neacac 2010 email marketing for admissions

Email Marketingfor Admissions:

It’s not dead. It’s just different!

Adrienne Bartlett, SACAC 2010

More optionsMore choicesMore money

More infoMore clutterMore speed

More STRESS

Is email dead?

Nope.But it has changed.

ReasonsContent

Mom & Dad

Do they read email anymore?

Social technologies like text messaging relegated to friends.

“Remember, you’re not

their friend.”

“Communicate with Old Folks”

Email has aged well (believe it or not)

Is it still cool?

"Sure. It's just not the same way it was when it was the shiny new

toy that every marketer was scrambling to implement as the

1990s faded away."

-- Wendy Roth, iMedia Connection

http://www.imediaconnection.com/printpage/printpage.aspx?id=26242

Email has evolved...

“Email is once again all about the

conversation”

"Email began as a one-to-one medium."

"But marketers quickly recognized its value as a one-to-many model

and began treating email messages as if they were electronic catalogs

and sales circulars."

1:1

“These days, the most effective approach is a one-to-some model”

More messages Smaller groups

PersonalizationRelevance

1. Markets are conversations.

2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.

3. Conversations among human beings sound human.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is helping to make messages much more

targeted and personalized.

“Email today is about each individual recipient -- how to gain and retain their trust, send them

messages they find more valuable, and market to them where they are, regardless of browser, platform or device. Email isn't just about email

anymore."-- Wendy Roth, iMedia Connection

Email also remains the best way to communicate with working

adults looking at part-time graduate and undergraduate

programs.

Touch points don’t matter if you’re not building relationships

They say you need to definitively answer your readers' three biggest

questions or risk losing them:

Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon, Email Insiderhttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=125599

8seconds

1. What is this email about?2. Why should I care about it?3. What should I do about it?

1. What is this email about?2. Why should I care about it?3. What should I do about it?

“Strive for a balance of copy and imagery that gets the message across without overwhelming the reader.”

“Work towards a design that guides recipients' eyes exactly

where they need to go.”

Not a catch-all solution

Old Me!a is the best way to promote

New Media.

New Media can not and should not exist in a vacuum.

[Should complement your overall marketing strategy]

Think more like a publisher

(not a marketer)

“Bring wine to the picnic”Source: Chris Brogan

Great online content is:

Brief ShareableUseful

Personal Fresh

Relevant to Your Goals

“Glue”

Tips

1Know your role.

When to use email?

Event invites/remindersConfirmations

SurveysNotifications

Process Updates

Promote new (valuable)content

on your site

2Get to the point.

“We are a nation of email skimmers and scanners, looking for something

relevant while hovering over the delete button. Give your readers every

opportunity to hang in there until they find something they like.”

-- Ray Ulmer, TargetX

Throw Shakespeare

out the window.

Skip the introKeep it shortSay it once

No blocks of textDesign to skim

Bold key words?

Exercise: What’s the

point of this email?

Make that your 1st sentence.

“You’re invited to attend our Open House

on October 24th.”

Which words can you delete?

3Make the call.

Call to action?!

“Make sure your most crucial information -- especially headlines and calls-to-action -- is kept above the fold. Remember that people often read just

headlines and CTAs.”

“Use easy-to-find, straightforward CTAs that tell

people exactly what will happen when they click.”

Set it offBoldLink

Center?

4Inform your subjects.

DescriptiveClever

“Hook and label”Key words first

A/B test

No spammy words DON’T SCREAM

Don’t repeat school nameDon’t merge first name

“Don’t Miss Out”“Last Chance”

“We’re Waiting”“Check this out”

“Open House Invitation”

“Take our campus visit survey”

“Missing transcript”

“Chat with us today”

5Don’t trust the media;)

Prospects (especially parents) often have images

disabled.

Proceed as if the images aren’t

rendering.

Does the message still make sense?

Is it readable?

6Easy on the html.

Too much html :

Screams“marketing”+

Hurts deliverability

Keep the focus on the call to action

We’re past the point of “html for its own sake”

(Keep it simple stupid;)

7Test. Test. Test.

LinksMultiple BrowsersA/B Split

Subject Lines

The best way to determine

frequency & timing

Know your audience.

“A lot of what can be counted doesn’t count, and a lot of

what counts can’t be counted.”

-Albert Einstein

8No magic day or time.

Have a plan.

5/21 1st Email  5/27   Plain-text followup 6/9   2nd Email6/16 Plain-text followup6/16   Link and Instructions6/19   “Day-of reminder” 6/22 Link to video and slides

Date Message Audience

Did not view/interact

Did not view/interact

RegistrantsRegistrantsRegistrants

All

All

The followup should be part

of the plan.

How much is too much?

What stage?WIIFM?

9Court the ‘rents.

Are you collecting

email addresses?

Inquiry CardsApplication

Campus Visits/EventsWebsite

http://www.scu.edu/family/parent-email.cfm

Parent Content:

Address Cost Process

Personalize Notifications

10Segment and personalize.

ParentsGuidance Counselors

“Local”Alums (for Grad Schools)

Consider Plans For:

Bonus!

Be a tease.

Use the “P.S.”

Yield?

GraduationSummer Movies

Packing Lists for CollegeAdvice from Recent Graduates

Favorite High School Memory/Teacher?Favorite Book/Song/Band

Which dorm will you be in?

Source: The Lawlor Group

"You just don't know for sure whether students are coming until you see the whites

of their eyes and their butts in the seats."

If we have a mantra for the summer, it's "stay in touch with your prospects"

“Don’t chase the tools. Chase the goals.”

-Howard@BlueFuego

What will you do differently?

www.targetx.com/ithink

www.targetx.com/webcasts

Next Webcast: May 21

What would you like us to discuss?

bartlett@targetx.comSend us your ideas!

Access this presentation:www.slideshare.net/

targetx

Adrienne Bartlett, SACAC 2010

Thank You!