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From retail to technology, CPG to B2B, Aaron Smith reviews what makes an email campaign successful and provides actionable takeaways you can begin to implement immediately in you own email programs. This session covers creative, copy writing and testing strategies as well as emerging trends in email and cross-channel digital marketing.
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Aaron Smith, Director of Creative Technologies
Smith-Harmon, a Responsys Company
•The Email Channel•Lifecycle Marketing with Email•Case Studies & Testing Strategies•Industry Trends•Q&A
Agenda Client Summit – Chicago 2010
The Email ChannelPrint, web and email design
Email is a bit like print…• What works for print does not
always translate well to email.• Recipients rarely see an email
in its entirety, so information hierarchy is critical, with the most important information at the top, working down.
• Images can help tell a story, but if they are too large and take too long to download, or they push the key points too far down along the page, or they are not properly alt-tagged, they hinder rather than help.
Email is a bit like web…• The principles of web design
often apply to email, but with notable exceptions.
• In email, complex coding increases cost and production times as well as jeopardizes rendering and user experience.
• In email, rich media including forms, scripting and Flash usually don’t render correctly.
Email is very much it’sown medium with it’s ownset of rules…
Words to work by
“An email is like a retail store window; it needs to reveal just enough to compel viewers to enter the store.”
- Lisa Harmon, Principal Smith-Harmon
• Viewing an email is different from browsing online• Viewers are not necessarily looking for something • They need to be pulled more vigorously
The Email ChannelThe inbox mindset
Don't assume your message is compelling! Ask yourself: • What is this about? • Why should my subscribers care? • What do they do about it?
Consider the above-the-fold mark and the preview pane Include a good balance of images and text Provide clear primary and alternate calls-to-action Throw in a few bells and whistles Personalize Leverage dynamic content Feature user-generated content
The Email ChannelCreative ingredients – run through this list before you hit send
We are seeing the continuing demise of batch and blast – the least effective method of email marketing – which brings us to…
The Email ChannelEvolution of the channel
EmailLifecycle Marketing
AcquisitionSuspects
ConversionProspects
GrowthCustomers
RetentionActive Customers
ReactivationInactive Customers
Lifecycle Marketing: The PhilosophyDeliver timely, relevant email that improves subscribers’ lives
1
2 Preferences Collection & Progressive Profiling
Email Acquisition
3 Welcome
5 BrowseBased
6 AbandonedCart
7 EnhancedTransactional
8 Loyalty
9 Survey
10 Reactivation
11 WinBack
4 Newsletter
Lifecycle Marketing: Opt-InAcquiring subscriber email addresses
• Consider pop-up with email opt-inmessaging for first time web site visitors
• Gather only necessary information,primarily email address
• Offer a tangible and reward for opting in
Lifecycle Marketing: Opt-InAcquiring subscriber email addresses
• Be clear in your messaging• Highlight the benefits of being on the
mailing list
• Allow subscribers to choose whichcommunications they want to receive
• When possible, gather information that allows for dynamic messaging
• Request only data that you actually plan to use• Consider asking subscribers how often they
want to hear from you• Keep preference centers as short and
unintimidating as possible
Lifecycle Marketing: Preference CenterGathering useful subscriber information
Lifecycle Marketing: WelcomeFirst communication with new membersEngaging subscribers with personal information like membership details
• Series of welcome messages allows the brand to welcome new members and reinforce brand tenets over a period of months
• Each message focuses on a specific theme and/or brand tenet
• Provides opportunity for progressive profiling
Lifecycle Marketing: WelcomeWelcome series
Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterVerizon – Dynamic content
Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterVerizon – Dynamic content
Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterApple – Fitness newsletter
Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterHabeas: B2B newsletter example
• Group content in separate modules
• Include clear content section headers
• Place imagery in an “S-curve” to guide gaze across and down page
• Use button treatment for primary call-to-action
• Include alternate HTML text calls-to-action
• For longer-form mails, include a TOC
• Opportunities to share• Surveys and polls• Requests for feedback• Press coverage• Customer reviews and quotes• Contests
Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterTips for encouraging engagement through conversation
• Choose whether to be overt or discrete• Keep message simple and focused• The possibilities are endless
Lifecycle Marketing: TriggeredMessaging based on behavior, pastpurchases or preferences
Lifecycle Marketing: PromotionalLondon Hotel NYC
Lifecycle Marketing: PromotionalApple’s Valentines Campaign
Lifecycle Marketing: PromotionalBanana Republic – Clipped Campaign
Strengths• Welcomes guests or, for cancellations,
offers to assist with future reservations• Calls out preferred guest details
and links to account• Includes all transaction information
for reference• Incorporates links to information
about the hotel services and amenities
as well the surrounding area• Templatized approach makes it easy
to leverage across multiple brands
Lifecycle Marketing: ConfirmationResponding to subscriber actions
Lifecycle Marketing: ConfirmationResponding to subscriber actions
Strengths• Uses "abandoned cart" messaging to
reengage subscribers who have visitedtheir site and recently performed a search
