TOP 5 EMAIL MARKETING PERFORMAMCE IMPROVEMENT TRENDS FOR 2013 Karen Talavera, Synchronicity Marketing April 3, 2013 A Hiscox Google+ Hangout
Today s Presenter: Karen Talavera Nationally-recognized email marketing expert, educator, writer, speaker and consultant The DMA s email marketing training instructor since 1999 Member Email Experience Council, Only Influencers Top 100 Women in Ecommerce 2012 by WE magazine President and Founder, Synchronicity Marketing Founded 2003 Email Marketing Strategy, Training & Consulting Based in south Florida serving clients worldwide
1 Grow Your List with an Ask Leverage online opportunities to ask site visitors for their email address at intentionally-placed, natural points in the browsing, shopping or buying process
Why? Many sites lacking a clear place to sign up for email, or visitors can t find it Active more effective than passive approach Natural points to ask for email address and permission to use for marketing exist in many conversion processes don t waste them Consider trading value give something in exchange for a subscribe
How? Light boxes only 22% of online marketers using them today Interruptive yet controlled appearance Tip: Display only to new visitors, allow easy exit Can yield 100-300% list growth over more passive measures Lead magnets Widgets, snippets or other areas of a site offering something in exchange for email list sign-up During Purchase online or off Ask for the email address to send both transactional and marketing messages Source: Experian 2012 email acquisition and engagement tactics white paper
Example Light Box Leslie Shreve, a timemanagement and productivity consultant, offers a free special report in exchange for email sign-up on the website for her business, Productive Day After new visitors are on the site for a few seconds, this lightbox appears
Example Lead Magnets
2 Think Series vs. Single Message
Why? Not everyone on your list sees every individual message you send Some hit junk folders Many delete on contact never open Frequency breeds familiarity, trust and reliability Multiple messages over a short period of time improve message and brand recall A series creates and manages expectations for more email, and how much Series vs. single creates continuity
How? Welcome series Free content, training module, etc. Pre-, During- and Post-Offer series Tell them it s coming, tell the it s here, and tell them again Abandonment series Target those who abandon a transaction or conversion process on your site with a second chance offer and reminder series vs. a single email Reactivation series Reach out to inactive subscribers
Example: New Subscriber Series Leslie Shreve offers a free 7-Power Steps to Peak Productivity e-course to new email subscribers. The course content is delivered through a series of daily email messages, one a day for seven days in a row.
Wrap-Up and Transition At the end of a series consider a recap or summary link to seven email tips consolidated into one document Manage expectations about what s coming next. This PS is about her newsletter and other regular email 12
Broadcast Complements Triggered Monthly newsletter maintains and continues relationship 13
Example: Exclusive Offer Series For new product introductions, special promotions, sales and events don t rely on a single email message to effectively do the job of getting the word out Craft a series and track response from each message Coach tells you it s coming, tells you it s here, and reminds you when it s almost over, giving subscribers multiple chances to respond
Example: Coach Series Sent one day after the pre-sale announcement, this email announces the sale has officially begun Notice special offer period is from January 18-27 (about ten days). Plenty of time for multiple emails
Example: Coach Series Fourth in the series, this reminder is sent half-way through the sale period Notice the creative variety in the series thus far each message features different products from the same collection but does not repeat imagery
Example: Coach Series The final message in the series is sent on a Friday, two days before the offer deadline on Sunday Notice the creative from message #2 reused here (why go back to the drawing board if you don t absolutely have to?)
3 Segment, Target & Trigger Leverage opportunities to send life-cycle or sales-cycle specific messages at exactly the right time
Why? One size does NOT fit all Some messages should be broadcast to your entire list, but most should not Triggered email messages can generate 10 times the revenue and 20+ times the profit of broadcast campaigns Sensing and responding to key actions shows you re paying attention and results in a more engaged list and more loyal customers Source: Jupiter Research Survey
How? Determine key actions that deserve triggered email New subscriber joins email list First purchase Life event (birthday, anniversary of being a customer) Deadline date Inactive subscriber after x months Abandoned online purchase/conversion Create custom email messages that are sent when someone trips a trigger Create once, automate ongoing deployment Smaller but more relevant audiences
Triggered Email: The Welcome The Center for Joyful Business, a small business coaching company, offers a 5-Step Business Attraction Success Kit to new email list members This welcome message also provides useful information about the newsletter and blog Use your welcome message to: Thank new subscribers Familiarize them with your world Manage expectations Deliver promised incentives Make first promotional (thank you or email-subscriber-exclusive) offer
Triggered Email: Birthday Birthday emails like this one from my Allstate Insurance agent have been proven to generate: 300% higher open rates 100% higher click-through 250% higher revenue than standard promotional mailings They get attention because they re personal, and stand out because they create variety in the message stream Can be used promotionally to make a birthday-specific offer Source: Experian Birthday and Anniversary Email White Paper 2011
Triggered Email: Cart Abandonment If you have an online store, consider sending browse or cart abandonment follow-up emails to known customers who shopped but didn t buy, like Pottery Barn Teen does here Online cart abandonment rate is typically 60%! However, abandoned cart emails can convert at15% - 20% You can offer an incentive to come back and buy (i.e. free shipping) but it s often unnecessary Source: Listrak 2012 Study
Triggered Email: Bounceback Offer Recognize and reward repeat customers like Office Depot does with a bounce back offer thanking them for their purchase and inviting them to bounce back in to purchase again
Triggered Email: Up-sell Use past behavior to target, segment and drive future behavior Carmel Limo recognizes a recent booking on arrival to New York and messages client with reminder and invitation to book return trip
4 Design for Universal Accessibility
Why? Gone are the days of email being received and viewed on a desktop or laptop computer 50% of all commercial email now opened on a mobile device Proliferation of devices with different screen sizes, email rendering rules, etc. cam wreak havoc with your design 70% of consumers routinely delete emails that don t render well on a mobile device Source: Litmus, 2013 BlueHornet Consumer Email Study
How? Simplify! Format, design, copy, call to action Single vs. multi-column formats tend to render better on mobile Test how your email looks across multiple devices Design headlines, chose fonts, and position images for maximum readability on small screens Dark text on white or light-colored background Responsive design
Example Mobile-friendly or not?
5 Measure Long-Term Engagement Focus on subscriber engagement with your email program over the long-term vs. campaign-tocampaign response
Why? Most email campaign performance measures like open and click rate only measure the performance of a single campaign However, email list subscriber relationships exist over time; subscribers don t see a single campaign but a series of communication A campaign click rate or an average campaign click rate does not say how subscribers are interacting as a whole. Unless you measure total engagement over time with your email, you re not measuring the true, full value of your email marketing
How? Measure open, click and conversion rate by campaign but also measure cumulative open, click and conversion rate for multiple campaigns over time. Graph a frequency distribution of actions your email list members take. How many have only ever opened an email once? How many open and click every message? How many have only purchased/converted once? How many are repeat purchasers? Design campaigns to target segments needing more engagement, or reward high engagers
Example List Reach Analysis
THANK YOU! QUESTIONS? Site and Blogs www.synchronicitymarketing.com www.hiscoxusa.com Email: karen@synchronicitymarketing.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/synchronicitymarketing LinkedIn: Twitter: www.linkedin.com/in/karentalavera @SyncMarketing Phone: 561.967.9665