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TRANSCRIPT
Practical Strategies to Increase
Wine E-Commerce Sales
Michael Meisner
Manager, Digital Marketing Services
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Today’s Agenda
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1:00-1:15 Check-in & Introduction
1:15 – 2:15 Website Optimization
2:15 – 3:15 Content Marketing Strategy
3:15 Break
3:30 – 4:00 Google Analytics & Data
4:00 - 4:30 Email Marketing
4:30 – 5:00 Open Q & A
A little about me
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Manager, Digital Marketing Services at eWinery Solutions
Graduated Umass Amherst with degree in English
6+ years experience in digital marketing
Built 60+ websites
Manage a few successful ecommerce stores
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=18420931
Google+ https://plus.google.com/104076802370956017518/
Twitter https://twitter.com/mmeisner
“The main growth over the next decade
will come from a growing habit of
buying wine online”
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source: http://www.wineintelligence.com/2012/03/28/press-release-us-direct-to-
consumer-wine-sales-have-huge-potential-according-to-new-report/
DTC wine trends and stats
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10% rise in both value and volume DTC shipments of
wine over past twelve months.
Rose, Sparkling Wine and Pinot Noir saw the greatest
increases in volume and value of shipments in 2012
CA dominates as a destination for shipments, receiving
32%. NY, TX, IL, and FL combine for another 30%.
Internet is the great flattener.
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In Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat,” he provides ten key events in history, such as the collapse of the Berlin wall and the IPO of Netscape, that created a level playing field in terms of commerce.
No distribution, no problem
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“We decided back in 2007 for our @1000 case Sonoma County Pinot Noir Winery to forgo distribution all together, and place our bet on direct sales, starting primarily through a prime location (Tasting Room , on the Healdsburg Plaza Square)
This allows us to build our sales base in a linear fashion (albeit from zero!) meet all of our customers in person, and of course retain 100% of the sale price.
It also allows us to spend more on our product (as necessary), that the 50% of retail (FOB) that we would get in the three tiered system, we don’t have to worry about getting paid from an out of state stranger, licensing issues are minimized,channel management is simplified and we have a way each time to reconnected with our customers, since we’ve virtually met them all!
It’s a slower pace for sure, but a steady one.”
http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2011/05/26/dtc-sales-help-wineries-rebound-study-suggests/
Website Optimization
Drive traffic. Get leads. Make sales.
But first, make sure you have a decent website.
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Basic on-page ranking factors
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Title
Headline
URL
Links and Captions
META Description
Body Content
Images
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Use descriptive
image name, i.e.
“carneros-pinot-
noir.jpg”
Include ALT tag
“Domaine
Carneros Pinot
Noir”
Marketing URLs
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http://www.polariswines.com/index.cfm?method=pages.
showPage&pageid=a189049a-ab78-a3c0-2ff4-
d1f9c059f6d
VS. http://www.garyfarrellwinery.com/sonoma-winery-
tasting-room
Which one is more appealing? Easy to remember?
Product page elements
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Must haves
1. Quality, high res images
2. Product title
3. Teaser
4. Call to action
5. Add to cart
Also helpful:
• Product reviews
• Social sharing
• Call to order
• Add to wishlist
Site search
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Help users find what they are looking for. Pull their search
terms into Google Analytics to understand, and position
your products smarter.
Product Schema
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Create your own product
schema here:
http://schema-
creator.org/product.php
Test your markup here:
http://www.google.com/webmast
ers/tools/richsnippets
Authorship schema
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Connects your
profile to content.
Higher
clickthroughs
More trust
https://plus.google.com/authorship
Product ratings schema
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Higher clickthroughs
More trust
http://schema-creator.org/product.php
Mobile websites
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95% of smartphone users search for local businesses.
80% of local businesses do not have a mobile site.
40% of people turn to a competitors site after a bad mobile experience
If you do not have a mobile site, you’re missing out on visitors to the tasting room, losing sales, and creating a bad impression of your brand.
It’s your turn
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Critique the Tarara Winery website based on what we
learned, and think of ways to improve each one. Use the
prompt questions to guide your analysis.
Critique: Tarara Winery website
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Meta Title: Tarara Winery
Meta Description: “from Tarara winery, located in Virginia”
Example page url: http://www.tarara.com/scripts/cpg.cfm/14
Questions to ask:
Do the three sections on the homepage interest you?
Could the URL structure be improved?
Does the newsletter signup stand out?
Is there enough copy on the homepage?
Summary
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Focus on using keywords in titles, headings, images, and
page URLs.
