16. Email Marketing
Open rate
% of *emails* determined as opened out of the total number of emails sent (usually about *11%*)
Tactics used by US B2B Companies to promote e-commerce activities
*1. Email Marketing (92%)* 2. *Mailers* that refer to websites with more information about a specific product or promotion (86%) *3. Online sales support via phone (84%)* 4. Sales representative credit for online and offline revenue (67%) 5. Updates e-commerce websites (66%)
Spam Percentage
*over 50% emails* sent are considered spam.
What is meant by 'mass customisation', and why is this so beneficial?
- *one-to one* marketing on a *macro scale*. - By creating valuable content, establishing the correct frequency and testing the email for display and deliverability 👉ensure an excellent *delivery rate* - Permission-based email marketing can give the highest return on investment of any marketing activities.
Email Marketing
- A type of *direct* digital marketing that uses electronic mail (also called email or e-mail) as the *marketing communication delivery method*. - used in a number of ways by organizations and marketers for *brand and customer loyalty building*, acquiring or converting customers, company advertisements, or for communicating promotional offers and more
Relevance
- Content based on *customer interests* - Original, fresh information about products, services, events
Welcome E-mail
- Immediate interest warrants(보증하다) immediate communication - leverage customer's interest to engage and acquire - *Trigger-based*: systems can be established to send an email immediately following the sign up process
Emails that are expected and recognised are more likely to be read. How can a marketer use this knowledge to increase the readership of emails?
- Structuring the email content into *segments*, making use of borders or colour blocks to accentuate and divide content. - important to balance *image and text* in the emails. e.g. Make a point of placing images next to the relevant text.
Alt text
- This refers to the 'alt' attribute for the IMG HTML tag. - It is used in *HTML to attribute a text field to an image* on a web page, normally with a descriptive function. - telling a user what an image is about and displaying the text in instances where the image is unable to load. - Avoid using images to convey important content. Make sure that there is alt text for all images used in the email. = Alt Tag.
Permission-Based (Opt-In)
- giving permission for emails to be sent to you. - Confirmation e-mail at opt-in - Easy to unsubscribe / opt-out - Provide clear benefits / value proposition for subscribing
Email Preference Center
- users can manage frequency, type of content received, format - very valuable for ensuring a relevant, highly engaged email marketing database of customers
Obstacles to Email growth
1. *Content relevance/value* (44%) 2. List growth expertise (43%) 3. Email list hygiene/accuracy (40%) 4. Strategy effectiveness (39%) 5. Externally sourced list quality (23%) 6. Social audience conversion (19%)
Which marketing channels provide good ROI?
1. *Email marketing (79%-agencies/companies-66%)* 2. SEO (organic search) (76% - agencies/ 73% - companies)
What are the ways to build the email database?
1. E-commerce sales 2. Online & offline promotions/contests 3. Trade-Shows 4. Satisfaction surveys 5. Networking 6. Buying a list: there are companies that will sell a list of email addresses that are allegedly targeted (e.g. male fishermen, female doctors, etc.). It's important to note that although you are allowed to send one unsolicited(청하지않은) email to anyone, they must opt-in(사전동의) to receive additional emails.
Email Marketing Components
1. Marketing Goals 2. Deliverability 3. Segmentation 4. List creation and Mgmt 5. Branding + Look and Feel 6. Analysis and Reporting
How many e-mail users?
1.3 billion
an 80-word plain text e-mail is about
10 KB
How many email is sent each day?
2 billion
How many hours does the average knowledge worker spend on online communication each day? (including e-mail)
2.1 hours
how long does the average person spend each day for managing unsolicited(청하지 않은) e-mail (or spam)?
2.8 minutes
The average size of an e-mail?
75 KB
What are the key differences between direct marketing by email and direct marketing by post?
<email marketing> - can go a long way to increasing the *lifetime value of that customer.* - highly measurable - databases are able to be easily and thoroughly segmented - can be marked as spam - can be difficult to recover from being branded as a spammer by the ISPs.
Click rate
=CTR = number of clicks/number of impressions - usually about *2%* - *if subject line 길어지면 클릭횟수 줄어듬!*
Email Service Providers (ESP)
A company which offers email marketing or bulk email services. - A commercial ESP may provide *tracking information* showing the status of email sent to each member of an address list. - often provide the ability *to segment an address list* into interest groups or categories 👉allowing the user to send *targeted information* to people who they believe will value the correspondence
White list
A list of *accepted email addresses* that an ISP, a subscriber or other email service provider *allows to deliver messages* regardless of spam filter settings.
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Which country is the spam origin country?
U.S. (19.8% - 1st)
Zando case
Zando achieves a *78% open rate* by implementing email marketing best practices. (Digital Fire created an email campaign with an enticing Call to Action at its core.) <Key elements that contributed to campaign's success> 1) A well-managed and filtered email contact database 2) Striking design 3) Effective copy 4) A strong Call to Action 5) An enticing incentive 6) The entering mechanism where the reader and a friend's details were requested
How many percentage is the spam on e-mails?
over *97%*
Email Marketing
tool for building relationships with both existing and potential customers - maximize the retention and value of these customers, which should ultimately lead to a *greater return on investment*
Design consideration
users read or scan emails following *F shape*
Key Benefits of Email Marketing
1. Low cost per contact 2. Highly targeted 3. Relatively easy to customize/personalize 4. Highly measureable
E-mail Marketing Provides High ROI
1. *Permission Based*: Audience is asking for/seeking information 2. Subscriber Driven: Subscribers indicate what they want and how frequently (metrics such as *open rate, click-throughs, and conversions* provide valuable insight) 3. Easy Implementation & Versatile(변동성이 있는) -> Tools abound(풍성하다) making email sends and email management very easy 4. Email marketing returned *$43.62* for every dollar spent on it in 2009, and is expected to return *$42.08* for every dollar spent on it in 2010. (Direct Marketing Association) 5. *67%* of subscribers say they've purchased products offline as a direct result of receiving an email from a retail company. (Epsilon - 2009 Report) 6. *89%* of retailers cited email is the most mentioned successful tactic overall.
What are the parts of an email?
1. *Sender information* - includes the 'to', 'from' and 'reply to' fields. - to build a relationship through creating a perception of familiarity. e.g. personalised company email address (for example, [email protected]) for the 'reply' field creates familiarity and builds trust with the reader. - 'from' address should also include the organisation's name. 2. *Subject line* - most important part of an email - help the reader to identify the email and entice(lead) them to open it - scrutinised by spam filters, and so *you should avoid using characters*, for example, '#2$%&^^%###' or '!!!!!' - Consistent subject lines, using the name of the company and the newsletter edition 👉can build familiarity and help readers to sort their inbox 3. *Preheader* - a line or two of text displayed above your email header. - will redirect you to 'View online' - try including your *Call to Action in the preheader*. 👉does ensure that *every recipient* (even those who don't necessarily open the email, but who view only the preheader within the preview pane or inbox) *will still be exposed to it* 4. *Header* - colorful banner or image - contains the logo(important for branding) 5. *Personalised greeting* - *"Hi, Kim Morgan"* can elicit *far better responses* than "Dear Valued Customer" 6. *Body* - the content of the email - Don't be tempted to use too many images; it increases size of email/can be read without an image being loaded. 7. *Footer* - helps to build consistency - customary place to keep the contact details of the company sending the email - include the name, physical address, contact email of the company, privacy policy of the sender - *clear unsubscribe link* should be on footer!
What is important to highlight with respect to writing for email marketing?
1. *in-email links* - *any links you include in your email copy will lead readers away from your email.* - keep these to a *minimum* - include a link only when it is a *Call to Action*, a 8legal requirement* or a *service feature* 2. *subject line* - Many users decide whether or not to open an email based on their *first point of contact*
Reasons that US internet users sign up for emails from companies
1. *to receive discounts* (80.1%) 2. to receive tailored/exclusive offers(35.9%) 3. to get product/service updates (30.7%) 4. if I love brand
CTR according to the number of social media links included in the message
1. 3 icons or more (11.20%) 2. 2 icons (9.30%)
Open rate by subject line length
1. 4-15 (16.8%) 2. 16-27 (13.4%) *the longer the subject line is, the less the open rate is.*
Types of ESP Services
1. Ability to create *multiple templates & campaigns* 2. Ability to A/B test and segment customers 3. Dynamic personalization 4. Ensure delivery (white list) 5. Email client compatibility testing 6. Analytics
Email Marketing for Various Purposes
1. Acquisition - creating *interest* for products and services to be purchased 2. Awareness - Letting audience know about events, new products, product highlights, promotions 3. Retention & Loyalty - Newsletters, special deals for existing customers
E-Mail Structure
1. Anatomy of an email (layout) - fields (to, from, subject) - body copy - landing page(the page a user reaches when clicking on a paid or organic search engine listing) 2. Messaging: Be succinct(간결한) and to the point(간단 명료한) 3. Target: Focus on need and interests of your recipient
Frequency
1. Avoid too many emails that clutter(너무 많은 것들을 채워넣다) inboxes and repeat messaging 2. Frequency interests likely change over time 3. Strike a *balance* between intruding/annoying (too much) and unmemorable (too little) - 일정 점 지나면 profit 감소하는데, 그 점 넘지 않기!
Key Email Build and Send Considerations
1. Email copy(all of the *written content* of an email message) 2. Subject line 3. Use of imagery 4. Call(s) to action (CTA) 5. Layout(배치) 6. *Send frequency*
Primary type of offers that US email users like to receive in Marketing/Advertising emails
1. Free Shipping(All age)
Top Reasons for Unsubscribing
1. Frequency (35.4%-2013/30.7%-2012) 2. Relevance (24.5%-2013/31.4%-2012) 3. Inbox is overloaded 4. Tired of Brand
<to ensure optimal rendering on mobile devices>
1. Generally, most emails are designed to be *600px* wide to display well in an email preview pane - and this scales well on typical mobile screen sizes. On a *320px* screen, an email can be zoomed out to *50%* and display perfectly; similarly, on a *480px* screen it can display at *75%* 2. *Host* your email newsletters online and link to them from your preheader. That way, anyone who opens your email on a mobile - even those whose mobile phones display emails in plain text - can click straight through to an HTML version of your newsletter. 3. *Design* your email in a *grid system*. This means your content needs to be laid out in *vertically and horizontally* aligned blocks, with gaps in between. ==> Doing this will make it easier for various operating systems and email clients to scale your email down to fit a mobile screen. This is not a guarantee that the email will display properly in mobile, but it should solve the problem for most mobile devices (such as iPhone and BlackBerry) which auto-fit HTML emails. 4. Make sure that you *include alt text* for your images! Your email needs to convey its message with or without images. 5. Mobile devices that don't automatically scale your email down will display the content on the *left* of your email first. *Make sure that your most important content is placed here.* 6. Button links need to be at least *44px* to render well on mobile phones. -->make sure your links are placed in a *30-45px* area, with a margin of at least *15px* around them; easier for touchscreen users to follow through on your Call to Action.
Social Media Integration
1. Incorporate social media icons and incentive to share with friends 2. Study found that e-mails that included options like share on Facebook or Twitter generated a *30% higher click-through rate* than emails without them.
What kind of device do people use most to check their email?
1. Laptop or desktop computer (93.3%) 2. Smartphone (67.2%) - Mobile opens increase *123%* in 18 months 3. Tablet (42.3%)
Measurement
1. Measure customer interactions - open rate - CTR/Conversion - opt-out rate(Also known as unsubscribe. The act of removing oneself from a list or lists so that specified information is no longer received via email) - forward rate(Pass-on rate) - Number of unique emails opened - Number of emails delivered 2. *A/B testing*(Also known as a split test, it involves testing two versions of the same page or site to see which performs better) to measure subject line, content, and call to action *effectiveness* 👉This test include: - *Open rates* across different subject lines and delivery times - Optimal number of links in an email for clickthrough rates and conversions. - Different copy styles and copy length - The effect of video on delivery rates, open rates and conversions - Balance of text and image ratio. 3. Optimize based on analysis
What should be considered not to be regarded as 'spam mail'?
1. Name, surname and title -->should be separated in your database 2. Date permission granted 3. Source of permission 4. Gender 5. County 6. Telephone number, preferably mobile 7. Date of Birth 8. Frequency (how often they'd like to hear from you)
Every interaction can be used to ask permission to send emails.
1. Offer something *valuable*, and ask if they would sign up to your newsletter at the same time (for example, white paper, gift voucher, music track) 2. Add a subscribe box to the checkout process of your retail site. 3. Use interactions at trade shows to ask for email addresses. 4. Ask for email addresses in store. 5. Call out your email campaign on your social networks, and link through to your subscription form.
KPI(Key Performance Indicators) Considerations
1. Promotional: - purchase rate - Download rate (e.g. white paper - 시사이슈) - contact us/request for more information rate 2. Informational (Newsletters) - Open rate - Click-Through rate - Forward rate - Database growth rate - ROI - Number of social shares - Conversion rate (activity on your site generated by email) - Delivery or bounce rate(bounce rate-the number of people who view one page and then leave a website without viewing any other pages
best practice tips for sign-up forms
1. Put the sign-up form *where it can be seen* - above the fold and on every page. 2. State your *anti-spam* stance explicitly, and be clear that you value subscribers' privacy. 3. Clearly state what the subscriber's information will be used for. 4. Use a clear Call to Action. 5. Tell subscribers what they will get, and how often they will get it. Include a benefit statement. 6. Ensure the email address is correct by checking the syntax. 7. Test to see what works best!
Platform & Viewing Considerations
1. There are many email platforms - *don't assume images will work* or *layout will be consistent* 2. Consider preview panes and mobile devices
E-mail open and click rates for welcome emails vs. general bulk mailings
1. Total Opens: 57.8% 2. Total Clicks: 14.4% -> open rates for welcome emails are substantially *higher* than other emails.
Type of Emails
1. Transactional (thank you for your purchase, delivery checking, thank you for contacting us, etc) 2. Newsletter 3. Promotional / Special Offers 4. New Product / Service
How could you make your reputation score higher?
1. Use these authentication standards 1)*Sender ID* - A method used by major ISPs to confirm that an *email does originate from the domain* that it claims to have been sent from 2)*Sender policy framework (SPF)* - An extension of SMTP that stops email spammers from forging(구축하다) the 'From' fields in an email. 3) *DomainKeys* - designed to verify the DNS domain of an email sender and the message integrity 2. Strive to boost your database, but don't forget to clean as you go 3. Ensure that email broadcast rates are not too high 4. Respond to complaints and unsubscribe requests 5. Educate users about white lists(A list of *accepted email addresses* that an ISP, a subscriber or other email service provider allows to deliver messages regardless of spam filter settings)
Relationship btw email open rate and transaction rate
1. Welcome emails had an open rate ≈ *4x* higher than other promotional mailings and a click rate of 14.4% - bulk mailings had a click rate of 2.7% 2. Welcome emails had a transaction rate of *.94%*, compared with *.1%* for other mailings
Top 5 email marketing priorities for 2015
1. improve *segmentation and targeting* 2. utilizing *real-time data* 3. greater *use of analytics* to optimize our communications 4. improve email inbox delivery of our messages 5. centralizing our customer data and making it actionable
Personalization
1. leverage customer name to address personally 2. Use demographic data to customize messaging (e.g. age, sex, location) 3. Draw on(의지하다) behavioral data to target customer interests (e.g. products purchased, products looked at)
What is the characteristics of Email Marketing?
1. one of the *oldest* and yet *most powerful of all digital marketing tactics 2. Extremely *cost effective* due to a *low cost* per contact 3. Highly *targeted* 4. *Customizable* on a mass scale 5. Completely *measurable*
Customer Marketing Model
Awareness 👇 Interest and Engagement 👇 Acquisition 👇 Customer Segmentation 👇 Customer Retention 👇 Support and Advocacy 👉 go back to Awareness
CTAs(Call To Action)
CTAs should be: simple, quick, clear actions that don't require the user to do anything scary or make a commitment.
Which country is the host of global spammer websites?
China (73.58% out of 99.68%)
Where is email marketing best utilized in the Customer Marketing Model?
Most organizations tend to focus on *retention and segmentation*, especially when their products/services do not change often