While your competitors are still sending generic blasts, you have a unique opportunity: take your email welcome campaign to the bank. Utilize it as the beginning of a positive and lasting relationship with your new subscribers.

1. The webinar will start in just a few moments…
After please take our Mobile Marketing Survey!
Open today thru 8/16/2012
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2. Three Strategies to Convert New Subscribers to
Loyal Buyers
Based on research by MarketingSherpa
Sponsored by:

3. Introductions
W. Jeffrey Rice
Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa
Email: jeffrey.rice@MECLABS.com
Twitter: @WJeffreyR
Meghan Lockwood
Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa
Email: meghan.lockwood@MECLABS.com
Twitter: @meghanllockwood
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4. Join the conversation on Twitter
#SherpaWebinar
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5. Presentation
slides
Attendees
will receive a
link of
today’s slide
presentation
after the
event
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6. #sherpawebinar

7. Annual research-based process leads to
improving email marketing performance
• Benchmark Report
- Find what really works for
thousands of email marketers
• Handbook
- Identify best practices and
formulate a methodology
• Knowledge transfer
- Teach email marketers how to
apply best practices
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8. Benchmark Research Library – since 2008
• The collective wisdom of more
than 48,000 marketers
• Nearly 5,000 pages of analytical
commentary and marketer
insights
• More than 6,000 charts and data
tables to validate what’s working
– and what’s not – in marketing
today
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9. Research background
2,735 organizations surveyed on:
– Challenges and goals for email
marketing programs in 2012
– Email tactics, list growth, relevancy,
deliverability, and metrics
– Testing and optimization methods for
2012
– 170 charts and tables
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10. Chart: CMOs top objectives for email marketing
• 85% of CMOs recognize Driving website traffic
27%
65%
sales as a priority
Increasing lead generation 55%
19%
• Only 21% of CMOs report Qualifying leads 27%
18%
it is very effective
increasing revenue Nurturing prospects 52%
31%
Increasing sales conversion/ 85%
revenue 21%
Completing post-sales transactions 9%
41%
Improving customer retention 48%
22%
Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey
Methodology: Fielded July 2011, N=2,735
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11. Address the problem
How do I create the optimal
onboard experience to build
a long-term customer
relationship with the
subscriber?
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12. 3 strategies to convert new subscribers to loyal
customers
I. Invest in long-term
relationships
II. Increase responsiveness
III. Reduce readers anxiety
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13. #sherpawebinar

14. Be ready to improvise
3 keys to make a long-term
investment in a new
subscriber:
1. Make a good first impression
2. Gradually learn more about
subscriber
3. Extend the conversation with a
welcome series
"Yes And..." The First Rule of Improvisation
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15. Make a good first impression

16. A flawed analogy
g = 9.81 m/s2
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17. It’s a climb
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18. Start by giving a hand
The manner in which a company
communicates when a sales transaction is
not eminent speaks volumes about its
credibility and brand truth
“Rather than focus on being interesting,
be interested “
Brian Carroll
Executive Director, Revenue Optimization,
MECLABS
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19. Humanize your content
“Effective
engagement is
inspired by the
empathy that
develops simply by
being human.”
– Brian Solis
Author of Engage and
The End of Business
as Usual
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20. Single opt-in welcome message(s)
• Remind the new subscriber of
where and how they opted-in
to your list
• Deliver value immediately
• Start with a sincere “thank you”
• Give more than expected
• Share evergreen content (past
newsletters, video links, webinars, or
podcasts)
• Give a discount or exclusive access
• Confirm content and
frequency expectations
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21. Single opt-in welcome message(s)
• Ask to be whitelisted
• Offer links to unsubscribe and privacy policy
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22. Gradually learn more about subscriber

23. Take it slow
“The truth must dazzle gradually” - Emily Dickenson
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24. Ask follow up questions
• Take advantage of
welcome emails high open
rates to harvest more data
• Remind subscriber of the
win-win proposition
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25. Write as you would a friend
“…And finally, to
nurture our
Friendship, I’m keen
to hear what offers
and events you’d like
to be invited to.
Please take 2 minutes
of your time to tell
me what you’d like to
see.”
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26. Extend the conversation with a welcome series

