Email Marketing in a Down Economy - MnCCECTmnccect.org/docs/presentations/201105/Email-Marketing-in-a-Down-Economy.pdfEmail Service vs. Outlook Standard Email Programs (e.g. Outlook,

1

Copyright © 2011 Constant Contact Inc.

Email Marketing in a Down Economy

Connect. Inform. Grow.

Copyright © 2011 Constant Contact, Inc. 2

Email Marketing Is…

� Delivering professional email communications

� to an interested audience

� containing information they find valuable.

2


Email Service vs. Outlook

Standard Email Programs(e.g. Outlook, Hotmail)

■ Limited # of emails sent at one time

■ No formatting control

■ List break up more susceptible to filters

■ No cohesive branding

■ No tracking and reporting of email results


Email Service vs. Outlook

Email marketing services automate best practices

■ Provide easy-to-use templates

■ Reinforce brand identity

■ Email addressed to recipient only

■ Manage lists – adding new subscribers, handling bounce-backs, removing unsubscribes

■ Ensure email delivery, tracks results and obeys the law

3


Acquiring Customers

It Takes Time, Money, Energy & Effort…

On average, it takes 7 touches for a sale to occur.

■ Some buy right away

■ Others research and try

■ Some show interest but don’t trust you


One-time touch

Unlikely to ReturnInterested (Buy Later)

Not Now (Maybe Later)

No Interest

Immediate Purchaser Immediate Purchase

Communications Impact

Unlikely to ReturnNo Interest

Capture Interests

& Communicate

Interested (Buy Later)

Not Now (Maybe Later)

Immediate &

Follow-on Purchases

Immediate Purchaser

Ongoing Interaction

Converting Leads to Customers

4


How People Are Using Email Marketing. . .


Customer Spotlight: Educational Odysseys

List Size: 1,374

Open Rate: 36%

Location: Ashland, MA

Customer Since: March 2007

Website: www.educationalodysseys.com

■ Offers discounts for new and returning customers

■ Introduces new tours and destinations

■ Links back to website to read full articles and book

tours

“Creating nice e-mail layouts is easy with Constant

Contact templates and managing the e-mail lists is a

breeze. Overall, the program is very organized and

user-friendly as well as affordable.”

Cindy Weir ,

Marketing Director

5


Atir Natural Nail Care Clinic

•List Size: 1,147•Open Rate: 34%•Location: Richmond, VA•Customer Since: November 2006

■ Free service for first time customers

■ Compelling offers and discounts

■ Announces new services

“ There is an ebb and flow of clients in the salon business and Constant Contact is the perfect tool to help retain customers.”

Kathleen Lin,

Owner


Victorious Christian Living International

List Size: 1,468

Open Rate: 43%

Location: Phoenix, AZ

Customer Since: June 2006

Website: www.vcli.org

■ Sends coupons as follow up after events

■ Includes links to website and registration pages

■ Announces upcoming seminars and conferences

“We get great feedback all the time about our emails.

Overall, people are feeling cared about, thought

about, encouraged and uplifted.”

Valerie Paine,

Associate Director

6


Tips for Marketing in a Down Economy

�1. Don’t panic/analyze your next move. Make sure that your next move is right for your business.

2. Know your value – What are the biggest benefits you provide to your customers.

3. Spend your marketing dollars wisely – Continue to spend but get the most for your $$.


Key # 1

Build Your List With Permission

7


Build Your List Where You Connect!

Website SignupService orSales Calls

Eventsand Meetings Email Signature

Customer & Prospect Database

In-store Guest Book

Making the Connection


Types of Permission

Types of permission

Explicit: Opt in from your website or storefront

■ “Join our mailing list”

■ Single vs. Double Opt-in

Implicit: Requests for information / registration forms, existing customer relationship

Note: Always make sure

to ask for permission

when collecting

information

8


Be a Trusted Sender

■ Remind recipients why they are receiving an email from you at the beginning of each message

■ Include unsubscribe or one-click opt-out line

■ Monitor your email frequency


Spam – What is it?

Spam or Unsolicited Commercial Email(no relationship / no permission)

■ List purchase, CD-ROMs

■ Directory crawling

■ Email appending

•Don’t do it!

While it may seem tempting,it will have a negative impacton your business.

9


Key # 2

Set Your Objectives


Set Your Objectives

“I want to…”

■ Promote

■ Motivate purchases

■ Increase event attendance

■ Inform

■ Inform potential customers

■ Differentiate my business

■ Relate

■ Increase loyalty

■ Encourage more referrals

10


Informative Email

Advice, research, facts, opinions,

tips

QualityKnowledge

Savings

Relational Email

Special privileges, acknowledgement

Promotional Email

Discounts, coupons, offers,

incentives.

