Jeffrey K. Rohrs, ExactTarget’s VP of Marketing,
explores the four "rights" of permission
marketing: right message, person, time & medium.
Jeffrey K. Rohrs, ExactTarget’s VP of Marketing,
explores the four "rights" of permission
marketing: right message, person, time & medium.
According to my calendar, there are only 75 days until Connections '09, the biggest & best email marketing conference in this or any other hemisphere. If you haven't checked out the line-up yet, do so--and then register before it sells out!
How do I know that Connections will sell out? History. Little birds with insider information. James Earl Jones-sounding voices inside my head.
Oh, and the fact that it is the only conference where the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, Kelly Mooney, Marlee Matlin & others will share their wisdom from a single stage. Connections '09 also the only conference with one of my favorite bands of all time--They Might Be Giants--set to perform for the alt rock kid in all of us.
Speaking of TMBG, their new CD/DVD "Here Comes Science" will be released in September! If you're unfamiliar with TMBG's "Here Comes..." series, "Science" will be the third installment following "Here Come the ABCs" and the Grammy Award-winning "Here Come the 123s." They've been likened to "Schoolhouse Rock" for the new millenium--something kids & parents (and interactive marketers, for that matter) can enjoy together.
Since "Science" doesn't drop until September, I only have the song list to go on; however, that's enough to get me excited to plunk down my $13.99 the first day it goes on sale. Check out these tunes:
"Computer Assisted Design"!?! "Put It to the Test"!?! It's like they wrote a soundtrack to our Day Two breakout sessions at Connections.
Enough gushing. Suffice it to say that I'm getting excited to see TMBG break out the new tunes at Connections so that I can be the envy of my kids & interactive marketing friends who don't make the trek to Indy this year. And if you can't wait for your TMBG fix until then, check out their performance on Studio 360 or their hilarious discussion of contract riders on This American Life (Episode #386 - "Fine Print").
Last but not least, if you're an ExactTarget client or partner and haven't registered for Connections '09 yet, you know what to do. Register today & save $100!!!
How do I know that Connections will sell out? History. Little birds with insider information. James Earl Jones-sounding voices inside my head.Oh, and the fact that it is the only conference where the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, Kelly Mooney, Marlee Matlin & others will share their wisdom from a single stage. Connections '09 also the only conference with one of my favorite bands of all time--They Might Be Giants--set to perform for the alt rock kid in all of us.
Speaking of TMBG, their new CD/DVD "Here Comes Science" will be released in September! If you're unfamiliar with TMBG's "Here Comes..." series, "Science" will be the third installment following "Here Come the ABCs" and the Grammy Award-winning "Here Come the 123s." They've been likened to "Schoolhouse Rock" for the new millenium--something kids & parents (and interactive marketers, for that matter) can enjoy together.
Since "Science" doesn't drop until September, I only have the song list to go on; however, that's enough to get me excited to plunk down my $13.99 the first day it goes on sale. Check out these tunes:
| 1. Science Is Real |
| 2. Meet the Elements |
| 3. I Am a Paleontologist w/Danny Weinkauf |
| 4. The Bloodmobile |
| 5. Electric Car w/Robin Goldwasser |
| 6. My Brother the Ape |
| 7. What Is a Shooting Star? |
| 8. How Many Planets? |
| 9. Why Does the Sun Shine? |
| 10. Why Does the Sun Really Shine? |
| 11. Roy G. Biv |
| 12. Put It to the Test |
| 13. Photosynthesis |
| 14. Cells |
| 15. Speed and Velocity w/Marty Beller |
| 16. Computer Assisted Design |
| 17. Solid Liquid Gas |
| 18. Here Comes Science Bonus Track |
| 19. The Ballad of Davy Crockett (in Outer Space) |
"Computer Assisted Design"!?! "Put It to the Test"!?! It's like they wrote a soundtrack to our Day Two breakout sessions at Connections.
Enough gushing. Suffice it to say that I'm getting excited to see TMBG break out the new tunes at Connections so that I can be the envy of my kids & interactive marketing friends who don't make the trek to Indy this year. And if you can't wait for your TMBG fix until then, check out their performance on Studio 360 or their hilarious discussion of contract riders on This American Life (Episode #386 - "Fine Print").
