a clear-cut guide to email marketing success

The Practical Guide toEmail Marketing Success

Presented by: Erin McKeeby, General Manager, U.S. at

https://www.sendinblue.com/?utm_source=sendinblue_blog_en&utm_medium-referral&utm_campaign=ultimate-guide-email-success

A note from the presenter

Email marketing helps your business thrive by building relationships with your

customers and creating a long-term revenue stream.

This presentation will give you the practical tips to build your strategy, create

engaging email campaign, and use automation to save valuable time. We’ll roll up

our sleeves and get down to business, so you can grow yours!

Why email?

Promotional emails

affect US millennials’

purchase decisions

more than social ads,

online ads & text

messages.

67% of U.S. adults

would be willing to give

companies access to

basic personal

information…for better

service or products.

Marketers receive an

average return on

investment of $44.25

for every $1 spent on

email marketing.

Source: eMarketer & Fluent Source: Kissmetrics & Loyalty360 Source: Experian

How can email help, ME ?

ü Surveys

ü Identifying advocates

ü Fundraising

ü Lead nurturing

ü Product launches

ü Event promotion

üOrder communication

ü Repeat business

ü Referral marketing

Copyright©SendinBlue.Allrightsreserved.

Take-away tools: ü Try a free account on SendinBlue – Send up to 300 emails per day

with unlimited contacts

ü Download your email worksheets!

• Creating your first email

• Checklists for success

• Building an email schedule

THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING SUCCESS

https://my.sendinblue.com/users/subscribe/js_id/gpp/id/15

The Practical Guide to Email Marketing Success

1. Prepare for success

2. Think strategically

3. Create effective designs

4. Play by the rules

5. Leverage automation


List building: opt-in only!

ü What does opt-in mean?• Giving explicit permission to

send emails• Recency matters!

ü Why opt-in? • Respect email marketing laws• Produce the best results

1. PREPARE FOR SUCCESS


List building: opt-in strategiesü Offer valuable content as an incentive• Guides, eBooks, look books, promos,

discounts, giveaways



List building: opt-in strategies

ü Promote your subscription offer online• Website, social media

channels, email signature



List building: opt-in strategies

ü Promote your subscription offer on your website.• Create a signup form

using your email marketing tool.




ü Once you create the signup form, embed it on your website using HTML


List building: opt-in strategiesü Leverage ”real life” opportunities• At check-out in-store, marketing

events, unboxing orders

• The great thing about emailing people who already know you, is that you have at least the start of a relationship!



List building: bonus points!

ü Try double opt-in • Two-step process• Many benefits: engagement,

reputation, deliverability

ü Retain your opt-in records • Digital or paper



So think of opening an email like opening your front doorü You’ll open for someone you know




ü You’ll open for someone you’re expecting



✖ You probably won’t open the door for this guy


ü Opt-ins make sure that you are the expected pizza delivery guy and not the unwanted masked intruder

ü It’s also important to look like a pro when you send your emails so recipients know who you are.• If not – you might seem like a burglar

even if they ARE expecting your email!



Email sender: look like a pro


DOü Make sure the email

sender is easily recognized as you when recipients see your message in their inbox




DON’T✖ Use a sender name that

is not easily easily recognized as you




DOü Use a pro domain to

add credibility to your brand and be more easily recognized.


Email tools: act like a proü DO: Move on from Gmail • If you have 10+ recipients,

and/or• Recipients don’t know each

other ü Gmail has limitations:• Basic design• No reporting metrics• Deliverability can be an

issue with mass emails in Gmail



Email tools: act like a pro

ü DO: Send from an email marketing tool• Responsive design templates• Pricing is based on number of contacts vs.

email sending volume

• Some tools have a forever-free option• Use this tool for marketing campaigns +

transactional emails



Email tools: act like a pro

ü Try SendinBlue, free• Setup in 5 minutes• Stay free forever or pay

based on sending volume

• Integrates with your website








Download our worksheets from the blog for more help building your email marketing strategy!





Editorial schedule: contentü What types of messages will you

send? • Newsletter

• Sales/promotions

• New blog posts

• Birthday/anniversary

• New products

2. THINK STRATEGICALLY


Editorial schedule: frequency

ü How often will you send? • Newsletter à stay consistent

• New blog posts à stay consistent

• Sales/promotions à regularly

• Birthday/anniversary à by occasion

• New products à by occasion, not more than 1/week



List building: opt-ins with purposeü Be upfront about your frequency• Allow subscribers to set frequency preferences

• Include information about email frequency in your welcome email

ü Offer signups based on content • News & Updates à newsletters, sales, promos, new products

• New Blog Alerts à only new blog posts

• Customers Only à relationship messages (birthday, anniversary…)


Think big: what will your year look like?

Get detailed: Create a monthly sending plan


Segment contacts: personalize your message

ü Newcomers • Create a welcome message that restates your value

proposition and explains what makes you special.




