how to design a high-converting email campaign

How to Design a High-Converting Email Campaign

SARAH MCCREDIE, CAMPAIGN MONITOR

@Kissmetrics

#KissWebinar

@thuelmadsen

Thue is the Kissmetrics Webinar Wizard and Marketing Ops Manager. Before joining forces with Kissmetrics, he was a Lyft driver in SF, which is also how he ended up as a Kissmetrics marketer. Whenever Thue is not trying to

automate everything around him, you can find him hiking in the Sierras.

THUE MADSEN Marketing Operations Manager, Kissmetrics

@ThueLMadsen

Sarah runs Partnerships for Campaign Monitor. Prior to Campaign Monitor, Sarah was an early employee at

Unbounce spearheading a lot of their marketing efforts. As a Canadian in SF, when not working, you’ll find her

exploring California.

SARAH MCCREDIE Director of Partnerships, Campaign Monitor

@sarahailish

@campaignmonitor

#KissWebinar

@sarahailish

Email and Your Marketing Stack HOW EMAIL FITS INTO YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING NOW

http://grow.kissmetrics.com/webinar-161?utm_medium=slideshare_deck&utm_source=slideshare

YOUR MARKETING STACK

Email Marketing Productivity/CollaborationData/Analytics

Content/SocialOptimization/Testing

Lead Gen

Advertising Sales/CRM

YOUR MARKETING CHANNELS

Social

SEM

Blog

Referral

SEO + Content

Email

Reviews

WHY EMAIL?

Email

3800% ROI Control Brand + Message

Segmentation + Personalization Conversions + Stability

Build a Relationship Acquire New Customers>Retaining

4.3 Billion Email Addresses

Email Strategy Framework

EMAIL STRATEGY

Segmentation

Personalization

Design

Structure/Layout

From/Subject/Preheader

Copy

CTA

Mobile Optimized A/B Test

Segmentation CREATE TARGETED GROUPS WITHIN YOUR LIST TO SEND MORE RELEVANT EMAILS

SEGMENTATION STATS

14.37% 64.78% 8.98%Higher Open Rates Higher Click-through Rate Lower Unsubscribe Rates

SEGMENTATION

• Ask specific questions on sign-up • Birthday, location, role, interests

• Segment based on activity, purchases, anniversaries, content type

• Leverage surveys in your automated emails to gather more info over time from your prospects/customers

CREATE A PREFERENCE CENTER

UNSUBSCRIBE | PREFERENCE CENTER

Opportunity to learn and win back your subscribers

SEGMENT BASED ON READINESS TO BUY

DYNAMIC CONTENT

Personalization INCORPORATING PERSONAL INFO OR ACTIVITY INTO YOUR EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

PERSONALIZATION

• Personalized subject lines have a 26% higher open rate

• 2.5x higher click-through rate • 6x more sales • 1:1

EXAMPLES

From, Subject Line, Preheader Text

ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO OPTIMIZE

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• From name • Campaign Monitor • campaignmonitor.com • Sarah from Campaign Monitor • Sarah McCredie • David • Leland

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• Subject Line • 80 characters on desktop • 30 characters on mobile • Question • How to • Scarcity • Curiosity gap • Pop culture reference • Emoji’s! 45% increase in open rates

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• Preheader Text • ‘Second subject line’ • Don’t reuse subject line copy • Test across devices (Litmus) • CTA • Test humor/emoji’s/symbols

Copy SOUND LIKE A HUMAN

COPY

• Align your subject line with body copy • Focus on your customer’s problem • Be personal • Emotive • Clear and concise • Use their language • “You” instead of “me or I” • Benefits>Features • Write your copy outside of email builder

Structure and Layout WIREFRAME YOUR CAMPAIGNS

EMAIL STRUCTURE

• 8 second attention span • Focus on value prop • Wireframe before you build • Break into easily consumed chunks • Prioritize goal above the fold • Repeat CTA throughout

Design HIGH-CONVERTING DESIGN

WHAT TO OPTIMIZE

• Consistent design and brand throughout all parts of your campaign

• ad, email, landing page • Get creative with video + gifs • Don’t let design overpower your copy

and CTA • Consider your copy design

VIDEO IN EMAIL

• 36% increase in click-through rates • Obvious play button • Fallback image • Embed your video on a landing page -

don’t send to youtube!

Call to Action THE MAIN GOAL(S) OF YOUR EMAIL CAMPAIGN

MAIN ASPECTS OF YOUR CTA

Design

Copy

Placement

CTA BEST PRACTICES

• 1 main email CTA • Should repeat it throughout the email • Make it look like a button • Use white space • Action-oriented • Get creative with copy

Mobile Optimization ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS CONSIDER MOBILE EXPERIENCE

MOBILE STATS

45% 35% 34%Unsubscribe because a brand’s email or website didn’t work well on their

mobile device

Unsubscribe because a brand’s mobile app didn’t

work well

Mark their emails as spam because they didn’t display

or work well on their mobile device

DESIGN FOR

• 54% of email now opened on a mobile device

• Short and sweet • Make CTA’s easy to click • Test on different devices

HTML vs. Plain Text THE ULTIMATE DEBATE

USE CASES

• B2C verticals where imagery sells • ie. retail, travel, entertainment

• Newsletters • Transactional Emails • If you have a strong brand

(ie. Coca Cola) • Can show off products and

brand

• B2B • Sales-focused • Conversational • Make links obvious • Want to build trust

HTML Plain Text

PLAIN TEXT EMAILS VS. HTML

CTA

CTA

CTA

A/B Testing ALWAYS BE TESTING!

A/B TEST ALL THE THINGS

Build

Learn Measure

Ideas

Data

Product

The Lean Startup Model

LEARN MORE NOW

Discover how Kissmetrics can help you optimize your marketing

https://www.kissmetrics.com/drive-more-growth/?kme=Clicked%20Slideshare%20CTA&km_CTA%20Location=Slideshare%20Deck

SARAH MCCREDIE Director of Partnerships, Campaign Monitor

@sarahailish [email protected]

THUE MADSEN Marketing Operations Manager, Kissmetrics

@ThueLMadsen [email protected]

Questions?