Essential Guide to E-mail Marketing - Haymarket

22 FUNDAMENTALS DM News • E-Mail Marketing Guide 2007
wisdom that says e-mail and direct mail are two different media
with nothing in common but the word “mail.” But upon further
examination, winning e-mail and
winning direct mail turned out to
be a lot more similar than I
would have thought.
Here are just a few of the characteristics
they share:
A good subject line is a good OE
teaser Both need to be clear and
concise, designed to entice and
edify without being deceptive,
written to draw readers in, to get
George Le Pera
Scuderia 02
the solicitation opened and read.
A good headline is a well-written
Johnson box Both put the offer
front and center, tells readers how to respond and gives you a
sense of urgency. They let you understand in five seconds or less
what you’re getting yourself into — and if you’re into it.
A good link is a good call to action The early-and-often rule
applies in both instances. Allowing people to respond right away,
to self-select with little more than one good reason, is a key component
of great response rates and high conversion.
A good wire frame is a good layout Much to the chagrin of Web
and traditional art directors alike, simple, straightforward designs
always win out over elaborate, even beautiful, art direction. People
don’t want pretty, they want easy.
A good copy deck is a good copy deck A well-stated claim that
grabs attention, gets interest, spurs decision and drives action is all
you need. A great offer, clearly written, supported by valid proof
points is a nearly unbeatable formula for success.
While it’s true that e-mail and direct mail are different media
that require technical differences in approach — I don’t know of
any “spam filters” to combat traditional mail — some things are
consistent any time you’re sending written communication to a
customer. You need: a clear concise message, a desirable offer with
high perceived value, a design that naturally and effortlessly
guides the reader and, of course, that most elusive of all characteristics
— well written copy that begs to be read.
George Le Pera is creative director at Scuderia 02. He can be reached at
GeorgeL@scuderiaO2.com.
How to monetize e-mail
marketing programs
BY LANA MCGILVRAY
For those of us that have been buying, selling or covering email
marketing over the past decade, the conversation is only
now beginning to shift from the basics toward a more focused
conversation on how to drive the strongest ROI from our programs.
Why has the shift taken so long? For one thing, e-mail as
a marketing and media channel is relatively young, so there was a
substantial learning curve to overcome. Before marketers looking
to integrate e-mail into their multichannel media mix could realize
its revenue potential, they needed to understand it. During this
time, deliverability, e-mail optimization, compliance, e-mail feature
sets and workflow took center stage in the dialogue.
ESSENTIAL GUIDE
Today, the same conversations continue, which is fine for marketers
who are new to the space. These marketers need to understand
that, just because they represent a top direct, consumer or
b-to-b brand, they don’t get a free pass into consumers’ inboxes.
However, there is a substantial need for more advanced conversations
like the ones that the E-mail Experience Council (now
merged with the Direct Marketing Association), the Interactive
Advertising Bureau and other industry pundits have begun.
These conversations are focused on measuring the lifetime customer
value associated with e-mail, leveraging performance marketing
and sharing true campaign metrics.
In short, the new conversations are about the next phase of e-mail
marketing. They discuss the blurring lines between branding and
direct. They are not about how to get to the inbox or how to tweak
e-mail creatives per se, though those are talking points. They are
about how integrated e-mail marketing retention and acquisition
campaigns can be measured from a revenue perspective within a
larger multi-channel marketing investment. It is a multichannel
investment that includes search, online display and offline media
spending. They are about the value of the customer you win and
who, over time, becomes loyal — responding to you with more trust
and wallet share. They are about multi-touch campaigns that show
proven results and can be replicated, automated and tweaked for
increasing performance over time.
They are about dissatisfaction with
the status quo of pricing models
(CPM based pricing) in a convergent
e-mail, search and display
marketplace that could be cost-peracquisition
across the board. In
short, the conversations are the
high-level ones that marketers have
in the board rooms that answer the
question, “How do we turn what
Lana McGilvray
Datran Media
has been a cost center into a high
revenue channel?”
Rather than pontificating on all
the various long-term possibilities, here are immediate resources to
explore for readers interested in participating in these conversations
(in addition to DM News). Keep them handy throughout the
year and join the dialogue.
■ The Direct Marketing Associations 2007 Integration of DM &
Brand Report http://www.the-dma.org/bookstore/cgi/displaybook?product_id=009422
■ The Email Experience Council Website http://www.emailexperience.org/
■ The Interactive Advertising Bureau http://www.iab.net/
■ David Baker’s Whitenoise Blog http://whitenoiseinc.com/
■ The Outperformance Marketing Blog http://www.outperformance-marketing.com/
Lana McGilvray is vice president of marketing at Datran Media. You can
reach her at lana@datranmedia.com.