Michael Leander's 19 things to improve your email marketing webinar presentation.

1. 19 things you can
do to improve
your email
marketing results
Web seminar
Presented by Michael Leander
• leander@michaelleander.com
• www.twitter.com/michaelleander
•+45 31 52 50 46

2. #emmc <<< please Tweet
HINT: http://www.twitter.com/michaelleander
Questions, clarification or anything else use this
email address: leander@michaelleander.com

3. Is email marketing really dead?

5. Invest 1 US$ get 43, 40, 39 US$ back

6. This is what is happening
70%
60%
50%
40%
OpenRate
30% CTR
20%
10%
0%
2000 2004 2007 2010

7. Main barriers to effective email marketing

8. Key problems for email marketers
across the board
One size fits all Irrelevant content Inconsistency

9. Whats wrong in MEA + APAC + CIS ?
• JPG blasts
• Show examples

10. The purpose of email
marketing is to acquire,
convert, sustain and grow
customers whom then in
turn will attract other
customers’ through
referrals

11. Poll 1: How many hours do you spend
on email marketing each week?

12. Success in email marketing requires
focus and experimentation
Time spent, investments & commitment to succeed is essential for email marketing

13. Some of the focus areas for
successful email marketing
Focus areas - general
• Content match target audience
• Desktop rendering
• Mobile & tablet rendering
• Timing & frequency
• Understand recipient behavior
Clean database of subscribers
• Inactive audience revival
• Clean up bounce, soft&hard
• Profiling match targeting
requirements
• etc

14. Check your database/list frequently !
Never active 40-60%
Seldom active
Active frequently
Always 2-5%
active

15. Understand thy list !
• Measure health of your list regularly
• Act on your findings – it is important
Measure Period Number of % of list total
Subscribers
Never Open All time 48,000 16.0%
Last 6 Months 168,000 56.0%
Never Click All time 96,000 32.0%
Last 6 Months 144,000 48.0%
Never Bought All time 48,000 16.0%
Last 6 Months 192,000 64.0%
Never Bought All time 96,000 32.0%
Online Last 6 Months 216,000 72.0%

16. Lufthansa – reactivate case

17. Experimentation in
email marketing
• Test frequency, timing
• Test sender name & structure
• Test subject lines
• Test template designs
• Test pre-headers
”Failure is a huge part of your
success in email marketing”

18. Which generated the best result in
terms of CTR = Click Through Rate?
A = 4,7% CTR vs. B = 4,2% CTR

19. Look and tell me which is most
likely to sell more magazines ?
Creative ways to construct
19 |
winning e-mails

20. Learn from magazine covers
2 key message + a few supporting 6 equal visual messages
What’s in it for me? = answer at a glance What’s in it for me?= not appealing
Design supporting the message One-size-fits-all design
Creative ways to construct
20 |
winning e-mails

21. Before & after, which won?
Creative ways to construct
21 |
winning e-mails

22. Did you learn anything yet?
4,4% CTR 9,9% CTR
2,8% UNIQUE CTR 6,5% UNIQUE CTR
ROMI = 4,7 ROMI = 10,8
Creative ways to construct
winning e-mails
22 |

23. Test your way to success
Test version A Test version B Main Broadcast
Send Volume: 10,000 Send Volume: 10,000 Send Volume: 180,000
Sample criteria: Random Sample criteria: Random Click through rate: 5.8%
Click through rate: 6.1% Click through rate: 4.5%

24. A/B split test LIVE – find winner in 1 hour
Italy
Germany

25. Short summary
Take away format & style for email marketing
– Techies usually favor text messages
– Youngsters usually favor image heavy messages
– But you really don’t know until you have tested
– If your ESP (Email Marketing Service Provider) cannot
offer you easy A/B split testing – ditch them & get
someone else. Seriously!
– Testing is a tedious process – takes time and has to be
done properly in order to bring desired benefits

