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Email Matters Kate Kiefer Lee @katekiefer mailchimp.com

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Email MattersKate Kiefer Lee

@katekiefer mailchimp.com

–McKinsey, 2014

91% of all U.S. consumers still use email daily.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/why_marketers_should_keep_sending_you_emails

–McKinsey, 2014

Email remains a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media—

nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/why_marketers_should_keep_sending_you_emails

–Ascend2 Digital Marketing Strategy Survey, 2014

“Email’s popularity is due, in large part, to the fact that it is not

only the most effective type of digital marketing, it is also the

least difficult to execute.”

http://ascend2.com/home/wp-content/uploads/Digital-Marketing-Strategy-Summary-Report.pdf

http://ascend2.com/home/wp-content/uploads/Digital-Marketing-Strategy-Summary-Report.pdf

–Pew Research Internet Project, 2013

In 2013, 52 percent of cell phone owners accessed their email

using their phones.

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/16/cell-internet-use-2013/

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/16/cell-internet-use-2013/

Email is a medium, not a content type or platform.

Strengths and opportunities

Not tied to a service

Opt-in: People ask for it

Replies

The inbox: Emails don’t flow by in a stream

Inexpensive and easy to execute

Easy to reach people on mobile

Types of email newsletters

Weekly or monthly newsletter

News events and roundups

Fundraisers

Event invitations

E-commerce

Letter from the president

Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society: Event invitation

Nieman Journalism Lab:

Daily digest

Harvard Center on the Developing Child: Quarterly

newsletter

Berkeley Greater Good Science

Center: Monthly update

Haggerty Museum of Art at

Marquette University:

Membership drive

University of Texas Center for Women in Law:

Fundraiser

Use the tools you have

Signup forms and groups

Reports

Segmentation

Performance testing

A/B testing

Automation

NYT Store: Segmentation and subject line testing

Saw 50% increase in sales when they started using segmentation and reports

Segmented to most engaged readers and customers

Tried out different subject lines

Immediate language worked best: “today only,” “five hours away,” etc.

https://blog.mailchimp.com/the-new-york-times-store-focuses-on-email-sees-50-increase-in-sales/

Steve Spangler Science: Browser testing and mobile optimization

Tested across email clients and browsers

Found that many readers are on mobile

50% increase in ROI for campaigns that were tested

Clicks doubled, complaints dropped by a third

https://blog.mailchimp.com/steve-spangler-science-experiments-with-inbox-inspector-optimizes-for-mobile-increases-roi-by-50/

Walker Art Center: Collaboration and editing

Subject-matter experts review and comment on their sections

Photo editor processes images

Design team approves templates

Send drafts and tests ahead of time to 30+ people

Publication-style process

Everyone cares!

https://blog.mailchimp.com/behind-the-scenes-of-walker-art-centers-email-collaboration/

Dropcam: Automation and segmentation

Announced iOS update to only iPhone users

Add loyal readers who reply and share testimonials to a special segment

Put email signup on landing page, then automate a series of emails

100% of newsletter signups from the landing page purchased

That’s ALL OF THEM

https://blog.mailchimp.com/dropcams-clever-segmentation-and-impressive-conversions/

Voice and tone

Write with personality

Think about people’s frame of mind when checking email

Reader may be distracted, curious, interested, busy

Adapt your tone based on the message: informal, warm, friendly, clear, direct

Think beyond the message

Subject lines

Subscribe and unsubscribe flows

Header and footer copy

Landing pages

From address

From name

Tips for subject lines

Tell what’s inside, don’t sell what’s inside

Don’t repeat subject line for multiple newsletters

Stick to 50 characters or less

Personalization works

So does localization (city name)

http://kb.mailchimp.com/campaigns/previews-and-tests/best-practices-for-email-subject-lines

http://blog.mailchimp.com/subject-line-data-choose-your-words-wisely/

Obama’s unsubscribe page

Romney’s unsubscribe page

–David Carr, The New York Times, 2014

“Email newsletters, an old-school artifact of the web that was

supposed to die along with dial-up connections, are not only still around, but very much on the

march.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/business/media/for-email-a-death-greatly-exaggerated.html?_r=0

Panel: Email @ Harvard

#digemail

Next up: Case Studies from Harvard

#digemail

Building a better daily Gazette Strategy and design for daily emails

WHO WE ARE

STRATEGY

●  Grow readership ●  Mobile Friendly ●  Clean look to match the newly

redesign Gazette website ●  Stronger emphasis on photography ●  Provide flexibility in format

CONTENT

Subject lines/headlines

DESIGN

Before & after

Benefits

Multiple templates

Build one, save many

Design for mobile

Design for mobile

Photography

A Case for Change

Connecting Parents to the College Community

November 7, 2014

                             Colin  Manning    |    Senior  Communica1ons  Officer,  FAS  

Ana  Davis  |  Director,  FAS  Communica1ons  and  Marke1ng  Strategy  Lori  LoTurco  |  Director  of  Communica1ons  Strategy,  Harvard  College  

A  brief  history  

•  Lacked  parent-­‐focused  messaging  

•  Incomplete  distribu1on  list  

•  Needed  increased  flexibility  for  mul1ple  content  types  

•  Anecdotal  evidence  =  newsleLer  not  engaging  

Diagnosing  the  problem  

•  Connect  current  parents  to  the  vibrant  life  of  the  college    •  Ensure  we  are  reaching  every  parent  we  can  

•  Draw  parents  in  so  they  are  “plugged  into”  their  children’s  Harvard  experience  

•  Make  parents  feel  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  Harvard  community  

 •  Let’s  give  them  what  they  want,  while  s1ll  giving  them  

what  we  want  to  give  them.  

Why  a  redesigned  newsleLer?  

•  Create  a  “new  voice”  that  speaks  to  parents  •  Content  must  be  fresh  and  invi1ng.  •  Limit  increased  demands  on  staff  1me  •  Breakdown  communica1ons  silos  •  Develop  editorial  calendar  •  Generate  a  new  distribu1on  list  •  A  new  template  for  the  NewsleLer  •  Partnerships  are  key  

Crea1ng  a  strategy  

•  Important  Dates  and  Resources  are  a  must  •  Include  social/digital  content    •  Repackage  GazeLe  ar1cles  in  a  way  that  is  not  cut  and  paste  

•  Develop  editorial  calendar  •  Include  useful  contact  links  and  numbers    

How  should  template  achieve  our  goals  

•  Immediately  worked  to  foster  beLer  communica1ons  among  the  offices  of  the  College;  know  who  is  sending  what  out  to  whom  and  when.    

 •  Coordinated  with  the  Parents  Fund,  AA&D,  Freshman  Dean’s  Office  (FDO)  

and  the  Office  of  Student  Life  (OSL),  to  determine  where  our  audience  overlapped  and  where  there  were  gaps.  

 •  Convened  larger  group  across  FAS  and  the  University  to  share  distribu1on  

lists  and  discuss  how  to  generate  more  robust  lists.    •  Alter  repurposed  content  so  it  addressed  parents  and  did  not  appear  to  be  

simply  recycled  material.      •  Work  closely  with  Digital  Strategies  team  (HPAC)  to  design  a  new  

template;  one  that  is  not  only  more  visually  appealing  but  also  provides  flexible  “modules”  to  allow  for  placement  of  diverse  and  more  targeted  content  –  text,  photos,  videos,  etc.  –  which  can  change  from  month  to  month.    

The  Process  

Introducing  …  

The  old  Harvard  College  Newsle1er  becomes  …  

Harvard  College  Parents  Connec9on  

•  Relevant, important information •  Visually appealing, large interactive buttons •  Action-oriented links

‘Plan  Ahead’  

•  ‘In Case You Missed It’ acknowledges this is repurposed material •  Link to Gazette subscription; important feature from previous newsletter

‘In  Case  You  Missed  It’  

•  Action-oriented links; connects to Parents Programs web page.

•  ‘Did You Know?’ designed to be fun, yet informative, deepening the connection to the community.

Get  Involved/  Did  You  Know?  

•  A section devoted exclusively to the student experience

•  Connect to existing social media channel to enhance interactivity

Student  Experience  

•  Chose these specific resources based on anecdotal feedback and input from the College

Resources  

Connec1ng  the  dots  

•  A  look  at  the  bigger  picture  •  Digital  strategy  /  communica1ons  plan  •  Raising  awareness  •  Finding  ways  to  fit  the  parents  newsleLer  into  a  larger  communica1ons  plan  

Connec1ng  the  dots  

Open Rate: • August 59.03% • Sept. 54.57%

Click Through: • August 26.83% • Sept. 14.6% Still too early to claim success. Open and click rates very strong, part of this exercise is re-engaging and growing the audience which takes time. Anecdotal  feedback  has  been  posi1ve:    “Wow,  the  Instagram  dean!    This  is  a  new  age.    The  newsle1er  thing  is  good  -­‐  I  don't  recall  geCng  anything  like  this  previous  and  it  sets  a  nice  tone.”  –  Harvard  College  parent    

Were  we  successful?  

•  Informa1on  about  upcoming  events  receives  the  highest  clicks;  clearly  parents  want  informa1on  about  “nuts  and  bolts”  informa1on  

 •  Many  parents  want  to  be  engaged  and  are  using  the  newsleLer  as  a  way  

to  explore  how  to  do  so.    

•  Repurposed  GazeLe  content  con1nues  to  perform  about  the  same.  

•  Connec1ng  to  exis1ng  channels  and  assets,  such  as  social  media  is  key    •  Know  who  your  audience  is.  Working  collabora1vely  has  grown  the  

distribu1on  list  from  about  6,000  parents  to  over  10,000.  

•  With  a  more  robust  list,  more  eyes  are  definitely  looking  at  informa1on  the  College  feels  is  important.    

Key  Takeaways  

Ana  Davis,  Director  Communica1ons  Marke1ng  and  Strategy,  FAS  

 Lori  LoTurco,  Director  of  Communica1ons  Strategy,  Harvard  College  

 Colin  Manning,  Senior  Communica1ons  Officer,  FAS    A  special  thank  you  to  Chris  Eramo  and  Catherine  Conway  of  Digital  Strategy,  and  Chris<ne  Boehler,  Communica<ons  Specialist  (FAS)  for  

all  of  their  hard  work  and  tremendous  insight.  

Thank  you  

A sustainable email Katie Hammer, Digital Communications Specialist, Office for Sustainability, Harvard Digital Strategy

“Harvard  must  model  an  ins1tu1onal  pathway  toward  a  more  sustainable  future.”                    -­‐President  Drew  Gilpin  Faust  

 

Email by the numbers

Sustainability  at  Harvard    List  size  =  8,500  Distribu1on=  Monthly  Plalorm  =  Mailchimp  

Target audience ●  Primary:  

o  Undergraduate  and  graduate  students  o  Administra1ve  and  facility  leaders  o  Employees,  especially  Green  Teams  and  Green  Offices  o  Alumni  

 ●  Secondary:  

o  Harvard  community  neighbors  (Cambridge/Boston)  o  Peer  higher  educa1on  ins1tu1ons  

Project goals ●  Reinforce  sustainability  as  core  University-­‐wide  priority  

 

●  Represent  amazing  efforts  happening  across  Harvard’s  Schools  and  departments    

●  Grow  subscriber  base    

●  Maintain  awesome  open  rate  (~  22%)    

Must: ●  Update  outdated  email,  

eliminate  extra  work    

●  Align  branding,  messaging,  content  strategy  (1med  with  web  redesign)    

●  Be  responsive  for  web,  tablet,  and  mobile  viewing  and  sharing  

Old strategy Labor  intensive,  monthly-­‐themed  email  (October  =  Energy  1ps),  custom  poster  design  

Audience survey 300  +  respondents  (51%  staff,  14%  students,  5%  alumni,  5%  faculty)    Audience  wants:    ●  Simple,  clear  direc1ves  for  living  more  sustainably  (1ps  and  

tools)    

●  Current  sustainability  news  and  stories,  profiles  recognizing  sustainability  innovators  on  campus    

●  Events,  research  highlights,  and  videos  

New strategy Aggregate  content  from  across  Harvard  and  curate  community-­‐driven,  crowdsourced  tools  and  resources  

Additional strategies ●  Provide  news  and  informa1on  

highligh1ng  current  work  and  accomplishments  of  our  community    

●  Include  content  that  creates  a  dialogue  i.e.  features,  stories,  guest  posts    

●  Develop  content  that  can  be  shared  and  reused  by  our  community    

 

●  Create  an  effec1ve  design  and  iden1fy  a  distribu1on  tool    

●  Establish  governance  and  support      

●  Support  best  prac1ces  and  University  standards  

Getting to work ●  Audience Survey

●  Shared results with team

●  Project charter

●  Selected platform

(mailchimp)

●  Worked with web vendors to create template that aligned with new website

Some awesome stats Open rate = average 25% Click rate = average 6%

Listen Your audience can, and will, provide direction for your strategy

Content trumps Don’t worry about length, as long as you’re giving your audience what they want!

@ Radcliffe Institute Radcliffe  Ins9tute    

E-­‐communica9ons  Program    

November  2014    

Who We Are As  Harvard’s  ins1tute  for  advanced  study,  we    •  GENERATE  ideas  by  scholars,  scien1sts,  public  intellectuals,  

ar1sts,  and  students  through  our  three  programs:    –  Fellowship  Program  –  Schlesinger  Library  on  the  History  of  Women  in  America  –  Academic  Ventures    

•  SHARE  ideas  through  lectures,  conferences,  performances,  and  exhibi1ons  that  are  free  and  open  to  the  public.    

Our Audience We  email  27,500  Radcliffe  affiliates:      •  Current  and  former  Ins1tute  fellows    •  Radcliffe  Alumnae  (‘77  and  prior);  Harvard-­‐Radcliffe  Alumni  (‘77-­‐’99)    

•  Harvard  Alumni    •  Harvard  Faculty  •  Harvard  Graduate  and  Undergraduate  Students    •  General  Public  who  aLend  Radcliffe  Ins1tute  events  or  sign  up  online    

Our Goals

•  Engage  our  local,  na1onal,  and  interna1onal  audiences  in  the  Radcliffe  Ins1tute  people,  programs,  and  collec1ons  through  announcements  and  news  alerts    

•  Invite  Radcliffe  affiliates  to  aLend  our  free  and  public  events    

Our E-communications •  We  launched  our  e-­‐communica1ons  program  and  plalorm  in  September  2011    – Harris  Tools  –  Radcliffe  Affiliates  in  Advance  Database    – New  Design    

•  In  2012,  we  launched  radcliffe.harvard.edu,  which  allows  visitors  to  sign  up  to  receive  our  news  and  events    

•  In  2013,  we  consolidated  mul1ple  email  lists  across  the  Ins1tute  that  were  owned  by  individual  programs.    

Our Design •  Promotes  the  Radcliffe  Ins1tute  brand    •  Mo1f  consistent  with  our  website    •  Layout:  clean,  one  column  which  is  more  mobile  friendly    

–  Tested  layouts:  3  columns,  right-­‐hand  sidebar  

Our Segmentation: Geography

•  Local  v.  all  affiliates  event  invita1ons    •  Now,  only  send  to  all  Radcliffe  affiliates  for  events  that  are  live  webcast    

•  Why?  The  Data      

Our Segmentation: NYC v BOS

Our Segmentation: Results •  NYC  v.  Greater  Boston  

•  BOS:  Winter  Schedule  Heats  Up      –  Opens:  2654,  36.69%    –  Clicks:  547,  7.48%  

•  NYC:  Winter  Schedule  Heats  Up      –  Opens:  1645,  26.80%      –  Clicks:  114,  1.18  %  

•  Segmenta1on  helped  increase  engagement  with  our  all  affiliates  e-­‐communica1ons  

Our Results – Geographical Segmentation With  geographical  segmenta1on,  we    •  Increased  our  open  rates  for  event  invites:      

– 21.5  percent  to  32.3  percent    – 50  percent  increase  

•  Increased  our  average  click  through  rate  for  event  invites:    – 2.2  percent  to  4.7  percent  – 113  percent  increase  

 

Our Best Practices •  Distribu1on  Times    

–  Sending  between  7:30  AM–9  AM  has  generated  the  highest  open  and  click  through  rates.  

•  Sender    – Our  audiences  are  most  engaged  in  emails  from  Dean  Lizabeth  Cohen.    

•  Geographical  Segmenta1on  – Greater  Boston  area  for  events  that  will  not  be  live  webcasts  

•  Calls  to  Ac1on    –  The  simpler,  the  beLer    

Our Results: A Look at a Year In  the  2014  academic  year,  we    •  Increased  our  average  open  rate:    

–  23.55%  (2012-­‐2013)  to  26.90%  (2013-­‐2014)  –  14  percent  increase    

•  Increased  our  average  click  through  rate:    –  3.60%  (2012-­‐2013)  to  4.64%  (2013-­‐2014)  –  29  percent  increase  

•  Increased  our  effec1ve  rate  (unique  clicks/unique  opens):  –  To  16.7%  –  8  percent  increase  

 

Our Program Results •  In  three  years,  we’ve:    

–  Increased  reader  engagement  •  Open  Rate:  increased  from  21  percent  to  27  percent  

–  28  percent  increase  •  Click  Through  Rate:  increased  from  2.9  percent  to  4.3  percent  

–  48  percent  increase  •  Subscriber  List:  increased  from  23  K  to  27.5  K,  a  growth  of  4  K  

–  17  percent  increase  – Without  a  new  subscriber  base  every  year  (i.e.  a  gradua1ng  class  since  we  only  have  50  fellows)  this  increase  highlights  engagement  from  a  new  subscriber  base.    

–  How?  Website  feature  (our  highest  traffic  months  generate  spikes  in  sign  ups:  100-­‐150  per  month),  Dean’s  remarks  at  events,  sign  up  cards  at  public  events  

Sign  up  to  receive  our  news  and  event  announcements  online!      www.radcliffe.harvard.edu    

Thank  You  

Q&A: Case Studies from Harvard

#digemail

Lunch and Learn

#digemail

Next up: Nuts and Bolts of Email Best Practices

#digemail

Catherine Conway Digital Strategy HPAC | AA&D

@catjconway | [email protected]

EMAIL WORKFLOW: 101

IN RECOGNITION OF THOSE WHO PRESS SEND

An ode to those who just press send.

Catherine Conway, Digital Strategy @catjconway

PRESS SEND What does that mean?

PRESS SEND: A DEFINITION

“ Email’s popularity is due, in large part, to the fact that it is not only the most effective type of digital

marketing, it is also the least difficult to execute.

Ascend2 Digital Marketing Strategy Survey, 2014

EMAIL IS EASY

“Press send” gives the impression that there’s one button to push.

THERE ARE MANY BUTTONS!

CHECKLIST FOR EMAIL CAPABILITY

Strategy What, when, how often

Project Management Workflow

Creative Copy, design

Production

Templates, code

Development

List queries QA

Web, email testing

Reporting

Analytics, tagging

Pluribus OR Unum

BUILD PROCESS Workflow and roles

36 emails Over 3 months.

1 new platform That we had never used!

7 departments To coordinate!

EVERYONE GETS A ROLE

○  Owners: responsible for deliverables ○  Feedback providers: give input ○  Approvers: give the green light ○  FYI: get notice on milestones

happening

BREAKING DOWN ‘JUST PRESS SEND’

○  Strategy/project management

○  Creative ○  Email

production ○  Quality

assurance

○  List development

○  Support ○  Reporting

STRATEGY/PROJECT MANAGEMENT

○  Identify goals for □  Overall campaign □  Individual email

○  Consult shared calendar & schedule ○  Create internal test group

CREATIVE

○  Include messaging & imagery ○  Build in rounds of feedback for drafts ○  Include subject line, preheader, sender

name & address, and reply-to address in draft

PRODUCTION

○  Develop html and text version of email □  Test across platforms as you build □  Test with internal test group

○  Add Google Analytics tagging to email links to track web traffic

○  Schedule for deployment in ESP

QUALITY ASSURANCE

○  Walk through the entire user experience

○  Make edits as necessary, including: □  Landing page □  Registration/donation process □  Confirmation screen □  Confirmation/thank you email

○  Test the flow again

LIST DEVELOPMENT

○  Identify your list criteria ○  Work with team to pull list in correct

format ○  Upload list to your ESP

ACTIVATE YOUR SUPPORT TEAM

○  Monitor reply channels: □  Reply inbox □  Help desk

inbox/phone ○  Monitor social

accounts

REPORTING

○  Report on relevant email and web analytics

○  Deliver end-of campaign final report/roll-up

ORDER IS IMPORTANT

○  Timing can vary ○  Set expectations up front ○  Work backwards from deployment

harvard.edu/guidelines

THANKS!

