Laura Lorek's presentation at #BlogItSA5 on email newsletter marketing

1. #BlogItSA5- Thank you to our
Sponsors
Geekdom
Webtegrity
Silicon Hills News

2. “A good society contains many different
artists doing many different things. A bad
society coerces artists because it knows
that they can reveal all kinds of truths.” –
Iris Murdoch on why art is essential for
Democracy.
Source: Brain Pickings

3. Don’t Read That/Read This!
Creating Email Newsletters People Want to Read
By Laura Lorek
Publisher/Silicon Hills News
@SiliconHillsNew
@lalorek

4. Why do an
Email
Newsletter?
Build an
audience
Sales and
cross
selling
Retention
and
loyalty
Brand
advocacy

5. Stats on Why
Email
Marketing
Rules
73% of millennials identify email as their preferred
means of business communication.
The number of email users worldwide is forecasted
to rise to 2.9 billion by 2019.
The number of email users in the US was projected
to grow to 244.5 million by the end of 2017, and
254.7 million by 2020.
Nearly 105 billion emails are sent each day; this
number is expected to reach 246 billion before
2020.
Source: WordStream.com

6. Top Newsletter Marketing
Platforms
•1. Emma
•2. Constant
Contact
•3. MailChimp
•4. SendGrid
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7. Design
Something
Worth
Reading
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8. Effective Email Design Tips
Tailor Your Design to Your Audience
• Spend time on a thoughtful
design that appeals to the
audience you’re trying to reach.
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9. Templates
for Mobile
Devices
Use a template that is optimized for mobile
devices. Half of all email is opened on a mobile
device, according to Emma.
One column designs work best.
Highlight just ten items, not 70 things.
Emma also recommends people use a call to
action button – instead of a highlighted link. The
optimal size is 32 pixels by 32 pixels.

10. The use of GIFs and Emojis is on the Rise
in Email Newsletters
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11. How to Get Attention
• Create a newsletter with
compelling content to
generate reader interest
• Make it worthwhile to read
• Don’t overwhelm readers –
summarize and use lots of
links
• Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS
layout)
• Make sure to include a call
to action
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12. But No One Reads
Newsletters Anymore
• Then call it email marketing.
Whatever you call it, email marketing
works.
• Email generates the most return on
investment with a 47 percent return,
compared to the next highest platform,
social media, with a 19 percent return.
• Source: Emma

13. Automate When
Possible
• Companies can increase engagement
with their customers simply by sending
an automated welcome email when
customers sign up.
• Source: Constant Contact

14. When to
Send Email
Newsletters?
Tuesday is the best day of the
week to send email.
Optimal send time is 10AM in
the recipients' own time zones.
Except on Sunday, when the
peak time is 9PM.
Sources: WordStream and MailChimp

15. Transaction rates
are sky high
• “Personalized emails
receive transaction rates that
are six times higher than
others,” according to
Constant Contact.

16. What’s the Return
on Investment?
• For every $1 spent on email
marketing $44 is made in
return, according to a study
by Campaign Monitor.

17. Consumers Want to Hear From You
61 percent of consumers
enjoy receiving
promotional emails weekly.
38 percent would like
emails more frequently.
Don’t worry about turning
customers off by sending
emails too often.

18. Metrics for Engagement
• Open rate – how many subscribers open a newsletter that
arrives in their email inboxes
• Overall click-throughs
• Number of unengaged subscribers
Source: Content Marketing Institute:
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/03/lessons-enewsletter-
perfection/

19. Other Tips
• Make it easy for people to
subscribe and for people to
unsubscribe
• Content should be 90 percent
educational and 10 percent
promotional
• Get Creative with Subject
Headlines
Source: Hubspot - 10 Tips for
Creating an E-Newsletter People
Actually Read

20. CAN-SPAM
Laws
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21. Create Compelling
Content and You’ll
Have Happy
Readers
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26. For more information: contact LauraLorek@gmail.com
@lalorek @siliconhillsnew
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