In this interview mailfloss chats with Ted Rubin, a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Author, Speaker, and Provocateur, about how he uses the concept known as Return on Relationship™ as the driving force behind his marketing strategies (including email marketing).
The post Sharing, Conversation, and Emotionally Connected Content Will Be the Ads of the Future appeared first on mailfloss.
Instead of thinking in terms of "Convince and Convert," start thinking in terms of "Converse and Convert." Helpful content gives your customers reasons to stay engaged—not just react—and also increases brand advocacy.
At mailfloss we’re focused on helping email marketers get the most from their email marketing campaigns. We do this in a few different ways. First, we help email marketers improve their deliverability through the use of our email list verification tool. Secondly, we work hard to educate email marketers on the various topics relating to running a successful email marketing campaign.
Today, mailfloss had the opportunity to chat with Ted Rubin, a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Author, Speaker, and Provocateur, about how he uses the concept known as Return on Relationship™ as the driving force behind his marketing strategies (including email marketing).
We have a really exciting interview planned for you today, so without further ado, let’s jump into the discussion.
Hello Ted and thanks for speaking with our blog readers today. In 2009 you started evangelizing the term ROR, Return on Relationship™. I love this. You also wear a shirt on your social media profiles that says "be good to people". Your focus on building positive relationships in a digital age is paying off. You have over 500K twitter followers. Okay, let's kick off the interview by asking the question on everyone's mind... How did you build up such a huge social following? What are some actionable tips you can give to others who have similar ambitions?
Hard work, persistence, valuing engagement and relationships, and leveraging early entry to a number of platforms, particularly Twitter.
BE Authentic, don't just ACT it. This might seem obvious... but authenticity is on the verge of becoming just another buzzword in the social/content marketing world.TRUE authenticity (not just using that word often in your tweets and posts) will set your brand (product or personal) apart in today's highly competitive market. Followers/Advocates are attracted to REAL, and can sniff out fake in a heartbeat.
REAL trumps PERFECT because REAL creates TRUST.
Syndicate, syndicate, syndicate... share your content via all social channels always including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, which also makes it easy for others to share. And don't be afraid to do it more than once periodically sharing old posts via your social channels, especially those that were well received.
What tools, technologies, systems, or processes did you need to have in place to keep your audience engaged while continuing to grow?
For me it is not about tools, but about strategy, and execution. My most important social media tools are...
1 – My personality.
2 – My passion.
3 – My obsessiveness with being connected.
You do a lot of work in the world of social media, but how do your relationship-building principles apply to the world of email marketing?
Growing your list is not simply about numbers... it's about adding value to what you do. In order to ensure that happens, the following are important parts of the process...
1. Permission is a privilege, not a right: Consumers do not owe us their attention, and they certainly do not owe us their permission. We need to EARN their permission, and that's not done by a gimmick or a flashy set of ads. Permission is earned through quality content and offers, genuine interest in and deep understanding of consumer preferences/needs, and a consistent track record that builds trust. Keep the trust, keep the permission, keep the follower.
2. Relevance is king: We all hear daily that content is king – so let's take that one level further and point out that it's not just the volume or brilliance of content that matters to your followers, it is how that content relates to them. If content is not relevant to them, it is nothing more than a waste of your time and a reason for the follower/consumer to take away permission for ongoing interaction with you.
3. It's all about relationships: People must come first – in your growth strategies, in your marketing plans, and in every interaction that you have. When you place highest priority on people, you take the time to do all those hugely important things that build relationships:
And the result? You get and keep your permission to continue and build a relationship with them. In other words, permission is your ROR, #RonR (Return on Relationship).
Remember that Permission is a two-way street, and the traffic signals are controlled by your followers. Be their Green Light... not their stop sign!
What have been some of your most successful campaigns (or campaigns you're most proud of) where you’ve used email as the main (or one of the main) channels for building up relationships? Why do you think this campaign was so successful?
