Targeted CTAs Drive Arts Marketers' Digital Wins

While direct mail continues to be a sturdy workhorse for performing arts marketing, digital campaigns--via online display ads, e-mail and social media--are required in a multi-channel world. Digital subscription drives offer cost-effectiveness, off-season branding, audience segment targeting, and synergy with direct mail. But with more competition for attention in the crowded digital space and with less room for persuasion than "snail mail," digital promotion success is especially dependent on a well-designed and targeted call-to-action (CTA), as pointed out in a recent blog post by strategists at MogoARTS, a digital marketing agency for arts and cultural organizations. An effective call-to-action will differ by targeting, the post points out. With renewals, the targets are lists of current season subscribers, so the CTA messaging can be direct and should highlight an incentive like a discount or savings for renewing early or by a deadline. For acquiring new members or reactivating lapsed subscribers, targeting includes lists of previous season ticket buyers and e-mail opt-in prospects, who need to be shown the benefits of subscription (or reminded). The CTA messaging for lapsed subscribers and multi-ticket buyers should give a reason to come back or upgrade to a subscription by promoting package savings or special benefits, such as free parking or early access to add-ons. CTAs to entice new members will need to spell out subscriber benefits, either across ad units or on a landing page. The blog post makes CTA creative suggestions and cites three best practices for any CTA: 1) customization for the different audience types, meaning renewing, lapsed or new members; 2) emphasis on the benefits of a subscription package over a single ticket purchase; and 3) highlighting of the savings/special rewards available for subscribing now. For more and CTA examples, see our complete blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/arts-marketers-need-digital-ctas-that-drive-subscriptions/

Why Direct Mail Retains a Key Marketing Role

Direct mail, perhaps because of its proven workhorse status, keeps a low profile in marketing trend articles, except for the periodic "direct mail isn't dead" reminder. Yet, despite growing use of digital channels--web, e-mail, social, mobile--the majority of marketers continue to rely on direct mail. Why? Marketing data backs up direct mail's proven response power and ROI. Target Marketing magazine’s latest study “Marketing Mix Trends 2010-2016” shows that 69% of marketers surveyed either increased or held steady on direct mail spending in 2016. The 6% of marketers decreasing their mail budgets were the smallest group since 2010. A reason for direct mail's survival as a go-to marketing channel can be seen in the the Data & Marketing Association's 2016 "Response Rate Report." The report showed 2016 direct mail response rates leaping to 5.3% for house lists and 2.9% for prospect lists, the highest DMA-tracked response rates since 2003. By comparison, 2015's reported rates were 3.7% and 1.0%, respectively. More significantly, no other channel in 2016 had response rates over 1%! Direct mail response allows it to compete in ROI despite higher costs, coming in third at 27%, close to social media's 28% (e-mail leads ROI). Bottom line, direct mail's evergreen power lies in delivering on direct marketing basics. Rather than exploring the diverse creative and tech-savvy ways to meet direct mail goals, it is easier to focus on a few big mail "don'ts," and that's the tack recently taken by Summer Gould of Target Marketing magazine in "5 Things Not to Do in Direct Mail." Gould chooses key, highly avoidable pitfalls: a hard-to-read font; dishonesty; old, bad data in mailing lists (one of our bugaboos); a missing or unclear call-to-action; and a promotional focus on features over benefits. Direct mail--no matter how loaded with interactive QR codes, variable data printing personalization and multi-channel customer analytics--will miss the mark if it misses on these basics! For more, go to http://www.acculistusa.com/how-direct-mail-retains-its-place-in-marketing-tool-chests/

Basic Tips Aid Even Small Firms in E-mail Success

E-mail marketing success doesn't have to be limited to big firms with big-data technology. A recent CIO.com article combined suggestions from e-mail experts to create 15 basic tips that put an effective e-mail campaign within reach of even small- to mid-sized businesses. Here are just the top seven as an example. Start out by segmenting e-mail lists to select the relevant content and offer by customer or subscriber group. If discounts are available for students or retirees, then segment by age as an example. Next, make sure the e-mail creative uses responsive design and is mobile-friendly. Research shows 68% of recipients open e-mail on a mobile device, and 71% of those will delete an e-mail immediately if it doesn't display properly. Consider testing text-only e-mails versus image-based e-mails to take into account the e-mail clients, such as Outlook, which automatically block images. Try to have a promotional e-mail come from a real person (not just noreply), realizing that 64% of subscribers open an e-mail based on who it is from. Then craft a subject line to maximize opens by keeping it short (lines with fewer than 50 characters have higher open rates) but at the same time compelling and urgent/time-sensitive. Avoid a mass-marketing approach and personalize the subject line and content to the target segment--going beyond first name to use other data, such as past purchase behavior, for the relevance that drives response. Finally, add a clear, visible call-to-action. Research shows that if the recipient can't understand what they're expected to do within just 5 seconds, the e-mail risks deletion! For eight more tips and resource suggestions from the experts, read http://www.cio.com/article/3057992/email/15-ways-to-improve-your-email-marketing-campaigns.html