Write descriptive meta descriptions for each page.
Focus on creating a clean product page that guides the
customer’s experience.
Test and revise basic website elements to increase
conversions.
Focus on usability and design.
Create a mobile website.
Setup Google Webmaster Tools
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41% lift in revenue per visitor for wine retailer (A/B
testing)
Google webmaster tools
Free on-page SEO audit
100 Free SEO tools for every challenge
Title and description optimizer tool
Image optimizer tool
XML sitemap generator
Search Engine Land
Search Engine Journal
Resources
Content marketing strategy
Why customer experience optimization
is the new search engine optimization.
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The SEO dilemma
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I don’t really “do” SEO anymore.
Instead, I build brand awareness, positive
perception, and market share by shaping
experiences to be found and used by people.
Stop interrupting, start educating
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Forget about
getting in your
customers face
when they aren’t
looking.
Focus on getting
found where they
are looking.
Step 1 – Attracting strangers
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Videos
Blogs
Social media
Newsletters
Articles on other websites
Events
Infographics
Attracting example
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The Client:
Sierra Foothill Winery
The Audience:
A prospective visitor to the region, who’s looking for something to do. They enjoy wine, and spending time in the outdoors.
The Content:
Regional resources page listing things to do like hiking, fishing spots, favorite restaurants, hotels, and other sights.
http://www.benziger.com/Fun-Things-To-Do-In-Sonoma demonstrates this approach.
http://blog.lacrema.com/ connects with lifestyles, foodies, humorous content that’s engaging and useful.
Step 2 – Convert visitors
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Newsletter signup form
Offer visitors something extra – insider tips, one-time discount, or special event invites.
Landing pages
Signup form on sold out product page to get notified about our new release.
Events
In person tastings/pouring events
Dinner parties
Small nudges
Join our wine club for 20% off this wine today.
Step 3 – Close leads
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Lifecycle email marketing
Welcome series of emails
Informative brand content
Ongoing promotions and special email-only offers
In person - tasting room visits
Local search marketing
Local advertising
Advertising
PPC and Adwords
Retargeting/remarketing
Facebook paid promotions
Step 4 – Delight customers
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Wine club
discounts
Wine club
special offerings
Club member
events
Loyalty bonuses
Meta data
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Add reviews to your product
page with proper data
formatting.
Which provide users with extra
information in search results.
Build familiarity
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Crowdsourced content = minimal
effort on your part, big engagement.
Take a photo at winery, or while
drinking wine. Pretty simple.
You can do better.
Create and they will come
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http://www.quicksprout.com/case-study-techcrunch
Who, what, when, where, how
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These types of “discovery” search phrases provide great
opportunities to attract new visitors.
Blogging
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Set up a free blog at
wordpress.com or install
the software to host it on
your own website.
Many benefits, including:
• Very SEO friendly
• Free to use
• Tons of free/paid plugins
to extend functionality
Benefits of blogging
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Instant marketing and
publicity.
More indexed site
pages = more search
rankings
Create brand
personality
Connect with lifestyles
Guest blogging
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Gain exposure from new
audiences by contributing
content to other websites
and publications.
Identify a website you’d like
to publish on, find a contact,
and send them a friendly
pitch for a story idea.
http://moz.com/blog/the-
ultimate-guide-to-advanced-
guest-blogging
Find Influencers
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Klout
Traackr
Simply Measured
Followerwonk
Summary
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Focus on inbound marketing, creating value and interest
to attract visitors.
Create content for various customer stages, from
awareness through consideration and into customer
loyalty.
Start a blog and update it regularly.
Build authority around your niche.
Curate and share content from other sources.
Look for guest blogging opportunities to expand your
reach to new audiences beyond your website.
Resources
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Wordpress.org (self-hosted version) or wordpress.com (free hosted version)
http://www.alltop.com - good to browse top blogs by category. Search for "wine"
88 content creation ideas - good tips and ideas for creating content
http://blogengage.com/ - free to submit content/syndicate
http://www.myblogguest.com – guest blog networking site
http://www.gather.com/ - content syndication
http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-content-marketing-chapter-3/ - everything Patel writes is pure gold. Highly recommend reading this and other articles on the Quicksprout site
http://moz.com/blog/the-secret-recipe-for-viral-content-marketing-success - creating viral content
Chase the footprint – find useful search queries for linkbuilding, guest blogging
Textbroker.com
Outbrain content discovery
Lead Pages – landing page creation service
Attracting local wine
tourists
Use local search marketing strategies to
you connect with nearby visitors and
drive more traffic to your tasting room.
