holiday webinar 2010 final
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Baltimore, Maryland
Blue Sky Factory
Eggnog, Elves, and Email: How to Plan a Successful Holiday Email Campaign
Lindsay Clark & Joanna Lawson-Matthew
Thursday, September 16, 2010 1:00 – 1:45 PM (EDT)
Driving Email Marketing Performance
Getting Acquainted
Feel free to submit questions via the GoToWebinar dashboard
or #bsfwebinar on Twitter.
Lindsay Clark Senior Client Services Manager
Joanna Lawson-Matthew Senior Client Services Manager
2 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
About Blue Sky Factory
Blue Sky Factory is both a full & self service ESP.
Design, execute, and track your email marketing communications
with Blue Sky Factory’s platform, Publicaster.
Visit us at www.blueskyfactory.com.
3 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Why start planning for the holidays now?
4
Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Why Start Now?
Consumers are already starting their holiday shopping and research.
5 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007872
Competition is Heating Up!
Email marketing volumes are expected to increase 15% to 20% for the upcoming 2010 holiday season, compared to
the same time period in 2009.1
1 Experian Marketing Services’ annual 2010 Holiday Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report. 2 Flickr Photo Credit: mx5tx
6 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Our Agenda
1. Getting Started
2. What Worked in 2009
3. The Best Practices You Should Stick With
4. The Most Important Tip for 2010 Holiday Emailing
5. Q&A
7 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
I. Getting Started
8 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Ask Yourself
• What are your goals for this year’s holiday campaigns?
• What will be the main call-to-action of your campaigns?
• Will you vary your current email template only slightly or will you completely redesign your template to optimize for recipients’ holiday mindset?
• Will you have a dedicated holiday email series or will you jazz up your current campaigns (think: auto-response campaigns and transactional emails) with holiday flair?
• How will you measure success this year?
9
Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Review last year’s campaigns to evaluate what worked.
10
Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Review Last Year’s Campaigns
Which campaigns generated the best response? Remember to look at all metrics:
• Open
• Click-through
• Conversion
• Forward
• Unsubscribe
• Complaint
11 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Review Last Year’s Campaigns
Did your complaint or opt-out rate start to spike mid-series? Identify the issues and plan for 2010 accordingly.
12 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Review Last Year’s Campaigns
What days of the week did you send on? Were weekdays or weekends more successful?
13 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Come up with a schedule, a plan-of-action.
14
Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Develop a Schedule
Plan frequency and number of campaigns:
• How often are your subscribers used to receiving emails currently?
• Do you want to increase that level or maintain the same schedule?
• Will you come right out and announce your holiday series or deals or will you slowly tailor the emails more and more to the holidays?
15 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Develop a Schedule
Review your schedule with other departments to confirm there are no conflicts. You want to sprinkle timely and relevant emails in between now and the holidays, not bombard your subscribers.
Flickr Photo Credit: emma.kate
16 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Don’t Flood The Inbox
59% of US and UK Internet Users said the reason for not regularly opening/reading email marketing messages is
that they come too frequently.1
1 e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010) 2 Flickr Photo Credit: Greg Hayter
17 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
For a full pre-holiday audit guide, check out our two-part blog post, “It’s Time for your Pre-Holiday Email
Check-up”:
Part One: http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/general/it%E2%80%99s-time-for-your-pre-holiday-email-check-up-part-1/
Part Two: http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/creativeanddesign/it%E2%80%99s-time-for-your-pre-holiday-email-check-up-part-2/
18 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
II. What Worked in 2009
19 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Announcing early bird specials to encourage subscribers to shop early
20 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Creating urgency closer to the holiday
• Only 10 more days until Christmas!
• Guaranteed shipping by X date
21 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Giving your recipients “insider status”, special deals just for them
22 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Introducing a daily or weekly sale item just for subscribers
23 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
84% of recipients open an abandoned cart emails within 24 hours, and 99% of recipients open within a week.
Experian (2010)
24
Triggered emails for abandoned shopping carts
Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Recommendations based on what was frequently viewed in recent sessions
25 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Showing recipients the closest store to them to encourage both online and offline purchases
26 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Promote “last minute” gift items
27 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
Showcase gift ideas by budget, gender, age and interests
28 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
No Matter What the Core Offer…Include Free Shipping!