Last but not least, if you're an ExactTarget client or partner and haven't registered for Connections '09 yet, you know what to do. Register today & save $100!!!
I know that it's a bit early to be thinking about January & February 2010, but that's not the case if you have a great email marketing case study or presentation to share. Both MarketingSherpa's Em@il Summit and the eec's Email Evolution Conference are looking for speakers, and their submission deadlines are FAST approaching.
Here's the details
MarketingSherpa Em@il Summit & Expo 2010
January 20-22, 2010
Miami, Florida
SPEAKER SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Monday, August 3rd
Submit Your Email Summit Speaker Proposal Here
EVENT NOTES: Joseph Jaffe will be keynoting this year's 5th annual Em@il Summit. MarketingSherpa's conference differs from others in that all the speakers are either in-house practitioners or hands-on agencies sharing the latest & greatest email marketing tips and tactics. If you want advice on what works in email and one-to-one marketing from the people on the front lines, this is the conference for you.
The eec Email Evolution Conference 2010
February 1-3, 2010
Miami, Florida
SPEAKER SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, August 7th
Submit your Email Evolution Speaker Proposal Here
EVENT NOTES: Part of the DMA, the email experience council is the largest membership organization in the email marketing industry today. This year's conference will feature a keynote from Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, Don Shula. With its mix of client, agency, and ESP panels, Email Evolution provides a great forum for idea sharing, collaboration, and best practice debates.
Now, if you're very astute, you've picked up on the fact that if you get picked to speak at both of these events, you can effectively live in Miami from late January through early February. As a resident Clevelander, I can think of far worse fates.
So, if you've got an email marketing case study, story or advice to share, get moving and submit your proposals to MarketingSherpa and the eec today! I hope to see you at both events in 2010!
Here's the details
MarketingSherpa Em@il Summit & Expo 2010
January 20-22, 2010
Miami, Florida
SPEAKER SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Monday, August 3rd
Submit Your Email Summit Speaker Proposal Here
EVENT NOTES: Joseph Jaffe will be keynoting this year's 5th annual Em@il Summit. MarketingSherpa's conference differs from others in that all the speakers are either in-house practitioners or hands-on agencies sharing the latest & greatest email marketing tips and tactics. If you want advice on what works in email and one-to-one marketing from the people on the front lines, this is the conference for you.
The eec Email Evolution Conference 2010
February 1-3, 2010
Miami, Florida
SPEAKER SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, August 7th
Submit your Email Evolution Speaker Proposal Here
EVENT NOTES: Part of the DMA, the email experience council is the largest membership organization in the email marketing industry today. This year's conference will feature a keynote from Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, Don Shula. With its mix of client, agency, and ESP panels, Email Evolution provides a great forum for idea sharing, collaboration, and best practice debates.
Now, if you're very astute, you've picked up on the fact that if you get picked to speak at both of these events, you can effectively live in Miami from late January through early February. As a resident Clevelander, I can think of far worse fates.
So, if you've got an email marketing case study, story or advice to share, get moving and submit your proposals to MarketingSherpa and the eec today! I hope to see you at both events in 2010!
As if you needed another reason to loathe spammers:
According to “The Carbon Footprint of Email Spam Report,” released by the security firm McAfee, the annual energy used to transmit, process and filter spam totals 33 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh).
And just in case you needed a spiffy visual to underscore the problem:
So, if you're a permission-based email marketer who's looking to do their part during Earth Day tomorrow, keep working to ensure that the email you send is relevant & requested--Mother Earth will thank you!
So, if you're a permission-based email marketer who's looking to do their part during Earth Day tomorrow, keep working to ensure that the email you send is relevant & requested--Mother Earth will thank you!
It is my great honor to announce that we have just added legendary alt-rock pioneers, They Might Be Giants, to the Wednesday entertainment line-up at this year's Connections '09 ExactTarget User Conference! They round out a bill that will also feature The Second City and should make for a memorable night for all. For those not familiar with They Might Be Giants, here's a rundown of their accomplishments courtesy of Wikipedia:
They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is a double Grammy Award-winning American alternative rock band which began as a duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, and currently also includes Marty Beller, Dan Miller, and Danny Weinkauf. Formed in 1982, they are best known for an unconventional and experimental style of alternative music. The group has found success on the modern rock and CMJ charts, in the children's music genre, and in theme music for several television programs and films.
