Bridgeline Digital - 3 Phases To Email Marketing

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Author: Erik Gupp
Erik Gupp has spent his professional career gaining experience in elds ranging from product
marketing, public relations, lead development and digital/online marketing. Currently, he
is a Digital Specialist at Bridgeline Digital focused on helping clients improve their email
marketing efforts through strategy recommendations and implementation in order to drive
trafc and conversions. He is also responsible for increasing the SEO growth of client
websites through content strategy and adoption of industry best practices.
Co-Author: Ryan Hadeld
Ryan Hadeld has contributed to TIME, Boston.com (The Boston Globe) and has been
featured on MetaCritic for his work. He is the Editor of Bridgelines Digital Engagement
Blog, where he writes daily about trends in the digital world. Ryan has a Masters degree in
Journalism from Northeastern University.
3
Phases
to Execute a Successful
Email Campaign
Bridgeline Digitals
Playbook for Success
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ Pg. 1
Reports of Email Marketings Demise Are Grossly Exaggerated ............................................................ Pg. 2
Email Survives As The Preferred Channel of Engagement .................................................................... Pg. 3
The Cost/Benet Advantage of Email Marketing ................................................................................... Pg. 4
Cause for Concern: The Email Conundrum ............................................................................................ Pg. 5
PHASE 1, TRAINING DAY ......................................................................................................................... Pg. 6
Communication is only necessary when its necessary ........................................................................ Pg. 7
Answering the WHAT and WHO .............................................................................................................. Pg. 8
Types of Email ........................................................................................................................................ Pg. 9
The Challenge Flag: Losing Timeouts? .................................................................................................. Pg. 10
PHASE 2, GAME DAY................................................................................................................................ Pg. 12
Subject Matter: Writing the Subject Line ............................................................................................... Pg. 13
Whats in the Fold: Making a Strong First Impression ........................................................................... Pg. 16
Mobile Matters ....................................................................................................................................... Pg. 18
PHASE 3, FILM STUDY ............................................................................................................................. Pg. 19
Never Give Up ........................................................................................................................................ Pg. 20
More Post-Execution Tactics ................................................................................................................. Pg. 22
If Youre Not Getting Better, Youre Getting Worse .................................................................................. Pg. 23
To know thyself is divine but make sure you know both your strengths and weaknesses ................ Pg. 24
Winchester Hospital Case Study: Email A/B Test ................................................................................... Pg. 25
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... Pg. 27
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... Pg. 28
ABOUT BRIDGELINE & THE iAPPS PRODUCT PLATFORM ....................................................................... Pg. 29
3 PHASES TO EXECUTE a Successful Email Campaign
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INTRODUCTION: PREGAME
Football and Email Marketing are more alike than youd think.
To be successful, both require precise planning, fawless
execution & a desire to constantly improve.
This eBook is for designers that are tired of creating the same bland emails, for
content marketers who fnd themselves at a loss while coming up with the right
words in their subject line, and, most of all, for frustrated marketing teams that are
sick of wondering why their campaigns fail to produce the desired results.
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INBOUND
LINKS
SOCIAL MEDIA
LOCATION-BASED
SEARCH
MOBILE
ONLINE VIDEO
EMAIL MARKETING
Weve heard that social media is going to kill email. But, you do not need to
panic, because email is not going anywhere. Ever. 58% of adult Americans
check email rst thing in the morning. We vote with our thumbs, and
58% of Americans put email rst.
- Jay Baer, President, Convince & Convert
When you think about the buzz terms surrounding contemporary marketing strategies, what new
trends and channels immediately come to mind?
Just like how sports analysts examine why teams rise and fall in the standings, as each new medium develops, marketers spend meeting after meeting
evaluating the potential return that each novel channel might provide. Without question, emerging marketing trends merit their own importance but even
as these new tactics begin to lead the conversation, one fact remains the same: After all these years, Email Marketing is still the most effective and
efcient marketing method to engage with potential customers.
INTRODUCTION:
Reports of Email Marketings Demise Are Grossly Exaggerated
Source: Wanderful Media Chart
INTRODUCTION:
Email Survives As The Preferred Channel of Engagement:
WANT TO MAXIMIZE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT? USE EMAIL.
WANT TO ACHIEVE OPTIMAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION? USE EMAIL.
WANT CUSTOMERS TO VISIT YOUR STORE? USE EMAIL.
In terms of customer satisfaction, email is like kicking an extra point after a touchdown. Sure, you could mix it
up and attempt a two-point conversion by running a Text Messaging or Social Media campaign, but by using
email, youll always score points by deploying proven best practices .
Heres the bottom line: Customers WANT to interact with your business through email, more so than any
other channel. Nearly 80% of US online consumers say they overwhelmingly prefer email as the channel
businesses use to offer permission-based marketing messages.
1
of US online consumers overwhelmingly
prefer Email as the channel businesses use to
offer permission-based marketing messages
trampling every other source.
2
9% Direct Mail
5% Text Messaging
4% Facebook
2% Telephone
1% Twitter
1% Mobile App
0% Linkedin
77%
60%
OF CUSTOMERS
SAY THEY HAVE
GONE INTO A
STORE AS A
RESULT OF EMAIL
PROMOTION.
Source:ExactTargets 2012
Channel Preference Survey
RANKING CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT CHANNELS
If youre anything like us, youre amazed at how many NFL veterans sign with teams at a discount. Value is value, and across the league team managers
look for proven assets, despite perceived wear-and-tear, because building your team with productive players at a bargain cost is a great way to budget
the salary cap.
While CMOs may not have a salary cap, they certainly understand the constraints of a budget. And due to its relative age compared to other emerging
tactics, Email Marketing doubles as a low-cost veteran free agent. Because of this businesses are choosing to invest in their email programs more than
any other channel.
93% of Marketers say their
Email Marketing budget will increase
or stay the same in 2014.
2

Bargain Buy: Only a mere 2% of marketers rated leads
generated from Email Marketing as high cost,
representing the lowest cost per lead channel.
3
INTRODUCTION:
The Cost/Benet Advantage of Email Marketing:
Despite its potential benets, most companies are failing to properly
develop and execute email campaigns.
INTRODUCTION:
Cause For Concern: The Email Conundrum
Open Rate
(Unique)
Overall
U.S.
EMEA
Canada
20.1%
19.9%
20.9%
20.7%
15.0%
14.7%
15.4%
16.4%
43.7%
44.1%
44.2%
40.5%
8.0%
7.8%
8.3%
8.5%
Mean Median Top Quartile Bottom
Quartile
ONLY 60% OF
MARKETERS SAY THEIR
EMAIL MARKETING
IS PRODUCING A
POSITIVE ROI.
MEASURE YOUR
SUCCESS
Email open rates are slowly oundering. The 2009 version of the study displayed above found
that overall open rates stood at just 22%.
4
Today, open rates oat just above 20%. That is an
alarmingly low percentage. Who is satised with 20% of something? Looking at it from another
perspective, 80% of your entire database doesnt even care to read what you have to say!
Poor results can be attributed to a variety of components, even something as simple as a subject
line lacking proper best practices. Regardless of the reason, there are basic ways to circumvent
these traps, improve click-thru rates, and ultimately, bolster your Email Marketing Strategy.
From developing a Game Plan to Execution to Ongoing Anaylsis, this eBook serves as a playbook
to driving customer engagement through your Email Marketing campaigns.
PHASE 1, TRAINING DAY
While we marvel at incredible plays as they happen in
games, most coaches will attest that the Game Plan
developed the week before is just as important. And just
like football, Email Marketing relies on many of the same
concepts put together in a Game Plan.
In Phase 1, we examine everything that goes into a great campaign Game Plan
from how to target customers to specifc types of emails you should deliver to
meet your goals.
6
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1. What are your goals?
2. Who is your audience?
28%
Relevant email
communications sent on time to a
segmented audience with a clear
conversion goal.
35%
Email campaigns sent close to the launch
date to a partially segmented audience with
a somewhat clear conversion goal.
20%
Email messages sent after the target
date to the entire in-house subscriber list
with unclear conversion goals.
Phase 1, Training Day
Source: Marketing Sherpa
Ask yourself the 2 Ws of Email Marketing:
You wouldnt believe how often marketers fail to ask themselves these questions.
Maybe its lack of time or resources, but studies show that 55% of marketing teams send email blasts that lack proper context,
timeliness, or purpose.
Avoid these common pitfalls before you write a word of copy, create a banner image, or compile your list of recipients by answering the
2 Ws of Email Marketing.
THAN BROADCAST EMAILS.
RELEVANT EMAILS DRIVE
18 times
more
revenue
Two-thirds of marketers are broadcasting untimely emails that lack clear purpose.
