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Talk about setting a bad example…let me count the ways:
Update: I received yet another identical email today (01/29/10). Geez.
- Scott Hardigree | Indiemark | @indiescott
In true Twitter-style here’s a few small nuggets, in 140 characters, that encapsulate many of the email deliverability challenges marketers will face in twentyten.
“Permission is not enough; list engagement list is the key to deliverability. ISPs have stated they’re measuring such things as viewing time.”
“Over-mailing = complaints = negative reputation at ISPs. Diversify less critical messages using Social Media. Save the good stuff for email.”
“Drop the noreply@. Gmail’s begun testing turning on images for senders who have received two replies from a user; other ISPs should follow.”
“Let the customer drive. From the onset and through Preference Centers let them dictate how much and what sort of email they want to receive.”
“Stop marketing, at least occasionally. Actual content is likely to score better as ISPs look at engagement and complaints when filtering.”
“Test, test, test. Day of the week, time of day, and level of personalization and segmentation will all improve engagement and pay dividends.”
“Authentication will continue to be a major factor. Senders who have not adopted DKIM as their auth method of choice should do so this year.”
“Just like DKIM, domain-level reputation is on the rise. For portability’s sake, make the From: and Friendly From as consistent as possible.”
“Even though engagement, DKIM, and domain-rep may be on the rise they’re not the only factors. IP-based reputation still matters — a lot.”
“ESPs can do many things but your content and frequency aren’t among them. What/when/how you mail is largely dependent on your deliverability.”
- Scott Hardigree | Indiemark | @indiescott
Ring ring. “Hello Quiznos? This is 1999 calling, we’d like to get our design back. Oh, and if you’re not too busy with all the aluminum brushing take two minutes to read up on in-line styles, it’ll clear your nasty little text-wrap issue right up.”
One of the most important elements of an email message is its relevance to the recipient. If the recipient wants the message and divines purpose from said message, it’s likely to be a successful campaign. So that’s why I applaud Amazon.com for the message below:
When you click on the image to see the full-size version, you’ll see what I mean by relevance. Here’s what I like:
There is one thing I don’t like about this message:
All in all, I think given the time of year and the solid reminder of a previous purchase, this is a well-done email from Amazon.
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About the Author: Scott Cohen is the Marketing Copywriter for Western Governors University. He also writes on email marketing, fatherhood, sports, and politics on ScottWritesEverything.com and contributes to the Email Zoo Blog.
It’s been exactly three months since I signed up to receive email newsletters from Dylan’s Candy Bar. I got my first one today! I also received a second promotional announcement from Dylan’s, regarding their showing on QVC, three days later. I suppose they’re making up for lost time.
In my original post (Dylan’s Candy Bar: Semi-sweet Email Marketing) I discussed the hits and misses of Dylan’s email marketing efforts. Now that the first of their regular communications has been received, it’s apparent that their biggest and most basic challenges are in creating emails that are intuitive, skim-able, and most importantly actionable.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of the brand. I only criticize because I care.
Subject Line
The Subject Line reads:
Personalize-able treats, 20% off beauty and Free Delivery. Could it get any sweeter?
I would like to have seen something with a holiday fare and time-sensitivity, considering that the personalized treat is a Chocolate Gingerbread Man and the Free Shipping promo expires in three days of mailing.
Subject Line Recommendation:
Personalize-able Holiday Treats, 20% Off Beauty Products, + Free Delivery!
Subject Line Recommendation (with Pre-header Text):
Personalize-able Holiday Treats, 20% Off Beauty Products, + Free Delivery! Order before Dec. 7th and save on these sweet deals and more!
With Images Blocked
It’s encouraging to see Dylan’s using Alt text in their images to help make sense of the offers while the images are blocked. Nevertheless it would be best to greatly improved mix of images and text.
A good text to image ratio in email newsletter marketing is easily accomplished and will help the subscriber to not only skim the offers but also improve usability. In the Free Shipping offer, for example, they could have used both text and images to convey the offer and allow the subscriber to copy/paste the promo code.
Note that they did include the promo code text below the graphic offer, but the readability of the text is poor (due to basic formatting) and gives the feeling that it is detached from the graphic above. Again, if they were to have combined the text and graphics they could have drawn greater attention to the offer and reduced the length of the email.
With Images Viewed
Speaking of size, this could easily be the longest HTML email I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t need to be. Nay, it shouldn’t be. But if the intent is to beat the current Guinness World Record for email length, I strongly recommend the use of internal links (anchor tags) at the top of the creative to outline their many offers.
As you can see their use of imagery in the three primary offerings is inconsistent, which lends them more to banners then offers.
