MAKE EMAIL GREAT AGAIN WITH AN ACTUAL PLAN ON HOW TO DO THAT
Michael Barber barber&hewitt @michaeljbarber
I’m a big fan of why…
4.1 billion email accounts across the globe and growing
Source: Radicati Group, 2015
EMAIL DELIVERS THE HIGHEST ROI FOR MARKETERS
Source: VentureBeat
REGARDLESS OF INDUSTRY
Source: GetResponse, 2016
OR SURVEY
Source: Econsultancy, 2016
ASSISTS OTHER CHANNEL INTERACTIONS
Source: Salesforce Marketing Cloud
BUDGETS ARE OPENING UP
Source: GetResponse, January 2016
RESOURCES ARE SHIFTING ACCORDINGLY
Source: EmailOnAcid.com
BUDGETS ARE FOLLOWING FUTURE NEEDS
Source: EmailOnAcid.com
ARE WE SHIFTING ENOUGH BUDGET? MAYBE NOT.
Source: Econsultancy, 2016
AND, MARKETERS BELIEVE THIS WILL CONTINUE
Source: Litmus, 8 Trends That Will Define the Future of Email Marketing
CONSUMERS DIG EMAIL TOO
CONSUMERS DIG EMAIL TOO
Source: Litmus, 8 Trends That Will Define the Future of Email Marketing
EMAIL PREFERENCE COMPARED TO OTHER CHANNELS (US)
Source: Adobe Email Survey 2017 US
MOBILE FIRST
Source: Litmus, 2016
MOBILE FIRST
Source: Litmus, 2017
Source: Litmus, Everything You Need to Know About Gmail Rendering Webinar
95% of email clients support responsive design
Source: Litmus, https://litmus.com/blog/email-attention-spans-increasing-infographic
10.4SECONDSSECONDS
2011
11.1SECONDSSECONDS
2016
AVERAGE TIME SPENT READING EMAIL INCREASED 7% OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS
Source: Litmus, https://litmus.com/blog/email-attention-spans-increasing-infographic
ENGAGEMENT IS INCREASING
Source: Litmus, https://litmus.com/blog/email-attention-spans-increasing-infographic
MOBILE USERS SPEND MORE TIME, NOT LESS
WE READ EMAIL EVERYWHERE, AND I MEAN EVERYWHERE
Source: Adobe Email Survey 2017 US
JUST TWO YEARS AGO…THAT WAS A MILLION YEARS AGO
BUT, NOW AN EMAIL RENAISSANCE?
Email is still the number one most effective one-to-one
communication channel for marketers, even though
there is more noise in all of our inboxes, and despite
growth in mobile apps, social media, and text. Power
rests in being close to the data to help determine the
right email message and when to deliver it.
“
Adobe
BUT, WE GOT PROBLEMSWith all due respect, we (largely) suck at life email.
UMMM, SUBJECT LINE & WHERE DO I CLICK?
YOU JUST USED HALF THE SCREEN
TOTAL HIERARCHY MESS
SHARING TESTING IS CARING
EMAILS EVERYWHERE, WE DON’T CARE!
JUST STOP SENDING ME EMAIL
OUT OF THE BLUE. WTF.
NOTHINGNESS
SUBJECT LINE #FAIL
I COULDN’T MAKE THIS UP EVEN IF I WANTED TO…
I COULDN’T MAKE THIS UP EVEN IF I WANTED TO…
URL CRAZINESS
PRETENDING
#IVEEMAILEDYOU5TIMES #IDONTCARE #GOAWAY
WHAT THE WHAT?
COLUMNS & PINCH+ZOOM =
CAN YOU READ THIS?
YEAH, NEITHER CAN I
I MEAN, COME ON!!!!
WE DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU, BUT WE REALLY DO
YOU REALLY WANT TO UNSUBSCRIBE, REALLY, REALLY
OH YEAH
INSERT FOOT INTO MOUTH
ARE WE REALLY TRYING THAT HARD?
Email is the office memo
turned cancerous,
extended to home and everyday life.
“
Don Norman, interaction design expert
MEANWHILEThe tech & laws around email continues to evolve.
SPAM FOLDERS
MARK AS SPAM & INSTANT UNSUBSCRIBE
LAYERED SPF & REPUTATION DATA
Sender ID
Framework
(SPF)
Inbound
Mail Server
Authentication
Pass
Fail
DNS
SPF Record
Lookup
Inbox
Junk
?
