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How to Create Great Emails that Get Opened and Clicked January 16th 2014
Who Am I?
Justine Jordan Marketing Director, Litmus
@meladorri @litmusapp #KISSwebinar
Twi!er
1 Making a good first impression
We’ll cover…
2 Creating an excellent subscriber experience
3 A/B test ideas + examples
#KISSwebinar
4 Lots of best practices along the way
1 Effective
Why Email?
2 Inexpensive
3 Immediate
4 Measurable
5 (Relatively) easy
#KISSwebinar
Email gets more clicks . . .
#KISSwebinar
. . . and conversions
#KISSwebinar
You get the point.
Email Works. Duh!
Email is: A unique medium with unique considerations
Email is not: A JPG A print ad A banner ad A one-page web site
Emails are not weapons of mass destruction
Every email should have a purpose.
➡ What do you want the subscriber to do?
➡ How are you going to measure success?
➡ What are the business goals behind this communication?
➡ Is email the best way to communicate your message?
➡ Who should should receive the message?
➡ Is the message relevant to your subscribers?
#KISSwebinar
Every email should have a purpose.
Why are you sending this email?
✓ Lead generation
✓ Brand awareness
✓ Is it relevant?
Who are you sending to, and what do you know about them?
✓ Internal vs. external
✓ B2B vs. B2C
✓ Demographics
#KISSwebinar
Every email should have a purpose.
What do you want subscribers to do once they receive your email?
✓ Register for a webinar
✓ Read an article
How are you going to measure success?
✓ Open/click data
✓ Leads generated
✓ Conversions
What do you want the subscriber to do?
✓ Is email the best way to communicate your message?
#KISSwebinar
The email experience
???
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
#KISSwebinar
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
First impressions ma!er
From Name
What is recognizable, trustworthy and relevant?
Does the subscriber have a relationship with a person or the brand?
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
no-reply is a no-go
From Name
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Be on-brand and relevant
From Name
#KISSwebinar
Symbols in subject lines
Can increase open rates. Use carefully to support your message rather than detract from value.
No such thing as a perfect subject line
1 Free is OK
2 Shorter=be!er?
3 Relevance!
4 Useful + specific
5 Test, test, test
h!ps://litmus.com/blog/how-to-write-the-perfect-subject-line-infographic
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject LineFrom Name
Preheader = tertiary inbox content
Preheader Best Practices
1
2
3
4
Support your subject line with a creative, useful or helpful preheader.
Call to action
Reminder
Special message / value prop
Clickable/measurable
#KISSwebinar
These are bad preheader examples
Repetitive content, unhelpful, potentially negative brand impact
These are good preheader examples
Helpful, smart, funny, engaging
Preheader text case study: Wedding Wire
Pre-header text A/B Tests: 30%+ CTR Boost
/ courtesy @mparkerbyrd
Optimizing the “Envelope Fields”
From Name~25 characters
Subject Line ~35 characters
Preheader~85 characters
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Don’t count on images showing up
From Name
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Convey your message without images
From Name
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Be aware, not afraid, of the fold
From Name
Content and visual hierarchy
➡ Prioritize important information
➡ Prune extraneous & irrelevant content
➡ Use color, weight, size & placement for emphasis
➡ Bullets are your friends
➡ Use a mix of rational & emotional appeals
➡ Utilize background colors, lists & borders
➡ Use strong & clear calls-to-action
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Create click opportunities
From Name
➡ Linked imagery
➡ Video
➡ Bu!ons
➡ Charts
➡ Colored backgrounds
➡ Preheader text
➡ Forward & share
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Tell the subscriber what to do!
From Name
#KISSwebinar
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
What is the message?
From Name
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
What should I do?
From Name
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
What should I do?
From Name
Call to action best practices
1 Bu!ons!
2 Context
3 Active language
4 Size
5 Placement
h!ps://litmus.com/blog/designing-the-perfect-call-to-action
Bulletproof bu!ons are visible when images aren’t
#KISSwebinar
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Don’t forget the landing page
From Name
???Page/SiteTap/ClickPreview/OpenPreheaderSubject Line
Is this a positive experience?
From Name
Where’s the download?
… add to cart?
Don’t forget the text version
1 Create hierarchy with symbols
2 Avoid hard breaks
3 Put links on a new line
4 Tabs, spacing and CAPS to organize content
5 Convey imagery with text
#KISSwebinar
Don’t forget the text version
Designing for purpose
Email is the ideal environment for fast, easy and cheap testing BUT what works for one person (or one email) won’t necessarily work for another
Testing ideas
Time of day Day of week Subject Lines Creative look and feel Imagery Call to action
Pre-Header Navigation Content Layout Length of content Personalization Segmentation
Be sure your test is repeatable. You need a hypothesis.
#KISSwebinar
Some tests we’ve run…
Subject lines • Specific vs. vague • Buzzy vs. straightforward !Bu!on language / call-to-action • Product vs. content • Additional bu!ons (more click
opportunities) !Video thumbnail imagery • Person vs. product !Content • Headline vs. no headline !Bu!on colors • Green vs. blue
#KISSwebinar
Some tests we’ve run…
Version A: Green bu!on Version B: Blue bu!on
Some tests we’ve run…
Version A: Green bu!on Version B: Blue bu!on
no change
Some tests we’ve run…
Version A: Start testing Version B: Read our overview
Some tests we’ve run…
Version A: Start testing Version B: Read our overview
2x clicks
Some tests we’ve run…
Subject line A: Don’t forward this… !
Subject line B: The best way to share emails
Some tests we’ve run…
Subject line A: Don’t forward this… !
Subject line B: The best way to share emails
54% more clicks
Testing can be simple . . . or complex.
Which test won?
Design A Design B Design C
Which test won?
Design C
➡ Outperformed Control CTR by 26%
➡ Outperformed Projected revenue of 2nd place by 4%
#KISSwebinar
Which test won?
Design A Design B Design C
Which test won?
Design B➡ Outperformed 2nd place by < 2%
➡ Outperformed control CTR by 26%
➡ Outperformed unsubscribe rate by 15.9%
#KISSwebinar
The uniqueness of email goes beyond design . . .
HTML coding / rendering
➡ HTML for email is not HTML for the web
➡ Code like it’s 1999!
➡ Use HTML tables for layout
• Specify widths for table elements
• Images should be in their own table cell
➡ Avoid CSS for positioning or layout
➡ Proper syntax is key
➡ Use ALT text
#KISSwebinar
HTML coding / rendering
➡ No JavaScript
➡ No Flash
➡ Limited support for HTML5 or CSS3
➡ Use inline CSS instead of embedded
• (Gmail doesn’t support embedded CSS)
➡ HTML forms (not supported everywhere)
➡ Background images (not supported in Outlook 2007+)
➡ Web-based email clients behave differently based on the browser (IE vs Firefox)
Rendering
➡ TEST TEST TEST
➡ Only comprehensive testing will ensure
that your email appears the way you
want it to in your subscriber’s inbox
➡ Subscribers view emails in many
different environments: desktop email
clients, web-based email clients and
mobile clients.
#KISSwebinar
Avoid this
1 Design for your subscribers
2 For every email, ask: What am I trying to say?
How will subscribers take action?
Where are they going next?
3 Institute a culture of testing
-TAKEAWAYS -
Questions? I (may) have answers.
Thanks!
Thanks! justine@litmus.com / @meladorri
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