a crash course in b2b email creative
TRANSCRIPT
15 Emails in 15 Minutes: A Crash Course in B2B Email Creative
Ask us anything:
#B2BEmail @AutopilotUS @SpearMktg
Meet the Speakers
#B2BEmail
Howard J. Sewell President, Spear Marketing Group
@hjsewell
Josh Fechter Growth Evangelist
@joshuafetcher
About Spear Marketing Group
• Full-service B2B agency specializing in demand generation and lead management
• 90%+ B2B technology clients across a range of categories, audiences, target buyers
• Headquartered in Bay Area with 40+ clients nationwide
• Named to list of Top US B2B Agencies for 2015, 2016, 2017 (Chief Marketer Magazine)
#B2BEmail
About Autopilot
Autopilot is visual marketing software for automating customer journeys
#B2BEmail
15 Emails in 15 Minutes…Let’s go!
B2B Email Creative: Key Principles
• What, Why, How
• Sell the Offer, Not the Product
• Shorter is Better: Avoid Redundancy
• FOCUS: 1 Offer, 1 Message, 1 Call to Action
• Drive Action, Don’t Just Relate Facts
Insightpool
#B2BEmail
Headline as image
Pre-header copy
“Read more”
No offer
#B2BEmail
Insightpool (images off)
#B2BEmail
What’s the offer?
Is the headline describing the image?
No offer benefits
3 different CTAs (4 including social buttons)
Timetrade
#B2BEmail
BounceExchange
What, Why, How
Image of the offer
What you’ll learn
Only 53 words!
#B2BEmail
IBM CommerceOffer up front
Really long set-up paragraph
Too much text; no bulletsNo text link CTAs
Headline as image
#B2BEmail
Localytics
Avoid Yes/No questions (“Did you know …”)
Large header pushes selling copy down the page
Creative, action-oriented button copy
Headline as image
#B2BEmail
Acquia
Headline is topic, not benefit
Short set-up paragraph
2 CTA buttons, 1 text link
Bulleted benefits
Needs an offer imageOffer and CTA up front
Footer is designed much wider than the body section
#B2BEmail
Localytics (#2)
Starbust!
Opening paragraph too long; recitation of facts
“You’ll learn” vs. “This report covers”
Copy above the CTA button is unneeded (redundancy)
Offer front and center
#B2BEmail
LookbookCreative use of header space (but still an image)
“20 Minutes” call-out
“7 things” delivers benefit, not just a topic
Opening paragraph too long
Body section too busyToo many bullets; text is too small
Reversed out type difficult to read
Creative button copy (“Save My Seat”)
#B2BEmail
Webroot
Headlines have no relevance to value proposition or learning benefit
Leads with Yes/No question
Features, not benefits
Topic vs. Benefit
#B2BEmail
IBM (#2)
3 long paragraphs of facts No CTA until the endof the email
No visuals to grab the reader
#B2BEmail
Bluewolf
Confusing image
“Decemeber”
What’s the offer? (“Live Webcast” is buried)
Click to Register vs. Register Now
“Now, more than ever, you are responsible …”
Avoid the first person (“We are bringing you…”)
#B2BEmail
Sales HackerWhat, Why, Howall in the header
Great pre-header copy
First paragraph tells me what I already know
Bold type!“What You’ll Learn” bulletsToo busy; needs color
block or bullets to break up text
#B2BEmail
BlueJeans
What’s the offer?
Sells the product, not the offer“As an IT leader
you want to get the most…”
Download what exactly?
Competing CTA: “Speak to an expert”
#B2BEmail
Certify Great pre-header copy
“See why Certify is #1” diminishes value of the offer
Needs a text link in the body copy
Button copy should be consistent (View, Get)
What, Why, How all in the header
#B2BEmail
Janrain
Headline is a topic, not a benefit
Pre-header copy needs to be more specific
Long first paragraph, recitation of facts
Need stronger, more compelling bullet points
Key Takeaways
#B2BEmail
No longer than absolutely necessary (avoid redundancy)
Think mobile-friendly (CTA buttons)
Repeat the CTA multiple times in button and text (link) form
Make your offer and CTA clear, specific, and concrete
Keep paragraphs short & scannable(1-2 sentences max)
Don’t take too much time to “set up” the offer
Don’t tell the reader what he/she already knows
You’ve got email.
Now let’s automate it!
@joshuafetcher @AutopilotUS
Any questions?
@hjsewell@SpearMktg
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