Archive for Metrics & Testing
Before You Launch Your Next Marketing Campaign: The 7 Deadliest Marketing Mistakes
Source: Jessica Swanson, Manta via www.sosemarketing.com
Before you launch your next marketing campaign, whether online or offline, make sure to avoid some of the most common marketing mistakes.
1. Failure to write a powerful headline.
Whether you’re writing a newspaper ad, email message or press release, you must create a powerful headline. Research suggests that your headline is the most important part of your ad. It is absolutely essential that you draw your prospective customer or client into your ad and keep them interested in what you have to offer.
2. Absence of an irresistible offer. continue reading »
Interesting A/B Test Results for iPad
Designing for a mobile device is quite different than designing for the desktop user. Tests like this one can help marketers determine what design tactics can improve a user’s overall experience and click-ability aka. touch-ability! Vote on this test and see if you guess correctly!
Source: Anne Holland, www.whichtestwon.com
It’s our first iPad test! Can you guess which version of a
(famous) German auto insurance company’s homepage – served
just to iPad traffic – got a 9.23% lift in online
registration form fills?
Both buttons had the same copy … but they looked really
different! http://whichtestwon.com/archives/12598
Note: This was a multivariate test, so many other page
elements changed. BUT our lift data is specifically for the
button only. So, ignore the other differences and pick the
button you think compelled more iPad users to register:
http://whichtestwon.com/archives/12598
10 Tips To Prevent Your Email From Being Marked As Spam
The “Spam” button can be the kiss of death…it hurts sender reputation on a delivery level and brand reputation at the consumer level…not to mention the egos of email marketers everywhere. Here are some tips to help try and avoid the unwanted action of marking email as SPAM!
Source: Marla Chupack, www.emailtransit.com
Your email campaigns are important to the success of your marketing efforts, but even the most well-intentioned message can hit a nerve with a recipient. In order to avoid having your subscribers click the “Spam†button, take the following precautions with your campaigns.
1. Manage new subscriber expectations with post-enrollment communications
When a new subscriber consents with permission to market to them, it is best practice to manage their expectations by sending a confirmation email which includes the following:
- Enrolling Site (website name and/or url) they opted in from
- Name of the subscribed communication
- Frequency of communication delivery
- Benefits of communication
- Learn more link (if there is a related communication or information of value to your subscriber)
- Opt-out option (in case the choice was made in error)
- Contact information for reporting a problem
2. Increase relevancy though segmentation
Segment your list to personalize and target offers and specific content to your audience. Create multiple versions of your email or use dynamic content to increase relevancy.
3. Make the unsubscribe option easy to find and keep the opt-out process simple
Always have an unsubscribe link in the footer, and consider adding it to the header or some other more noticeable place. Also make the unsubscribe option simple (at most one click to the unsubscribe page and then a confirmation click). Do not force the recipient to re-enter their email address, send an email with instructions or have to search to find the unsubscribe link on the unsubscribe page.
Remember that you don’t want to keep sending to anyone who doesn’t want your messages. If you do you’re just wasting your money, their time, deflating your metrics and further creating a negative brand experience.
4. Use a familiar “From Nameâ€
It should either come from a familiar corporate name or a peronal name that is associated with the brand (CEO, Mascot, Ad Persona, etc.). If you are in doubt, go with the more well-known of the two.
5. Use a real “From Email†address
Using a donotreply@companyname.com or a blatantly non-personal email (i.e.- sales@companyname.com) just tells the recipient that there’s no personal touch with the email- its a bulk message and you are part of the bulk.
6. Periodically survey your recipients for content and frequency preferences
Not sure what your audience wants to hear or how often they want to hear from you? Ask them. And then work towards honoring their preferences. Or better yet set up a Preferences Center so they can manage everything themselves.
7. Trigger your emails based on the events of your subscribers
Triggered messages based on user action can help increase relevancy. Certain types of automated messages, like a confirmation email or a Welcome message, typically recieve high engagement rates and get the relationship off on the right foot.
8. Be consistent with email frequency and content type
If users become accustomed to hearing from you at the same time of day or day of the week/month, then your messages are less likely to be perceived as spam.
9. Keep email subject and content interesting and engaging
Your subject line may be the single biggest reason why people choose to read your email. Make it interesting and you’ll likely get positive results.
