How do they do it? (Email marketing secrets from big brands)

Part 2

On Friday I posted the first part of this blog (referring to an article published on iMedia) discussing some highlights and pointers on strategies big brands use in their, very successful, email marketing campaigns. 

The last one I mentioned was Timberland and their excellent approach of looking at click data and using the information to make sure that their campaigns are relevant to their subscriber’s behavior and interests.  The question I left you with on Friday was “how do you track this data and measure your subscribers' preferences?"

You can, of course, look at your GraphicMail reports, but if you want a general overview of your website’s visitors you can set up a free Google Analytics account.  It’s a free tool that allows you to see what people do when they visit your website – like what pages or features they click on most frequently, i.e. what captures their interest.  GraphicMail also offers free Google Analytics integration, meaning once you have a Google Analytics accounts you can link it to your GraphicMail account.  That way, you can also track what links people click on in your emails, if they go through to your website and even if they then made a purchase on your site.

It’s a great way to send them follow-up emails based on their past purchases and preferences, thereby personalizing your campaign!

Banana Republic has improved their campaign through extensive testing.  Subscribers are a whimsical bunch – what works for one might not work for the other and what worked today might not work tomorrow.  Banana Republic’s campaign has been continuously refined to suit their market’s preferences.  Test your own campaigns through A/B split testing.  It’s a way of testing subject lines and newsletter variations against each other to see what works best.  You can see which of your test emails yielded the best results (opens and click-through rates) and adjust your email newsletters accordingly.  Play around by testing subtle changes in design or content.  If you’re planning on drastically revamping your emails, it’s also a good idea to test the new format to see how well your readers respond to it.
The secret behind Banana Republic’s effective testing, is that they do so continuously and regularly.

Boyd also commends Banana Republic for their timely responses and immediate welcome and thank you emails.  I know you’ve heard me rant and rave about TriggerMail, but such automated welcome and thank you emails really are very easy to set up!  It shows your subscribers that they’re recognized and valued.

Of course, no email campaign will succeed without well-crafted content.  The article contains many valuable points on what can be viewed as winning content and draws examples from the brands mentioned.  A relevant, clear message (in good writing!) will go a long way in ensuring that subscribers stay tuned into your emails, rather than just skimming and deleting. 

Take some advice from the big shots and apply some of these strategies to your own campaigns – you might surprise yourself!