Tom O’Leary

1. Tom O’Leary Whose feet have tread this path I’m on? Whose eyes have seen the sights I see? Where have all their spirits gone? What will become of me? New York,Mexico, Florida, Alabama, Italy,Ireland, Bellingham!

2. Email Marketing Building Relationships One Message at a Time Tom O’Leary VP Sales, Infacta Ltd October 2006

3. Technology Comes Full Circle!

4. Over 1 Billion People Use the Internet Today

5. 91% of them use the Internet to send and receive email

6. Pew Internet http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Women_and_Men_online.pdf

7. Proof in the Tesco Pudding TESCO, the leading supermarket chain in the UK orchestrated an impressive 44 email marketing campaigns in October 2005 alone - up to 20 million emails sent to customers each month Tesco.com sales were up 31% at £401m in the first half of this year. It deals with about 170,000 orders per week, compared with its nearest rival, Sainsburys.co.uk, which gets about 38,000. They are set to hit £1bn in sales for 2006 http://www.messagingtimes.com/blog/?p=69&language=EN

8. Leveling the Playing Field Even small companies can be GIANTS online! Email creates equal opportunity to reach the masses. small is the new BIG. Read:http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=168

9. Small Giants • …I asked Reba if she wanted to share any secrets to success she gained from her years in business and she said, "Your mailing list and newsletter is the biggest money maker you could have. When I was running wholesaling business, it was the ONE thing that kept my customers coming back time after time. My list had 17,000 names and I published my newsletter once a month simultaneously with my monthly special. The sales that came from the emailing of that newsletter were instantaneous." • http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/business-success-stories/reba-collins.html

10. How is Email Used? According to Forrester Research, email marketers structure their campaigns around the following: • Promotion or discount - 66% • Newsletter - 48% • Product announcement - 34% • Advertising/Marketing - 28% • Alerts/Reminders - 24% • Market Research - 8% • Other - 4%

11. What Consumers Want A survey of email users’ opinions about how Permission Marketers could improve their campaign results, found: • 42% - Less frequent messages • 35% - Better prices and offers • 24% - More relevant, targeted messages • 18% - More Control over email options • 18% - Time savers and convenience • 17% - Exclusive e-mail offers Q1 2002, Quris/Greenfield Online, May 2002

12. The Evolution of Email • Ensures privacy of recipients • Personalizes messages to your audience • Allows you to measure efforts • Gets there faster • Highly targeted

13. Permission Email Commandments • Can-SPAM Act 2003 • Thou Shalt Have Permission to Send Email • Thou Shalt Not Be Deceptive • Thou Shalt Have a Reply-to Address • Thou Shalt Allow Recipients to Opt-out Read:http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=173

14. It’s All About Permission!

15. Getting Started: Strategy • Would you build a house without a blueprint? • Set measurable objectives • Design subscription methods • Create content structure • Schedule frequency of contact • Select necessary tools • Incorporate your brand • consistency! templates! Read:http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=198

16. Part of a Comprehensive eMarketing Strategy

17. Getting Started: Tools • Subscription form • Contact database • Group email program • Tracking utility • Website

18. Tools: Subscription Form

19. Subscription Forms • http://www.restaurant-hospitality.com/newsletters/20060630 • http://www.parkplacehg.com/ • http://www.hotspring.com/index_spas_hot_spring.html#top • http://www.ghotw.com/spa.aspx • http://www.fourseasonsrestaurant.com/index2.htm • http://www.cietours.com/ • http://bellingham.org/ • http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/ • http://www.tompeters.com/ • http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/ • http://news.bbc.co.uk/ • http://www.copyblogger.com/

20. Opting-in • Consider Double Opt-In Confirmation: Because anyone can subscribe another to receive email from a site, it is important to confirm registration by sending an email requesting confirmation from the subscriber. Spamhaus calls this Closed-loop opt-in and defines it as: The Recipient has verifiably confirmed permission for the address to be included on the specific mailing list, by confirming (responding to) the list subscription request verification. This is the standard practice for all Internet mailing lists, it ensures users are properly subscribed from a working address and with the address owner's consent.

21. Opting-out • Provide an Opt-out Facility: All recipients of your email should be able to easily discontinue receiving future messages by opting-out of your list. Make opting-out easy to do and ensure that the recipient is removed immediately when they opt-out. Normally, an opt-out or unsubscribe link is placed at the end of the email. Remember though, providing the link is only worthwhile to the recipient if it actually works. I have personally unsubscribed to countless email lists only to continue receiving them after doing so. A legitimate, compliant business will actually remove emails from their list when the recipient opts-out.

22. Tools: Contact Database • The backbone of successful email marketing • Name • Email • Additional information as desired (i.e. birthday) • Compatibility with email client Read:http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=203

23. Tools: Group Email Program • Desktop Application (In house) • Web-based Hosted Solution (Outsourced) Read: http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=142

24. Tools: Tracking Utility • How effective are your email campaigns? Email tracking measures open and click-through rates.

25. Tools: Tracking Utility • According to the Harte-Hanks Postfuture Index of comparative e-mail metrics for January-June 2006 among 13 industry categories, restaurants enjoyed the best open rates at 167.7% (open rates exceeding 100% occur by way of pass-alongs, and reopened e-mail) as well as the best click-through rates at 57.5%. Retail had the lowest open rate (35.3%), while the automotive sector had the lowest click-through rate (5.7%).

26. Tools: Tracking Utility The 13 industries mentioned in the study (in order of descending click-through rates) are: • Restaurants (57.5%) • Publishing (55.6%) • Pharmaceutical (23.8%) • Travel and hospitality (23.4%) • Conference events (14.2%) • Financial services (11.0%) • Technology (10.9%) • Government (9.5%) • Insurance (9.5%) • Consumer packaged goods (8.6%) • Entertainment (8.1%) • Retail (6.0%) • Automotive (5.7%) Among all sectors for all purposes of e-mail combined, the average delivered rate stands at 91.2% -- with an average open rate of 78.8% of those e-mail delivered, click- through rate of 18.4% of all email delivered, and an opt-out rate of 0.4% of all e-mail delivered. Read:http://www.harte-hanks.com/interior.aspx?categoryid=18&NewsID=741 Read:Mastering Metrics, From Click to Conversion

27. The Problem with Metrics! • http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/adaptoroptout/metrics.htm

28. Tools: Website • Subscription form • Content Library • Landing Pages!!

29. Getting Started: Building and Maintaining Your Lists • Website subscription form • On-site registration • Co-registration (tourism website) • http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=200 • Incentives! • Consider Form Fatigue! • Remove bad addresses and opt-outs • Segment when possible Read:http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=200

30. Getting Started:Writing an Effective Message • 3 Lines of Success • Subject • Call-to-Action • Unique Selling Proposition Read:http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=179

31. Writing Effective Messages • Keep it brief (subject line and body) • Focus on one offer • Make your call-to-action clear • Motivate the action by differentiating yourself • Don’t bury your links (remember the preview pane) • Direct to an effective Landing Page

32. Microcontent • http://www.messagingtimes.com/blog/?p=174&language=EN • http://www.copyblogger.com/titles-that-tell-a-whole-story/

33. Getting Started:Managing Your Campaigns • Identify Audience (groups) • Create relevant message(s) • Test your copy using mulitple clients • Send your message • Analyze your results • Modify your campaign • Clean your list(s)

34. Emarketing Considerations • Build Effective Landing Pages • Often, successful email marketing is thwarted by ineffective landing pages. There’s a big difference between a click and a conversion. • Deliverability • ISP Limitations, Bounces, Client Filters, Image Suppression, Clients • Preview and Test Your Message • Consider optimum dates and times for delivery (Tuesday-Thursday benchmark eroding) • Fulfillment and Support • Can you react effectively to a better than expected response? • Are you willing to invest the time in email relationships? • Emerging Trends in the Industry • Behavioral targeting • RSS and Ajax integration into email • Action-generated content distribution • Accredited/Authenticated Sender Process • Support Network: Email Software/Service provider, ISP, recipients

35. Case Study Hotel Pre-Opening A plush, boutique hotel in Texas will open its doors to the public in mid October 2002. Management initiated a weekly email campaign to the most robust travel agent email database available in the US. The campaign gets the hotel name in front of both corporate and leisure travel agents, and allows them to come and visit the promo hotel site, review Web-only specials, and register for a sweepstakes, thus initiating an important interactive relationship between hotel and travel agency community. From hospitality.net

36. Case Study Hypothetical 200-room hotel A U.S. hotel with 200 rooms has an occupancy rate of 62%. The average number of adult guests per room is 1.3 and the average stay is for 2 days for either business or leisure. The total number of guests for the one-year period would be 29,383 guests. If 60% of them use the Internet (average Web usage in the U.S.), the customer email list could be 17,630 strong within 12 months. A smartly done email broadcast to the entire list could produce a 5%-10% response rate, i.e. a minimum of 882 people will click a URL link in the email and come to the hotel website to see a Web-only special or promotion. Experiences show that 3%-5% of these qualified respondents will book i.e. minimum 26-35 people, which represents revenue of $4,420-$5,652 based on 1.9 night average stay and $85 per night ADR. From hospitality.net

37. Case Study Distressed Inventory A Las Vegas hotel casino blasted an email promotion to an existing customer base. The message included a video insert and link to the booking engine. The hotel experienced a 30% boost in occupancy within 12 hours of the campaign. An Orlando hotel blasted an email promotion that included room nights combined with local attractions. The hotel included a "Forward to Friend" button that expanded the initial database. The campaign helped the hotel generate some 40% of total bookings online during that test month. From hospitality.net

38. Creating Conversations, Building Relationships • Email is an efficient application. Don’t be efficient with your message! Find your authentic voice and communicate it appropriately to your audience. • Consumers today want authentic relationships with product and service providers. Act small on a large scale. • Relevance is Priority Number One! • Optimize automated opportunities for marketing. • Trusting relationships take time to build, don’t rush. • Make it easy in every way! • Design is Devine • Get Interactive!

39. Demos • Desktop Email Marketing • GroupMail • http://www.group-mail.com • Web-based Email Marketing • Constant Contact • http://tutorials.constantcontact.com/

40. Resources • Essential Guide to Email Marketing • a free 64 page Guide to Email Marketing by DM News • http://www.dmnews.com/cms/lib/6683.pdf • Email-marketing-reports.com • Dr. Mark Brownlow’s blog about email marketing • http://www.email-marketing-reports.com • The Messaging Times • eMarketing served fresh daily • http://www.messagingtimes.com • Getting Started with Email Marketing • a 4-part series that provides an overview of email marketing • http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/articles.asp?id=212 • Developing a Total Emarketing Strategy • a good article on Hospitality.net by Jason Price and Max Starkov • http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4012285.search?query=email+strategy

41. Oh, yea…PollDaddy

42. Thanks for coming! • For a 25% Discount on GroupMail Personal or GroupMail Business Edition, just send an email to martin@infacta.com mentioning this event. He’ll be happy to look after you.