Communication is only necessary when its necessary.
This seems like a simple rule to live by, right? Not so fast. More often than not, marketers ignore or
break the Golden Rule of Marketing. Like a quarterback changing a play at the line of scrimmage,
you dont want to send your customers mixed signals.
Source: Jupiter Research
To be relevant to your customers, you need to understand the purpose of your email communication
and ask pertinent pre-requisite questions:
What is the focus of the email? Is the campaign part of a lead
generation program for your sales team? Are you nurturing existing
leads? Is the communication an attempt to raise brand awareness?

These are the same type of high-level questions teams ask themselves while
preparing for the NFL Draft. Are we drafting a player out of desperation or to
backll a roster spot? This exercise may seem silly because the questions are so
basic, but identifying which of these goals youre trying to accomplish is the rst
step towards crafting a clear and, more importantly, effective email campaign.
Who Are You Communicating To?
In football, the NFL Draft is part of a larger process that is vital to ongoing success:
Roster Management. This is not dissimilar to organized Lead Segmentation in Email Marketing. In terms of distribution, the more targeted the email, the
more effective the medium is.
If your database segments contact distribution lists by specic criteria such as customers, prospects, verticals, and sales cycle maturity, you can easily
market the right content to the right audience on a consistent basis. This goes a long way towards reaching your marketing goals. Studies show highly
targeted email campaigns earn a substantially higher return than mass-communicated email blasts.
Answering the WHAT and WHO
Source: Aberdeen Group
Types of email
TYPES OF EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
WHAT IS IT? EXAMPLES
Lead
Generation
Emails that increase
business growth by
attracting prospects
Promotional limited-time offers
Introductory Welcome email
Product demo invitations
Content Marketing Offers
Lead Nurturing
Using email messaging
to develop and
cultivate a relationship
with existing,
marketing-qualied
leads in order help
convert them to sales-
qualied leads
Promotional limited-time offers
Content marketing geared toward
product (eBooks, Whitepapers, etc)
Case Studies
Brand
Awareness
Correspondence that
builds brand equity
through positive
messaging and
company news
Publicize Appearance At Industry Trade
Shows To Attract Customers
Communicate and highlight benefcial
company changes
Acquisition Announcements
Leadership Change
Customer Wins
Product Updates
Other Public Relations News
Thought Leader-
ship
Email that further
establishes credibility,
authority, and promotes
your company as a
Thought Leader in your
industry
Webinar or other event promotions
Whitepaper offer
Blog newsletter
eBook promotion
Conversion-Based
Communication that
completes a contact
transition from
marketing-qualied to a
sales-qualied lead
Personalized offers based on events
(e.g. birthday, holidays, purchasing
behavior you may like)
Thank you receipts
Goals, Not Messaging,
Determine Email Layout
Tone, style, and content are three aspects that go into
putting together an email campaign. But what youre
marketing isnt nearly as important as what youre trying
to accomplish. The following page outlines the types of
email campaigns and their corresponding goals that your
marketing team can choose to develop.
Lead Gen Marketing Statistics:
89% o| .'ee.s sd e' .s 'e. o..,
'..e' |o. 'ed ge.e.o..
5
. ve.ge. 'e.e s 20% increase in sales
opportunities |.o .....ed 'eds ve.s.s .o.
.....ed 'eds.
6
'ed ......g e's ge 4-10 times the
response rate oo.ed o s.d'o.e e'
|'ss.
7
'ed ......g e's ge.e.e . 8% Click-Thru
Rate oo.ed o ge.e.' e' se.ds. .''
ge.e.e ,.s 3% CTR.
8
Inconclusive Evidence: Email Timing.
Weve all been there. The game is hanging in the balance, your team needs
a big rst down, and your receiver appears to come up with a clutch catch
... or did he? The refs rule the pass hit the ground, and your coach deantly
throws a challenge ag. After looking at the play from roughly 19 different
angles, the ofciating crew determines that the ruling on the eld stands
due to inconclusive evidence.
In our research, the timing of your email distribution offers the same return:
INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. On one hand, some case studies show that
emails sent at 6 am receive the best Click-Thru Rate (CTR); however, other
studies show that 1 pm (or any time after the lunch hour) is actually the
optimal time to distribute email campaigns.