Quarantine
Block/Delete
Reputation
Data
1 2 3 4
Sender
Internet
LAYERED SPF & REPUTATION DATA
Sender ID
Framework
(SPF)
Inbound
Mail Server
Authentication
Pass
Fail
DNS
SPF Record
Lookup
Inbox
Junk
?
Quarantine
Block/Delete
Reputation
Data
1 2 3 4
Sender
Internet
Inbound
Mail Server
AuAuthentication
Pass
Fail
1 2 33333333333 4
Sender
Internet
MOVED PROMO EMAILS OUT OF THE INBOX
REDEFINE THE INBOX
APPS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE
DEVICES, TOO.,
WINDOWS 10 UNIVERSAL OUTLOOK
Universal Outlook
• Ughhhh, still issues.
• Images scaled incorrectly
• No CSS3 support
• No HTML5 support
• No support for divs
• No media query support
• Use mobile-friendly layouts
• Use table-based emails
NATIVE MOBILE APPS EVOLVE
NATIVE MOBILE APPS EVOLVE
GOVERNMENT GETS SMART
Source: Litmus, 2016
Marketers are slowly losing
our real estate in the Inbox.
How do we make email great again?
AUTHENTICATIONProve who you are.
LAYERED SPF & REPUTATION DATA
Sender ID
Framework
(SPF)
Inbound
Mail Server
Authentication
Pass
Fail
DNS
SPF Record
Lookup
Inbox
Junk
?
Quarantine
Block/Delete
Reputation
Data
1 2 3 4
Sender
Internet
In
Ma
1
Sender
Internet
AUTHENTICATION MATTERS
SPF
DKIM
SENDERID
DMARC
SENDER
POLICY
FRAMEWORK
SPF, or Sender Policy Framework, works as the sort of gold standard
of email authentication. They provide the email service provider with a
framework of data for every email you send.
When your email gets to the email service provider, the ESP checks
your info against the info in the email. This info might include the DNS,
what types of fields your emails use when you send, and other data.
If this data does not match up and your email is sent from an
unknown or different origin that doesn't match the info you provided,
the ESP blocks the email from making it to the inbox, removing the
chance of spam complaints.
DOMAIN KEYS IDENTIFIED MAIL
DKIM, also known as Domain Keys Identified Mail, is the ESP's
way of checking the DNS records you provide with the ones
that come with the email. If the DNS records fail to match,
the ESP will block that email and you won't have to suffer
from spam complaints.
SENDERID Sender ID is almost identical to SPF, with a few key differences.
Ultimately, they're both out to do the same thing: authenticate every
email you send by matching data records the ESP holds against the
ones that accompany the email or newsletter waiting to make it to the
inbox.
DMARCA DMARC policy allows a sender to indicate that their messages are
protected by SPF and/or DKIM, and tells a receiver what to do if
neither of those authentication methods passes – such as junk or
reject the message.
THIS ISN’T HARD
POSTMASTER TOOLS
MICROSOFT SMART NETWORK DATA SERVICE (SNDS)
BLACKLIST LOOKUP
AUTHENTICATION REWARDS
DESIGNUbiquity matters.
FROM NAMES MATTER, LIKE A LOT
From Name
SINGLE COLUMN “SKINNY” LAYOUTS.
SINGLE COLUMN “SKINNY” LAYOUTS.
SINGLE COLUMN “SKINNY” LAYOUTS.
SINGLE COLUMN “SKINNY” LAYOUTS.
SINGLE COLUMN “SKINNY” LAYOUTS.
SINGLE COLUMN “SKINNY” LAYOUTS.
SINGLE COLUMN “SKINNY” LAYOUTS.
FONTS & BUTTONS, OH MY!
FONTS
Headlines
30px+ Body copy
16px+
Minimum
13px
Because Apple Yo
BUTTONS
Buttons
44 x 44 points
FONTS & BUTTONS, OH MY!
CONTEXTUAL BUTTONS
GET TO THE POINT
LET IMAGES DO THE TALKING
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, ELIMINATE CLICK HERE
TIM JUST MADE TEXT RELEVANT
NEED INSPIRATION?
TOOLS FOR DESIGN & DELIVERABILITY
LITMUS
SUBJECT LINESThey matter, a lot.
SIZE DOESN’T MATTER
Subject line length accounts for
just 0.1% of email open rate
variance
Source: Phrasee, https://phrasee.co/the-final-word-on-email-subject-line-length/
USE SUBJECT LINES THAT WORK
SUPERLATIVES MATTER, A LOT.• Some phrases affect response rates very positively. Take, for example, “Brand
new,” “Latest,” and “Exciting,” which give open rate lifts of 37%, 24% and 19%,
respectively.
• “The perfect gift,” which imperfectly depresses open rates by -28%. Or the
most mediocre of adequate adjectives, “good,” which reduces open rates by a
not-so-good -20%.
• Consider which superlative phrases add value to your subject lines. Some may
be “special” (+12%,) but nothing is “wonderful” (-2%) all the time.
SELL WITHOUT BEING SPAMMY• For a long time, people said that you shouldn’t charge admission to your
emails. “Don’t talk about sales in subject lines… because spam filters will be
mean to you,” they’d say. They are wrong.
• “Buy one get one free” deal? This stalwart of sales gets a shocking +89% on
open rates.
• When people get emails about sales, they are much more likely to click
through. Take, for example, “prices” (+246% CTR), “worth” (+134%), and
“deal” (+91%.)
• Bring balance or customers will either get bored or expect sales all the time.
QUESTIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE• Questions that start with “can’t” (+25%) or “won’t” (+20%) often do better than
“will” (-27%) or “who” (-41%.)
• When used in context they can work well. Context is key.
SUBJECT LINES - ACTION
SUBJECT LINES - SALES
SUBJECT LINES - PUNCTUATION
EMOJIS
EMOJIS
Source: Adobe, 2016
EMOJIS
Source: MailChimp
EMOJIS
INTERACTIVITYLet’s have some fun in the Inbox.
I see interactive as a huge shift in email
development. Early analytics have shown far
greater engagement from users who receive
interactive messages.
“
Mark Robbins, Email Developer, Rebelmail
REAL-TIME / CONVERSATIONAL DATA
INTERACTIVE CONTENT
DUDE, GIFS FTW
DUDE, GIFS WORK FOR B2B TOO
DUDE, GIFS WORK FOR B2B TOO
DUDE, GIFS FTW
“MAILABLE MICROSITES” VIA @CHADSWHITE
PREHEADERS FOR EVERYONE
AUTOMATION AND TRIGGERSIt’s time-consuming, but makes all the difference.
SEGMENTED CAMPAIGNS CAN DRIVE A 760% INCREASE IN REVENUE
PERSONALIZATION INCREASES OPEN RATES BY 26%
GATHERING DATA ISN’T HARD
HAVE DATA, WILL USE IT
HAVE DATA, WILL USE IT
HAVE DATA, WILL USE IT
LEVERAGE DYNAMIC CONTENT
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / THE WELCOME
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / ONBOARDING
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / BIRTHDAY OR EVENT
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / BIRTHDAY OR EVENT
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / BIRTHDAY OR EVENT
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / BIRTHDAY OR EVENT
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / PURCHASE INTENT
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / PURCHASE HISTORY
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / PRE / POST EVENT
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / WEATHER
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / VALUE
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / CUSTOMER DATA
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / TRANSACTIONAL
TRANSACTIONAL EMAILS MATTER
ALWAYS GIVE ME MORE
ALWAYS GIVE ME MORE
ALWAYS GIVE ME MOREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE MMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEE MMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREE
ALWAYS GIVE ME MORE, INCLUDING MINI HORSES
ALWAYS SAY HELLOBecause it’s the most important campaign you’ll send.
4x higher open
rate
Source: Emma, 2015
5x higher click
through rate
THE STATS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
33% increase in
long-term
engagement
Source: Emma, 2015
THIS ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE, BUT…
57.7% of companies send a
welcome email to subscribers
Source: Experian, 2015
Real-time welcome emails see
10x more than the transaction rates and revenue
per email over batched welcome mailings
TRIGGERS BASED ON DATA / THE WELCOME
SAY HELLO
HELP ME GET STARTED
TELL ME THE NEXT STEP
SHOW ME HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU
OFFERS CAN BE GOOD, BUT BE CAREFUL
TOOLS FOR PERSONALIZATION (AND AUTOMATION)
A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS
BE HUMANLet’s get real. It’s email after all.
