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2016 Annual Convention and Meeting ASK THE EXPERTS-  

Email Marketing: Best Practices  TheAllianceFrançaiseofPortlandhas6,700subscribersforitsfreeemailbulletin.Theemailbulletiniskeytodrivingcloseto$800Kannualrevenueinschoolandeventsregistrations.WhyEmailMarketing?

Itgeneratesmoresales‐readyleads,atlowercosts;thereturnoninvestmentismuchhigherthanwithotherformsofmarketing.(Hubspot)

60%ofcompaniesusingemailmarketingin2015areincreasingtheiremailmarketingbudget.

Emailconversionratesarethreetimeshigherthansocialmedia,witha17%highervaluesale(McKinsey&Co.)

ProfileofAFPDX’sNewsletter

Largesubscriberlist(6,700) Emailbulletins2‐3timespermonth 4‐5keyarticlesof50‐70words(short) Timingisevent‐and“needs”‐driven Openrate=31%‐42% Contentclicks=400to1400perissue All‐Starstatusforsixyears Costis$1200/yearwithConstantContactforthesoftware;possibleswitchtoMailChimp(free)

BestPractices

Thelargeryourdistributionlist,thegreatertheimpact,influenceandsales.

ShootforstylisticconsistencyingoodEnglish.HaveanativeEnglishspeakeraseditor/marketer. Emphasizefreshcontenteachtime.Donotrepeatoldinfo.Findnewangles. Staytruetoyourmission/styledespitepressure.Donotwaverfromthe“French”connectionandremembertheservicerelationship/agreementwiththereader.Findbalanceofpetprojects.

Accuracyisimportant.Useproofreaders.Testalllinksrightbeforesending. Iferrors,avoiddedicatedcorrections. ShootforstylisticconsistencyingoodEnglish.HaveanativeEnglishspeakeraseditor/marketer. Emphasizefreshcontenteachtime.Donotrepeatoldinfo.Findnewangles. Staytruetoyourmission/styledespitepressure.Donotwaverfromthe“French”connectionandremembertheservicerelationship/agreementwiththereader.Findbalanceofpetprojects.

Avoidhyperboleandespeciallytheover‐userofexclamationpointsorellipses!!!!!!ToEnglishspeakers,frequentuseofellipses(...)oftenmeansyou’renotsureofwhatyouwanttosay.

Getaprofessionally‐donegraphicfortheheader/branding. IncludeCalendar–QuickReferencewithlinks.

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MoreBestPractices

SubjectLines:Createhonestyetinterestingsubjectlines.Referencegoodcontent. Youhave3‐4secondstodriveanopen;thedecisiontoopenis40%dependentonthesubjectline. Don’toverthinkrankingofarticles.Ifyourcontentiscompelling,readerswillgothroughtotheend.Considerstoringbonusorverypopularmaterialattheveryend.

BegenerousinpromotingthegoodworkofotherFrenchorganizations.Promotepartnershipsandharmony–awin‐win.

HittheHotButtons(seethegraphicbelow)

Traveltips/updates Languagemasterytips,toolsandlinks JobopeningswhereFrenchisrelevant(verypopular) Coupons,savings,insidertips Culturalgemsandtidbits Newsextracts(curating) “Youhearditherefirst,”or“Youheardithere,andnowhereelse.”

WheretoGetContent

Internet,curatingservices OtherAlliance/FACCnewsletters&media,andtheFederationE‐Flash Yourowneventsandpat‐on‐the‐backrecapsofsuccesses Yourownphotosorusefreestock Pullfrommultiplethemestoaddressmultipleoverlappinginterestsegments(note:ifyouarealargerAlliancethenyoumaywellhavedifferentnewsletterstargetingdifferentsegments).

StatisticsfromaTypicalAFPDXBulletinWhatDotheReadersClickOn?

Chartsource:L.Witt/AFPDX

Attached:

2‐pageAnalysisofMailChimpversusConstantContact

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2016 Annual Convention and Meeting ASK THE EXPERTS-   

Email Marketing: Comparing Mail Chimp & Constant Contact   

 ConstantContactandMailChimphavethetopdeliverabilityratesintheindustry.Intermsoffeatures,theyareconsideredtobebasicallycomparable,withcompaniesroutinelyfloatingbackandforthbetweenthem.Somehighlightsofdifferences:1)Fully‐featuredMailChimpisgenerallycheaperthanConstantContact.2)Formanycustomers,MailChimp’sfreeaccountissufficient.3)MailChimphasfree,permanent,simpleemailarchivingversusConstantContact’scost‐basedarchiving.Theinternetisfullofhelpfulcomparisons(googleConstantContactvsMailChimp).Seepage2foranexampleofafeaturescomparison.BelowistheperspectiveofLindaWitt,E‐Flasheditor.ShehasusedContactContactforAFdePortland’semail(6600subscribers)forseveralyears,andrecentlypilotedMailChimpfortheFederationE‐Flashemail. DoingaMailChimp“FreeForever”trialafteryearsonConstantContact:

Iwasgenuinelysurprisedbyallthevalueandfeaturesthatareavailableinthe“ForeverFree”MailChimpaccount.Frankly,Idon’tforeseetheneedtoupgradetheFederationE‐Flashtoapaidaccount.It’sprettycooltoahavepowerful,freeprogram.

AfteryearsworkingwithConstantContact,ittookmeabitoftimetogetusedtoMailChimp’suserinterface,butoverallit’sprettyintuitive,andtheonlinehelpisextensive.Italsohelpsthatthefirst30daysofthe“FreeForever”accountdoentitletheusertofreetechsupportforthatperiod.Afterthefirst30days,techsupportbyemailcanonlybeobtainedfrompaidaccounts.

MailChimpprovidesprofessionally‐designed2‐columntemplatesthataremobile‐responsive.WithConstantContact,theonlytemplatesthataremobile‐responsivearesingle‐column,whichcanbeboringforfull‐screendisplays.

MailChimp’sintegrationofGoogleTranslateallowsnewsletterstobedisplayedinotherlanguages.However,thetranslatedversionisonlyavailablewhenaccessingthewebversionofanewsletter(aversioninwhichlinksarenottrackable).

MailChimp’sformathastheusereditingblocksinasecondwindow,unlikeConstantContact’ssingleactiveeditingblock.Thattakesabitofgettingusedto.

ThereportinginMailChimpisvastlysuperiortoConstantContact’s.ThisalonecanjustifychoosingMailChimp.Itautomaticallysortsthelink‐trackingbymost‐oftenclicked.InMailChimpthereisalsoasuper‐cool“clickmap”showingyourentirenewsletterwithanon‐screendisplayoftheclickpercentages.Thisvisualdisplaycommunicatessomuchusefulinformation.It’sclearthatthesoftwareteamactuallylistenedtouserswhentheyimplementedthatfeature.

MailChimp’slisthandling/segmentationmakessenseandisfairlyintuitive.Itrecommendsavoidingmultipleemaillistsandtheresultinginefficienciesthatcomefrommaintainingcontactliststhatoverlap.Thisforcesyoutorethinkandoptimizeyourmasterlist(s)–painfulbutworththetrouble,intheend.(IfoundConstantContact’slistmanagementtobeoverlycomplicatedandextremelyslowtothepointofbeingunusable.)

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BothproductsstrugglewiththechallengeofoptimizingHTMLtolookgood(orsimplyconsistent)acrossmultipleemailclients.MailChimpworksharderatthis,though,byprovidingpreviewsoftheemailacrossmobileandinbox(andforextramoneyintheformofpre‐paidtokens,MailChimpwillpreviewtheemaildisplayonauser‐selectedsubsetofemailclients).MailChimpalsoautomaticallybuildsanarchiveURLforproperdisplay(thoughithasthedownsideofnottrackingclicksonceaccessedoutsidetheemailclient,asmentionedearlier).ConstantContactofferscampaignURL/archivesasanadditionalpaidfeatureandisclumsytomanage.

Intermsofreliabilityandresponsivenessofthesoftware,I’dratethetwoascomparable,withMailChimpwinningintheareaofresponsiveness,especiallywhenworkingwithlists.MailChimpdoes,however,requiresometimesexitingthecampaignandre‐enteringinordertoforcearefreshoftheeditingwindow.ConstantContactdoes,veryoccasionally,hangwithintheeditor.

ConstantContacthasmajor,longstanding,unresolvedissuesinthereliabilityofthepaymentsideofitseventregistrationsoftware.ThisaloneisareasonthatsomeclientsmayopttodroptheirConstantContactaccounts.WelikedthatwecouldimmediatelylinkourConstantContacteventmarketingtoourmerchantserviceviaAuthorize.netgateway,butthewholesolutionisnotworkableifthepaymentprocessinglinkhasafailurerateof10%whenexchangingdatabetweenConstantContactandpaymentgateways.

Chartsource:CapterraQuestions?

linda.witt@comcast.net503.516.5914 EmeritusExecutiveDirector–PortlandOR BoardMember,FederationofAlliancesFrançaisesUSA

Materialdate:October2016