Presentation made to McPherson Group annual user group (PBS)

1. MAXIMIZING E ‐MAIL
Mark Davis
Blackbaud
Director Enterprise Internet Solutions
Friday, January 13, 2012
www.netwitsthinktank.com
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2. 2

3. D O N ’ T C O N F U S E C O M M U N I C AT I O N
CHANNEL WITH GIVING CHANNEL
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4. PREFERRED GIVING CHANNEL
direct mail
other offline
email
Source: 2011 donorCentrics Internet & Multichannel Giving Benchmarking Report
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5. PREFERRED COMMUNICATION CHANNEL
prefer email
prefer another
channel
Source: The Cygnus Donor Survey 2011
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6. 4/9/2012 6

7. 4/9/2012 7

8. WHAT ARE WE DOING?
4/9/2012 8

9. SUCCESSFUL EMAIL MARKETING
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10. “Attention is a bit like real estate, in
that they're not making any more of it.
Unlike real estate, though, it keeps
going up in value.”
Seth Godin, Seth Godin’s Blog
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11. FOUR KEY STEPS TO EFFECTIVE EMARKETING
Segment
Test Develop
Send
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12. Step One:
Segment
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13. AS YOU BEGIN…
• Think about your overall goals
• Reflect on how email enhances your
multi-channel marketing strategy
• Decide who to target and when
- Age
- Member / Non-member
- Participant/Non-participant
- Interests
• Get permission (or at least understand
what it means to have it)
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14. ESTABLISH A PLAN
• Start with a calendar
• Think about the types of messages you send
• Include every office that wants to send
messages
• How can messages be combined or
complement each other?
• What data do you need to collect to improve
your coordination?
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15. DELIVER TARGETED CONTENT
• Click-through rates 2x as high first 30 days*
• Open rates (7%) and click-through rates (80%) increased**
• Provide value
• Connection
• Without relevant content, risk:
- Level of engagement
- Lack of attention
- Decreased response
- Weakened relationship
*MarketingSherpa "Email Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008‖
**MailerMailer 2010 Email Marketing Metrics Report
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16. UDM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
School of Architecture
Engineering Grads
Audience Open rate
School of Architecture 23.5%
Engineering Grads 18.9%
Non-Personalized 1st Paragraph 11.9%
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17. Step Two:
Develop
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18. VOICE AND TONE
“Just as you have a
unique set of
fingerprints, you
also have a unique
voice…”
Source: Barbara Scott
TheRovingEditor.blogspot.com
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19. FIND YOUR VOICE
 Familiar
 Passionate
 Honest
 Authentic
 Reflective
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20. CHOOSE YOUR TONE
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21. MARKETING YOUR MISSION 101
• What is • Where/how
given in do we let
exchange people
for participate?
support?
Product Place
Promotion Price
• How do we •What do we
reach out want from
to people? people?
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22. THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WITH DESIGN…
• Design for the preview pane —
align content to the left
• Avoid calls-to-action within images
• Avoid large blocks of text —
work toward ―scan-ability‖
• Link to a web-based version of
your email at the top
• Test emails in multiple browsers before
sending, including:
- Internet Explorer
- Firefox
- Safari
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23. NOT ALL ABOUT THE PICTURES
• Only 19% of your newsletter
gets fully read
• 35% of readers scan only a
small part, often just the first
two words of the headline
• 67% of readers completely
skip introductory text at the
top
• Average amount of time
readers spend after opening:
51 seconds
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24. DESIGN GUIDELINES
■ Consistent, recognizable send-
from address & subject
■ Look remains consistent from issue
to issue
■ Tell A Friend and Donate links
above the fold
■ Excerpt-style newsletter, with
monthly headline feature
■ Headlines and features change
from month to month
■ Speaks to reader through clear
calls to action
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25. DESIGN GUIDELINES TEMPLATE
Branding
• Top-priority links &
branding consistent from
In this Issue
month to month Personalization
First Headline
• Headlines & graphics Donate Link
change, but general
Graphic & Lead
dimensions stay the same Story Copy
• Color scheme may Feature #1
change, but structure is Second Headline
Feature #2
consistent
Feature #3
Graphic & Second
Story Copy
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26. Source: Morgan Stanley http://www.slideshare.net/CMSummit/ms-internet-trends060710final
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27. DESIGNING FOR MOBILE DEVICES
• 64% of executives read majority of email on mobile
devices
• Include a compelling call to action in the first 15-25
