Litmus Live 2018: Reinvent Your Email Workflow
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The document outlines a comprehensive workshop agenda on email marketing workflows, covering topics such as planning, design, and testing. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, proper documentation, and the use of modular design to enhance efficiency. Additionally, it addresses common challenges faced by email marketers and provides strategies for improvement and optimization in email campaigns.
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Litmus Live 2018: Reinvent Your Email Workflow
- 2. GET THE RESOURCES You can find the slides and more at: pages.litmus.com/reinvent-your-emailworkflow Wifi: LitmusLive Password: weloveemail #LitmusLive
- 3. JAINA MISTRY Email Marketing Specialist, Litmus @jainamistry
- 4. YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW EXPERTS SHANNON CRABILL Senior Email Developer STEPHANIE MCKAY Email Marketing & Personalization Manager JESSE BLANNER Sr. Design Manager ERIC ROSS Business Process Manager
- 5. AGENDA • 1:15pm - What’s an email workflow? • 1:40pm - Email conception and planning • 2:05pm - Creating an email brief • 2:40pm - Copywriting and content creation • 2:55pm - BREAK • 3:10pm - Design and development
- 6. AGENDA • 3:45pm - Testing, QA, and approvals • 4:05pm - Send & Post-send reporting • 4:15pm - BREAK • 4:25pm - Quick refresh • 4:40pm - Q&A • 5pm - And we’re done!
- 7. WHAT IS AN EMAIL WORKFLOW?
- 9. EXERCISE #1 Define YOUR email workflow
- 10. WHAT PART OF YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
- 11. “The email team's collaboration with the design and content teams.
- 12. “A/B testing and optimization.
- 13. “The logic used to trigger workflows.
- 14. “We have sped up our build time by using the MJML framework that helps us build fully responsive emails.
- 15. “Nothing
- 16. WHAT’S THE MOST PAINFUL PART OF YOUR CURRENT EMAIL WORKFLOW?
- 17. “Too many hands in the pot.
- 18. “Getting senior leadership to get their content in on time without last minute changes.
- 20. “The planning and approval portion of the campaign, and the back and forth with the creative team.
- 23. ONLY 17% OF BRANDS PLAN MORE THAN THREE MONTHS OUT FOR PEAK SEASON CAMPAIGNS
- 24. WHY PLAN YOUR CAMPAIGNS IN ADVANCE?
- 25. 69% OF BRANDS USE SOFTWARE OTHER THAN OR IN ADDITION TO SPREADSHEETS, CALENDARS AND DOCS
- 26. Case Study: How Automation Impacted Our Workflow at LuckyVitamin Stephanie McKay | IG: @smckaydesign
- 27. Where to Start?
- 28. Where to Start? Get a Project Management Tool. ➔ Place of record for your efforts ➔ Doubles as creative brief
- 29. Workflow Example: Trello IDEATION REVIEW SCHEDULE CREATIVE HTML DEV
- 30. Why are we sending this email? Who is this going to? What is the KPI for success? Target Customer Provide her value or solve a problem! 01 Goal or Purpose
- 31. 02 Template Needs How many templates? What are the details? Is there a reminder email? Target Customer Provide her value or solve a problem!
- 32. 03 Creative Direction & Messaging What is the look and feel? How will the messaging and artwork support your goals? Target Customer Provide her value or solve a problem!
- 33. 04 Execution: Who | What | When WHO is doing WHAT and by WHEN? Communication is key! Target Customer Provide her value or solve a problem!
- 34. Creative Brief Example 01 Goal
- 35. Creative Brief Example 02 Template Needs
- 36. Creative Brief Example 03 Creative
- 37. Creative Brief Example 04 Execution
- 38. Action!
- 39. Process Example: Handoffs 01 IDEATION Establish your creative brief! Know your purpose, template needs, creative and message direction, and assign the who what when.
- 40. Baby, You’re a Firework
- 41. Process Example: Handoffs 02 CREATIVE 01 IDEATION Designer and copywriter will work together to create the first mockup for the team to review.
- 42. Process Example: Handoffs 03 REVIEW 02 CREATIVE 01 IDEATION Team comes together to discuss… did you accomplish your goal? Is anything confusing or missing? Refer back to that creative brief!
- 43. Process Example: Handoffs 04 HTML DEV 03 REVIEW 02 CREATIVE 01 IDEATION Coder develops HTML template, tests (in Litmus, of course), sends out for proofing and feedback.
- 44. Process Example: Handoffs 04 HTML DEV 03 REVIEW 02 CREATIVE 05 SCHEDULE 01 IDEATION Now finalized, time to set up the campaign and go live!
- 45. Process Example: Handoffs IDEATION REVIEW SCHEDULE CREATIVE HTML DEV
- 46. SL: Doesn’t A Dozen Sound Delightful? Copy: Don’t whisk missing this deal! For two days only, use code XXXX to take 12% off your $55+ order. Eggs- ercise your right to save & get this deal before it’s over (easy)! Finished Campaign
- 49. Evaluation!
- 50. ➔ Nothing can be “set it and forget it” ➔ Perform a post-mortem at least monthly ➔ No shame in finding out something isn’t working as intended - it’s opportunity! ➔ Always provide value and solve problems for your customers Evaluation
- 51. [ FIN ]
- 52. DO YOU USE A DEPLOYMENT CALENDAR?
- 53. CREATING AN EMAIL BRIEF Step 2:
- 55. WHY CREATE AN EMAIL BRIEF?
