Download - One to one email seminar
www.otoinc.com 1
Best Practices for E-mail NewslettersReportEmail Workshop: Best Practices from
Sign-Up to Delivery
Follow OTOinsights on Twitter:http://twitter.com/OTOinsights
www.otoinc.com 2
Established in 1997, One to One is the first global enterprise to assemble a complete solution for brands, agencies, and publishers executing one-to-one marketing strategies. The company employs over 150 professionals in 7 offices located in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
One of the 20 “Hottest Independent Digital Firms” GloballyAdAge, 2007
One of the Fastest Growing Private CompaniesInc Magazine, 2008
www.otoinc.com 3
LocationsGlobal Coverage in Americas, Europe, Asia
Boston
Baltimore
London
Singapore
Reno-Tahoe
Salt Lake City
São Paulo
www.otoinc.com 4
Clients
5www.otoinc.com
Agenda
Part 1: Review of sites/e-newsletters
Part 2: Insights & Conclusions
Part 3: Delivery: Live Demo
Q&A
6www.otoinc.com
Dr. Philip Rhodes, Ph.D.
Philip holds a Ph.D. in Information Design from the University of Portsmouth. He has extensive research and teaching experience in hypermedia design and information architecture. He speaks fluent Portuguese, having lived and worked in Brazil. Before joining One to One Insight, he worked with US solution providers Rare Medium and Sapient, as Director of Information Architecture. Specializing in offering user-centric online solutions within the banking, education, and telecommunications sectors. He also taught at several universities in Brazil and the UK, and has been widely published. Philip is both the Managing Director and the Director of Customer Experience Research & Design at One to One Insight, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Managing Director & Director of Research
Dr. Philip Rhodes: [email protected]
7www.otoinc.com
PART 1: Review of sites/ e-newsletters
8www.otoinc.com
Methodology
Expert Approach/Customer Interviews
o 2 experienced customer experienced consultants
o Independently reviewed top 20 UK retail sites
and e-newsletters
o Interviews with 20 consumers (in October 2010)
Focus
o Ease of finding link to sign-up
o Information required to sign-up
o Timeliness of email response
o Quality of e-newsletter
9www.otoinc.com
10www.otoinc.com
Results | Summary
The numbers
o 18/20 sites had a link to sign-up on the homepage
o 2/20 had links on deeper pages
o 12 sites sent immediate email confirmation
o No newsletters received within 24 hours
o 8/20 newsletters received (within 3 weeks of sign-up)
11www.otoinc.com
Sign-Up Process
12www.otoinc.com
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Criteria for analysis
Sign-up| Score
13www.otoinc.com
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3Number of sign-up issues
Sign-up| Score
Criteria for analysis
14www.otoinc.com
o Meets 6/7 key criteria – had 1 sign-up issueo Issues with unsubscribe: Users are informed that they can unsubscribe
from a link in the confirmation email, but there is no unsubscribe link in the email.
o Play.com gives users the worst sign-up experienceo Only meets 1 key criteria – and included 3 sign-up issues.
o Forces users to create an account before they can sign-up for newsletter.
o Many retailers provide a good sign-up experience, but not excellent due to some minor sign-up issues. Typical issues found:
o Unnecessary information required e.g. address and postcode o Asked to confirm their details via emailo No confirmation email receivedo Confirmation message not clearly presented e.g. below the fold of the
pageo Link in the confirmation email not clickable
Sign-up| Score
1st
20th
15www.otoinc.com
Below the fold on 1024 x 1060 screen resolution
Location of the sign-up link
Not on homepage
16www.otoinc.com
Engagement in sign-up link
With content,Not personalised
Simple With content,Personalised
Image and with content
With content, image and
personalised
17www.otoinc.com
Sign-up | The Best
18www.otoinc.com
o Step 2, a confirmation message is returned
and it also tells the user that they will
receive an email soon.
o Step 2b, user is informed that they can
unsubscribe from a link in the email,
however, no unsubscribe link is included in
the email.
o Step 1: Newsletter sign up link
can be easily found on the
homepage, includes catchy title
‘Get your fashion fix online’.
o Combines newsletter
preferences and email entry
field in one step.
1 2 2b
Sign-up | The Best
19www.otoinc.com
o User needs to give their newsletter preferences on Step 2.
o Step 3, clear ‘thank you’ page informing users they have signed up successfully.
o Step 3b, confirmation email is received immediately (lack of branding).
o Step 1, Newsletter sign up link is at foot of the page.
o Text field does not indicate an email address should be entered into the field.
1 2 3 3b
Sign-up | The Best
20www.otoinc.com
Sign-up | The Worst
21www.otoinc.com
o Step 3, Confirmation page has a clear indication that their subscription was successful.
o Step 3b, Confirmation email received immediately.
o Step 1, Sign-up is shown on the side of the homepage. However, not possible to enter ‘sign-up’ details on the homepage
o Step 2, Unnecessary information (town/city/postcode) are mandatory fields. Captcha verification can potentially annoy users
o Users are not able to select their interests in order to customise the email newsletter.
1 2 3 3b
Sign-up | The Worst
22www.otoinc.com
o Step 3, ‘sign-up’ newsletter section is hidden, users have to look for it under ‘my account’
o Users are not able to personalise newsletter by choosing area of interest.
o Step 4, Clear confirmation screen.
o There is no confirmation email received after signing up.
o Step 1, No sign-up shown on homepage.
o Users are not informed of the benefits of subscribing.
o Step 2, Users have to open an account in order to subscribe newsletter. This mean going through a long process.
1 2 3 4
Sign-up | The Worst
23www.otoinc.com
Email Newsletter
24www.otoinc.com
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3
TotalScore
Number of negative issues
E-mail newsletter | Score
4
25www.otoinc.com
Link to the website
Link to social
media sitesPersonalised
emailCatchy
subject lineUnsubscrib
e linkContact details
Consistent with
websiteTailored
newsletterGood mix of
text and images
Guidance on what to
do nextNumber of
issues Score
Topshop2 6
Debenhams1 5
River Island2 5
Tesco2 5
LoveFilm2 5
Thomson 3 5
Your M&S3 3
John Lewis 4 3
Only 8/20 newsletters received (27th September – 15th October)
E-mail newsletter | Score
26www.otoinc.com
Topshop meets 8/10 key criteria and only has 2 newsletter issueso No social network logos, the links could be overlooked. No newsletter received
within 24 hours.
M&S and John Lewis give users the worst newsletter experience. They have 3 and 4 newsletter issues respectively. o Unsubscribe page is not straightforward as there are 3 options: Continue
receiving newsletter, receive newsletter less frequent and do not want to receive newsletter.
Many retailers provide quality newsletters, but some small issues were identified. Typical issues:
1. No contact information is provided2. The newsletter is inconsistent with site e.g. Christmas on site not in newsletter
(John Lewis)3. Newsletter does not allow user to customise to their preferences4. Large section of text covering term and conditions5. There are no links to social media channels.6. Lengthy newsletter e.g. LoveFilms
E-mail newsletter | Score
1st
8th
27www.otoinc.com
E-mail newsletter | Content and Length
Average Length
Above the fold(1024 x 1060)
28www.otoinc.com
E-mail newsletter | Visibility of Social media links
29www.otoinc.com
E-mail newsletter | Ability to unsubscribe
30www.otoinc.com
E-mail newsletter | Consistency and provision of primary menu
31www.otoinc.com
Newsletter | The Best
32www.otoinc.com
o Logo is clear and obvious, and it takes users back to the main site.
o Look and feel of the newsletter is consistent with the main website.
o Social media links are displayed at the bottom of the page.
o No logos are included, so the links could be easily overlooked by users
o Contact information is clearly provided.
o However, no customer service telephone number provided.
Email Newsletter
33www.otoinc.com
Email Newsletter
o There is a unsubscribe link
in red clearly visible.
o The newsletter is not
personalised or customised
to users’ tastes.
o The newsletter has a good
balance of text and images.
34www.otoinc.com
Newsletter | The Worst
35www.otoinc.com
o Although newsletter and navigation are
consistent with the site
o Newsletter appears outdated, as the
website has another tab in main
navigation: Christmas
o Users can not personalise the newsletter,
therefore may be too many types of products.
o There are no social media links.
o The unsubscribe link takes users to email, but there is no 'what to do next' guidance
o Newsletter is not personalised.
Email Newsletter
36www.otoinc.com
PART 2: Insights & Conclusions
37www.otoinc.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
o Include Sign-up on the homepage
o Sign up should be located towards the top of the page (at least
above the fold)
o Should be accompanied by an image or icon e.g. an envelope to
draw attention
o Ensure sign-up requires minimal data entry e.g. name and email
address
o Include a short sentence stating the benefits of signing up e.g.
promotions, stay up to date with news and events etc
Conclusions
38www.otoinc.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
o Do not require any unnecessary information to be
entered (such as postal address, income, etc.)