27. Audience Question:
“How many welcome touches perform
best? Should you suppress a new address
until they complete a welcome series, or
send to them in tandem?
- Ben
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28. Case Study
• The Company: StudentBeans.com
• The Marketplace: University students
• The Product: online portal with a
variety of offers and content
• The Channel: Email
• The Campaign Objective: Drive more revenue from its email program by
encouraging new subscribers to make a first purchase sooner
Read the full case study at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=32212
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29. Step #1. Set the audience and timing
• Opt-ins receive a
confirmation email
immediately and a
welcome email 24
hours later
• The welcome series
would span six straight
days
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30. Step #2. Set the offer strategy
Except for the first email,
each email features a single
offer to spur action
Based on
• Popularity
• Profitability
Customized by
• Location
• Self-reported gender
#sherpawebinar

31. Step #3. Design the first welcome email
The first email alerts
subscribers to the up
coming messages
• Welcome series note - "over
the next six days, you will
receive a bonus bundle of
fantastic free stuff and
brilliant offers."
• Subscription reminder -
"we’ll send our Top Twenty
offers to your inbox every
week."
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32. Results
• 13% increase in revenue
compared to the original
welcome email
• 66.7% higher average open
rate for the newsletters
delivered after the series
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33. Welcome series
• The goal of the series of
emails is to move the
subscriber quickly from
"kicking the tires" to an
educated buyer
• Give the new opt-in
something to look forward
to with a five-week
education course
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34. Common campaign categories
• Education
• Address unanswered questions and concerns
• Metrics, testimonials, and third-party data help calm
fears
• Recipient can better represent brand to an unseen
committee
• Entertainment
• Connect with funny or emotional stories
• Life transition
• B2C examples: birth, first home, retirement
• B2B examples: installation steps, activation
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35. #sherpawebinar

36. Case Study – Automated welcome campaign
• The Company: Gander Mountain
• The Marketplace: Retail
• The Product: Outdoor equipment
• The Channel: Email
• The Campaign Objective:
Leverage its rich subscriber data to
improve its deliverability and
conversion rates
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37. Solution
Start by focusing on welcome
emails:
1. Instituted automated welcome
emails
2. Sent welcome email with in 24 hours
3. Simple “thank you”
4. Coupon code offer active for a week
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38. Results
• Gander’s typical email sales-
per-delivered rate is at $0.03,
but the welcome email is at
$1.85
• The average order value from
their welcome email is $20
more than the overall ($126
vs. $106)
• The welcome email responses
represent 30% of all email
marketing revenue
#sherpawebinar

39. Poll question:
How quickly will a new subscriber receive an email
communication after he or she registers for your email program?
 Immediately
 1-24 hours
 2-7 days
 8-30 days
 More than 30 days
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40. Chart: Response time after registration
50%
The best time to send is now
23%
10%
7%
4%
Immediately 1-24 hours 2-7 days 8-30 days More than
Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey 31 days
Methodology: Fielded July 2011, N=2,735
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41. Automate emails
• A single or series of emails created by a defined set of rules
based on dates, events or behaviors that are automatically
sent to a subscriber
• Consistently achieve higher
open rates due to timing
and relevancy
• Make up 22% of organizations
overall email volume
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42. Chart: Most popular automated email messages
Welcome 63%
Thank you 54%
Transactional (e.g. bills, receipts) 48%
Post purchase (e.g. product review) 32%
Upsell (e.g. product recommendations) 26%
Activation (e.g. how to) 24%
Date triggered (e.g. renewals, reorder) 22%
Win back/ reengagement 17%
Event countdown 16%
Triggered based on website behavior 13%
Shopping cart abandonment 11%
Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey
Methodology: Fielded July 2011, N=2,735
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43. #sherpawebinar

