Saffire Events Presentation: Email Marketing with Rodeo Austin

transcript

IS EMAIL DEAD?(No! And we’ll tell you why!)

Kendra Wright, Saffire EventsJennie Richmond, Rodeo Austin

Software for Events. Your Event. Online.

www.saffireevents.com

PresentersKendra WrightPresidentSaffire Events

Experience:• Began building

websites in 1995 for Fortune 1000 company

• Started her own online consulting company in 1998

• Loves doing online marketing that persuades people to pull out their wallets

Jennie RichmondManagerStar of Texas Fair & Rodeo

Experience:• Studied advertising at

University of Texas• 6 years of marketing

experience with Rodeo Austin

• Currently heads up Membership, Scholarship and Ticketing departments

Email with social media

Compelling reasons to email

• Email is the top revenue generator for many companies (even above social media)

• Email gives some of the fastest results, often within 24 hours

• Email is the most cost-effective marketing tool

Why We Chose Rodeo Austin

• Our first Saffire partner• People love their emails!

Guide to Email Marketing

Make a game plan

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include good

imagery

Use a strong subject

Track the performan

Learn and Repeat

Step 1: Make a game plan

Make a game plan

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include good

imagery

Use a strong subject

Track the performan

Learn and Repeat

Set your goals

• General goals– What we want to tell people– What people want to hear

• Rodeo Austin examples– Inform constituents of events/news/promotions

and get them to BUY!– Keep Rodeo Austin top of mind for casual

consumers, so they are more likely to come to the event

– Let community know about year-round non-profit things Rodeo Austin does

What will you say?

• Get the team together and brainstorm– Think of all reasons people come to your

event–Match topics to reasons

• Think of the “Rule of Thirds”– 1/3 talking about yourself and your brand– 1/3 talking about things people might be

interested in that aren’t self-promotional– 1/3 just interacting with people

Flesh out the detailsPlan for:• When will you say it?– Time of day– Day of week

• How often will you say it?• How will you send email?– SaffireMail™– Other tools

How Rodeo Austin does it

• 20-25 “year-round” emails per year– No more than 2 per month

• Once-a-month email newsletter– Extension of printed newsletter, with offers,

announcements and articles– Goal – Inform and sell!

• Occasional one-subject blasts– Entertainment line-up, gala, golf tourney, etc.

• During event “season”– Today at the rodeo every day

Create an editorial calendar

When will you say it?

• Statistics are clear – Day of week: Tuesday (try Friday for

fun!)– Time of day: Mid-morning

• Unless you’re big, don’t publicize schedule

Step 2: Create a list of recipients

Make a

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include

good imagery

strong

subject

Track the performance

and Repe

How will you email people?

• SaffireMail™ is built into Saffire– You can use it even if not Saffire client– Others include Constant Contact &

MagnetMail– Look for per-email and monthly,

unlimited plans

• Email signups from your website go directly into the tool

Email signups on every page

If you’re starting from scratch

• Start now!– Outlook contacts– Board of directors– Volunteers– Sponsors– Exhibitors– Past purchasers– Etc.

Ongoing ways to get addresses

• Online– When people share an event photo– When they complete an online form– On Facebook, offer Like and email signup– On Twitter, promote by teasing pending

campaign

• Offline– Door prize or signup at events– Any time they purchase something

Step 3: Write the message

Make a

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include

good imagery

strong

subject

and Repe

Write the message

• Use ideas from your brainstorming/calendar

• Consider a “pyramid” approach– One main story– Two smaller features– Then you can test one against others

• Goal: Clicks!

The Formula

• Headline• Image• Text (short, with links)• Call to action– Consider “Click here to enter now!”

Rodeo Austin standards

• Professional, branded template• Clear title at the top• Usually 3-5 main topics– Vary with news, sales, promotional piece

• Try to keep it short– Links to website for more (HARD!)

• Good imagery• Footer with links to website, social media,

Text Insider Club

Link to social media

• Facebook• Twitter• YouTube• Pinterest• Blog

Suggest sharing!

Step 4: Include good imagery

Make a

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include

good imagery

strong

subject

and Repe

Include good imagery

• What makes a good image?– Ones that make people click!

• How much of the email should be images?

Step 5: Use a strong subject line

Make a

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include

good imagery

strong

subject

and Repe

Step 5: Use a strong subject line

• Good content links to CLICKS, but a good subject line (sent at right time) leads to OPENS!

• What makes a good subject line?– Include something recognizable– Use action words– Not too spammy– 50 characters or less

• Turn into Tweet, with 120 characters, # and shortened URL

• Turn into Facebook, with 150 characters, graphic and no #

Step 6: Track the performance

Make a

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include

good imagery

strong

subject

and Repe

Kendra’s Law: If you’re not measuring your marketing, you’re

not marketing!

What to track

Per email• Open rate• Click-through rate (CTR)• Response rate – web visits, revenue

Over time• House-file size• Churn (percentage who leave your list)• Revenue/email• Cost/email

Sample open rates

• Varies by client – 9-15% on low end; 30-35% on high end

Who has the highest open rate?• Good subject line• Clients who sell online• Clients with a strong brand• Sent at right time/day (Tuesday mid-

morning)

Sample click rates

• Around 10-20% (not as much variance)• Depends on call to action, so use action

words– Get More Info! – Sign Up! – Buy Now! –More Photos!

• Don’t tell the whole story.

Step 7: Learn and repeat

Make a

Create a list of

recipients

Write the message

Include

good imagery

strong

subject

and Repe

Step 7: Learn and repeat

• What emails have you sent that have been most effective?

• Have your emails affected your revenue or website visits?

• What trends have you noticed or implemented?

• What would you tell smaller events about the “best bang for the buck” on email marketing?

SaffireMail™ pricing

Note: Grey pricing above is for non-Saffire customers

Limited time offer

Sign up for SaffireMail™GET 2 FREE MONTHS

• Respond to webinar invite to sign up or get help– We’ll help you move your addresses– We’ll help you set up your site so addresses

automatically go into SaffireMail– We’ll help you with an email template

(nominal fee for non-Saffire customers)

• Enter promo code 2freemonths by 7/20/2012

Thanks for you time!

Questions?

Saffire Events Presentation: Email Marketing with Rodeo Austin

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