Compelling Email Design

Aaron Smith, Director of Creative Technologies

Smith-Harmon, a Responsys Company

•The Email Channel•Lifecycle Marketing with Email•Case Studies & Testing Strategies•Industry Trends•Q&A

Agenda Client Summit – Chicago 2010

The Email ChannelPrint, web and email design

Email is a bit like print…• What works for print does not

always translate well to email.• Recipients rarely see an email

in its entirety, so information hierarchy is critical, with the most important information at the top, working down.

• Images can help tell a story, but if they are too large and take too long to download, or they push the key points too far down along the page, or they are not properly alt-tagged, they hinder rather than help.

Email is a bit like web…• The principles of web design

often apply to email, but with notable exceptions.

• In email, complex coding increases cost and production times as well as jeopardizes rendering and user experience.

• In email, rich media including forms, scripting and Flash usually don’t render correctly.

Email is very much it’sown medium with it’s ownset of rules…

Words to work by

“An email is like a retail store window; it needs to reveal just enough to compel viewers to enter the store.”

- Lisa Harmon, Principal Smith-Harmon

• Viewing an email is different from browsing online• Viewers are not necessarily looking for something • They need to be pulled more vigorously

The Email ChannelThe inbox mindset

Don't assume your message is compelling! Ask yourself: • What is this about? • Why should my subscribers care? • What do they do about it?

Consider the above-the-fold mark and the preview pane Include a good balance of images and text Provide clear primary and alternate calls-to-action Throw in a few bells and whistles Personalize Leverage dynamic content Feature user-generated content

The Email ChannelCreative ingredients – run through this list before you hit send

We are seeing the continuing demise of batch and blast – the least effective method of email marketing – which brings us to…

The Email ChannelEvolution of the channel

EmailLifecycle Marketing

AcquisitionSuspects

ConversionProspects

GrowthCustomers

RetentionActive Customers

ReactivationInactive Customers

Lifecycle Marketing: The PhilosophyDeliver timely, relevant email that improves subscribers’ lives

1

2 Preferences Collection & Progressive Profiling

Email Acquisition

3 Welcome

5 BrowseBased

6 AbandonedCart

7 EnhancedTransactional

8 Loyalty

9 Survey

10 Reactivation

11 WinBack

4 Newsletter

Lifecycle Marketing: Opt-InAcquiring subscriber email addresses

• Consider pop-up with email opt-inmessaging for first time web site visitors

• Gather only necessary information,primarily email address

• Offer a tangible and reward for opting in

Lifecycle Marketing: Opt-InAcquiring subscriber email addresses

• Be clear in your messaging• Highlight the benefits of being on the

mailing list

• Allow subscribers to choose whichcommunications they want to receive

• When possible, gather information that allows for dynamic messaging

• Request only data that you actually plan to use• Consider asking subscribers how often they

want to hear from you• Keep preference centers as short and

unintimidating as possible

Lifecycle Marketing: Preference CenterGathering useful subscriber information

Lifecycle Marketing: WelcomeFirst communication with new membersEngaging subscribers with personal information like membership details

• Series of welcome messages allows the brand to welcome new members and reinforce brand tenets over a period of months

• Each message focuses on a specific theme and/or brand tenet

• Provides opportunity for progressive profiling

Lifecycle Marketing: WelcomeWelcome series

Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterVerizon – Dynamic content

Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterVerizon – Dynamic content

Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterApple – Fitness newsletter

Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterHabeas: B2B newsletter example

• Group content in separate modules

• Include clear content section headers

• Place imagery in an “S-curve” to guide gaze across and down page

• Use button treatment for primary call-to-action

• Include alternate HTML text calls-to-action

• For longer-form mails, include a TOC

• Opportunities to share• Surveys and polls• Requests for feedback• Press coverage• Customer reviews and quotes• Contests

Lifecycle Marketing: NewsletterTips for encouraging engagement through conversation

• Choose whether to be overt or discrete• Keep message simple and focused• The possibilities are endless

Lifecycle Marketing: TriggeredMessaging based on behavior, pastpurchases or preferences

Lifecycle Marketing: PromotionalLondon Hotel NYC

Lifecycle Marketing: PromotionalApple’s Valentines Campaign

Lifecycle Marketing: PromotionalBanana Republic – Clipped Campaign

Strengths• Welcomes guests or, for cancellations,

offers to assist with future reservations• Calls out preferred guest details

and links to account• Includes all transaction information

for reference• Incorporates links to information

about the hotel services and amenities

as well the surrounding area• Templatized approach makes it easy

to leverage across multiple brands

Lifecycle Marketing: ConfirmationResponding to subscriber actions

Lifecycle Marketing: ConfirmationResponding to subscriber actions

Strengths• Uses "abandoned cart" messaging to

reengage subscribers who have visitedtheir site and recently performed a search

• Contains information about previous flight search

• Incorporates flight booking module• Promotes hotel deals in destination city

Lifecycle Marketing: Abandoned CartResponding to subscriber actions

Lifecycle Marketing: Thank YouResponding to subscriber actions

Strengths• Includes special offers and rewards as

a thank you• Reinforces subscriber’s relationship with

the brand• Encourages updating personal profile by

entering subscriber for a chance to a win a free cruise

• Promotes advantages of becoming part ofHolland America social community

Lifecycle Marketing: BirthdayResponding to subscriber actions

Opportunities• Acknowledge subscribers' birthdays

with birthday message, especially if birthday information is requested in signup

• Strengthen customer relationship by offering a discount, promotion or complimentary gift