Where to Focus for Optimized E-mail Click-Through

Boosting e-mail click-through rate is a constant struggle, so we recommend to frustrated e-mail marketers a recent MarketingProfs article by Stephen Hovnanian--offering four basic areas to optimize for more quality clicks. His initial tip is to focus on optimizing user experience first--via seamless mobile and desktop designs and experiences that flow from e-mail open to final action. If your e-mail is mobile-optimized but your landing page or registration form is not mobile-friendly, you're wasting clicks, for example. Also target the audience by device usage and timing to optimize experience, and use "friction-mitigating" copy or visuals to guide recipients, advises Hovnanian. The second area of focus is varying call to action (CTA) by audience segment. For example, the CTA for the segment of top engagers (or brand champions) can go beyond clicks to urge valuable social sharing and brand advocacy. Segmenting for participation by type of content also delivers better CTA response, such as a webinar invite to past webinar attendees but a webinar recap to site visitors with interest in similar content. Third, leverage your online community and customer base for user-generated content (such as testimonials). It delivers social proof and brand advocacy building and can be paired with a strong, related CTA to boost click-through. Fourth, simply write better call-to-action copy! How? Hovnanian suggests completing the sentence "I want you to..." for active verbs and specific direction. For example, I want you to "Register for the Webinar." Of course, also test CTA design placement as well as buttons versus clickable text. For the full article, read http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2016/29194/four-email-optimizations-that-will-increase-your-click-through-rates

2015 E-Mail Stats Provide Benchmarks for 2016

E-mail marketers are already launching their 2016 campaigns, but a quick look back at 2015's e-mail triumphs and troubles per marketing research can offer helpful benchmarks for this year. Direct Marketing News magazine recently summarized a slew of 2015 e-mail research data, starting with the tactics most likely to boost click rate response per marketers: Respondents in Ascend2's “Email Marketing Trends” report rated a meaningful call-to-action offer as the most effective tactic for boosting click-throughs (65%), followed by list segmentation for targeting (47%), message personalization (42%), and testing and optimization (35%). The bad news is that the same respondents also rated some of the more effective methods as the most difficult, with 41% citing list segmentation as the most difficult to implement, for example. Another survey found similar agreement on strategies for success: In a 2015 survey by Econsultancy and Adestra, most marketers rely on basic segmentation (76%), optimizing for mobile devices (61%), prompting content sharing on social media (56%), and routine list data cleansing (50%). But they also agreed that their efforts weren't outstandingly successful, with 44% rating e-mail campaign performance as average compared with 41% who saw performance as good to excellent. Nevertheless, e-mail remains a favored marketing channel because of its relatively higher ROI: The Relevancy Group surveyed 300 e-mail marketing executives and 91% rated e-mail somewhat or highly effective in terms of delivering revenue. And the Direct Marketing Association's 2015 "Response Rate Report" found e-mail campaigns provide the highest median ROI of 21%-23%, followed by telephone campaigns (19-20%), social media ads (15%-17%), and direct mail (15%-17%). For more e-mail stats, go to http://www.dmnews.com/email-marketing/email-by-the-numbers/article/462945/

Mobile's Often Untapped Power: Call Generation

As mobile users soar to 73% of the world population, almost double Internet users, marketers are busy creating mobile-responsive websites and landing pages, mobile-friendly e-mail, mobile-optimized online ads and direct mail with mobile interaction, but their focus can miss mobile's real power. Remember that a mobile device is a phone, and it can generate valuable inbound phone calls, urges a recent MarketingProfs article by Eric Holmen. A 2014 Invoca analysis found that mobile marketing drives about 54% of calls to business, for example. So Holmen advises harnessing inbound call power with the following six steps: 1) Put phone numbers and "call us" CTA on websites and landing pages; 2) optimize your search ads with phone numbers; 3) make dialing easy with click-to-call and dynamic with individually assigned numbers; 4) track and analyze inbound calls by keywords, ad groups, campaigns, landing pages, regions and demographics; 5) track call outcomes, such as lead qualification, quote, sale, or lifetime value, to assess true ROI; 6) and, of course, test, adjust, repeat and optimize. See http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2015/29012/marketers-youre-doing-mobile-wrong-six-steps-for-doing-it-right

