Email Communications: A Guide to Achieving Higher Impact

1. Email Communications:A Guide to Achieving Higher Impact Annual Educational Conference State University of New York Council for University Advancement June 15, 2006 Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

2. Remember 8 tips about the Internet… • People are impatient • People are impatient • People are impatient • People are impatient • People are impatient • People are impatient • People are impatient • People are impatient Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

3. We know this about Internet readers… People scan first, read afterwards… They are very impatient… You have to capture their attention immediately Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

4. Impatience demands brevity…. • “Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.” • I must go to sea when: • – I'm depressed or melancholy • – I stop in front of coffin warehouses • – I follow funerals • – I have a powerful urge to knock people's hats off • With thanks to Brian Niles, TargetX Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

5. The marketing power of email… • Email is person-to-person contact that establishes & maintains relationships • It creates a circle from your website to your audience and back to your website if content is of interest • People thus engaged are more likely to take the “desired action step” at the appropriate time Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

6. Today, email is still very popular… 90 percent of Internet users are email users… Communicating effectively is essential Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

7. RSS as an alternative to email… Less than 10 percent of Internet users subscribe to RSS information feeds… RSS isn’t replacing email anytime soon… Each will have a role in the communication mix Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

8. 8 Practical Tips for Email Set Up Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

9. Practical email set up tip… For in-house list, use your brand name in the subject… You want instant recognition in the mailbox Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

10. Practical email set up tip… For a purchased list, try to use the name to which the recipient gave permission… The recipient might recognize that name Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

11. Practical email set up tip… Make sure email links are clickable… The last thing you should do before sending… Don’t ever skip this step Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

12. Practical email set up tip… Make the “Opt-out” method clear… At the end of your email Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

13. Practical email set up tip… Key text message in no more than 5-6 lines… Bullet points for critical points from subject line… Review the subject line after writing the message Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

14. Practical email set up tip… Remember the preview window… Nearly 50% of people with a window use it to decide whether or not to open an email… This makes the first sentence critical Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

15. Practical email set up tip… Give people a choice between HTML and plain text… Remain wary of images and rich media… Don’t distract people from your main message Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

16. HTML in newsletter and email… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

17. 88% Higher Click-through Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

18. How long should it be? No fixed answer… Can be four typed pages in a Word document… Can be a single page… Should be more than headlines and links to a website Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

19. Create an email newsletter strategy… Don’t do a newsletter “just because”… Have reasonable expectations… Stay in touch with your audience… Monitor what people click through to adjust content Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

20. Answer these questions… • Why am I doing this? • Who am I writing to? • What am I writing about? • What voice will I use? • Michael Katz, Blue Penguin Development, Inc. • Can I do this at least once a month? • Once a week isn’t too often, if… • Bob Johnson Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

21. Why am I doing this? • To cultivate a long-term relationship • To create top-of-mind presence when a reader is ready to take an action: • Enroll in a continuing education course • Apply for a master’s degree • Recommend a college to a friend or co-worker • Respond to an annual fund solicitation by mail or phone Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

22. Who am I writing to? • Audience quality is more important than size • Strive for a loyal following of reasonable size • Most important audiences are related to • Enrollment • Fund raising • Alumni participation • Media coverage • Most audiences require “versioning” for highest impact • New “version” doesn’t require a 100% new newsletter Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

23. What am I writing about? • Content has to attract the audience • Useful • Relevant • Interesting • Test conventional wisdom with audience research • Don’t worry overly much about each individual item in the newsletter • But track click through for popular items • Let popularity influence content decisions Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

24. How will you know if it works?From the TargetX experience… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

25. Examples for review… Email only… Email newsletters Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

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33. The HTML/website alternative… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

34. For ongoing expertise … Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

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38. Thank You!Bob Johnson, Ph.D.President and Senior ConsultantBob Johnson Consulting, LLC226 Chauncey CourtMarshall, MI 49068bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.comwww.bobjohnsonconsulting.com 248.766.6425 (mobile) Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC