CONTENT + CONTEXT =
INBOUND EMAIL
MARKETING
We will be starting at 2:00 pm ET.
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WEBINAR SCHEDULE
8/5 - Designing an inbound email experience
8/12 - How to build inbound emails
8/19 - Review of customer emails
Mark Kilens
@MarkKilens
Niti Shah
@NitiFromBoston
AGENDA
1
Why you should use email marketing
2 How to do email the inbound way
3 What makes emails effective
1
WHY YOU SHOULD USE
EMAIL MARKETING.
“Email marketing is…”
“Email marketing is…”
SPAMMY
“Email marketing is…”
SPAMMY
OUTBOUND
“Email marketing is…”
SPAMMY
OUTBOUND
OLD SCHOOL
Email can be one of your
most effective channels when you
use inbound best practices.
6 REASONS EMAIL IS AWESOME.
1
There are more than 3.2 billion email accounts today.
2
95% of online consumers use email; 91% check email at least once a day.
3
Email has longer lifespan than social media.
4
77% of consumers prefer email for marketing communications.
5
Email lets you be highly personal.
6
Email marketing has an ROI of 4300%.
SOURCE: EXACTTARGET (1,2), DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION (4, 6)
2
HOW TO DO EMAIL
THE INBOUND WAY.
You can use it for every part of the
Inbound Methodology:
1
Convert new leads
2
Close leads into customers
3
Delight customers
1
CONVERT NEW LEADS.
People like to share
content they like.
FLICKR USER BEN GREY
That includes email.
Send relevant
content to the right
segments to increase
engagement.
OPTIMIZE YOUR EMAIL FOR SHARING
Examples
MAILTO LINKS
SOCIAL SHARING BUTTONS
When a lead forwards your email to
someone, you gain the power of social proof.
Encouraging referrals from existing leads
helps you generate new ones.
FLICKR RICHARD.ASIA
2
CLOSE LEADS
INTO CUSTOMERS.
When you segment lists and tailor emails to
each lead, they’ll be more engaged.
FLICKR KY_OLSEN
Build a relationship with your
new leads by being helpful.
FLICKR KY_OLSEN
Listen to your existing leads
to trigger email nurturing based
on their behavior.
Example: Say someone views your pricing page…
Create a segmented list…
…that triggers a workflow.
…that triggers a workflow.
Lead receives an email
from you asking if they
have any questions
about pricing.
…that triggers a workflow.
Their sales rep
receives a notification
that they’ve viewed
the pricing page.
3
DELIGHT CUSTOMERS
INTO PROMOTERS.
Continue to engage customers
by sending helpful resources
and customer-only extras –
Communication & education
is key to delight.
FLICKR USER JD HANCOCK
Email is a cost-effective way to strengthen
relationships with customers, upsell products,
and help with customer retention.
+
Right Content
Right Audience
Right Timing
SUCCESS
INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGY
INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGY
This is where
segmentation
comes in.
HOW TO SEGMENT YOUR DATABSE.
1
Determine who your audience is
2
Determine your audience’s lifecycle stage
3
Choose your segmentation criteria
4
Add list suppressions to improve list quality
1
DETERMINE WHO
YOUR AUDIENCE IS.
BUYER PERSONAS
• Who are your ideal customers?
• What are their interests?
• What are their pain-points
• What are their behavior patterns?
• What are their motivations?
• What are their goals?
Example: Marketing Mary
• 25-40 years old
• Marketing manager or director
• Doesn’t have time
• Struggles to align marketing channels
• Interested in improving ROI
2
DETERMINE YOUR
AUDIENCE’S
LIFECYCLE STAGE.
The content you send is
dependent on where your
audience is in the
buyer’s journey.
The content you send is
dependent on where your
audience is in the
buyer’s journey.
Awareness
The content you send is
dependent on where your
audience is in the
buyer’s journey.
Consideration
Awareness
The content you send is
dependent on where your
audience is in the
buyer’s journey.
