1. Email Marketing

2. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Email Marketing Project

3. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Poll Question #1  What is your level of experience with email marketing, on a scale from 1 to 5? (1=Never done it, 5=Expert)

4. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Poll Question #2  What are your most pressing concerns about email marketing? 1. Clean contact data 2. Getting and keeping permission 3. Getting the right promotion 4. Targeting the right audience 5. Copywriting 6. Design 7. Tracking & reporting

5. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. We All Talk About Spam  Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE)  Typical spam has a bogus sender address, bogus unsubscribe instructions, and bogus offers  Spam is in the eye of the beholder  Ensure recipients don’t mistake your message as spam

6. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.  Do it BEFORE sending  Built into some email services  Or, free tool available from  http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/ http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/  http://www.contactology.com/check_mqs.php http://www.contactology.com/check_mqs.php  http://www.mailingcheck.com/ http://www.mailingcheck.com/  www.gravitymail.com/spamscore.php www.gravitymail.com/spamscore.php Check Your ‘Spam Score’

7. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Your Domain Reputation  Spam filters don’t just track spam keywords like “viagra” inside of emails. They track company domain names too.  Some tools to check your domain reputation: http://www.trustedsource.org http://www.senderbase.org

8. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Example Domain Check

9. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Distance Yourself from Spammers  Remind recipients that they’ve given you permission to contact them  Provide an easy way to unsubscribe  Be sure reply works  Have it signed by a real person  Publish and abide by a strict privacy policy

10. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Anatomy of a Good, Healthy HTML Email A well-built HTML Email needs to consist of: 1.Your company name in the “From” 2.A relevant subject line (don’t be “spammy”) 3.The “To:” field of your email should be personalised 4.A one-click opt-out link that removes people from your list immediately 5.Include a link in your header “view this email in your browser” 6.A link to your company’s privacy policy 7.Your valid, physical mailing address (no PO Box) 8.Bonus: It’s a really good idea to include some kind of reminder text, like “You are receiving this email because you signed up at our website”.

11. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Tactics for Avoiding Spam Filters  Don’t use bright red fonts, or going crazy with colors  Don’t Yell with lots of exclamation points!!!!!!!!  Don’t YELL WITH ALL CAPS  Don’t say, “free”, “click here (now)!” or “act now!”  Don’t forget to include recipient’s email  Don’t use old templates with bad HTML coding  Don’t use the word “test” in your subject line  Don’t get too creative with your spelling  Don’t use a bunch of graphics as your email only  Don’t use recipients in “Bcc:”  Don’t use scripts like Flash, video files  Don’t use attachments

12. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Bane of the Email Marketer: the Delete Key  The split-second decision - keep it or delete it  The basis of their decision: the From and Subject line  Your open rate may be overstated  Your message may be getting displayed in recipient’s preview pane as he selects it just to delete it

13. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Above All, Deliver Value!  Email should be relevant, timely, and beneficial  “Value" can take the form of:  newsletters, discounts, contests, last minute availability, event reminders, invitations, bonuses, discounts, exclusive sales, free samples, or demos.  Surveys - give free report or enter them in a draw  Go paperless - specs, price lists, statements

14. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Length  In general, keep it short and sweet. Use links.  Weekly newsletter should be no more than five sections, with three or fewer paragraphs each,  Monthly newsletter can be double or triple that.  Promotional messages should be significantly shorter than a newsletter.  Include whole articles or just abstracts with links to the rest?

15. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Timing  Tuesday through Thursday?  10am to 2pm?  Varies depending on your audience!

16. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Design & Coding

17. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Email Templates Right column Left column Basic postcard

18. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Define Business Objectives  Audience  Prospects, customers, advocates, partners  Goals  Registrations, Sign-ups, Sales  Content  Newsletter, Promotions, Reminders, Invitations  Metrics  Click through, Registration, Visits, Booking/Purchase

19. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Designing and Coding  Tools of the Trade  Design Guidelines  Set your width to about 500-600 pixels  Simple Layouts and Tables Work Best  Special Considerations for Webmail Services  CSS in HTML email  Flash, javaScript, ActiveX, movies, etc. in HTML  Background Colors

20. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Images Files in HTML Email The proper way to handle images in HTML email  Host images on a web server  Pull images in to your HTML email using “absolute paths” in your code When coding images tags in HTML email  Do this: http://www.yourserver.com.au/images/logo.gif”  Instead of this:

21. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Delivering HTML Email  Sending emails from your own server  Your ISP may throttle your outgoing emails if you send too much too fast (>500 per hour)  Email firewalls and ISPs who receive your emails  Don’t like receiving tons of emails from one single IP address at once (unless ISP normally receive tons of emails from that IP)  Dynamic IP address & Dedicated IP address  ISPs and spam filters don’t like receiving lots of emails form a dynamic IP address it looks like a hijacked home computer

22. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Measure Success  Unsubscribe rate  Bounce rate  Unique open rate  Total open rate  Click through rate  Conversion rate

23. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. HTML vs. Plain Text  HTML emails typically have twice the click-throughs  HTML offers more control over layout  HTML looks more ‘polished’ (could be good or bad)  Some old email clients can’t do HTML, e.g. Outlook 95  “Sniff” for HTML open or send multiple versions multi- part

24. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. HTML Emails  Tables - to control placement & avoid long lines  Graphics - <30k, will cause the recipient grief if reading email while offline, increases download time  Color - color text or color a table background, doesn’t impact download speed  Font - face, size, and color  Forms - embed in the email to make it easy for the recipient to respond to an offer, e.g. seminar registration  Auto fill-in as many form fields as possible  Scripts, Flash, Streaming Video - not recommended!

25. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Testing & Troubleshooting Your Email Designs  Web Designers: emails aren’t the same as web pages  Testing in Different Email Applications Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail

26. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Test, Test, Test!  Treat your email campaigns like experiments  Have a control group  Vary only one thing at a time  What to test?  The offer, the Subject line, the From line, the message copy, the layout, the message length, the timing, the contact frequency

27. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Test, Test, Test!  Track response rates of each test by making call-to- action URLs & e-mail addresses unique for each test group  Special attention should be given to the frequency  don't allow recipient burnout, particularly with a regular mailing such as an e-mail newsletter  Test and refine, test and refine

28. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Common Mistakes to Avoid 1.Not coding “absolute paths” to their images 2.Using JavaScript, or ActiveX or embedding movies 3.Getting over ambitious with designs 4.Forgetting to include an opt-out link 5.Linking to an external CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) file 6.Letting your permission “grow cold” 7.Forgetting to test 8.Sending nothing but a big, gigantic graphic

29. Copyright 2008 Maximizer Software Inc. Maximizer is a trademark of Maximizer Software. Other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Thank you!