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The rise of local search results
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92 http://robertgreiner.com/2012/11/increase-sales-by-improving-local-search-results/
Where do local search results appear?
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Google delivers
search results specific
to your location, as
shown in the “local
listings” to the left. If
you type “winery” it
will show you nearby
wineries in this area.
Consumers adapt to local search
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http://www.brightlocal.com/2011/04/12/local-search-marketing-survey-results/
Basic steps for local search rankings
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Get listed in the Big 3 (Google, Yahoo, Bing)
Optimize your website’s contact/visit page
Each business listing needs to use a uniform name,
address and phone number (NAP).
Encourage visitors to leave reviews on sites like
Tripadvisor, Fodors, Google+, and Yelp. There’s a strong
correlation between user reviews and local search
rankings.
Fully optimize your Google+ Local business page
Quick win: Optimize your logo
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If you’re looking for a clever and easy way to help optimize your website for your local region, use these easy tactics.
Use the ALT tag
The image ALT tag gives search engines a description of the image.
<img src="http://example.com/images/logo.gif" alt=“Your Winery, Willamette Valley Oregon">
Image filename
Nobody searches for “logo” so instead, name your image something relevant like, “oregon-winery.jpg” and it will show up in image search results for those terms.
Top 5 citation sources for SF
1. http://www.yelp.com/
2. http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/
3. http://local.yahoo.com/
4. http://www.yellowpages.com/
5. http://local.sfgate.com/
Find the top sources for your region:
http://getlisted.org/resources/local-citations-by-city.aspx
50 business directories
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/10322/The-Ultimate-List-50-Local-Business-Directories.aspx
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Tip: Automate forms
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https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/autofill-forms/
Regional organization websites
Every major wine region has at least a few websites dedicated to promoting the area, and sharing information about the local wineries. Tourists often use these sites to learn about the different wineries and plan their visit.
Consider building a presence on these sites:
http://winecountry.com/
http://sonoma.com
http://donapa.com/
http://napavalley.com/
http://www.napavintners.com/
http://www.localwineevents.com
http://www.visitnapavalley.com
http://www.napatouristguide.com/
http://napavalley.patch.com/
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Local event calendars
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Be sure to update listings beyond your website to gain
more exposure.
http://www.localwineevents.com
http://syndical.com/
http://eventful.com
https://plus.google.com/events/create
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/events/
http://www.napavintners.com/events/
http://calendar.napavalley.com/
Google local search results
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Google displays local search results using business Places listings as the primary
results.
It’s absolutely crucial to have a
Google+ Local/Places page
claimed and optimized for
your business.
1. Listing is claimed and 100%
complete.
2. Use Adwords Express to
show your listing to local
searchers.
3. Create an offer, such as a
“2-for-1 tasting” to attract
visitors.
For a great overview of
Google+ Local, check out
“Google+ Local Bible for
SMBs”.
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Tip: Spy on the competition
Suppose you notice that a certain winery always shows up when you search for “wine tasting”. Copy their address, and then search for it in Google. King Estate ranks well for a lot of regional searches and if you search for "80854 Territorial Hwy. Eugene, OR 97405" (with quotes) you will find all the websites that list their business. Canvas these sites to create your own business listings.
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Page optimization for local
Include regional terms in page titles and descriptions. For example, your homepage might use “Extraordinary Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ”. The description should include one or two short sentences about your winery while also mentioning the region.
Create a unique page on your website for each vineyard.
Format your business address with local schema markup. Schema markup provides search engines with extra data about your website content. You can use this free tool to get the proper HTML code that you can paste on your site: http://www.microdatagenerator.com/local-business-schema/
Use internal site links that point to relevant regional pages or products. For example, if you have a map of the area, you should link to that page anytime you use a phrase like “map of Willamette Valley”. The same applies to product, where any mention of “Willamette Pinot Noir” should be linked to the relevant product page.
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Page meta (title, description, URL)
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http://www.benziger.com/sonoma-wine-tours
Tip: Easy keyword research
Ubersuggest.org
Type a phrase in the search box, and
Ubersuggest will scrape every single
Google autocomplete suggestion for
the phrase. This is a great way to get
ideas for content, and understand what
people search for.
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Use Hootsuite to find locals
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Consider monitoring terms
like “wine tasting,” and “winery
recommendation.” Make a
habit of checking to see
whether you can lend some
advice to any relevant
conversations that pop up.