At e.l.f. cosmetics, in 2008-2010 my responsibilities included communicating with and building e.l.f.'s client base (membership increased from a few hundred thousand to in excess of 2.4MM during my tenure), leveraging brand equity through strategic marketing programs (with many major brands and publishers), and creating/developing/managing a major thrust into social media initiatives and partnerships, leveraging the outreach of email with the connectivity of social media platforms, and building the most highly respected social media presence in the cosmetics industry at the time.
This was so successful because it merged traditional PR, email's immediacy, and the ability of social media to create/spread PR and sales opportunities. This was a first for many companies and something which many are yet to understand how to leverage and coordinate.
In your book "Return on Relationship" you talk about the importance of going from “convince and convert” to “converse and convert”. What do you mean by this?
Things ARE changing. Traditional advertising certainly isn't extinct, but there is simply too much noise out there, and people are sick of it. They're shutting out the blast advertising that has crept into every aspect of their lives and centering in on the things they truly care about—friends, family, personal interests and needs, and social connections. You need to take a step back and study this shift in order to take advantage of it.
For brands, that doesn't mean you can simply move your blast advertising campaigns into social channels. You actually have to make real conversation with real people and help them get what they want. That means knowing your prospects well enough to understand what they want. It also means creating content that's helpful, entertaining, educational, or all of the above—content that helps them make a decision; content they want to share with friends.
Smart brands have noticed that we're moving to a "connection economy," and they are producing ongoing content that meets the new search "relevancy" standards. They've studied their audiences, listened to their social conversations, and have developed plans to use that content in their social profiles to emotionally connect to their audiences and encourage conversation. When it resonates, it gets shared and receives comments and likes, which makes that brand more visible.
What it all boils down to is that in the new world of content marketing, the Content "IS" the Ad. Sharing, conversation, and emotionally connected content will be the ads of the future. Instead of thinking in terms of "Convince and Convert," start thinking in terms of "Converse and Convert." Helpful content gives your customers reasons to stay engaged—not just react—and also increases brand advocacy.
So start thinking like a publisher because the more relevant, helpful content you create, the better you can drive engagement. And as my Return on Relationship (#RonR) formula illustrates...
Content drives Engagement, Engagement drives Advocacy, and Advocacy correlates directly to Increased Sales.
In your experience what are the three most common problems that stop being from seeing the dramatic results they desire?
1 - Looking back too much. Not learning from your mistakes, while trying not to second guess yourself too much.
2 - Worrying about the perfect plan. Try things and get immediate feedback (which you can do easily these days through social media).
*3 - Giving up too soon and letting too much time go by before trying again.
You're also a big believer in the importance of building thriving and engaged communities. What are some practical tips you can give our audience members who might just be starting out building their own communities and want to see them grow? What are some strategies or techniques you've seen used well to help scale the size of these communities?
A Network gives you Reach, BUT a Community gives you Power!
Networks Connect... Communities Care
A small, passionate community of like-minded people can often accomplish far more than a larger, less-connected group working on the same challenge. Building a dedicated community takes effort, but it's one of the most effective ways to build your brand, your business, your home. The power of relationships scales up when you create opportunities for passionate people to connect.
So don't get hung up on the size of your network. Instead, whether it's around a cause, a topic of interest, or developing your next product or service... work on ways to connect that network into, and empower/enable, vibrant communities. Networks are just a series of nodes, communities support each other, look out for each other, and have lifeblood. Don't underestimate the power of the "collective."
1. Be Adaptable
Although you'll approach any community with content, social, and problem-solving methods and tactics, you should not apply cookie-cutter solutions to a unique community. To build a valuable community you need to be able to quickly understand and grasp the unique nature, concerns, desires, and values of each group.
2. Follow Up... Engage, Interact, Be Present
One of the most important elements of being an effective community builder is fostering genuine relationships with your community. Following up means building trust, and this is the foundation of a strong relationship and hopefully, a future brand, personal, or group advocate.
