Maximizing the Power of Email Marketing for Colleges

1. Over 6,000 users from over 200+ colleges

2. EmailMarketing “If you’re running a real business, email is still the most effective way to universally reach people who have expressed interest in your product or site. For that, it really can’t be beaten.” – Colin Nederkoorn (founder Customer.IO)

3. Let’s Look at some Stats **above data is provided by Radicati group’s research conducted in 2014 • More than 34% of people worldwide use emails (ie; 2.5 billion people) • Predicted to increase to 2.8 billion towards end of this year • 196 billion emails are sent daily, out of which 109 are business emails

4. Email Isn't Social Media, but It's Still Pretty Popular 81% and 80% of respondents, respectively, said email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention. Email’s usefulness was followed by that of other digital tactics like organic search at 62% for acquisition and social media at 44% for retention—both rated effective by far fewer respondents than chose email.

5. Commonly Used Devices for Checking emails

6. Agenda • Email marketing best practices • Email management systems • Taking it to the next level

7. 1 Features of a Killer Email To: John Doe, Art College 2 From: Susan Curator, Square Gallery Subject: Experience the Works of Manet 3 4 • Targeted recipient • Recognizable Sender (better if it’s from an actual person) • Clear and compelling subject line (under 50 characters) • Branded email • Valuable content • Clear call-to-action • Company info & unsubscribe links/email preference 5 6 7

8. A Good Email Is … … by, for and aboutpeople (not robots) Keep it conversational Read your email aloud to check tone/language … based on what you know about the recipient Segment your list based on language, how the email was acquired, previous action taken, etc.

9. You Only Have 3 Seconds!

10. You Only Have 3 Seconds! Subject or headline winning the battle of priorities [don’t do this] March Newsletter [do this instead] Tomorrow: Need 3 Hammers – Can You Help? [don’t do this] Joe’s Pet Store Newsletter [do this instead]3 Tips: help your dog beat the heat [don’t do this] Children’s Classes [do this instead] Limited Spaces available for Children’s Classes

11. When to Send & Post DO NOT BE ROMANCED BY A HIGHOPEN RATE – MEASURE ACTIONS! best day best time

12. Practical Advice • Many – but not all may not see your images • text links get more clicks than buttons • place your logo left or center in email • include company name in text • key action must be above scroll line • do not give too many choices • make all images clickable (and with text labels) test it on yourself! (and on your mobile device)

13. make it easy and obvious • One click away • Above the scroll line • Left or center, avoid right • Not just a graphic, include text link as well • Not in a list of other options • Make sure you measure response

14. Do people read my emails? # of people who open your email # of people who click on a link Open Rate = Click Through Rate = # of people you sent it to # of people you sent it to # of emails that can’t be delivered # of emails that can’t be delivered Bounce Rate = Unsubscribe Rate = # of people you sent it to # of people you sent it to

15. Email Marketing Systems

16. What’s an Email Marketing System? Email marketing systems are web-based services that are designed to send mass emails: Approved bulk mailers Follow professional and legal mailing practices Provides listing hosting and subscription management User-friendly and typically requires little to no technical skill Detailed reporting & feedback

17. “But can’t I just use Outlook/Hotmail/Gmail?” Your standard email account (e.g., Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo etc.) is not designed for email marketing • No authentication = easily get blacklisted or identified as spam • Can’t track clicks or opens • No automatic bounce removal • No control over unsubscribing • No personalization • Poor HTML

18. Choosing an Email Management System Factors to Consider: • Ease of use • Availability of templates / ability to create your own templates • Pricing (Per email? Per subscriber?) • Ability to segment your lists

19. Optimize Your Emails for Mobile 48% of emails are opened on mobile devices (smartphone & tablet) If your email doesn’t look good, it will likely get deleted or ignored Use a pre-built responsive template or make your template responsive Requires CSS skills

20. Take it to the next level

21. List Segmentation • Consider what information you have about your subscribers • Location (postal code) • Past performances attended • Past behaviour (opened/clicked previous emails) • Segment your list based on the information • Customize your email for each segment

22. Track website visits • Name the campaign and segment • Create “URL Builder” links for each combination of campaign/segment • https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867?hl=en • Use “URL Builder” links for all links to your website in the email • Note: some email management systems do this automatically! • Check Google Analytics to see how many visits came from each campaign

23. A/B Testing • Decide which to test & create 2 options • Subject line • “From” name • Email content – design, call to action, text • Send each option to a small portion of your list • 5-15% • See which is more successful & send to the rest of your list!

24. Takeaways at a Glance Also consider: • Time & day • Weekday vs weekend? • Early morning, lunch, after work, evening? • Volume of email • How much email do you send? • List cleanup • Get rid of old subscribers who aren’t engaged • Subject Line • Keep it short • Share what’s inside • Relationship • What value have you provided in the past? • How engaged are you?

25. THANK YOU For queries & information contactus@dignitasdigital.com +91 1145501210, +91-9599444523 Visit: www.dignitasdigital.com