designing your email program from online outreach to welcome email- alex williams, eroi

Designing Your Email Program from Online Outreach to the Welcome Message

Alex WilliamsSales & Strategy | eROI

Blog: ReturnOnSubscriber.com

Twitter - @alexcwilliams & @eROI

Linkedin.com/in/emailmarketingstrategy

Email Marketing

(it works and it’s cheap)

During a time when all marketers need to be smart with every

dollar they spend, email is one of the few “go-to” tools with

dramatically low cost and instantaneous accountability.

*Blessing and a Curse*

- Email Marketing: an Hour a Day by Jeanniey Mullen and David Daniels).

What’s the value of an email address?

0.0035%

1. How Do They Find You?

2. Where Do They Land?

3. How Do You Get Them to Act?

4. How Do You Continue The Conversation?

Your Audience

Finding Thru Search: Paid vs. Organic

Finding you: Blogs/Social Media

1. Opt-in

2. Thank you / Welcome Email

3. First Touch

3 Email Program Components

Opt-In

Your opt-in form needs to stand out in a crowd.

Every Page is a Landing Page:

Tips for Opt-In on your Website

1. Call out your Email Opt-in on every page of your site.

2. Don’t expect them to find it (or read)

3. Links to samples are effective

4. Give subscribers choices! e.g. frequency (daily, weekly, monthly), event

alerts, etc...

5. Tell them specifically what they’re signing up for & how often

they’ll hear from you. Keep that promise.

6. Don’t make someone register (user/pass) for email

7. Remember, you can get more information later

Opt-in Questions – Good & Bad

Good

Too Much

If you ask them

questions...

...don’t ignore the answers. They will spread the word.

Like I am doing now.

Get them in and start the relationship

CBSSports.com Opt-In: Before/After

Welcome Email

2 Types of “Welcome Emails”:

1. Account Registration/Thank You

2. Email Communications Opt-In

(Double Opt-In is not viewed as a “Welcome Email”)

Thank You Email: Business Reasons

1. Immediate Recognition

2. Education for the Uninitiated

3. Tests Email Address Validity

4. Begins Behavioral Profile

Thank You: New Account

60% of new Twitter users drop the service within just one month.- Nielsen

Thank You: Registration

Thank Them

Confirmation of Success

Provide Account Details

Cross Promote

Link to Preferences

EventBrite:

Thank You/Welcome

Branded “From”

and Email

Confirmation

Account Details

Tools & Resources

Link to Preferences

A Welcome Email is the first email received

after an opt-in and/or confirmation of

subscription

This will likely be your highest open rate ever.

Make it count.

Welcome Email

Welcome Emails drastically out perform

Standard Emails on every metric:

Open Rates: 145% Increase

Click Rates: 165% Increase

Conversion Rates: 442% Increase!

The Welcome Email: Business Reasons

1. Continued Conversation

2. Exposure to Additional Services/

Cross Promote

3. Subscription Management/

Progressive Profiling

4. Opportunity to Award/Reward

Welcome messages generate

superior open rates and,

done well, create a halo

effect that boosts subscribers’

engagement with subsequent

promotional and trigger

emails.

Shopbop:

Welcome

Email

Special Offers

More Details

Calls to Action

Whitelist Instructions

Link to Preferences

Welcome: Not Pretty, But Effective

Welcome Email Anatomy

At the minimum, send the

Welcome Email within

hours.

Ideally the first message

should be received within

10 minutes of completing

the opt-in process.

TEST, TEST, TEST

Avoid the Bad First Impression

1. Send your welcome message within 24 hours to people who sign up for your e-

mail program.

2. Provide a link to your preference center so subscribers can manage their

subscriptions.

3. Include a welcome offer or other incentive to make a purchase; be creative about

incorporating this offer into the subject line without making it too long to display in

subscribers’ inboxes.

4. Provide subscribers with information on the types of content they can expect to

receive from you and how frequently.

5. Include white-listing instructions so subscribers can keep your e-mails out of their

junk folders.

6. Although welcome messages likely are considered transactional under the CAN-

SPAM Act, it’s still smart to include an opt-out link in case people change their

minds about subscribing.

7. Try to personalize the content for maximum relevancy and subscriber retention.

8. Tell subscribers how you intend to use their e-mail addresses or provide a link to

your privacy policy.

Eight Steps to More Effective Welcome E-mails

A Welcome Message Study: Marketers Are Missing Opportunities to Pave the Road to Relevancy Return Path

CBSSports.com Welcome Email Strategy

First Touch

1. Speeds Up Engagement

2. Reduces List Churn

3. Inbox Recognition

4. Builds Brand

The First Touch: Don’t Wait….Send it!

First Touch:

Keep Educating

& Keep Selling

You have 3 chances to set the

relationship before you lose 80% of

your future email marketing

performance. - Email Marketing: an Hour a Day by Jeanniey Mullen and David Daniels).

So, What’s Next?

Be Good at 3 Things

1. Opt-In

2. Welcome Messaging

3. First Touch

Thank you.

Alex Williams

Sales & Strategy

eROI

alex@eroi.com

@alexcwilliams

Questions?

Discuss

with us on

Twitter:

@eROI

with

#OMS