10. Deliver what you promise in your email subject line
Using a misleading subject line can make recipients to “get back at you†by clicking the spam button. Be honest with your subject line and deliver the offer or content that you promote.
While many of these tactics are already being practiced by ethical marketers, remembering not to push the boundaries too far can help keep your message safe from the “Report SPAM†button so many recipients like to click.
Which Email Subject Line Got an 88% Lift?
Anne Holland, Publisher at WhichTestWon developed an informative website that performs A/B and multivariate split testing for e-commerce marketing. http://whichtestwon.com
Featured test: A/B SUBJECT LINE
This specific test was performed on an in-house list but like we’ve said before, the theory here can be applied to prospecting as well. Both of the subject lines in this week’s a/b test are well written: personalized, snappy, benefit-orientated, etc.
Yet, one got 88% more opens than the other. Can you guess which?
See both versions here, take your pick and then see if you
were right:Â http://whichtestwon.com/archives/10411
The emails were sent to a double opt-in, house, list of
business prospects, which means all recipients had asked
to be added to the sender’s list. And still, such a difference
in response rates from a simple wording change!
Get in and vote! Looking forward to your comments on this test.
PS. I consider myself a Subject Line guru and I got it wrong which just proves that you need to TEST!
4 Tips to Supercharge Call-To-Action Buttons
These 4 tips not only apply to web pages and landing pages, BUT to email creative as well. Bigger call-to-action buttons make it easier for users to advance to the next step in the selling process AND they are more user-friendly for mobile users.
Source: Meghan Keaney Anderson, HubSpot.com
On pages where a call-to-action is the focus, one of the most important features is the conversion button itself. We’ve seen single changes in buttons that can improve conversions by well over 30%. A button sounds like a simple decision, but there are a number of variables that quickly make the decision feel complicated. How big should the button be? What color? What should the text of the button say? Here are a few tips to make your buttons more successful.
1. Button size- Make it BIG!
A big button gets noticed. It doesn’t have to be huge, but if your button is too small, it can be ignored. We’ve found that a good button size is around 225px wide and 45px high
2. Button Location — Put it above the fold!
When deciding where to put your button, think about the flow of your page. Does it follow the path of your eye? Does it ï¬t average browser size? Browsersize from Google Labs is a great tool to ï¬nd out what portion of your page most visitors can see without scrolling.
3. Button Color – Make it Contrast
Color matters. Strong, contrasting, colors generally perform better than colors that blend in with the theme of your landing page. Take this example from Carelogger, who increased their conversions by 34% with a red button instead of a green one.
4. Button Text — Include a call-to-action
Your button text should tell people what to expect. Instead, we generally opt for a strong call-to-action. Firefox improved their conversions by 3.6% (over 500 more downloads per test) when they changed their button text from “Try Firefox 3″ to “Download Now – Free.†“Download Now,†“Get Started Today,†and “Free Trial†are all good examples of strong calls-to-action.
A Bonus: Test, Test, Test.
There’s no universal right answer for what webpage works best, but testing can ensure that your webpage is the best that it can be.
Image credit: dan
Tactics for Engaging Email Subscribers: Five Companies Getting It Right
Source: Kara Trivunovic, MarketingProfs.com
In this article, you’ll learn…
- The pros and cons of focusing on engagement as an email metric
- How engagement levels today can affect your email deliverability in the future
- Out-of-the-box ways to drive engagement
“Engagement” is a term that has sprung up in the vocabulary of email marketers worldwide as a metric, a program goal, or even a brand directive. And though we can apply multiple definitions to this important word, in the nearer term we need to be approaching it the same way the Internet service providers (ISPs) are—as a measurement of consistent open and click behavior by your email subscribers.
Though open and click metrics are waning in importance as an overall measurement of program success, those are the metrics available to ISPs, which will therefore use them to determine whether your message makes it to the inbox, bulk folder, or nowhere at all.
The good news is that email marketers recognize the overall importance of email engagement and are focused on it this year. According to a recent survey conducted by StrongMail of nearly 1,000 global business leaders, 52% cited increasing subscriber engagement as one of their top priorities in 2011, making it the No. 1 initiative.
To effect this change, however, you need to do more than recognize the need; you need to understand what is driving it. The short answer is ISPs.
