www.otoinc.com 1

Best Practices for E-mail NewslettersReportEmail Workshop: Best Practices from

Sign-Up to Delivery

Follow OTOinsights on Twitter:http://twitter.com/OTOinsights

www.otoinc.com 2

Established in 1997, One to One is the first global enterprise to assemble a complete solution for brands, agencies, and publishers executing one-to-one marketing strategies. The company employs over 150 professionals in 7 offices located in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

One of the 20 “Hottest Independent Digital Firms” GloballyAdAge, 2007

One of the Fastest Growing Private CompaniesInc Magazine, 2008

www.otoinc.com 3

LocationsGlobal Coverage in Americas, Europe, Asia

Boston

Baltimore

London

Singapore

Reno-Tahoe

Salt Lake City

São Paulo

www.otoinc.com 4

Clients

5www.otoinc.com

Agenda

Part 1: Review of sites/e-newsletters

Part 2: Insights & Conclusions

Part 3: Delivery: Live Demo

Q&A

6www.otoinc.com

Dr. Philip Rhodes, Ph.D.

Philip holds a Ph.D. in Information Design from the University of Portsmouth. He has extensive research and teaching experience in hypermedia design and information architecture. He speaks fluent Portuguese, having lived and worked in Brazil. Before joining One to One Insight, he worked with US solution providers Rare Medium and Sapient, as Director of Information Architecture. Specializing in offering user-centric online solutions within the banking, education, and telecommunications sectors. He also taught at several universities in Brazil and the UK, and has been widely published. Philip is both the Managing Director and the Director of Customer Experience Research & Design at One to One Insight, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Managing Director & Director of Research

Dr. Philip Rhodes: prhodes@onetooneinteractive.com

7www.otoinc.com

PART 1: Review of sites/ e-newsletters

8www.otoinc.com

Methodology

Expert Approach/Customer Interviews

o 2 experienced customer experienced consultants

o Independently reviewed top 20 UK retail sites

and e-newsletters

o Interviews with 20 consumers (in October 2010)

Focus

o Ease of finding link to sign-up

o Information required to sign-up

o Timeliness of email response

o Quality of e-newsletter

9www.otoinc.com

10www.otoinc.com

Results | Summary

The numbers

o 18/20 sites had a link to sign-up on the homepage

o 2/20 had links on deeper pages

o 12 sites sent immediate email confirmation

o No newsletters received within 24 hours

o 8/20 newsletters received (within 3 weeks of sign-up)

11www.otoinc.com

Sign-Up Process

12www.otoinc.com

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Criteria for analysis

Sign-up| Score

13www.otoinc.com

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

0 1 2 3Number of sign-up issues

Sign-up| Score

Criteria for analysis

14www.otoinc.com

o Meets 6/7 key criteria – had 1 sign-up issueo Issues with unsubscribe: Users are informed that they can unsubscribe

from a link in the confirmation email, but there is no unsubscribe link in the email.

o Play.com gives users the worst sign-up experienceo Only meets 1 key criteria – and included 3 sign-up issues.

o Forces users to create an account before they can sign-up for newsletter.

o Many retailers provide a good sign-up experience, but not excellent due to some minor sign-up issues. Typical issues found:

o Unnecessary information required e.g. address and postcode o Asked to confirm their details via emailo No confirmation email receivedo Confirmation message not clearly presented e.g. below the fold of the

pageo Link in the confirmation email not clickable

Sign-up| Score

1st

20th

15www.otoinc.com

Below the fold on 1024 x 1060 screen resolution

Location of the sign-up link

Not on homepage

16www.otoinc.com

Engagement in sign-up link

With content,Not personalised

Simple With content,Personalised

Image and with content

With content, image and

personalised

17www.otoinc.com

Sign-up | The Best

18www.otoinc.com

o Step 2, a confirmation message is returned

and it also tells the user that they will

receive an email soon.

o Step 2b, user is informed that they can

unsubscribe from a link in the email,

however, no unsubscribe link is included in

the email.

o Step 1: Newsletter sign up link

can be easily found on the

homepage, includes catchy title

‘Get your fashion fix online’.

o Combines newsletter

preferences and email entry

field in one step.

1 2 2b

Sign-up | The Best

19www.otoinc.com

o User needs to give their newsletter preferences on Step 2.

o Step 3, clear ‘thank you’ page informing users they have signed up successfully.

o Step 3b, confirmation email is received immediately (lack of branding).

o Step 1, Newsletter sign up link is at foot of the page.

o Text field does not indicate an email address should be entered into the field.

1 2 3 3b

Sign-up | The Best

20www.otoinc.com

Sign-up | The Worst

21www.otoinc.com

o Step 3, Confirmation page has a clear indication that their subscription was successful.

o Step 3b, Confirmation email received immediately.

o Step 1, Sign-up is shown on the side of the homepage. However, not possible to enter ‘sign-up’ details on the homepage

o Step 2, Unnecessary information (town/city/postcode) are mandatory fields. Captcha verification can potentially annoy users

o Users are not able to select their interests in order to customise the email newsletter.

1 2 3 3b

Sign-up | The Worst

22www.otoinc.com

o Step 3, ‘sign-up’ newsletter section is hidden, users have to look for it under ‘my account’

o Users are not able to personalise newsletter by choosing area of interest.

o Step 4, Clear confirmation screen.

o There is no confirmation email received after signing up.

o Step 1, No sign-up shown on homepage.

o Users are not informed of the benefits of subscribing.

o Step 2, Users have to open an account in order to subscribe newsletter. This mean going through a long process.

1 2 3 4

Sign-up | The Worst

23www.otoinc.com

Email Newsletter

24www.otoinc.com

10

8

6

4

2

0

0 1 2 3

TotalScore

Number of negative issues

E-mail newsletter | Score

4

25www.otoinc.com

Link to the website

Link to social

media sitesPersonalised

emailCatchy

subject lineUnsubscrib

e linkContact details

Consistent with

websiteTailored

newsletterGood mix of

text and images

Guidance on what to

do nextNumber of

issues Score

Topshop2 6

Debenhams1 5

River Island2 5

Tesco2 5

LoveFilm2 5

Thomson 3 5

Your M&S3 3

John Lewis 4 3

Only 8/20 newsletters received (27th September – 15th October)

E-mail newsletter | Score

26www.otoinc.com

Topshop meets 8/10 key criteria and only has 2 newsletter issueso No social network logos, the links could be overlooked. No newsletter received

within 24 hours.

M&S and John Lewis give users the worst newsletter experience. They have 3 and 4 newsletter issues respectively. o Unsubscribe page is not straightforward as there are 3 options: Continue

receiving newsletter, receive newsletter less frequent and do not want to receive newsletter.

Many retailers provide quality newsletters, but some small issues were identified. Typical issues:

1. No contact information is provided2. The newsletter is inconsistent with site e.g. Christmas on site not in newsletter

(John Lewis)3. Newsletter does not allow user to customise to their preferences4. Large section of text covering term and conditions5. There are no links to social media channels.6. Lengthy newsletter e.g. LoveFilms

E-mail newsletter | Score

1st

8th

27www.otoinc.com

E-mail newsletter | Content and Length

Average Length

Above the fold(1024 x 1060)

28www.otoinc.com

E-mail newsletter | Visibility of Social media links

29www.otoinc.com

E-mail newsletter | Ability to unsubscribe

30www.otoinc.com

E-mail newsletter | Consistency and provision of primary menu

31www.otoinc.com

Newsletter | The Best

32www.otoinc.com

o Logo is clear and obvious, and it takes users back to the main site.

o Look and feel of the newsletter is consistent with the main website.

o Social media links are displayed at the bottom of the page.

o No logos are included, so the links could be easily overlooked by users

o Contact information is clearly provided.

o However, no customer service telephone number provided.

Email Newsletter

33www.otoinc.com

Email Newsletter

o There is a unsubscribe link

in red clearly visible.

o The newsletter is not

personalised or customised

to users’ tastes.

o The newsletter has a good

balance of text and images.

34www.otoinc.com

Newsletter | The Worst

35www.otoinc.com

o Although newsletter and navigation are

consistent with the site

o Newsletter appears outdated, as the

website has another tab in main

navigation: Christmas

o Users can not personalise the newsletter,

therefore may be too many types of products.

o There are no social media links.

o The unsubscribe link takes users to email, but there is no 'what to do next' guidance

o Newsletter is not personalised.

Email Newsletter

36www.otoinc.com

PART 2: Insights & Conclusions

37www.otoinc.com

Best Practice Sign Up:

o Include Sign-up on the homepage

o Sign up should be located towards the top of the page (at least

above the fold)

o Should be accompanied by an image or icon e.g. an envelope to

draw attention

o Ensure sign-up requires minimal data entry e.g. name and email

address

o Include a short sentence stating the benefits of signing up e.g.

promotions, stay up to date with news and events etc

Conclusions

38www.otoinc.com

Best Practice Sign Up:

o Do not require any unnecessary information to be

entered (such as postal address, income, etc.)

o Do not require users to ‘create an account’ or ‘become

a member’ of the site

Conclusions

39www.otoinc.com

Best Practice Sign Up:

o Consider including a short second step/page allowing users

to customise the newsletter by selecting specific areas of

interest

o Provide a ‘select all’ tick box or ‘general newsletter’

opt in

o Provide a link to the latest newsletter so that users

know what to expect before subscribing

o Do not require users to re-enter information e.g. do

not request name / email address a second time

Conclusions

40www.otoinc.com

Best Practice Sign Up:

o Include a clear indication on the website that the

subscription process is complete and has been

successful

o Ideally include a clear, separate confirmation

page with different content

o Include a clear thank you message on this page

o Provide an indication of what the user can expect

next i.e. email confirmation

Conclusions

41www.otoinc.com

Best Practice Sign Up:

o Send email confirmation immediately

o User should not need to ‘reconfirm’ the subscription

o Ensure consistency with site i.e. branding and logo, etc.

o Include information about newsletters e.g. frequency and type of content

o Include a link back to the website

o Include a link to unsubscribe

o Include contact details

Conclusions

42www.otoinc.com

Best Practice E-Newsletter:

o Include a clear and catchy subject line so that the user

immediately recognises the email

o Ensure consistency with the site in terms of branding

e.g. logo, layout, etc.

o Include links to the site and ensure that they are clear

e.g. logo and url address

o Do not include hidden links e.g. decorative images or

plain text

Conclusions

43www.otoinc.com

Best Practice E-Newsletter:

o Include links to social networking sites

o To share the e-newsletter

o Links to the social network site e.g. Facebook page

o Ensure that the e-mail is personalised – use of first name, etc.

o There must be a clear option to ‘unsubscribe’

o This must not be hidden within text

o Do not use terms such as ‘remove’ or ‘opt out’

Conclusions

44www.otoinc.com

Best Practice E-Newsletter:

o Provide a real address, phone number or other similar

contact details about the sender

o Do not include excessive amount of text

o Limit the length of the e-newsletter, do not cause the

user to vertically scroll excessively

Conclusions

45www.otoinc.com

PART 3 | Delivery: Live Demo

46www.otoinc.com

Paul Hedgeland

Paul Hedgeland has over 15 years experience in sales, marketing and development of IT solutions.

In the last 9 years Paul’s career has been focused on internet based marketing, advertising and email communication. Paul now runs the UK office for One to One Connect as part of the One to One group of companies specialising in targeted permission based one-to-one brand dialogues.

Director, European OperationsOne to One Connect

Paul Hedgelandphedgeland@onetooneinteractive.com

47www.otoinc.com

Introduction

• MessageMaker is an enterprise messaging and content delivery tool that provides deployment, management and measurement in a single SaaS platform

• Drives deeper engagement by delivering measurable content and messages across a broad spectrum of permission marketing channels including email, social and branded apps (desktop, mobile and web)

• Can integrate with existing CRM, content management, data mining and other proprietary systems empowering marketers to quickly and easily build sophisticated retention/acquisition campaigns

• MessageMaker maximises lifetime customer value by cultivating meaningful brand relationships

48www.otoinc.com

MessageMaker

• Strategy: Crafting a smart approach to relationship marketing• E-Mail Program Management: Managing e-mail programs since 1998• Apps Development: Building branded applications since 1998• Creative Services: For e-mail, social, and branded applications• Data Integration: For e-mail, social, and branded applications

• Fully-hosted enterprise email marketing solution available either as full-service or self-service modes

• Engages users across a diverse network of social media sites

Supporting Services

• Enables marketers to easily manage multiple content channels across a network of branded apps (Desktop, Mobile, “TV”)

• SaaS Management platform enables optimised multi-channel messaging

• Universal contact management• Multi-channel metrics• Preference centers and subscription management

• Delivers branded content directly to a users mobile device

49www.otoinc.com

Ease of use

• Three initial steps of email marketing– Get your data set [Groups and Lists, import data]– Edit/Create email– Report on success

• Demo 1

50www.otoinc.com

Some Advanced Features…

• Sharing is the new viral/refer a friend– Twitter– Facebook

• Feeds– RSS

• Split testing– Body content and subject line– Segmentation– Wizard makes it easy to set up and run

51www.otoinc.com

Socialise your emails

• Facebook share url – http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.otoi

nc.com%2Finteractive%2F&t=title– Google “One to One Interactive”– HTML page Title– HTML meta tag description

• Demo 2

52www.otoinc.com

Feeds

• Using the BCC’s excellent RSS feed resource– http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/uk/rss.xml

• Demo 3

53www.otoinc.com

Split Testing

• Demo 4

54www.otoinc.com

Conclusion

• Use share to have a conversation with your subscribers friends (3rd party engagement) and boost sales through viral content

• Use feeds to keep the information in your emails up to date – sales, offers, vouchers

• Use Split testing to verify you are sending your very best email

55www.otoinc.com

Questions?For copies of the presentation or further info on One to One services please email: joutlaw@onetooneinteractive.com