However, there is data to support which specic days to run an email
campaign. According to a study from GetResponse, when it comes to the
percentage of email opens, consumers opened 19.9% of the marketing
emails received on Tuesday more than any other day in the ve-day
work week. Strangely enough, while marketers sent the fewest number of
emails on Friday, consumers opened 19.6% of emails sent, giving the
last day of the work week the second highest email open rate of the week.
The best practice here is common sense. Know where your email is going
meaning the time zone and the audience receiving it. Obviously any
time after 4 pm is not ideal for reaching the greatest number of targets in a
typical workday.
The Challenge Flag: Losing Timeouts?
Monday
18.2%
4.2%
Tuesday
19.9%
4.6%
Click Rate Open Rate
Wednesday
4.5%
19.0%
Thursday
4.7%
18.9%
Friday
4.9%
19.6%
Saturday
4.4%
16.9%
Sunday
4.5%
17.1%
Worldwide Marketing Open & Click Rates by Day
Source: GetResponse as cited in Company blog, Oct 7, 2013
Final Prepping:
A Word On ISP Warming
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are businesses, usually telecommunication companies,
that offer back-end networking services. If you have never executed an email marketing
strategy, it is necessary to establish a reputation as a legitimate email sender in the eyes of
ISPs. If you are operating under a new or unused IP address and are suddenly sending a
massive volume of emails, your communication could easily be agged as spam.
The process to remedy the ISP speed bump involves slowly sending out small batches of
emails to raise your reputation and ensure that future email campaigns will be delivered.
A conservative approach to ISP Warming is dividing your estimated total monthly email
volume by 30, and then spreading out your distribution evenly over the rst 30 days, based
on that calculation.
The Challenge Flag: Losing Timeouts? (continued)
6am
& 1pm
ARE OPTIMAL TIMES TO RECIEVE
THE BEST CLICK-THRU RATES (CTR)
ISP WARMING RAISES
YOUR REPUTATION AND
ENSURES THAT FUTURE
EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
WILL BE DELIVERED.
PHASE 2, GAME DAY
You put the time into the prerequisite planning and have a
strategy and set goals in place now its time to execute.
But one fumble or misplaced word can mean the difference
between winning and converting or losing the game.
In Phase 2, we discuss everything that makes an email great from design to
content, all the way to delivery.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
Benjamin Franklin
Open Rates were
12.5% higher
WHEN SUBJECT LINES CONTAINED
LESS THAN 49 CHARACTERS
A subject line is like the quarterback position: 's 'e os oo.. o. o| . e'
og.. |. s 'so 'e os d||.' soe o deve'oo. '.' o| 's .,. ,o. . 've g.e
C'' o /o. ,de|e.se, .d |.s o.e. ,soe' es,. |. s.|,e '.e ,..e.|', s
.'e', .' .'' e'e. 'ed ,o. o 'e o.osed '.d o. 'eve ,o. ..o,ed .d s.'.g ,o..
'ed . ds|e'e|.
Down & Distance: Subject Line Length
Open Rates are 12.5% higher when subject lines contain less than 49 characters com-
pared to subject lines with 50 characters or more.
9

Click-Thru Rates are 75% higher for shorter subject lines.
9
Source: Adestra
Subject Matter: Writing the Subject Line (continued)
Phase 2, Game Day
Word Choice Is Your Most Important Decision
vo.d C'oe .'' 'e ,o. |.e', 'e s.ess o| ,o.. e' og..
/des. .',ed .e.', one billion emails |.o o.e '. 40,000
campaigns .oss six different sectors. o. ''.s.o. o..ooses.
'es .',e 'e. |.d.gs |.o 'e eCoe.e seo.. 'e s.d, o.s
'ese .o.ds .d o'.ses g.s 'e ve.ge .e o| 'e, e' e.s.
Phase 2, Game Day
The Ecommerce Sector
Overall Free
Sale
Save
Half price
61.7%
62.7%
41.5%
44.2%
53.8%
101.7%
-18.0%
44.7%
-4.9%
23.9%
-42.1%
0.3%
% off
voucher
coupon
only
61.5%
27.5%
-55.6%
24.9%
99.1%
-24.7%
-85.8%
-8.2%
23.3%
-41.0%
-68.1%
-26.5%
Events Birthday
Christmas
Summer
Party
36.7%
37.4%
51.7%
-1.6%
-12.3%
6.5%
75.5%
-19.1%
-35.9%
-22.4%
15.7%
-17.8%
Benets Essential
Available
Advance
Next day delivery
41.5%
-58.4%
-70.7%
51.3%
52.7%
-47.1%
-51.6%
-46.2%
7.9%
27.2%
65.0%
-64.5%
Money
New
Everything
$
85.9%
90.9%
34.5%
33.9%
88.9%
104.1%
5.0%
23.1%
1.6%
6.9%
-22.0%
-8.1%
Personalisation
Other
First Name
Application
Enclosed
43.1%
45.5%
-70.4%
-68.9%
11.2%
31.6%
-49.5%
-46.4%
-22.3%
-9.6%
70.6%
72.6%
Open % vs.