ISPs are inundated with email traffic—so much so that many categorize upwards of 90% of traffic as unsolicited. Depending on the inbox provider, you could be talking about billions of emails each month—and, unfortunately, some of those messages may be yours. Inbox providers trying to make the environment as pleasant as possible for their subscribers are constantly looking for new ways to determine inbox placement, and this year it’s engagement.
The Pros
* More relevant email communications. If you’re focused on driving increased open and click behavior on a consistent basis, content relevant to your subscriber base is going to be crucial to that success.
* Increased focus on life-cycle-based messaging. Communicating with customers at a time that is integral to your relationship (relevant timing) will help drive consistency in engagement.
* Improved program performance. If customers are engaging more consistently and your content and timing is more relevant, you should see spikes in your overall program conversion.
The Cons
* Seasonal business. If you have a seasonal business, getting recipients to engage consistently and frequently during off-peak periods will be difficult.
* Resource strain. Attaining a high level of relevance may strain your already-taxed resources. Achieving relevance to drive engagement may mean more content development, increased production requirements, or even infrastructure strain—all things that need to be considered before diving in headfirst.
The Best in Class
Some marketers are finding inventive and just plain fun ways to drive engagement today. Let’s look at how some organizations are meeting this new challenge head-on, and how you can apply it to your email programs today.
* Crocs drives engagement to other channels via its email communications. You can shop for Crocs footwear online (click), find a brick-and-mortar location (click), or even provide preferences to help mold the long-term communication plan (click). Each email message provides multiple options to drive click behavior regardless of where you prefer to shop.
* Just tell your subscribers what you want them to do—GameStop does. In the fourth quarter of 2010, GameStop sent a message to subscribers, encouraging them to share their opinions in exchange for points in its rewards program. Often, encouraging engagement is as simple as asking.
* Show some gratitude. These two little words can mean a lot: Thank you. Fandango figured that out. As a way to thank recipients for subscribing to its emails, Fandango entered them into a sweepstakes to win movie tickets. But to find out who won, subscribers needed to open the email announcement on a specified date. The message was image heavy, and to render it subscribers needed to enable images—which recorded an open. Engagement, check.
* Bribery can get you everywhere, especially if you are United Airlines and have a subscriber base that loves to collect miles! United Airlines encouraged customers to provide permission to receive terrific email offers—in exchange for bonus miles. Sometimes it takes more than the promise of intriguing content to drive engagement. Don’t sell bribery short!
* Just be creative. Though many say that a mere 20% of the conversion dependency for email is on the creative, sometimes it may just be the creative that is driving engagement… period. Check out this email from UncommonGoods. Thinking outside the 650-pixel box that has become your email creative may just do you some good. Using creative elements that require enabling images, excessive scrolling, or click activity to reveal something fun can drive the behavior you seek. UncommonGoods recognized that through its innovative Knock Knock campaign. Who can resist a good riddle?
Though we as an industry have not yet standardized the definition of engagement, one thing is for sure: Your subscribers’ engagement with your email program will have some effect on your deliverability in the future. You may as well get ahead of the curve and start focusing on it now. Start by doing the following:
- Define what it means to be “engaged” for each of your email programs.
- Determine how you will measure engagement.
- State your goals and objectives surrounding engagement.
- Start!
Don’t let the ISPs relegate you to the bulk folder. Get engaging… today.
Image credit: arztsamui
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posted in: Creative | Deliverability | Metrics & Testing | Resources | Targeting & Planning | What to Expect | Writing Effective Copy Long Copy VS Short…Which One Sells Better?
Another post to support that no matter what the content, relevance is king and that copy length is not a determining factor to success. That said, for prospect email marketing, the image to text ratio is a paramount factor in overcoming spam filters so aim for 60/40 text to image ratio…just to be on the safe side. The Landing Page is a much better place to offer the more hard core sell copy that reinforces your email promotion. Ideally, set up a test matrix to determine what length works best for your product/service and brand.
Source: Susan Greene for Melissa Data
If long copy leads to poor results, it isn’t because of the length. Rather, it has to do with the copy’s content. If the copy is boring or doesn’t contain some kernel that the reader can instantly relate to, then he’ll stop reading. However, if the copy, lengthy though it may be, engages, entices, educates or entertains, then you’ll have no problem keeping the reader’s interest.