On a Positive Note
I’m happy to see Dylan’s integrating their Twitter and Facebook pages in their email. Perhaps they could use those channels to drive newsletter subscriptions and fans much like how Outback Steakhouse, who grew their list by 125,000 between Nov. 16 and 24 by offering a free Bloomin’ Onion to the first 500,000 people who became its fans on Facebook.
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I had an epiphany recently that I’d like to share with you:
I cannot think of email marketing as its own entity–but rather as part of the entire customer experience.
The idea of the vacuum, or silo thinking, with any marketing medium is very dangerous. And of course, naturally, it’s easy to separate each medium into silos:
The danger lies in thinking each medium is separate–that the right hand doesn’t have to know what the left hand is doing. And that’s all wrong.
Imagine yourself as the customer. How do you expect your experience to go? How would you feel if each method of contact with you was different from the next? So much so that it created confusion, a cognitive dissonance, enough of a disconnect that you’re left scratching your hand, wondering why you’re getting an email from your sales rep a day after speaking with them on the phone about the same topic?
It’s not so good, is it?
If you can, and time allows (and it rarely does), construct a diagram of how each medium hits your prospective customers. Map it by days or even hours if you can. Then throw it out and start asking questions.
Speaking from a client perspective, I know it’s easy for you to do your one thing well, whether it be email marketing or TV advertising or what have you. And honestly, you’re likely to get many clients who will only bring precisely what they need from you in terms of your offerings.
Don’t fall into that trap. Ask the right questions.
The bottom line is you need to make sure you’re not perpetuating with your clients the silo way of thinking. Trust me, your clients will appreciate that you care about their bottom line, not just your product. Remember that scene in “Miracle on 34th Street” where Santa sends the worried parents over to another store where it was cheaper? And how it ultimately boosted the bottom line of the Macys?
Don’t be afraid to take those steps. Don’t be afraid to fire a client if you think–nay you KNOW they’re going in the wrong direction.
To both marketers and their agencies:
Create the experience your customers want. It’ll go a long way towards your bottom line.
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This post’s main ideas and content originally appeared on ScottWritesEverything.com on October 21, 2009.
About the Author: Scott Cohen is the Marketing Copywriter for Western Governors University. He also writes on email marketing, fatherhood, sports, and politics on ScottWritesEverything.com and contributes to the Email Zoo Blog.
I had the thought the other day that politics and email really are a lot alike. If you mess up in politics or email, the right people (the consumers or voting blocs you want) tune out. Here’s what politicians and email marketers alike need to think about in terms of message strategy:
The biggest problem politicians and email marketers both run into is the issue of being self-serving in their messaging. Email done right is not an ad, it’s a relationship builder. Relationships aren’t one-sided. Neither is politics.
Think of politics and email like a savings account–you pay into the account (building credibility and establishing a brand), then you take out payments when it’s the right time to do so (either getting a vote or getting a sale).
How do you build the relationship? By providing value. You provide value by learning about your customers and giving them the information they need to make an informed decision. Enable them to make the decision as quickly or as slowly as they need. Be persuasive, but don’t sell an empty cart of goods. Consumers will see straight through it.
What this means in email (which politicians use) is connections to:
These are just some of many ideas for getting your message out there without forcing it down people’s throats. That leads me to my next “rule.”
I know I’m not alone here. You must respect your customers. After all, voting and email subscriptions are opt-in. Respect means proper segmentation of your message. For example, if some of your subscribers want information about jeans and some want information on lingerie, definitely don’t send both sets information about housewares. That’s just not right.
That goes for politicians, too. If your supporters want information about education plan, send them information about that, not your entire platform. There is already a semblance of interest; don’t turn them off.
Respect also means remembering that people have busy lives. That means get to the point and have something important to say; a problem to solve, etc. Kara Trivunovic wrote in her Email Insiders Blog Post:
There is always family. As much as I would love to believe that recipients are sitting with bated breath awaiting the next email from one of my clients, let’s face it–that just ain’t happening. You are competing with email from other marketers in the inbox, as well as newsletters from the local Gymnastics Center, electronic statements from the bank and the occasional request from Mom to help her figure out how to download photos off her newfangled digital camera. Just be sure to keep in mind that you aren’t necessarily competing with your biggest competitor in the inbox. Rather, you may be in competition with Aunt Tilley–so you better have something important to say.
As many of you email marketers may remember, and as DJ Waldow wrote about on the Email Zoo Blog, the White House clearly forgot about respecting the subscriber. The message sent was pages long when no one has time for that–kind of like the 1100 pages in length that is the current healthcare bill. It was sent to people who clearly didn’t ask for it. And it wasn’t a good vehicle to deliver the value the customer was looking for.