27. Email Marketing Audit Components
1. Email Marketing Purpose & Objectives
2. Email Marketing Content Concept
3. Email Marketing Value Proposition
4. Permission Marketing and Privacy
5. Frequency and channels
6. Profiling, segmentation and subscription center tactics
7. Subscriber acquisition conversion ecosystem
8. Messaging tactics including welcome flow
9. Design in templates and design consistencies
10. Response tactics / inbound marketing
11. Data management including bounce management procedures
12. Use of behavioral data
13. Email Marketing Service Provider alignment with objectives
14. Triggers & events + transactional emails.
15. Deliverability and ISP issues

29. Incorporate social sharing

31. -> Link opens message
in social network
-> Default text to share
-> Track # of shares
-> Track # of conversions

32. Think the whole process through!
Email recipients
can add their
own comments
or endorsements
Users can Email Subject line
select a becomes “Title”
thumbnail from and “Mailing
some of the Notes” become
images in the description
email, or opt to teaser-text to be
not include a displayed.
picture

33. Construct winning e-mails
> ATTENTION
> INTEREST
> DESIRE
> ACTION
33 |

34. TOP TIP
Zoom of preheader


35. New screens means new challenges

37. • Design for touch image here
• > create your own if you have a smart phone

38. The desktop in decline…?
Share of device page traffic for News category (weekday)
Source: comScore Custom Analytics, U.S., August 2011

39. Mobile Email Design Best Practices
• A narrow email width
• Single column layout
• Super subject line
• Large headlines & CTAs
• Bullet proof buttons
• Graceful Degradation

40. http://www.smartinsights.com/email-marketing-ecrm-alerts/email-creative-best-practice-2011-style/

41. http://www.smartinsights.com/email-marketing-ecrm-alerts/email-creative-best-practice-2011-style/

42. http://www.smartinsights.com/email-marketing-ecrm-alerts/email-creative-best-practice-2011-style/

43. Mobile is about TOUCH

44. Remails & OTS
Send Tuesday Send Friday

45. Understand OTS and what has
changed in buying behavior
OTS Deadline
Eyeballs on your OTS by the time you
message many times ultimately want your
over a longer period audience to make a
of time decision = 5-15

46. Show DMA India communication

47. What is more important?
Sender Subject line

48. What says the consumers?
48

49. Test the sender name – and remember
what your end objective is
CONTROL TEST
From : PriceMinister Advice From : Sophie at PriceMinister
Click-Through rate: Index100 Click-Through rate : Index 156

50. Understand where your targets
are in the buying process
How do you
differentiate?
50

51. Anticipate needs < target offer
51

52. Targeted offer
based on search
(logged in)
52

53. Test subject lines
A. Get two brand new articles about branding
B. News in a flash – articles about branding
A -> 32%
B -> 42%

54. Ideas for testing subject lines
• Personalize or not
– Personalization in beginning or end of sentence
• Symbols such as  *
• Invert such so instead of
– Newsletter about petrol prices
– Newsletter about petrol prices

56. Distribute your focus properly !
Message/offer Target group
40% 40%
100%
10% 10%
Creative Deliverability

57. Design and content tips
• Write so that recipient will know that you are
familiar with her
– You have previously shown an interest in...
• Use emotional links effectively
– ”Learn how to improve your ....” instead of ”Read
more”
• Link to stories from text, images, buttons
• Include functional links in your template
– Opt-out, online version, Forward-to-a-friend etc

58. Design and content tips
• Test different size and
color of headlines
• Test different size and
color of copy and
long/short copy
• When using link to
video show
playbutton
• Include ”what’s next”
to keep reader from
opt-out

59. Think like a publisher!

60. How much are you willing to invest?
The price of acquiring a permission depends on how
much information you require
B2C – level of profiling B2B – level of profiling Acquisition
cost
Email address only Email address only 1 to 75
+ First name, last name, + First name, last name,
gender position
4
+ Postal address + Postal address
+ Telephone/mobile + Telephone/mobile
+ Info about buying intend + info about buying intend
+ Special interests / + Special interests / 5 and upwards
qualifying information qualifying information
60

61. Capture only data you intend to use

62. 2. Acquisition tips

63. Acquisition flow tactics
• What are you offering (content concept?)
• What is the incentive?
• Email only -> then to form with more fields
• Minimal # of fields and then profile later
• Full profile required
• A mix

64. Version B
Version A - One page
First page
Version B
Second page
Version A’s one-page form boosted sign-ups
from total traffic 51% and sign-ups from PPC traffic 113%.

