1. Executing an E-Mail Campaign Terry Miller, CIO Sam Houston Area Council Boy Scouts of America

2. Agenda Glossary of Terms Why Use E-Mail Campaigns? Content-Writing Rules Customization Business Process Integration

3. Glossary of Terms landing page – Destination page of links in the e-mail click-through rate (CTR) – Percentage of e-mail recipients who “click” a link in the e-mail conversion rate – Percentage of e-mail recipients who perform the target action or behavior impressions per thousand (CPM) – Online advertisers purchase banner advertising in CPM for ads placed on Web sites.

4. Why Use E-Mail? E-mail is 60 to 65 percent more cost-effective than direct mail (Yankee Group). Easier to customize for target audiences. Easier to track effectiveness over other methods.

5. Why Use E-Mail? E-Mail vs. Other Online Media MediaAssumptionCost per Conversion Web Banners 1% click-through and 1% conversion (0.01% net conversion) at $10 CPM $100 Direct Mail 1% response rate at $0.40 cost per piece $40 E-Mail 10% click-through and 10% conversion (1% net conversion) at a cost of $0.20 per message $20 Source: IMT Strategies

6. Why Use E-Mail? Approximately 82 million American adults use the Internet on a given day. % reporting having done the same activity “yesterday” Date of survey Use the Internet60Feb-Mar ’05 Send E-Mail52Feb-Mar ’05 Get News30Feb-Mar ’05 Use Search Engine30May-Jun ’04 Surf the Internet for Fun21Nov ’04 Do Research for Work19Feb-Mar ’05 Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Average Daily Internet Activities

7. Is E-Mail Appropriate for Your Message? Who is your target audience? Do they have e-mail access? (What percentage?) What action or behavior do you want to inspire? What is your budget? Budget Target Access Action

8. What Are the Demographics of Your Target Audience? Special interest groups? Household consumers? Executives? Women? High school students? Children under 13? Budget Target Access Action

9. Content-Writing Rules Keep it short and sweet. Personalize your message. Use HTML. Write “spam free” content. Graphics must have purpose and must relate to content. Source: www.marketingpower.com and Terry Miller

10. Keep It Short and Sweet Develop an appropriate subject line. Use active instead of passive voice. Use short and meaningful sentences. Limit text to an average of 100 words, two sentences per paragraph. Avoid clichés and idiomatic speech. Avoid “graphic dependent” content. Source: www.ewriteonline.com and Terry Miller

11. Personalize Your Message Use the recipient’s first and last names in the body. Use language and graphics appropriate to the audience. Solicit actions appropriate for the audience. Source: www.spurdigital.com and Terry Miller

12. “Spam Free” Content Amazing stuff As seen on national TV! Attempts to disguise mundane words used in porn Attempts to disguise porn words Attempts to disguise the word “viagra” Be your own boss Character set indicates a foreign language Claims compliance with spam regulations Claims to honor removal requests Claims you registered with a partner Claims you wanted this ad Click to be removed Compete for your business Source: http://spamassassin.apache.org/tests.html

13. Sample E-Mails

17. Customization Several e-mail marketing tools offer customization: −www.constantcontact.com −www.exacttarget.com −www.cooleremail.com −www.pubpoint.com

18. Integrate With Business Processes Adhere to Can Spam Act (unsolicited e-mails). Align with other campaigns and channels (TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, affiliate advertising, online advertising, etc.). Measure ROI (cost per lead, per click-through, per conversion). Business follow-through processes connected to action. Study effectiveness, modify, and re- execute.

19. Summary E-mail campaigns are cost-effective and easy to measure. Adhere to best practices for content writing. Use tools that offer capabilities to manage campaigns. Integrate campaigns with business processes. Send feedback to terry.miller@shac.org.

20. More Information White papers: −www.marketingpower.com −www.ewriteonline.com −www.spurdigital.com

21. More Information Articles: −Database Hygiene: http://www.towerdata.com/company/news/ database_hygiene-agency.com.pdf −How to Avoid Common E-Mail Delivery Problems: http://chiefmarketer.com/crm_loop/custom/ delivery-problems-112305/

22. More Information Courses: −U of H – Marketing Certificate Shirley Sheridan, phone 713-743-1190, fax 713-743-1203, or e-mail ssheridan@uh.edu −Spur Digital Web Marketing 101 Course – www.spurdigital.com

23. More Information Tools: −www.pubpoint.com −www.constantcontact.com −www.exacttarget.com −www.cooleremail.com

24. More Information Consultants: −www.spurdigital.com

25. More Information Organizations: −Houston Interactive Marketing Association. Contact Will Rhodes – will@spurdigital.com. −American Marketing Association Houston Chapter http://houston.marketingpower.com