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When tasked with designing the Email Experience Council’s seasons greetings email this year, we wanted to do something out of the ordinary. After some brainstorming, we settled on a sidescrolling winter scene with lots of delightful bits of animation.

Since we were asking reader to scroll right instead of the usual down, we wanted to build in a few visual cues to get them going in the right direction:
(1) We used a headline and deck that stretched across the top of the design, so they’d have to scroll to read the whole thing.
(2) We included a message under the eec logo for readers to “Scroll right for your holiday gift.”
And (3) we used two animated gifs that moved from left to right to get readers’ eyes moving in that direction.

The other consideration we had in designing this email is that we wanted to stay within the display width limits of Outlook 2007, which after a test we determined to be 2110 pixels. Our design was 780 pixels wide, well short of that limit.

See it in all of its animated glory.


The Results
We were very pleased with the results. Not only did the season’s greeting email garner 26% more opens that the typical eec email, but there were 10 times the usual number of forwards. The combination of strong design and compelling call-to-action clearly got subscribers’ attention and encouraged them to share the email.

Chad White
Research Director
Smith-Harmon, a Responsys Company

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Sometimes it sounds very "broken-recordish."

Send timely, targeted, relevant emails to subscribers who have asked for them.

It's my go-to message - my mantra of sorts - when it comes to email marketing. It's one of those things I recommend printing out and pasting to your desk. It's a phrase you should repeat when you're getting ready to hit the send button on that next email marketing campaign. It's the question to ask your team all of the time, but especially if you see your metrics on the fritz (declining open and/or click through rates, increasing complaints, poor deliverability, etc).

What Poor (Or No) Segmentation Looks Like

On December 20, 2009, I received these 3 emails within a 33-minute span (6:09AM, 6:29AM, and 6:42AM).

1. Inbox View: Before even opening the emails, what do you notice about them? Pretty easy one, right? While the from names are all different, the subject lines are identical. As it turns out, Multichannel Merchant, DIRECT, and Chief Marketer are all divisions of Penton Media (see email footer).

Why this matters: I feel like I just got spammed. Why? Penton Media just asked (errr...told) me 3 times to fill out their survey. Poor brand impression not only from Penton, but also from the 3 divisions who sent me that survey. I deleted all three.

2. Opened View: You'll quickly see if you open all three emails (see Multichannel Merchant below) that, with the exception of the header image, a few words here and there, and the signatures, the email copy is identical.

Why this matters: Again, I've just been sent the same survey 3 times. The response rates on surveys already tend to be low. Sending it to me 3 times under 3 different from names does not increase my chances of completing.

So, who cares?

4 Reasons Why Email Segmentation Matters

I'm an email snob. It's easy for me to sit up in my ivory email tower and tell everyone what they are doing wrong. I can't argue that fact. But I do think segmentation matters - not only for me, but for the average email consumer as well. Here's why:

1. Reduces inbox clutter: Assuming the emails were the same, would you rather receive 3 or just 1?

2. Increases relevancy: The more relevant an email, the more likely I am to take action (open, click, convert)

3. Earns trust: If I believe that you - the email marketer - have my best interests in mind, I'll trust you more. More trust ultimately leads to more action (see #2).

4. Gain credibility: Good segmentation proves to me that you know what you are doing. It shows that you are not blasting off emails. Instead, you are putting thought behind each send.

Segmentation is not hard. Time to add it to your email marketing new year's resolution list.

*After a conversation over IM with Andrew Kordek, it was pointed out that this post is lacking in concrete examples (case studies) of "segmentation success stories." If you have some, please share in the comments below as I'd like to do a follow up post.

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory

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Lots of marketers use preheader text, meaning those words that appear at the very top of the email, above any banner or heading. But that text is typically dull and dry, asking to be added to the recipient’s address book. Or they link to a web-based version of the email. Bleh. That won’t make anyone open your email.

Clever email marketers fit a lot into their preheader text. In a way, it’s like multitasking. They ask to be added to the Safe Senders list. They offer a link to a web-based version with images. They have a Forward-to-a-Friend link. And they sell.

There are best practices for preheader text. But before we get into how, here are four reasons why preheader text matters in email marketing:

• Preview panes: Remember that people look first at the From line, then the Subject line, then at the Preview Pane when deciding whether to open your email
• Image blocking: Your preheader text might be all they see in the Preview Pane
• Mobile devices: On that tiny screen, your preheader text has a huge job!
• Snippet text: In Outlook 2007, Gmail and the iPhone, the beginning of your preheader text is displayed following the Subject Line

But the number one reason is you must do everything you can to convince someone to open your email and discover the gems it contains, gems they’ll want to act on.

Before you start writing it, first, determine the goal of your preheader text. Your goal might be forwards, getting added to the safe senders list, encouraging opens by picking up where the subject line left off, getting them to a web page so the recipient can see the images, or to a version optimized for mobile. You can do more than one in your preheader area, but you want to prioritize to make sure your most important text is emphasized.

If you thought writing a short enough subject line was hard, now you get to tackle your preheader text, where you face the temptation of just one more word because you have just a little more space. Although your text is small, you don’t want to cram too much into your preheader text, or that jumble will get missed rather than noticed. Try to limit it to one or two lines, and make sure you check to see how it’s rendering in different email clients.

