How To Win At Email Marketing

Adam Q. Holden-Bache @adamholdenbache

• Founded Mass Transmit in 1996

• Developed proprietary email platforms
• Sold to Striata in April, 2015
• 18+ years Email Marketing experience
• Author of “How to Win at B2B Email Marketing”

2015 MarCom
Gold Award
2016 Axiom
Business Books
Gold Award

@adamholdenbache
@b2bemailbook

BRING
OUT

YOUR

DEAD!

BRING
OUT

YOUR

DEAD!

BUT
I’M

NOT

DEAD
YET

The average U.S. worker spends
of their time
reading and answering emails

There are
emails sent to the
average worker each year

• IT’S UBIQUITOUS
WHY IS EMAIL STILL DOMINANT?

• PEOPLE CHECK IT Frequently & Respond
• It’s Fast & Measurable
• It’s Cost Effective
• It’s Own-able
• It has a high Return on INvestment

68% rate email as “Good” or
“Excellent” at generating ROI

Most marketers allocate Less
than 25% of their budget to email

BUT…

CAMPAIGN Goals Fall into two Categories:
WHAT IS YOUR

• Soft Metric Goals
• Hard Metric Goals

• Increase revenue/sales
HARD METRIC

• Generate leads
• Reduce acquisition cost
• Improve conversion rates
• Increase retention
• SHORTEN SALES CYCLE

• To EDUCATE
Soft METRIC

• Improve Sales/Marketing ALignment
• Improve Insights
• To Provide Information

• HIGH DELIVERY RATE
SUCCESS

• HIGH CLICK-THROUGH RATE
• LOW SPAM COMPLAINTS
• HIGH OPEN RATE
• LOW Unsubscribe Rate
• Increased shares, forwards, web site visits

CONSTANTLY ESTABLISH AND REFINE
BENCHMARKS AND TRY TO IMPROVE
THEM FOR EVERY CAMPAIGN

• Existing Customers
Who is your audience?

• Prospects
• Leads
• colleagues
• competition
• Media

• Who are you sending to?
Questions to ask:

• WhY are you sending the message?
• WHAT DO THEY expect?
• what don’t they want?
• Is the email focused on the goal?
• How will you measure success?

• Financially driven buyer
2 types of buyers

• solutions-focused buyer

• Makes decision based on price
Financially Driven Buyer

• Price consideration may include Other
factors such as Support, options
maintenance, upgrades, internal
expertise, training

• Makes decision based on How well a Product or
service solves existing problems
Solutions Focused Buyer

INCREASING EMAIL LIST SIZE SHOULD
BE A TOP PRIORITY FOR Marketers

YOUR LIST SIZE IS IRRELEVANT IF YOU
DON’T HAVE QUALITY Subscribers

Attract the audience you desire

95% of people who OPT-In to
Email Messages from Brands
consider the MESSAGES useful

1. WEBSITE

WHERE TO COLLECT DATA

2. SURVEYS

3. OFFLINE EVENTS

4. ONLINe EVENTS

5. REGISTRATIONS
FOR DOWNLOADS

6. Point of Sale

7. Facebook

8. Twitter

9. LinkedIn

10. Videos

11. Sweeps and
Promotions

12. Email Signatures

13. Print ADS

14. Direct Mail

15. QR Codes

16. Mobile Apps

17. Mobile text
subscriptions

18. Blog

1. Provide Value

2. Disclose Frequency

3. Give the Subscriber control

4. Ensure Privacy

THE OPT-IN PROPOSITION

1. MAKE IT EASY

2. Only collect what you need

3. Validate Opt-IN DATA

4. Send A Confirmation Email

THE OPT-IN FORM

1. Dedicated Page: 58%

2. Home Page: 56%

3. Footer: 38%

4. Header: 15%

Web Site Data Collection:

5. Pop-Up Window: 2%

Pop-ups can increase opt-ins
by 200-400%

If you collect the data,
Make sure you use it

Allow users to manage their data
Through preference centers

Validate your email addresses
before you send

EMAIL VALIDATION

1. You’ll Risk your Reputation

2. You’ll be labeled a spammer

3. Your deliverability will suffer

4. It’s not effective

DO NOT PURCHASE AN EMAIL LIST

IT’s Not Just An email address.
You are communicating with a
human being.

WHAT EMAIL IS NOT:

• A BLAST
• A Digital VERSION OF A pRint Ad or direct mail piece
• A WEB PAGE
• ONE BIG IMAGE
• like ANY OTHER MARKETING CHANNEL

EMAIL IS EXPERIENCED IN STAGES

STAGE 1: The INBOX

STAGE 1: The INBOX
GOAL:
GET THE RECIPIENT TO OPEN

STAGE 1: The INBOX

STAGE 2: THE EMAIL BODY

STAGE 2:
The EMAIL
BODY
GOAL:
GET the
CLICK

STAGE 1: The INBOX

STAGE 2: THE EMAIL BODY
Stage 3: The Web Site/Landing Page
ALWAYS DRIVE USERS TOWARDS CONVERSION

STAGE 3: The WEB Site/Landing page
GOAL: GET THE CONVERSION

STAGE 1: The INBOX

• FROM NAME
• Preheader
• subject line

FROM NAME

• business name or personal name? Test it.
• don’t exceed 23 characters
• be consistent with from name
• be consistent with from email

SUBJECT LINE

• PUT THE MAIN POINT FIRST
• Keep it Short (50 characters or less)
• CREATE INTEREST
• CREATE URgency
• BEWARE PERSONALIZATION
• USE CLEAR LANGUAGE

SUBJECT LINEs to try

• Here’s that [RESOURCE] that you were looking for
• This will only take 23 seconds
• only X weeks left to achieve [GOAL]
• AM I Off Base?
• HEY

• PROVIDE A CALL TO ACTION
The PREHEADER

• GENERATE INTEREST
• SUMMARIZE
• ALWAYS SUPPORT THE SUBJECT LINE

THE PREHEADER (WHAT NOT TO DO)

STAGE 2:
The EMAIL
BODY
GOAL:
GET THE
CLICK

COPYWRITING Tips

• Talk to your Customers, Not at Them
• Start with the benefit
• Be Helpful
• Lead the Recipient towards a Decision
• Make it long enough, but no longer

Subscribers respond POSITIVELY
to messages that
inform and educate

STOP USING “CLICK HERE”
(mobile users Don’t click, they tap)

• MAKE IT SCANNABLE
DESIGN YOUR COPY

• USE Headers & Subheaders
• Break Apart The Copy
• Use Bullets & Lists
• Use Bold, Italics & Font Size Variations
• Use Color & Whitespace

80% of people are only
Scanning
your email

IMAGES

Use images to enhance
(not deliver)
your email message

Prepare for images OFF

43% of Gmail users
Read email
Without turning images on

The BulletProof Button

• Appears as a button even with images off
• Highlights important CTA
• Works in all email modern clients

Bulletproof Button Generator

http://buttons.cm

• Increase revenue 109%
Animated GIFs

• Increase click rates 42%
• increase conversion rates 130%
(and people like them a lot)

GIF CASE STUDY: DELL

Results:
• 42% increase in click rate
• 103% increase in conversion rate
• 109% increase in revenue

Benefits of using video in email:

• Increased Click-through rates: 55%
• increased time spent with email: 44%
• Increase in Sharing/Forwarding: 41%
• increased conversion rates: 24%

• DON’T SELL, EDUCATE
HOW DO YOU GET THE CLICK?

• SOLVE A PROBLEM
• SAVE, SAVE, SAVE
• ENTERTAIN

Use multiple call to actions in the email
CALL to Action

• Button near the top of the content area
• As a text link within the body copy
• Button At the end of the message

• Use a color that stands out
CALL to Action Tips

• Make it look clickable
• Keep copy short
• use action words: Get, Reserve, Own, try
• use urgency words: Now, Today, limited
• make the button the next obvious action

Finish the sentence: “I want you to…”
CALL to Action Copy:

• Download the e-book
• Register for the webinar
• watch the video
• read the case study

GOAL:
GET THE
CONVERSION

Landing Page

• Should be an extension of the email
• Focus on the conversion
• No distractions
• Remove or minimize Navigation
• needs to be mobile optimized
• Don’t leave them stranded

• Grow or strengthen brand awareness
Newsletters benefits

• Establish Thought Leadership
• Educate Recipients about Products & Services
• Strengthen existing relationships
• Retain and Upsell current customers
• Increase retention/Reduce Customer churn

• Select content that appeals to all audiences
Winning Tactics for Newsletters

• segment and use dynamic content
• get readers to your website
• Include some company news
• Link away

Don’t value your
Newsletter more than
You value
The recipient

OF SMARTPHONE OWNERS
USE IT TO READ EMAIL
(THAT’s more than use it to make phone calls)

Say email is the most popular
Activity on their phone

Social media = 20%
Gaming = 19 %

Opens by environment: 2011-2015

will delete an email That doesn’t
display correctly in a mobile inbox

Optimize for Mobile

1. Less content
2. Easy to click
3. Stack content (no columns)
4. Remove or link to low priority content
5. Use responsive design

RESPONSIVE EMAILS Will detect a reader’s
Screen size and adapt their layout to optimize
The viewing experience.
RESPONSIVE DESIGN

Brands that use responsive design
Will see 24% more clicks
Than those who don’t

71% OF MOBILE PURCHASING DECISIONS
ARE MOST INFLUENCED
BY EMAILS FROM COMPANIES

There is no
One-size-fits-all
Solution to email
marketing

Relevant Emails
Drive 18 Times more revenue
Than broadcast emails

ACHIEVE RELEVANCE THROUGH
PERSONALIZATION &
SEGMENTATION

Personalized emails will improve:
EMAIL PERSONALIZATION

• Open Rates 26%
• Click-through Rates 14%
• Conversion Rates 10%

EMAIL PERSONALIZATION OPTIONS:

1. SUBJECT LINE
2. MESSAGE BODY COPY
3. IMAGES
4. DESIGN & LAYOUT
5. Content

SEGMENTED emails will improve:
EMAIL SEGMENTATION

• Open Rates 14.4%
• Click-through Rates 65%
And will lower:
• Unsubscribes 9%

LIST SEGMENTATION STRATEGIES

1. MARKET SEGMENT
2. BEHAVIOR
3. DEMOGRAPHICS
4. PSYCHOGRAPHICS
5. Geography
6. Sales Cycle Stage
7. Very Important Customers
8. Job Role/Title/Position
9. Size of Business
10. Source of Acquired Data
11. By Device
12. By Email Platform

Don’t Be Afraid to send more email as long as you
Deliver value every time
FREQUENCY

You may not be emailing enough. Especially if…
FREQUENCY

• some campaigns do abnormally well
• If you see high repeat visits to your web site
• increase of non-email volume to your web site

Testing is your secret to
success

ALWAYS APPROACH TESTING
WITH A GOAL IN MIND

What do you test?

• Subject line
• Message
• Layout and Images
• Call to action
• Offer
• Personalization vs. Non-personalization

• A/B Testing
Two types of Testing

• MultiVariate Testing

A Methodology in which two variants are
tested to determine how they affect user
behavior.
A/B Testing (Split testing)

Version a = control
Version b = modified version

Only 30% of marketers
Conduct a/b testing

Allows marketers to test multiple variations
at the same time.
Multivariate testing

Used to determine which combination of
content and creative achieves the best results

Steps for Multivariate testing

1. Determine what you want to test
2. Create the variations
3. Run the test
4. Analyze the results

Increasing Opens & Clicks
should be secondary to
increasing conversions

Increase Opens

1. Subject line
2. From Name
3. From Email
4. Preheader

Increase Click-Through

1. Call to Action Copy, Placement and design
2. Creative
3. Layout
4. Message Copy
5. Preview pane View

Increase revenue

1. OFFER copy and placement
2. Landing page
3. List segmentation
4. Personalization

After the test

1. Review your results
2. Summarize key findings
3. Determine how to implement changes based on
what you’ve learned
4. Implement changes
5. Test some more

The only metrics that matter
are the ones
That positively impact
Your business

You can’t manage
What you don’t measure,
And If you can’t measure it,
You can’t manage it.

• ROI is Media Agnostic
ROI RULES

• Every Resource has value
• only calculate after yielding a return
• Must be calculated in Dollars

How to improve ROI

1. Know the value of your goals
2. Design campaigns to be measurable
3. Test and analyze results
4. Focus on decisions that improve ROI

DYNAMIC/REAL-TImE Emails

•  Includes real-time information
•  Changes based on when/where opened
•  Hyper-personalized

DYNAMIC/REAL-TImE Platforms

•  Movable Ink
•  Live Intent
•  PowerInbox
•  REalTime Email by LIveClicker
•  NIFTY IMAGES

Predective Email Marketing

The practice of extracting information
from existing customer datasets to
determine A patter and predict future
outcomes and trends

User-generated content

•  Instagram
•  Twitter
•  Facebook
•  Pinterest

HTML5 Video

•  Featured video in an email
•  Video background in an email

HTML5 Background Video

• Works in Apple MAIL &
OUtLook 2011 (MAC)

• Fallback image displays
In other email clients

Gaming

•  Using CSS to create an interactive
Gaming experience

RECAP:

• Plan for success: HAVE A GOAL
• KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
• Data: Quality over quantity
• DRIVE TO CONVERSION ( Open -> click -> CONVERT)
• optimize for mobile
• Deliver relevance
• testing is your key to success

Adam Q. Holden-Bache
adam@B2bMarketingbook.com
@adamholdenbache
@B2bemailbook

How To Win At Email Marketing

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