Email Marketers Playbook

8/10/2019 Email Marketers Playbook

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2012 MailerMailer LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2

ContentsIntroduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3

What Subscribers Really Want .............................................................................................................. 4

MailerMailers Game Plan: Sculpting a Lean, Mean Marketing Machine ......................................... 5

Chrein.com: How Firecracker Emails Can Boost Your Open Rate................................................... 6

Teatre IV & Barksdale Teatre: Te Secret of Successful Selling (Even in errible imes) ........... 7

Chic Blvd: Using Newsletters for Inexpensive Consumer Research .................................................. 8

Aardman: Entertainment in Your Inbox ............................................................................................... 9

George Hirsch: Keeping Your Golden Customers .............................................................................. 10

aking Your Strategy from Good to Great: A Game Plan that Keeps Tem on Teir oes ............. 11
http://www.mailermailer.com/http://www.mailermailer.com/


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Introduction

In good times and bad, email marketers can reap great

results.

Tis eBook will show you the stories of five savvy marketers

who have implemented creative ideas to meet their market-

ing goals, whether that was to increase their open rate, sell

more tickets, or even develop a product line they know will

sell. Weve even tossed in a story about our own experi-

ence in crafting an efficient and effective email marketing

system.

odays unstable economic climate is causing people to be

less willing to spend money and be less responsive to mar-

keting messages. And as people strive to simplify their life,

they are losing patience with receiving mediocre email mes-

sages and newsletters. Tey delete, they unsubscribe, and

worse yet, they mark legitimate senders emails as spam.

Te companies featured in this eBook have taken notice

of the current trends as well as the changing needs of their

own audience, and have implemented new ideas to make

their emails more relevant and captivating. Read on and

learn what these email marketers are doing. Be inspired by

their stories and see what these methods can do for your

own campaigns.


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What Subscribers Really Want

When you provide value to your audience, they will

respond. For your email marketing efforts, their positive

response might translate to more people opening and click-

ing on links within your message, more subscriptions, or

perhaps more sales resulting from your newsletter. o make

this happen, you need to give them something that inter-

ests them. You need to give them a reason to open up your

email versus deleting it or ignoring it.

So what exactly do your subscribers want?

Tough there is no magical formula that will determine the

success or failure of a campaign, there are common newslet-ter characteristics that people desire or complain about.

Check out some of the most common newsletter likes and

dislikes (From Nielson Normans Newsletter Usability Tird

Edition).

Common Email Newsletter Likes:

High-quality writing

Guarantee that your grammar, punctuation, and spelling is

correct. Make sure your language is easy to understand and

that your information is useful to your customers.

Good design

A clean, beautiful design can aid in projecting a professional

image of your company and product. Since your newslet-

ter is an extension of who you are, make sure your emails

look is consistent with your brand. What is good design for

you depends also on your subscribers. If your audience is

older, make sure your text size is easy on their eyes. If your

audience is a group of designers, impress them with nice

graphics and rich colors.

Brevity

You should design newsletters for easy skimming because

most users do not actually read every word of each news-

letter they receive. Simple, straightforward text is easier to

digest.

Common Email Newsletter Dislikes

Overly frequent deliveries

Tis was found to be the biggest complaint. How often do

you email? If you send a message everyday, make sure it is

necessary given the nature of your content. It is also good

to email on a regular schedule.

Irrelevant content

Many people send for the sake of sending, and do not

deliver quality information. If your signup page describes a

newsletter featuring sports news, do not fill up your content

with advertisements featuring sports gear. Advertising mes-

sages can be useful, as long as you deliver on the promise

you gave your subscribers when they first signed up. Pro-vide them with relevant content.

Newsletters leading to sites with Pop-ups

People do not like to feel bombarded with advertisements.

You want to present the valuable content as quickly as pos-

sible and pop-ups can serve as an unsolicited distraction.