Lifecycle Marketing: Password ResetResponding to subscriber actions

Reinforces brand with fun and quirky copy

• Keep copy tone positive• Ask customers to update profile

to receive more targeted messaging• Send a survey• Consider using an offer to

encourage purchase• If attempt is unsuccessful, consider:

o Reducing frequency,email only once or twice quarterly

o Prompt subscriber to re-opt-in

Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackReengaging subscribers

Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackWilliams-Sonoma

Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackWilliams-Sonoma

Lifecycle Marketing: Win-BackWilliams-Sonoma

Lifecycle Marketing: Loyalty Program Personalizing communicationsCreating a new class of exclusive emails for engaged subscribers

Email subscribers get exclusive benefits

when they sign up for the Beauty Insider:• Rewarded: exclusive samples• Privileged: exlusive access• Personal: tips and products• Gifted: birthday gift

Lifecycle Marketing: Loyalty Personalizing communications

Lifecycle Marketing: LoyaltyPersonalizing communications

Lifecycle Marketing: Loyalty Personalizing communicationsDelivering on the promise

Insiders receive one point for

every dollar spent on

merchandise at Sephora.com

or in Sephora retail stores.

Every time they accumulate

100 points in their Beauty Bank,

they can choose 1 Beauty

Insider Deluxe Sample with

purchase.

Case Studiesand testing strategies

Test the effects of a creative makeover on a single email campaign.

© 2008 Smith-Harmon, Inc.

Case StudyMakeover: Project Summary

Case StudyMakeover: Challenge, Solution and Results

Challenge:• Prove to REI marketing VPs that the

right email creative can impact ROI

Solution:• Perform an A/B split test with

legacy vs. optimized email template

Result:• New template generated a significant

22% increase in unique click-through• New template generated an astounding

90% increase in traffic to shoes specialty shop• REI Email Marketing Manager received the

support of VPs to move forward with an entire suite of redesigned, maximized email creative templates in time for the critical Q4 period

Case StudyTemplates: Project Summary

Alaska Airlines needed to create an effective, on-brand library of flexible email creative templates to support complex marketing and triggered email programs.

© 2008 Smith-Harmon, Inc.

Challenge:• Increase revenue and interaction• Improve reader experience

Solution:• Optimize over 20 email templates

through application of creative best practices• Perform an A/B split test with new

versus old email templates

Result:• The new template for the newsletter – Alaska’s

highest-grossing email vehicle – inspired an amazing 41% lift in revenue, increasing revenue-per-mail rate from $0.57 to $0.80

• The new newsletter design achieved greater reader interaction, generating a 13% lift in click-through rate

FreddieAwardWinner

Case StudyTemplates: Challenge, Solution and Results

Salesforce.com needed to overhaul their software business customer and prospect email messaging. The project corresponded with a Salesforce website redesign, so the program had to incorporate new branding elements while seeking to maintain or improve performance.

Challenge:•Improve performance with optimized creative•Streamline complex content•Leverage ESP dynamic content capabilities

Solution:•Optimize creative for experience and performance•Test original vs. new creative for 1 month

Case StudyTemplates: Project Summary, Challenge and Solution

Case StudyTemplates: Results

Gains in CTR:

Email #1: Clicks on Original: 2936Clicks on Redesign: 4055

Email #2: Clicks on Original: 391Clicks on Redesign: 459

Email #3: Clicks on Original: 608Clicks on Redesign: 707

The redesigned templates outperformed the legacy templates with staggering results.The performance of three redesigned emails demonstrates the improvements.

Email #1:Email #2:Email #3:

TestingKeys to creative testing

• Test constantly• Make tests controlled and

easy to understand• Use results to inform the

design process• Creative test ideas:

o Subject lineso Copy length o Call-to-action treatmentso Prices and product names o Enviro vs. silo photographyo Bells and whistleso Personalization/Segmentationo Landing pages

EmailIndustry Trends

• Mobile and social are here to stay and will only grow as important components in the digital marketing mix

• Leveraging email, mobile and social together is powerful

• Email viewing on mobile devices is increasing dramatically

• ISPs are looking at how subscribers interact with your messages in the inbox – this can have a bearing on whether they deliver your messages

Industry Trends

• ISPs are testing new marketer friendly offerings to make their platforms stickier

• Email marketers are continuing to inundate the inbox – you have to be smarter and work harder to make your messages stand out

• Overmailing can hurt your brand outside of the email channel

• Consumers are demanding more control of frequency – provide frequency settings in account preferences and consider opt-down settings on your unsubscribe page

Industry Trends

Thank you!Q&A