8/10/2019 Email Marketers Playbook
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8/10/2019 Email Marketers Playbook
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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
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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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