Getting the Most Out of E-mail Fundraising

The season of intense fundraising activity is beginning, and we assume most nonprofits will be investing in e-mail. After all, e-mail has the highest ROI (21%-23%) of direct marketing media in the latest Direct Marketing Association stats. Plus, e-mail delivers a third of online fundraising revenue at a time when online giving is outpacing overall fundraising growth. For nonprofits who want to get the most from their investment in e-mail, we're passing along some handy guidelines to success, with examples, from a recent business2community article share of a Constant Contact blog post. "The Anatomy of a Successful Fundraising E-mail" highlights must-haves: First comes a subject line that entices opens by using both accuracy about the nature of the appeal and enough intrigue to make the recipient want to read more. Once the e-mail is opened, fundraisers must offer content that earns action/clicks by concisely and clearly explaining the program promoted, the impact of giving, and how to help, including a clear and visible call-to-action, such as a brightly colored button. We would add personalization to that content list, too. And last is an appealing design that brands professionally, uses easy-to-read text, and includes a powerful image to inspire action. For examples that illustrate each of these points, see the article at http://www.business2community.com/non-profit-marketing/the-anatomy-of-a-successful-fundraising-email-01318519#lEkbmm705yql01gl.97

E-mail CTA: Best, and Hardest, Way to Up CTR

The best way to boost your e-mail click-through rate (CTR) is a meaningful call to action (CTA). That's the verdict of 65% of the marketing, sales and business professionals surveyed worldwide by Ascend2, as reported recently by MarketingProfs. Second place went to list segmentation for targeting (47%), followed by message personalization (42%). Tactics garnering frequent online discussion gathered the fewest votes by the way: social sharing (6%) and video e-mail (10%). There isn't a big surprise in those findings from marketers, who were weighted more heavily toward B2B (68% of surveyed). But before you rush off to spruce up your call-to-action effort, note that those same marketers also rated list segmentation and call to action as the most difficult tactics to implement for improved CTR, by 41% and 35% respectively. Clearly, knowing what to do isn't the same as knowing how to do it well. Maybe that's why the surveyed marketing pros saw e-mail CTR trends as relatively stagnant, either not changing (34%) or increasing only modestly (33%). For more details of the survey, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/27811/the-best-tactics-for-improving-email-ctrs

Use Brain Science to Turn CTAs Into Click Magnets

Neuroscience offers proven ways to turn your next call-to-action effort into a click magnet, according to a recent eM+C article. The article cites three brain-science tips for boosting digital conversions. First, use images that point visitors in the right direction. It turns out that images of people and faces are what grab the brain's attention in your landing page or e-mail design. In fact, if you add a smiling face looking at a CTA button, studies show people will look where the image is looking--right at your CTA. Next, choose a button/text color that reinforces your message. Science shows that 90% of immediate subconscious judgment is based on color. For example, orange encourages immediate action (great for low-cost join /buy appeals); red increases the sense of urgency (a good limited-time offer choice); and blue builds trust and security (a financial offer favorite). Not sure which color will drive clicks? That's what A/B testing is for! Third, tell prospects exactly what you want them to do. For example, scientific testing finds the most effective CTAs use active, specific verbs (Download, Get, Start) and keep it short (the top converting buttons in a recent study were all two words or less). But don't forget urgency; just adding "Now" can significantly boost conversions. For more science-based tips to improve CTA results, read the full article at http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/article/want-more-clicks-3-brain-science-hacks-that-boost-conversions/1

Tips for Integrating Social Media and E-mail

In today's multi-channel environment, integrating social media and e-mail is key to enhancing the digital marketing power of both for business and nonprofit organizations. A recent Entrepreneur magazine article cited six creative ways to get social and e-mail working in tandem, and provided step-by-step instructions to boot! The six tactics include: 1) uploading e-mail subscriber lists to social networks (Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook); 2) retargeting e-mail subscribers/responders with social ads on Facebook and Twitter; 3) letting social networks send e-mails for you via notifications from social communities you join, such as LinkedIn groups; 4) automating e-mail to seek social shares by adding a CTA-share to an e-newsletter or leveraging personal e-mail sharing with tools such as SendBloom to get the ball rolling; 5) collecting e-mail addresses on Twitter and Facebook; and 6) creating an exclusive social group for e-mail subscribers. For the full article, go to http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244903

Small Tests to Yield Big Leaps in B2B Digital Leads

Boosting business-to-business digital leads doesn't have to overtax marketers' imaginations and budgets, reassures a recent hubspot.com blog post by Lisa Toner. She suggests five quick, low-cost experiments for boosting B2B leads and sales from social, e-mail and online traffic. First, she advises trying out an embedded one-field subscribe form at the end of blog posts, instead of a call-to-action button; it boosted hubspot's conversion 20%. Second, do A/B testing of content titles; the winning title for an ebook increased leads 776% in one hubspot test, she notes. Idea No. 3 is to experiment with targeted Facebook dark posts (News Feed-style ads published outside your News Feed); she cites one test of ads and targeting that yielded an ROI 35 times the small dollar commitment. Her post links to tutorials for those unfamiliar with dark posts. The fourth area to examine is reduction of form fields on landing pages; Toner cites the example of ImageScape, which reported a 120% improvement in conversion by cutting form fields from 11 to 4. To reduce fields without losing key user info, Toner points to "progressive profiling" software and provides links to explanatory articles. Finally, there is tried-and-true A/B creative testing, starting with something as fundamental as the color of call-to-action buttons. To see examples and links to relevant articles, go to http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/lead-generation-experiments 