They say, “The Internet is a fast medium. People don’t want to read long blocks of text. They’ll click away.â€
The reality is that prospects who are genuinely interested in the product you offer always want more information about it, not less. If they are not interested in the product or not qualified, no matter how long or short the copy is, they will just never buy. They won’t read 15 words, much less 1,500.
If long copy leads to poor results, it isn’t because of the length. Rather, it has to do with the copy’s content. If the copy is boring or doesn’t contain some kernel that the reader can instantly relate to, then he’ll stop reading. However, if the copy, lengthy though it may be, engages, entices, educates or entertains, then you’ll have no problem keeping the reader’s interest.
When it is well written, long copy can significantly outperform short copy and lead to a much greater level of response. Prospects want more product information, particularly when buying on the Internet where they can’t see in person, touch or test-drive the product. Detailed feature and benefit statements are the golden nuggets that tempt prospects and cause conversions.
Shorter copy can lead to several potential outcomes: a lower response rate due to lack of compelling information; a barrage of information requests because the copy didn’t successfully answer the prospect’s questions; or a higher number of cancellations or refund requests because the product or service was not what the customer anticipated based on the limited information he read.
So, if you’re writing for the Web, just how many words should a page contain? The optimum size is 250 words for maximum effectiveness. While it may seem like a lot, a 250-word count for each page balances search engine and reader needs. Search engine spiders crave content, especially keyword-rich content. You may see “a lot of words,†but the search engines see “a document with lots of important data to extract.â€
As long as you follow usability principles, you can write tons of text without overwhelming your reader. Besides if the search engines see a lot of key phrases combined with a low-word count, they may flag your site for spamming. A longer word count makes it easier to include your key phrases without sacrificing your marketing message.
Do you lose customers with scrolling copy? No, according to a study by User Interface Engineering (UEI). “One of the most significant findings of our research on web site usability is that users are perfectly willing to scroll. However, they’ll only do it if the pages gives them strong clues that scrolling will help them find what they’re looking for,†reports the article As the Page Scrolls from UEI. “In the trade-off between hiding content below the fold or spreading it across several pages, readership increases when the content is on a single page.â€
How do you get subscribers to take action on email they receive via mobile device?
While this post was written specifically for mobile email marketing, many of these techniques are great advice for prospect email marketers-some of these tips will help to get you past today’s stringent SPAM filters. I do think that shorter subject line theory needs to be tested to determine what works best for your brand. Lastly, landing pages specific to your email message/offer are ALWAYS a good idea…they reinforce your message and advance the selling process.
Source: Rusty Warner, VP-product marketing, Alter
ian
Even if you’re not leveraging advanced technology to tailor email content to different mobile devices there are still some best practices that help ensure your content is received in the best possible light. Consider the following suggestions if you want subscribers to take action on the emails they open via mobile devices.
- Use a short subject line. Mobile devices display only so many characters in the subject line, so title the email in as few words as possible. Your recipients can’t take action on your emails if they don’t open them first. continue reading »
Email marketing converts recipients
Nothing really new or shocking to report here, but interesting stats for CRM campaigns. You won’t see these numbers for acquisition email, BUT the same principles of relevant content and recipient engagement still apply!!!!!!! Stay thirsty, my friends…
Source: www.brafton.com
Here’s a message for marketers – emails deliver leads and sales, according to a recent report from Epsilon and Buddy Media. Businesses planning their campaigns should consider that fresh content seems to catch the most clicks.
The study of more than 7 billion email messages across industries indicates that email marketing is holding its own in an increasingly social marketing landscape. Epsilon reports that open rates hit 23.3 percent in Q1 2011, demonstrating quarterly and annual gains. More than one-third of the industries represented in the study saw at least 5 percent gains in open rates last quarter.
Email engagement also made gains, which marketers should note is also good for SEO. (As Brafton reported earlier this week, inactive subscribers can hurt Google rankings in the post-Panda search landscape.) Epsilon reports that click-through rates hit 5.9 percent, showing growth over 5.1 percent CTRs in Q4 2010. Plus, click-to-conversion rates increased 26.5 percent year-over-year during Q1 2011.
The study concludes that “relevance is a critical factor†for any successful email marketing campaign, and fresh high-quality content is core to making content valuable to recipients. While just 1.3 percent of marketing emails were primarily editorial in nature, these messages boasted some of the highest open rates (24.26) and click-through rates (7.5 percent) in the study.
