The Rules of Opt-in Attraction Jeanne S. Jennings Consultant, Email - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Bonus Workshop Excerpt: The Rules of Opt-in Attraction Jeanne S. Jennings Consultant, Email Marketing Strategy JeanneJennings.com, Inc. January 22, 2010

Who’s Here • B2B? B2C? • Size of your house email list: – Less than 100,000 – 100,000 to 499,999 – 500,000 to 999,999 – More than 1 Million

Five Reasons to Invest in Growing Your Own Email List 1. You’ll know for certain who’s on it 2. You’ll know how they got there 3. You’ll get better response than from rental lists 4. It’s more cost -effective than email list rentals 5. It’s a sustainable asset for your organization

List Growth B-to-B B-to-C

Opt-in Options Single Opt-in (32%) Double Opt-in (8%) • Advantages • Advantages – Generates more opt-ins – Proves opt-in definitively (100%) – Generates hard bounce on – Easier to manage bad addresses immediately – Less expensive – Prevents foul play • Disadvantages • Disadvantages – Potential for foul play – Generates fewer opt-ins (60-80%) – More complex to manage – More expensive 45% of Marketers eters use a m mix Double Opt-in preferred for co-registration, sweeps, 3 rd party leads

OPT-IN SOURCES

Sources of Opt-in Names (28 in the handbook) 25 Free Trials/ Downloads Newsletter Volume of names generated >>> offer 20 Co-reg Customer Sweeps/ Check boxes service Contests on reg forms call-ins Offline - Tele- 15 Appending catalogs, forms, prospecting etc. Sales alerts/ product Trade events announcements 10 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Quality of names generated >>> Handbook Page: 27

Co-registration • 32% see performance equal to house names • On average, 10% to 20% will co-register • Keys to Success: – Similar target audience – Appealing offer – Benefit-oriented copy – Track performance

Forward to a Friend (F2F) • Also called Referral, Viral or Word-of-Mouth Marketing • Keys to Success: – Ask! – Make it easy to forward the email – Confirm email integrity is maintained – Provide an incentive (comply with CAN-SPAM) – Works best with loyal customers

F2F Case Study: Intercontinental Hotels • Best customers (150) • Great offer (3X points) • Encouraged to share • 100% response from recipients – Stayed and forwarded • Overall response rate: 1,766% (17X)

MOTIVATORS

6 Proven Opt-in Motivators 1. Relevant Content 2. Sample Newsletter 3. Customized Profile 4. “Conditional” Discount 5. Sweepstakes or Giveaway Entry 6. Club Membership

Club Membership • Very effective for both B-to-B and B-to-C, but underused – Restaurant “Birthday Clubs” • Keys to Success: – Benefits that are desired by your audience – Exclusive offers only available to members – Positioning it as joining a club, not signing up for email

Club Membership Case Study: Cirque de Soleil • Benefit – 20 “upgrade” tickets available for each performance • Higher than average click-through to sign- up from calls to action • Double opt-in – 80% respond

ONLINE REGISTRATION

Benefits to Get the Opt-in

Online Calls to Action • Content – Benefit-oriented language – Incentive – Form field – Engaging creative – Privacy statement

Online Calls to Action • Prominent placement – Top left and right are prime real estate • Above the fold • On every page

Website Calls-to-Action Case Study: IntraWest Resorts • Expanded call to action to all pages • Added a form field – Additional fields on second page • Tenfold increase in sign-ups

Online Registration Case Study: EmailLabs • Best Opt-in Campaign – MarketingSherpa Silver B-to-B, past winner • Strong value proposition • Sample newsletter • Testimonial, award • 7 fields • 54% conversion rate – Industry average <10%

Online Registration Example: SparkPeople • Benefit-oriented descriptions of email newsletters • Two boxes are pre- checked • The rest are not • Frequency is mentioned

Final Thoughts • List growth is critical to a successful email program • It’s not just about getting a high quantity of names on your list, it’s also about getting quality names on your list • The details matter – execution is often the difference between success and failure

Learn More • Order the Best • Attend Marketing Sherpa’s Practices in Email Email Essentials 2010 Marketing Workshop Series Handbook Online • Practical, proven and personalized email training coming to a city near you

Credits/Thank You Big Thanks to: • Stefan Tornquist, MarketingSherpa Jeanne S. Jennings, Consultant, Email Marketing Strategy Call or email me at: 1-202-333-3245 or JJ@JeanneJennings.com