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Welcome to: The ‘Motivated Marketer’ Webinar Series

Creating the Perfect EmailHow to Optimize the Design &

Production of 1to1 Email Communications

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Part 4 of our “Motivated Marketer Webinar Series”

Creating the Perfect EmailGOAL: To provide you with an understanding and recommendations for

creating and delivering exceptional email.

Rest of Webinar Series:

#5 in June The Myth of 100% Deliverability – Realistic Deliverability Expectations#6 in July Performance Measurement & Advanced 1-to-1 Practices

Info at http://www.premiereglobal.com/emarketing/resource-center/webinars.asp

Introduction to Our Webinar Series

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Sara JohnidesSenior Creative SpecialistPGiMarket Strategic ServicesPremiere Global Services

Introduction to Our Presenters

Andy McCartneyVP of Strategic ServicesPGiMarket Strategic ServicesPremiere Global Services

From PGiMarket’sStrategic Services Team:

Lindsey SecordManager, Production ServicesPGiMarket Strategic ServicesPremiere Global Services

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Today’s Webinar: Agenda

IntroductionsPart 1 – What is a Perfect Email?

Incorporating 1to1 Principles in Email Programs

Part 2 – The ProcessUnderstanding/Optimizing Campaign Workflow

Part 3 – Email Creative & Design PracticesGoals, Creative Brief & Email Design Principles

Part 4 – Production thru DeliveryCoding, Optimization, Testing, Scheduling & Throttling

Enabling Perfect Emailing via OutsourcingQ&A

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Premiere Global’s Email Experience

Premiere Global Services Stats• $630 million in revenues• 95% of the Fortune 500• 55,000+ customers• 61 cities, 24 countries

PGiMarket ESP Stats• 6,000 email customers• 1 billion emails sent per month• Wide range and sophistication

of worldwide customers

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Creating the Perfect Email

Part 1

What is a Perfect Email?

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A Perfect Email? Is there Such a Thing?

“The One”

What Constitutes“The One”

• It caught my attention• Professional, neat design• It is currently of interest• I trust/respect the sender• I learned something new• Like the personalized content• Great timing for my needs

So What’s the Formula?Perfect Email = Perfect Design + Perfect Blend of Content

All we need is perfect information and perfectly repeatable creation process!

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1to1 Attempts to Create the Near

Perfect Email

• 1to1 Marketing Origins: The “Old Way”

• Difficult with Traditional Mass Media Marketing

• 1to1 Marketing enables personalized interactions on a massive scale

• Creates Dramatic Lift when applied to Email

Source: JupiterResearch Executive Survey (3/05), n = 236 (e-mail marketers that currently use/plan to use at least one campaign, US only)

Conversion Rates of 1to1 Campaign Types as compared to ‘Broadcast’

Triggered 210% lift

Life Cycle 254% lift

Targeted 245% lift

Clickstream 355% lift

It Starts with Strategy & ‘1to1’

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1to1 Marketing Reference Slide

Takeaways:• Email marketers must go beyond Broadcast campaigning• Aggregate increase in net profits from Triggered, LifeCycle,

Targeted and Clickstream is 18 times more than from Broadcast• Production needs, skills and resources will likely increase with

more sophisticated campaigning

Broadcast Campaigns

About Campaign Types?

Triggered/Lifecycle/Targeted/Clickstream 1to1 Campaigns

Event

Online Behavior

Profile

1. IDENTIFICATIONHow well do you know your customers/subscribers?

2. DIFFERENTIATION Can you differentiate customers based on their value to you and their needs from you?

3. INTERACTIONHow well do you interact with your customers?Can you scale & automate message creation & delivery?

4. MEASUREMENTHow well does your company refine its email marketing programs based on feedback/analytics?

Principles of 1-to-1 Marketing?

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Strategy Conclusion

Commit to 1to1 principles/practices, and apply them to the campaigns that are right for your organization

Now on to the Process

Targeted Lifecycle Transactional Clickstream

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Creating the Perfect Email

Part 2The Workflow Process

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Process Overview

Idea for Campaign‐ Purpose?

Data/SegmentsRecipient  Lists Design Messages (creative)

Coding, Test & OptimizationDelivery, Scheduling 

ThrottlingPost Delivery 

Reporting & Analysis

Refinement

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Production Process - BEFORE

Benchmark the speed and quality of your overall process

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Production Process - AFTER

Production Cost SavingAnnual production savings:Estimated Hours: 4,760Est. value: $446,000

Efficiency Keys• Reduced # of steps• Reduced # of 3rd parties• Standardized templates• Standardized process & procedure• Superior consistent quality

Speed Improvement• Previous speed benchmark =

2 weeks per mail• Current speed benchmark =

24 hours [excluding creative] 2-3 days [including creative]

After Process Analysis and Streamlining

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Creating the Perfect Email

Part 3

Email Creative & Design Practices

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Before we Jump to Creative

Are you a broadcaster?

Master of 1to1 marketing?

Somewhere in between?

Gauge Where You Stand

Get a baseline & move the needle toward the perfect email!

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What is Email Creative?

What is Creative?Creative refers to visual design of an email template.

This can include, but is not limited to:- The Creative Brief- Design- Copywriting- Logo Design

The Creative ProcessStep 1: Creative BriefStep 2: Concepting/ CompsStep 3: Client Review and Concept SelectionStep 4: Chosen Concept RevisedStep 5: Client Review of Revised CreativeStep 6: Approved Comp(s) Sent to Production

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The Creative Brief: Starting the Creative Process

It All Begins with the Creative Brief:

The brief is a multi-question document that:- Determines the objectives of the program- Helps establish expectations and timing- Establishes a brand look, feel and tone- Identifies mandatory elements and personalization/conditions

to be included- Identifies the deliverables, timing and expectations

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Elements of Email Creative:The Header

Header Content:Make sure your logo is not too big and that there isn’t unnecessary white spacesurrounding it. It should be easy to see/read and link to thecompany’s website

This is where your pre-header snippet would go, as well as some housekeepinglinks, such as a microsite link, view in handheld and whitelisting link

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Elements of Email Creative:The Navigation

Navigation Content:-Dedicated area for links that mirror your website

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Elements of Email Creative:The Body

Navigation:-Dedicated area for links that mirror your website

Body Content:-The meat of your message

- Insert CTA link towards the top

- If it is a newsletter, consider adding a left or right rail and a table of contents

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Elements of Email Creative:The Footer

Footer Content:-Housekeeping links: Unsubscribe, F2F, Contact Us, Physical Mailing address

-Keep small in size and a neutral color

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Elements of Email Creative:The Finished ProductThe Perfect Email-Targeted, relevant messaging directed to the right target audience

-When using a template, utilize dynamic content to further target your markets

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Real Life Examples

Ariba:• Ariba is a leader in Spend

Management solutions

• Message is targeted to small to medium businesses

• Nice, thin header with visible, easy-to-read logo

• Prevalent CTA towards the top of the message

• Nice use of right rail to give more details on the event

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Real Life Examples

Hartmann:• Hartmann is a high-end travel goods

retailer

• A look that mirrors the website

• Good use of white space

• Coded for images being suppressed – both navigation and buttons

• This campaign was the strongest performer of 2009 for Hartmann.

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Real Life Examples

GEICO:• GEICO is a leading auto

insurer in the US

• This is an email designed for a re-engagement campaign

• Simple, clean design

• Eye-catching Image that is brand specific

• Prevalent CTA button and light text that is broken up and manageable to read

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Creating the Perfect Email

Part 4

Production thru Delivery

• You Have your Strategy, Segments, and Campaign Types

• You Have your Photoshop Files

What’s next?

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Transitioning Creative to Production

Production = The Coding of Creative

• HTML Coding and Optimization

• Dynamic content• Email Rendering Testing

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Production: HTML Tips…

Coding Buttons• No image-only buttons!• Code using HTML text on a background image.• Always back-up background images with a similar background color.

Email tips for web designers• Width: 600-700 pixels• Above the fold: top 300 pixels• Code for lowest common denominator:

– Avoid Flash, JavaScript, CSS

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Production: HTML Tips…

Alt Tags• Include a relevant alt tag in all relevant and Call to Action images.

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Production HTML Tips…

Text to Image Ratio• Keep it as low as possible to improve

rendering when images are suppressed.