TMBG's best-known songs include "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and their cover of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (both from the 1990 album, Flood), "Don't Let's Start" (from 1986's They Might Be Giants), and "Ana Ng" (from 1988's Lincoln). Their appearances on the show Tiny Toon Adventures also gained recognition for the song "Particle Man" and for their cover version of the Four Lads song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". Their song "Doctor Worm" was a surprise hit in Australia, ranking 13th in the Triple J Hottest 100 for the year 1998. Two TMBG albums have been certified gold: Flood and the 2005 children's music album Here Come the ABCs.
Their song "Boss of Me" served as the theme to the Fox Television Network comedy series Malcolm in the Middle and earned them a Grammy Award in 2002. They have also contributed theme songs to Comedy Central's The Daily Show, The Oblongs, Adult Swim's The Drinky Crow Show, Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Higglytown Heroes, along with a commercial for Dexter's Laboratory and Cartoon Network's Courage the Cowardly Dog.
The band was the subject of the 2003 documentary film Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns), directed by AJ Schnack. The band has sold over 4 million records in total.
TMBG's best-known songs include "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and their cover of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (both from the 1990 album, Flood), "Don't Let's Start" (from 1986's They Might Be Giants), and "Ana Ng" (from 1988's Lincoln). Their appearances on the show Tiny Toon Adventures also gained recognition for the song "Particle Man" and for their cover version of the Four Lads song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". Their song "Doctor Worm" was a surprise hit in Australia, ranking 13th in the Triple J Hottest 100 for the year 1998. Two TMBG albums have been certified gold: Flood and the 2005 children's music album Here Come the ABCs.
Their song "Boss of Me" served as the theme to the Fox Television Network comedy series Malcolm in the Middle and earned them a Grammy Award in 2002. They have also contributed theme songs to Comedy Central's The Daily Show, The Oblongs, Adult Swim's The Drinky Crow Show, Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Higglytown Heroes, along with a commercial for Dexter's Laboratory and Cartoon Network's Courage the Cowardly Dog.
The band was the subject of the 2003 documentary film Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns), directed by AJ Schnack. The band has sold over 4 million records in total.
To say I'm a fan would be an understatement. We played a lot of TMBG back in my radio days at WOXY, so leading up to Connections '09, I look forward to introducing the ExactTarget Nation to some of my favorite TMBG tunes.
In an ironic twist, let's begin with "Don't Let's Start," their first single & music video from their 1986, self-titled debut album. Enjoy--and go register for Connections '09. It's going to be a blast!
One of our great FoETs (Friend of ExactTarget), Dan Heimbrock of Hyperdrive Interactive, addressed the troops today at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09 on the topic of "Email and Word of Mouth Marketing." Dan shared a case study of how Dreamfield's used email and WOM to promote it's low carb pasta that appeals to diabetics, low carb dieters, and people seeking higher fiber in their diet (and no, I wasn't paid for that plug--but I should have been!). To tap into the buzz about the product, recruit happy customers to spread the word, and translate it into tangible sales, Dan's team undertook several efforts including:
- Reaching out to "hives" within diabetic and other important communities to discuss, review & promote the product.
- Advertising within more traditional social networks that reach the target audience.
- A word-of-mouth email marketing series that included a "Brand Fan" invitation to receive a "Taste & Tell" WOM kit (product samples, recipes, coupon flyers to share, etc.)
- Viral coupon distribution
- Conversation with friends and family
- Driving enthusiastic consumers into groceries stores to get them to carry Dreamfield's (in fact, Dreamfield's shelf space in Giant Eagle stores is due to consumer advocacy!)
- Get enthusiasts to serve Dreamfield's to friends
Over 4,000 consumers are now involved in the Dreamfield's WOM program; moreover, permission remains at the heart of Dreamfield's efforts (music to my SUBSCRIBERS RULE! ears). Members of the program continue to spread the word, provide feedback, and advocate on behalf of Dreamfield's Pasta.One other interesting note--Dreamfield's realized pretty quickly that they had to address concerns in the medical community to educate them about how the product can be used to control glucose levels and be a healthy addition to their diabetic patients' diets. To address the medical community, Dreamfield's:
- Developed a specific communication program
- Offered a sample kit with unique branding that included product samples, patient education pamphlets, medical research, coupons, and recipes
- Created a dedicated microsite dealing with the medical aspects of the product
- Sponsored health care events
Thanks to all of these efforts, 53% of medical professionals participating in the program surveyed now say that they recommend Dreamfield's to their patients.
