Email Marketing Making It Work For You

Lars Helgeson Co-Founder

Overview
Define email marketing Why email marketing works Email and your marketing mix Design & sending tips Choosing a vendor Tracking & feedback Case studies

What is Email Marketing?

Targeted, relevant communication Goals
Generate sales Improve awareness Provide valuable information Strengthen your brand Build relationship with clients

What is Spam?
Opt-in Marketing vs Spam
Courtesy Hormel Corporation

Spam = Negative perception of spammer

Comprises 8% of emails in 2001, 32% in 2002 Estimated 50% in 2003

Opt-in = Higher responses, builds relationship

100-1000x ROI vs spam

Spam is illegal in most states

Now a felony in Virginia
Spam Example Courtesy Just For You Network (Dirty SPAMMER)

Applications of Email
SPAM
No relationship No permission Harvesting

COOL
Existing relationship Permission to contact Opt-in record

Weak relationship Stale contact

No relationship 3rd party permission

Existing relationship Permission to contact

Why Email Marketing is Effective

Automation = low deployment costs
Design time (custom vs templates) Database management Email delivery Tracking and analysis

Targeting = better responses

Reads = 30-60% (average is 38%*) Clicks = 2-10% (average is 7.1%*) Average online conversion rate is 4.3%*
* Source: DoubleClick Email Marketing Trend Report, 2Q2002

Customer Acquisition Cost

Example 10,000 email recipients
Build = 4 hours x $90/hr = $360 Send = $100 Tracking & Analysis = 2 hours x $90/hr = $180 5% click, 4% conversion = 20 sales for $640 Acquisition cost = $32

Example
10,000 direct mail recipients Build = 4 hours x $90/hr = $360 Send = $6,000 (60 cents per mail piece) 2% action, 10% conversion = 20 sales for $6,360 Acquisition cost = $318

Your Marketing Mix

Develop brand, strategy (marketing is a means to an end => sales) Print (brochures, pamphlets) Direct mail Radio/TV Generate awareness Networking Positive perception Overcome risk of purchase Event sponsorships Satisfy the customer Email Get feedback

How do you Email Market?

Decide in-house vs outsource Gather client / prospects list Develop strategy, combine with other efforts Build email Send email Track email Refine marketing strategy

Email Marketing Visually

Strategy Content Clients Website Master List Lists

Distribution
Tracking

In-House vs Outsourcing
In-House Infrastructure
Designers List management Email servers & ISP Tracking & analysis

Do-It-Yourself Tools
Templates Easy-to-use interface

Managed Services
Experienced designers Analysts to improve marketing strategy

MarketingSherpa.com In all cases, look at track record & clients!

Custom Design Template

Choose the Right Vendor

Examine features
Building tools (templates, libraries, personalization) Integration (website, CRM, surveys) List management (segmenting) Sending (capacity, automatic bounce / unsubscribe) Tracking (detail and summary in realtime) Private labeling Account management (multiple users, access rights)

Ease of use is important!

Choose the Right Vendor

Time to set up account and send emails Costs
Setup Cost-per-email or CPM vs Storage

Customer support
Email, phone, business hours Dedicated account manager?

Reputation (Privacy/Anti-Spam Policy)

SenderBase.com, DNSstuff.com

Email Marketing Tips

Do not rent lists from someone you dont know and trust high risk of spam Carefully choose subject line (call to action, targeted) Recognizable to recipients (From line) Make content relevant to audience & personalize Dont use spam-trap words Time of day, day of week Frequency of communication Short, concise messages

Using Tracking & Feedback

Watch your email campaigns
Read rates Click-thru rates What users click on Follow post-click if possible

Generate new lists based on recipient behavior

Send targeted follow-ups

Case Study #1
Get Connected Breakfast

Marketing goals
Create awareness about event Who / What / Where / When / Why Promote value in coming to event

Focus on what customers want

Valuable information

Case Study #1
Campaign 1 - Simple Design

Call to action

Case Study #1
Campaign 1 Results

4200 Recipients
40.8% Read 1.8% Clicked - 95 flyer downloads

2 Send-to-Friends
0.2% Unsubscribed

Case Study #1
Campaign 2 Improved Design

Consistent branding
3 calls to action

Case Study #1
Campaign 2 Results 4700 Recipients 42% (2000) read 1.8% (87) clicked - 51 registrations - 48 flyers - 10 maps

3 send-to-friends

Case Study #2
Yahoo! Resumix

Marketing goals
Increase attendance at seminar (Campaigns 1-3) Increase awareness of Resumix services with newsletter (Campaign 4)

Campaign results
11% total response rate (phone/email) 42% response by company

Campaign 1

Colorful Simple call to action in 2 places 2% click-through

Campaign 2

Simpler format Single call to action 4.6% click-through

Campaign 3

Attendance Interest via Email Survey 4.3% confirmation Used more successful design

Campaign 4

Newsletters generate interest 3.5% click-through

The Bottom Line

Email marketing works Coordinate with marketing strategy Use feedback from campaign performance Stay current on marketing technology
Anti-spam issues Economic conditions Networking groups (Chamber of Commerce, Connect, SDiMarketers)

Thank You
Presentation online at:
http://www.cooleremail.com/emailoverview.ppt

Key Points
Goals of email marketing - Build relationships with clients - Improve brand awareness - Communicate valuable information - Generate revenues Vendor Selection I (Technology) - Templates and/or upload your own HTML - List management & segmentation - Sending capacity - Summary and detail-level tracking Email Marketing Tips I - Integrate email with overall strategy - Dont rent suspicious lists - Carefully consider your subject line - Be honest with your From line - Dont look like spam (avoid keyword traps) Email Marketing Tips II - Relevant, informational content - Clear call to action, if applicable - Dont make email too long, or too busy

Opt-In (GOOD) vs. Spam (BAD) - Established relationship with client - Permission to send to recipient - Honor unsubscribe requests - Maintain opt-in/opt-out records

Vendor Selection II (Business) - Blacklist reputation (SenderBase.com and DNSstuff.com) and anti-spam policy - Privacy policy and data protection - Client list - Customer service Vendor Selection III (Pricing) - Setup fees - Price per email sent vs stored - Long-term contracts, minimum billing - Consulting services

Email Marketing Tips III - Send during the week, during the day if targeting businesses - Be conscious of your sending frequency - Test your lists (random sampling)

Email Marketing Tips IV - Learn from your tracking information - Segment your lists by recipient demographics and behavior - Gather surveys from your recipients - Send follow-up emails

2003 CoolerEmail Inc., http://www.cooleremail.com