E-Mail Workshop

Best Practices from Sign Up To Delivery

Human | Brand Lifecycle Solutions

LocationsGlobal Coverage in Americas, Europe, Asia

Clients

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Agenda

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SITE | E-NEWSLETTER REVIEWPart 1

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Methodology

Expert Approach/Customer Interviews

o 2 experienced customer experienced

consultants

o Independently reviewed top 20 UK

retail sites and e-newsletters

o Interviews with 20 consumers (in

October 2010)

Focus

o Ease of finding link to sign-up

o Information required to sign-up

o Timeliness of email response

o Quality of e-newsletter

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Results | Summary

• The numbers• 18/20 sites had a link to sign-up on the homepage

– 2/20 had links on deeper pages

• 12 sites sent immediate email confirmation• No newsletters received within 24 hours• 8/20 newsletters received (within 3 weeks of sign-up

SIGN-UP PROCESSPart 1

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

0 1 2 3Number of sign-up issues

Sign-up| Score

Criteria for analysis

o Meets 6/7 key criteria – had 1 sign-up issueo Issues with unsubscribe: Users are informed that they can unsubscribe

from a link in the confirmation email, but there is no unsubscribe link in the email.

o Play.com gives users the worst sign-up experienceo Only meets 1 key criteria – and included 3 sign-up issues.

o Forces users to create an account before they can sign-up for newsletter.

o Many retailers provide a good sign-up experience, but not excellent due to some minor sign-up issues. Typical issues found:

o Unnecessary information required e.g. address and postcode o Asked to confirm their details via emailo No confirmation email receivedo Confirmation message not clearly presented e.g. below the fold of the

pageo Link in the confirmation email not clickable

Sign-up| Score

1st

20th

Below the fold on 1024 x 1060 screen resolution

Location of the sign-up link

Not on homepage

Engagement in sign-up link

With content,Not personalised

Simple With content,Personalised

Image and with content

With content, image and

personalised

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SIGN UP | THE BESTPart 1

o Step 2, a confirmation message is returned

and it also tells the user that they will receive

an email soon.

o Step 2b, user is informed that they can

unsubscribe from a link in the email, however,

no unsubscribe link is included in the email.

o Step 1: Newsletter sign up link

can be easily found on the

homepage, includes catchy title

‘Get your fashion fix online’.

o Combines newsletter

preferences and email entry

field in one step.

1 2 2b

Sign-up | The Best

o User needs to give their newsletter preferences on Step 2.

o Step 3, clear ‘thank you’ page informing users they have signed up successfully.

o Step 3b, confirmation email is received immediately (lack of branding).

o Step 1, Newsletter sign up link is at foot of the page.

o Text field does not indicate an email address should be entered into the field.

1 2 3 3b

Sign-up | The Best

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SIGN UP | THE WORSTPart 1

o Step 3, Confirmation page has a clear indication that their subscription was successful.

o Step 3b, Confirmation email received immediately.

o Step 1, Sign-up is shown on the side of the homepage. However, not possible to enter ‘sign-up’ details on the homepage

o Step 2, Unnecessary information (town/city/postcode) are mandatory fields. Captcha verification can potentially annoy users

o Users are not able to select their interests in order to customise the email newsletter.

1 2 3 3b

Sign-up | The Worst

o Step 3, ‘sign-up’ newsletter section is hidden, users have to look for it under ‘my account’

o Users are not able to personalise newsletter by choosing area of interest.

o Step 4, Clear confirmation screen.

o There is no confirmation email received after signing up.

o Step 1, No sign-up shown on homepage.

o Users are not informed of the benefits of subscribing.

o Step 2, Users have to open an account in order to subscribe newsletter. This mean going through a long process.

1 2 3 4

Sign-up | The Worst

E-MAIL NEWSLETTERSPart 1

10

8

6

4

2

0

0 1 2 3

TotalScore

Number of negative issues

E-mail Newsletter | Score

4

Link to the website

Link to social media sites

Personalised email

Catchy subject line

Unsubscribe link

Contact details

Consistent with website

Tailored newsletter

Good mix of text and images

Guidance on what to do

nextNumber of

issues Score

Topshop2 6

Debenhams1 5

River Island2 5

Tesco2 5

LoveFilm2 5

Thomson 3 5

Your M&S3 3

John Lewis 4 3

Only 8/20 newsletters received (27th September – 15th October)

E-mail Newsletter | Score

Topshop meets 8/10 key criteria and only has 2 newsletter issueso No social network logos, the links could be overlooked. No newsletter received

within 24 hours.

M&S and John Lewis give users the worst newsletter experience. They have 3 and 4 newsletter issues respectively. o Unsubscribe page is not straightforward as there are 3 options: Continue receiving

newsletter, receive newsletter less frequent and do not want to receive newsletter.

Many retailers provide quality newsletters, but some small issues were identified. Typical issues:

1. No contact information is provided2. The newsletter is inconsistent with site e.g. Christmas on site not in newsletter

(John Lewis)3. Newsletter does not allow user to customise to their preferences4. Large section of text covering term and conditions5. There are no links to social media channels.6. Lengthy newsletter e.g. LoveFilms

E-mail Newsletter | Score

1st

8th

E-mail Newsletter | Content and Length

Average Length

Above the fold(1024 x 1060)

E-mail Newsletter | Visibility of Social Media Links

E-mail Newsletter | Ability to Unsubscribe

E-mail newsletter | Consistency and Provision of Primary Menu

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NEWSLETTER | THE BESTPart 1

o Logo is clear and obvious, and it takes users back to the main site.

o Look and feel of the newsletter is consistent with the main website.

o Social media links are displayed at the bottom of the page.

o No logos are included, so the links could be easily overlooked by users

o Contact information is clearly provided.

o However, no customer service telephone number provided.

