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10 Latest Trends in Email Marketing

George DiGuidoHead of Email Marketing

About.com

10/28/2014

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WHO IS ABOUT.COM?

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About.com

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About.com

About.com (an IAC company) is one of the biggest sites on the Internet that helps people discover, learn about, and be inspired by 1,000 different topics

• 14th biggest site on the Internet.• 100 million monthly intent-driven visitors• 3.5 million pieces of original content• Attracts more men than ESPN, more women than HGTV

and InStyle and more teens than MTV

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So who am I?

5

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10 TRENDS IN EMAIL MARKETING

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Mobile & Email

How many of you know your percentage of mobile opens?

How many of you know your percentage of mobile clicks?

How many of you know your conversion rate from mobile?

How many of your think your mobile web experience is a good one?

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Mobile & Email

• End of 2014, 1.76B own & use smartphones monthly worldwide

• Penetration of smartphone uses in US & Canada will reach 50%

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Mobile & Email

• According to ReturnPath, 43% of emails are opened on a mobile device.

• According to Litmus, 66% of Gmail opens occur on a mobile device (2013)

So what do we do?

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Mobile & Email

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Mobile & Email

• Gather information• Figure out what your numbers look like

• Opens• Clicks • Conversions

• Figure out what your emails look like• Litmus• ReturnPath

• Strategize• Test• Partner

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RESPONSIVE DESIGN

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Responsive Design

INSERT HUGE RESPONSIVE DESIGN STAT HERE

“Context and the smartphone paradox” – Loren McDonald

Email readership is very high• Executive management knows this• Mobile is everywhere

But where are your conversions happening?

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Responsive Design

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Responsive Design

Key Takeaways: • Mobile conversion rates

are still low• Smartphones account for a

smaller percentage than tablet

• Consumers haven’t bought into mobile conversion

• 90% of users switch between devices to complete a goal**

*Internet Retailer **Google Think (CA)

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Responsive Design

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GMAIL TABS

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Gmail Tabs

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Gmail Tabs

Launched May 2013

The sky isn’t falling – Image caching had a bigger impact• Images are cached by Google in Mountain view• Real-time email impacted

But my email ends up in the “promotions” tab?• Tabs has not has a large of an impact on the email marketing

landscape as originally feared

Test• Litmus – Gmail Test Tool

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GMAIL IMAGE CACHING

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Gmail Image Caching

Image caching hit desktop inboxes in early December ’13• Images stored on servers in Mountain View• Includes tracking pixels• Multiple open tracking impacted• Turned images on by default

Another change hit in March ‘14• Cache control• Benefits real-time email personalization• Still no IP, user agent, and referrer string data

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Gmail Image Caching

So why did Google do this?• Privacy• Performance• Another way to mess with marketers

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GOOGLE INBOX

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Google Inbox

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Google Inbox – What does it do?

Its an inbox!

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Google Inbox – What does it do?

It reminds…

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Google Inbox – What does it do?

It snoozes?

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Inbox another Wave?

From Google:• Can I still use Inbox & Gmail?

• Of course. All of your email is still in Gmail and always will be, but Inbox works best if you go all in.

• Is Inbox going to replace Gmail?• Don’t worry, Gmail isn’t going anywhere. Inbox is a new

experience designed and developed alongside

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Will it impact marketers?

I don’t think so…• At least not yet.• Will the everyday user actually use the snooze button?• The Gmail app still exists

But it might if:• Replace Gmail app in Android• There is no other alternative

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CASL

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CASL

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation• CASL’s primary requirement: “express consent”

• Must disclose: • the email sender’s name • contact information• why consent is sought• User can opt-out

• Implied consent is permitted for users who make purchases• Only good for 24 months since the last purchase

• 3 year grace period for existing subscribers• A “due diligence” defense exists for non-compliant emails

inadvertently sent to Canadian users

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CASL

The CRTC has stated that CASL requires “a positive indication of consent” and, therefore, “express consent cannot be obtained through opt-out mechanisms”

Source: CRTC Bulletin 2012-549, ¶ 4-8, Fig. 1-2

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CASL

Things to look out for:• Onsite sign-up pages and widgets• Co-reg, sweepstakes, contests• Existing Canadian subscribers• 3 year grace period

Resources:• CRTC - http://www.crtc.gc.ca/• Fight Spam - http://fightspam.gc.ca/• Matt Vernhout - http://emailkarma.net/

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EMAIL PERSONALIZATION

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Email Personalization

Everyone has heard about personalization• Challenge: marketers have different needs• Personalization is past first name, geo, and gender

True Personalization is based on a single customer view• Data needs to be attributed to the user• Implicit data leads to a more personalized experience• Build a historical model of your recipients

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Email Personalization

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Email Personalization

Walk before you run• Start with the easy stuff

• First name• Gender• Geo-targeting

Find tools to help• ESPs• Personalization engines• Marketing Automation solutions• In-house systems

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EMAIL MONETIZATION

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Email Monetization

More and more marketers are looking for additional monetization options in email

• Sponsored emails• Banners• Videos• Animated gifs

CTAs no longer seem to be enough• Marketers looking to optimize ROI from opens & clicks• Time and a place for ads• Know your audience

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Email Monetization

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Email Monetization

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EMAIL ONBOARDING

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Email Onboarding

Who sends a welcome message?Who personalizes their welcome message?With more than first name?

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Email Onboarding

A user signs up for your email program and you send them this…

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New Sign-up Onboarding

Bring Personalization into your onboarding message• Onsite activity• Landing page• Contest or sweepstakes• Coupon/Offer

Be relevant• Time matters• Set expectations• Reiterate value proposition

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EMAIL & SOCIAL

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Email & Social

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Email & Social

Are email and social mortal enemies?• Social will eventually kill email marketing• Brands are abandoning email for social• Social is sexier than email

Is all of this true?

Takeaways:• Test social buttons on email• Twitter cards for email acquisition• Email for social acquisition

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OTHER THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE ON…

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4th Quarter 2014

Holiday campaign rush• ESPs and other brand marketers start holidays early• A lot of email sent in the 4th quarter

Deliverability still matters• DMARC• Domain authentication• Inbox placement

Email is still dead• No…it isn’t

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That is it…

Whitsblog.com

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QUESTIONS?