2016 annual convention and meeting ask the experts- email ... · ask the experts- email marketing:...
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2016 Annual Convention and Meeting ASK THE EXPERTS-
Email Marketing: Best Practices TheAllianceFrançaiseofPortlandhas6,700subscribersforitsfreeemailbulletin.Theemailbulletiniskeytodrivingcloseto$800Kannualrevenueinschoolandeventsregistrations.WhyEmailMarketing?
Itgeneratesmoresales‐readyleads,atlowercosts;thereturnoninvestmentismuchhigherthanwithotherformsofmarketing.(Hubspot)
60%ofcompaniesusingemailmarketingin2015areincreasingtheiremailmarketingbudget.
Emailconversionratesarethreetimeshigherthansocialmedia,witha17%highervaluesale(McKinsey&Co.)
ProfileofAFPDX’sNewsletter
Largesubscriberlist(6,700) Emailbulletins2‐3timespermonth 4‐5keyarticlesof50‐70words(short) Timingisevent‐and“needs”‐driven Openrate=31%‐42% Contentclicks=400to1400perissue All‐Starstatusforsixyears Costis$1200/yearwithConstantContactforthesoftware;possibleswitchtoMailChimp(free)
BestPractices
Thelargeryourdistributionlist,thegreatertheimpact,influenceandsales.
ShootforstylisticconsistencyingoodEnglish.HaveanativeEnglishspeakeraseditor/marketer. Emphasizefreshcontenteachtime.Donotrepeatoldinfo.Findnewangles. Staytruetoyourmission/styledespitepressure.Donotwaverfromthe“French”connectionandremembertheservicerelationship/agreementwiththereader.Findbalanceofpetprojects.
Accuracyisimportant.Useproofreaders.Testalllinksrightbeforesending. Iferrors,avoiddedicatedcorrections. ShootforstylisticconsistencyingoodEnglish.HaveanativeEnglishspeakeraseditor/marketer. Emphasizefreshcontenteachtime.Donotrepeatoldinfo.Findnewangles. Staytruetoyourmission/styledespitepressure.Donotwaverfromthe“French”connectionandremembertheservicerelationship/agreementwiththereader.Findbalanceofpetprojects.
Avoidhyperboleandespeciallytheover‐userofexclamationpointsorellipses!!!!!!ToEnglishspeakers,frequentuseofellipses(...)oftenmeansyou’renotsureofwhatyouwanttosay.
Getaprofessionally‐donegraphicfortheheader/branding. IncludeCalendar–QuickReferencewithlinks.
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MoreBestPractices
SubjectLines:Createhonestyetinterestingsubjectlines.Referencegoodcontent. Youhave3‐4secondstodriveanopen;thedecisiontoopenis40%dependentonthesubjectline. Don’toverthinkrankingofarticles.Ifyourcontentiscompelling,readerswillgothroughtotheend.Considerstoringbonusorverypopularmaterialattheveryend.
BegenerousinpromotingthegoodworkofotherFrenchorganizations.Promotepartnershipsandharmony–awin‐win.
HittheHotButtons(seethegraphicbelow)
Traveltips/updates Languagemasterytips,toolsandlinks JobopeningswhereFrenchisrelevant(verypopular) Coupons,savings,insidertips Culturalgemsandtidbits Newsextracts(curating) “Youhearditherefirst,”or“Youheardithere,andnowhereelse.”
WheretoGetContent
Internet,curatingservices OtherAlliance/FACCnewsletters&media,andtheFederationE‐Flash Yourowneventsandpat‐on‐the‐backrecapsofsuccesses Yourownphotosorusefreestock Pullfrommultiplethemestoaddressmultipleoverlappinginterestsegments(note:ifyouarealargerAlliancethenyoumaywellhavedifferentnewsletterstargetingdifferentsegments).
StatisticsfromaTypicalAFPDXBulletinWhatDotheReadersClickOn?
