E-mail Marketing
Best Practices
Office Xpats
Tuesdays@Noon
September 30, 2014
Presented by Marietta Szubski
Key Criteria: Audience POV
Relevance
“Why should I care?”
Content
“Is it engaging?”
Copy
“Get to the point, and make it quick.”
Design
“Looks great, even on my phone.”
CTA
“What do you want me to do next?”
Destination
“What’s the connection to the message?”
Key Criteria: Business POV
Relevance
“Does this topic relate to our biz goals?”
Content
“Will the story resonate with our audience?”
Copy
“Did we make the message memorable?”
Design
“Is it on-brand and professionally polished?”
CTA
“What do you want your audience to do next… and why?”
Destination
“Does it pay off the message and keep them in our domain?”
Resources: Good Stuff to Know
IMAGES
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You can have only one link/destination url per image.
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You can have up to 3 images, with 3 separate links in a single band, but they all need to
be the same height and their total width needs to add up to the width for your template.
COPY
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You can use a combination of text that you enter or text that is part of the image.
Text that is part of the image looks best if it is on a relatively solid, contrasting background.
Sans Serif fonts (i.e. Verdana, Arial) are easier to read, especially on the small screen of a mobile device.
Keep text short - headlines of 1-3 words and body copy of less than 25 words - think of it as teaser copy.
CTAS
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Use short, active CTAs to point visitors to the deeper story or pay off on your site or blog. Examples:
Watch now >
Read more >
Learn more >
Register today >
Shop now >
Sign up here >
Start shopping >
Explore more >
Event details >
BITS & PIECES TO REMEMBER
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Enter a pre-header at the top of the HTML version that adds more context to your subject line.
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Create a text version of the email. The best way to do this is to enter the text manually in the text version of the email.
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Add image descriptions and alt tags to the images you place in the HTML version.
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Apply the brand link style to any text links you type into the HTML version.
Resources: Pre-Send Checklist
CONTENT & COPY
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Topic is relevant and timely
Featured products are in stock
Subject line - will not trigger spam filters
Pre-header - plays off the subject line
Headline concisely conveys main idea
Body copy is about a single topic
CTA uses action words
Spelling and grammar have been checked
by more than one person
Text version created manually
Contest rules have been cleared with legal
Link to contest rules is included on the page
Content is geographically relevant (i.e. don’t
send emails about contests and shopping
deals to regions/countries where they are
not allowed)
DESIGN, IMAGES & TYPOGRAPHY
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Hero image is clean and large enough to
display well on a small mobile screen
There is high contrast between the image
and any text placed over it
The image quickly conveys the main idea of
the email
Typography is on-brand and easily viewed
on a mobile device
Image titles and descriptions (or Alt Text)
have been added along with the destination
URL associated with the image in Bronto.
Partner logos are included as mandated in
your sponsorship agreements
Permission has been granted and photo
credits are included if you use an image that
is copyright-protected.
TECHNO-BITS
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Destination URL(s) are within your brand
domain
Content at destination is live and current
Let users know where they are going if it is
not a page on your site i.e. your FB page,
partner contest page or your brand
Instagram page
All links work (image, CTA button and in-line
text links) from both desktop and mobile
views
Email has been tested in both desktop and
mobile environments and displays well in all
key browsers and apps
Send time has been scheduled and
optimized (if applicable)
Check message stats after sending
Resources: External Reference Links
EMAIL MARKETING BEST PRACTICES - 2014
http://www.v12groupinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Best-Practices-Email-Marketing-2014.pdf
SPAM TRIGGER LIST - 2014
http://www.v12groupinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Email-Marketing-Spam-Trigger-List-2014.pdf
EMAIL DELIVERABILITY BEST PRACTICES & GLOBAL LEGAL GUIDELINES
http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/Email-Deliverability.pdf?20130916164232
DESIGN TIPS: MOBILE + EMAIL
http://image.exct.net/lib/fe641570776d02757515/m/2/EN-MobileInboxDesignTips.pdf
MOBILE IDEA FILE
http://www.exacttarget.com/sites/exacttarget/files/deliverables/en-mobileideafile.pdf
Office Xpats Members Special Offer
$50 for a 1.5 hour, in-person site review
with Marietta Szubski.
We will review:
– Navigation
– Quality & relevance of content
– Quality & relevance of visual elements
– Visitor entry points and paths
– Calls-to-Action
– Discuss/prioritize site improvements
Contact Marietta Szubski at marietta.szubski@gmail.com to schedule a review session. Offer good through October 15, 2014.