email newsletters workshop lvsc 2008 read only
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Introduction
• Charity Technology Trust - CTTCTT is a charity that provides charities with the best available technology solutions to enable them to improve their operational efficiency.
• Maria DiazE-Communications Manager @ CTT
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Workshop structure
• Session 1Why, how to, do’s and don’tsby Maria
• Session 2Questions and answers and sharing of experiences.by all of us
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
What is e-communications?
A paper free written communication delivered electronically to more than one recipient.
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Why e-communications1. Cost Effective2. Immediate3. Flexible4. Personal5. Interactive6. Responsive7. Measurable 8. Versatile 9. Easy to Share
10. Environmentally Friendly11. Source of Income
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Who is your audience?
General interest in your work Donors/StakeholdersFundraisersCampaignersTrusteesOther
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
If you don’t know who they are…… ask them:
- Do you want to receive emails from us?- What areas of our work are you interested in?- How often do you want to hear from us?- In what format do you wish to receive your email?
HTMLPlain text
- Do you give me permission to email you?
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Data Protection Facts
Email and mobile information need to be collected with OPT-IN3rd Party uses (including other charities) need to be notifiedScripting of permission statements is vital
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Effective permission statements
Use the tone of voice of your organisationAppeal to thrift ‘cost effective communication’Fit the message to the audienceCover all future uses/channels to marketBe clear about who is collecting the info (Trading arms/affiliated companies)Offer the right to opt-inGive them a reason to hand over the information
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Write the contentRelevant to the intended audience Personalise the emailBe concise – Use click through links to your website for more informationBe clear – What do you want the subscriber to do – Call to actionProvide something extra – benefit to be subscribed.Avoid - where possible - spam words/characters
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Spam words/characters
Avoid exclamation or interrogation marks as much as possible, in the text and very importantly, on the subject line.
Avoid spam words like free, software, save, marketing, click here, etc.
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Template design
Template - What is it?Determine your template’s visual identity
- Consistent with your online identity?- New for the particular online publication- Similar to your offline publication/s
Design it to work for you- Sections
Creative that stands out in the crowded inboxHTML and plain text version
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Design
Note that recipients read from top left to bottom rightDesign appropriate to the contentChange elements of the design to ensure it stays fresh, seasonal imagesConsider the foldDesign should be consistent and within brand guidelines
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Some design tips - HTML
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Template size
The average size for screen resolution is 1024 x 768pixels
The template width should not exceed 700 pixels
Bear in mind the frequent use of email preview reading pane
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Call to actionMake it clear
Place your call to action at the top of the e-newsletter
i.e. if you want a donation, please place the donation button / link at the top.
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Bear in mind graphic blockers
Avoid having the call to action inserted only on a graphic (banner or button)
If you use a graphic button, remember to add the same link within the text too.
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Avoid using tables with thick borders
X Wrong – Border thickness is 4 pixels
√ Right – Border thickness is 1 pixel
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Visual balance
√ Right – Consider image per text ratio.
In the example, there is a visual balance between the amount of text and the pictures included
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Balance links to content
√ Right – Consider link per text ratio.
Make the links obvious
Remember the importance of the first link
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Use ALT tags on images
√ Right – Always use ALT tags (alternative text or mouse over text) on all images.
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Warning - Use of colour
X Wrong – Some colour combinations are tiring to the eye and difficult to read
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Avoid using style sheets
Different email clients interpret style sheets in different ways
To achieve best results, avoid using them
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Use a popular font type
Use a popular font type (Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica, etc) despite the font on your brand guidelines being different.
Most users will not have that font available on their computers and substitution would occur.
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Plain text design
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Cheat!
Write a brief introduction to the e-news and ask them to click through to a link where the HTML (online) version lives
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Functionality linksBoth versions should include:
– Personalisation – where possible– ‘Forward to a friend’ and “social network
bookmarking” links– Subscribe to receive our e-news– Very top – ‘Web Online version’ link– Automatic change your details– Comments or suggestions email link– UNSUBSCRIBE - Mandatory
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Be original – Experiment!
• Don’t be frightened to try new things• Fragment your data and send them
different layouts or subject lines - Note what works best
• Use your email call to action to engage your audience with other media (SMS, Video, Audio, etc)
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Test before send
• Send a test to various colleagues and ask their opinion (share the guilt!)
• Test that all the links work• Test the same campaign on different email
clients – Outlook, Hotmail, AOL, Lotus…• Test all the functionality links• When possible, leave it for a while and
come back to it
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
When to send
• Regular publications (Monthly, weekly, etc)
• Core days of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
• Core hours of the working day (Mid morning, mid afternoon)
• Consider just before lunch time when it is raining or when it is very cold
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Other points to consider…
• Use a friendly email address and always the same.
• Subject line – 35% of email users open messages based on it (Jupiter)
• Data segmentation and relevance
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Delivery
The mechanism used to send and deliver bulk emails
Three types of email tools
- Outlook/Eudora/Lotus/other PC/POP3 based email system
- In-House bulk email broadcast software
- ASP bulk email broadcast software
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Email tools
√√XReports
√√XFit the purposeASP s/wIn-House s/wOUTLOOK
√√XTemplates
√√XHTML and plain text part send
√√XManages Bounces
√√XHTML
√XXSPAM
√√XSubscriptions
√XXBandwidth
√√XAddress Books
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Email tool specification
Open rate, Click throughs, bounces, unsubscribes
ReportsDesign, look and feel managementTemplatesHTML and Text versions2 part sendHard (email not there) and Soft (unavailable)Bounces
HTML email with WYSIWYG editorHTMLBeing blockedSPAM
Subscribes and unsubscribesSubscriptions
Internet Pipe sizeBandwidth
Address Management/history/export/importAddress Book
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Post send• Open rates• Click through rates• Which link was most successful• Make a note of what peak time/s• % Un-subscribes• % Hard-bounce emails• % Soft-bounce emails – Correlation with holiday
period, half term…• Use click through information to further segment
your data – Subscriber retention• Forward to a friend – Who is promoting you?
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Post send– Safely remove un-subscribes – Delete hard-bounce emails – follow up phone
call?– Manage changes in existing data – Email
address changes, email format, etc.– Write next newsletter taking into account what
was read.– Note the peak opening time– Take into account feedback received
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
The key to successFor the marketers:
– The right content– To the right audience– At the right time
For the recipients:
– Who is it from?– What’s in it for me?– What do I do next?
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Session 2
Questions and answers and sharing of experiences.by all of us
Maria Diaz – [email protected]
Thank you!
Maria DiazE-Communications ManagerCharity Technology Trust