Email Best Practices
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The document provides best practices for email marketing campaigns. It discusses strategies for developing clear goals and messaging, designing effective content and calls to action, segmenting lists and personalizing messages, ensuring regulatory compliance, and testing campaigns to optimize performance. Key recommendations include developing a lifecycle marketing strategy, writing compelling subject lines, including multiple links and calls to action in the body, personalizing content for different segments, using double opt-in and honoring unsubscribe requests, and benchmarking metrics against past campaigns and industry averages.
Email Best Practices
- 1. Email Marketing: Best Practices
- 2. Strategy Design & Content Segmenting & Targeting Regulatory Compliance & Delivery Testing Agenda
- 3. Focus: How To Execute a Great Campaign Go beyond promotional material Build a consumer relationship Increase your ROI Strategy
- 4. What is this email's goal? Keep on message Qualify results using goals How does it speak to our consumers? Personality Develop a voice Add a personal touch Strategy
- 5. Lifecycle Marketing Lifecycle Acquisition, Conversion, Growth, Retention, and Reactivation Plot out the lifecycle for your business/product ID areas to focus on Plan email schedule and topics Strategy
- 6. Design & Content Subject Line Content Strategy Landing Pages
- 7. Design & Content Open Rates: Subject Line and Personalization Your opening line... You’re delivering value! Make the action clear Personalize Behavior, Demographic, Geographic, Name Stay true to your brand voice Keep it short and sweet Completely visible in most email clients ‘ From’ Line Company Name or CEO Fast recognition
- 8. Design & Content Clickthrough Rates: Content and Number of Options Getting your message through... "Disabled Images" Friendly Use support text Provide Web and Text versions Small image sizes Limit Rich-Media content to your website Preview Design Friendly Offer or CTA at the top for immediate viewing Give Control to Your Users Include a link to a "Profile Update" page enabling recipients to change the format preferences for optimal viewing.
- 9. Show What You’ve Got Multiple Links 25 or more if possible Clear Calls to Action "Order Now!" "Sign Up Today" Not just "Click Here!" Don't Forget the Look... Engage Shoppers Motivate Action Reinforce Brand Design & Content Clickthrough Rates: Content and Number of Options
- 10. Design & Content Clickthrough Rates: Content and Number of Options My Coke Rewards Newsletter Goal: Strengthen member-to-brand relationships Design reinforces brand message Multiple Engaging topics Clear calls to action Sent 2x month Results Increase Interaction by 46% Increase Site Logins by 200%
- 11. Design & Content Clickthrough Rates: Content and Number of Options NBA - Toronto Raptors Timing: Email sent to fans based on previous night's game Content: Video related to game Action: Reminder to buy tix Results: 46% open rate 45% clickthrough rate Generated $26,000 in sales
- 12. Seal the deal... Clear path to the desired action Match email Simple and easy Short copy Avoid scrolling Design & Content Optimize Landing Pages for Best ROI
- 13. Segmenting & Targeting Personalization Offers and Messaging How to Segment
- 14. Build a Relationship... Go Beyond First Name Use Web Analytics Clickstream Shopping Cart Start Small Happy Birthday Thank You We Miss You Segmenting & Targeting Personalization
- 15. Holiday E-Card Personalized Forward Choose gift for a friend Add personalized message Friend could "regift" Results 6x clickthrough rate 45.14% open rate Activity for two weeks Segmenting & Targeting Personalization
- 16. Sweeten the deal... Offer “exclusive” specials just for subscribers Personalize offers Each e-mail contains a strong offer Segmenting & Targeting Offers & Messaging
- 17. Get Results... Short Deadline for CTA Trigger messaging based on past behavior Get to know your customers! Segmenting & Targeting Offers & Messaging
- 18. Segmenting on Consumer Information: Gather Basic information from registration Details from "Update Your Profile" link in confirmation Segment: Address, Sex, Birthdate Buying History Behavior Info The more personalized the message, the more value for customers Segmenting & Targeting How to Segment
- 19. Regulatory Compliance & Delivery Opt-In Process CAN-SPAM Staying out of Junk Mail Whitelists
- 20. Single Opt-In vs Double Opt-In Single Opt-In Email address provided by customer Ex: box on homepage Double Opt-In ("Confirmed") Second step: automatic email generated Customer clicks link to confirm sign-up Reduce fraud and spam complaints Regulatory Compliance & Delivery Opt-In Process
- 21. To Check or not to check? Auto-checked box Customer has to uncheck the box to opt-out May need additional legal language Unchecked Customer must check the box to opt-in Recommended to maintain trust with consumer Decrease likelihood of spam complaints Regulatory Compliance & Delivery Opt-In Process
- 22. CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 Differentiates "spammers" from permission-based email marketers Make sure your messaging complies: Don’t: Use misleading headers or subject lines Ignore opt-out requests Do: Include a way to opt-out. Include a postal mailing address in all emails. Use a valid return email address that works for at least thirty (30) days after messages are sent. Honor all opt-out requests within 10 days of receipt Include a profile update page on your site and link to it from your email Regulatory Compliance & Delivery CAN-SPAM
- 23. Make it to the Inbox... Certain words automatically send email to Spam folder "Order Now!“, “FREE"!... Microsoft keeps an updated list of all filtered words http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA010450051033.aspx ISPs can block emails Too many spam complaints Too many emails to bad email addresses Prevent by: Honoring unsubscribe requests immediately Monitor and resolve spam complaints Use a double opt-in process Unique IP address Proof your emails Regulatory Compliance & Delivery Staying Out of Junk Mail
- 24. Guarantee Delivery... Ask customers to add you to their address book Remind by adding a single sentence at the top of your email EX: To ensure receipt of our emails, please add us (hello@yourcompany.com) to your Address Book. Thank you! Regulatory Compliance & Delivery Whitelists
- 25. Testing How To Measure Success Definition of Key Metrics Benchmarks
- 26. Looking at success... Based on messaging objectives What was the desired action? Look beyond just open and click-through rates Watch trends utilizing your key output metrics Examine results in detail to improve future results Top domain HTML vs text Demographic info Testing How to Measure Success
- 27. Delivery Rate: % of unbounced emails sent Open Rate: % of emails opened (HTML) Click-Through Rate: % of people who click any link in an email Conversation Rate: % of recipients who take a desired action Bounce Rate: % of emails bounced (full mailbox, incorrect address) Other important metrics: Unsubscribe Rate Referral rate (send-to-a-friend) Percent Spam Complaints Testing Definition of Key Metrics
- 28. Gauging your success... Internal Benchmarks Compare results to previous and concurrent campaigns External Benchmarks Comparing to "industry averages" Use them as general guides Difficult to get industry average due to variances in types of emails sent, industries, size of lists, amount of personalization, nature of relationship with recipients and how other companies define their metrics. Testing Benchmarks
- 29. To Succeed with Email: Develop a clear strategy Use your data Communicate personally and directly Build a lasting relationship Plan on testing and refining Be flexible! In Summary