• Contains information about previous flight search
• Incorporates flight booking module• Promotes hotel deals in destination city
Lifecycle Marketing: Abandoned CartResponding to subscriber actions
Lifecycle Marketing: Thank YouResponding to subscriber actions
Strengths• Includes special offers and rewards as
a thank you• Reinforces subscriber’s relationship with
the brand• Encourages updating personal profile by
entering subscriber for a chance to a win a free cruise
• Promotes advantages of becoming part ofHolland America social community
Lifecycle Marketing: BirthdayResponding to subscriber actions
Opportunities• Acknowledge subscribers' birthdays
with birthday message, especially if birthday information is requested in signup
• Strengthen customer relationship by offering a discount, promotion or complimentary gift
Lifecycle Marketing: Password ResetResponding to subscriber actions
Reinforces brand with fun and quirky copy
• Keep copy tone positive• Ask customers to update profile
to receive more targeted messaging• Send a survey• Consider using an offer to
encourage purchase• If attempt is unsuccessful, consider:
o Reducing frequency,email only once or twice quarterly
o Prompt subscriber to re-opt-in
Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackReengaging subscribers
Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackWilliams-Sonoma
Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackWilliams-Sonoma
Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackWilliams-Sonoma
Lifecycle Marketing: Loyalty Program Personalizing communicationsCreating a new class of exclusive emails for engaged subscribers
Email subscribers get exclusive benefits
when they sign up for the Beauty Insider:• Rewarded: exclusive samples• Privileged: exlusive access• Personal: tips and products• Gifted: birthday gift
Lifecycle Marketing: Loyalty Personalizing communications
Lifecycle Marketing: LoyaltyPersonalizing communications
Lifecycle Marketing: Loyalty Personalizing communicationsDelivering on the promise
Insiders receive one point for
every dollar spent on
merchandise at Sephora.com
or in Sephora retail stores.
Every time they accumulate
100 points in their Beauty Bank,
they can choose 1 Beauty
Insider Deluxe Sample with
purchase.
Case Studiesand testing strategies
Test the effects of a creative makeover on a single email campaign.
© 2008 Smith-Harmon, Inc.
Case StudyMakeover: Project Summary
Case StudyMakeover: Challenge, Solution and Results
Challenge:• Prove to REI marketing VPs that the
right email creative can impact ROI
Solution:• Perform an A/B split test with
legacy vs. optimized email template
Result:• New template generated a significant
22% increase in unique click-through• New template generated an astounding
90% increase in traffic to shoes specialty shop• REI Email Marketing Manager received the
support of VPs to move forward with an entire suite of redesigned, maximized email creative templates in time for the critical Q4 period
Case StudyTemplates: Project Summary
Alaska Airlines needed to create an effective, on-brand library of flexible email creative templates to support complex marketing and triggered email programs.
© 2008 Smith-Harmon, Inc.
Challenge:• Increase revenue and interaction• Improve reader experience
Solution:• Optimize over 20 email templates
through application of creative best practices• Perform an A/B split test with new
versus old email templates
Result:• The new template for the newsletter – Alaska’s
highest-grossing email vehicle – inspired an amazing 41% lift in revenue, increasing revenue-per-mail rate from $0.57 to $0.80
• The new newsletter design achieved greater reader interaction, generating a 13% lift in click-through rate
FreddieAwardWinner
Case StudyTemplates: Challenge, Solution and Results
Salesforce.com needed to overhaul their software business customer and prospect email messaging. The project corresponded with a Salesforce website redesign, so the program had to incorporate new branding elements while seeking to maintain or improve performance.
Challenge:•Improve performance with optimized creative•Streamline complex content•Leverage ESP dynamic content capabilities
Solution:•Optimize creative for experience and performance•Test original vs. new creative for 1 month
Case StudyTemplates: Project Summary, Challenge and Solution
Case StudyTemplates: Results
Gains in CTR:
Email #1: Clicks on Original: 2936Clicks on Redesign: 4055
Email #2: Clicks on Original: 391Clicks on Redesign: 459
Email #3: Clicks on Original: 608Clicks on Redesign: 707
The redesigned templates outperformed the legacy templates with staggering results.The performance of three redesigned emails demonstrates the improvements.
Email #1:Email #2:Email #3:
TestingKeys to creative testing
• Test constantly• Make tests controlled and
easy to understand• Use results to inform the
design process• Creative test ideas:
o Subject lineso Copy length o Call-to-action treatmentso Prices and product names o Enviro vs. silo photographyo Bells and whistleso Personalization/Segmentationo Landing pages
EmailIndustry Trends
• Mobile and social are here to stay and will only grow as important components in the digital marketing mix
• Leveraging email, mobile and social together is powerful
• Email viewing on mobile devices is increasing dramatically
• ISPs are looking at how subscribers interact with your messages in the inbox – this can have a bearing on whether they deliver your messages
Industry Trends
• ISPs are testing new marketer friendly offerings to make their platforms stickier
• Email marketers are continuing to inundate the inbox – you have to be smarter and work harder to make your messages stand out
• Overmailing can hurt your brand outside of the email channel
• Consumers are demanding more control of frequency – provide frequency settings in account preferences and consider opt-down settings on your unsubscribe page
Industry Trends
Thank you!Q&A