NEACAC 2010 Email Marketing for Admissions
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Email Marketing for Admissions: It’s not dead. It’s just different! Adrienne Bartlett, SACAC 2010
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Transcript of NEACAC 2010 Email Marketing for Admissions
Email Marketingfor Admissions:
It’s not dead. It’s just different!
Adrienne Bartlett, SACAC 2010
More optionsMore choicesMore money
More infoMore clutterMore speed
More STRESS
Is email dead?
Nope.But it has changed.
ReasonsContent
Mom & Dad
Do they read email anymore?
Social technologies like text messaging relegated to friends.
“Remember, you’re not
their friend.”
“Communicate with Old Folks”
Email has aged well (believe it or not)
Is it still cool?
"Sure. It's just not the same way it was when it was the shiny new
toy that every marketer was scrambling to implement as the
1990s faded away."
-- Wendy Roth, iMedia Connection
http://www.imediaconnection.com/printpage/printpage.aspx?id=26242
Email has evolved...
“Email is once again all about the
conversation”
"Email began as a one-to-one medium."
"But marketers quickly recognized its value as a one-to-many model
and began treating email messages as if they were electronic catalogs
and sales circulars."
1:1
“These days, the most effective approach is a one-to-some model”
More messages Smaller groups
PersonalizationRelevance
1. Markets are conversations.
2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
3. Conversations among human beings sound human.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is helping to make messages much more
targeted and personalized.
“Email today is about each individual recipient -- how to gain and retain their trust, send them
messages they find more valuable, and market to them where they are, regardless of browser, platform or device. Email isn't just about email
anymore."-- Wendy Roth, iMedia Connection
Email also remains the best way to communicate with working
adults looking at part-time graduate and undergraduate
programs.
Touch points don’t matter if you’re not building relationships
They say you need to definitively answer your readers' three biggest
questions or risk losing them:
Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon, Email Insiderhttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=125599
8seconds
1. What is this email about?2. Why should I care about it?3. What should I do about it?
1. What is this email about?2. Why should I care about it?3. What should I do about it?
“Strive for a balance of copy and imagery that gets the message across without overwhelming the reader.”
“Work towards a design that guides recipients' eyes exactly
where they need to go.”
Not a catch-all solution
Old Me!a is the best way to promote
New Media.
New Media can not and should not exist in a vacuum.
[Should complement your overall marketing strategy]
Think more like a publisher
(not a marketer)
“Bring wine to the picnic”Source: Chris Brogan
Great online content is:
Brief ShareableUseful
Personal Fresh
Relevant to Your Goals
“Glue”
Tips
1Know your role.
When to use email?
Event invites/remindersConfirmations
SurveysNotifications
Process Updates
Promote new (valuable)content
on your site
2Get to the point.
“We are a nation of email skimmers and scanners, looking for something
relevant while hovering over the delete button. Give your readers every
opportunity to hang in there until they find something they like.”
-- Ray Ulmer, TargetX
Throw Shakespeare
out the window.
Skip the introKeep it shortSay it once
No blocks of textDesign to skim
Bold key words?
Exercise: What’s the
point of this email?
Make that your 1st sentence.
“You’re invited to attend our Open House
on October 24th.”
Which words can you delete?
3Make the call.
Call to action?!
“Make sure your most crucial information -- especially headlines and calls-to-action -- is kept above the fold. Remember that people often read just
headlines and CTAs.”
“Use easy-to-find, straightforward CTAs that tell
people exactly what will happen when they click.”
Set it offBoldLink
Center?
4Inform your subjects.
DescriptiveClever
“Hook and label”Key words first
A/B test
No spammy words DON’T SCREAM
Don’t repeat school nameDon’t merge first name
“Don’t Miss Out”“Last Chance”
“We’re Waiting”“Check this out”
“Open House Invitation”
“Take our campus visit survey”
“Missing transcript”
“Chat with us today”
5Don’t trust the media;)
Prospects (especially parents) often have images
disabled.
Proceed as if the images aren’t
rendering.
Does the message still make sense?
Is it readable?
6Easy on the html.
Too much html :
Screams“marketing”+
Hurts deliverability
Keep the focus on the call to action
We’re past the point of “html for its own sake”
(Keep it simple stupid;)
7Test. Test. Test.
LinksMultiple BrowsersA/B Split
Subject Lines
The best way to determine
frequency & timing
Know your audience.
“A lot of what can be counted doesn’t count, and a lot of
what counts can’t be counted.”
-Albert Einstein
8No magic day or time.
Have a plan.
5/21 1st Email 5/27 Plain-text followup 6/9 2nd Email6/16 Plain-text followup6/16 Link and Instructions6/19 “Day-of reminder” 6/22 Link to video and slides
Date Message Audience
Did not view/interact
Did not view/interact
RegistrantsRegistrantsRegistrants
All
All
The followup should be part
of the plan.
How much is too much?
What stage?WIIFM?
9Court the ‘rents.
Are you collecting
email addresses?
Inquiry CardsApplication
Campus Visits/EventsWebsite
http://www.scu.edu/family/parent-email.cfm
Parent Content:
Address Cost Process
Personalize Notifications
10Segment and personalize.
ParentsGuidance Counselors
“Local”Alums (for Grad Schools)
Consider Plans For:
Bonus!
Be a tease.
Use the “P.S.”
Yield?
GraduationSummer Movies
Packing Lists for CollegeAdvice from Recent Graduates
Favorite High School Memory/Teacher?Favorite Book/Song/Band
Which dorm will you be in?
Source: The Lawlor Group
"You just don't know for sure whether students are coming until you see the whites
of their eyes and their butts in the seats."
If we have a mantra for the summer, it's "stay in touch with your prospects"
“Don’t chase the tools. Chase the goals.”
-Howard@BlueFuego
What will you do differently?
www.targetx.com/ithink
www.targetx.com/webcasts
Next Webcast: May 21
What would you like us to discuss?
[email protected] us your ideas!
Access this presentation:www.slideshare.net/
targetx
Adrienne Bartlett, SACAC 2010
Thank You!
