TOP 5 EMAIL MARKETING PERFORMAMCE IMPROVEMENT TRENDS FOR 2013

A Hiscox Google+ Hangout

Karen Talavera, Synchronicity MarketingApril 3, 2013

• 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

About Karen Talavera

Grow Your List with an “Ask”1

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 messagesSource: Experian 2012 email acquisition and engagement tactics white paper

Example – Light Box

Leslie Shreve, a time-management 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

Think “Series” vs. Single Message

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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

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.

Example: New Subscriber Series

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 email

Wrap-Up and Transition

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Monthly newsletter maintains and continues relationship

Broadcast Complements Triggered

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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 re-used here (why go back to the drawing board if you don’t absolutely have to?)

Segment, Target & Trigger3

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

Design for Universal Accessibility

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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?

Yes• Easy-to-read font• White background• Single column

design will expand/contract on different size screens

• Strategic use of color

• Balanced blend of copy and images

No• Stylized fonts• Colored backgrounds• Multi-column format

may not scale proportionately on different size screens

• Small buttons and text links difficult for fat fingers

Measure Long-Term Engagement

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Focus on subscriber engagement with your email program over the long-term vs. campaign-to-campaign 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

Want More?

Synchronicity Marketing offers email marketing coaching, consulting, training and live workshops Our private Coaching Programs are ideal for individuals or

small groups within a company needing email marketing strategy, creative and analytical support during program start-up, expansion or transition. Click here to learn more

Single-day, half-day or multi-day email marketing education, training and creative workshops are available for groups from 2 to 200. For more information contact us or submit your request here

Free email marketing performance-improvement strategies, event discounts and educational resources are available through InSight, our monthly e-newletter. Sign up here

Site and Blog www.SynchronicityMarketing.com

Email: karen@synchronicitymarketing.com

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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/KarenTalavera

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