Each Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT, marketers from around the world join the ExactTarget Nexus partner ecosystem on Twitter for a conversation about trends and campaign ideas across the interactive marketing industry. We call the virtual coffee chat the Nexus Café.
During a recent #NexusCafe chat, we focused on email marketing tips that are often overlooked or missed. Our guest for the chat was Jody Freshwater, account director at MarketNet. Jody has spent many years working with ExactTarget for her client's interactive marketing campaigns. She has also volunteered to help lead our 3sixty Live Dallas user community that just kicked off! To learn more about the 3sixty Live user communities and sign up to join a local group check out our progam page.
Here's a summary of the #NexusCafe Twitter chat:
@ETNexus Q1: What’s a pre-header and why is it important?
@jodyfreshwater: It’s the snippet of marketing copy that appears before all other email content They are simple to add and often forgotten
@jodyfreshwater: Pre-headers are important because this is the brief description subscribers see, especially on their Smartphone
@jodyfreshwater: Without a pre-header the subscriber often sees “view as webpage” as their description. Pre-headers boost opens and click-throughs.
@stefaneyram: Pre-header ROCKS! makes it super easy for Subs 2 engage (share, buy, view mobile)
@ETNexus Q2: Including a subscriber's name is one basic personalization tactic. What are others to increase personalized content?
@jodyfreshwater: Two things immediately come to mind: Attributes and Dynamic content!
@jodyfreshwater: Attributes Update your sign in form or create a re-engagement program to collects those pearls of info to send relevant email
@amargello: Geographic, Gender and some core/key purchase behavior (brand, category, item) are my favorites
@ETNexus Q3: What are the benefits of creating a re-engagement program? What are some tips for re-engagement campaigns?
@jodyfreshwater: Cleans out your lists and also gives you the opportunity to gather more info about your subscribers
@jodyfreshwater: Tips are to not ask a lot of questions and tell people why it's a benefit to them to update their profile
@amargello: Benefits of Re-Eng campaigns include Better active list and Increased conversions.
@Candicelyn: It cleans up the data and you hopefully you have less people marking you as junk mail
@amargello: Segment your list into Active, Inactive (haven't clicked or converted in a period of time) ID your target audience
@amargello: Once ID audience, send email w/ clear Call to Action asking if they want 2 stay on list, provide opt-down also
@samnotes: We actually stop sending to unengaged subscribers and then trickle relevant or exciting emails to them.
@samnotes: If they don't re-engage b/c of our regular emails, we won't really win them over w/special deal, so we let them go.
@Candicelyn: Tip from @EmailGirl on a previous #NexusCafe. Send your list to highest engaged 1st. ISPs may hold your emails if there's no engagement.
@ETNexus Q4: How can users take advantage of everything ESPs have to offer without feeling overwhelmed?
@jodyfreshwater: No time to read whitepapers, @ExactTarget they are great at responding to questions and to shortcut the learning.
@jodyfreshwater: That said I would say conversion tracking and triggered emails are two easy to implement tactics that are often missed
@amargello: Stay focused on your programs goals and start w/ simple features and build
@ETNexus Q5: What are some easy to use tools that are often overlooked in the ExactTarget application?
@jodyfreshwater: Email throttling is also useful. The reason these are probably overlooked is #ExactTarget needs to turn them on.
@jodyfreshwater: Also use in-box tools for your testing. ReturnPath, Email on Acid and Lucid are all great options
@amargello: Triggered Emails - beyond Welcome, think about date and behavior triggers (no opens over time, clicked on a link)
@samnotes: A/B testing tool for subject line optimization.
@ETNexus Q6: Should “no reply” be used in the “from” address? Why?
@jodyfreshwater: If you use “no reply” include a familiar name in the “from” address. The sender is an important piece of info
@samnotes: No-reply is no good. You want to leave all avenues of communication open to your subscribers. Why cut them off?
@amargello: Absolutely not. Email is a conversation. How can it be a conversation if they can't communicate back?
@ETNexus Q7: Does it help to include video in email?
@jodyfreshwater: The support for using HTML5 for video in email is not there yet
@jodyfreshwater: Be safe. Use a thumbnail with play button overlay and it will be supported universally.
@ETNexus Q8: When reviewing tracking for an email campaign, is open rate the most important number?
@jodyfreshwater: The email marketing voodoo blog emailmarketingvoodoo.com/index.php is helpful in addition to all @ExactTarget communication
@jodyfreshwater: Open rate is confusing because of the viewing pane, track your conversions based on your original objectives.
@havronsm: Open rate is important but not#1, interaction is key, use click through rates and googleanalytics web tracking to rate success
Additional resources for email marketing tips:
10 Tips for Successful Email Pre-Header Text bit.ly/zv7Rmu
3 Ways to Optimize Your A/B Testing bit.ly/x5SFAT
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