2008 E-Mail Resolutions

Credit Union Magazine
March 26, 2008 | COMMENTS

As we consider what 2008 will bring in terms of e-mail marketing, we pulled together four things marketers can do to improve their campaigns and drive better results and higher returns.

1. Focus on the first few inches.

Think long and hard about the preview pane and what you're offering to entice recipients to look at your entire message. Since recipients don't need to (and probably won't) open the message to see what it contains unless enticed to do so, focusing the power of your brand and call-to-action at the top of the message is critically important.

Messages must fit in the two- to four-inch box that most preview panes present. Make sure your most important messages are right at the top.

2. Let customer actions guide your campaigns.

Incorporating web analytics into your e-mail marketing efforts quickly will take your campaigns to the proverbial next level. Doing so brings together a rich mix of customer preferences, enabling marketers to craft more meaningful messaging.

In a crowded marketplace increasingly demanding relevance, such integration is vital to improving customer loyalty, accelerating the conversion process, and driving measurable increases in marketing return on investment.

For example, by creating a new field in your e-mail database such as "page most often visited" and populating it with the data that flow from your web analytics application, you can better send relevant messages at a time when your customers are seeking information from you.

3. Take a new approach to list growth: Ask!

There are a surprising number of companies that, for whatever reason, fail to prominently position opt-in requests on their website. Silverpop's "List Growth Survey" found only 37% of companies position opt-in requests on the home page, and only 20% of companies place opt-in links on every page of the website.

With the prominence of search driving customers deeper into websites and bypassing the home page, companies need to request e-mail addresses more often and in more locations.

4. Grab 'em in 60 seconds.

E-mail recipients typically give your message a quick minute. Grab them in that amount of time or wave farewell.

Take the time to develop e-mail creative that grabs attention and stops customers in their tracks.

Parting Thoughts

Silverpop's "E-Mail Creative that Works" study found:

• Messages that included the company name or brand in the subject line had significantly higher open rates—as much as a 15% increase.

• When navigation bars were included in e-mail messages, those positioned on the left side of business-to-consumer (B to C) creative formats showed much higher click rates than when the bar was located elsewhere. For business-to-business (B to B) marketers, the best location for the navigation bar was at the top.

• Placing the call to action above the fold lifts average click rates by 3.5% with B to B marketing. Surprisingly, it didn't make a significant difference in the click rate for B to C messages.

• B to B e-mails in a postcard format generated high average click rates, while B to C messages in newsletter formats generated high click rates.

2008 promises to be an interesting year for marketers. New technologies enable companies to reach out and engage with customers in unique and personal ways. If you take the time to apply a few of these recommendations to your marketing program, 2008 could be a banner year.

Reprinted with permission from Silverpop Systems Inc., Atlanta. This story first appeared at www.creditunionmagazine.com and is also reprinted with permission.