Avg.
Click % vs.
Avg.
Open to open
% vs. Avg.
Play Calling: Key Takeaways from Word Choice Anaylsis:
'e s'g'es sseo . ,o.. vo.d C'oe o.'d soe'' dsse.
ve. s,.o.,s .e vo''e . e||eve.ess
o. .s.e. Co.oo. .d \o.'e. '' o. |.
''e .d / || s'o. |ee. .es.
.ee oe.so.'o.. ''e |.'d, o||e.s. , s'' |e
.o.'.''e 'o.eve.. seso.' e's ,e.g. '.e. ''e,
dd d||e.e.o. .d .ee |ee. e.ve.ess |.o ,o..
.de.e.
C.soe.s v'.e 'e de o| `.ove',.` 'e o.ose o| `.'s
.e` s '.,s |ee. '. .' s 'e.e. Cse . oo..
'e.e s .o o'e. |e..e o. .o.d o . . .de.e
''e 'e. (88.9% better than average Click-Thru Rate!)
.d ve.,'.g (104.1% better than average Click-Thru Rate).
Phase 2, Game Day
Lets briey discuss the name that goes next to your subject line. '.|o...e',. 'e.e s .o
se.e s.e o dee..e .'o ,o.. e' s'o.'d oe |.o. 'es o.es .e deoe.de. o.
v.e, o| |o.s. o. eo'e. .e'' '.o.. |..d. ''e /oo'e. .'' e..', eoe.e.e d||e.e. .es.'s
'. s..o .o.'d .'e. se.d.g . e' |.o 'e oo., .e.
.e .',s o see | 'e .e o| 'g' o.o|'e .dvd.'. oo., .e o. |..d. o. e'
dd.ess .o.'s |es |o. ,o.. .de.e 's s .'e.e //' es.g . |e e.ee', .se|.'. ve''
ds.ss //' es.g . de' 'e.. 'o.eve.. s'o.'d s'ed 'g' . e.s o| |.o .'o ,o.. d|se
o.e|e.s o .eeve ,o.. e's.
3 & OUT FINAL ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT LINE WRITING
1. Wise Word Choice is pivotal and sensitive to reaching your audience.
2. Concision is your best friend. Write a subject line that is compelling, clear, short and to the point.
3. Offering limited-time sales either by season, event, or personalized dates is a proven engagement technique.
Whats in the Fold: Making a Strong First Impression
Phase 2, Game Day
\os e' o.og.s gve 'e. .se.s 'e ooo. o| .s.g '.eve. '.e. 's |..o.',
o||e.s g'ose o| 'e o.e. o.g |.o . e' so .se.s do. 've o .ed e'
e'. o.e |, o.e. |e|o.e de'e.g. 'e ve. o| '.eve. '.e ,o'', o.ovdes .se.s s
o| e' o.e. ' |s |ove 'e |o'd e..g .se.s .'' .o see o.e. ' .e..es
'e o s.o'' do...
Co.se.e.',. ''e 'e s.|,e '.e. .' o.e. s see. |ove 'e |o'd s .' o
s.ess|.' e' og.s. '. |. ,o.. ve.e.s , .eve. see |e,o.d 'e o.eve. o.e.
/'so ''e ,o.. s.|,e '.e. 'e ge., .d o.e. |ove 'e |o'd s'o.'d |e e.gg.g.
|.e|. .d |e..e g.oo.g C'' o /o. ,C/, ' d..s .soe.s o .'eve. ,o. .e
o.oo.g . 'e e' ,e.g. ve|... ''e. e.,.
'. |e|o.e oo.g .o ,o.. desg. .eso..es. ,o. s'o.'d |.s s' ,o..se'| | . ge s
.eess., o .'.de . ,o.. o..o.. 'o '' e' ,oes .eed vs.' s.'.s. '|
.'.ded. 'e s..e .o o se ,o.. |..e. ge oo '.ge 'e o.e soe 'e ge
'es .o. 'e o.e o.e. .e' ese s s.|ed.
