Writing Effective Association Email

EFFECTIVE ASSOCIATION EMAILS

Hilary Marsh, Content Company Associa5on Forum, July 17 2013

HOW TO WRITE FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS

ASSOCIATION FORUM COMM/MARKETING SIG – JULY 2013

THE COMPETITION

2007:

50 million

2008:

87 million

2009:

100 million

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

2007: •  50 million emails •  8 e-‐newsleDers 2009: •  100 million emails •  40 e-‐newsleDers


29%20%

19%20%

7% 7%0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%

2008 2009 2010 YTD

Company-Wide E-mail Open and Click Rates

2008 - 2010

Average Open Rate Average Total Click Rate


We took ac5on: •  Two-‐day content summit •  50 communicators from 23 departments •  First day, presenta5on of the facts, “recita5on” by each group of their e-‐

newsleDers, key web pages, brochures & other communica5ons •  Second day, brainstormed solu5ons Outcome: •  Combined almost all e-‐newsleDers into a single, customizable weekly all-‐

member opt-‐out •  Created an online form for content requests •  Worked with Exec Comms to create a weekly intro “from” the president

http://ebm.enews.realtor.org/c/tag/aBR1GSaB8hVyFB8zptfAAAAAAIn/doc.html?t_params=I_A_MORE=0&I_BUYER1=1&I_BUYER2=1&I_COMMERCIAL3=1&I_EDOPP2=1&I_EDOPP3=1&I_EDOPP4=1&I_EVENT1=1&I_GLOBAL2=1&I_GLOBAL3=1&I_GLOBAL4=1&I_IMAGE_COMMERCIAL=1&I_IMAGE_EDUCATION=1&I_IMAGE_GLOBAL=1&I_IMAGE_INDUSTRYNEWS=1&I_IMAGE_LEGALISSUES=1&I_IMAGE_LEGISLATIVE=1&I_IMAGE_MEETINGEVENTS=1&I_IMAGE_REALTOR=1&I_IMAGE_RESEARCHSTATS=1&I_IMAGE_SALESMARKET=1&I_IMAGE_SPECIALOFFER=1&I_IMAGE_TECHNOLOGY=1&I_IMAGE_WORKINGBUYERS=1&I_INEWS1=1&I_LEGAL1=1&I_LEGIS1=1&I_LEGIS2=1&I_LEGIS3=1&I_LEGIS4=1&I_LEGIS5=1&I_LEGIS6=1&I_LEGIS7=1&I_NO_TOPICS_EVER=0&I_NO_TOPICS_WEEK=1&I_OFFER1=1&I_OFFER2=1&I_OFFER3=1&I_OFFER4=1&I_OFFER5=1&I_REALTORCOM1=1&I_SALES1=1&I_SALES2=1&I_SALES3=1&I_STATS1=1&I_STATS2=1&I_TECH3=1&[email protected]&om_rid=AAAAAA&om_mid=&om_ntype=NARWeekly

BENCHMARKS

AVERAGE EMAIL METRICS FOR ASSOCIATIONS •  98.15% delivery rate •  32.36% open rate •  21.08% click rate •  .051% unsubscribe rate 53% of emails opened were classified as read (recipients spent 10 seconds or longer engaged with the email)

-‐-‐Informz 2013 Associa5on Email Marke5ng Benchmark Report

SENDER & SUBJECT LINES

SHORTER IS BETTER Highest open rates were emails with subject lines having fewer than 10 characters: 51%. (Informz)

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORDS Avoid using “help,” “percent off” and “reminder” because they tend to trigger spam filters. (Mailchimp)

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORDS Yes: Alert Bulle5n New Video Daily Weekly Breaking

(Adestra Subject Line Analysis Report, GetResponse)

No: NewsleDer Monthly Forecast Report Top Stories Free No-‐Cost

GET CREATIVE •  Use capital leDers strategically •  Share a “secret” •  Be informal •  Use numbers •  Use rhymes or allitera5on

(GetResponse blog)

TIPS FOR E-NEWSLETTER SUBJECT LINES •  Use the lead story headline, or the most interes5ng

item. •  Consider using several short headlines, separated by

the “|” character. •  Don’t use the same generic subject line for every issue. •  Be en5cing, but not decep5ve. •  Think magazine cover lines.