o Do not require users to ‘create an account’ or ‘become
a member’ of the site
Conclusions
39www.otoinc.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
o Consider including a short second step/page allowing users
to customise the newsletter by selecting specific areas of
interest
o Provide a ‘select all’ tick box or ‘general newsletter’
opt in
o Provide a link to the latest newsletter so that users
know what to expect before subscribing
o Do not require users to re-enter information e.g. do
not request name / email address a second time
Conclusions
40www.otoinc.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
o Include a clear indication on the website that the
subscription process is complete and has been
successful
o Ideally include a clear, separate confirmation
page with different content
o Include a clear thank you message on this page
o Provide an indication of what the user can expect
next i.e. email confirmation
Conclusions
41www.otoinc.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
o Send email confirmation immediately
o User should not need to ‘reconfirm’ the subscription
o Ensure consistency with site i.e. branding and logo, etc.
o Include information about newsletters e.g. frequency and type of content
o Include a link back to the website
o Include a link to unsubscribe
o Include contact details
Conclusions
42www.otoinc.com
Best Practice E-Newsletter:
o Include a clear and catchy subject line so that the user
immediately recognises the email
o Ensure consistency with the site in terms of branding
e.g. logo, layout, etc.
o Include links to the site and ensure that they are clear
e.g. logo and url address
o Do not include hidden links e.g. decorative images or
plain text
Conclusions
43www.otoinc.com
Best Practice E-Newsletter:
o Include links to social networking sites
o To share the e-newsletter
o Links to the social network site e.g. Facebook page
o Ensure that the e-mail is personalised – use of first name, etc.
o There must be a clear option to ‘unsubscribe’
o This must not be hidden within text
o Do not use terms such as ‘remove’ or ‘opt out’
Conclusions
44www.otoinc.com
Best Practice E-Newsletter:
o Provide a real address, phone number or other similar
contact details about the sender
o Do not include excessive amount of text
o Limit the length of the e-newsletter, do not cause the
user to vertically scroll excessively
Conclusions
45www.otoinc.com
PART 3 | Delivery: Live Demo
46www.otoinc.com
Paul Hedgeland
Paul Hedgeland has over 15 years experience in sales, marketing and development of IT solutions.
In the last 9 years Paul’s career has been focused on internet based marketing, advertising and email communication. Paul now runs the UK office for One to One Connect as part of the One to One group of companies specialising in targeted permission based one-to-one brand dialogues.
Director, European OperationsOne to One Connect
Paul [email protected]
47www.otoinc.com
Introduction
• MessageMaker is an enterprise messaging and content delivery tool that provides deployment, management and measurement in a single SaaS platform
• Drives deeper engagement by delivering measurable content and messages across a broad spectrum of permission marketing channels including email, social and branded apps (desktop, mobile and web)
• Can integrate with existing CRM, content management, data mining and other proprietary systems empowering marketers to quickly and easily build sophisticated retention/acquisition campaigns
• MessageMaker maximises lifetime customer value by cultivating meaningful brand relationships
48www.otoinc.com
MessageMaker
• Strategy: Crafting a smart approach to relationship marketing• E-Mail Program Management: Managing e-mail programs since 1998• Apps Development: Building branded applications since 1998• Creative Services: For e-mail, social, and branded applications• Data Integration: For e-mail, social, and branded applications
• Fully-hosted enterprise email marketing solution available either as full-service or self-service modes
• Engages users across a diverse network of social media sites
Supporting Services
• Enables marketers to easily manage multiple content channels across a network of branded apps (Desktop, Mobile, “TV”)
• SaaS Management platform enables optimised multi-channel messaging
• Universal contact management• Multi-channel metrics• Preference centers and subscription management
• Delivers branded content directly to a users mobile device
49www.otoinc.com
Ease of use
• Three initial steps of email marketing– Get your data set [Groups and Lists, import data]– Edit/Create email– Report on success
• Demo 1
50www.otoinc.com
Some Advanced Features…
• Sharing is the new viral/refer a friend– Twitter– Facebook
• Feeds– RSS
• Split testing– Body content and subject line– Segmentation– Wizard makes it easy to set up and run
51www.otoinc.com
Socialise your emails
• Facebook share url – http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.otoi
nc.com%2Finteractive%2F&t=title– Google “One to One Interactive”– HTML page Title– HTML meta tag description
• Demo 2
52www.otoinc.com
Feeds
• Using the BCC’s excellent RSS feed resource– http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/uk/rss.xml
• Demo 3
53www.otoinc.com
Split Testing
• Demo 4
54www.otoinc.com
Conclusion
• Use share to have a conversation with your subscribers friends (3rd party engagement) and boost sales through viral content
• Use feeds to keep the information in your emails up to date – sales, offers, vouchers
• Use Split testing to verify you are sending your very best email
55www.otoinc.com
Questions?For copies of the presentation or further info on One to One services please email: [email protected]