Aloha: Welcome Email and Unsubscribe Best Practices
Twitter Hashtag #SPOPAloha
Speaker and Agenda
• Loren McDonald
– VP, Industry Relations
– Silverpop
– Kumu (“teacher)
• Welcome Emails
• Unsubscribe Process
• Q & A
Why Aloha?
1. aloha (ah-low-ha): A greeting, hello or goodbye
2. The “hello” (welcome process) is an important driver of early engagement and minimizing the “goodbye (opt-out)
Aloha (Hello): Welcome Emails
When Harry Met Sally…
“We're talking dream date compared to my horror.
It started out fine, she's a very nice person, and
we're sitting and we're talking at this Ethiopian
restaurant that she wanted to go to. And I was
making jokes, you know like, "Hey I didn't know that
they had food in Ethiopia? This will be a quick meal.
I'll order two empty plates and we can leave." Yeah,
nothing from her not even a smile.”
Harry
Welcome emails may be the most
important email your company
sends.
Conversion Impact from Welcome Emails
• Text• Single email• IT Generated• No marketing messaging
• HTML• 2-part email series• Marketing generated• Promotions, education
75% increase in conversions
The Email Relationship Phases
Opt-in/ Welcome
• “First Date”
Core Program
• Dating• Engagemen
t• Marriage• Honeymoon
is Over
Opt-out
• Divorce
Within two months of opt-in, the open rate typically falls 20% to 25%.
Source: MarketingSherpaa
Bring the Flowers
'a 'ole (ah-oh-lay) - no, not, never
Not Much Better
Still, Not Much Better
Welcome Emails: Goals and Purpose
Goals• Speed up conversion • Minimize list churn• Strengthen brand
perception• Reduce inactivity
Purpose• Educate subscriber• Reward/Incent• Instill/reinforce trust• Enable immediate
“email experience”• Provide administrative
information/tools• Set expectations
ElementsOf Welcome
Emails
Timing / Cadence
From / Subject
Design / Format
Content /Purpose
Series
Internet Retailer 500
22% send NOemails
Silverpop Study - 2009
Timing
The Good News
61% of retailers deliver their welcome emails within 10 minutes of sign up, with most of
those delivering within 3 minutes.*
The Bad News
19% take more than 24 hours to deliver their welcome emails, with nearly a third of those
taking more than a week to deliver.*
*Email Experience Council’s second annual Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study (2007)
Timing / Cadence• Immediate• Suppress regular emails• Transactional OK• Move to a series
Immediate
3-7 days
7-14 days
Immediate
Stand alone
Email # 1
Email # 2
Email # 3
3-part series
Sample From Names
• From Names:– Use the same from name as regular emails– Simple, logical and trusted brand
• From Name/Address– Again, use same as regular emails– Avoid ugly, number-oriented if possible
• Good Examples:– Olive Garden
[[email protected]]– MBNA America
[[email protected]]– Magazines.com [[email protected]]
• Questionable Example:– Penny at MarketingProfs
Subject Lines
Good/OK• Welcome to Fetchdog! Take
10% Off Your Next Order– Branded– Immediate value proposition
• Welcome to Art.com - Take 20% Off Today
– Branded– Immediate value proposition
• Welcome to Sears.com Email Savings!
– Email program is branded– Implied value proposition
Not So Good• Welcome
– No branding– No mention of email program– No value proposition
• Thank you for signing up!– Signing up for what?– No branding
Design/Format
Image Blocking
Pre-header & Navigation
Social Sharing/Following
Simple Text
Big & Small
Content Blocks
Bullets / Buttons
Welcome Email – Betty Crocker
• Cross promotes their newsletters in case you didn’t sign up when you registered for the website
• Great use of imagery• Coupons• Star Ratings• Recipe Box
• Best Practices Followed:• Primary message is view-able in an
images off environment• Email comes from Betty Crocker (From
Address).• Includes personalization (first name)
Content/Purpose
Email address addedAdd to address bookPrivacy assurance and linkLink/instructions on how to change preferencesHow to get startedWhen the first email will arrive
Resources, key links“Your gift” incentiveUnsubscribe linkReinforce value propositionUpsellCall to action/”offer”Etc….
Sample Welcome Content Checklist
Incentive
Get Started
FAQ
Benefits
Payment Options
Personality
Covering the bases
Offline Purchase
Cross Sell
Things You Can Do
Welcome Series
Fossil #1- immediately after opt-in- product info- sales- special offers
Fossil #2- 5 days after opt-in- apparel categories- store locations- request catalog- create account
Fossil #3- 10 days after opt-in- 24/7 shopping- Gift cards- Feedback
Welcome to the Tafford Community
Tafford #1
Three Reasons You Will Love Tafford + A Special Offer
Tafford #2
Personalize Your Tafford Experience
Tafford #3
2009 Welcome Series Indexed Results…
Welcome #1 Performs 6X Better!
Aloha (Goodbye): Unsubscribe Process
Why Recipients Unsubscribe
• Too Frequent
• Irrelevant Content/Offers
• Also, lack of email address change functionality
Jupiter Research (now Forrester)
Aloha (unsubscribes) are a good thing
Increased spam complaints
Annoyed customers / prospects
Weakened brand reputation
If unsubscribing is not easy, you risk:
Keys to Unsubscribe Process?
Unsubscribe Process
Good Welcome Process
Increase EmailRelevance
Monitor Engagement
Re-engagement Programs
Make it Easy to Unsubscribe
Offer Alternatives
Ask for Feedback
Administrative Footer - Obvious
Make sure links are not just
images
Euphemisms – lolo (crazy, stupid)
Where’s the unsubscribe link?
Don’t Require Magnifying Glasses
- Appropriate font size- Easy to read font color
- Tiny, tiny and buried
Link at Top of Email - Depends
- Use if high complaint rate
- Potentially only with specific ISPs
Pupuka (Ugly) Opt-out Page
Kraft Preference/Unsubscribe Center
Note Timing to Minimize Complaints
“You’ll still receive transactional emails”
What You’ll Miss…
Goodbye doesn’t have to be pupuka
Golfsmith – Branded and Helpful
- Names specific list- Link to preferences
Web site
wrapper
So What are the Alternatives?
Alternatives
Frequency
Format
ChangeEmail
Profile/Preferences
Channel
OtherEmails
Typical retention is 20-30%
Alternatives at Opt-out?
Silverpop Study of Internet Retailer 500 - 2009
Channel/Communication Preferences
Email Frequency
Change Email Address
Multiple Lists
Interest Preferences
Why Are You Unsubscribing?
Kraft
Office Depot
Staples
Missing:- Frequency Option
- RSS or catalog option- Contact info.
Parting Thoughts• Create a world-class welcome program
– Test elements– Move to a series– Monitor impact
• Make it easy to unsubscribe, but easier to stay– Understand why subscribers are leaving– Improve core email program– Focus alternative options on key reasons they are
leaving
pau (pow)
Finished, all done.
Resources
• Resource Center– White papers– Webinars– Blogs– Case studies– Newsletters– http://www.silverpop.com/marketing-resources/index.ht
ml
• Many presentations on SlideShare– www.slideshare.net/Silverpop
Q & A / Reminders & Contacts
• Loren McDonald– [email protected]– Twitter: @LorenMcDonald
www.silverpop.comTwitter: @Silverpop
Webinar Hashtag: #SPOPAloha
Mahaho!
On Twitter: @Silverpopwww.slideshare.net/silverpop
www.silverpop.comToday’s Webinar Hashtag: #SPOPAloha
