How to Design a High-Converting Email Campaign

How to Design a High-Converting Email Campaign

SARAH MCCREDIE, CAMPAIGN MONITOR

@Kissmetrics

#KissWebinar

@thuelmadsen

Thue is the Kissmetrics Webinar Wizard and Marketing Ops Manager. Before joining forces with Kissmetrics, he was a Lyft driver in SF, which is also how he ended up as a Kissmetrics marketer. Whenever Thue is not trying to

automate everything around him, you can find him hiking in the Sierras.

THUE MADSEN Marketing Operations Manager, Kissmetrics

@ThueLMadsen

Sarah runs Partnerships for Campaign Monitor. Prior to Campaign Monitor, Sarah was an early employee at

Unbounce spearheading a lot of their marketing efforts. As a Canadian in SF, when not working, you’ll find her

exploring California.

SARAH MCCREDIE Director of Partnerships, Campaign Monitor

@sarahailish

@campaignmonitor

#KissWebinar

@sarahailish

Email and Your Marketing Stack HOW EMAIL FITS INTO YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING NOW

YOUR MARKETING STACK

Email Marketing Productivity/CollaborationData/Analytics

Content/SocialOptimization/Testing

Lead Gen

Advertising Sales/CRM

YOUR MARKETING CHANNELS

Social

SEM

Blog

Referral

SEO + Content

Email

Reviews

WHY EMAIL?

Email

3800% ROI Control Brand + Message

Segmentation + Personalization Conversions + Stability

Build a Relationship Acquire New Customers>Retaining

4.3 Billion Email Addresses

Email Strategy Framework

EMAIL STRATEGY

Segmentation

Personalization

Design

Structure/Layout

From/Subject/Preheader

Copy

CTA

Mobile Optimized A/B Test

Segmentation CREATE TARGETED GROUPS WITHIN YOUR LIST TO SEND MORE RELEVANT EMAILS

SEGMENTATION STATS

14.37% 64.78% 8.98%Higher Open Rates Higher Click-through Rate Lower Unsubscribe Rates

SEGMENTATION

• Ask specific questions on sign-up • Birthday, location, role, interests

• Segment based on activity, purchases, anniversaries, content type

• Leverage surveys in your automated emails to gather more info over time from your prospects/customers

CREATE A PREFERENCE CENTER

CREATE A PREFERENCE CENTER

UNSUBSCRIBE | PREFERENCE CENTER

Opportunity to learn and win back your subscribers

SEGMENT BASED ON READINESS TO BUY

DYNAMIC CONTENT

Personalization INCORPORATING PERSONAL INFO OR ACTIVITY INTO YOUR EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

PERSONALIZATION

• Personalized subject lines have a 26% higher open rate

• 2.5x higher click-through rate • 6x more sales • 1:1

EXAMPLES

From, Subject Line, Preheader Text

ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO OPTIMIZE

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• From name • Campaign Monitor • campaignmonitor.com • Sarah from Campaign Monitor • Sarah McCredie • David • Leland

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• Subject Line • 80 characters on desktop • 30 characters on mobile • Question • How to • Scarcity • Curiosity gap • Pop culture reference • Emoji’s! 45% increase in open rates

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• Preheader Text • ‘Second subject line’ • Don’t reuse subject line copy • Test across devices (Litmus) • CTA • Test humor/emoji’s/symbols

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• Preheader Text • ‘Second subject line’ • Don’t reuse subject line copy • Test across devices (Litmus) • CTA • Test humor/emoji’s/symbols

Copy SOUND LIKE A HUMAN

COPY

• Align your subject line with body copy • Focus on your customer’s problem • Be personal • Emotive • Clear and concise • Use their language • “You” instead of “me or I” • Benefits>Features • Write your copy outside of email builder

Structure and Layout WIREFRAME YOUR CAMPAIGNS

EMAIL STRUCTURE

• 8 second attention span • Focus on value prop • Wireframe before you build • Break into easily consumed chunks • Prioritize goal above the fold • Repeat CTA throughout

Design HIGH-CONVERTING DESIGN

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• Consistent design and brand throughout all parts of your campaign

• ad, email, landing page • Get creative with video + gifs • Don’t let design overpower your copy

and CTA • Consider your copy design

VIDEO IN EMAIL

• 36% increase in click-through rates • Obvious play button • Fallback image • Embed your video on a landing page -

don’t send to youtube!

VIDEO IN EMAIL

• 36% increase in click-through rates • Obvious play button • Fallback image • Embed your video on a landing page -

don’t send to youtube!

Call to Action THE MAIN GOAL(S) OF YOUR EMAIL CAMPAIGN

MAIN ASPECTS OF YOUR CTA

Design

Copy

Placement

CTA BEST PRACTICES

• 1 main email CTA • Should repeat it throughout the email • Make it look like a button • Use white space • Action-oriented • Get creative with copy

Mobile Optimization ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS CONSIDER MOBILE EXPERIENCE

MOBILE STATS

45% 35% 34%Unsubscribe because a brand’s email or website didn’t work well on their

mobile device

Unsubscribe because a brand’s mobile app didn’t

work well

Mark their emails as spam because they didn’t display

or work well on their mobile device

DESIGN FOR

• 54% of email now opened on a mobile device

• Short and sweet • Make CTA’s easy to click • Test on different devices

HTML vs. Plain Text THE ULTIMATE DEBATE

USE CASES

• B2C verticals where imagery sells • ie. retail, travel, entertainment

• Newsletters • Transactional Emails • If you have a strong brand

(ie. Coca Cola) • Can show off products and

brand

• B2B • Sales-focused • Conversational • Make links obvious • Want to build trust

HTML Plain Text

PLAIN TEXT EMAILS VS. HTML

CTA

CTA

CTA

A/B Testing ALWAYS BE TESTING!

A/B TEST ALL THE THINGS

Build

Learn Measure

Ideas

Data

Product

The Lean Startup Model

LEARN MORE NOW

Discover how Kissmetrics can help you optimize your marketing

SARAH MCCREDIE Director of Partnerships, Campaign Monitor

@sarahailish sarahm@campaignmonitor.com

THUE MADSEN Marketing Operations Manager, Kissmetrics

@ThueLMadsen tmadsen@kissmetrics.com

Questions?