*3. You Really Need to Care About It
Here's the big difference between a 'community builder' and a 'social media manager': if you're going to successfully build communities, you really have to care about what you're doing, because this means being an active participant in the community as well.
4. Learn How to Listen.
Listening, in general, is an underrated skill. Too often, however, listening is the first thing to go when we're pressed for time. Keep creating great content and conversation, but be sure to stay involved in the conversation always.
Do you focus more on paid or organic relationship building? When is there a time for one over the other?
I am strictly focused on organic relationship building. I believe for personal branding it is the only way to go, and even at a corporate branding level, use paid media to bring people to the table, but then empowering employees to build these relationships is what will result in long-term value.
In another book of yours, "How to Look People in the Eye Digitally", you mention that "we've let social and mobile technologies hold us back". What do you mean by this? What can we do to overcome this obstacle?
The last few decades have made us lazy communicators. Most often we don't even pay attention to who we are talking to other than via the data we collect (and even that's a maybe). In order to fix this and really start to benefit from social relationships (both as individuals and as companies), we need to start "looking people in the eye digitally." We don't need to fit our world to digital, we need to fit digital to our world.
It's time to stop making excuses, and start bringing in-person social skills to the digital world. All of the positive benefits are out there waiting, and it's up to us to make the effort to realize them.
Over the years I've been asked by a lot of people how they can be more successful in building relationships on social channels. And the one thing that keeps coming to the surface is the importance of being "present" when you're talking to someone.
You know how it is when you meet someone at a conference or in a networking situation and they're constantly looking around the room to see who else is there, or they're looking at their watch, or anywhere except at you? Those signals mean they aren't really "present" in the conversation, so there is no true connection.
The same principles apply to online relationships, so I'm a big proponent of doing what I call... Looking People in the Eye Digitally, as well as personally. Introductions and ongoing relationships in social platforms require the same personal attention as the human touch and eye contact in a physical relationship, so here are 12 tips for making that happen:
1. Always address them by name (even if you have to dig a little).
Sometimes it can be hard to figure out a person's first name by their Twitter, Facebook or Instagram handle. However, the human need to be addressed by their given name is still important. When you're thanking someone for a re-tweet or a share, make sure you mention them by name. You might have to look at their profile to find it, but do it!
2. Find something in their bio and make mention of it.
The need for recognition goes beyond just names. When someone takes the time to look at your bio, picks up on something there and mentions it to you or asks you about it, you can't help but respond favorably. Make a habit of looking at other people's bios when you're opening up conversation.
3. Show them that you're listening to what they're saying (reference conversations, etc.).
Listening is every bit as important digitally as it is personally. Stop thinking about what you're going to say next and REALLY listen to what the other person is saying. Reference something they said in an online conversation and ask them about it. Read their blog—take a look at their website, and look for ways you can connect based on what you've learned.
4. Make it personal and authentic.
Look for possible connections to what you like, places you've been–would like to go–kids, etc. When you're looking at a person's bio (or Blog or About Page on their website), look for inter-personal connection points where your lives might intersect. "Oh, I see you live in Park City, Utah—I love to take my kids skiing..." Make sure it's an authentic connection. If you're not a skier, don't say you are.
5. Find them on all possible channels and link up–not just one.
If you meet someone on Twitter, look for other platforms they frequent. You might have to dig a little and go to their website or do a search for them on Facebook or LinkedIn, but make the effort to connect with them on different channels. You never know where the next conversation might crop up that will spark an opportunity.
6. Give them an online recommendation (such as LinkedIn).
Giving a recommendation or testimonial spontaneously demonstrates thoughtfulness. People get notifications via email or on the platform that you've reached out, and this effort won't go unnoticed. However, recommendations should be authentic and based on your knowledge of their business or interactions with them—not empty platitudes. And don't do this with the intention of getting a recommendation in return. Give it as a genuine gift without expectation.
7. Send a note with a helpful link or photo "just because".
Before the Internet, a common practice in business networking was to clip out a 3rd-party article (not your own stuff), put a note on it and mail it to someone you thought could benefit (Amy, I thought of you when I saw this!). Do the same thing via social messaging, but it should be on an individual basis. Reference an article link, a video or send a photo—use their name and tell them why you sent it!
8. Put them in a list so their social interactions don't get lost in the stream.
Most platforms have list options, so use them wisely to keep track of those you want to interact with regularly. As social streams get crowded, it becomes more important to segment your feeds and keep track of people. The old adage "out of sight, out of mind" really is true, both online and off.
9. Ask a question to get their opinion (not a poll).
Asking someone for their individual opinion shows them that you care about what they have to say. Look for those opportunities to deepen conversation.
10. Pick them out in a crowd.
Do you participate in Google Hangouts or Twitter Chats? Look for familiar handles/names and make a point to say hi individually. Here again, personal recognition is a key in keeping those relationship fires burning.
11. Wish them a happy birthday and make it unique.
When you get an opportunity to wish someone a Happy Birthday, as with Facebook's birthday reminder, make it a point to make it personal rather than just a generic wish. Find a good birthday quote—add a picture—mention something unique about them... and use their name.
12. Take it off-line.
Make it regular practice to offer yourself publicly for a short telephone one-on-one to find out more about someone or just catch up. Ask how you can network or refer them business. Most importantly, make it about THEM. Asking "How can I help you?" builds great rapport.
Thank you greatly for taking the time to chat with the mailfloss email marketing blog readers today Ted. This has been a really insightful interview. To our audience, if you’d like to learn more about Ted and the work he does, you can follow him on Twitter or head over to his website here.
In this interview mailfloss chats with Ryan Phelan, the co-founder of the email marketing agency Origin Email. Ryan has two decades of experience working within the world of email marketing, so we’re excited to have him with us today to share his insights with us.
The post Think about Your First Email like You Would Your First Handshake or Eye Contact appeared first on mailfloss.
If you were to meet your customers in real life, how important is that first greeting, that first handshake, that first eye contact? Is talking about your company important? Yes! That's why that first email matters.
At mailfloss we’re focused on helping email marketers get the most from their email marketing campaigns. We do this in a few different ways. First, we help email marketers improve their deliverability through the use of our email list verification tool. Secondly, we work hard to educate email marketers on the various topics relating to running a successful email marketing campaign.
Today, mailfloss had the opportunity to chat with Ryan Phelan, the co-founder of the email marketing agency Origin Email. Ryan has two decades of experience working within the world of email marketing, so we’re excited to have him with us today to share his insights with us.
So without further ado, let’s jump into the discussion.
Hi Ryan and thank you for joining us today to talk about your involvement in the email marketing space. You have almost two decades of experience in this niche! Let's jump in and have you tell us what drew you specifically towards email as a marketing channel early on in your career?
I've been in email marketing for more than 20 years. I started off in the digital space running affiliate and email marketing programs for a start-up business in Omaha, and I ran email on an app on my computer. Ah, the good old days!
What drove me to concentrate on email marketing was that it showed more promise than affiliate marketing, even in those early days. It wasn't just the free flow of information in that first era of email. It was that the innovation arc for email is very long. The up side for me was the ability to get messages into the user's inbox at their invitation, to see our messages in the same place as valued personal email.
I loved the flexibility of email and what email could do. The pace of innovation is changing email, but email is also changing and accelerating the pace of innovation. Try to find a mobile app that doesn't have email as the primary or secondary connection to the user.
Well, that and the huge mROI keep me in email!
You also run Origin Email Agency, which is an agency that helps mid-market and enterprise companies with email marketing. You help with overarching strategies, comprehensive modeling and segmentation to name only a few services. Let's start with strategy. What are the biggest mistakes you see email marketers make when it comes to email marketing strategy? How can they overcome these mistakes?
