April Fools: Dumbest Mistakes Email Marketers Make and How to Avoid Them
Presented by Loren McDonaldSilverpop
April 1, 2009
Agenda
• Introductions/Overview
• The 12 Mistakes
• Q & A
The Fine Print
• What works for one company, may not work for you
• If you see your company, don’t take it personally – we all make mistakes
• When in Rome: April Fools/Ken Magill – let’s have some fun
12 Email Marketing Mistakes
Type of Mistakes I Will NOT focus on:
- Typos- Wrong
subject lines
- Wrong links
# 1: Hiding the Email Opt-in
The Home Page on My Laptop
Find the email sign
up
• Below the fold• Text link only• Hidden among a dozen
similar-looking links• Font color is hard to read• Could we make the font any
smaller?
Better Location
Double Duty
# 2: Having a Poor (or no) Welcome Email Process
This is Not a Good Welcome Experience
Confirmation Emails – Are Not “Welcome Emails”
• Primary Purpose is to confirm subscription
• They aren’t a subscriber yet
• Pre-selling; reminding of value proposition – but should not take the place of welcome email
#3: Not Using the Data You Ask For/Collect
My Expectations:• Birthday wish and/or coupon
• Age-based content/offers• Gender-based content/offers
Now for that haircut, I’d Pay More Than $16!
Loren
What I Get
• No birthday wish
• Content does not reflect age
or gender
#4: Not collecting any data for personalization or segmentation
No Data/Preferences Collected
Logical Personalization?:
• Gender• Marital status• Age ranges on signup• Wedding anniversary• Significant other’s birth date
No Recognition of Their Value Proposition
How About Product Selection & Content that recognizes I’m:
• Male• Married• Kind of old guy • Married 25 years
#5: Not making it easy for subscribers to do what they want to do
Examples of What Subscribers Want to Do
• Change frequency• Change format preference (HTML to Text)• Change email address• Change interests (skiing to snowboarding)• Add/remove newsletters/emails you offer• Read your privacy policy• Find contact information• Read back issues• Search• Read your shipping/return policies• Unsubscribe
This email template needs more than a shampoo and trim
What’s Missing?
• Navigation• Locations• Coupons• Home Page
• Update Preferences link
• Change Email Address• Change Your
Reminder schedule
Things from Home Page/Web Site they Could Link to:• Update Reminders
• Services• Coupons
• Beauty Deals• Gift Cards
• Salon Locator
“Hey Ken, Not Bad Man – I’m Buying”
• Change email
• Unsubscribe
• Web Version
• Archives
• Story tips
• Subscribe
• Format
• Ad information
• Contact info
Pretty good Email Admin Footer from Magilla Marketing
#6: Making People Think or Work To Do What YOU Want Them To Do
Help me Buy
- Use Bullets- Better images- Cost?- Not clear
sidebar is coffee- How do I get to
$40?- Deadline is
hidden
• Select flights right from the email
• Oakland is my preferred departure
airport
• “Book a flight” links
• Search link
• “Today, March 27”
• No minimum
• 4-7 Day Delivery
• More details below
Do the Math for Your
Subscribers
- % off - Old price- New price- $ Savings- People are motivated by
different “discount”
math
#7: Not Optimizing for Blocked Images, Preview Panes & Mobile Devices
Find The “Check-in” Link/ButtonUnited
Check-in Email
- 7 links- But no check-
in
Oops – 2 Images – Link, Logo
Outlook Preview Pane
With images blocked
Outlook Preview Pane
With images enabled
Imagine This Copy on a Direct Mail Piece
BlackBerry Email & Browser Experience
Browser Version
BlackBerry Browser
Email Version
BlackBerry IS installed email client
Original Email
Good Use of Text Navigation & Alt Tags
Text links – key Web site destinationsAlt tags
Good Use of Text
Cross-Platform Design Tips
#8: Over Mailing to Generate Short-Term Results
20 Emails in 22 Days
Free Shipping20% off
$5, $10 off
What’s the Potential Impact of Over Mailing?
5 times per month
5 times per month
12 times per
month
12 times per
month
Revenue – Churn – Reputation….
Retailer – Increased Frequency
Unsubscribes and spam complaints went through the roof
Financial Impact of Increased Mailings
#9: Having Undifferentiated Emails
Social Network Emails in the Mix
Everyone is Using Free Shipping, 20% Off
Personality is the New Free Shipping
• People want to buy from people –Zappos CEO on Twitter
• Talk to ME
• Entertain me
• Reviews – what others bought
#10: Not Providing an Alternative to Unsubscribing
Should I Stay, or Should I Go?
Why Recipients Unsubscribe
• Too Frequent
• Irrelevant Content/Offers
• Also, lack of email address change functionality
So What are the Alternatives?
Alternatives
Frequency
Format
ChangeEmail
Profile/Preference
s
Channel
OtherEmails
Alternatives Are Promoted In the Email
Preference Center/Unsubscribe Page
Staples – Really Good, But Not Perfect
Missing:- Frequency Option
- RSS or catalog option- Contact info.
#11: Discussing Open, Click-Through and Delivery Rates in Front of Executives
Executives Don’t Care About Open Rates
Email Marketer
• My average open rate is now 23%.
• Unique click-through rate is trending up since the redesign.
• Deliverability is up at Hotmail since we stopped using the large postcard-style image.
• Spam complaints are down 20%.
Executives
• How much revenue did we generate from email?
• How has email improved customer retention?
• How has email helped reduce our costs to communicate with customers?
• What impact is email having on conversion via other channels?
Differentiate Process from Output Metrics
• Open rates• Bounces• Delivered• Click-through rates
• Revenue• Orders• Demos/Downloads• Sales-qualified leads
Process Output
Think differently about metrics
#12: Not Making Mistakes
There is No Easy Button
• Recognize mistakes• Get started• Try• Fail• Experiment• Fail• Test, test, test
Q & A• [email protected]• Twitter:
– @LorenMcDonald– @Silverpop
• SlideShare: www.slideshare.net/silverpop• LinkedIn:
– http://www.linkedin.com/companies/silverpop
• Facebook:– Search “Silverpop”