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EM@IL Essentials –
Driving event revenue through email marketing
By Cliff Seltzer, General Manager
September 22nd 2010
Event Director’s Best Practices Webinar Series
In collaboration with Puresend, presents
Today’s Speakers
Moderator Guest Speaker
Rohan Lawton
Industry Manager, Sports
Active Network
Cliff Seltzer
General Manager
Puresend
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, some
20 million emails entered cyberspace.
Email Essentials Agenda
The Power of Email
Six Critical Phases for Email Success
1. Strategy and Planning
2. List Building and Segmentation
3. Design and Content
4. Deliverability
5. Analysis and Reporting
6. Test, Revise and Repeat
What’s Next?
Q&A
The Power of Email
Cost effective
Improved customer engagement and service
Timeliness and quick deployment
Broad reach
Targeting capabilities
Measurable results
6 Critical Phases for Email Success
Strategy &
Planning
List Building &
Segmentation
Design &
Content
Deliverability
Test, Revise,
& Repeat
Analysis &
Reporting
em@il
essentials
Design & Content
Strategy and Planning
Establish measurable goals
Incorporate your brand
Dedicate budget and resources
Internal and external (ESPs)
Integrate with other marketing efforts
Implement metrics to track results
Strategy and Planning (cont.)
Develop an email campaign plan, process, timeline and
milestones
List Building & Segmentation
Building Your Database
Leverage all opportunities to grow your email list
Your website (not just the home page)
During registrations
In person, point-of-sale
On the phone
Partner websites
Forward to a friend
Social media
Offer promotions, discounts, incentives
Focus on quality of your list
List Building Best Practices
Permission-based emails
Opt-in, double opt-in, unsubscribe, privacy policy
Set expectations and send only to those who want to hear from you
Compliance
CAN-SPAM and other email regulations
List hygiene
Update and scrub your database regularly
Remove duplicates
Collect data to segment and target your audience
Subscriber Opt-in Preferences
Targeting – Know Your Audience
Segment and target for best results
Age
Gender
Interests
Prior registrations and activities
Geo-targeting
Other characteristics
Design & Content
5 Stages of Viewing Emails
Source: ExactTarget
Subject
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Full Email
FromFirst Impressions
Subject
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Full Email
From
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: From Name
The “From” field is what people use most often to
determine whether to delete an email
Ensure your “From
name” (“friendly
name”) is instantly
recognizable
“From email address”
should also be legitimate
and recognizable
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Subject Line
The “Subject” line is what actually
motivates people to open the email
80/20 Rule 80% will scan your subject line, less than 20% will
read or take action on your email
At least 40% of the reader’s decision
to open or take action is based on the
“from” field + the “subject” line
Source: Email Sender and Provider Coalition
Subject
Full Email
From
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Full Email
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Subject Line
Subject
Full Email
From
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Full Email
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Subject Line
Subject
Full Email
From
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Full Email
Personalized
Time-sensitive &
offer to save
Call-to-Action
Question
Time-sensitive
69% of recipients
decide whether to
report email as
spam based on the
subject line.
Source: ESPC
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Subject Line
Do
Keep it concise and descriptive
– 40-50 characters (7-8 words)
Make it relevant and compelling
– Offer value, benefits
– Include a call-to-action
– Make it time-sensitive
– Ask a question, teaser
Don’t
Mislead or make it vague
Use words or characters blocked by spam filters
(words like “free,” excessive CAPS and punctuation!!!,
etc.)
Subject
Full Email
From
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Full Email
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Preview Pane
Top left 4-5-inch square is key
Between 288-360 pixels
Ensure your call-to-action is visible
Test in various email clients
Preview panes vary widely across ISPs
Vertical vs. horizontal preview panes
Image-blocking
Fewer than one-fourth of people (21%)
turn on images in email messages.
Source: Jupiter Research
From
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Full Email
Subject
Preview Pane
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Preview Pane
No preview pane
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Open Email
Headline
Salutation
Content (Body)
Pre-Header
Header
Anatomy of an Email
Open Email (Above the Fold)
From
Preview Pane
Full Email
Subject
Fold
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Open Email
Pre-Headers
Very valuable real estate
Align left for vertical preview panes
Consider using it for your main messaging, calls-
to-action, content summary
Other functional uses
Link to a web or mobile version
Forward to a friend
Unsubscribe link or update preferences
Open Email (Above the Fold)
From
Preview Pane
Full Email
Subject
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Open Email
Pre-Headers
Open Email (Above the Fold)
From
Preview Pane
Full Email
Subject
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Open Email
“Above the Fold”
Headline
Call-to-action and links
Salutation – personalisation
Image-blocking
59% of online customers
routinely block images.