Kudos to Dreamfield's and the Hyperdrive Interactive team for the great results. I'd write more about their success, but for some reason, I'm feeling really hungry...
Dan Flanegan of Brand Anywhere offered up a case study on "Mobile Email Marketing" this morning at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09. The first part of his presentation actually went through the nuts and bolts of SMS marketing (i.e., text message marketing), and suffice it to say that it is a VERY different world from email marketing. Not only do you only have 160 characters to communicate, but you must also navigate the wild, wild world of SMS short code acquisition.
The other critical difference between email and SMS marketing revolves around user expectation. While consumers are used to the email opt-in process, they aren't always too keen on regular communications via SMS. As a result, if you plan to have an ongoing promotional campaign via SMS, you need to use double opt-in (where the subscriber texts you, you auto-respond with a request to confirm the opt-in with a text message, and then the user replies with the required message like "confirm").
The power of SMS is often, however, in its instant, call & response usage. For instance, you have a point-of-purchase call to text in to receive a discount or enter a contest. That message expresses the consumers intent to participate in that limited program, but it does not convey a permanent desire to receive messaging via SMS. Such call & response text messaging can work great if you have a physical storefront or other physical presence.
In short, SMS is a whole different creature than email marketing. As a result, marketers in this area should dig in on the wealth of educational resources out there on the topic--including our very own R.J. Talyor's Emerging Messaging Blog where he covers the wild, wild world of SMS/text messaging, voice messaging, and smart phones.
So the winner for best session title here this year's Marketing Sherpa Email Summit might have to be "The New Microsoft Comic Strip: Innovating Content and Design that Resonates in Business Marketing." Microsoft? Comics? Yes, I had to attend.
Karen Davan, the Senior Marketing Manager for Microsoft Office Live Small Business, was the presenter, and she shared Microsoft's creation of "Margie" a comic strip character through whom Microsoft could explore the business problems & solutions needed by small businesses.
Here's a sample strip:
Personally, I love marketers (or, the more friendly "marketeers," if you prefer) who are willing to take risks like this. Using humor and characters in marketing--let alone email marketing efforts--can go horribly awry unless you REALLY know your audience. Fortunately, in this case, Microsoft not only new their audience, but they were also to have her share the perils of starting and running a small business.
It was this empathy that helped the strip connect with customers and prospects. As a result, Margie not only ran in Microsoft's email newsletter but also the email newsletters of affiliates who liked the comic strip so much that they wanted to share it with their subscribers.
Beyond the email newsletter, Microsoft also pushed Margie to the web and appropriate social networks to increase exposure and engagement. The net net is that Margie helped Microsoft Office Live Small Business increase awareness of their product offering within that tough-to-reach small business/entrepreneurial crowd.
So what's Karen's advice to marketers considering doing something innovative like Margie?
Karen Davan, the Senior Marketing Manager for Microsoft Office Live Small Business, was the presenter, and she shared Microsoft's creation of "Margie" a comic strip character through whom Microsoft could explore the business problems & solutions needed by small businesses.
Here's a sample strip:
Personally, I love marketers (or, the more friendly "marketeers," if you prefer) who are willing to take risks like this. Using humor and characters in marketing--let alone email marketing efforts--can go horribly awry unless you REALLY know your audience. Fortunately, in this case, Microsoft not only new their audience, but they were also to have her share the perils of starting and running a small business.
It was this empathy that helped the strip connect with customers and prospects. As a result, Margie not only ran in Microsoft's email newsletter but also the email newsletters of affiliates who liked the comic strip so much that they wanted to share it with their subscribers.
Beyond the email newsletter, Microsoft also pushed Margie to the web and appropriate social networks to increase exposure and engagement. The net net is that Margie helped Microsoft Office Live Small Business increase awareness of their product offering within that tough-to-reach small business/entrepreneurial crowd.
So what's Karen's advice to marketers considering doing something innovative like Margie?
- Thinks about creative! Break out of the mold to stand out.
- Utilize a personality that customers can relate to.
- Enable a variety of avenues to acquire information (email, portal, social media, PR, search, etc.)