These Smart Brands Offer E-Mail Success Lessons

We often pass along articles on common mistakes in e-mail marketing, but how about the positive lessons, the success stories? Kevin Ward, recently posted an inspirational piece for Business2Community about tips gleaned from six well-known brands' e-mail campaigns. All are producing e-mails that have personality, easy readability, user-friendliness, and attention-grabbing appeal  -- plus specific, well-executed tactics to stay ahead of the competition. For example, Ralph Lauren wins sales with its clear, targeted call to action. Amazon leads the field with personalization. Betty Crocker's recipe for success is warm Pinterest-style personality. ThinkGeek thinks about conversions with extra coupons and deals. Huckberry revs up the urgency with limited time offers for its deals. Crate & Barrel has lots to peddle but uses e-mail focus, with a single customer-driven product offer, to funnel sales. For e-mail creative examples: https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/six-brands-doing-email-marketing-175149715.html

Sequenced Creatives Outdo CTA Ads, Per Study

Sequenced creative that walks customers down the sales funnel can outperform a call-to-action (CTA) digital ad campaign, according to new research from social media ad company Adaptly, Facebook, and fashion website Refinery29. Per a Direct Marketing News report, the test audience was built by Adaptly using a Facebook Custom Audience based on Refinery29's best e-mail subscribers, resulting in a Facebook lookalike audience of more than 2 million users split into three creative treatment groups. In May 2014, the sequenced creative was delivered evenly across 12 days to one test group, with the first creative a top-of-the-funnel brand message similar to a TV commercial introducing a brand's image and personality. The second creative in the sequence offered a product orientation similar to a brand website to spur middle-of-the-funnel consideration, and the last ad was a bottom-of-the-funnel CTA-based creative. The response of the sequenced-ad group was compared with response by a test group that received three CTA-focused ads, each delivered for four consecutive days, as well as behavior of a control group. The testing found that sequencing ads to move individuals down the marketing funnel generated 56% more conversions than a sustained CTA message delivered over the same period. The sequenced ads also increased view-throughs by 87%. To see the ad creatives, go to http://www.dmnews.com/in-the-age-of-storytelling-is-the-cta-still-viable/article/361103/

How to Use Preheader Text to Boost E-mail Opens

With a crowded e-mail inbox and a few seconds of e-mail attention span, snaring opens is a struggle -- even with a good subject line. What if you could reinforce the opening power of your subject line? A recent Target Marketing magazine article explains how to do that with preheader text. Preheader text is the grayed-out text that shows up after the subject line when checking e-mail in your Gmail inbox or on your mobile device. If you don't put in your own preheader text, you send a default message like "If you're having trouble viewing this e-mail…" -- which wastes space that could pack real marketing punch. The Target Marketing piece suggests how to use preheader text as a second chance to capture reader attention. You can use it to expand on the subject line, add call-to-action language or add an incentive offer, for example. And you can personalize the preheader for a more subtle friendliness than the personalized subject line, which offends some. One thing the preheader should not do is merely repeat or recast the subject line; that's a reader-annoying waste of marketing real estate. Plus, you're writing for the e-mail inbox, so keep the preheader short but impactful at 75 characters or less. Finally, since the preheader should be audience-targeted marketing copy, you should do A/B testing of variations. For more tips, check out the article at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/8-uses-preheader-text-improve-email-open-rates/1

Single, Focused E-mail Call-to-Action Can Hike Clicks

One e-mail creative rule of thumb is that adding call-to-action buttons adds click-throughs, but recent e-mail testing by Whirlpool found that focusing on a single call-to-action (CTA) improved response. MarketingSherpa featured the Whirlpool results in a recent case study article. Whirlpool's e-mail control package had three buttons labeled "Learn more" at the bottom of the e-mail, each directing consumers to three different pages for information on different products. A fourth CTA button was located in the middle of the page: a gold "See Details" button directing to the rebate that the campaign was designed to promote. The test package paralleled the control but used only the one CTA gold button in the middle of the page, driving consumers to the rebate download landing page. "The theory was if you highlighted one call-to-action button that was the primary focus, you'd get more people to go to that landing page than the other creative, which sent people into completely different products," Thomas Mender, Senior Manager at Whirlpool, explained to MarketingSherpa. And the theory worked: The single, focused CTA creative achieved a 42% increase in clicks for Whirlpool. For more details of Whirlpool's e-mail testing, including subject lines and segmentation, go to http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/whirlpool-lift-clickthrough-testing-culture