Developing Email Marketing Templates John M. Nicoletta
Agenda I. Tips for Effective Email Campaigns II. Review of imis Communication Suite III. Developing Email Templates
No matter how beautiful the email template may be, if the email campaign is not well thought out, it will not produce the desired results. Lipstick on a Pig
What is your Quest? The Email Campaign should have a clear and measurable purpose, which will determine the overall tone, format, and design of the email template.
Know Your Audience Segment target populations. Craft message to specific target groups. Message format, style, and tone may vary among groups.
Create Compelling Subject Lines Grab recipient s attention and compel them to click into the message. Personalization may produce higher click through rates. A/B Testing within groups may determine what works best for your organization.
Use Action Language Message should clearly and succinctly direct the recipient to the desired purpose, without being obnoxious. Avoid use of ALL CAPS and exclamation points!!! Include a deadline to convey a sense of urgency.
SPAMALOT is a Broadway show Emailing your members is not free. Fine line between stylized message and spam filter trigger. Test messages for spam filter ratings. Offering unsubscribe link is not just a good idea, it s the law!
Be Conversational Avoid formal communications that read like a form letter. Regardless of your members profession, they are human, and personalized communication will get their attention.
Include Strong Call to Action Link or button to desired action should be presented clearly. Desired action should be easily accomplished on target of provided link or button (landing page).
Flat Earth Chapter Members Every organization has them. How will your campaign handle them? Provide web options for completing desired action off-line.
Spelling & Grammar Count Don t rely on application spell / grammar checker. Have several coworkers proofread message before sending.
Test, Measure, Repeat Develop plan for measuring response before sending message. Measure opt-outs from each campaign. Online apps available to help track delivered, opened, and clicked thru rates.
I. Tips for Effective Email Campaigns QUESTIONS?
II. Review of imis Communication Suite
New Features in Q42015 Release Advanced Email PLUS Licensed Module ($) Provides Delivered, Opened, Clicked Metrics Configurable Dashboards and Graphs Metrics available on Staff Site member profile under Recent Interactions Send through bonded hosted server
Recent Interactions Standard RiSE Dynamic Content Item (ipart) Part of Staff View Profile Can be added to member profile
Default Template Used when the Email button on the Profile is clicked. Must be named Default. Save to Templates folder since Samples folder is overwritten on upgrades.
Order Confirmation Template Customize standard confirmation message that is sent for all web transactions. Order Detail block contains line items from the Checkout Basket. Identify Order Confirmation under Settings > Commerce > General.
Message Types Group like messages together. Allow members to opt out of individual Types. Communication Suite automatically filters out members not opted-in to selected Type.
Types can be configured as Opt In or Opt Out. System Types (Primary, Billing, Shipping) cannot be edited. Create/Update Types under Settings > Contacts > Communications Preferences Message Types
Source Queries (IQA) Found under Manage Communications Templates. Can create sub-folders to manage different query types. Create IQAs with same or similar data columns so single Template can be used with multiple IQAs
Source Queries (IQA) Email field does not need to be in query results. (Name.EMAIL used by default) Return all columns that may be needed for Email Template. Records without email addresses automatically filtered out.
Message Type Filter No Message Type Selected Marketing Type Selected
Maximize Deliverability Add SMTP server IP to SPF record in DNS entry. Respect and obey Anti-SPAM regulations that apply to your location and across your membership. Review bounced messages and reconfigure templates.
II. Review of imis Communication Suite QUESTIONS?
III. Developing Email Templates
Template Folders Copy standard imis templates out of Samples folder. Can create additional folders to segregate custom templates. Use descriptive names to distinguish between similar templates.
Deconstructing Templates Header Image file Text using style sheet tags Keynote Speaker Image file Empty table row with background color Google Maps screen capture image file Link to Google Maps Directions for Hotel Location Registration web page link Collection of image files to create ribbon appearance and social media icons
Header Image file Deconstructing Templates
Deconstructing Templates Empty table row with background color
Text using style sheet tags Deconstructing Templates
Deconstructing Templates Google Maps screen capture image file Link to Google Maps Directions for Hotel Location
Keynote Speaker Image file Deconstructing Templates
Registration web page link Deconstructing Templates
Deconstructing Templates Collection of image files to create ribbon appearance and social media icons
Template with Repeating Row
Create Attendee Query Query must include the NetContact source. Query must return single row for each active registrant for desired event. This will be used as the Recipient List.
Create Attendee Query
Create Program Items Query Query must include NetContact source. Query must include NetContact.iMIS ID as Required filter. Query must only return active program items (functions) for specific event. This will be used as an Additional Data Source in the Message Template
Create Program Items Query
Attach Sources to Template Attendee Query will be used as Recipient source. Program Items Query will be used as Additional source. Use Alias with Program Items Query to keep Template generic.
Attach Sources to Template
Attach Sources to Template
Wrap Detail Lines in {foreach}
Preview Message
Summary Copy supplied Samples and use as guide. Use HTML codes and tags to stylize message template. Link to web hosted graphics for efficiency and consistency. Access to stylize standard web transaction confirmation. Use multiple sources and {foreach} tags to create stylized event confirmation.
Additional Resources imis Online Documentation http://docs.imis.com imis20 Q42015 Release Notes http://help.imis.com/q42015/features/ Marketing/Communications/Communications.htm
Questions? Thank You!