Relationships are about trust. Trust is built over time–and destroyed in an instant. Think about how quickly Howard Dean’s presidential campaign was destroyed over his scream in New Hampshire in 2004. That’s how quickly email reputations can be destroyed as well.
What is it Ogilvy says?
“The consumer isn’t a moron; she’s your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything. She wants all the information you can give her.”
That’s a good quote to remember.
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This post’s main ideas and content originally appeared on ScottWritesEverything.com on August 24, 2009.
About the Author: Scott Cohen is the Marketing Copywriter for Western Governors University. He also writes on email marketing, fatherhood, sports, and politics on ScottWritesEverything.com and contributes to the Email Zoo Blog.
Are your email subscribers clicking through to your websites, ordering your products, or registering for your events as expected? No? Instead are 
they simply unresponsive, unsubscribing or (gasp) complaining? If so, perhaps you’re not clearly establishing mutual expectations.
So how do you manage the high expectations of your subscribers and then compel them to act?
Telling someone what you’re going to do or getting them to do something, just by asking them, is easy and completely obvious, right? Yet most email and web communications don’t do it. Which is why many marketers, despite otherwise well crafted campaigns, end up with less than stellar results and waning subscriber bases.
The term ‘tell them’ may sound a bit callous to most marketers. After all, your subscribers are smart people and they understand your product and what you’re trying to accomplish. But once you’ve gained your subscriber’s attention and trust, and then presented all the benefits of your offerings, the hand-holding has only just begun. Here’s why.
It’s not that your subscribers are dumb. They’re you, your mom, and your brother. But like you they’re busy. There are a lot of near-term tasks competing for their attention. The fact is that your hurried subscribers may not know what they should do next, what to expect, or even who you are or what you want, unless you spell it out with painful clarity. You truly must tell the subscriber exactly what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Here’s how.
When you want your subscriber to take action, be it adding your mailing email address to their safe sender list or buying your service, use highly specific language with concrete details in every communication. Don’t leave any question about what you want to happen. Don’t be afraid to be too obvious. As with any healthy relationship open, two-way communication is the key to success. But it’s a two-way street. So, in exchange you must tell the subscriber what you’ll be doing (or not doing) to nurture or progress said relationship.
There are many ways to set mutual expectations, let your corporate culture be your guide. But here’s an example of a confirmation email that might have been crafted by the late, great copywriter Gary Halbert.
Subject Line/Headline:
“You’re in! Now what?”
Body Content:
“Hi Sue. The custom demo that requested is now ready and waiting for you here. Once you visit (http://exampleurl.com/sue) we’ll ask if you want to test the silver, gold, or platinum plan. Select the platinum; it’s really the best value. The demo will take only a half hour but you’ll be able to clearly make a purchasing decision at that point.
If for some reason you’re unable to view your customized demo today, we will attempt to reschedule every two weeks from this date, unless you tell us otherwise. So, what do you say? There’s no time like the present…click here.”
For most marketers this approach seems a bit over the top (perhaps because they know the product and their processes too well) but for your busy subscriber (because you’re asking them to spend their money and/or time), this level of detail creates a comfortable understanding and a clear call to action.
In other words, if you want to create more a successful email marketing program you must set the expectations for both parties, upfront and on an ongoing basis. First decide what actions you’re going to take; perform only those actions. Then decide what action you want subscriber’s to take; ask them to take that action. State it clearly, succinctly and unmistakably.
About the Author: Scott Hardigree is CEO at Indiemark,
a full-service email marketing agency and consultancy located in Orlando, FL.
Compare the performance of your email marketing against this benchmark data, which was provided from various sources, to help you identify industry trends and compare your results against others. Here’s a few free resources:
Trailing 3 Months – Bronto
2009 by Industry – MailChimp
Q1 2009 – Epsilon
Q2-Q4 2008 - MailerMailer
2006-2008 – Email Stat Center
But if you’re serious about email marketing, you should check out MarketingSherpa’s 2009 Email Marketing Benchmark Guide , it consists of:
- 205 Charts
- 66 Tables and Images
- 8 Eyetracking Heatmaps
- Research from 1,763 marketers
- 6 New Special Reports
- 12 Point Plan to Increase Email Performance
- 8 New Case Studies
It costs $397 and can be downloaded here.
(Thanks to Clayton Mellgren, a member of Email Marketing Gurus, for largely compiling this list.)
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Scott Hardigree
Scott Cohen
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