- 56. SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH
- 57. NOT A ONE TIME USE DOCUMENT
- 58. EVERY EMAIL GETS AN EMAIL BRIEF
- 59. MAKE IT EASY TO FIND
- 60. EMAIL PLAYBOOK & WORKFLOW Shannon Crabill #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 61. THE PROBLEM #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 62. “I need to send an invite/newsletter/ product/etc. type of email. What are my options?” #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 63. EMAIL PLAYBOOK #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 64. CASE STUDIES #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 65. “What other options are there?” #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 67. “I’d like to hear stats from outside of the company” #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 68. Gifs increase click rates by 48% - Emma #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 69. "What does this look like on mobile?” #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 71. "Which is the better? A or B?" #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 72. ACTION ITEMS #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 73. Map current workflow to identify pain points #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 74. Source: goleansixsigma#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 75. Empathy maps are a valuable tool #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 76. Source: UXPin#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 78. This is a living document and that's ok :) #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 79. THANK YOU! #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive
- 80. EXERCISE #2 Fill in the email brief
- 81. BREAK TIME Grab a drink and have a stretch
- 83. ON AVERAGE EMAIL MARKETERS SPEND 2,9 HOURS WRITING COPY
- 84. WHAT DO YOU INCLUDE IN AN EMAIL COPY DOCUMENT?
- 85. SUBJECT LINE AND PREVIEW TEXT
- 86. HEADLINES, BODY COPY, CTA COPY, EVERYTHING
- 87. INCLUDE WHAT YOU’RE TESTING
- 88. NOTES FOR DESIGN
- 89. WHAT’S NEXT?
- 90. EXERCISE #3 What’s missing from this email copy document?
- 91. DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT Step 4:
- 92. DESIGN AND BUILD OR DESIGN THEN BUILD
- 93. DEFINE YOUR DESIGN REVIEW PROCESS
- 95. JESSE BLANNER | SR. DESIGN MANAGER, MEREDITH CORP. @D_ZYNREMAIL HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW
- 96. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW February 2018 - Meredith acquires Time, Inc. After a few months of corporate restructuring, the Digital team launches an updated email roadmap, which includes onboarding 12+ new brands and making updates to 60+ email templates, all before the end of the 2018 calendar year. Many of these updates involve rebuilding existing layouts so there is a measure of unity within the under- lying frameworks (for ease of use in cross-brand testing). CASE STUDY
- 97. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW CHALLENGES WE FACED Limited Resources Aggressive Timeline Disjointed Code Structure Template Volume Organizational Turnover CASE STUDY
- 98. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW Modular email design to the rescue! Wait, what is that?!? It’s a system of interchangeable components (aka modules) and reusable patterns that can be combined to create email layouts. OVERVIEW
- 99. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW STEPS STEPS TO CREATE A MODULAR EMAIL SYSTEM Discovery Phase Select a Grid Structure Component/Pattern Library Develop Framework + Module Code Create Snippets + Partials
- 100. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES Improves Collaboration Modular design increases the ability for collaboration between designers and email marketers. There’s often a disconnect between these two worlds; the modular design system can act as a common ground and help the two sides communicate more directly and clearly with one another.
- 101. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES Provides Clarity Standardizing the code framework and designing from a base grid means having a finite set of circumstances to work within. Designers and developers don’t need to spend time working out the details of an underlying framework, they can move right to creating a layout to suit the needs of the content.
- 102. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES Saves Time A system guide can help bypass the need for wireframes during the design process. System components (snippets and partials) are pre-built, tested, and ready to use interchangeably. And since everything is built on the same HTML framework, the potential for error is minimized and confined to a fixed number of variables.
- 103. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW GET BUY-IN KEY SELLING POINTS Simplfies Efficient Cost Effective Scalable
- 104. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW @D_ZYNREMAIL Jesse Blanner | Sr. Design Manager, Meredith Corporation jesse.blanner@meredith.com THANK YOU!
- 105. DISCUSSION How do you handle pushback from stakeholders in the design/development process?
- 106. TESTING, QA, AND APPROVALS Step 5:
- 107. ONLY 23% OF MARKETERS USE AN EXTENSIVE PRE-SEND CHECKLIST
- 108. BUT WHY?!
- 109. WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED?
- 111. EXERCISE #4 Create a pre-send Checklist for your organization
- 113. SEND! Step 6:
- 115. BREAK TIME Grab a drink and have a stretch
- 116. QUICK REFRESH
- 117. TAKING A COOKIE CUTTER APPROACH TO PROCESS
- 118. Agenda / Key Learnings Don’t Assume • Don’t make assumptions in your process • Checks and balances are key TakeTime • Develop process iteratively • Start simple and evolve over time Manage Closely • Prepare for change and manage it accordingly • Change is often resisted • Change will fail if not managed properly
- 119. DON’T ASSUME!!
- 121. But what you didn’t know at the time was...
- 123. TAKE TIME
- 124. WHAT DO MILK AND COOKIES HAVE TO DO WITH PROCESS?
- 127. Can I ‘milk’ this process even more?
- 129. MANAGEYOUR CHANGE
- 130. Good Process Requires: 1. People willing to accept process changes and adapt quickly when needed 2. A constant drive to want to get better 3. A management team willing to support and enforce it
- 131. In 1967, Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a social readjustment rating scale that was designed to roughly approximate a person’s likelihood of future illness based on his or her stress level. The scale is a list of common stressful events, both positive and negative, all of which are assigned a numerical value of “life-changing units.”
- 133. Process?
- 134. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US? Q&A Time