Chartsource:L.Witt/AFPDX
Attached:
2‐pageAnalysisofMailChimpversusConstantContact
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2016 Annual Convention and Meeting ASK THE EXPERTS-
Email Marketing: Comparing Mail Chimp & Constant Contact
ConstantContactandMailChimphavethetopdeliverabilityratesintheindustry.Intermsoffeatures,theyareconsideredtobebasicallycomparable,withcompaniesroutinelyfloatingbackandforthbetweenthem.Somehighlightsofdifferences:1)Fully‐featuredMailChimpisgenerallycheaperthanConstantContact.2)Formanycustomers,MailChimp’sfreeaccountissufficient.3)MailChimphasfree,permanent,simpleemailarchivingversusConstantContact’scost‐basedarchiving.Theinternetisfullofhelpfulcomparisons(googleConstantContactvsMailChimp).Seepage2foranexampleofafeaturescomparison.BelowistheperspectiveofLindaWitt,E‐Flasheditor.ShehasusedContactContactforAFdePortland’semail(6600subscribers)forseveralyears,andrecentlypilotedMailChimpfortheFederationE‐Flashemail. DoingaMailChimp“FreeForever”trialafteryearsonConstantContact:
Iwasgenuinelysurprisedbyallthevalueandfeaturesthatareavailableinthe“ForeverFree”MailChimpaccount.Frankly,Idon’tforeseetheneedtoupgradetheFederationE‐Flashtoapaidaccount.It’sprettycooltoahavepowerful,freeprogram.
AfteryearsworkingwithConstantContact,ittookmeabitoftimetogetusedtoMailChimp’suserinterface,butoverallit’sprettyintuitive,andtheonlinehelpisextensive.Italsohelpsthatthefirst30daysofthe“FreeForever”accountdoentitletheusertofreetechsupportforthatperiod.Afterthefirst30days,techsupportbyemailcanonlybeobtainedfrompaidaccounts.
MailChimpprovidesprofessionally‐designed2‐columntemplatesthataremobile‐responsive.WithConstantContact,theonlytemplatesthataremobile‐responsivearesingle‐column,whichcanbeboringforfull‐screendisplays.
MailChimp’sintegrationofGoogleTranslateallowsnewsletterstobedisplayedinotherlanguages.However,thetranslatedversionisonlyavailablewhenaccessingthewebversionofanewsletter(aversioninwhichlinksarenottrackable).
MailChimp’sformathastheusereditingblocksinasecondwindow,unlikeConstantContact’ssingleactiveeditingblock.Thattakesabitofgettingusedto.
ThereportinginMailChimpisvastlysuperiortoConstantContact’s.ThisalonecanjustifychoosingMailChimp.Itautomaticallysortsthelink‐trackingbymost‐oftenclicked.InMailChimpthereisalsoasuper‐cool“clickmap”showingyourentirenewsletterwithanon‐screendisplayoftheclickpercentages.Thisvisualdisplaycommunicatessomuchusefulinformation.It’sclearthatthesoftwareteamactuallylistenedtouserswhentheyimplementedthatfeature.
MailChimp’slisthandling/segmentationmakessenseandisfairlyintuitive.Itrecommendsavoidingmultipleemaillistsandtheresultinginefficienciesthatcomefrommaintainingcontactliststhatoverlap.Thisforcesyoutorethinkandoptimizeyourmasterlist(s)–painfulbutworththetrouble,intheend.(IfoundConstantContact’slistmanagementtobeoverlycomplicatedandextremelyslowtothepointofbeingunusable.)
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BothproductsstrugglewiththechallengeofoptimizingHTMLtolookgood(orsimplyconsistent)acrossmultipleemailclients.MailChimpworksharderatthis,though,byprovidingpreviewsoftheemailacrossmobileandinbox(andforextramoneyintheformofpre‐paidtokens,MailChimpwillpreviewtheemaildisplayonauser‐selectedsubsetofemailclients).MailChimpalsoautomaticallybuildsanarchiveURLforproperdisplay(thoughithasthedownsideofnottrackingclicksonceaccessedoutsidetheemailclient,asmentionedearlier).ConstantContactofferscampaignURL/archivesasanadditionalpaidfeatureandisclumsytomanage.
Intermsofreliabilityandresponsivenessofthesoftware,I’dratethetwoascomparable,withMailChimpwinningintheareaofresponsiveness,especiallywhenworkingwithlists.MailChimpdoes,however,requiresometimesexitingthecampaignandre‐enteringinordertoforcearefreshoftheeditingwindow.ConstantContactdoes,veryoccasionally,hangwithintheeditor.
ConstantContacthasmajor,longstanding,unresolvedissuesinthereliabilityofthepaymentsideofitseventregistrationsoftware.ThisaloneisareasonthatsomeclientsmayopttodroptheirConstantContactaccounts.WelikedthatwecouldimmediatelylinkourConstantContacteventmarketingtoourmerchantserviceviaAuthorize.netgateway,butthewholesolutionisnotworkableifthepaymentprocessinglinkhasafailurerateof10%whenexchangingdatabetweenConstantContactandpaymentgateways.
Chartsource:CapterraQuestions?
[email protected] EmeritusExecutiveDirector–PortlandOR BoardMember,FederationofAlliancesFrançaisesUSA
Materialdate:October2016