Any questions? @catjconway

[email protected]

Email Best Practices: Technical Tips

Melissa Kane | AA&D Marketing and Communications November 7, 2014

About

•  Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) Marketing and Communications

•  Support FAS and UDO development initiatives and HAA activities

•  Strategy, integration, audience segmentation, messaging

•  Email, web, social, print, events

What Not To Do

What Not To Do

Template Creation

Basic Guidelines

•  Following a few basic guidelines will help you avoid common pitfalls:

o  Simplify

o  Optimize for mobile

o  Respect limitations

Simplify

•  Keep emails simple: you can’t include everything

•  Limit the number of images, colors, fonts, and font sizes

•  More = more likely your email will not render as intended

Optimize

Respect Limitations

•  Different mail clients treat your code differently

•  Your email won’t look perfect across 100% of clients

Why Bother?

•  You want your email to be opened.

•  You want your email to be read.

•  You want your recipients to heed your call to action.

•  By following best practice guidelines, you can create an email that looks great in the majority of mail clients.

Basics

•  Container table: 100% width

•  Content table: 600-650 pixels

CSS

•  Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a language which describes the look and formatting of an email

•  CSS separates email content from email presentation (formatting)

CSS

CSS

•  CSS support varies across email clients

•  For best results, manually style elements

•  If need be, use Premailer or similar to drop styles in-line

Common HTML Elements

•  Some HTML elements are compatible across most email clients:

o  Font-family o  Font-size o  Font-weight o  Text-align o  Text-decoration o  Color

Text

•  So you want to copy and paste…

o  Copy and paste text into Notepad or another text editor

o  Clear formatting

o  Paste into email

Text

•  Never copy and paste directly from Word!

Text

•  Best to use a standard font such as:

Arial or Georgia

•  If you must use something else, use a universal font as back-up

Images

•  Use .JPG images

•  .PNG files do not display as consistently

•  Limit file size

•  Include width

Images

•  Use align and valign elements to dictate alignment

•  Use padding element to dictate how the area around your image should appear

Images

•  Always use alt text:

o  Gives the recipient information about the image in the event that it does not load

o  Also used by screen readers

Images

•  Never rely on images to convey key information!

Images

•  Avoid background images

Buttons

•  HTML buttons are preferable to image buttons

•  Will display even if graphics are turned off

Testing

•  Use Litmus or a similar tool to see how your email will render across a variety of clients

Testing

•  Open accounts with as many email clients as possible; add these accounts to your test list

•  Check each account on desktop and mobile

•  Do not rely on built-in preview mode

Evaluation

•  Is text easy to read?

•  Do graphics display correctly?

•  Do links function properly?

•  Does my email look great across a majority of email clients?

•  Is my email optimized for mobile?

Learn More

•  Enroll in a Lynda.com course focused on HTML, Dreamweaver, or email marketing

•  Take a course in HTML or Dreamweaver at the Center for Workplace Development (CWD)

Tools

•  Premailer

•  Litmus

•  Lynda.com

Thank You!

Melissa Kane | AA&D Marketing and Communications [email protected]

Slow Down, Daredevil: Best Practices for Email Testing, Analytics, and Reporting

Mike Petroff Digital Content Strategist @mikepetroff | #digemail

Intro

Mike Petroff Digital Content Strategist / Office of Digital Strategy

Topics

●  Testing ●  Creating test groups ●  A/B testing

●  Analytics ●  Numbers to track ●  UTM tracking

●  Reporting ●  Formats ●  Making reports stick

credit: Michael Ochs Archives

So, why test? credit: Donald Horne/Flickr

Remove the guesswork

credit: LIFE Magazine

Why Test?

●  Test Group Basics ●  Include both desktop, mobile ●  Sender, subject ●  Design, text, links ●  Links, tracking (opens/clicks) ●  Allow time for adjustments

Send with confidence

credit: Donald Horne/Flickr

What matters most? credit: C. Alexander Leigh/Flickr

Email: Numbers that Matter

Standard email reports include: ●  Open rate (% of email recipients that open) ●  CTR (Click-through rate) or link click totals Also consider: ●  Effective rate (click rate divided by the open rate) ●  Bounce rate (emails sent that could not be delivered) ●  Subscription growth ●  Unsubscribes ●  Variations between email sends

Email: Numbers that Matter

Standard email reports include: ●  Open rate (% of email recipients that open) ●  CTR (Click-through rate) or link click totals Also consider: ●  Effective rate (click rate divided by the open rate) ●  Bounce rate (emails sent that could not be delivered) ●  Subscription growth ●  Unsubscribes ●  Variations between email sends But, what about conversions?

