Essential Guide to E-mail Marketing - Haymarket

42 E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS DM News • E-Mail Marketing Guide 2007
be wise to test carefully here and consider all options given the
additional effort required to coordinate messages.
Extending e-mail messaging to other channels This technique is
newer. Examples include sending an e-mail with a special offer
then following up with a mobile message referencing the offer. Or
follow up with a physical mailing, but only to those who click on
the offer and whose other characteristics make them likely responders.
Have your Web site reference an offer on the home page for
customers who opened or clicked on an e-mail. The technology to
accomplish all these message extensions is available, although
these techniques are not yet broadly adopted by marketers.
E-mail in a more complex communication stream This technique
is my favorite, and the one I expect will someday be the
dominant use of e-mail communication. You just visited the Web
site, lingering over a particular product. Should you not receive an
e-mail that in some manner builds on this behavior? “Time to
renew.” “Your warranty will soon expire.” “A new store is opening
in your area.” Connect the customer with the brand, and use email
to continue the conversation followed by an offer of some
benefit. When customers receive pertinent, timely information that
extends their relationship with a brand, their attentiveness to
future e-mail from that brand increases.
For all of the integration techniques discussed, the critical factor
making everything possible is data integration across multiple
channels. This challenge is most acute for campaigns that are continuous,
not one-off, and based on triggered behavior - which also
happen to be the type with the greatest potential to drive results.
Michael Gorman is senior vice president of search and acquisition at Acxiom
Digital. You can reach him at Michael.Gorman@acxiom.com.
Mona Lisa’s eyes
BY ANNE ALDEN
How does the Mona Lisa draw people in? Is it her eyes? That
elusive smile? Or could it be the overall effect of the entire
painting? If you only saw Mona Lisa’s eyes, would you want to
see more? These are the questions you should be asking yourself
when designing and writing an e-mail.
Granted, comparing one of the best-known masterpieces of all
time to effective e-mail design is a bit extreme, but you get the picture:
Within a few small inches,
the recipient must get a good idea
of your offer, become intrigued
and open the e-mail to view the
entire message.
Information should be conveyed
in an efficient yet effective
way that upholds your brand
tenents. And to make the situation
more challenging, you only
get 45 characters in a subject line.
Sound easy? Maybe so, but
Anne Alden
there is one invisible element that
Merkle, Inc.
is beyond any creative control —
the bottom of a preview pane or “fold” of an open e-mail.
So, how do we get your equivalent to the Mona Lisa “above the
fold”?
First, run your e-mail through a simulated send sequence to
ESSENTIAL GUIDE
check its on-screen rendering across a selection of the most commonly
used e-mail providers using tools like Pivotal Veracity
(http://www.pivotalveracity.com) and Delivery Audit from
EmailReach.com.
Second, consider other factors determined by the recipient:
■ Preview pane size. Some people like to see what they are about
to get, but others read only the subject line before hitting “delete.”
So remember that for some, even your best creative efforts aren’t
as important as the subject line.
■ Screen resolution. Most monitors and laptop screens have
advanced beyond the 800-pixel by 600-pixel ratio. The norm is
now 1024 by 768, which provides more screen space.
■ Competition with your e-mails. Your messages compete for
attention with other e-mails, instant messaging, message boards,
multiple applications, other Web sites, ringing phones, etc.
■ Image options. Turning images off is the default setting for
many Web-based e-mail services and applications.
Now, ask yourself these questions:
■ Is my subject line compelling? Is my message relevant and
focused? The job of an e-mail is to get people to click into the
client brand experience — not to give them every option and
detail.
■ What does your message look like with images turned off? Be
sure to include a “Can’t view this e-mail? Click here” option that
will take readers to a hosted HTML page.
■ What is the overall picture? An e-mail must work as a bridge
that a reader can’t refuse to walk — or click — across. Length of
copy, call to action, the blend of images and text, hyperlinks and
overall clarity play a role.
When readers choose to scroll below the fold, that means they
are engaged and want to know more. If you only saw a portion of
the Mona Lisa above the fold but could click to see the rest,
wouldn’t you?
Anne Alden is creative director at Merkle, Inc. She can be reached at
aalden@merkleinc.com.
Earn higher conversions
using an A/B split
BY MICHAEL STEBBIN
Consider this situation: You run the marketing department for
an e-commerce outdoor outfitter, and your team has decided
on a subject line and special offer for your next campaign. The
variable you’re trying to settle is whether the main graphic should
be a product photo or one of the company president announcing
the offer. This is the perfect time to employ an A/B split to find
out which works better.
Creating campaign A First create the e-mail using product shots
— in this case, one that includes an array of men’s and women’s
shoes. Then, create a landing page that reiterates the president’s
sale coupon offer, in addition to using the same product imagery.
This will be your ‘A’ campaign.
Creating campaign B In order to isolate how much impact the
imagery has on the recipient’s actions, campaign ‘B’ will be an
exact replica of ‘A,’ but in place of the shoes photo, use a photo of
your president. The landing page includes the coupon offer and
that same picture.