Email Marketing Best Practice

ECIF e-Marketing ProjectJuly 2010

ContentsIntroduction to Email Marketing Guide to Rules and RegulationsData ManagementVendor Options and SelectionMaximising Email DeliverySocial Media IntegrationDeveloping a CampaignDesigning Emails That Deliver ResultsPost Campaign Analysis

Introduction to Email Marketing

Why use email marketing?

• Cost Effective• Immediate• Flexible

• Interactive• Measurable• Environmentally Friendly

Guide to Rules and Regulations

Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (2003)Anyone receiving your marketing must have previously opted in

to it. This means they must have explicitly stated that they would like you to contact them with marketing/email.

The only time opt in is not necessary is when;- There is already an established relationship with the customer- The products being promoted are of a similar nature and - There is a valid and simple way to opt out on receipt (meaning

you must have a clear and simple “unsubscribe” link)

Best Practice The ‘Sign Up’ form

Organically grown, opt in emailing lists may be smaller but higher quality

Above the fold with a call to action (CTA “Sign up for news and exclusive offers”)

Explain why it’s a good idea to sign up, what benefits and how often they can expect an email

Do have a privacy policyDon’t ask for too much information Asking for more information from subscribers means less

will sign up

Sign up

More Best PracticeInstilling the brand Have a clearly branded thank you page and auto response email to thank the recipient for signing up http://www.mail-away.co.uk/newsletter-confirmation

Respect Unsubscribers Giving the ability for contacts to unsubscribe is law, but having a single-click, easy to find and administer link is best practice

Remember, Quality NOT Quantity is key!

Opt-In Data

Data Capture

Collect email addresses at point of purchase or enquiry

Website Sign Up

The website sign-up is really important when building a quality list. Add a newsletter sign up form to the site to link direct to the database for easy subscriber management

Incentives and Competitions

Offering an incentive in exchange for data, a prize draw* is a definite winner but you could also use white paper downloads etc.

*Include the statement in the terms and conditions “all winners will be notified by email” to ensure you don’t get any mickymouse@ addresses!

Opt-In DataEvents/ face to face

The incentive schemes can also be used at events to encourage data collection – one needs to be careful about the incentive used and the event at which the data is collected

Member Get Member

Recipients are likely to know other people similar to them, encourage them to share with a friend, you may get their names added to your list too. Engaging with social media is also an excellent way of doing this

Features ChecklistWhether selecting a self-service or fully managed email marketing, here is a simple check list of essential and preferable features.Must Have:

Schedule messages to be sent at time to suit your needs Import your contacts from almost any file or database Remove duplicate email addresses from your listFull handling of messages that bounce backCompliant unsubscribe links at the bottom of each emailReal time tracking to see how your campaigns performOpens, soft and hard bounces, and unsubs for each messageKnow who clicked on which link in the message and when

Features ChecklistNice To Have:

Manage unlimited lists and segmentsMessages can be personalised across multiple fieldsDevelop auto responders according to customer actionsSegment your list based on previous campaign results Integrated micro sites for extra content, competitions or surveysAdd a sign-up form to your web site that feeds into your databaseProfessionally designed templatesHTML optimised for performance across platformsChecking for content likely to trigger spam filtersTested in range of email services

Planning, Strategy & Objective SettingAs with any kind of marketing campaign you need to have a

really strong idea of what your email marketing is designed to achieve

Essentially it boils down to…

Who you are you sending it too?What do you want to tell them?Why will they be interested?What do you expect them to do as a result?

Types of Email MarketingEmail can be used to meet a number of different objectives,

from increasing sales and building awareness to running an event

Examples of the types of email you could send:CatalogueNewsletterPostcard Brand

Example emails

Creating Relevant & Engaging ContentAlthough you may have permission to send someone email,

the real question is will they want to receive it?

Spam is not just a legal issuePut yourself in your customers shoes:

How would I feel?Content should reflect the personal nature of email

Understanding What WorksThe general rules of sound web design and usability apply, although there are a certain issues specific to the design of HTML email which you need to consider

Size ConsiderationsImage IssuesAttachmentsOther Web TechnologiesCall To Action

Ensuring Consistency Across PlatformsPush towards ‘web standards’Browser compliance is finally improvingEmail clients (desktop & webmail) long way behindWhat works for websites won’t work for email

The key elements are: Tables for structure Use inline styles, anything else may be removed Make use of online resources, like Email Standards Project Test, test, test - the only way to know your design works

Social Media Integration

Increasingly important to integrate Social Media (SM) with Email Marketing

Some tactics to try with social media:

Post a web page version of your email campaign

Social Media Integrate blog content/ images

Don’t be afraid to ask recipients to become followers/ fans to give feedback on SM

Social MediaAdd SM content to email content – re-distribute

Add SM links to your email template – cross fertilisation

Avoid the Filters…The design and content of your email will affect its efficiency in

terms of deliverability and effectiveness once received. Some simple tips:

Keep the same from address on all the emails – add to address bookBe aware of filter trigger words; e.g. Free, Sign up now, Cash, Bonus,

Winner and Prize all get caught in Spam filters (as well as the obvious words you wouldn’t think of putting in your emails…)

Avoid EXCESSIVE PUNCTUATION AND CAPITAL LETTERS!!! Keep your text to image ratio 60%/40%, any more image and you’re

likely to get caught (not to mention look awful in plain text readers). Make sure you have a legitimate reply address

Tracking and Reporting ResultsEmail reports contain a number of important terms, which

explain the most recent results for each campaign you send

SentBouncedDeliveredOpened/ReadClicksUnsubscribes

Sent, delivered, opened…

Recipient activity & bounces

Analysing and Improving PerformanceA few days after it’s sent you’ll be able to properly review your

campaign, analyse the results and decide what lessons can be learned and applied to future activity

Low sent % - issues with data quality e.g duplicatesHigh bounce % - issues with data entry/age of dataLow open % - quality of content and relevanceLow click % - layout and quality of offerUnsubscribes - expected initially - later on an early warning

your emails don’t add value - look at content and frequency before you lose your list!

Taking Reporting Further

Most email marketing software will track the performance of a campaign from an email perspective but:

Link in to analytical sales tracking software to see the bigger picture

Google Analytics: Widely Used and FreeRequires additional code in your emailThe results are addictive!

Google Analytics

Traffic sources