.d.g 'e .g' |'.e s '''e.g.g. 'e. '.|'oo s.d,. 65% of consumers prefer
emails that contain mostly images versus 35% who prefer mostly text.
84%
OF 18-34 YEAR-OLDS USE AN EMAIL
PREVIEW PANE
Source: MarketingProfs
HTML vs Plain Text:
/ `s|e,` s .'e. ..e.|' s ''ed . 's o.. e.d o.e. 'e
o', .es.'s . 'e de|e.sve e so..g .o oo.s .d e...g
s.|se.e. oossesso.. 's ..e o...e.e. 'e.e .e ,o'', 'ess
'. ! s|e,s '.o.g'o. 'e o..se o| . e..e '' seso..
'e se . |e sd |o. ''. e e's. v''e o.', !2% of readers
prefer to receive them. s oo.. o |e '/ ,see .' ' dd
'e.e, .d se.d |o' e .d '\' ve.so. o| ,o.. e' ,'s s .
o. o| 'e |o |e..e . ,.s |o. eve., e' .oo. o'|o.,.
!
's e.s..es ' 'e .eoe. o|.s 'e .g' essg.g. .eg.d'ess o|
.'e'e. 'e. deve . ve. '\' o. .o.
Whats in the Fold: Making a Strong First Impression (continued)
Phase 2, Game Day
Social Buttons:
'e oo..e o| 'o' \ed ..o |e ove.sed. 's '.g.g 'e
., |.s.esses ooe.e. 'e.e s o.ve.so. go.g o. o. 'e.e .d.
'e ve., 'es. ,o.. e' 'ede. s'o.'d .'.de '.'s o ,o.. 'o'
\ed o..s.
46%
OF ONLINE USERS COUNT ON SOCIAL
MEDIA WHEN MAKING A PURCHASE
DECISION.
HTML Email
Plain Text Eemail
Source: Nielsen
Dont Get Caught Scrambling:
o. .eso.s ' .e. ..'e.. dg' .'ee.s 've .o d,.sed .' 'e. .de.e.
\.'e.g ''e.os .! ' \.'e.g 'e.'.' eoo.o.'.ded ' more than half of all email marketers arent designing their emails
with mobile devices in mind. 'v.g o|'e|.e.d', e' s .'. 's s .o .e.d. '. deve dooo. .es .e so..g. o.g ,o.. .e|
sses o e. o 'e \o|'e 'se. oe.e.e s .o 'o.ge. . ooo.. s eoeed.
/ so'.o. o d,.s.g o 'e \o|'e evo'.o. s .e.g esoo.sve', esg.ed e's. esoo.sve esg. s od.g e'.o'og, ' dees 'e s.ee.
se o| 'e deve ess.g ,o.. e' .d .o'', .gge.s o.e. o d,.s o.d.g',. 's .,. | o.osoeve .soe. s .ed.g ,o.. e' .'
. 'd. /.d.od. o. .do.' des'oo. ,o.. essge .'' o..e', ooe.. de've..g 'e .g' eoe.e.e o 'e .g' deve.
'. .ee. ,e.s. o.e eo'ss 's |ee. o'ed o. 'e oo..e o|
deve'oo.g o|'e ..e.|' o.e .'o . s.|'e o ..|..e o',s
.' 's 'egs s .e'' s 's ..
' \.'e.g oo 's see. .se . o|'e .se. In the second half of 2012,
41% of commercial emails were opened on mobile devices up from
27% a year earlier.
!!

Mobile Matters
Phase 2, Game Day
50%
OF COMMERCIAL EMAILS WILL BE
OPENED ON MOBILE DEVICES BY THE
END OF 2013.
Super Bowl XLV Champion Aaron Rodgers is known for his mobility
Source: Knotice
MORE THAN HALF OF ALL EMAIL
MARKETERS ARENT DESIGNING
THEIR EMAILS WITH MOBILE
DEVICES IN MIND
PHASE 3, FILM STUDY
Win or lose, there is always room for improvement. Just
because the email is in your outbox doesnt mean our work
is done here.
In Phase 3, we review the tape to fgure out what went right, what went wrong
and how we can nurture and retain our loyal fan base.