44. Case Study
• The Company: SavvyMom
• The Marketplace: Digital publishing
• The Product: Exclusive email
devoted to practical solutions
for moms in Canada
• The Channel: Email and mobile
• The Campaign Objective: Educate new subscribers on the
choice of five separate city newsletters editions and a
website packed with mom-centric content
Read the full case study at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=32168#
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45. Step #1. Define the messages and timing with
the reader’s perspective in mind
The overall goal of the series was to gradually warm the reader up to the
brand and then teach them how they can best engage with it.
Message 1: Guide subscribers to their next step
Message 2: Enhance the subscriber expérience
Message 3: Increase awareness
of future emails
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46. Step #2. Personalize the content
The personalization is in
how they became
subscribers.
• Website – dynamic text
fills in readers name and
simply thanks them
• Contest - dynamic text is
used remind readers of
the contest name and
show appreciation
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47. Step #3. Make engagement natural for readers
• Kept a consistent look and feel with
both the email and website so there
was no surprise once a reader
clicked through
• Leveraged technology to ensure
emails rendered correctly
• Cascading Style Sheet 3 for small screen
• Use of Alt text to display alternative text
with a functioning link when a image
doesn’t render
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48. Results
Improvement of subscribers’
long-term engagement
• The open rate for the
subscribers who received the
new welcome series was 63%
higher than for those who
didn’t.
• The clickthrough rate for this
group was 117% higher.
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49. Communicate cautiously
• Immediately sending a welcome
message can prevent future
spam complaints
• Reinforce expectations set
during the opt-in process
• Confirm subscription
• Restate the frequency
• Separate new subscribers
• Send a double opt-in welcome
message from a separate server
until you determine the addresses
are accurate
#sherpawebinar

50. Establish explicit expectations
1. WHAT - Clearly state what type
of content you will be sending
2. WHEN - Identify how often you
will be sending email
communications
3. WHY - Spell out the features
and benefits to crystallize your
value proposition
4. WANE WORRY- Add a link to
your privacy policy
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51. Review registration page design
• Creativity consistency
• The registration page’s style
should be similar to the style of
the ad or email that brought
visitors to it
• A consistent brand image,
language and tone will give the
potential subscriber comfort in
knowing he or she landed on the
correct page
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52. Review registration page design
• Similar to homepage,
sets expectations
• Single minded focus to
capture email address
• No distractions, only
reinforcement of the
value proposition
• Testimonials and third-
party endorsements
reduce anxiety
#sherpawebinar

53. Audience Question:
“How many registration fields should I ask
the new subscriber to enter?
- Matt
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54. Confirm registration with welcome email
• Thank you and welcome
emails confirm the opt-in
• Continue to set content
expectations
• Subscribers know what to
look for in their inboxes
#sherpawebinar

55. Put yourself in a subscriber’s shoes
A brand’s definition of
compelling content may differ
from its recipients’
• Are you delivering what you
promised?
• Has the brand message or
email design been altered
since the subscriber has
opted in?
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56. Be considerate
Other notable brands include: Avon, NASCAR, PETCO and Sears
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57. #sherpawebinar

58. Our research indicates email marketers extract
the greatest value from their opt-ins when they…
Invest in the long-term
Increase responsiveness
Reduce reader anxiety
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59. Automatically receive new Bronto white papers, blog posts, case studies and
webinar invites by subscribing to the monthly Tips & Tricks newsletter.
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60. This handbook report includes:
• 252 pages focused on top email marketing
strategies
• 65 Real-life examples of what works
• 13 Marketing Research charts with analytical
commentary
• 7 Worksheets and 4 exercises
• 5 elements for effective Welcome emails
• 10 mobile design tips
Get your copy for an additional $100 off
Visit MECLABS.com/100-bronto and
use the promo code 302-HB-5004
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61. Sherpa’s new Mobile Marketing Survey
• Open today thru 8/16/2012
http://sherpa.bb52fb6a3099.sgizm
o.com/s3/
Receive a complimentary copy of the
18-page 30 Minute Marketer “Start
Mobile Marketing” for completing
this survey. ($47 value)
#sherpawebinar

62. Thank you!
W. Jeffrey Rice
Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa
Email: jeffrey.rice@MECLABS.com
Twitter: @WJeffreyR
Meghan Lockwood
Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa
Email: meghan.lockwood@MECLABS.com
Twitter: @meghanllockwood
#sherpawebinar