webinar: make every email count
TRANSCRIPT
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
……………………………………………………………………………………
Make Every Email Count!
Kimber S. PowersVerticalResponse, a Deluxe Company
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Here’s What We’ll Cover
• Email Marketing Basics
• Email Best Practices
• Overview of Social Media
• Email and Social Media together
• Tools & Resources To Get You Started
• Q&A
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Why Should I Use Email Marketing?
• Build Relationships with your target audience
• Generate awareness about your products/services/brand
• Establish yourself as an expert
• Drive traffic to your site
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Common Reasons SMBs DO NOT use Email Marketing
• I’ve started an email list, but it’s really small
• I’m not sure what types of emails I should send to my audience
• My products/service are too ‘boring’ for email marketing
• I’m afraid I’ll eventually run out of things to say
• I’m on a tight budget and/or I have little time
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Email Marketing ROI
• A very good investment
Stats courtesy of the Direct Marketing Association
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Email Best Practices
• From label – Who are you?
• Subject line – Why open?
• Pre-header – Supports the email open
• Links – Get them to your site
• Images – Eye candy, break up text
• Content – Key to engagement
• Social Media – Share and Follow buttons
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
From label – Who are you?
• Tells your audience who’s sending the email
• Be consistent with the name
• Company name works best
• Alternatively ‘From’ a specific person in your business
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Subject line – Why open?
• Tells people what to expect
• Don’t repeat your from label
• Stick to 40-50 characters
• Don’t use all caps
• Avoid overusing punctuation!!!
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Pre-header text
• Supplements subject line
• Use a different message than subject line
• Provides compelling info to encourage opening the email
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Links
• Give your recipients lots of opportunities to get to your website
• Read long articles easily
• Make social by including a link to post on Twitter or Facebook
• Use Call-to-Action buttons (Buttons.Verticalresponse.com)
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Mobile & Responsive Content
56% of emails are read on a mobile device. Use a responsive template to ensure your emails look great
no matter where they are read.
(January 2015, American Marketing Association)
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Include Logos and Images
• Engage your audience
• Think about what your audience sees
• Break up blocks of text
• Brand with your logo – Email will look more professional
• Link your images
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Content – The ‘Heart’ of the Email
• What’s Your story?
• Put your audience first – what do they need or want from your email?
• Your readers must invite you into their circle of trust
• The best marketers and sales people are storytellers.
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Content is More than Words
• Images
• Video
• Infographics - http://visual.ly, Pinterest
• Charts
• Live & recorded demos
• User generated - quotes, testimonials
• Articles
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Social Media Drives Sales
Stats courtesy of Vision Critical
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Get Started One Step at a Time
• You don’t need to be everywhere
• Choose the networks where your customers are
• Pick 2-3 social platforms and start building from there
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Use What You’ve Got!
• Promote to current customers: send an email, add links in emails & blog, website etc.
• Post often, with relevant & useful material that you already have:
• Hosted link of your emails
• Social messages
• Videos & photos
• Coupons & sales
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Most Importantly…
• Promote your social accounts across your marketing channels
•Email, website, blog, traditional, cross-platform
•Your customers can’t find you if they don’t know you’re there
But…
• Don’t just lead with the “ask,” give them a reason why
•Exclusive content: promotions, up-to-date news, giveaways, access to special deals
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Focus on Quality of Content & Images
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Make Every Email Sharable
• Forward to a friend
• Share on Facebook and Twitter or any social media platform you are using
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Use Social Media in Every Email
Increase social media presence
Give recipients an incentive to click through to your social media pages
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Summary
• Keep your readers in mind – make sure your emails are easy to read and interesting!
• Use what you’ve got to engage your readers or followers.
• Make sure you’re thinking about social when you’re managing your email and vice versa.
• Set your own benchmarks to follow
Free! Free! & Free!• Up to 1,000 email contacts
• No credit card and no time limit
• Connect Facebook and Twitter
• Sign up forms to grow your list
• Professional, easy-to-use email templates that adjust to fit the
viewing screen
verticalresponse.com
© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Deluxe and VerticalResponse Tools & Resources
• Buttons - buttons.verticalresponse.com
• Resources - https://www.verticalresponse.com/marketing-resources
8 Email Marketing Basics to Remember
Simplify Social Media for your Biz
Email Marketing Reporting Basics
Email + Social Media = Success
• VR Blog - Verticalresponse.com/blog
Questions?
Learn More:
Contact – Shelly Williams
1.800.211.3377
Or Connect with Us:
@deluxecorp
facebook.com/deluxecorp
youtube.com/deluxecorporation
linkedin.com/company/deluxe-corporation