Join us for a deep dive into the 4 keys to email success – before, during and after the holiday season. Learn how to outshine your competition with recommendations, real world examples and practical tips to driving engagement and conversion during the most important time of year.
3. 3
Email has the highest ROI
of the 7 marketing channels
studied.
2015 DMA Response Report
In 2014, companies were
attributing 23% of their
total sales to the email
marketing channel,
compared to 18% in 2013.
Econsultancy
4. 4
In which of these ways
do marketing/advertising
emails influence your
purchase decisions?
2015 Consumer Views
of Email Marketing, BlueHornet
5. 5
4 KEYS TO HOLIDAY
EMAIL SUCCESS
Lay a Firm Foundation
Ensure You Get to the Inbox
Shine in the Inbox
Plan for the Aftermath
6. 6
4 KEYS TO HOLIDAY
EMAIL SUCCESS
Lay a Firm Foundation
Ensure You Get to the Inbox
Shine in the Inbox
Plan for the Aftermath
7. 7
49% of consumers polled
said that for the upcoming
holiday season they will
shop online earlier than they
did last year.
Pitney Bowes
PREPARE YOUR CALENDAR NOW
Identify key holidays
Work backwards to determine
timelines
Allow for testing prior
Determine content
Creative/Design
Offers
Secure needed resources
8. 8
2014’S TOP DATES FOR
HOLIDAY CONVERSIONS
Thanksgiving
Black Friday
Cyber Monday
Green Week
National Free Shipping Day
Hanukkah
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
SteelHouse Holiday Guide 2014
9. 9
CREATE NEW HOLIDAYS
Get creative
Choose content & offers wisely
Leverage fundamental
engagement tactics
Be strategic with timing
10. 10
PRIME DAY
Sales up 93%
Peak order rates surpassed last
years’ Black Friday
More users signed up for the
service on Prime Day than any
other single day
CNN money
20. 20
Start monitoring in August
• Domain reputation
• IP reputation
• Opt outs
• Complaints
• Bounces
Use inbox monitoring tools to
monitor and manage your
reputation from a single
dashboard.
REPUTATION-DAMAGING ISSUES
Increased sending volume
Increased complaints
Decreased engagement
Segmentation errors
Mailbox provider issues
21. 21
RAMPING VOLUME
No more than 2x normal volume
Depending on volume, begin
ramping several weeks in advance
of holiday season
Work backwards from end volume
goal and time until your send date
Increase volume gradually and
consistently to balance increase in
complaints
Throttle volume
Work with your ESP’s deliverability
team to monitor and respond to
issues with bulking/blocking
22. 22
4 KEYS TO HOLIDAY
EMAIL SUCCESS
Lay a Firm Foundation
Ensure You Get to the
Inbox
Shine in the Inbox
Plan for the Aftermath
23. 23
SUBJECT LINE: TEST LENGTH
Highest read rate: ~61-70 characters
Little to no correlation between
length and read rate
Consider devices and your audience
Desktop view: ~ 60 characters
Mobile view: ~ 25 – 30 characters
Leverage snippet text
The Art and Science of Effective Subject Lines,
ReturnPath
24. 24
75% of our respondents
expect personalization
based on online purchases
or self-reported interests
in their profile.
Consumer Views of Email
Marketing 2015, BlueHornet
SUBJECT LINE: TEST
PERSONALIZATION
Past purchased products
Today Only: 20% Off On All Crew
Neck Sweaters
Browse behavior
Take The Tahitian Vacation You Have
Been Dreaming Of…
Gender
Buy Gifts For Him: All Men’s Suits
Now 10% Off
Location
Fight The Mid-West Humidity With
Back to School Deals Near You!
25. 25
SUBJECT LINE: TEST OFFERS
Allen Edmonds Flash Sale
Up to $200 Below MSRP
Up to 50% Off MSRP
Up to $200 Off MSRP
Higher performing email across all
major KPIs
Open Rate
Click-Through Rate
Revenue
Conversion Rate
AOV
RPD
31. 31
4 KEYS TO HOLIDAY
EMAIL SUCCESS
Lay a Firm Foundation
Ensure You Get to the
Inbox
Shine in the Inbox
Plan for the Aftermath
32. 32
CREATE A HOLIDAY DEBRIEF
Document what worked, what didn’t
Analyze and document promotion
performance
Reporting on all standard KPIs,
most importantly:
AOV
RPE
Inventory what products were
purchased most or returned most
from an email
34. 34
OFFER-BASED
Offer something unique
Offer incentive to redeem gift
cards online - get that
attribution!
Incorporate what you know
about subscribers
35. 35
EDUCATE AND UPSELL
What else do they need?
Accessories
Next logical purchase
Related products/product lines
What do they need to know?
How To's
Tips
Service & Warranty Info
Brand value prop
Learn more from click behavior
36. 36
QUICK RECAP
1. LAY A FIRM FOUNDATION
Calendars – Get creative with holidays!
Focus on acquisition
Disaster planning
2. ENSURE YOU INBOX
Pre-holiday lifecycle programs
Consider existing campaigns
Manage reputation
Ramp volume
37. 37
3. SHINE IN THE INBOX
Master subject lines
Cater to consumer behavior
Be interactive
4. PLAN FOR THE AFTERMATH
Holiday debrief
Subscriber relationship building
Offers and non-offer based strategy