The biggest mistake is that email marketers don't spend enough time on strategy. Marketers focus too much on tactics. They don't take a step back and look at why someone reads their emails instead of how they read them. From promotional to triggered emails, from welcome messages to cart abandonment, any kind of email message you can think needs to have a strategy, a "why" behind it.
That's the theme I see at company after company that I've worked with. The first thing I do when I start working with a new company is to ask them about their email strategy and then wait for the crickets while they try to come up with something.
After that, I dive into helping them create a strategy, and that defines the path forward in their program. I can teach them about strategy, walk them through a strategic brief and help them understand why it's different from a creative brief. I've learned that when people are trained properly, they can do a strategy session in 30 minutes and end up saving time down the road.
Let's talk a little about overarching strategy and strategy design. Now a lot of small teams have a challenging time putting together a month's worth of email content. How do small business entrepreneurs balance the need for an overarching email strategy while working within the confines limited resources?
These claims about limited resources – they're just excuses for not doing the work. Every business owner has a business plan that took time to create because it's important to the success of the business. Entrepreneurs who say they don't have time to map out email strategy are missing the boat, and I question their leadership abilities.
You don't have to plan out a strategy a year in advance, or even a month. That can be a monumental goal for some people. Maybe you plan on Friday for the week ahead. You don't have to map out each point in your strategy either. Take the time to figure out the general themes and direction, and then fill in the details as the campaign gets closer.
You can always change your direction. Just don't make up excuses about why you can't do it.
Can you tell us a little bit more about what "modeling" is and how email marketers should approach their own email modeling strategies? What are some techniques you've seen successfully used when it comes to email modeling?
Modeling is something everybody should be doing. It's an upgrade from segmentation. Here's how it fits in:
Modeling is a great technique for companies with large amounts of data and data scientists to come up with formulas for creating useful buckets of customers. With modeling, you can run it against new customer behavior and then run it again to look for changes in behavior. Customer behavior changes all the time. As a customer, just because I have an interaction at one point in time with a brand, but I'm not that same customer for all eternity.
Models can help you find the most common and lucrative groups of people and present them for unique marketing opportunities. Then you come back for a strategy to market to these groups that meets their needs.
These can be basic, like purchasing, or attitudinal, or incorporating various third-party data that shows interests, browse behavior on other sites, preferences for things like sports and hobbies and spending patterns.
A model by definition does not have to be vast in its inclusion of data. You can build a model on a couple of data types and use it to say, "This is the type of people I'm looking for." From that, the goal is to predict action and mirror your marketing to support that prediction.
In your experience what are some of the most overlooked marketing automation systems that companies fail to put in place early on? In your experience, which of these automation systems end up having the biggest impact on the bottom line?
Companies generally send a comparatively small number of emails in automations, like order and ship confirmations, welcome emails, behavioral triggers and indicators of interest.
These numbers might be small, but they add up to 50% or more of ecommerce revenue. That's because one thing that doesn't change about email is that relevance is king. If you send relevant info, whether to B2B or B2C users, they'll convert.
Marketing automation looks for micro-moments of customer intent and serves up messaging around them. Suppose I buy a new washer and dryer but not the pedestals that most people buy. A marketing automation will wait seven days and then send me an email suggesting I buy those pedestals because I might already be tired of leaning down to put laundry in or take it out.
Marketing automation recognizes that micro-moment and sends me a message that supports it. And it usually pays off.
You have to find your micro-moments and serve them with appropriate emails. It could be an abandoned cart reminder or a next-logical product or something else. The problem is that many people ignore these messages because they take time to set up, or they don't want to analyze the data that tells them what kinds of messages to create.
The other issue with marketing automation is that people let their messages get outdated because they aren't looking at them every day or testing them for success.