65. Creating your email value proposition
Your email value proposition is your
sales pitch to get subscribers to
register/opt-in
65

66. As a minimum you must address
these questions - relentlessly
1. What are
you offering?
2. ”What’s in
it for me?”
3. Frequency
– how often?

67. …but it is ”good taste” to include
4. Privacy policy / link
5. Opt-out instructions You can unsubscribe anytime you want by following
the link included in each email we send you
6. What happens next? You will receive an email confirming your subscription.
Your first newsletter/message will reach your inbox within
the next 5 days
7. Reference sample
emails/preview
67

68. Structure of your USP / Email
Value Proposition
• Benefit driven – precise – ask
Headline a question if possible
Benefits/value • What’s in it for me?
Call to action • What do you want me to do?
• We don’t spam, sell /rent
Security addresses etc
68

69. Structure - suggestion
Free web seminar alerts
Headline, USP, frequency Get your alerts about free marketing
events once a week.
What is wrong here? First name:___________________
Last name:___________________
Email:_______________________
You can unsubscribe anytime you want. Read
Security our privacy policy here. We do not spam.
69

70. Landing page
Unique Free gift
Email marketing multiplies
Proposition conversion rates
Benefits +
content
concept
Customize ->
show care
about
relevancy
Re-confirm
Value
proposition
and USPs

71. What to consider for your landing page
and variations of sign-up form
• Headline
• Long Copy vs. Short Copy
• Credibility Logos
• Security Assurance
• Banner Present vs. Not Present
• Submit Button / Order Button Text
• Audio / Video Message
• Testimonials
• Urgency
• Price

72. Cheapest acquisition channel
95% of visitors leave quickly
Fact: You have 8 seconds to engage
(c) Michael Leander Nielsen,
72

73. Give sign-up
a prominent
position

74. Does Size Really Matter When It Comes
to Email Opt-In Form Overlays?
Got + 8,8% increase
A B
74

75. Integrate call to actions on all pages
Banner and text links are on the same web-page
15%
85%
POLL 4: Which produced more sign-ups – the banner or the text link?

77. Acquiring permission through social media

78. BALANCE STREAM
27
18
22
21
0
29
39
41
14
34

81. 3. Welcome message flow

82. First impressions last !
• What is so special about the first hour after
somebody signs up to your email
communcation?
• Where is your opportunity ?

83. You’ve got a new ”permission” –
now treat her nice with a welcome program
• Use sequential auto-responder program
Welcome
email with 5 days later First
offer e-mail newsletter And so on
1 day later: 10 days Satisfaction
Our most later email survey;
popular how are we
stories doing, how
(offers, can we
videos etc) improve, is
this for you

84. Reaffirm
the value you
offer
Push profile
update – increase
knowledge
Give a reason to
respond now

85. Use your common sense to increase
your results
Offer
Extension
Welcome
Email
Time-limited
offer

86. What you can include
• What you promised at sign-up if anything
• Repeat the USP
• Include subscriber data and link to profiling
• Special welcome offer
• Safe-sender instructions
• Sign-up for other newsletters
• Opt-out instructions !
• Etc.

87. T: twitter.com/michaelleander
M: +45 27 28 29 53
E: leander@michaelleander.com

88. • Content concept -> sign-up process
• Acquisition (8 out of 10)
• Welcome flow
• Video in email (play button/navigation)
• Test header
• Test format
• ALT text
• Timing / frequency
• Sign-up form
• Acquisition
• Sharing in social networks
• Optimize across email clients
• Optimize for rendering in mobile