Source: MarketingSherpa
Open Email (Above the Fold)
From
Preview Pane
Full Email
Subject
Anatomy of an Email
Calls-to
Action
(links) Branding
Graphics
(links)
Open Email (Above the Fold)
From
Preview Pane
Full Email
Subject
Anatomy of an Email
Anatomy of an Email (cont.)
LinksContent
Footer:
Organizational Info
Privacy Policy
Unsubscribe
Branding
Full Email
From
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Subject
Anatomy of an Email
5 Stages of Viewing Emails: Full Email
Scrolling
Length
Image-blocking
Actions
Download
Register
Visit Website
Forward, Share
SaveFull Email
From
Preview Pane
Open Email (Above the Fold)
Subject
Types of Emails
Different tone and content based on goals of email
News, updates, informational, eNewsletters, offers, promotional,
transactional, receipts, etc.
Getting Results
Simple, timely text emails work!
Getting Results
Driving action and participation
Learn what resonates with your customers
Calls-to-Action
Active voice
Links
Multiple, descriptive links (not just “click here”)
One click to registration or your website
Viral
Forward to a Friend, Share on Facebook, etc.
Reminders, resends
Confirmations, receipts
Additional opportunities for actions and interactions
(e.g., thank you coupon, survey, etc.)
Getting Results
Triggered Emails
Based on a specific action, behavior or event
Getting Results
Triggered emails based on an action, behaviour or
event
Memberships
• Welcome message to new registrants
• Renewal emails
Birthday greeting
Participation or Attendance
– Automatically send a reminder to attendees of the previous year’s event
– Send special early bird e-mail invitations for future events to participants
who attended previous ones
– For those who registered for an event, send an email reminding them that
they can purchase event merchandise
Tip: Considering
adding discounts or
other incentives
Getting Results
HP Welcome Email with Offer
Followed by Campaign Track
Getting Results
Campaign Track
Scheduled campaigns, drip campaigns
Content Best Practices
Concise, clear copywriting
Relevant, informative
Build relationships with participants (loyalty)
Links and calls-to-action
Personalisation, dynamic content
Testing
Design Best Practices
Consistent branding and clean layout
Multiple links
No attachments
Web, text and mobile versions
Templates
Landing pages
Use standard HTML
More HTML, fewer images
Validate your HTML code
Use W3C standards
Avoid CSS
Design Best Practices
Images
Host images
Use Alt tags
Define the image size
Alt Tags & HTML coding None
Design Best Practices
Test content rendering
Design Best Practices
Test content rendering
Deliverability
Manage Your Online Reputation
Follow CAN-SPAM laws and stay compliant
ACMA in Australia: www.acma.gov.au
DIA in NZ: www.dia.govt.nz
SSCRC in Singapore: www.spamcontrol.org.sg/
Provide an opt-out method
Provide a valid postal address
ISPs determine what is considered spam to
a large extent
Authentication
Pay attention to bounces and unsubscribes
Timing
When should you send emails?
80% of emails you send are opened within 48 hours of delivery. Source: MarketingSherpa
Analysis & Reporting
Metrics: What Should You Track?
Delivered
Bounces
Opens
Click-thru rate
Unsubscribes
Reporting
Advanced Reporting
Listed by specific click-thru urls
Advanced Reporting
Test, Revise & Repeat
Test, Test, Test
A/B testing
Test only one element at a time
Test different elements to see what works in your environment Timing
Subject lines
CTA’s
Links
Layout / Graphics
Landing pages
What’s Next?
What’s Next?
Relevancy
Dynamic targeting and dynamic content relevant to each subscriber
Content based on interests and actions
Improved landing pages
Mobile email
Social media integration
Leveraging Social Media
Build email subscriptions through
social media
Links within emails to grow fan base
and followers
Enable sharing opportunities
Questions?
Email Essentials Webinar Contacts:
Cliff Seltzer
CEO, Co-Founder
Puresend, part of the Active Network
Rohan Lawton
Industry Manager
Active Network
Resources
Email Industry Resources:
Email Experience: http://www.emailexperience.org/
MarketingSherpa: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/
Marketing Profs: http://www.marketingprofs.com/
Deliverability and Reputation
Return Path: http://www.returnpath.net/
Deliverability.com: http://blog.deliverability.com/
CAN-SPAM
ICO: https://www.ico.gov.uk
EuroCAUCE: http://www.euro.cauce.org
Active Network Contacts for Products:
Puresend (Email Service Provider):
Active Network
Online event management services
Thank you for attending!
Questions or suggestions for future webinars?
E-mail them to:
Special thanks to