Connecting the dots

credit: Franz Lüdicke/Flickr

Email send CTR Website conversion

Email: Analytics and UTM codes

Establish consistency in naming: ●  Medium (email, social, print, etc) ●  Source ●  Campaign Name

For example, our ‘Medium’ is the most general, then ‘Source’ gets more specific about the type of email, then ‘Campaign’ is the specific name of the campaign.

http://www.example.com/?utm_source=weekly-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=best-deals

Email: Analytics and UTM codes

utm_source=newsletter utm_medium=email utm_campaign=hag utm_content=aad_comm_all_alumni_2014-10-24

Email: Analytics and UTM codes

Google ‘url builder’

Email: Analytics and UTM codes

Shared Spreadsheet

Making it stick, with reporting credit: Tony Hart/Flickr

Google Analytics dashboards

●  Dashboards:

Google Analytics dashboards

Resource: https://www.google.com/analytics/gallery/ Things to consider:

●  Site goals and conversion metrics ●  Visitor technology (mobile/desktop, screen size) ●  Visitor behavior (new/returning, event tracking)

Distribution examples

Daily: Gazette email report

Goal: ●  Provides overall open/click rate, story clicks ●  Compiled in Silverpop, bulleted insights

Weekly: Dashboard report

Goal: ●  Overall top stories, traffic breakdown by Harvard sources

(Harvard.edu, daily email, social) ●  Compiled through GA Dashboard, with bulleted insights

Distribution examples

Goal: ●  Trending analytics and analysis for main Harvard web,

email, social properties ●  Compiled through several analytics sources, collected in

shared Google Doc, bulleted insights

Ad-hoc: Snapshot analytics reports

Goal: ●  Provide consistent, templated approach to collection of

web, email, social stats and examples ●  Compiled using several analytics sources, collected in

shared Google doc

Monthly: Monthly analytics report

Distribution examples

Example: Daily Gazette section from Monthly Report

Thank you!

Mike Petroff Digital Content Strategist

Q&A: Nuts and Bolts of Email Best Practices

#digemail

Next up: It’s a Mobile World

#digemail

Building and optimizing email templates for mobile

It’s a Mobile World

WHY FOCUS ON MOBILE?

Know your audience

WHY CAN’T MY EMAIL LOOK THE SAME EVERYWHERE?

Email client support for CSS

ANATOMY OF A TEMPLATE

Wrapper 100%

Content Area 600px

Preheader

Header

Body

Footer

Content Area

Nested Tables

Media Queries

table { border-spacing: 0; border-collapse: collapse; }

@media only screen and (max-width: 600px) {

table[class="body"] .row { width: 100% !important; display: block !important; } }

Avoid CSS for layouts

Preheader

Preheader Place at the beginning of your body section

Can be hidden or displayed in the email itself

<body> <span>This is my preheader! </span>

<body> <span style = “display: none;”>This is my preheader! </span>

Header Graphic (100% or fixed width)

HEADER TITLE Tagline | November 2014

100%

420px

Text (HTML)

visual impact

not visible by default

difficult to read text at small sizes

Remember your <alt> text!

Always visible

limited style options (support for web fonts is limited)

easy to edit

<img src=”image.jpg” alt=”This is your alt text” />

Header

Body Text & Images

Image basics

<img src=”image.jpg” width=”250” height=”180” border=”0” style=”display:block;” />

●  Animated GIFs are supported in most email clients (not Outlook)

●  Background images are not widely supported

Text Tip: Use non-breaking spaces to prevent orphan text

Read more

...about this story. Read&nbsp;more

Read more

RESOURCES Guidelines | Templates | Tools | Testing

GUIDELINES

campaignmonitor.com/resources/will-it-work/

campaignmonitor.com/css/

templates.mailchimp.com

TEMPLATES

zurb.com/ink/templates.php

templates.mailchimp.com

campaignmonitor.com/email-templates

campaignmonitor.com/email-templates

CSS INLINER

premailer.dialect.ca

table.row { padding: 0px; width: 100%; position: relative;

}

<STYLE> <HTML>

<table class="row" style="padding: 0px; width: 100%; position: relative;”>

TESTING

Litmus.com

Litmus.com

Chrome Browser (Element Inspector)

THANK YOU!

Thank you for attending Email Academy! harvard.edu/guidelines

#digemail