1. E-mail Marketing with Lyris

2. Agenda Why e-mail marketing? E-mail best practices Tips for effective messaging Writing good e-mail content Things to avoid E-mail at the University Lyris overview

3. Why E-mail Marketing? inexpensive effective drives traffic builds loyalty immediate targeted easy

4. Recent e-mail statistics Globally, spam accounted for 58.2% of all e-mails (nearly 2 out of 3) Out of 127.2 million e-mail boxes 61.342 billion e-mails undelivered due to server outage 142.534 billion blocked or tagged inbound e- mails 36.593 billion unaltered, delivered e-mails Ratio of blocked or tagged inbound e-mail to valid e-mail is 5.6 to 1, or 85%

5. E-mail best practices 1.Mail with permission “opt-in” and “permission based” subscription double opt-in Builds an audience that truly wants to hear from you Increases mailing delivery rates Keeps your list clean Risk of losing some names

6. E-mail best practices

7. 2.Set and meet expectations Describe the topic, format, and frequency of mailings Reassure prospects about privacy include a privacy statement on U Web pages Deliver what you say you will

8. E-mail best practices

10. 3.Test your formatting HTML and text versions Multiple e-mail clients and platforms

11. E-mail best practices

13. 4.Optimize for delivery Use a professional, dedicated list management software or system Create complete and consistent headers Write content that doesn’t look like spam Test message against spam filters Adjust headers and content to minimize chances of blockage

14. E-mail best practices

15. 5.Optimize for the inbox Use test or “seed” addresses at popular domains Time consuming

16. E-mail best practices 6.Comply with the law and University policies CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) Enforced by the FTC Bans the following: False or misleading header information Deceptive subject lines Must include: Opt-out mechanism Legitimate physical address of the mailer

17. E-mail best practices 6.Comply with the law and University policies Publishing information on the World Wide Web All Web pages must: University of Minnesota wordmark at top of page Equal opportunity statement Date of last revision and contact information Copyright information Link to the University’s privacy statement Comply with the University's Accessibility of Information Technology policy University Web templates

18. E-mail best practices

19. 7.Analyze results and incorporate learning Identify key goals and metrics Benchmark your campaigns Feed results back into subsequent campaigns

20. E-mail best practices 1.Mail with permission 2.Set and meet expectations 3.Test your formatting 4.Optimize for delivery 5.Optimize for the inbox 6.Comply with the law and U policy 7.Analyze results and close the loop

21. Tips for effective messaging Know your audience Change with your audience Blackberry and PDA users Instill a sense of urgency Not everyone reads e-mail

22. Writing good e-mail content Write for the preview pane Above-the-fold Engage readers Be brief Direct people to content on Web sites

23. E-mail best practices

24. Things to avoid Complicated design Flash, JavaScript, CSS (cascading style sheets) Heavy on images Broken links Only HTML, rather than including text version Large blocks of text

25. E-mail at the U Many different methods to send messages Software packages like ExactTarget that cost money Listservs A lot of noise Bad formatting Too many messages

26. Introduction to Lyris Listmanager Free, Web-based tool for distributing customized mass e-mail List sources x.500 (PeopleSoft) Donor Management System (UMF) Personal or departmental home-grown lists Provides an interface for: Creating e-mail content Selecting segments of lists Sending the linked content + list members Tracking success of the mailing

27. Lyris--Continued Can manage many list management functions Removal of bad addresses Subscribe and unsubscribe Allows for: Import of e-mail addresses Creation and management of HTML templates Creation of HTML and text messages Can manage e-mail workflow Creation Approval

28. Lyris Listmanager

30. Lyris--Continued Requires some level of technical skills Familiarity with Web-based applications HTML e-mail experience Data management experience Steeper learning curve than listserv Very involved process to create templates, easier after that

31. Lyris--Continued Training ADCS is developing training material and documentation Support Dedicated support staff Available June 2006

32. Contact Information Wokie Grigsby University Relations (612) 626-1785 grig0052@umn.edu

33. E-mail glossary Click-through-rate The percentage (the number of unique clicks divided by the number that were opened) of recipients that click on a given URL in your e-mail. Conversion rate The number or percentage of recipients who respond to your call-to-action in a given e-mail marketing campaign or promotion. This is the measure of your e-mail campaign's success. Hard bounce/soft bounce A hard bounce is the failed delivery of an e-mail due to a permanent reason like a non-existent address. A soft bounce is the failed delivery of an e-mail due to a temporary issue, like a full mailbox or an unavailable server. Landing page A web page that is linked to an email for the purpose of providing additional information directly related to products or services promoted in the email. Open rate The percentage of e-mails opened in any given e-mail marketing campaign, or the percentage opened of the total number of e-mails sent.