5 ways to improve your email campaigns (and get better results)

5 Ways To Improve Your Email Campaigns (and Get Better Results)

5 Ways To Improve Your Email Campaigns (and Get Better Results)

Hello, my name is John. @johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Tweet this session!@johnethies@EmailonAcid

@denverdig

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The feeling you get after a day of working with Outlook

@johnethies | @EmailonAcidEMAIL TESTING

Derived from Acid Test.

@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

ADVANCED ANALYTICSENGAGEMENT ACTIVITYGEOLOCATION REPORTINGCLIENT & DEVICE INFORMATION

John Thies (JT) - Would it be possible to remove the small text and icons and just say the title (i.e. Engagement Activity)? My thought is that it will be too small for people to ready.WhyEMAIL?01.

EMAIL delivers the highest ROI for Marketers@johnethies | @EmailonAcid*According to VentureBeat, email is the channel generating the highest ROI for marketers.

email marketing is going to remain a top priority for companies in 2016

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@johnethies | @EmailonAcid&68%OF TEENSOF MILLENNIALSPrefer to receive communication from a business via email.Source: Adestra73%

68 percent of teens and 73 percent of Millennials said they prefer to receive communication from a business via email.

In addition, more than half rely on email to buy things online.

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RESOURCES are shifting@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

71.8 percent) say they are planning to spend more time on email production and more than four out of five (86.7 percent) report that they will increase email marketing budgets this year.11

@johnethies | @EmailonAcidBUDGETS are following future needs

Additionally, of the 86.7 percent of the survey's respondents said they would spend more money on email marketing this year. The increased budget is expected to be spent on:12

$40 return for every $1 spent in Email Marketing@johnethies | @EmailonAcid*According to VentureBeat, email is the channel generating the highest ROI for marketers.

if done CORRECTLY@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

DONTS of Email Marketing 02.

Purchasing + Buying LISTS


NO-REPLY NO-NO@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

lead to more spam complaintslegally obliged to use a monitored email addressmakes you look arrogant

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SPAM Laws

Always provide a way for a subscriber to unsubscribeFalsify contact information or subject lineAdestra kicked thim out of their platformDue to SPAM complaints

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NOTTESTING

Not testing an email prior to sending out a campaign19

List SEGMENTATION03.

EMAIL LIST SEGMENTATION RESULTS@johnethies | @EmailonAcid*Segmentation results from Lyris

research shows that segmented emaildoesoutperform general, untargeted sends.

34% of marketers who segmented their email lists subscribers experienced better email relevance, 28% experienced lower unsubscribe rates, and 24% experienced better deliverability and greater revenue.21

Be RELENTLESS about your RELEVENCY@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

In the midst of content overloadAlways find a way to be relevant

Marketers and subscribers often define spam differently. Subscribers dont think in terms of spam filter testing or algorithms , but in terms of relevance.

Are you sending content that matters to them? This is ultimately the most important question to ask yourself before hitting "send" on any email.

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VSDELIVERABILITY@johnethies | @EmailonAcidDELIVERY

Making it into the inbox is one of the more ambiguous, misunderstood elements of sending great email. Marketers often mix up a key distinction: delivery vs. deliverability. Though the terms are often used interchangeably, they have very different meanings.23

@johnethies | @EmailonAcid*According to VentureBeat, email is the channel generating the highest ROI for marketers.Whether or not a recipient accepts your message.DELIVERY

Where the message ends up once its accepted: inbox, spam folder or another folder.DELIVERABILITY@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

SURVEY RESULTS A


By surveying your audience, you can tap into what motivates them or analyze the psychographic makeup of your audience and segment from there.

Keep it simple: start with what you know such as age, gender, etc.

Never underestimate how a slight change, like the one above, could impact your ROI.

In order to dig deeper, find out what makes them tick. Send an email with a survey.26

DEMOGRAPHICSA


Example:FitforMeswitched out images of people used in email based on age to better resonate.27

Online traffic increased by 250%

GEOLOCATIONA

Knowing where your contacts live can be powerful information.A company called S-Digital used geolocation and routing services to create dedicated travel directions to an upcoming event in an email campaign for each recipient.

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@johnethies | @EmailonAcidWEATHER PATTERNSA

A company called Skymosity can track weather patterns and it allows you to create automated email campaigns that are deployed by weather-based email triggers.

Brooks, an athletic shoe company, made fantastic use of this data by creating multiple campaigns, based on weather condition and temperature range that were triggered by Skymositys weather logic.

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The average shopping cart abandonment rate is approximately

PURCHASE CYCLE A@johnethies | @EmailonAcid67%

To track where someone is in the buying journey, you have to look at their digital behavior: which pages of yours they visited, how long they stayed on your website and how you obtained their email.

A great example of segmenting by purchase cycle is seen in cart abandonment emails.

so its smart to trigger a card abandonment email 24 hours after they left the shopping cart.

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Remind your inactive subscribers why they were attracted to your brand.

RE-ENGAGEMENTA

Reengagement campaigns are your opportunity to remind your inactive subscribers why they were attracted to your brand in the first place.Subscribers who have stopped opening your emails can have negative implications on your deliverability.Analyze your existing subscriber history. Use past data to determine the average amount of time between when subscribers sign up and when they stop engaging with emails, and strategize your reengagement program around that window of time.31

From Name,Subject Line + Preheader Text04.

3 opportunities to encourage a subscriber to open your email.

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USE A TRUSTWORTHY & RECOGNIZABLE FROM NAME


@johnethies | @EmailonAcidSUBJECT LINESof email recipients open an email based on subject line alone.35%

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Subject lines with 61-70 characters get more reads. KEEP THE SUBJECT SIMPLE@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Return Path, 65 characters seems to be a sweet spot for email subject lines, which is about 15 characters more than the average subject line. When subject lines are 61-70 characters long,they tend to get read. However, most email subject lines are between 41 and 50 characters.36

WHAT ABOUT EMOJI?Brands using emojis in their subject lines saw a 45% increase in their unique open rates.

EMOJIs @johnethies | @EmailonAcid[continued]

*Represents activity on Appboys platform, broader industry metrics may vary. Appboy, The Appboy Emoji Study: The Rise and Rise of Emoji Marketing, July 14, 2016

John Thies (JT) - Rachel, can you make this pretty? Maybe by creating a new graphic for this information? I don't think we need all the text, just referencing AppBoy as the sourcePreheaders are an EASY win!@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

NO BUENO!


CHARACTERLIMITS@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Preheader Text: CODE EXAMPLE@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

PERSONALIZED MESSAGE@johnethies | @EmailonAcidPersonalization, increases opens by

26%

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Does your email include a special offer? Let your audience know in the preheader text what awaits them upon opening the email. The Honest Company also does a nice job of referencing a non-sale related incentive in their preheader tex

Increased opens by 26%

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Have FUN with it

PetCareRx does a really nice job with this subject line + preheader text combination. Theyve personalized the message (with my dogs name, Fenway), let me know about the 75% off discount being offered and referenced the classic Baha Men earworm,Who Let the Dogs Out.44

Design for MOBILE05.

50%of all emails are opened on mobile devices.@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

80%of emails are deleted if they dont render correctlyof those people will unsubscribe30%DID YOU KNOW@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

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@johnethies | @EmailonAcidDESIGN forevery inbox, every device

Keep it simpleSingle column layout is most-readable on mobileKeep important information at the topGet your call to action across quickly

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Mobile FriendlyMobile FirstSCALABLE

Scalable design can be defined as any design that works well across both desktop and mobile without using code to adjust table or image sizes, or display or hide content between the two platforms.

typically the easiest to implement. Since scalable emails dont adjust the widths of tables or images between devices, and dont use CSS media queries

FLUID

Fluid emails use percentage-based sizing to make the width of tables and images adapt to the screen size on which they are viewed

fluid designs typically work best for text-heavy layouts since theres less control over how copy and images relate to each other.