With this in mind, marketers will want to plan their content strategies with fresh email newsletters in mind. News content marketing naturally lends itself to email marketing, as the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reports that 12 percent of Americans regularly look for news headlines in their inboxes.
Why There Are So Few Personalized Emails
Email personalization is a popular way to boost response but is quickly being replaced with upping the frequency that companies are sending emails…this transition is costing companies to lose their most valuable customers. This article dives into the complexity of frequency vs personalization and how to measure the risks and rewards of both strategies. One factor mentioned here is the availability of resources…remember that V12 Group offers a full suite of Creative Services to help with personalized segments, emails and recommendations on frequency. Read on…
Source: Arthur Middleton Hughes, Email Insider
A Direct Marketing Association analysis shows that today there are more emails arriving in consumers’ inboxes, but that the percentage of emails with personalized content has dropped from 38% to 22%. They may say, “Welcome Arthur Hughes,” but the rest of the message is not personalized in any way. A million email subscribers get identical content.
This is not happening because email marketers are stupid, or do not know how to write dynamic content. It is happening because of the economics of creating segmented and personalized message. I have been in the direct and database marketing industry for 33 years. Around 1985, when database marketing was invented, we found that dynamic content based on a database was much more likely to generate a response than sending everyone the same thing. Response rates could go from 2% to 3% — a 50% increase. That’s really worth it, and why so many companies began to use database marketing.
When emails came along, most of us thought, “What a wonderful idea. We have been spending $600 per thousand for direct mail pieces. We can send emails for only $6 per thousand. We can use the cost reductions to create even better dynamic content, and to send more often.” We soon found that sending an email once a week instead of once a month increased our revenue. Going from once a week to twice a week made revenue go up still more. Some email retailers send messages once a day. Why? Because it is more profitable than once a week.
Meanwhile, back in the creative department, we found that it was usually impossible to put dynamic personal content into frequent emails. When we were sending direct mail pieces once or twice a month, we had the time to create four or five different segments (Seniors, college students, young families with children, loyal buyers, etc.) and create content based on their segment and their previous purchases or preferences. With emails going out several times a week, we just do not have the creative talent or time to write four or five versions of each email.
The situation today is this: we can increase response either by personalizing, or by increasing frequency. The lift we get from personalization is not as great as the lift we get from frequency. We can’t do both, so we go with the one that is most profitable.
This has some bad results. By sending too many emails, we turn some people off. We analyzed the lifetime value of customers of a large retail chain with more than 400 stores. The company sent frequent emails to all those whom they could get to sign up. At its request, we analyzed customers who left through unsubscribing or delivery problems and compared them with those subscribers who did not leave. We found that those who left were more valuable than those who did not leave. Here is what we found by analyzing the spending habits of those who stayed and those who left. Those who left had average revenue of $220. Those who did not leave had average revenue of $177. The company was losing its best customers because it mailed too often.  No attempt was made to get these departing customers back. Why not? Because we knew that we could not correct the problem that made them leave in the first place: too many emails with batch-and-blast content.
As we look at the future of database and email marketing, we see this problem getting bigger and bigger. Even well-crafted emails with dynamic content are delivered to email inboxes already loaded with hundreds of batch-and-blast emails from other frequent marketers. It is hard for consumers to tell the difference between them by looking at the subject lines alone.
We did an analysis of how that store chain could turn its situation around by creating a marketing database and writing dynamic content for five segments. The analysis showed that the company would have to spend about $1 million more to do this, but would generate profits of far more than that by keeping its best customers from leaving each year.
Companies using database marketing can do the analysis it takes to determine that using database marketing instead of batch and blast will be profitable for them. They will let their customers know that they will not receive more email than they want to receive, and they will personalize that email with content designed for the subscribers. It will cost companies more to do this, but it will pay dividends. They will lose fewer customers, and gain more friends and sales.
Unfortunately, many companies will not do this. The current trend (was it ever different?) is to say that each quarter’s sales have to reach some given number, regardless of how you get there. Worries about losing valuable customers, giving customers what they want, looking at the long run will all take a back seat to next quarter’s numbers. The profits from database marketing will be impossible for these — and all – companies that seek only quarterly email marketing revenue projections and ways to cut costs. Furthermore, the customers that they will lose through unsubscribes will be more valuable than the ones that they keep.
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posted in: Creative | Metrics & Testing | Resources | Stats | Targeting & Planning | Trends