Adwords express for local ads
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Use Adwords express to buy local traffic to your places page.
http://www.google.com/adwords/express/
Summary
Any local business looking to increase foot traffic through their door needs to take advantage of the increasing amount of local-oriented searches.
Claim your Google+ Local page, and add as much content to it, bringing it to 100% completion. Do the same at sites like Yelp, Citysearch, and Yellowpages to name a few.
Build a presence on regional websites, which often provide a directory of businesses.
If you notice a competitor ranking for a lot of search terms, try searching for their business address to explore where they’re getting listings.
Use Hootsuite to search for real-time discussions taking place near your location. Monitor phrases like “wine tasting” and “winery recommendation” to find ways to engage with interested tourists.
Use advertising, like Adwords Express, to gain visibility for search terms that you would otherwise not rank for organically.
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Additional Resources
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Event syndication
http://www.localwineevents.com
http://syndical.com/
http://eventful.com
https://plus.google.com/events/create
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.co
m/events/
http://www.napavintners.com/events/
http://calendar.napavalley.com/
General strategy
Google+ Local Bible for SMBs
Google Places help forum
Search engine land local SEO column
Tools Whitespark citation finder
Adwords Express
Google Analytics
Measure your efforts and track success.
Understand user acquisition, behavior, and outcomes.
116
“Half the money I spend on advertising is
wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which
half.”
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- John Wanamaker
The basics
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Acquisition
Where do you get traffic from?
Behavior
What are visitors doing on your website?
How engaged are they?
What content is most interesting to them?
Outcome
What is the result of their visit? (purchase,
signup)
What is the per visit value of a traffic
source?
Metrics, Dimensions and KPIs
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Metrics – a metric is a number, for example “500 visitors”
KPI (key performance indicator) – is a metric, but it’s
more important. It measures how well you’re performing
against site objectives. For example “Average order value”
Dimension – an attribute of the visitor to your website.
For example, “Referral traffic source is Google” or
“keyword: buy wine”
Learn more http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/web-analytics-
101-definitions-goals-metrics-kpis-dimensions-targets/
Segments
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Default segments:
New visitors
Search traffic
Mobile traffic
Custom segments
High revenue, over $400
Nonbranded keywords
Local traffic sources like Yelp
Acquisition – where do they come from?
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Key metrics
Total visits
% new visits
Bounce rate
Top channels
Branded vs. non-
branded keywords
eCommerce conversion
rates
Behavior – what are they doing?
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Key metrics
Time on site
Pages per visit
Bounce rates
Goal completions
Outcomes – are they completing goals?
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Key metrics
eCommerce conversion rate
Per visit value
Average order value
Goal conversion rate
Tip - add shortcuts
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Useful when you segment data, and don’t want to repeat the steps to get there.
Tip - Use annotations
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Keep track of major changes to your website, and use to
compare impact going forward
Setup and track website goals
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Common goals for a winery website might include: Clicks for directions
Appointments/reservations
Checkout/buying steps
Newsletter signups
Wine club signups
Watching a video
Schedule reports to email
140
Click “email” on any
report in analytics.
Enter an email, and choose
frequency/day of week.
Summary
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Think of data in three ways – where does traffic come
from (acquisition), what do visitors do (behavior), and
what are the outcomes (conversions).
Ensure that ecommerce tracking is enabled and working.
Identify and create goals to track.
Set up weekly or monthly reports to email yourself.
Use dashboards to group data into related topics.
Add shortcuts on pages that you frequent, especially
when segmenting and drilling down.
Use segments to view more granular data.
Resources
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Acquisition Dashboards SEO monitoring
Visitor facts
Behavior Dashboards Site usage/quality
Where people exit your site
Outcomes/Goals Dashboards Sales cockpit
More dashboards http://www.dashboardjunkie.com/
10 Useful Google Analytics custom dashboards
The only blog you need to learn everything GA:
http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/
Solutions Gallery https://www.google.com/analytics/gallery/
Email Marketing
Email is not dead. It’s critical to your success and remains the easiest way to directly connect with consumers.
147
Easy to measure
149
It’s easy to track performance, do A/B testing, see what
works and what doesn’t.
Email assists other channels
151
Email may not always get credit for the final purchase, but
it will usually be a top traffic channel for assisted
conversions.
Listbuilding tips – make it obvious
152
Include a mailing list signup prompt on every page, in an
obvious place where people will see it.
Listbuilding tips - offer an incentive
154
Give visitors a reason to sign up for your mailing list, like
a one-time discount or free tasting for two.
More listbuilding ideas
156
Attend pouring events, and require people to sign up to
your mailing list.
