Email Marketing Breakout Session from BU Glenwood Springs

1. Email Marketing with Constant Contact

2. Why Email Marketing?

3. New to Constant Contact? Sign up here: http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?pn=blizzardinternet

4. Building your list

5. DO NOT BUY LISTS!

6. Make a plan Build a 6-month minimum promotion/sales plan. Events should be marketed with a average booking window + 2-month lead time. Create blasts based on content you can multipurpose. New 4th of July special tied to beach fireworks event can be used in many ways in your marketing strategy Email Blast, Website banner ad, PPC Campaign, Chamber Ad buy, Press Release,

7. Segmentation Don’t send 1 blast to your entire list – different segments of your audience want different messages. Segmentation Options: Transportation: Drive to vs. Fly to Group size: Family vs. Retiree Length of Stay: 7-day stay vs. midweek vs. long weekend Interests: Golf vs. beach

8. How do you Segment? ASK! Website Opt-in in the Constant Contact system allows you to ask many questions that can help you send the right message to the right person. Require important fields like First Name and City & State let them choose the kind of information they want to receive

10. Build a Blast

11. Tips for Effective Blasts

12. 1) Healthy combination of text & Images

13. Which Test Won? Version A Version B http://whichtestwon.com/archives/4579

14. 2) Determine the appropriate format!

15. 3) Just the facts, please Email only essential info Use bullets & summaries Link directly to the info Give instructions if necessary Link to more in-depth info on landing pages or pdfs if necessary – don’t fill up your blast with words!

16. 4) Make it easy to buy!

17. 5) Calls to Action!

18. Avoid Spam Speak

19. 5) WHY they should buy? Include testimonials & reviews Offer coupons & discounts Share your knowledge of the area

20. 6) Make your Brand Consistent

21. 7) Landing Pages Make sure your message is consistent Land your recipients on a page that is designed specifically for that offer Use this same landing page for banner ads, PPCs, etc.

22. 8) WHEN to send?

23. 9) DON’T Send it & Forget it! Unopened blasts are an opportunity to improve, not a lost sale Resend your blast 5-7 days later to those who didn’t open it with a new subject line to improve your open rate.

24. Sent = total blasts sent in this send Bounces = Email that is returned because of a bad address, or mailbox was full or email was blocked. Spam Reports – Loose rule is 1/100 sent – make sure your list is recent & clean Opt-outs are people who unsubscribe via the link at the bottom of the blast Opens = those that INTERACTED with the email – downloaded an image or clicked a link – not necessarily “read” rate Clicks = those that clicked on something in the email Forwards = those that sent your blast to someone else