Get Better E-mail Results by Adapting for All Devices

With e-mail now viewed on desktops and smartphones, marketers must adapt content to optimize for all device users, and a recent Direct Marketing News magazine article suggests four strategies for success. While mobile e-mail viewing has surged, desktop e-mail has not gone away. In fact, the article notes, Movable Ink's "U.S. Consumer Device Preference Report" for the second quarter of 2015 found that desktop conversions actually increased to 52.6% of total e-mail conversion in the quarter. Nasty winter weather may be a factor (keeping e-mail recipients close to desktops), but it is still a reminder that e-mail needs to be device-agnostic. This is especially true because device preferences differ by market vertical, per Movable Ink data. For example, 49.4% of nonprofit e-mail opens occur on desktops, but 62.5% of apparel marketing e-mails are opened on a smartphone. The article draws on advice from Vivek Sharma, CEO of Movable Ink, to highlight four strategies for adapting e-mail to all device users. First, adjust content for customer e-mail habits that differ by device, by time of day, and even by geographic location (Californians prefer smartphone e-mail but Virginians lean toward desktop viewing). Second, note that post-click behavior also can vary by device. For example, ask a smartphone nonprofit e-mail opener to text to donate but send a publication subscriber opening a desktop e-mail to an online page. Third, avoid a silo mentality and integrate e-mail strategy for all devices with social, direct mail, and other channels. Finally, measure beyond opens and clicks--tracking click-stream and time on site for example--to tailor content more effectively across devices. For more details: http://www.dmnews.com/email-marketing/four-ways-to-make-email-content-adaptable-for-any-device/article/433149/

Marketers Pick E-mail for ROI, Mail for Response

Articles proliferate about social and online strategies, but the old standbys of direct mail, e-mail and even phone solicitation turn out to be the channels that shine when it comes to what matters: measurable results in terms of response rates, conversion rates, and return on investment. The Direct Marketing Association 2015 Response Rate Report vindicates marketers' continued faith in older, proven channels. Based on a survey of 485 marketers, the report shows that e-mail may have one of the lowest response rates among channels but still leads in ROI, with campaigns conducted with house lists achieving an average 30% to 32% ROI, and those using prospect lists achieving 15% to 17%. Direct mail continues to outperform all digital media in terms of response rates, with house list campaigns generating 3.73% response and an average 18% to 20% ROI. Social media, by comparison, had average click-through rates (CTRs) of 2.1% to 2.5% and 15% to 17% ROI. But social is still ahead of online display ads with CTRs of 1.1% and 1.5%. Meanwhile, phone calls win the highest response rate of 9% to 10%. For a survey synopsis, and a link to download the full report, see the Direct Marketing News article: http://www.dmnews.com/direct-line-blog/email-and-phone-uber-alles/article/406874/

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

How 'Little Data' Basics Yield Big E-mail Results

E-mail marketers can get lost in "big data" analytics and lose sight of the "little data" basics of e-mail delivery that reveal faster response improvements, advises Scott Roth of consumer intelligence company Return Path in a recent ClickZ post. Roth's "little data" fundamentals go beyond engagement rates to inbox placement rates, authentication policies and domain security, and Roth provides a number of real-life examples of how analyzing these basics improved e-mail results. For example, large U.S. retailer Dillard reversed a trend of declining open and click-through rates by checking inbox placement rates across all major mailbox providers. Dillard found that 20% of promotional e-mails failed to reach subscribers, with many e-mail addresses no longer existent. Plus, subscribers who did get e-mail marked it as junk at an above-average rate. The retailer focused corrective actions to pump engagement rates 100% and push open rates above pre-decline levels. Similarly, when another brand saw inbox placement rates drop 50%, they checked their sending basics and discovered that an improperly configured authentication policy for their sending domain had caused most mailbox providers to treat e-mails as spam. With corrective action, the brand saw inbox placement rise 46% to 92%. Financial firms especially need to track basic data for signs of security problems, as Roth points out. For example, he notes how a financial services firm tracking a rise in suspicious domains and call center traffic was able to correlate its e-mail data with phishing outbreaks and then implemented e-mail security protocols. For the whole article, read http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2410356/sweat-the-small-stuff-big-results-through-email-marketing-fundamentals

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

Is Digital Dazzle Blinding Marketers to Mail Power?

There's no denying that digital advertising offers a low-cost way to quickly reach millions of eyeballs and score a high volume of clicks/leads. But we like the caveat recently provided by a Target Marketing Magazine blog post by Carolyn Goodman, president of Goodman Marketing Partners. Goodman argues that the "digital mystique" should not blind marketers to the enduring value of snail mail in delivering actual buyers. As she points out, marketing experience proves that mass media vehicles (like online ads) will tend to drive higher lead volume, but they'll be lower quality leads (lower conversion to sale); meanwhile, targeted media (like direct mail) will tend to deliver lower lead volume, but the leads will be higher quality (likely to purchase). The weak net response for digital ads is further impacted by today's noisy online landscape, she notes. As any recent Internet foray shows, digital ads are often lost in sites' excess ad clutter, poorly targeted delivery, retargeting frequency excesses, and other annoyances. Thus, while The New York Times quotes the claim of Jon Swallen, chief research officer of Kantar Media North American, that "the cost efficiencies of digital advertising enable many marketers to buy more for less," many of Goodman's startup clients are asking about putting marketing dollars into direct mail. Goodman quotes one CEO's simple explanation: "Our board no longer has the patience for our slow pace of growth because we tied our marketing investment to the digital advertising landscape. We get lots of clicks, but very few buyers." To read the full post: http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/the-digital-mystique-all-smoke-mirrors

Do List Hygiene Myths Hobble Your E-mail Results?