Te most important key is that your emails are relevant

to your audience. You may read a study that recommends

avoiding sending messages at the end of the workweek,

but you have a party list and your clients respond well to

your Friday mailings. As long as you are providing a unique

value to your subscribers, they will keep looking forward to

receiving your emails.


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MailerMailers Game Plan:

Sculpting a Lean, Mean Marketing Machine

Situation

Growing companies need flexible systems to accommodate

to their ever-changing needs.

MailerMailers own Integrated Marketing Coordinator

Margaret Lahey is constantly testing and refining content,

layout and design to adjust with the latest trends and sub-

scriber preferences. So the newsletters infrastructure and

processes have to be versatile and malleable to be able to

adjust to all sorts of changes.

Action Plan: A smarter system to eradicate inefficiencies

Instead of having to go back and forth between content

writer and graphic designer, Lahey set up way that would

allow one person to write, design, code and send all on his

or her own. And instead of articles only having a one-time

newsletter value, the newsletter content can be utilized for

many years down the road.

How She Did It

Sleek and versatile template:Created a fresh HML

template easily customized for various needs that also

matches the new look of the new website redesign.

Consolidated creation process:Instead of creating

separate content for the blog, newsletter and site, she

now repurposes many articles and resources that could be

reused in the different means.

Changed naming format: Changed the naming struc-

ture of our newsletters dating back to 2004 allowing for

easy future retrieval as well as search engine optimization.

Future utility: Began posting an archived list of newslet-

ters online for visitors to be able to reference, months and

years later.

Continuous Testing:Changing newsletter elements and

measuring performance allows us to constantly refine our

newsletter and optimize response rates.

Te result is that she now spends less time on production

and is seeing higher open and click rates than she had seen

before! If you look at MailerMailers 2005, then 2007,

then 2009 monthly email tips newsletter, you will see huge

differences. Yet in the evolution of our newsletter, we have

a pretty seamless transition thanks to the flexibility of the

email marketing system we have developed.


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Chrein.com:How Firecracker Emails Can Boost Your Open Rate

Situation

Lets face it. News gets stale. But as Lloyd Chrein puts it,

Te beauty of email marketing is that you can think of

content and send it out the very same day. Chrein noticed

that his clients would sometimes not have enough news to

fill up an entire newsletter and then once the newsletter

was ready, event dates would have passed, announcements

would no longer be relevant, and news would no longer be

new.

He did not want his clients campaigns to fall into the same

trap as print publications which sometimes cannot publish

and distribute quickly enough to contain still-fresh topics.

Action Plan: What is a firecracker email anyway?

So he moved away from the accumulated content newslet-

ter format and began sending firecracker emails. Just as a

firecracker is a small explosive designed to produce a large

amount of noise, a firecracker email is a message that is

short in length but is explosive in content.

A firecracker email is an email that is:

Content-specific:Serving one particular purpose

Timely:Covering hot news

Quick read: Containing just one or two paragraphs

It is important to note that there is often a short window

of opportunity to send firecracker emails. But use a good

head-turning subject line and you can see a great payoff. Anexample of this in action is using the subject line, Strate-

gies for Dealing with Nadoff Scandal instead of the old

prototypical Quarterly (Company Name) Newsletter. Te

problem with using a generic email subject line is that it

is vague and is not telling of the unique content inside the

message. Te New York Building Congress email is a great

example of a firecracker email. It is timely, short and serves

one particular purpose which is to inform subscribers about

the latest hot news. Chrein saw a sharp increase in his open

and click through rates using this format. Perhaps firecrack-

er emails can also fit into your strategy.


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Teatre IV & Barksdale Teatre:Te Secret of Successful Selling (Even in errible imes)

Situation

When times are tough, the household dollar is often on a

tighter string.

Tis presents a challenge for many theatre companies,

whose sales mostly depend on theatre-goers disposable

income. When newspaper headlines are screaming about

bank failures and job layoffs, the last thing Jessica Daugh-

erty wants to do is present another headline about a new

tragic drama.

Action Plan: Focus on Positives

No matter what show is playing, Daugherty highlights the

upbeat nature of the story. She strives to make the email

marketing message itself a nice escape-kind-of-experience

and draw people in to buy tickets and watch the show.

Ways Daugherty Presents Te Positives

Bigger graphics, bolder colors, and less text: Tis creates

an inviting look that demands the readers attention.

Positive text in subject lines and message itself (while still

staying true to the integrity of the play): Even if the play

is a gripping drama, she would play up the quirkiness of

the characters, without mentioning the illness eating up

that character inside.

Poignant images: One woman went to see the play, Te

Best Christmas Pageant Ever, because of the touching

graphic

Daugherty infuses an uplifting tone into her nonprofits

campaigns to help retain engaged subscribers and make

ticket sales, even in difficult times. Tough the general the-

atre industry is seeing the effects of the recession,

Daughertys focus on positive appeal continues to draw

patrons to Teatre IV and Barksdale Teatre.


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Chic Blvd:Using Newsletters for Inexpensive Consumer Research

Situation

Companies dont want to make a product that nobody

wants. Tey want to sell items their audience would rave

about! Nikki Gutshall from Chic Blvd wanted to do just

that. In creating a designer series of Chic Blvds popular

earphones product, ChicBuds, Gutshall collected customer

feedback to help her determine what designs would sell.

Action Plan: Valuable Feedback for Product

DevelopmentAs an inexpensive solution, she used her email newsletters

to help collect customer feedback.

In her emails, she would ask questions like What is your

favorite Chicbuds product? and What design would you

love to see on Chicbuds?

Some keys to keep in mind when collecting consumer

feedback via email:

Incentive:Give some sort of incentive such as a prize.

Instructions:Provide directions on how to submit feed-

back so they know exactly what to do.

Deadline:Create a deadline or make the incentive time-

sensitive so subscribers will not delay in taking action and

responding.

Subscribers responded with their ideas, excited to be part

of the product development process. It resulted in several

limited edition designs of the Chicbuds, including a pink

ribbon crystal design which benefits the nonprofit founda-

tion that creates awareness for breast cancer.

In fact, Chicbuds entire limited edition line is based on

feedback solicited via their newsletters. It shows the cus-

tomers that their voice is valued, and is a good plan because

Chic Blvd creates items they know are in demand.

Do you want to make products that will sell? Ask your

audience!


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Aardman:Entertainment in Your Inbox

Situation

How does a brand based on television characters maintain a

loyal fan base when there are no shows playing?

Aardman, creator of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the

Sheep, is an example of a company whose popularity peaks

during certain times-- when its shows are airing. Yet it

wants to continuously interact with their audience, even in

between releases of new episodes and DVDs.

Action Plan: Interactivity and Fan Content

Email marketing fits because it allows the brands to engage

with their fans throughout the year. But Community Man-

ager Katie McQuin-Roberts wanted the newsletters to pres-

ent more than just character and fan news. So she fills the

Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep newsletters with

fun, entertaining content - something the fans can look for-

ward to receiving, as well as participate in the creation of.

ips from Katie to bring interactivity & fun to your fans:

Sponsor contests with enticing prizes

Solicit and publish fan-submitted content such as art,

photographs, and anything else you want

Funnel people back to your website to participate in

forums and further participate online

Section off special areas with bold banners and titles such

as Community, where you would showcase all subscrib-

er-contributed content

Although they originally had no major online presence in

their twenty year history until about two years ago, Katies

use of interactive strategies in the newsletters has helped

Aardman to reach its goal of building up their fan base on-

line and maintaining fan excitement around the characters

throughout the year.


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George Hirsch:Keeping Your Golden Customers

Situation

It is said that it is easier to retain a customer than to find a

new one.

Nobody knows this better than Lifestyle Expert George

Hirsch who has been email marketing since 1994. Many

marketers have seen how easy it is for an excited fan to

subscribe and then quickly unsubscribe or for a customer to

show interest and then to never return. Tey get inundated

with new offerings from other players or simply lose inter-est.

