Effective Email MarketingPresented by

Cara Friedman, Likeable Media

http://likeable.comhttp://fb.com/likeablemedia

@LikeableMedia

Email Marketing

Email may seem like a medium of the past, but it still plays a crucial role in your social strategy. Email can be an effective way to reach your customers while integrating with your social efforts.

Effective Email Marketing

Social Media and

Email Marketing?

Companies were asked, “what advertising channels preformed best for their organization?” These were the answers.

Effective Email Marketing

Why

Advertising Channel

Effective Email Marketing

Email as an

39.4% of marketing industry executives called Email Marketing the most powerful advertising channel for their business.

72% of respondents answered that Return-of-Investment (ROI) of their email marketing campaigns is excellent or really good.

Agenda

Agenda

• Likeable Design

• Likeable Content

• Likeable Platforms

• Increasing Impact

• Email Marketing Analytics

Effective Email Marketing:

Likeable DesignEffective Email Marketing

Email Marketing

Your email should be on brand with the rest of your organization. The way your email looks is very important and will affect your open rate.

Likeable Design

Likeable Design and

Matching Colors

Your visual brand is important as your brand’s voice. Make sure to bring your brand’s color scheme into your emails.

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Matching Colors

Most platforms allow you to match your logo colors exactly. This ensures that your email marketing efforts are always on brand.

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Templates

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Although you want your newsletter to look unique and on brand, you are encouraged to use templates as a starting place. Everything is editable and you won’t need to hire a developer.

Templates

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When choosing your template, make sure you choose it based on layout and not color. Colors can always be changed.

Font Selection

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You want to make sure your email is readable. Arial, Courier New, Georgia and Tahoma are all great choices. Do not place text over distracting backgrounds.

Go Bold

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Similarly to if you used all caps, having everything in bold can be distracting. When you need to emphasize something, bold is your best choice. Italics and underlines can be hard to read and confusing.

Emphasize White Space

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When in doubt, simple is always better. White space is a great way to break up the text and make your copy feel inviting to the reader.

Dos and Don’ts

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Dos and Don’ts

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Dos and Don’ts

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If your email is visually appealing, your clients and customers will be more likely to read it all the way to the end. Remember that you are reading off a screen.

Bullet Points

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Reading things in lengthy paragraphs can be overwhelming and time consuming. Bullets break up information and make your content easier to skim.

Webpage View

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You never know what someone’s email settings may be. Some users will have images turned off in their email settings. To make sure your content is being seen the way you intended, always provide the “view as a webpage” option for your readers.

Webpage View

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Webpage View is a link placed on your email that allows the user to see your full email on a traditional webpage.

Webpage View

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Web page views are often also stored as archives on platforms like Constant Contact. This allows you to view past emails easily.

Mobile View

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More than ever people are reading their email from their phones. If you can’t ensure that the email will display correctly on a mobile device, make sure your webpage view is compatible.

Mobile Friendly

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There are a number of steps you can take to make sure your email is mobile friendly. Everything from image use to subject line must be taken into consideration.

Mobile Friendly

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Make sure your email is adjusted for mobile devices. Check that images are sized between 320-489 pixels wide.

Mobile Friendly

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Make sure you have plenty of white space around your links so it is easier to click on from a mobile phone.

Mobile Friendly

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Remember that an entire subject line won’t show up on a mobile device. The first two words of your subject line should explain why readers should open the email.

Images

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Sometimes you won’t be able to control how people view your email and more specifically your images. Here are some tips to ensure customers don’t miss your message, just because they can’t see your images.

Images

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Name your images so if they don’t show up, your customers will know what is supposed to be there.

Images

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Include a link. Give your users a link to your website to view, if they can’t see your image.

Images

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Describe your image and add a description of your image in the text. It will enhance the message of your email.

Images

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White-List: Ask your readers to “white-list” you. This will keep you from getting spammed.

White-List

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To try and avoid problems with images, ask your readers to “white-list” you or add you to their contact list. This will keep you from getting sent to spam and from your images not showing up.

Likeable ContentEffective Email Marketing

Curate

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Feel free to use existing content in your emails. Include your latest blog posts, links to upcoming events, or other content your company has already featured elsewhere.

Voice

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Keep your brand voice consistent. Choose your words in a way that is consistent with your brand’s voice on other platforms.

Unique Content

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Be creative! Include polls so you can add an interactive element to your email as well as gain insight from your target demographic. You can also use event advertisements as content in your emails.

Call to Action

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If you want users to share something, like something, click something, etc. all you need to do is ask. Including a strong call to action is a must in your email.

Easy to Read

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People only take 51 seconds to read through an email. It shouldn’t take longer than that to get through yours! Use only 3-5 feature blocks in the body of your email.

Subject Line

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This is the most important aspect of your email. Clearly state what your email is about in the subject line and keep it to less than 8 words. Include your brand’s name when appropriate.

Subject Line

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Mentioning Facebook in the subject line increases open rates by 32%.

- World Email Usage Study

Using words you, your or we will help make your email more personal.

Subject Line

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You always want to encourage people to click on your email. Creating a clear call to action and reason to click will increase your CTR.

Subject Line

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Encourage clicks by using the subject line:

• The Top Appeal: List the top five things contained in your email that your readers would be interested in.

• Use Urgency To Drive Action: Subject lines like “Only 3 Days Left” drive users to open and taken action in an effective manner

Subject Line

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Encourage clicks by using the subject line:

• Questions: Email marketing and Social Media have this in common: people want to give you their opinion. Asking questions drive people to open emails and respond.

• Customers Love Exclusivity: The word “exclusive” has a 24% higher open rate than any other buzz word in a subject line.

Links

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Create easy to use links with a clear call to action. Links are easier to click when they have white space around them. Multiple links are encouraged in email marketing.

Embedding Videos

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Instead of embedding videos, provide a link. Some platforms will take the video and create a screenshot that allows people to click through to the video. A link is less likely to have you in the spam folder.

Making It Social

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Always include your social links in your email. Allow for forwarding to friends and sharing on social networks.

Likeable PlatformsEffective Email Marketing

Choose What Works For You

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Increasing ImpactEffective Email Marketing

Timing

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Always schedule your emails in advance to avoid a last minute rush. The best time to send emails are usually before 10 AM or after 2 PM. Click through rates are higher when emails are sent less than 4 times per month.

Timing

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While those are best practices, you should always take your audience into account. Make sure your emails are scheduled at a time when your target audience is most likely to read them. Same goes for frequency of emails.

Sharing

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Make sure to cross promote your newsletter with all your social entities. Make sure to customize the message for each network. Your message for Twitter should look different from Facebook.

Sharing

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Email Marketing AnalyticsEffective Email Marketing

Importance of Reporting

Email Marketing Analytics

Email Marketing Analytics:

In order to have continued success, you need to track your progress. Make sure to choose a platform with built-in analytics so you can track crucial numbers. The information you learn from reporting will help shape your strategies for the future.

Importance of Reporting

Email Marketing Analytics

Email Marketing Analytics:

The best time to generate a report is 48 hours after your email has been sent. Look for:• Who has opened your email• What links have been clicked• What has been shared on social networks• And more!

Likeable Training

Effective Email Marketing

Need Extra Help?

Likeable offers custom trainings that cover topics ranging from email marketing to social media best practices and more. Contact cara@likeable.com to learn more about Likeable Training.

Effective Email MarketingQuestions???

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@LikeableMedia