To accompany the launch of the new IDM Award in Email Marketing (www.theidm.com/award), the IDM has produced an all-new Guide to Email Marketing in association with the Email Academy. Here, we've distilled some of the Guide's key elements into six quick fixes, but Digital Bytes readers can download the complete document free of charge (right).
While email marketing has only been around for a few years it’s a direct marketing channel, which means that most of the rules for all other direct response media hold true. Focus your attention on the campaign elements that will deliver the greatest return for your efforts - with the hierarchy as follows: List, Offer, Creative, Format, Timing.
6 Quick Fixes
1. Start with your data
Work hard to get addresses from every customer touch-point, both on and offline, from your web site to call centres, retail outlets and trade shows. Use validation software and train call centre staff to minimise the amount of invalid addresses that get onto your file. Build your privacy policy to cover the minimum legal requirements and then a little more to re-assure prospects. And don't forget a simple un-subscribe process – let people go with grace and dignity, and it will provide re-assurance to waverers.
2. Optimise deliverability
Create a policy to manage deliverability into your top 20 ISPs. Be aware of both hard and soft bounces and work with your email service provider to manage your online reputation in order to avoid blacklisting
3. Improve open rates
Have consistent "from" fields to define the relationship with the recipient, but be prepared to test different fields if people consistently do not seem to be opening or clicking. Test subject lines to find the ones that generate the highest open and click rates - and be engaging to develop a “brand personality”. Recognise how the “Preview Pane”” can help open and click-through rates by designing your message to render efficiently, especially with images disabled
4. Get better click-through rates
Use personalised content to make your campaigns more relevant. Based on what you know about them, use anything you can to make each recipient’s message more pertinent to them,. Then use click-through activity to segment and target for follow-up campaigns.
5. Monitor activity beyond the email
How many people do what you want them to do? Nice though a 40% open rate may be, conversion rates from your web site is the metric that really counts. Test your landing page; It may be the best thing you can do to improve campaign conversion rates
6. Test, test, test
Test something on every email and test everything on some emails – it’s the only way to improve... and remember the hierarchy of leverage points – work on segmentation and targeting offers before worrying about time of day.
Want recognition for your email marketing expertise?
The IDM has just launched a brand new qualification that will help you stand out as one of the UK’s first professionally qualified email marketing practitioners.
The IDM Award in Email Marketing will give you due recognition for your email marketing expertise and will distinguish you as a skilled practitioner, and a trusted professional, committed to the highest levels of best practice and equipped with the most up-to-the-minute knowledge in email technology and techniques.
To find out more about the syllabus and how to enrol, visit www.theidm.com/award.
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