SPEAK LIKE A HUMAN BEING (SAY THAT SLOWLY FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT)
SPEAK LIKE A HUMAN BEING (SAY THAT SLOWLY FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT)
SPEAK LIKE A HUMAN BEING (SAY THAT SLOWLY FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT)
ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE
ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE
TELL YOU WHEN I WANT IT
GIVE ME REASONS TO SAY HELLO
LET’S GET ENGAGED AGAIN
LET’S GET ENGAGED AGAIN, BUT DON’T EVER STOP EMAILING THEM.
IF I WANT OUT, MAKE IT EASY
GIVE ME REASONS TO STAY
DIE PURCHASE LISTS, JUST DIE
LET’S RECAPHow do we make email great again?
AUTHENTICATION PROVE WHO YOU ARE.
AUTHENTICATION PROVE WHO YOU ARE.
DESIGN BE UBIQUITOUS.
AUTHENTICATION PROVE WHO YOU ARE.
DESIGN BE UBIQUITOUS.
SUBJECT LINES GET BETTER OR BE BORING.
AUTHENTICATION PROVE WHO YOU ARE.
DESIGN BE UBIQUITOUS.
SUBJECT LINES GET BETTER OR BE BORING.
INTERACTIVITY LET’S GET JAZZY.
AUTHENTICATION PROVE WHO YOU ARE.
DESIGN BE UBIQUITOUS.
SUBJECT LINES GET BETTER OR BE BORING.
INTERACTIVITY LET’S GET JAZZY.
AUTOMATION & TRIGGERS PERSONALIZATION MATTERS.
AUTHENTICATION PROVE WHO YOU ARE.
DESIGN BE UBIQUITOUS.
SUBJECT LINES GET BETTER OR BE BORING.
INTERACTIVITY LET’S GET JAZZY.
AUTOMATION & TRIGGERS PERSONALIZATION MATTERS.
ALWAYS SAY HELLO IT’S POLITE AND WORKS.
AUTHENTICATION PROVE WHO YOU ARE.
DESIGN BE UBIQUITOUS.
SUBJECT LINES GET BETTER OR BE BORING.
INTERACTIVITY LET’S GET JAZZY.
AUTOMATION & TRIGGERS PERSONALIZATION MATTERS.
ALWAYS SAY HELLO IT’S POLITE AND WORKS.
BE HUMAN TALK NORMALLY.
BUT, WHY MAKE EMAIL GREAT AGAIN?Three reasons…
ENGAGEMENT MATTERS
#1
We do not use clicks as a measure of engagement.
User engagement will not affect your overall reputation.
If you remove people who do not open or click,
you are leaving money on the table.
Microsoft, Gmail, and Comcast stated
that they do not convert old accounts to spam traps.
Email Experience Counsel, 2015
“
WHAT ISPs TRACK?• Opens —less relevant metric because images downloaded by default in certain email clients, but
ISPs still track it.
• Replies — replying to a message is a super-strong signal of engagement. So, why are we all using
no-reply@? Baffling, I tell you.
• Moves — to junk = strong, negative signal. If your AOL subscribers do this two times, you’re in the
spam folder for pretty much life.
• Mark Not As Junk — strong, positive signal that the email should not be considered spam. AOL
says this is enough of a signal to “reset” the previous behavior.
• Delete without open — a quick glance at the sender/subject: a somewhat negative signal. So,
your from name and subject lines matter.
• Move to folder — if people are moving messages around, it means they care about them. This is
strong positive signal.
Engagement is measured at the subscriber-level and
based on metrics we aren’t tracking.
THE FUTURE MATTERS
#2
“MAILABLE MICROSITES” VIA @CHADSWHITE
GOOGLE’S PONY EXPRESS
THE INBOX IS THE CART
We won’t be able to take advantage of
email’s future if we’ve screwed up its past.
FAMILIARITY RULES.
#3
The Inbox is the digital place we
understand and know how to control.
www.barberandhewitt.com
Los Angeles, CA
THANKS. QUESTIONS / COMMENTS. barberandhewitt.com/mpb2b
APRIL 2017
THANKS. QUESTIONS / COMMENTS. @michaeljbarber [email protected] +1-520-591-1658