29
Last holiday season, free shipping offers with no minimum spend requirement had 70% higher transaction rates, triple the revenue per email, and more than double the average order value compared to free shipping offers with minimum requirements. 1
1 Experian Marketing Services’ annual 2010 Holiday Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report (2010) 2 Flickr Photo Credit: Robert S. Donovan
Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
What Worked in 2009
During the holiday season, be sure to spread the cheer.
30 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
Sent on 11/4
Relevant holiday tips, how-to guides
• Recipes
• How to stay healthy this holiday
• Guide to a stress-free holiday
• Travel tips
• Party planning
31 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
• Give a “family & friend” discount, reward for referring a friend
• Prompt subscribers to submit their own holiday tips, recipes, money-saving ideas, best traditions
• Send a video that will give your subscribers a good laugh
http://blog.g1440.com/2009/12/happy-holidays-from-all-of-us-at-g-1440/
32 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
33
Emails with a refer-a-friend link have been proven to drive 14% higher open rates, 20% higher clicks and 40% higher transaction rates than those without.1
1 Experian Marketing Services’ annual 2010 Holiday Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report (2010)
Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
http://www.blip.tv/file/3021827/
Encourage sharing by providing Forward to a Friend links and Share With Your Network buttons
34 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
Be interactive by showcasing a game, quiz, or survey
35 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
Give away something…for FREE!
36 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
Show your subscribers you appreciate them, and don’t just see them as a dollar sign
37 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Spread the Cheer
38 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Add a little humor to your subscribers’ holiday season
Spread the Cheer
39 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Show subscribers the more charitable side of your company
What Worked in 2009
Your job is not over come New Year’s.
Be there after the holidays.
40 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Post-Holiday Emails
Survey buyers about their purchases
41 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Post-Holiday Emails
Image source: Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season” 2009
Complement their holiday purchases with accessories
42 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Post-Holiday Emails
Encourage gift card redemption or purchases
43 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
The promotion of gift cards in holiday email marketing messages more than tripled transaction rates for multichannel retailers last year. Experian Marketing Services’ annual 2010 Holiday Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report
Image source: Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season” 2009
III. Best Practices to Stick With
44 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Best Practices To Stick With
The holiday season is not the time to try out new and fancy tricks. Instead stick with what works for you and
follow these 15 general tips.
45 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
1. Make sure only true opt-in subscribers are included in your email campaigns
2. Segment list based on click behavior
3. Remember the expectations regarding frequency you set up front with your subscribers
4. Consider setting up a separate opt-in just for the holidays and set up a holiday-only unsubscribe option
5. Check with your ESP to make sure your IP reputation is in good standing
Best Practices to Stick With
46 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
6. Find a balance between offer and value-added content
7. A/B split test: subject lines, call-to-action placement, offer used
8. Use this holiday to plan for next holiday
9. Subscribe to your competitors' emails to generate ideas for next year
10. Ensure your call-to-action is prominent (5 second test)
Best Practices to Stick With
47 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
11. Include a View in Browser link
12. Remember to include Share With Your Network links, and encourage social sharing
13. Ensure all images have alt tags
14. Take the time now to ensure your email renders well across all email clients
15. Build a strong subject line that reflects content of email and creates urgency
Best Practices to Stick With
48 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
IV. Most Important Tip for 2010 Holiday Season
49 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Mobile Version
50 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Your carefully crafted email is often being viewed by a potential buyer or key decision maker on a mobile device
Mobile Version
Optimize each email for all mobile devices by featuring a link to a mobile version
51 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Mobile Version
52 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
1 Experian Marketing Services’ annual 2010 Holiday Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report (2010) 2 Flickr Photo Credit: William Hook
24% of online consumers (with or without Web-enabled phones) say they expect to be comparing prices, and 22% expect to be purchasing items from their mobile phones in the next 12 months.
Mobile Version
53 Copyright Blue Sky Factory 2010
Make sure all links in your email lead to landing pages which mobile devices can support (e.g.- no flash)