Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

38
presented by Gina Nykerk Indie Arsenal, 2011 Email Marketing For Independent Creatives

Transcript of Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Page 1: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

presented by

Gina NykerkIndie Arsenal, 2011

Email Marketing For Independent Creatives

Page 2: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Hi.

I’m Gina.

I’ve been in email marketing for nearly 6 years.

Page 3: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

This is my inbox.(one of four, mind you)

Page 4: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives
Page 5: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Courtesy xkcd.com.

Page 6: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Why email?

Page 7: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

It’s popular

94% of daily email users subscribe to marketing messages

- Exact Target, 2010

It perform

s$42.08 returned per dollar

invested -DMA, 2010

It’s personal

A one-on-one conversation with a lot of people, all at one time

Page 8: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

What can I do with email?(Possibly a question asked a time

or two by your clients)

Page 9: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Drive word of mouth & PR.

Page 10: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Drive sales.

Page 11: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Engage readers.

Page 12: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Increase site traffic

Page 13: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Retain customers.

Page 14: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Repurpose it as content for your social networks

Page 15: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Let your readers repurpose it as content for their social networks

Page 16: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Build a community.

Page 17: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Tweet a link to sign up for your emails.

Page 18: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Add your email signup form to your blog.

Page 19: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

4 things you should know about email,

um,right now

Page 20: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

1. Best practices are your friend

• Don’t SPAM! Permission based email is the (only) way to go. Build that list, friend.

• You must provide an opt-out and a physical or mailing address on each email

• Email is not a science. Our favorite answer is “it depends.” Expect to test, test, and

test some more.

• Audience segmentation is awesome. Try it.

• Don’t forget the subject line – spend at least 5 minutes crafting it.

Page 21: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

2. It works very well with social media + traditional

marketing

Page 22: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Remember how video killed the radio star?*

*It actually didn’t

Page 23: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

We’ve heard the same hype about email

Page 24: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

But alas, email, social + traditional marketing channels continue to live,

breathe & coexist in harmony.

They’re quite complimentary, in fact.

Page 25: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

3. Your creative? Oh SO important.

Page 26: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Look good, look smart

A sharp-dressed email can make the difference between reading and deleting. Solid design

and proper coding:

• Increase deliverability rates• Grab readers’ attention

• Create a positive response

Page 27: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Design for the medium. Email is not a website or a

print piece.

It is, however, an extension of the

brand so make it look that way.

Page 28: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

When designing for email keep in mind:

Page 29: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

•72 dpi

•600-700 pixels (320-520 for mobile devices)

•RGB (not CMYK)

•Use basic, old school HTML. Keep it simple, keep it clean

•Tables ARE your friend. Inline styles are the way to code. No CSS, please

•Link to videos. Do not try to embed

•Don’t forget a plaintext version!

•Always use alt tags and never send one big image file. Image rendering is finicky.

Page 30: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

See?

Page 31: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

(How they were supposed to look)

Page 32: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

4. You are not alone*

or

How to make this work for you

* Cue Michael Jackson’s greatest hits

Page 33: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Find a vendor you like to work with.

Client or not, you’re most likely going to be the one working in the interface while crafting or sending

the email. Be comfortable in it.

Page 34: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

There are a lot of vendors to choose from. Consider finding

one to partner with.

Emma, Exact Target and CampaignMonitor all offer agency specific platforms, each with their own strengths and

weaknesses. All other US based email vendors typically stick to affiliate

programs

Page 35: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Don’t be a tool.

(Just use them)

Response tracking Document

library

Dynamic Content

Variable Content

Google Analytics

Sign up Forms

Image hosting

UYO HTML

Stationery Builder

Split A/B Testing

Triggers/AutoResponders

Page 36: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Resources abound.

Even if you’re not an expert, you can act like one.

Page 37: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

The Emma blog: www.myemma.com/blog (yes, I’m partial, but for what it’s worth it wasn’t always very good. Now it’s

kicking a**)

The Email Experience Council: http://www.emailexperience.org/ (A highly regarded source

in the industry)

The Email Stat Center: www.emailstatcenter.com (A great resource if you’re wondering how your email is performing)

MarketingProfs: www.marketingprofs.com (A fantastic resource for all things online marketing)

MediaPost Email Insider: www.mediapost.com (My daily read on the email industry)

Emailium: www.emailium.com (Email inspiration at your fingertips)

My Favorites

Page 38: Email Marketing for Independent Creatives

Gina [email protected]@ginanykerk

thanks!Begin the brilliantly insightful Q&A now.

No calculus questions, please.

[email protected]/blog