19
www.bridgelinedigital.com
Follow us on:
o.ge |oo|'' |o. seo.d. '. ., soo. g,.ss.
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oo.es deo'o, o o.ove .soe. e.ggee. .d o.ve.so.
.es.
Re-engage with Auto-responders:
eo'o,.g .oed e's |sed o. .soe. o.s e'e. . .
e' og. o. '.o.g' ,o.. .e|se s v' o 'ev.g
oo' '.
\os o| 'ese /.o.esoo.de.s ,ve'oes. '.' o.s. .d
eeos, .e s.d.d .,s o '..e 'e o.'.e o.s.e.
eoe.e.e.
v' .e.e .e.esed . 'e.e .e C.soe. e.ggee.
essg.g e'..es Upsells (26%), Re-Engagements (17%),
and most importantly Shopping Cart Abandonments (11%).
Never Give Up
Phase 3, Film Study
Chart: Most popular automated email messages
Welcome
Thank you
Transactional (e.g. bills, reciepts)
Post purchase (e.g. product reviews)
Upsell (e.g. product recommendations)
Activation (e.g. how to)
Date triggered
Win back / Reengagement
Event Countdown
Triggered based on website behavior
Shopping cart abandonment
63%
54%
48%
32%
26%
24%
22%
17%
16%
13%
11%
Never Give Up (continued)
Phase 3, Film Study
esoe es', |e.g |'e o do so. s ,s|,.g ' only 11% of companies se.d
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'e|o.e |..s'.g o|| 'e . o.sde. 'e |o''o..g.
21% of Shopping Cart Abandoners that receive the auto-responder. .ee.gge .d
|.,. 's '.ge.
!.

/.d eve. |ee. .e.s. 'oees. good '.gs do oe o 'ose .'o .. Converted
abandoners spend 55% more on purchases than non-abandoners.
!.
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s s'o'.g. 'e .soe. s 'e.', .e.esed 'e, oo' 'e e o o' o. o.od.
.d |o.ed o. .g' |e|o.e o..'se .', .o ., o .ee.gge e. '' o'd. eve. .'
ove..'e'.g o.oo| o| |ee. '. o.d.g o eCo.s.'.,. the usage of automated
emails related to customer events still stands relatively low at 30%.
55%
MORE ON
PURCHASES
THAN NON-ABANDONERS.
Abandoners spend
21% OF SHOPPING CART
ABANDONERS THAT RECEIVE
THE AUTO-RESPONDER,
RE-ENGAGE AND BUY.
Time-Based Follow Ups:
'eo.d., e's . |e se. o. d||e.e. e s'ed.'e |sed o. 'o. .eoe. .e.ed
.' ,o.. .' e' og..

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o.. 'e. ,o. . se.d 'e .e e' |se. '. .se. .'o ,.s ooe.ed 'e e' o. dd.
ooe. ''.
Content-Based Follow Ups:

'e,o.d 'e /.o.esoo.de.s .e '.ed, 'g''g'ed. ,o. . se .o v.e, o| d||e.e. |o''o..o
e's |sed o. .' 'e .se. .e.s .' . . .' e'.
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.e|.. oos.

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.'e', g. o.e e.ggee. . |...e og.s .'' g' 'ed o o.e o.ve.so.s.
More Post-Execution Tactics
Phase 3, Film Study
THE USAGE OF
AUTOMATED EMAILS
RELATED TO CUSTOMER
EVENTS STILL STANDS
RELATIVELY LOW AT 30%
X & Os: Its as easy as A/B Testing
Every email is an opportunity to improve on the previous effort. A/B Testing es..es
'e o o| v.|'e '.ge .' .eg.d o go' 'evee. ,''. v'do.. .e| |o. o
o'eo.. e.,.
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|eve',.
If Youre Not Getting Better, Youre Getting Worse
Phase 3, Film Study
74%
OF COMPANIES WHO A/B TEST THEIR
EMAIL REPORT EXCELLENT OR
GOOD ROI FROM EMAIL MARKETING
Source: eConsultancy
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o.e. |. .se d||e.e. s.|,e '.es o g. .sg' .o ,o.. d|se. v' s .eso..g v' s.
To know thyself is divine but make sure you know both your strengths
and weaknesses
Phase 3, Film Study
EXPLAINING THE BIG THREE EMAIL MARKETING STATISTICS
WHAT IS IT? WHAT IT MEANS?