If you do go back and check on your automated messages, you could find it's time to change things up. One client moved an abandoned-cart email back by one week. That change took 5 seconds to make but it boosted their conversion rate.
If you were to walk into a small bootstrapped startup today and take control of their marketing for the day, what three things would you do (or systems would you put in place), to help with sales?
Well, first, I would need a 12-hour day. But I could make it work.
For the first couple of hours, I would learn everything I could about the company: its programs, offers, sales, customer service and customer types. I wouldn't just talk to the executives; I'd go visit the front-line employees. I would want to learn the big motivators, the reason to believe in that brand.
Next, I would spend a couple hours working up a marketing strategy, looking for efficiencies, opportunities and directions and prioritizing them. Do we need to create marketing automations? Bring the website up to date? What's the low-hanging fruit that will get us big wins right away? After that we can look at projects that will take longer to execute on.
Finally, I would spend the rest of my day writing strategy briefs, reviewing copy, teaching marketing strategy and making sure the marketing team is aligned on our goals.
One thing I would not do: Come in with a silver-bullet plan that will fix everything all at once. That doesn't exist. You have to put in the hours and do the work.
Let's talk a little bit more about email sequencing. What advice would you give to a company who is just starting their email campaign regarding the spacing of their sales focused emails? For example, should companies send two, three or five value focused email first before sending a sales focused email? How do you approach this ratio?
My answer to any question on frequency or timing is this: What does your end user want to see? You have to define who your end users are and create messaging that makes sense to them. Should you send one welcome email, or two? Three? 10? There's no single standard or right answer.
Think about what your end user wants, and deliver on that.
I've talked a lot about the self-justification of email messaging. Does your end user really want to see that message, or are you sending email just to send an email? Often you'll find the answer in testing. Test different series, different numbers and timing. The answers can depend on whether you're a new or established company.
That's why I'm not going to say that you must send your abandoned-cart reminders at 24 hours, one day and three days after abandonment. Those are starting points. They'll be different for each company. So you start, and then you test. To develop a good abandoned-cart program you might have to spend six months planning it, testing all the variables and then fine-tuning it.
Tell us a little bit more about some of the best first emails that a company can send out. Why is the first email so important?
To answer this question, I'll ask another one: If you were to meet your customers in real life, how important is that first greeting, that first handshake, that first eye contact? Is talking about your company important? Yes! That's why that first email matters.
Your welcome email sets the relationship. It tells your end users who you are and what they can expect from your emails. Don't drone on about yourself forever; make it short, sweet and to the point. If you can't sum up your company in three bullet points you need to rethink it!
Lastly, if you were tasked with growing the email list of a bootstrapped company from 100 to 1000, what are three strategies you would use to help you achieve that goal without breaking the bank?
None of these will be easy to do. So, relax and enjoy slow growth to 1000.
First: Look at every prospect or subscriber touch point and have lead collection there for your email program. A lot of companies miss this basic step to capture people's information.
Next: Look at your email communications and be sure you are delivering value to your end users.
Finally: Look at your opt outs. How many subscribers have stopped interacting with you? Plug those holes. Make sure you are not losing people for no apparent reason. It's easier to keep them than to replace them and then acquire more to keep growing. Acquisition is about quality,
Thank you greatly for taking the time to chat with mailfloss’s email marketing blog readers today Ted. This has been a really insightful interview. To our audience, if you’d like to learn more about Ryan and the work he does, you can follow him on Twitter or head over to his website here.
The best cart abondment emails we could find are just a click away. Read this article on the best card abandonment emails to see our picks. We'll tell you why we picked what we did, as well as give you ideas on how to make your cart abandonment emails better.
The post The Best Cart Abandonment Emails: 10 Top Picks appeared first on mailfloss.
The dreaded abandoned cart plagues even the best eCommerce experts on the planet. But, luckily for you, we have the abandoned cart email.
Wait, you’re not using it? Are you crazy?!