Decision
Consideration
Awareness
3
CHOOSE YOUR
SEGMENTATION CRITERIA.
More criteria = more targeted lists.
More criteria = smaller list sizes.
It’s vital to find a sweet spot between
targeting the right audience and
having a proper list size.
So how do I choose criteria?
ROLE
Department
Seniority
Experience
FLICKR _HADOCK_
LIFECYCLE STAGE
Subscriber
Lead
Opportunity
Customer
Promoter / Evangelist
FLICKR _HADOCK_
FLICKR USER _HADOCK_
FIRMOGRAPHIC
Company size
Company type
Industry
Department size
BEHAVIORAL
Conversion events
Email opens
Page views
FLICKR _HADOCK_
FLICKR USER IRON RODAR
GEOGRAPHIC
SEGMENTATION
IP Area
Time Zone
Area Code
Address
R ROBERT S. DONOVAN
MARKETING
INTELLIGENCE
# of Twitter followers
# of Facebook fans
SEO search terms
Website Pages
Technology
Some leads are never going to close.
But they still love you!
FLIICKR USER MOHAMMED ALNASER
LET THEM SPREAD
THE LOVE.
Evangelists
Influencers
Students
FLICKR IRON RODART – ROYCE VAIR (“STAR SHOOTER”)
4
ADD LIST SUPPRESSIONS
TO IMPROVE LIST QUALITY.
Your list decays at 25% a year.
A list with 10,000 contacts will only have
5,625 viable contacts in 3 years.
Emailing purchased lists
increases your chances
of being marked as
SPAM & decreases
deliverability rates.
FLIICKR USER HEGARTY_DAVID
Say goodbye to
unengaged leads.
Suppress them
from your
segmented lists.
FLICKR USER REMON RIJPER
Example: leads
who haven’t
opened an email in
more than 1 year.
FLICKR USER REMON RIJPER
Suppress other lists that
receive emails in the
same timeframe.
You don’t want to send
them double emails.
FLICKR USER @NOTNIXON
EMAIL LIST SEGMENTATION RESULTS
Greater Customer Retention
% of
respondents
21%
Greater Revenue
24%
Increased Sales Leads
24%
Better Deliverability
24%
Lower Opt-Out/Unsubscribe Rates
Greater Email Relevance
Increased Open Rates
28%
34%
39%
SOURCE: LYRIS, INC.
3
WHAT MAKES
EMAILS EFFECTIVE.
What makes an email perform well?
1
The right content + context
2
Aligning the email content / structure with
the email's goal
1
THE RIGHT
CONTENT + CONTEXT
Emails should
add value,
not ask for it.
Send persona-aligned content based
on The Buyer’s Journey.
•
Videos
•
Blog posts
•
Slideshares
•
Free Tools
•
Ebooks/Guides
Send persona-aligned content based
on The Buyer’s Journey.
•
Webinars
•
Case Studies
•
FAQ Sheets
•
Product Whitepapers
•
Third-Party Reviews
Send persona-aligned content based
on The Buyer’s Journey.
•
Free Trials
•
ROI Reports
•
Product Demos
•
Consultations
•
Estimates/Quotes
2
ALIGN EMAIL WITH
SPECIFIC GOAL
IDENTIFY A SPECIFIC GOAL:
•
Generate new leads: enable sharing
•
Follow up on offer download: kickback email
•
Collect audience feedback: surveys
•
Increase program awareness: informative copy
•
Nurture leads further down The Buyer’s Journey: resources
•
Facilitate sales process: CTA such as “call us”
•
Educate customers about new features: overview
Cool. Do you have examples?
Come back next week!
Same time, same place.
NEXT STEPS
1. To be successful at email marketing you need to send the
right content to the right person at the right time.
2. Segment your contacts database to increase engagement
and deliverability.
3. Balance segmentation with feasible list size.
4. Optimize emails based on the goal of your email.
RESOURCES
•
Anatomy of a Five Star Email
•
Science of Email Marketing 2014
•
8 Little Tricks to Make Your Emails More Clickable
QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU.