INTERNAL DATA
SIGN UP FORM DATA

43. SAMPLE LIST SEGMENTS
NEWS & UPDATES
2015 SEASON SUBSCRIBERS
2014 SEASON SUBSCRIBERS
2013 SEASON SUBSCRIBERS
2015 SEASON TICKET BUYERS
2014 SEASON TICKET BUYERS
EVENT RAFFLE ENTRIES
YOUNG FRIENDS MEMBERS

44. EMAIL VERSIONS
HIGHLY ENGAGED
NEW ACQUISITION
ALREADY BOUGHT

45. UPCOMING EVENT:
HIGHLY ENGAGED
LISTS SUPPRESSIONS
2015 EVENT ATTENDEES
2014 EVENT ATTENDEES
2013 EVENT ATTENDEES
2015 EVENT 1 ATTENDEES
2015 EVENT 2 ATTENDEES
NEWS & UPDATES
YOUNG FRIENDS MEMBERS
EVENT RAFFLE ENTRIES
PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALREADY BOUGHT

46. NOW, WHAT
DO YOU DO
AFTER YOU
SEND?

47. FOLLOW UP
OPENED BUT DID
NOT CLICK
CLICKED BUT
DID NOT BUY
UPCOMING EVENT:
TRADITIONAL
DID NOT OPEN

48. OPENED BUT DID NOT CLICK
Here is
something else
really cool about
this event...

49. CLICKED BUT DID NOT BUY
Hi! Is there any
way that we can
provide some
extra help?

50. DID NOT OPEN
Here is a really
provocative
subject line to
entice you...

51. WHEN IS THE
BEST TIME TO
SEND?

52. KISSMETRICS//DANZARRELLA

53. QUESTIONS?
THOUGHTS?
FEELINGS?

54. THANK
YOU!
CECI DADISMAN
cecidadisman@gmail.com // @cecidadisman