dreamforce 2013 11 secrets to writing emails that get opened, read, and clicked

© 2013 Marketo, Inc. Marketo Proprietary and Confidential

11 Secrets to Writing Emails that Get Opened, Read, and Clicked


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© 2013 Marketo, Inc.

Andrew Kordek (@andrewkordek)

• Co-Founded Trendline Interactive, a strategic full service email marketing agency.

• Lead all strategy for Trendline clients• Past: Groupon. Sears. Quest Software (now Dell)• Inbox Zero Hero: 750,000 emails across 15 inboxes• Right thing vs. Easy thing.• Coffee. Football. Family. Smart A$$. Practical jokes. Thrifty.

Clean. Brave.


DJ Waldow (@djwaldow)

• Bronto. Blue Sky Factory. Waldow Social. Marketo.• 8th grade• Rebel’s Guide to Email Marketing. • The Definitive Guide to Engaging Email Marketing.• “Best practices are those that are best for YOUR audience.”• Lover of beer, coffee, and people.• #GOBLUE• Eva, Cal, K-Dawg


Look Familiar?


Don’t suck at your own party

• It starts with trust.• Make it intuitive and fun. Treat them like gold.• Set expectations.• Ask yourself if you really need that data.• Don’t assume and don’t expect.• Audit every quarter.• Find out what works.


Welcome To The Upworthiest. Turn On Your Images And Buckle Your Seatbelt:

Who are you again?

Flickr: smoovey


Can you namethe following people?


How many of the following do you recognize?


Do you trust the following brands?


If I don’t recognize you, if I don’t trust you, I’m less likely to open your email.


Big. Bold. Obvious calls to action.


What’s the call to action?


Are you HUMAN?


The Welcome Email Is Dead

• Welcome emails or series tend to be forced content by organizations

• Most. Some. Hardly.• Time to let subscriber behavior drive the next email• Behavior = email, site & offline• Subscriber drives relevancy• Investment in technology, people and testing to

achieve optimal results


Nurture Crawl

• Up to 30 day nurture program• First 96 hours are the most critical• Engagement drives subscriber into tailored

program in first 4 days• A solid messaging and conditional content

strategy must be in place prior to execution • Responses are tracked in SFDC and reps are

notified to determine “hotness” of lead• Content must be educational and offer driven,

but with a clear CTA• Designed with the flexibility for testing and

modifications• Localization is a key aspect to tailored

content• Any purchases removes subscriber from

nurture

Response tracked in XXX/SFDC. Rep notified of interaction/date and content viewed

No response. Next email in cadence


Do your subject lines have C.U.R.V.E.


2 of 5

Build subject lines that possess at least 2 of the 5 C.U.R.V.E. elements for the best chance to

connect with today’s subscriber and get them to open an email. This will help you build

sustainable workflows you can learn from and test over time.


R or V

1 of the 2 elements almost always is the R. (relevance) or the V. (value).

You constantly need to test the right subject line/content mix to connect with today’s busy email subscriber.


Relevancy


Revealing RelevancyRelevancy According To Audience Sentiment

Step 1: Identify Current Quality of Emails• Ask audience/prospects to rate the CURRENT Quality of the

information contained in the emails they receiveStep 2: Identify Perceived Importance of Topics• Ask audience/prospects to rank the same list in order of the LEVEL OF

IMPORTANCE (i.e. Relevance and interest) they ascribe to eachStep 3: Assess The Difference• Step 1: Reflects perceived importance (i.e. relevancy) to COMPANY• Step 2: Reflects perceived importance (i.e. relevancy) to AUDIENCE• Step 3: Are there any differences between what the COMPANY delivers

(i.e. quality) and what the AUDIENCE ranks as important


Where Are The Gaps?Perceived Importance vs. Current Quality

1. Negative Difference (in red)• Audience identifies these topics as significant, but believe company is delivering lower quality relative to the ascribed

importance (i.e. Topic 2 &5)

2. Positive Difference• Audience ranks topics lower in importance, but believe company is delivering higher quality relative to the topics

perceived importance (i.e. Topics 10 &11)

Topic Perceived Importance Quality Rank DifferenceTopic 1 1 2 -1Topic 2 2 10 -8Topic 3 3 6 -3Topic 4 4 7 -3Topic 5 5 11 -6Topic 6 6 4 2Topic 7 7 8 -1Topic 8 8 5 3Topic 9 9 9 0Topic 10 10 1 9Topic 11 11 3 8


Relevancy ConfirmedAnalyzing the historic performance of these emails reinforces research findings


Timely. Targeted. Valuable.


101 Things You Could Be testing1. Sender Names2. From Address3. Name Personalization4. Gender Segmentation5. Geographic

Segmentation6. Other Demographic

Segmentation (Income, Marital Status, Children, etc.)

