Building a Brand

- MailChimp’s background- Our marketing evolution- How we craft and use email - Brands that are email rockstars- Free tools of the trade

What we’ll explore today:

The Rocket Science Group

MailChimp- RSG clients requested email marketing - MailChimp built as an app they could use- Originally designed for programmers- Users bought credits, paid with checks- Upload a list of recipients, paste in HTML- Bon voyage!

Tough Decisions

What is the future of the Rocket Science Group?

Web design/consulting or MailChimp?

A Dedicated App

- MailChimp team gets focused- Bring in devs and UI designer- Focus on single core product- Build easy, powerful app folks want to use

Blossoming Brand- Originally wanted to remove the monkey- Freddie gets a makeover- Introduce Freemium Plan: 500 → 3,000

Swag Strategy

- Think of swag as a gift rather than a promo- By giving users quality swag, we could

convey the quality of the app- Give folks things they’ll want and be delighted in vs “here’s some stuff”- Reward users for engaging and ask them

for help to improve the app...

APIE Awards:Awesome Performance In Email

Traditional Marketing

- Begin to sponsor events- Focused on design and content events- Don’t push MailChimp on people- Built trust with attendees- Still maintain philosophy and will be silent

sponsors to help be supportive of events

Billboards

Designed for existing users. Winking Freddie for folks that know him.

MailChimp’s Emails“The only way to figure out what works for your list is to keep testing.”

-Bradley Gula

- Simple and clear doesn’t have to come at the expense

of comprehensive content- Always experiment with content, design, language,

and images→ use images from website for consistency

- Switch up the creation process with voice & tone- DoSomething’s 20 subject lines per email

- Use click map in reporting to see where folks respond- Success judged in different ways

- If new feature, maybe look at opens?- If specific segment, maybe clicks best?- What’s driving the engagement or

unsubscribe?

MailChimp’s Email Philosophy

“I think the overriding philosophy I follow is to ‘be human.’ With each email, we’re asking people to commit to a measure of their time, and we try to be respectful of that.”

- Fabio Carneiro, MailChimp Email Designer

Design Within Constraints

- Know what you can and cannot do within email and various email clients- Design for the lowest common denominator- Experiment to learn how each email client handles emails- Create email accounts with Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail,

and Outlook

- Create test list with them, send throwaway campaigns to test new features

- Think outside the box: videos → gifs

Animation & Video

Design For Distraction

- Emails are designed to be easily used and usable regardless of the email client- Should NOT have a disruptive impact on a

subscriber’s workflow or life- Keep it short and sweet

- Use links to drive traffic to your site for more info- List metrics help you know which clients people use

- Desktop vs Mobile?

Design With A Purpose

- Can’t please all your subscribers with a massive,all-inclusive, generic email

- Segment your audience and build emails accordingly- Know who you’re sending to and why you’re sending- Relevant content lets your subscribers know you care

- Spotify music recommendation emails- Irrelevant content is a huge turn off for subscribers

- Think iOS vs Android app updates- Concert ticket emails

Really Good Email

- Use your inbox as a research tool- “I pay attention to how the emails are designed and

built, and what sort of content each message carries.” - Fabio

- Sign up for lists of companies, people, or brands youadmire

- Look at what works well for some but poorly for others- What reactions do you have as the reader of an email?

- “What works for one customer might be disastrous for another. The only way to figure

out what works for your list is to keep testing.” - Brad

Cards Against Humanity“CAH is at it’s strongest when we can point to hypocrisies and absurdities in the culture around us, while also obviously being apart of that culture.”

- Max Temkin, Founder

- Extend brand’s humor into emails, rewarding subscribers with email only content

- Philosophy: only send when you have something to say

- 15 sent within 3 years, 75% open rate- “If your job is to write emails, you should always be

fighting to send fewer things and make sure each email you send is so incredible that it’s a rare treat to hear from you.” - Max

CAH’s Black Friday Sale

- Never believed in cutting

the price of the game- How do you separate

yourself from other emails?- Poke fun at Black Friday - Language within image- Campaign went viral for

being so ridiculous

- Increased seasonal sales considerably

“Your entire life changes, starting today.”

Robocat- Only send a few times a year- Want to reward folks for their time and

subscription- “When we send a message to someone, we are essentially asking them for a bit of their time, a bit of their privacy. It’s important that our readers are rewarded for that investment.” - Robocat

- Used negative appstore review to launch their most successful Kickstarter campaign

to date: $35,000 Goal with $336,018 Pledged

ElevationLab

- Design Apple iPhone docks and iMac stands- Send sparingly, test frequently-

- Design Apple iPhone docks and iMac stands- Use imagery to

displayquality and design of their products

- Send sparingly, test frequently

- Several iterations of each email to whittle down content

Always Be Experimenting

“There’s a lot of room for experimentation in the development, design, and content arenas, and that’s my advice to anyone starting out:

always experiment.Develop the emails using different techniques, be open to departure from your established design language, and play with the voice and tone of your emails.”

-Fabio Carneiro, MailChimp Email Designer

Reduce Irrelevance:Send Relevant, Concise Content

“But, in general, if we have to think too hard about if something should be included, it’ll probably fit better in a future email to a better audience.”

-Bradley Gula, MailChimp’s Email Dude

Be Human

“I think the overriding philosophy I follow is to ‘be human.’ With each email, we’re asking people to commit to a measure of their time, and we try to be respectful of that.”

- Fabio Carneiro, MailChimp Email Designer

“Email marketing is your chance to connect with your customers in a human way. Be human!”

- Ben Chestnut, MailChimp CEO

Resources

Email Designwww.reallygoodemail.cominspiration.mailchimp.com

Website Designwix.com/sample/website

Additional Helparena.wix.com

experts.mailchimp.com

Free Toolswww.wix.com

www.mailchimp.comwww.canva.comwww.pixlr.com

www.image-maps.com