Provide Value to Your Audience



4. Determine your marketing objectives and create a communications strategy.

5. Watch your competition – What are they doing and how do you compare.

6. Build customer loyalty to generate additional revenue.

11


Key # 3

Choose Appropriate Format & Frequency


Determine Appropriate Format

Newsletters

■ Frequency: Regular i.e. monthly / weekly

■ Lots of educational content (typically non-promotional)

■ Use bullets, summarize information, be concise

Promotions / Invitations / Surveys

■ Frequency: Depends on your business and sales cycle

■ Focus on promotion / limited content

■ Use content to invite click-through or other action

Announcements

■ Frequency: Event-driven

■ Press releases, holiday greetings, thank you cards…

■ Use content to build deeper relationships

12


Frequency & Delivery Time

How often to send

■ Create a master schedule

■ Include frequency in online sign-up “Monthly Newsletter”

■ Keep content concise and relevant to planned frequency

When to send

■ When is your audience most likely to read it?

■ Day of week (Tuesday & Wednesday)

■ Time of day (10am to 3pm)

■ Test for timing

■ Divide your list into equal parts

■ Send at different times and compare results

Maximum impact with minimum intrusion


Key # 4

Get Your Emails Opened

13


Getting Email Opened

The “From” line

■ Use a name your audience recognizes

■ Include your organization name or brand

■ Refer to your business in the same way your audience does

Be consistent

60% of consumers say the "from" line most often determines whether they open an email or delete it. Source: DoubleClick


Getting Email Opened

The “Subject” Line

■ Keep it short and simple

■ 30-40 characters including spaces (5-8 words)

■ Incorporate the immediate benefit

of opening the email

■ Capitalize and punctuate carefully

■ Avoid copying the techniques inherent in spam emails.

Emails with shorter subject lines significantly outperformed emails with longer subject lines.

- MailerMailer (2011)

14


Avoiding “Spam-speak”

The words: free, guarantee, spam, credit card etc.

ALL CAPITAL LETTERS

Excessive punctuation !!!, ???

Excessive use of “click here”

$$, and other symbols

No “From:” address

Misleading subject lines

Example: Typical spam “From” and “Subject” lines



7. Fine tune & build your list – Quality over quantity.

8. Brand your business for maximum impact – branded and professional communications lead to repeat and new business.

9. Capitalize on Relationships – Use existing relationships to reduce expenses, generate referrals and co-promote.

10. Reward referrals – provide incentives for employees and others that help your business grow.

15


Key #5

Create Compelling Content


Creating Compelling Content

The Email “Body”

■ Provide relevant valuable information

■ Be clear and concise

■ Use appropriate graphics

■ Use white space effectively

■ Include “Call to Action” links

■ Create sense of urgency

■ Capitalize and punctuate carefully

■ Proofread

16


Valuable & Relavant Information

Focus on the content

■ It’s not about you

■ It’s about what you know

Trade useful information for attention

■ Will they talk about it when out with friends?

■ Will they look forward to your next communication?

Narrow your focus

■ Be an expert

“The fact that [some people] want

to help, for no other reason than

because they like to help, turns

out to be an awfully effective way

of getting someone’s attention.”

Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point


Bonus Key #6

Track Your Results

17


Email Tracking CodeESP Interaction

+

How Tracking Works


Analyzing “Open” Rates & Click Thru’s

Use open tracking to spot trends

■ Open rates trending down

■ Fewer subscribers are enabling images

■ Fewer subscribers are clicking links

■ Steady open rates

■ Assume email is being received

Use click tracking to determine…

■ Audience interests

■ Clicks tell you what topics were interesting

■ Save clickers in an interest list for targeted follow up

■ Goal achievement

■ Use links to drive traffic toward conversion

■ Compare clicks to conversions and improve

18

As an

Added Bonus

I’ll send you a copy

Of this booklet

in my follow-up email!

Marketing in a Down Economy


Additional Resources

■ 60-Day Free-Trial Account■ No Credit card – really free!

■ Use with up to 100 unique email addresses during trial

■ www.constantcontact.com/minnesota■ Seminar schedule on local events calendar

■ Mailing list and contact forms

■ Learning Center■ Live and recorded webinars

■ Daily live product tours

■ All the resources you need to successfully create and send a great email campaigns

■ Email Marketing Hints & Tips E-Newsletter■ Our monthly email newsletter featuring email marketing insights

■ ConnectUp! User Community■ Read and post to the discussion boards on issues that matter to you.

■ Business Partners & Professional Services■ Have some or all of your email campaigns done by our Professional Services Dept. or independent Business

Partners

19


Thank You!

Documents

Email Marketing in a Down Economy - MnCCECTmnccect.org/docs/presentations/201105/Email-Marketing-in-a-Down-Economy.pdfEmail Service vs. Outlook Standard Email Programs (e.g. Outlook,