7. Occupation8. Prospect vs. Customer9. Loyal vs. One-Time

Customer10. Last Open / Click Date11. Last Store Visit Date12. Intro Text—Content13. Intro Text—Copy Style14. Body Text—Content15. Body Text—Copy Style16. Closing Text—Content17. Closing Text—Style18. Header Image—

Present / Not Present19. Header Image—Style20. Home City / State /

Airport / Etc.21. Maps

22. Store / Branch / Office Location

23. Sales Representative24. Travel Destination25. Travel Time26. Recent Transactions /

History27. Overt

Recommendations (i.e., “You may also like…”)

28. Subtle Recommendations (i.e., personalized, but not overtly)

29. Weather30. Price Brackets31. Whitepapers32. Organized vs.

Unorganized Product / Article / Content Categories

33. Ad Unit Placement / Configuration

34. Ad Unit Sizes35. Referral Offers36. HTML vs. Text-Only37. Mobile-First Layout

38. Responsive Layout 39. Animated GIFs40. Embedded Video41. Ratings and Reviews42. Price Points43. Price Strikeouts44. Font Type45. Font Colors46. Headlines47. Sub-headlines48. Signatures49. Personalities (e.g.,

Editor, Author, Sales Rep, Executive)

50. Location Shots51. Lifestyle Shots52. Product Shots53. Links vs. Buttons54. Link / Button

Placement55. Link / Button Copy /

Call-to-Action56. Icons57. Bullet-Proof Buttons58. Postcard Layouts59. Newsletter Layouts60. Horizontal Scrolling

61. Event Focus62. Polls63. Privacy Policy

Language64. Unsubscribe Copy65. Opt-Down66. Heavy vs. Light

Imagery67. Long Copy vs. Short

Copy68. Phone Numbers (e.g.,

Click-to-Call)69. Social Media Buttons70. Facebook “Like”

Teaser Copy71. Facebook Comments /

Testimonials72. Facebook Friends that

“Like” Something73. Follower Tweets /

Testimonials74. Pins75. Local Foursquare

Mayor76. Taglines77. Press Mentions78. Limited Time79. Last Chance

80. Social Proof (e.g., Number of Likes, Tweets, Views, Comments, Etc.)

81. Exclusive Email Offers82. Editors Pick83. Number of Products /

Articles / Etc.84. Teaser Copy Length85. Staff Favorites86. Customer Favorites87. Background Color88. Background Images89. Landing Pages90. Preheader Text91. Navigation Bars92. Search Forms93. Free Shipping94. Percent Off vs. Money

Off95. Print Options96. Versioning by ISP97. Add to Address Book98. Time of Day99. Day of Week100.Delivery by Timezone101.Subject Lines


Primary Testing Options

1 Factor | 2-X Options

< 10 Ads Tested

Strengths:• Simple design &

execute• Easy to understand

Weaknesses:• One thing at a time• “Wrong path” potential

Sample uses:• Subject lines• Simple creative testing

Split Testing

X Factors | Y Options

4-100+ Ads Tested

Strengths:• Simple to design• Interactions measured

Weaknesses:• Production capacity• Complex analysis

Sample uses:• Offer/ price point

testing• Copy / image testing

Simple Multivariate

6-15 Factors | 2-6 Options

2K-32K Ads Tested

Strengths:• Best “recipe” delivered• Test lots all at once

Weaknesses:• Complex setup &

execution• Voodoo factor

Sample uses:• Newsletter redesign• Template optimization

D.O.E. (Taguchi)


Case Study • Challenges – Declining response rates to a

key revenue driving email– Any creative changes subject to

comprehensive legal and medical review across multiple companies – enhancements needed to be limited to what was already approved

• Solution– Designed and executed a

Taguchi test using approved creative elements

– 10 key factors– 18 creative versions– 10,368 theoretical

permutations• Results

– 8 weeks start to finish– Click through increased 445%!


Where do you start?

“We need to have a comprehensive and cohesive integration strategy between our social and email marketing ecosystem” - Someone


Be Social In Email, rather than how email integrates with social.• Moving beyond

the button• Social Email

• Humanization of the corporate identity

• Spirit of social• Social graphs• Social proof• Social icons


Social GraphSpirit of Social


Social Proof


Key Takeaways

• Move beyond the button and bring in the spirit of YOUR social.

• Sharing and liking is emotional. Give them something really good to share and like.

• Strategy first. Tactics second.• Accept that channels must work together on content,

timing and execution for a common goal; the customer.

Be Awesome.


What does YOUR order confirmation email look like?


All 11 Secrets on one slide.

1. Focus on the experience2. Build and earn trust3. Move beyond the welcome email4. Create subject lines with CURVE5. Ensure calls to action are big, bold, and obvious6. Send HUMAN emails7. Achieve relevancy using research8. Send timely, targeted, and valuable emails9. Move beyond simple A/B testing10. Be social in email rather than focus on how email integrates with social11. Be AWESOME

dreamforce 2013 11 secrets to writing emails that get opened, read, and clicked

Technology

marketo proprietary

dawg page

cadence page

engaging email marketing

service email marketing

dont suck

dead welcome emails

conditional content