IT’S ABOUT THE CONTENT, NOT THE

THING

FOCUS ON THE BENEFITS

Extract the juicy bits rather than talking about the “container.” For example: •  To get more clicks to a report, highlight a key sta5s5c. •  To promote a mee5ng, highlight a par5cular session, speaker

or aDendee tes5monial. •  To gain more sales for a new book, consider publishing a free

chapter.

GOOD BLURBS •  Build on the item headline. •  Give just enough informa5on to make the reader want more. •  Think “cliff-‐hanger.” •  If you are “cura5ng” content – that is, sharing an ar5cle from

another source – link to a summary and analysis on your site, then take the reader to the original source.

•  Write for the preview pane: Focus the main point of interest on the copy that will appear in the preview pane of your email. Most people decide if an email is interes5ng by previewing it without opening it.

WHERE ARE THEY GOING?

YOUR EMAILS DON’T LIVE IN A VACUUM •  “Train” your members that the informa5on in

your emails is worth clicking on. •  Good email headlines need to link to valuable,

well-‐wriDen content. •  Choose the most member-‐centric content from

your website, podcasts, blog, and social media channels for your emails.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MEMBER NAR e-‐newsleDer analysis – most popular items: •  They are not press releases, do not address something

about the associa5on or its workings. •  They speak to na5onal concerns that are of interest to a

wide range of people (e.g., the real estate bubble, eminent domain).

•  They promise to teach a member something (e.g., how to run an open house, how new laws affect landlords).

10 *mes more popular than the least-‐popular items

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES •  Ohio Landscape Associa5on put its magazine online and

drove poten5al members there – maximized content, saved $ on postage.

•  OLA also segmented its list to send local event informa5on to the appropriate people.

•  Retail Confec5oners Interna5onal shares an industry event calendar.

•  Email lets RCI connect email opens to event registra5on.

(Constant Contact)

ADD VISUALS

WHEN YOU DELIVER INFORMATION VERBALLY, PEOPLE ONLY REMEMBER 10% OF IT. IF YOU ADD A PICTURE, RETENTION IS 65%

-‐-‐Carmine Gallo, Stanford Business School hDp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drtxj2ih0ai

hDp://admin.listpilot.net/mpower/showhtml.do?ac=varealtor&id=85q2cb1_7ce3cc1d

WHAT ARE YOU MEASURING?

THINK BEYOND OPENS AND CLICKS

Quan5ta5ve •  Downloads •  Registra5ons •  Program par5cipa5on •  Renewals

Qualita5ve •  Sa5sfac5on •  Realiza5on of value

TESTING, TESTING

FIND OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU AND DO MORE OF IT •  A/B tes5ng

•  Headlines •  Time of day •  Frequency •  Number of items

•  Surveys

Hilary Marsh, Content Company

BE A CONTENT DJ

CAP Digital Team Retreat, June 14 2013

“MIX” YOUR CONTENT WELL •  Members want a few topics (they won’t get bored) •  Repurpose content by thinking “bite, snack, meal” •  Account for different levels of knowledge •  Organize your e-‐newsleDer into sec5ons/categories (tech

5ps, local news, money savers, take poli5cal ac5on, etc.)

Hilary Marsh, Content Company

hDp://www.slideshare.net/hilarymarsh/become-‐a-‐content-‐dj-‐how-‐to-‐create-‐a-‐winning-‐mix-‐for-‐your-‐content-‐marke5ng hDp://ewriteonline.com/ar5cles/2011/11/bite-‐snack-‐and-‐meal-‐how-‐to-‐feed-‐content-‐hungry-‐site-‐visitors/

CAP Digital Team Retreat, June 14 2013

REDEFINE SUCCESS FROM “PUT IT UP” TO USAGE MEASURE SATISFACTION, AS WELL AS VISITS

Hilary Marsh, Content Company CAP Digital Team Retreat, June 14 2013

THANK YOU. [email protected] www.hilarymarsh.com @hilarymarsh

Writing Effective Association Email

Technology

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