characters of your subject line
• Avoid ―top heavy‖ images in the design
• Use ―alt-tags‖ on images blackberry
• In addition to testing email browsers, test messages
in handheld devices
Source: Marketing Sherpa
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28. Step Three:
Send
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29. CREATE COMPELLING MESSAGES
Recognizable ―From‖ or
―Sender‖ address
Creative, descriptive & inviting
subject line
Concise, relevant content
Compelling call to action
Supporting landing page(s)
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30. RECOGNIZABLE “FROM” OR “SENDER” ADDRESS
If readers don’t recognize you, they are likely
to flag your message as spam.
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31. HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT HEADER?
• 80% of respondents decide
whether to click on the
"Report Spam" or
"Junk" button without
opening the
actual message
• 73% based that decision on
the "From" name
• 69% based the decision on
the subject line
Source: Email Sender and Provider Coalition (ESPC) study
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32. SUBJECT LINE “DO’S”
• Limit the subject line to 25-35
characters
• Avoid using "$", "!" and ALL CAPS in
the subject line
• Personalize whenever possible
• Colon Power: Use it to place the
most important key word first
• Remember, ―the best subject lines
tell what is inside; the worst subject
lines sell what is inside.‖
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33. CONCISE, RELEVANT CONTENT DESIGNED TO BE
READ ONLINE
Even though you aren’t
paying printing
costs, you can’t skimp
on careful writing.
Excellent content is
important!
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34. CREATING A COMPELLING CALL-TO-ACTION
• Your call-to-action should compel
your readers to do something
• Give readers a sense of excitement
and urgency
• Use specific, action-oriented
language
• Say it early and repeat often
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35. CALLS TO ACTION
• Answer What + Why + Where (or When)
Not Compelling Compelling
Speak up now Speak up now to stop the bloodshed in Syria
Donate now Donate now to feed those starving in Somalia
Register Register to ride in honor of cancer patients
• Instead of images, use table cells with background color
• Include it early, then again
• Track where clicks occur (www.nonprofit.org/donate#intro)
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36. USE LANDING PAGES TO BOOST RESPONSE
• Keeps email content more concise
and interesting
• Lets recipients learn more before
they must decide to take action
• Easier to track interest of
recipients
• Creates a consistent message
across all marketing vehicles
• Improves search engine
optimization
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37. Step Four:
Test
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38. TEST TO MAKE IT BEST
• What are your goals?
- More readers
- Engagement
- Donations
• Common metrics
- Web traffic
- Open rates
- Click-throughs
- Conversion
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39. ELEMENTS TO TEST
• Subject Line
- Length, call to
action, personalization
• Call-to-action
- Placement, number, urgency of
language, font/color
• Graphics
- Position, complexity, style
• Landing pages
- Pre-population of
forms, length, navigation options
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40. PICKING A WINNER
• Send all email at the same time:
- 10/10 then 80
• Make clear notes about what you're
testing
• Wait at least 48 hours before
declaring a winner- 75% of people will
open an email in the first 28 hours; the
remaining 25% may take several days
• The more you test, the more you'll
learn – be sure to use what you
learn!
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41. We know what you’re
thinking….
“easier said than done!”
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42. FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TOMORROW
• Audit one of your
emails for the four Ps.
- Is your value proposition
clear?
- How about Place and
Price? (If you
want someone to do
something, you
need these!)
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43. FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TOMORROW
• Plan a single item to
test in your next
email.
- (Hint: The subject line
is easy and
sometimes has
dramatic results!)
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44. FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TOMORROW
• Check your next
(or last) email in a
different browser.
Bonus points for
a mobile device!
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45. FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TOMORROW
• Write (or rewrite)
your welcome
email.
- Does it offer
something or
motivate
a next action?
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46. FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TOMORROW
• Create a new
segment to test in
your next campaign.
- Try a completely
unique message to
people who have
given their email
address but never
taken action.
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47. THANK YOU!
Please feel free to contact me:
Mark.davis@blackbaud.com
@mcdavis7
843-654-2575
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