- Give your customers opportunities for interaction.
- Provide a clear call-to-action.
Testing is a big theme of any MarketingSherpa event, and this year's Email Summit is no exception. In her session, Brooks Bell from Brooks Bell Interactive shared some behind-the-scenes about the testing they did for AARP in order to improve the performance of their member email newsletter.The first step they took was to segment their audience as follows:
- Active: Clicked at least once in the last 4 sends
- Passive: Opened in last 4 months but hadn't clicked
- Inactive: Hadn't opened or clicked in last 4 months
- 4 subject line tests
- 3 email newsletter design tests
The testing also allowed AARP to undertake a major redesign of their newsletter. The interesting part of the story, however, is that Brooks' initial designs actually underperformed the control newsletter layout. It took them a few different designs to get the lift they were seeking--but from there, they have been able to make constant improvements that continue to boost opens, clicks, and engagement.
Overall, the testing effort:
- Helped lift the email newsletter to AARP.org's second-highest traffic driver (behind only organic search)
- Increased their active subscribers by 59%
- Increased open rate 39%
- Lifted CTR 180%
- Helped maintain email marketing's status as AARP's most cost-effective marketing program
It's Day Two of MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09, and Jim Harper from Olympus Corporation of the Americas kicked things off with his presentation on "User-Generated Content with Email Newsletters for Enhanced Engagement."
Olympus's 'Capture It All" newsletter was the Gold winner for consumer newsletters back in 2007, and it's easy to see why. They quickly understood that one of the ways to increase readership and engagement was to incorporate user-generated content (UGC) into each edition of the newsletter. The types of UGC included:
Kudos to Olympus for this approach--what a great way to give email subscribers and loyal customers a greater sense of ownership and contribution to the brand. It's definitely a strategy that more companies should pursue.
Olympus's 'Capture It All" newsletter was the Gold winner for consumer newsletters back in 2007, and it's easy to see why. They quickly understood that one of the ways to increase readership and engagement was to incorporate user-generated content (UGC) into each edition of the newsletter. The types of UGC included:- Use consumer-submitted photography with attribution and information about the camera used
- Answers to consumer-submitted questions
- User photo gallery & contest
Kudos to Olympus for this approach--what a great way to give email subscribers and loyal customers a greater sense of ownership and contribution to the brand. It's definitely a strategy that more companies should pursue.
One of the pleasant surprises on today's agenda at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09 was that an old friend of mine, Marc Majers of the Cleveland Institute of Art, was scheduled to share his case study. Marc is always a ball of energy, and today was no exception. He shared that when he joined CIA about a year ago, they were sending email from 4 different systems (including 3 ESPs) across all parts of the Institute. Alumni had something different. The Cinematheque used something else. Recruiting something else. You get the picture.
Marc was able to change things quickly by focusing on three key activities:
- Identify and learn about your audience and what you are currently doing. As a new employee, Marc got to know the different departments within the Institute to build credibility and a sense of teamwork.
- Design and deploy a consistent (1) email broadcast platform, (2) look & feel, and (3 a process to ensure each email is created and delivered according to the process.
- Optimize by leveraging analytics, click-through data, and testing to make incremental changes to your email program that make it better.
And perhaps that is the most important takeaway from Marc's presentation--that email programs cannot happen without strong collaborative relationships within your organization. Allow people to own a part of the process, and they will have a greater stake in seeing your combined email marketing efforts succeed.
John Heidrich and Joe Nettum of Allstate presented a great case study this afternoon at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09. Entitled "Combining List and Trigger-Based Campaigns to Fully Leverage Your Database," the session focused on how they took their email program from an inconsistent, somewhat haphazard approach to a more structured methodology that not only valued and respected email subscriber interests but also improved ROI.
An interesting point was how the team tackled what they termed "credibility gaps" between the email subscriber's experience and their desired brand experience. Through an audit of their processes, John & Joe determined:
An interesting point was how the team tackled what they termed "credibility gaps" between the email subscriber's experience and their desired brand experience. Through an audit of their processes, John & Joe determined:
- Marketing & IT owned different pieces of email process, broadcast & delivery
- Email addresses were spread across a variety of databases and were often not up-to-date
- Proper value wasn't being placed on the email address let alone the communication process
- Locking down processes around email address management
- Instituting re-engagement efforts to clean up their subscriber database
- Formalizing the email marketing production process
- Getting marketing to collaborate to identify triggered and other automated messaging that would deliver quick wins
- Sending email closer to moments of greatest customer influence in the insurance purchase/renewal process
- Improve delivery and response rates for all email marketing communications (triggered or campaign-based)
- Improve acquisition of email subscribers through agents (as they have seen real benefits from the changes and, therefore, what all of their customers/prospects in the email marketing loop)
One of ExactTarget's good friends and clients, Heather Marsh of Johnston & Murphy, has taken the stage here at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09. After a quick survey of the men in the audience as to how many love to shop (4 out of about 250+ raised their hands), she shared a bit about their strategy:- Data is the critical foundation of their email marketing program.
- Data allows them to segment to make their emails more offers more relevant to different customer groups.
- To create their segments, they work with Customer Portfolios to do predictive, behavioral modeling. This allows them to find commonalities that they translate into usable email segments.
- Segmentation cannot work without data; accordingly, it is imperative that they create incentives for store associates to capture email addresses.
- To ward off fraud or authorized opt-ins, they have checks & balances in place to review in-store opt-ins closely.
- Email marketing "blasts" to everyone
- Lifecycle emails (Welcome Series, Repurchase Series & Reactivation Series)
- Lifecycle emails (which take priority over email blasts to avoid inundating subscribers with too much email volume)
Rok Hrastnik is the International Internet Director of Studio Moderna, and he's just taken the stage here at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09 to share his thoughts on why email marketing is all about branding.Rok's thesis is that too many marketers see email marketing strictly as a sales funnel. In real life, the purchase is not a straight line. As a result, you need to always measure indirect impact on sales--not just direct impact.
A few key points from Rok:
- When you measure indirect impact, you find that email marketing positively impacts direct purchases through other channels (such as search marketing)
- Shifting your view of email requires a shift of your email marketing strategy (need to mix in engagement calls-to-action along with sales CTAs)
- Segmentation is key to creating desired brand impression within different demographics
- Subject lines aren't just about getting the email opened--it's also about motivating specific segments with language that motivates them according to their interests.
- Don't just segment content, segment presentation.
- Readership & engagement (time on pages, interactions on website)
- Churn (not just unsubscribes but also decline of engagement)
- Delayed conversions (with long-term expiration and no conversion variable overwriting)
- Short-term cross-channel measurement
- User behavioral changes (increased engagement, cross-channel interactions, etc.)
- Demonstrate clear direct sales impact
- Measure & demonstrate clear indirect sales & engagement impact
- Segment, segment, segment
- Integrate email into your brand marketing efforts
- Advocate for your awesomeness--don't be shy about your successes, share them with leadership and at conferences like the Email Summit.
Stefan Tornquist, MarketingSherpa's Research Director, had the honor of kicking off this year's Email Summit, and he did so with 30 minutes of fast & furious email marketing insights.The high level take-aways:
- 72% of consumers report a noticeable increase in emails from opt-in relationships over the past few months (MarketingSherpa has yet to survey B2B recipients, but assumes that this increased volume will hold true there as well).
- Company churn is making it harder to grow in-house email lists because there's no staff or strategy stability.
- As our own Morgan Stewart has hypothesized, overall benchmark stats are declining as marketers becoming for desperately frequent with their email programs.
- Way too many consumers are still getting email without opt-in
- More consumers--including Millennials (51%) agree that "Email is more important to me than the phone.
- Email is still driving more online purchases than other online media
- Marketers must be more clear in opt-in privacy & guarantees not to share email addresses--consumers will respond positively.
- Go fix your opt-in form to expressly state that emails will not be sold or shared
- Be more clear in value proposition for opt-in at time of opt-in (the quid pro quo I've blogged about previously)
- Introduce a "Welcome Series" for new subscribers as right after opt-in is the moment of greatest opportunity and response.
- Conduct a "Transactional Email Audit" as this form of email communication with thrive and survive due to its importance to the recipient.
- Start or upgrade your "Preference Center" in order to give greater control to subscribers (dare I say, SUBSCRIBERS RULE!).
Stay tuned for more to come from MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09!
