Mobile, AI Trends Impact E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketers can expect to ride some positive trends into 2020, according to e-mail pros. While continuing to top other channels in terms of ROI, e-mail marketing in 2019 also showed improved delivery rates, rising open rates and increasing click-through-rates, per UK-based Data and Marketing Association. Digital marketing platform Smart Insights recently turned to several experts to find top strategies to help leverage the positives this year. The impact of mobile usage on e-mail can't be underestimated. In 2019, mobile browsing (53% of traffic) surpassed desktop/tablet browsing (47% of traffic), notes Smart Insights. And while mobile still lags in terms of purchase revenue (32%) versus desktop/tablet (68%), it's growing fast, with a 23% year-over-year increase that has helped accelerate mobile optimization across digital channels. Data from Litmus shows that mobile devices also led in e-mail opens (41.9%) compared with desktop opens (18.2%) by Q1 of 2019. Coding e-mail creative for a mobile-viewing format is only the beginning. Changes to copy, images and overall layout can boost click-through by streamlining presentation to place the focus on quick engagement and CTA links, note experts. Concise copy with enough white space for easy reading is a first goal. Other tips include using image dimensions that are small enough to render well and placing images on the "first fold" to encourage scrolling. Using e-mail design with short copy not only leads to quick scanning but also allows the call-to-action (CTA) to be seen early and avoids excess scrolling that loses click-throughs. Finally, make sure that e-mails are rendering correctly across all types of devices, a testing option offered by most e-mail service providers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming of age in marketing, including e-mail campaigns, with 87% of current AI users say they are planning on using it for sales forecasting and e-mail campaign enhancement, per Statista. Connext Digital foresees seven ways that AI will begin to influence e-mail marketing: 1) applying algorithms and data insights for predictive personalization; 2) analyzing demographics, purchasing patterns and online behavior for smarter segmentation; 3) automating workflow for e-mail triggering, tailored messaging and lead nurturing; 4) using natural language technology to find the best words for response optimization of subject lines and CTAs; 5) improving e-mail timing and frequency by specific recipient;6) A/B and multivariate testing to quickly identify trends and develop predictive results; and 7) developing data to enhance broader analyses, for example to predict potential churn. Privacy regulation is another factor for e-mail. Cold e-mailing, spamming and phishing have tainted e-mail’s reputation among consumers (and marketers), but recent privacy regulations, including the European Union's GDPR and California's CCPA, have spurred the e-mail marketing world to go beyond CAN SPAM to focus on privacy, compliance and subscriber trust. See our full website post at https://www.acculist.com/mobile-ai-highlight-e-mail-marketing-trends-for-2020/

Always Be Testing: Even the Best Mail Control Tires

Successful direct mail marketers seek to optimize response by constantly testing creative (as well as lists), because they know that even the best control package can lose its punch and need refurbishing or replacing. Since direct mail testing can be expensive, especially multivariate testing, it is important to think through why response to a proven control can flag and what changes are worth testing. A recent Target Marketing magazine article, by direct marketing consultant Gary Hennerberg, addresses the issue by reminding marketers of basics: The control has succeeded better than other mailing packages because, using the right list, the marketer has matched the offer's emotional hot buttons and unique selling proposition to the prospects' awareness of both their problem and the marketer's solution at the time. But that alignment between prospect and promotion is not static. After mailing the same direct mail control package over and over (or using the same digital message), the majority of targeted prospects have either seen your pitch or been educated by other media, so your message may no longer fit with their knowledge and needs. "If you don’t stay on top of this changing awareness and understanding, your direct mail control package, or messaging in other channels, fatigues, and you’ll wonder why," Hennerberg warns. He suggests marketers commit to a program 1) assessing prospect awareness of the problem solved by the marketed product or service; 2) creating multiple creative approaches that align with different prospect awareness levels; and 3) testing creatives (headlines, leads, formats, etc.) against each other and the control to find the sweet spot. For more, see http://www.acculistusa.com/always-be-testing-even-the-best-mail-control-gets-tired/

Why Do B2B Marketers Fail to Test Landing Pages?

We think of testing as a basic direct marketing tenet, yet a MarketingProfs survey published in September shows how remiss B2B marketers are when it comes to testing landing pages, an essential step in digital conversion success. Only 15% of respondents said they do extensive testing of landing pages (A/B, usability or multivariate), and 26% admitted to no testing of landing pages at all! The majority (59%) called their testing "limited." This lack of testing was despite the fact that respondents also said that A/B testing was the most effective method for optimizing landing page conversion rates. We perhaps understand low use of multivariate testing; it is rated as the most difficult tactic to execute by respondents. But what's the excuse for neglecting A/B testing? It was not only ranked most effective by 50% but also seen as one of the easiest methods to execute (only 14% rated it difficult)? A recent article in Marketing Land by columnist David Rodnitzky provides some common reasons online marketers give for skipping testing. Check to see if your marketing team is hiding behind one of these excuses: "We're at maximum efficiency," or "use it or lose it" budgeting pressures; "Our agency/marketing team can't be beat," or a bias in favor of existing assumptions/staff; and "We don't have time/budget," at least not enough to risk going outside what's already working. Rodnitzky shoots down each of these testing "fails," warning that "a complete lack of testing leads to decisions by HIPPO, 'the highest paid person’s opinion,'" When that person is influenced by bias and budget pressures, inefficient marketing results. "Don’t be a hippo, be a tester!" he urges. See his article: http://marketingland.com/test-everything-lies-online-marketers-tell-139072