• Reduces potential to be caught in a Spam filter.

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Production: HTML Tips…

Style Sheets• No CSS!• Use tables to control layout and spacing.• Back-up inline styles where possible:

<font face=” Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif” size=”2” style=”font-size: 12px”>

Figure 1a: Big Rick’s Barbeque message created using CSS, prior to email send.

Figure 1b: Big Rick’s Barbeque message as rendered in the inbox. The CSS has been stripped, causing loss of formatting.

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Quality Assurance Checklist

• Create and maintain a Quality Assurance (QA) checklist.

• Request a peer review.• Test for rendering and deliverability

across multiple browsers and mail readers.

• Keep a code library.• How compliant are you?

• Adjust your production timeline to allow for testing and review period.• READ your email copy, don’t just spell check.• Don’t let your images convey your message.

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W3C Validation - http://validator.w3.org/

• DOCTYPE: HTML 4.01 Transitional• Correct Character Set / Encoding• Include <HEAD> tag• Relevant <TITLE> tag

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Message Testing

Rendering Tests

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Testing your Perfect Email

Quick and Easy A/B Tests• Subject Line• Delivery Day/Time• From Name• Graphics• Layout – Left rail vs. right rail• Call to Action• Personalization – Does including a salutation get more Opens?

10% 10% Remainder

Test!Refine!Repeat!

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Delivering the Perfect Email

Scheduling• Schedule your campaign at least 1 hour out from selected delivery time• Seed yourself on your lists

Reasons to Throttle for Larger Mailings 1mm+• Avoid ‘All-at-Once’ surge to ISP’s that may delay and discard your messages• Spreading email over time establishes higher reputation• Allows you to stop further messages if you encounter problems• Perfect for A/B testing• Distributes complaints and lowers your complaint ratio• Allows to manage hits to call center

Check out next webinar foran in-depth analysis of Deliverability & Myths!

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Creating the Perfect Email

Enabling Perfect Emailingvia Outsourcing

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Do You Have the Resources?

Market Changes• Tough economy, marketing headcount reduction• More orgs turning to email from other marketing channels• More competition in the Inbox, more reason for 1to1

Outsource? 1to1 requires more effort, and specialist skills• Advanced campaigning usually requires more production• Which aspect of your email lends itself to outsourcing?

Web ConferencesVirtual Event Promotion

Acquisition & Lead Generation

Event Promotions

Outsourced Email Campaigns:Loyalty, Retention, Lifecycle,On‐boarding, Re‐activation

Marketing Activities

Partial/Complete Outsourced Email Function – Design, Create, Test, 

Deploy, Monitor

Email Production Services

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Your Strategy, Outsource just the Production Component?• Focus on the strategic, select an experienced 1to1 ESP

services provider to focus on the tactical, & under SLA• What’s the operating model? SEGMENTED/CUSTOMIZED EMAILS:

Invitations / Follow upsPromotions:  Up‐Sells / Cross‐Sells

Acquisition / Retention       Newsletters / Branding 

Reactivations Drip / Lifecycle 

You Provide Input• Goals/Targets• Requirements• Branding/Creative• Mailing List/Segments

Maximize DeliverabilityAuthentication, Monitoring, ISP RelationsRecovery from Blacklisting, Certification

Optimal Rendering on all Email Readers:

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Conclusions

Move Your Needle:Consider your strategy & 1to1 practices

Consider your campaign types

Consider your workflow process

Is the Perfect Email Possible?

Click Thru RatesConversions

0% 100%25%5%10%1%

Consider your creative and design

Consider your production and test

Consider getting help with workload

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Q&A

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Next Webinar

“The Myth of 100% Deliverability – Realistic Deliverability Expectations”

June 25th, 1pm Eastern

– I’ve been promised 100% Deliverability– Long-lasting myths of Deliverability– What should I expect from an ESP partner?– Shared Deliverability responsibilities of senders and your ESP– The future of Deliverability

Info at http://www.premiereglobal.com/emarketing/resource‐center/webinars.asp

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Want More Information?

You will receive an email with links to:A recording of this sessionA copy of this presentation

strategy@PremiereGlobal.comwww.premiereglobal.com