Create promos and contests, require entry through email
signup.
Consider what gets you to offer up your email?
Welcome campaign with resources
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• Links to top selling wines
• Interview with winemaker
• Quick tips
• Wine club 20% discount (not
shown here)
• Upcoming events
• Social media links
• Upcoming promotions and
invitations to exclusive events
Welcome email with nothing
160
No images. No logo. Just plain
text. Missed opportunity for a
good first impression.
Frequency
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Consistency
Stick to a deployment schedule (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly)
Mix informational emails with promotional ones
Don’t be afraid to turn it up during the busy season or other
times of year when you can take advantage of a promo
Re-engagement
162
Abandoned cart emails
Happy birthday
One year club anniversary
Update info/preferences
We’ve missed you
Segmentation
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Content is King. Segmentation is Queen.
Varietal preferences (Special offer on Reds)
Locals (Come to our next event)
Order history (We’ve missed you)
Club join date (One year anniversary together)
Credit card set to expire (Update your profile)
Landing pages
164
Bring visitor closer
to the product or
introduce them to
a special promotion
to help nudge them
toward a purchase.
A/B Testing
165
Use split testing
to send slightly
different versions
of an email to
one half of your
list. Compare
results.
A/B testing - response
166
Test basic elements such
as:
Cart discount vs. free
shipping
Subject lines
Placement of call to action
buttons
Using company name vs.
personal name in “from”
line
Rendering tips
168
Width of the creative does not exceed 600 pixels
Structure the creative with <table>'s, Do not float <div>'s to position anything
Use inline CSS to style your fonts versus basic HTML; i.e. span style =“” vs. font face = “”
Don’t use a <body> tag to set a background color. Wrap a 100% table around the creative and set it's bgcolor instead.
Define the height & width of your images within your <img> tags.
Do not use the <style> tag within the <head> tag.
Do not use <p> tags. If you would like to specify line breaks, do so using <br />
Use Premailer to clean formatting and HTML http://premailer.dialect.ca/
Avoid common pitfalls
170
Their email offered 25% off their 2009 Zinfandel, with 50% off to wine club members. However, both the link from the email and the site itself offered 50% off to EVERYONE.
Avoid common pitfalls
171
Offered a discount of 25% plus free shipping on a selection of wines. But the cart did not offer the free shipping. This was true for any amount, though the test order was for a case.
Always be testing
172
• Other errors include a winery that sent an email offering 15% off on a newly released $40 Cabernet. But the Buy link brought you only to the home page of the winery that was featuring a different Cabernet, at $100, with no discount. The user had to search the site to get the wine advertised and discounted. They should have used a landing page.
• A winery sent an offer for 20% off all wines. The link took you to their list of wines, but only showed the regular prices and gave only their established discounts of 5% and 10% depending on quantity ordered.
• One multi-brand owner sent a separate email for each of its brands. Each email showed the wines of one promoted brand, but the buy button went to just one winery, presumably the email they created first, and forgot to change the link.
• One winery offered a “today only!” sale. Except the wines were not on sale when the email arrived. When contacted, the winery said “We thought the email would arrive the next day.”
• Another winery promised free shipping on a case order, but neglected to limit that to ground shipments. A customer could place an order for free priority overnight. If these orders are automatically processed, it’s a money-losing proposition.
So check your work! Send it to a co-worker who did not work on that email. Whoever spent time creating the email will usually not spot the errors.
On writing
173
80% of people will read your headline, but only a small
fraction will continue
Use “Power Words”
Mix up your greetings
Keep it short
Call to action above the fold
Use deadlines to sell
Include numbers in the subject
Be personal, “Your are not alone”
Breakout session
174
Dissect your email. Come up with 2-3 positives and 2-3
negatives.
What would you test?
Summary
175
Focus on building list.
Set up a decent welcome email.
Split test subject lines, content, calls to action.
Mix informative with promos and offers
Check for mistakes
Resources
176
A/B Testing
7 myths about email marketing
How A/B split testing works
A/B split testing
Subject line testing scenarios
Exposure
Winerymailinglists.com
Wineberserkers.com
Copywriting
37 tips for writing emails that get opened, read, and
clicked
Subject line strategies to increase open rates
The Perfect Subject Line
Services
Try a cart abandonment campaign
free for 30 days
Email marketing audit
http://www.litmus.com
http://www.mailchimp.com
Formatting
Premailer. The preflight check for
HTML emails
Data/Analytics
Email marketing dashboard for
Google Analytics
Landing Pages
The anatomy of a high converting
landing page