Email Newsletter

Email Newsletter

o There is a unsubscribe link in

red clearly visible.

o The newsletter is not

personalised or customised

to users’ tastes.

o The newsletter has a good

balance of text and images.

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NEWSLETTER | THE WORSTPart 1

o Although newsletter and navigation are

consistent with the site

o Newsletter appears outdated, as the

website has another tab in main

navigation: Christmas

o Users can not personalise the newsletter,

therefore may be too many types of products.

o There are no social media links.

o The unsubscribe link takes users to email, but there is no 'what to do next' guidance

o Newsletter is not personalised.

Email Newsletter

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INSIGHTS & CONCLUSIONSPart 2

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Conclusions

• Best Practice Sign Up:

o Include Sign-up on the homepage

o Sign up should be located towards the top of the page (at least above the fold)

o Should be accompanied by an image or icon e.g. an envelope to draw

attention

o Ensure sign-up requires minimal data entry e.g. name and email address

o Include a short sentence stating the benefits of signing up e.g. promotions,

stay up to date with news and events etc

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Conclusions

• Best Practice Sign Up:

o Do not require any unnecessary information to be entered (such as postal

address, income, etc.)

o Do not require users to ‘create an account’ or ‘become a member’ of the

site

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Conclusions

• Best Practice Sign Up:

o Consider including a short second step/page allowing users to customise

the newsletter by selecting specific areas of interest

o Provide a ‘select all’ tick box or ‘general newsletter’ opt in

o Provide a link to the latest newsletter so that users know what to expect

before subscribing

o Do not require users to re-enter information e.g. do not request name / email

address a second time

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Conclusions

• Best Practice Sign Up:

o Include a clear indication on the website that the subscription process is

complete and has been successful

o Ideally include a clear, separate confirmation page with different content

o Include a clear thank you message on this page

o Provide an indication of what the user can expect next i.e. email confirmation

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Conclusions

• Best Practice Sign Up:

o Send email confirmation immediately

o User should not need to ‘reconfirm’ the subscription

o Ensure consistency with site i.e. branding and logo, etc.

o Include information about newsletters e.g. frequency and type of content

o Include a link back to the website

o Include a link to unsubscribe

o Include contact details

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Conclusions

• Best Practice E-Newsletter:

o Include a clear and catchy subject line so that the user immediately recognises

the email

o Ensure consistency with the site in terms of branding e.g. logo, layout, etc.

o Include links to the site and ensure that they are clear e.g. logo and url

address

o Do not include hidden links e.g. decorative images or plain text

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Conclusions

• Best Practice E-Newsletter:

o Include links to social networking sites

o To share the e-newsletter

o Links to the social network site e.g. Facebook page

o Ensure that the e-mail is personalised – use of first name, etc.

o There must be a clear option to ‘unsubscribe’

o This must not be hidden within text

o Do not use terms such as ‘remove’ or ‘opt out’

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Conclusions

• Best Practice E-Newsletter:

o Provide a real address, phone number or other similar contact details

about the sender

o Do not include excessive amount of text

o Limit the length of the e-newsletter, do not cause the user to vertically scroll

excessively

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DELIVERY | LIVE DEMOPart 3

Introduction

• MessageMaker is an enterprise messaging and content delivery tool that provides deployment, management and measurement in a single SaaS platform

• Drives deeper engagement by delivering measurable content and messages across a broad spectrum of permission marketing channels including email, social and branded apps (desktop, mobile and web)

• Can integrate with existing CRM, content management, data mining and other proprietary systems empowering marketers to quickly and easily build sophisticated retention/acquisition campaigns

• MessageMaker maximises lifetime customer value by cultivating meaningful brand relationships

MessageMaker

• Strategy: Crafting a smart approach to relationship marketing• E-Mail Program Management: Managing e-mail programs since 1998• Apps Development: Building branded applications since 1998• Creative Services: For e-mail, social, and branded applications• Data Integration: For e-mail, social, and branded applications

• Fully-hosted enterprise email marketing solution available either as full-service or self-service modes

• Engages users across a diverse network of social media sites

Supporting Services

• Enables marketers to easily manage multiple content channels across a network of branded apps (Desktop, Mobile, “TV”)

• SaaS Management platform enables optimised multi-channel messaging• Universal contact management• Multi-channel metrics• Preference centers and subscription management

• Delivers branded content directly to a users mobile device

Ease of use

• Three initial steps of email marketing– Get your data set [Groups and Lists, import

data]– Edit/Create email– Report on success

• Demo 1

Some Advanced Features…

• Sharing is the new viral/refer a friend– Twitter– Facebook

• Feeds– RSS

• Split testing– Body content and subject line– Segmentation– Wizard makes it easy to set up and run

Socialise your emails

• Facebook share url – http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A

%2F%2Fwww.otoinc.com%2Finteractive%2F&t=title

– Google “One to One Interactive”– HTML page Title– HTML meta tag description

• Demo 2

Feeds

• Using the BCC’s excellent RSS feed resource– http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/uk/rss.xml

• Demo 3

Split Testing

• Demo 4

Conclusion

• Use share to have a conversation with your subscribers friends (3rd party engagement) and boost sales through viral content

• Use feeds to keep the information in your emails up to date – sales, offers, vouchers

• Use Split testing to verify you are sending your very best email

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Q&A

For copies of the presentation or further info on One to One services please email: joutlaw@onetooneinteractive.com