Melanie Sims, support manager at Blue Sky Factory, talks about how to build your email subscriber database organically, making the most of relationships with existing subscribers, and strategies for making your emails viral.

1. Blue Sky Factory
Driving Email Marketing Performance
How to Grow Your Subscriber Database
Thursday, May 28 2009
3:00 PM
Baltimore, Maryland

2. Agenda
• The Importance of List Growth
• The Opt-In Process
• Subscriber Preferences
• Viral Emails and Social Media
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3. The Importance of List
Growth
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4. The Importance of List Growth
• Highest ROI
– Email has the highest ROI (return on investment) for all online media
• For every dollar spent on email marketing, marketers can expect an estimated $45.06 ROI. – DMA,
2008
• Increase in Sales
– Increase in subscribers can mean an increase in sales
• Consumers who subscribed to email newsletters generated 34.25% more product sales. -
MarketingSherpa
• Email presently generates 21.6% of total revenue from [marketing] campaigns. – DMA, 2008
• Customers Prefer Email
– Email is widely used and preferred by your customers
• Over 90% of internet users between age 18 and 72 and 74% of internet users age 64 and older send
and receive email, making it the most popular online activity for all age groups. - Pew Internet and
American Life Project, 2009
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5. Email is Different
• Direct
• Highly personal
• Email users are picky
• Anything can be considered SPAM
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6. The Opt-In Process
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7. Getting them to your Website
• Organic Search
• Paid Search
• Online Advertising
• Cross Promotion with other media
• Direct Mail and Collateral
• Blogging
• Tweeting
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8. Getting the Opt-In
• Permission-Based Email
– A list of true opt-in subscribers will garner the best results
• No pre-checked boxes or tricks
• Consider using incentives
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9. Email Offerings
• Tell them what they will receive
• Include newsletter titles and a brief description of what
you offer
• Show the frequency at which they are sent
• Include other email offerings – Specials, Press Releases,
etc.
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10. Email Offerings (cont’d)
• Show preview of an email
• Give them access to see
previous emails also
• Example: Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Schools
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11. Signing up on your Website
• Make the sign-up easy
• Provide sign-up on every page and/or prominent on
homepage
• Example: Active
Junky
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12. Signing up on your Website
(cont’d)
• Include a dedicated Thank You page
• Example: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
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13. Signing Up Offline
• Capture opt-ins offline as well
– Trade Shows
– Seminars
– Networking Events
• Make it clear that they will receive email
• If you receive email addresses from hosts, use an
engagement campaign
• Follow up quickly
• Personalize a welcome email
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14. Welcome Email
• Send a Welcome Email as soon as possible
• Confirm the benefits of your mailings
– 78% of welcome emails explained the benefits of signing up. - Email
Experience Council
• Confirm frequency/type of email
• Use Branding
• Provide whitelisting information
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15. Welcome Email (cont’d)
• Link to your website and/or email archive
• Opportunity to unsubscribe and update preferences
• Example: Active Junky
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16. Subscriber Preferences
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17. Contact Updates
• Subscribers can edit or add to their contact information
• Allow them to add data that you did not acquire during
their initial sign-up
– Name
– Demographic Information
– Geographic Information
– Areas of Interest
• Use data for personalization
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18. Cross Promotion
• Allow users to update email communications that they
receive from you
• Current subscriptions
should be checked by
default
• Example: BSF
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19. Format
• Multi-part emails: HTML & Text
– Allow subscribers that read email on a PDA to receive a
plain text only version
• 64% of key decision makers are viewing your carefully crafted
email on their Blackberry's and other mobile devices, according to
new data. – Marketing Sherpa
• Always include a View In Browser link
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20. Frequency
• Do not over email!
• Frequency should be determined on a list-by-list basis
• Allow subscribers to choose the amount of email they
receive from you
– 37.4% say they receive more email than they expected when they
signed up. - Return Path
• Compile data from daily emails into a weekly email, or
weeklies into a monthly
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21. Test Frequency
• Test frequency to find the right formula for your
subscribers
– Do they want your email daily, weekly, or monthly?
– Do they prefer a certain day or a certain time of month?
– Find the right balance or you will lose your audience
• Track results in opens, clicks, opt-outs
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22. Viral Emails and Social Media
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23. Viral Marketing
• Most successful viral campaigns are unique, interactive
or humorous
• Make your content “forwardable”
• Include a Forward to a Friend link
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24. Social Media Sharing
• Subscribers are increasingly savvy in social media usage
• Give the option to share the email with networks
• Include a Subscribe link to entice new subscribers
• Example: BSF
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25. Q&A
Thank You!
Melanie Sims
Blue Sky Factory, Inc
msims@blueskyfactory.com
Please visit us online:
http://www.blueskyfactory.com
Our blog:
http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/