Through this presentation, you will learn about: the email marketing ecosystem, email validation, how to avoid spam traps, delivery and inbox optimization, design best practices, optimizing for mobile, predictive modeling for a better ROI, and more!
This presentation was given by Nirmal Parikh, Founder/President of Digital Wavefront, at NEDMA's Annual Conference on May 14, 2014.
3. Wikipedia
1971
@
Ray used this machine, a DEC-10, back in 1971 to send his first email.
And, have we come a long way since!
4. 3.2 billion email accounts
838 billion marketing messages (2013)
3 out of 4 marketers use email marketing for retention
2 out of 3 consumers have made a purchase as a result of an email
$1 = $44.25 in email ROI
400+ marketing messages per month
Source: ExactTarget, Forrester, DMA, ReturnPath
Fast Forward to 2013-14!
@
5. Email marketing can be very effective
It can/does influence purchase decisions and behavior
Email is context-agnostic (no matter where, what, when)
Email has control over us. Yes, it’s true!
We have very little patience & an even smaller attention span
We make decisions based on FROM names and subject lines
So, What Does All This Mean?
@
12. Validation > Syntax Checking
jon’_@gmail.com <valid
[nirmal]@yahoo.com <valid
jenny”o”smith@aol.com <not valid
@
This is the most basic form of validation that
checks email for syntax errors.
13. Validation > Spam Traps
Re-activated accounts
inactiveuser@yahoo.com
Re-activated domains
user@veryolddomain.com
Classic “honeypot” addresses used for seeding
donotsend@yahoo.com
Investigative
myemail@mycompany.com @
So, why do we validate?
Well…one of the reasons
is to simply to avoid spam
traps set up by ISPs.
14. Validation > Better Delivery Ratios!
Use Case A
Start 100
Post-validation 100
Delivered 80
Deliverability 80%
Use Case B (validated list)
100
88
80
90%
@
-12
Validation is the process of “pinging” an email address w/o actually sending an
email; one of the most critical things from a perspective of data hygiene.
16. Design > Mobile
@
65%
69%
66%
Source: ExactTarget, Forrester, DMA, ReturnPath
Of email is opened first
on a mobile device.
69% delete emails that don’t
display correctly on mobile.
66% of Gmail emails are
opened on mobile.
17. Design > Email Clients
@
Client Market Share (based on March 2014 opens)
Apple iPhone 26%
Outlook 14%
Apple iPad 12%
Gmail 11%
Apple Mail 8%
Google Android 7%
Outlook.com 6%
Yahoo! Mail 5%
Windows Live Mail 3%
Windows Mail 2%
Source: Litmus
53%
Mobile email
clients have 53%
market share.
18. From Point & Click to Touch & Scroll
Users are accustomed to scrolling
Long-form content is perfectly OK!
Single-column layout
Design for touch accuracy
Animated GIFs?
Font sizes
Design > Optimization
@
19. @
Here are some email designs that were targeted for and maximized for mobile device compatibility. The
common theme across all of them is again “long-form” content and big/bold CTAs.
21. Standards-compliant <html></html>
Email client compatibility
Device compatibility
Responsive style-sheets (@media queries, CSS3)
Image ALT tags
Plain-text alternative
Email pre-header or
Johnson Box
Development > HTML
@
22. Development > Respect the Inbox
@
Consider feature advancements and
developments with different email clients.
Gmail Promotions Tab – List View
Gmail Promotions Tab – Grid View
For example: your promotional emails may end up in the Gmail promotions
tab, but you can maximize that space by designing for grid view.
24. Content Compliance
Accurate FROM address
Relevant Subject line
Physical address of publisher and/or advertiser
Unsubscribe Compliance
A visible and operable unsubscribe mechanism
Opt-out requests are honored within 10 business days
Country and Local Legislations
• Canadian Anti-Spam Laws (CASL, Jul 1st 2014)
• EU Safe Harbor Policies
Compliance > CAN-SPAM
@
26. Devices > Ubiquity
@5-6am 8am 6pm 8pm
We live in a “multi-
screen” and “multi-
context” world,
constantly switching
devices over the
course of the day.
28. Devices > Form Factors
@
Consider the different form
factors you are targeting.
From smartphones with 4-5”
screens, to mid-sized tablets,
all the way to laptops and
wide-screen monitors.
29. Devices > Wearable Tech
@
The Next Wave?
It’s wearable computing. Your
emails are going to have to be
“wrist-friendly” in the near future.
31. The Subject line is your Elevator Pitch. Master it.
33% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone
Try special characters ()
Keep it under 70 characters
Make it intriguing but relevant
Avoid spammy words and phrases
FREE, mortgage, insurance, limited time, click now, open immediately, etc.
And, PLEASE don't!!! USE UPPERCASE, or a lot of punctuation!!!
Delivery > Subject Line Optimization
@Source: ExactTarget
33. Delivery > Tactical Considerations
Aligning emails with in-home delivery of direct mail
Response rates 10% - 30% higher*
Acquisition costs 25% - 35% lower*
Time-zone localization
9am EST, 9am CST, 9am PST
Time-lapsed delivery
9am vs 2pm
Weekday vs. Weekend vs. Holiday delivery @
34. Delivery > Reputation
@Source: ReturnPath
Inbox SPAM83%
One of the biggest influencers of delivery is your ESP’s and/or
server’s IP reputation (affecting delivery by 83%).
40. Predictive Modeling > Why?
@
Send fewer, more targeted emails
Model after positive behavior and “look-alikes”
Improve delivery
Gain a better reputation & SenderScore