Action Plan: Building rust to Gain Life-long Customers

Because of this Hirsch has learned to plan his strategy for

long term success. You are in it for the long run, he says.

He knows his personal strengths, has gotten to know his

audience and thus is able to continuously deliver content

that they enjoy and value. Tat is the way to gain their

trust, which is the key to keeping these lifelong or golden

fans.

Here are some ways Hirsch nurtures his fan relationships:

Constant reinvention:Tough he is the same chef his

audience fell in love with years back, Hirsch has added

more topics to his areas of expertise, such as home, travel

and recreation.

Listen to customer feedback: Show appreciation for

their opinions and respond appropriately.

Be reliable:Consistently deliver valuable information.

Your audience expects it and will respond.

Hirsch appreciates his faithful subscribers and shows it. His

goodwill and desire to empower them is evident. Before

sending, he makes sure to include something in his emails

that will improve their day and their moment, just by open-

ing his email. And this strategy has helped him to build

a relationship with his audience that lasts. Since 1994,

Hirschs email marketing has remained popular with his

ever-growing fan base.


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aking Your Strategy from Good to Great:A Game Plan that Keeps Tem on Teir oes

echnology, consumer behavior, and competition are

always evolving; what about your email marketing strategy?

Just as your business plan is a living document, an email

newsletter that you started years ago also needs to change

with the times and trends.

Newsletter design, content, format, and sending frequency

are all modifiable elements of your campaign. Te preced-

ing companies continuously evaluated their audience and

trends, adjusted accordingly and saw results!

Before you tweak your own strategy, keep in mind that

email marketing is more than just a broadcast tool.

A big appeal of email marketing is being able to make an-

nouncements to a large group of people simultaneously.

Tat is what it was originally intended for! Yet it can be

much more than a mere one-directional communication

tool. Email marketing can be used to solicit feedback, en-

gage subscribers, and even create a community.

Make your email marketing a two-directional tool by

incorporating:

Surveys

Contests

Subscriber-generated/ user-submitted content

weak Your Own Strategy

Review your current plan, identify opportunities and weak-

nesses, and take action. We showcased companies who did

and reaped the rewards. Te first step is to review. Just as

a doctor performs a physical examination to determine a

persons state of health, inspecting important areas of your

campaign will help you to understand your email market-

ings state of affairs. People can excel at certain parts of their

strategy and overlook seemingly minor issues that could

have potentially major consequences. For example, an aes-

thetically beautiful email template can have rendering issues

due to insufficient testing in different email clients.

Make sure you have:

Content that still sells:Maybe you have sections of your

newsletter that are no longer relevant, or you updated

your site look and your email design got left behind.

Evaluating every aspect of your newsletter content will

help you ensure your emails are aligned with company

developments and reader trends.

Awareness of email performance:Email statistics and

reports can be leveraged greatly to gauge how well your

efforts are being received by your subscribers. Compare

your campaign performance this year with last years

performance. Also, see our email metrics report to view

industry trends.


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Adaptation to technology changes:Email client

software and Internet technology are constantly evolv-

ing. Tis has email marketing implications you need to

accommodate for.

Optimized Advertising:If you use advertisements in

your newsletter, it is important to see how you can take

advantage of new revenue-generating ideas and trends.

Even advertising has developments over time. weak and

improve any current advertising initiatives.

Initiative to embrace new opportunities:It is easy to

get comfortable with your current subscriber count.

Perhaps you are regularly receiving new subscribers fromyour website signup, but there may be plenty of untapped

prospects that could be reached by other means. Or per-

haps you can use your newsletter in different ways.

For your review, check out our Annual Email Marketing

Strategy Review Checklist which can help you assess impor-

tant aspects of your campaign.

As you fine-tune your strategy, do not be afraid to try newideas! You never know what big thing you might come up

with next. Let your email marketing be an extension of

your own unique brand. Good luck!


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Email Marketers Playbook

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