RESPONSIVE

Gmail doesnt like your@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

SpongyFLUID-HYBRID

Fluid tables and elements by defaultMax-width CSS to constrain widths on desktopMSO conditional comments to constrain widths in Outlook

Gmail SUPPORTS your fluidity!@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Android GmailiOS Mail App

@johnethies | @EmailonAcidSource: @actionrocket

Make the BEST experience for each user @johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Source: @actionrocket

@johnethies | @EmailonAcidsimpleStyled ALT textAnimated GIFsButton enhancementsCSS animation Carousels, Hot spot animationCOMPLEX

of users view email with images off

Styled ALT TEXT43%@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Free shippingNo styling or background colorFree shippingBackground colorFree shippingStyled alt textFree shippingBackground color + styled alt textStyledALT TEXT[continued]

STYLED ALT TEXT[continued]

STYLED ALT TEXT[continued]@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Animated GIFS

26% @johnethies | @EmailonAcid

GIF emails increase a click through rate up to

Outlook 2007+ shows the 1st frameOther programs show the animation

Animated GIFS@johnethies | @EmailonAcid[continued]

NOT supported in Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 for WindowsFirst frame should include crucial info & CTAAnimatedGIFS[continued]

support and how-to

Rounded cornersI am a button I am a button

I am a button I am a button BordersI am a button GradientsI am a button Web fontsHover effects

Button ENHANCEMENTS@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

I am a button Progressively enhanced: Apple MailI am a button

Graceful degradation: Outlook 2010I am a button

Lotus NotesI am a button

Scale to fit: iPhoneButton ENHANCEMENTS[continued]@johnethies | @EmailonAcid


CSSANIMATION

FALLBACK

INTERACTIVECAROUSEL{Creative by RebelMail

HOT SPOT ANIMATION

SimplifiedCONTENT06.

You have approximately 8.25 seconds to capture someones attention.

Emails are open, on average, 5-15 seconds.

@johnethies | @EmailonAcidKeep it SIMPLE

as your content is brief, entertaining, and fresh, Millennials very well might evenshareit with their friend group.73

ONE audienceONE goalThe Rule ofONE

One audience (men)One goal

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50%

SIZE MattersThe sweet spot for email length is between 50-125 words, with response rates at just over

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GRANDMA TEST:Write in plain language.

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Grandma Test: Start with what is most important, she is busyUse short sentences, if they are long, she wont remember the beginningUse simple words, those that grandma already knows76

Stick theLANDING07.

@johnethies | @EmailonAcid48% of marketers build a new landing page for each of their marketing campaigns

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Incorporate RESPONSIVE Design@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Take a look at an example fromGetResponseon how a landing page SHOULD look on your desktop and your mobile.79

@johnethies | @EmailonAcidKnow the PLATFORM of the visitor.

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@johnethies | @EmailonAcidLow conversions on Mobile?

This suggests smartphones are more of browse or research platform rather than a buy platform since many of the

Smartphone experiences should be personalized to show this different form of usage.

Lead generation and acquisition

Revisit on Desktop81

8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only2 out of 10 will read the restCraft an Engaging HEADLINE@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

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Below is a headline pulled fromAirBnbthat leverages the tips above to create a crystal clear headline that sets their readers expectations in seconds:Split test your headline to see which opener gets better conversion rates.

Tell whats inside instead of selling whats inside.

Clarity trumps cleverness, so make your headline is clear and concise.

Ensure your headline refers directly to the place from which your visitor came or the ad copy that drove the click.

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Ensure that your CTA button iscentered&visually distinctUse ONE Call-to-Action@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Squareupslanding page below is a great example of encompassing asingular,centered CTAthat allows the visitor to jump into the copy with ease.83

Use Visual CUES@johnethies | @EmailonAcid

Explicit directional cues could be seen withfingersorarrows pointing to the CTA. They want your eyes to move to where the finger or arrow is pointing to move your attention to the form or CTA. An implicit directional cue is less direct, for example aperson on the landing page looking at the CTA. This is a more casual and subtle visual cue but still will get the job done! Below is a great example of an implicit directional cue as the womans eyes push you toward the form.84

BOTTOM LINE:@johnethies | @EmailonAcidEmail is an AMAZING channel for marketers, if done correctly.

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THANK YOU!@johnethies@emailonacid@johnethies | @EmailonAcid@denverdig

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