WHY EMAIL MARKETING IS STILL KING

ANTHONY BOTTOLI

“NUMBER ONE GOAL

SHOULD BE EMAIL

LIST GENERATION.”-MARIE FORLEO

B-SCHOOL

OUR AGENDA TODAY

• Yes, email is still King (and here’s why).

• Common misconceptions.

• The building blocks of successful email.

• Know your goals, and test!

• Real world successes.

• Get into action.

• Q&A

“THE WINNING STRATEGY

FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND

FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES

ALIKE IS TO ATTRACT A

BASE OF RAVING FANS THAT

OPEN, READ, AND CLICK ON

THE EMAILS YOU SEND.”- JACK BORN

CEO OF AW PRO TOOLS

AND NOW, A BIT ABOUT ME

• Lead Generation Specialist At Miva Merchant

• 2 small businesses over the past 10 years.

– 1 retail/wholesale, 14 locations in So. Cal

– 1 primarily online, with back end phone sales.

• I’ve written email campaigns that have generated over 2.1 million in sales in just over 4 years.

• According to B2C.com, Email Marketing accounts for 7% of all new customer acquisitions, organic search via Google accounts for 16%

• Email generates 40 times more customers than Twitter and Facebook combined – Media

Bistro 1/21/14

• 94% of Online Activity is Sending or Reading Email hostpapa.com

• 75% of all online adults say email is their preferred marketing method hostpapa.com

Email generates

MORE customers than Twitter and Facebook COMBINED.

Percentage of consumers who prefer to communicate with brands via email.

4-STEP FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

• A great product.

• An exemplary user experience.

• Builds trust in your customer base.

• Creates brand awareness.

U.X.O.

WHAT IS

HOW EMAIL SUPPORTS U.X.O.

• It entertains and adds value.

• It helps you get to know your customers.

• It helps your customers get to know YOU.

STORYTELLING IS THE GAME.

IT’S WHAT WE ALL DO. IT’S WHY

NIKE IS NIKE, IT’S WHY APPLE IS

APPLE. IT’S WHY WALT DISNEY

BUILT DISNEY WORLD AND IT’S

WHY VINCE MCMAHON MAKES A

BILLION DOLLARS.

-GARY VAYNERCHUK

CUSTOMERS WILL DO 3 THINGS WITH EMAIL

• Read all of it.

• Scan it and archive.

• Unsubscribe.

WHAT ARE WE SHOOTING FOR?

Average (Retail)

• Open Rate = 13% - 24%

• Bounce Rate = 6% - 12%

• Click Through Rate = 5% - 20%

• Opt-out Rate = 0.11% - 0.44%

Average (All Industries)

• Open Rate = 18.01%

• Bounce Rate = 6.95%

• Click Through Rate = 13.99%

• Opt-out Rate = 0.21%

MY GOALS WITH EMAIL…

• Open Rate = 24% (up from 18.01%)

• Click Through Rate = 19% (up from 13.99%)

What are yours?

“GATHER A CROWD OF

RAVING FANS FIRST, AND

YOU’LL HAVE MORE

BUSINESS THAN YOU

CAN HANDLE.”

-ANTHONY BOTTOLI

• Make email signup an integral part of your web presence.

• Clear signup form on your home page.

• At checkout, wish list, customer service.

• Utilize social media.

• Offer incentives.

• Remember, your purpose is to add value.

GET MORE EMAILS

EXAMPLE #1: THE PAPER STORE

EXAMPLE #2: NATURALS, INC.

I ATTRACT A CROWD, NOT

BECAUSE I’M AN EXTROVERT

OR I’M OVER THE TOP OR I’M

OOZING WITH CHARISMA.

IT’S BECAUSE I CARE.

-GARY VAYNERCHUK

“SAYING HELLO

DOESN’T HAVE AN

ROI. IT’S ABOUT

BUILDING

RELATIONSHIPS.”-GARY VAYNERCHUK

THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

5 Key Performance Indicators

• Deliverability rate (email reach)

• Open rates

• Click through rates

• Unsubscribes

• Revenue generated

TIMING AFFECTS OPEN RATES

• 23.8% of all email opens occur during the first hour after delivery.

• 24 hours after the send, chance of open drops below 1%

MAKE TIMING WORK FOR YOU

• Some experts say 4:30am CST is the best time to send email.

• Others say 2-5 pm is the optimal time to send.

• AB test this.

• Most people agree that Tue-Thurs are best

• Big Tip: Weekends are great for low dollar offers.

BEST TIME TO SENDSample size: 1 billion

GOOD COPYWRITING WILL GET

YOUR EMAILS READ, OVER AND

OVER (AND OVER) AGAIN.

IT WILL CREATE LEGIONS OF

FOLLOWERS AND STUFF YOUR

POCKETS WITH CASH.

-ANONYMOUS

COPY AFFECTS OPEN RATES

This is a function of:

A. How interested your list is in what you have to say.

B. How engaging you are as a writer.

REMEMBER: IT’S ALL ABOUT ENGAGEMENT

• Nothing happens until the email gets opened

• You’ve got to stand out and get attention

• At the core of this is understanding your audience

• What do they really care about?

SEGMENT, SEGMENT, SEGMENT

• Segment your email list

– Demographic

– Personal interest

– Behavior

• Engagement will improve

• Unsubscribes will decrease

• Because you’re sending relevant content

SEGMENTATION EXAMPLE: BTO SPORTS

COPYWRITING SECRET SAUCE

• #1, providing relevant content positions you as an expert – a trusted advisor in your customer’s minds (reciprocity)

• #2, by adding value to their lives, you create a feeling of reciprocity, i.e., your customers feel they “owe” you something.

EMAIL HEADLINE EXAMPLES

• We need your opinion about [THIS].

• How knowledgeable are you about hygiene? [Quiz]

• Complimentary add on to your leaf blower (inside).

• This will be back in stock soon…promise!

• [Poll] Can cheese be made at home?

• 13 5 minute mozzarella cheese recipes (yum).

• You won’t believe what’s 25% off today (ends at midnight).

SEGMENTATION FOLLOW UP EXAMPLE: BTO SPORTS

Day 1:

Day 4:

Day 7: Brand New ATLAS Neck Braces Released + Protection & More ....

Day 13:

Where Are You Going Riding This Weekend? [Poll]

[Poll Results In] 13 Extreme Weekend Rides.

[Expert Panel] 6 Essential Gear Upgrades For Extreme Riding Conditions.

FACTORS THAT INCREASE CLICKS

• Shorter emails – above the fold.

• Links in the email happen in the body of the email and the close/P.S.

• Hyperlink key phrases and CTA’s.

• Images work – make them clickable.

• Plain text vs. html (test)

OPTIMIZE FOR MOBILE

• Implement fully responsive email designs (at the very least mobile optimized)

• 47% of email is now opened on a mobile device

OPTIMIZE FOR MOBILE

• 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing

• 40% will go shopping on a competitor’s site.

EXAMPLE: JULIE’S JEWELS

• 1. linked text as a pre-header above any image that needs to be loaded

• 2. Image CTA’s

• 3. Product links

1.

2.

“SELLING TO PEOPLE WHO

WANT TO HEAR FROM

YOU IS MORE EFFECTIVE

THAN INTERRUPTING

STRANGERS THAT DON’T

.”-SETH GODIN

“YOU DON’T NEED MORE

TIME IN YOUR DAY.

YOU NEED TO DECIDE.”

-SETH GODIN

ABOTTOLI@MIVA.COM