A "clean" e-mail list is key to deliverability and marketing success, but some list hygiene assumptions can actually undercut effective list use. A recent Direct Marketing News article turned to industry experts to identify four common e-mail list hygiene "myths" to avoid. For example, if you think e-mail list hygiene is a simple matter of regularly scrubbing "bad" data (opt-outs, bounces and invalid addresses), you aren't going far enough to create a responsive e-mail list. Today, list hygiene also means identifying addresses that lack recent activity/engagement (opens and clicks), experts advised. And if your hygiene focus is simply to reach the inbox, you are myopic as well, assuming that a knock on the door is all it takes to win an open. Good list management goes beyond deliverability and "batch and blast" to effective list use via targeted, personalized, relevant messaging, industry leaders asserted in the article. Plus, if you believe your list hygiene has rooted out all the bots and spam traps, you may be living in a fool's paradise, especially if you are a product or retail marketer. Loren McDonald, VP of industry relations at Silverpop, flatly told DM News, “Bot use has become more of a problem.” Despite the growing volume and sophistication of e-mail boobytraps, he noted that there are also more services that can help with real-time verification to seek known bots and spam traps -- provided list hygiene programs realize the need. For the complete article, see http://www.dmnews.com/busting-myths-on-email-list-hygiene/article/356087/

How Does Your E-mail Response Measure Up?

Do you know if your e-mail response measures up competitively in terms of open rates and click-through rates? A recent blog post by Christopher Ratcliff, an econsultancy.com writer, helpfully put together benchmark measures by industry (and country) from third-party e-mail service providers MailChimp, Silverpop and UK-focused Sign-up.to. Just to give you a taste, Silverpop's 2014 benchmark study finds that the average U.S. unique open rate is 20.1% and the average U.S. click-through rate is 3.2%. But the differences between industries are significant. Just looking at Silverpop figures for example, health care scores the top average unique open rate of 26.2%, followed by education (25.7%) and nonprofits (25.3%). By comparison, travel and leisure e-mailers are at the bottom for unique opens with a low 15% average, along with media and publishing (16.6%). When it comes to click-through rates, Silverpop's top average goes to health care again with 4.8%, followed closely by consumer services (4.7%) and education (4.5%). Meanwhile, the travel and leisure industry also ranks lowest for average click rate with 2.2%. To check on e-mail response benchmarks for your industry, B2B or B2C, go to https://econsultancy.com/blog/65034-what-is-a-decent-email-marketing-response-rate#i.dm8nfzdnneipzz

Q1 E-mail: Insurance Tops CTR; Mobile Design Lack

Insurance e-mail marketing led other industries in terms of response in the first quarter of 2014, according to Yesmail's "Q1 Benchmarks Overview." Insurance e-mails scored the highest average open rate (31.4%), unique click rate (7.6%) and click-to-open rate (CTR) of 24.1%. Per the Yesmail study of more than 5 billion e-mails deployed in the first quarter, marketing/advertising company e-mails had the dubious distinction of the lowest average open rate (9.8%) as well as the lowest unique click rate (0.7%). However, the lowest CTRs were earned by the e-mail creative of Financial Services (3.7%) and Technology (5.3%), despite high 28% and 20% open rates, respectively. Overall, open rates rose 6% in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2013, and unique click rates were up 8%, but those increases may have been due to 20% lower e-mail volume after the year-end holiday quarter. For e-mail marketers seeking to leverage mobile, there is some key news: E-mails using mobile-friendly responsive design had a 21% higher CTR in the first quarter when compared with non-responsive e-mails. Yet 75% of marketers neglected mobile design, with 31% not sending responsive e-mails at all, and 44% sending them less than half of the time. See more on the Yesmail e-mail benchmarks in the MarketingProfs report at http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/25246/marketing-email-benchmarks-open-rates-by-industry-device-trends

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

Big Digital Ads, Video Deliver More Clicks

Bigger is better in the digital ad world, per a new analysis by PointRoll. Its review of over 100 billion digital ad impressions provides some interesting click-through benchmarks for display formats, reports MarketingProfs. For example, larger Rising Star (RS) display ad formats, introduced by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in 2012, get a 70% higher average click-though rate (CTR) than smaller traditional digital display formats. The IAB's RS units are larger, interactive formats for brand advertising (Billboard, Filmstrip, Portrait, Pushdown, Sidekick and Slider are RS), with RS mobile and video options. The PointRoll study found that the larger RS ads earned an average 0.16% CTR compared with an average 0.09% CTR for standard digital ads. Including video with ads is another way to boost response. In-stream video ads earned a 4.5 times higher CTR on average than Flash ads, and 2.7 times higher CTR than rich media ads. If you don't have in-stream video, at least add video to your rich media promo: Rich media ads with video won a 22% higher average CTR than rich media ads without video. For more on the PointRoll benchmark report, see http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/24821/digital-ad-benchmarks-performance-by-format