ü Newcomers

ü Most engaged• Create a loyalty program to keep your

most engaged customers coming back




ü Newcomers

ü Most engaged

ü Slipping away• Make special offers to customers who need to be re-

engaged




ü Newcomers

ü Most engaged

ü Slipping away

ü By source • Consider how customers found

out about you when offering promotions



Sending time: test, optimize, repeat

ü Use what you know

• Lifestyle, behavior, follow competitors

ü Focus on engagement (clicks, sales)

ü Use data to optimize








Download our worksheets from the blog for more help designing your emails!



Choosing text vs. “designed” emails

TEXT-ONLY

ü ”From the desk of…”

• Used sparingly to get replies

• Still requires good formatting

DESIGNS

ü Clearly promotional

• When including images

• Must be mobile-friendly

(responsive design)

3. CREATE EFFECTIVE DESIGNS



Designing an email is like navigating through a maze.

?



You should always have an end goal in mind before starting.



That way, you can work backwards with your design and make your calls to action more clear and effective.


Anatomy of a designed email

ü Sender

ü Subject line

ü Preview text

ü Header

ü Headline


ü Text

ü Supporting image

ü Call-to-action (CTA)

ü Footer


Anatomy of a designed emailü Sender• Remember: Look professional and be recognizable



Anatomy of a designed emailü Subject Line• Be concise, but look inviting• Clearly communicate value to draw readers in



Anatomy of a designed emailü Preview Text• Extends and supports your subject line




ü Header• Use a familiar navigation

that resembles your website.

ü Headline• Intro for the content that

follows and identifies the purpose.

• Captures attention



ü Header

ü Headline

ü Text• Supports and enhances

your headline.• Should be skim-able.• Should answer: “What’s

in it for me?



ü Header

ü Headline

ü Text

ü Supporting image(s)• Gmail doesn’t like emails

that are one big image.• Smaller images are

better for supporting your message.



ü Header

ü Headline

ü Text

ü Supporting image(s)

üCall-to-action (CTA)• Use buttons or linked

text• Should stand out to

readers



ü Header

ü Headline

ü Text

ü Supporting image

ü Call-to-action (CTA)

ü Footer• Make sure to include contact

info (website/social media/address) and an unsubscribe



Now that you know the design pieces, how do you know what’s working?

ü The most important things to measure are Open rate and Click-to-Open rate.

ü Most email marketing tools will provide you with these metrics so you can gauge the performance of your emails.



ü SendinBlue also has heat maps, which are helpful in analyzing which calls to action are the most engaging.• The hotter the color, the

higher the click rate



ü Once you start sending, you can learn even more to optimize your email strategy, such as:• Reader device • Geographic location • Open times


Mobile-friendly email tipsü Use a responsive design tool

ü Embed links to all images

ü Consider image sizes

ü Use text sparingly

ü Keep your design “clean”



Choosing a design tool

CUSTOM HTML

ü Created by a designer• Mobile-friendly design can be

a challenge

• Don’t use one large image

DRAG & DROP BUILDER

ü Created by anyone

• Mobile-friendly is easy• Create beautiful layouts with

no design experience required


How is email delivered?


Sent Write, address & put a letter out for pickup Build a campaign “from” your sender email & send to recipients

Received Letter is received by the post officefor sorting

ISPs receive email for delivery

Reviewed Postmaster checks: Address legibility, postage amounts,

hazardous materials, mail forwarding

ISPs check:Content, sender email trustworthiness,

sending IP reputation, previous engagement

Rejectionhandling

If a letter is returned to sender, it’s stamped with a basic reason.

Unacceptable messages are ”bounced” with trackable statuses & deliveries are confirmed.

4. PLAY BY THE RULES

How do you reach the inbox?

Follow the “Golden Rule”

Send the right message,

to the right people, at the right time.


Walking it out:

ü Send engaging content• Expected, desired, valuable

ü Send to targeted, opt-in contacts• Segment & clean your list

ü Send with consistency • Being forgotten = SPAM complaints &

unsubscribes



Building a positive reputation

ü Become a trusted sender• Send quality content • Maintain high engagement with your

campaigns

ü Use a professional ESP• Trusted IP addresses • Technical signature• ISP-based reporting


How will you you know if you have built a positive

reputation?


The proof is in the pudding

ü Open rate• Achieved using a strong

subject line and solid recipient interest


à 20%+



ü Open rate à 20%+• Achieved using a strong subject

line and solid recipient interest

ü Engagement rate • Include relevant content

and/or an enticing offer


à 10%+



ü Hard bounce rate• Indicator of a quality contact list


à < 2%



ü Hard bounce rate à < 2% • Make sure you keep a quality contact list

ü Spam complaint rate • Maintain a positive relationship with contacts


à < 0.1%

Are you in the spam folder?

*Ifyouhavelessthan1%opens,youarealmostcertainlyinthespamfolder


Use Automation to grow relationships even more!

ü Automatic welcome email

ü Birthday or anniversary email

ü Email most engaged contacts

ü Email a website visitor

ü Automatically segment

contacts

5. LEVERAGE AUTOMATION


Take-away tools: ü Try a free account on SendinBlue

ü Email us at [email protected] for one-on-one help

ü Download your email worksheets!

• Creating your first email

• Checklists for success

• Building an email schedule

THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING SUCCESS

mailto:[email protected]


Thank you!And don’t forget to download your free email marketing worksheets!