Dr. Flint McGlaughlin of MarketingExperiments is up now at MarketingSherpa's Email Summit. He's sharing some landing page optimization case studies. While I can't share his screenshots, I can share some of his thoughts on optimization and where the money might be leaking out in your current marketing spend.His main points:
- We need a simple systematic way to discover the changes that we should test.
- We need to apply this methodology to live landing pages
- Consumers evaluate purchases based on "is it worth it"--i.e., is the value proposition worth more than the risk of purchase/participation
- One of your goal is to limit consumer anxiety with your landing pages.
- Why should my ideal prospect purchase from me rather than any of my competitors?
- How can I minimize all of the elements in my sale path that cause psychological resistance?
- How can I counter all of the remaining psychological resistance with an extra incentive?
- How can I over-correct all of the elements which cause psychological concern in my sale path.
- Where am I?
- What can I do here?
- Why should I do it? (this is where your value proposition comes in)
Confused? Go to the MarketingExperiments website and all will become clear--I guarantee it!
It's a beautiful day here in Miami, Florida, for Day One of MarketingSherpa's Email Summit '09. For those who couldn't make it down this year, I will be blogging from the event today and tomorrow in the hopes of sharing some of the insights gleaned from this year's presenters.In the meantime, be sure to follow the following ExactTarget folks on Twitter--they will be tweeting from the event:
You can also follow the entire Email Summit Twitterstream by searching for #emailsummit on Twitter.
Stay tuned...more to come shortly!
USA Today's Money cover story entitled Coupon Search Clicks: Sweet Sound for Web Marketers caught my attention today as did one of the stats it included:
What if each coupon also includes a call-to-action to subscribe to receive ALL future coupons for that product or company? If coupon distribution and redemption is up in 2009, shouldn't it stand to reason that consumers' willingness to subscribe to coupons via email would also have increased?
Just a thought...and one that may help you increase coupon distribution while growing your subscriber database.
- Coupon distribution and redemption was flat in 2008 until the fourth quarter, when coupon distribution rose 7.5% and redemptions rose 15% vs. a year earlier (Promotion Marketing Association)
What if each coupon also includes a call-to-action to subscribe to receive ALL future coupons for that product or company? If coupon distribution and redemption is up in 2009, shouldn't it stand to reason that consumers' willingness to subscribe to coupons via email would also have increased?
Just a thought...and one that may help you increase coupon distribution while growing your subscriber database.
As the father of an 8 year-old and 4 year-old, I am an expert in all manner movie renting. Because when your kid has to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua for the 8th time, she has to see it NOW!One of my favorite rental options is Redbox, a network of self-service DVD vending machines sprinkled outside groceries stores in my town. The $1/night price is right (especially for any movie with talking dogs), and the vending machine experience is like having a little slice of Tokyo in my own backyard.
What's most impressive about Redbox, however, is their use of email. Rent a DVD and within seconds, you receive a confirmation email. Return a DVD and ditto.
On the promotional side of things, I love what Redbox is doing this month. In the email they sent earlier this week, they announced their "March Movie Madness" promotion. The email links recipients to their "Redblog" where every Wednesday they publish a code good for a free Wednesday movie rental.
While Redbox could have put the free code in the email, driving folks to their blog has the added benefit of exposing customers to Redbox movie reviews and new release updates--content that helps increase customer loyalty.
The takeaway? If you're giving something of value via your email marketing efforts, don't be afraid to use it to drive engagement through other, relevant marketing channels. It could be the perfect way to jumpstart traffic to a new blog, microsite or application.
With 1 in 10 adult Internet users having microblogged on Twitter or elsewhere, we have been besieged in recent weeks with questions about how email marketers can leverage Twitter to their advantage. The most obvious way is email subscriber acquisition. If you or individuals within your company have built up a loyal group of followers on Twitter, simply be sure that you enlist them to tweet about your:
- Email newsletter subscriber benefits (coupons, discounts, etc.)
- Webinars
- Whitepapers
- Contests
- Promotions
Will everyone that clicks convert? Nope. But for minimal effort, you will gain new subscribers -- subscribers who are now listening you across multiple channels (Twitter & email). Plus, there's always the chance that one of your followers will "re-tweet" your message (share it with their followers); thereby, amplifying your potential subscriber gains.
So, when it comes to growing your email subscriber base in 2009, don't forget Twitter (and to follow @jkrohrs -- even authors need their followers/subscribers!).
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