Formatting becomes crucial with preheader text. You’ll want to make sure to maximize your use of that little tiny space, so play with the formatting and check to see how the email renders in different clients. What allows you the most text while keeping the text readable? Chances are it’s not centered text. And don’t waste precious real estate with spacing between the lines of text.

Successful email marketing ROI is achieved by refining and testing, then refining and testing more. Preheader text is one more piece of the email marketing puzzle that you can continue to improve to improve your overall results.

- Marco Marini
CEO
ClickMail Marketing

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Have we all become puppets? Being an email marketer, I realize the question itself is not overly popular – but it is something many of us struggle with. As owners of the email programs, many marketers I speak with express the acknowledgement of needing to send fewer, more valuable email communications; however, that admission is always said with the anticipation of the “but.” And a big “but” it is! “BUT, my executive team (business owners, advertisers, take your pick) insist that we send more email, against our recommendation.”

This statement, while expected, never ceases to amaze me. Have we really become an industry of puppets? Are experts no longer hired for their expertise and knowledge to create, drive and manage the best email program a brand can hope for?  Have we been forced in to a “yes-man” role? Ugh. I don’t like the sound of that at all. Can’t we just find a way to co-exist – a little compromise here and there? As we move in to 2010, I share with you my Email Hopes for the New Year:

• Mastery of the Basics
  There are so many things we could talk about here, but we really need to take a step away from the new and shiny email “toys” and really get good at the basics. If you have a 7% open rate, I don’t think that plugging a video in to your email campaign is going to help. Clearly – you need to think about why you only have a 7% open rate and what you can fix about your email approach or strategy to improve. Poor program performance isn’t going to make anyone happy – not you, not your boss, not your advertisers, and certainly not your customers.
  
• Send Less, More Relevant Email
  Achieving relevance is often a daunting conversation for marketers because it means having to dig deep in to data, that you may or may not be able to access. Are the days of asking customers what they want really gone? Do we have to rely on behavioral data to get relevant? Sure, it is definitely the “holy grail” dream, but it you can’t get your hands on that information then why not just ask. Some of the most successful program optimization efforts I have seen with clients are those that asked some very specific questions around products/brands that were then applied to the email program. If you don’t know, try asking – instead of guessing.
  
• Have a Real Email Plan
  Do you have a 2010 email calendar? If you said yes –you are in the minority. Just like other marketing efforts, you should have a 2010 email calendar denoting messages you intend to communicate with your customer-base throughout the year. Even the best laid plans have to be revised based on things happening in the market, but accounting for those outliers becomes more manageable when you have the other communications planned. If you do not have a 2010 plan, I beg you, at least make it your first quarter goal to build one. I promise that the work you do on the front-end will really help to drive the vision through the organization the rest of the year – at least it should.
  
• Make Your Email Social
  While socialized email was a new topic for email marketers in 2009 – it is definitely something you need to pay attention to and determine how it may enhance your email programs and brand as you move into 2010. It isn’t going anywhere, so you should start considering ways to test and integrate it with your email marketing efforts. Just like anything else, social components have a place in your email communications and don’t necessarily have to be leveraged in every communication – but determining how it could benefit your business and your email program in the coming year is definitely something to be mindful of.

As you all enter in the holiday-state-of-mind, be ready to enter Email 2010 head on. Stand your ground, sell the email vision/strategy through the organization, be ready to compromise a little (but don’t give up) and most of all, have a real plan. The best way to be the expert within your organization and to get the attention and support of your decision-makers is to paint the picture – long-term considerations and all.

Happy Holidays everyone! Go get ‘em!

- Kara Trivunovic
Sr. Director of Strategic Services
StrongMail

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It’s time to shift your focus, folks, investment to interaction.

In the continually shifting world of email marketing, where nothing stays static for long, we’re giving a new meaning to the ROI acronym. That’s because the deliverability of your email is now being determined by the ISP based on the recipient’s interaction with that email.

Goodbye, Return on Investment. Hello, Return on Interaction.

Or maybe it’s more an evolution, of the term and of the email marketing industry. Before, you invested in the best ESP to ensure the highest deliverability. You invested in email designers who would make cleanly coded templates that would get past spam filters. You invested in organically growing your in-house, opt in list. You’ve protected your online sending reputation and kept your lists clean.

Now the bar is raised and your emails must rise above, too.

I think it will really boil down to relevance certainly, but in specific ways:

1) Content — Now more than ever you’d better be sending out emails that your recipients want to receive.
2) Frequency — And now more than ever, you’d better not be over messaging your list!

Some of the major ISPs are zeroing in on the inbox to decide whether or not your emails are to be considered worthy of being delivered in the future. How your recipients interact with your emails—and if they do at all—will now be taken into account. If you keep sending emails a certain someone never opens, the ISP is going to decide that in the eyes of that certain someone, you are in fact spam and should be blocked.

You are truly now at the mercy of the recipient, but don’t worry: you have more power than you may realize. You are in complete control of your relevance, regardless of the size of your email list. You are in control because you can:

• Segment your list and target your messages to make them more relevant.
• Set up a profile page where subscribers can choose how often to hear from you and the type of information they want to get from you.
• Put your subscribers first, offering them the content they want, not the content you want to feed them.

Your goal has suddenly shifted from making money off your investment in an email campaign (the old ROI) to making sure you’re relevant so you keep getting your emails delivered (the new ROI) but in the end – with a focus on relevance, you’ll achieve both.


Marco Marini
CEO
ClickMail Marketing

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