Bouncebacks
Email that is returned to the sender because it
cannot be delivered due to an invalid address.
Hmm. Does your database or CRM need to be cleaned
up? High bounce volume could mean email accounts in
your database are no longer active.
Open Rate
Simple, the percentage of recipients who
opened your email.
On the peripheral, a bad open rate immediately sug-
gests either the subject line lacked impact, or that the
email sender (e.g. a salesperson or company) could be
an issue.
A bad open rate may also indicate poor lead segment-
ing and distribution list management.
Click-Thru Rate (CTR)
The metric that analyzes the effectiveness of
an email campaign based on the number of
users that clicked on a specic link.
Unlike the Open Rate, the CTR gives validation of the mil-
lion dollar question(s): Were recipients engaged with your
email? Did the CTA gain trafc? Was the copy compelling?
In short, DID THE CAMPAIGN SUCCEED?
Purpose
Winchester Hospital ..ed o ..ese e.d.e 'e. Finding Dr. Right eve.. '. 's //' es. 'e, ..ed o see .' ,oe o| oo, .o.'d |ee.
o.e .ede. .e.es .d ge.e.e 'g'e. .egs.o.. 'e oo, . Email (A) .s s.g'|o...d .d d.e', ses 'e o..oose o| 'e eve.. \e..''e. 'e
oo, . Email (B) .s |. o.e o.ovove. es.g 'e eve. s .eed, ,o.. .e.ded, |o. oo. oe. ss.es.
Winchester Hospital Case Study: Email A/B Test
Phase 3, Film Study
Email (A) - Formal Tone Email (B) - Informal Tone
Results- Email (B) Wins!!
Winchester Hospital Case Study:
Email A/B Test (continued)
Phase 3, Film Study
Takeaways
//' es.g s'o.ed ' 'e .|o.' o.e .sed . Email (B) .es.'ed . o.e e.ggee. .' 'e C/.
/d,.sed C'' '.o.g' e ,C''s o '..e oe.s, .s 4% higher .' Email (B)
'oe. 'e oe. e .s s'. (18-19%) s e' ds.|.o. 's .s ..doed .''e .o/'.|,e '.e .e .s 'eo 'e se
Take Your Email Marketing the Distance
An Email Service Provider is software that includes the functionality discussed in this playbook
for success. In short, you cannot execute a successful email campaign without a top-tier Email
Service Provider that integrates with other critical Digital Marketing and CRM solutions.
At Bridgeline Digital, the award-winning, end-to-end digital marketing platform, iAPPS, features
iAPPS Marketier -- our Email Marketing software that allows marketers to easily execute highly
targeted email campaigns and optimize ROI. Best of all, iAPPS Marketier shares the same data
points as our Analytics, Commerce, Social Media and Content Management solutions and
integrates with other CRM programs (like Salesforce.com).
If your company is looking for a new ESP or your software is lacking much of the functionality
discussed in our eBook, please visit BridgelineDigital.com or contact a Business Development
Executive to request a demo of the iAPPS platform, including iAPPS Marketier.
Email Marketing is not an exact science. Like anything else, the goal is to
improve upon each subsequent campaign. But it starts with using the right
tools, metrics, and methodology.
Final Thoughts
According to eConsultancys
Email Marketing
Industry 2013 Census:
Only a fth (20%) of company
respondents report their ESP
as being well integrated with
their Customer Relationship
Management solution (like
Salesforce.com) or customer
databases.
Meanwhile, 28% said there was
no integration whatsoever.
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1. .ges .!. C'..e' '.e|e.e.e '..ve,
2. .! \.'e.g''e.o ' \.'e.g 'e.'.' '..ve,
3. 'o|..e /dve '..ve,
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References
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Learn more about Bridgeline Digitals integrated iAPPS Platform:
Bridgelines iAPPS platform deeply integrates Web Content Management, eCommerce, eMarketing, Social Media Management
and Web Analytics to help marketers deliver online experiences that attract, engage and convert their customers across all digital
channels. Bridgeline provides end-to-end Digital Engagement solutions and boasts an award-winning team of interactive services
professionals across our 11 ofces worldwide.
ABOUT BRIDGELINE DIGITAL
THE DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT COMPANY
the digital engagement company
Stay up-to-date with trends and new
blog.bridgelinedigital.com
bridgelinedigital.com
Contact Bridgeline Digital
info@blinedigital.com
1-800-603-9936
Award Winning iAPPS Product Platform

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