Having effective cart abandonment emails is like having a salesperson chase people down the street until they come back and buy something.
In this article, we’ll show you some examples of the best abandoned cart emails you can use. And some of the methodology behind why it works so well.
Statistics show that 75-85% of shoppers will abandon their cart. Can you imagine if that happened in actual stores? 8 out of 10 people in the store just fill their cart full of stuff and abandon it in the middle of the store.
That would seem crazy, right?
But, it’s actually happening online every day. There are incredible opportunities for eCommerce store owners who know what they’re doing here. But they must be willing to take the extra step to bring these customers back to their cart.
Many online stores aren’t doing this, so it’s one more thing that you can do to give yourself an advantage over your competition.
If nearly 8 out of 10 shoppers are leaving their carts behind, what are they doing when they do that? Maybe they’re consulting a spouse or partner about the purchase. Perhaps they got sidetracked with kids or something else.
Regardless of the reason, they originally wanted to make that purchase. Now you need to be the one to drive them back. So they can make it happen this time around.
It’s essential that you have a systematic process for handling cart abandonment. Otherwise, you’re basically telling your customers to leave their stuff behind and go shop somewhere else.
Let’s take a look at some of the best cart abandonment email examples so you can see firsthand what everyone else is doing.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
We love this email, and that’s why we chose it first. It checks all the boxes by telling the user not to forget about the product they left behind. And they add a bit of scarcity to the email by telling them to get it before it's gone.
It’s great that they include an actual photo of the product itself. Then they remind the user that they offer free delivery and easy returns to incentivize them to go through with the purchase.
They could possibly make the CTA button a bit more eye-catching, but it plays into the overall clean design of the email. So that’s being super nit-picky and may not be necessary.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
Once again, a super solid email that would need extreme nit-picking to find anything wrong. They tell the user to show their dog some love and complete the order before the cart expires.
The call to action button stands out in a different color. And they feature a cute GIF of a dog excited to open their Barkbox.
Below they also remind the user what they ordered and some of the perks of doing business with Barbox. It’s a great cart abandonment email that could only get improved by them showing the contents of their box in the GIF.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
Dollar Shave Club is the King of fun and new-aged marketing. Their cart abandonment email example runs with the same strategy. They have this cute bear at the top that likes new friends but won’t get any unless you join the club.
It’s the kind of fun and entertaining marketing that is true to their brand, and it’s what makes people love them so much.
They go a step further by including testimonials in their email, which is always a solid choice. If you're on the fence about whether these razors were necessary for your life, you might read those testimonials and think twice.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
Here’s an opportunity for you to take the methodology of one company and improve on their email that already works. This company speaks its user's language and even personalizes it based on the product they bought.
The problem is the CTA is extremely unclear, and the email itself doesn’t look that great. Overall, it’s still one of the best cart abandonment email examples, so take it and use it for yourself.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
This email does a lot of things right by appealing to a niche audience again. They use a lot of bright colors and things that stand out in your inbox, which is super important.
I like that they show the product in the cart, the total cost, and have a bright checkout button at the bottom. This makes the process seem easy again.
Since it’s a supplement company, I would recommend that they include testimonials or social proof of some kind. Even a button that says something like “10 people bought this today!” or something along those lines.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
We love the headline on this email because it shows the reader that the product they want is in high demand. That feeling of scarcity and FOMO is what motivates people to buy something right away.
It’s also nice that they offer two different ways to contact customer service at the bottom. If there is a question that is holding them back this acts as reassurance. Overall, the email is super clean, it looks nice, and it’s Google, so they’ve got that trust built-in.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
We wanted to provide you with a so-so email to give you an idea of what we’re looking for and what we’re not. So far, we’ve covered a lot of emails that have done it perfectly. Amazon leaves a lot of room for improvement here.
First, the email doesn’t look that great. You’re hit with all these irrelevant links that have nothing to do with the email itself. There isn’t a call to action, and there is no scarcity or time sensitivity involved in this email. It’s more so a simple reminder that you’ve abandoned your cart, and you should head back to it.
There are many elements they could add to this email to improve it. But hey, it’s Amazon, so it must be working pretty well, right?
<insert Jeff Bezos mean I do what I want>
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
This might be one of the best cart abandonment email examples of all time. The email looks super-refined, it’s professional, but at the same time, it does what you would want it to do. It gets people to go back into their cart and make that purchase.
It’s great that they use a small FAQ section at the bottom. This is to address any objections the user might have in the back of their mind. So if they don’t feel like going through the customer service process, these questions are great.
At the top, they also discuss all the things you can do with this product to try and make the user want it more. Finally, they include a really high-quality photo in the middle to show the user what they’re missing out on. They could’ve thrown in another CTA button, but overall, this is an exceptional email.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
Here is a great example of how everyone should have abandoned cart emails. It’s perfect, and we’ll tell you why.
First, they show a picture of the actual product, which makes the email feel personalized and catered to them. Second, they tell you that the product is saved in the cart but only for a limited time. This vacuum is an expensive purchase, so the individual might have had to consult a spouse or someone else before making that purchase.
The sense of urgency they’re creating is great, and they even provide you with four reasons why you should shop at Dyson. The email copy is clean, the overall design is beautiful, and they check all the boxes.
What looks great:
What could use improvement:
This email is another great example - this time from Virgin Atlantic. They keep it personal by addressing the person by their name and telling them that they’re really close to taking a trip somewhere.
You never know, maybe this person is about to travel somewhere amazing. And all they need to do is hit that final checkout button to put a big X over something on their bucket list. In this case, you want to make the user feel something, and Virgin does a great job of doing that here.
The email copy is super clean, straightforward, and helpful. They provide the full summary of what the user is getting, so they can review it, which eliminates all the roadblocks of uncertainty.
If they included an FAQ section or something that provides the user with more information that might be helpful. They don’t provide a way to contact customer support or receive any form of help with anything either, which could be improved.
Having the best cart abandonment email examples is only the beginning, you need to now take what you’ve learned and apply it. Take some of these emails, and if you find one in your niche, use it with some tweaks and enjoy watching your revenue climb.
Even if you don’t see an email on this list that’s in your niche. You can still take their examples, use them as a template, and build on it from there.
Remember, there are customers out there right now who’ve decided to make a purchase from you but got distracted in some way. Go get ‘em!
In this interview mailfloss chats with Joe Pulizzi, the founder of Content Marketing Institute, about trends in the content marketing space and how these trends could have an impact within the world of email marketing.
The post Most Content Marketing Programs Take Well over a Year to Bear Fruit appeared first on mailfloss.
You don't have to convince marketers about content marketing anymore...at least to try it. You have to convince them that it takes time and patience for it to work.
At mailfloss we’re focused on helping email marketers get the most from their email marketing campaigns. We do this in a few different ways. First, we help email marketers improve their deliverability through the use of our email list verification service. Secondly, we work hard to educate email marketers on the various topics relating to running a successful email marketing campaign.
Today, mailfloss had the opportunity to chat with Joe Pulizzi, the founder of Content Marketing Institute, about trends in the content marketing space and how these trends could have an impact within the world of email marketing.
Without further ado, let’s jump into the interview.
Hi Joe and thank you for joining us today to talk about your experience in the marketing space. To say you are a leader in this space is an understatement. You're a best selling author and the founder of Content Marketing Institute, a leading global content marketing and education company. Let's have you jump in and tell us what it was about content marketing that pulled you in early on and never let you go?
I've had a special place for the practice of content marketing since the year 2000. That was the first year I knew something like content marketing was actually a thing. I fell in love with the idea that we could deliver communications to our customers and prospects that actually made their lives better (regardless if they bought the product or service). That you could actually help and teach people, and by doing so, they were more likely to buy your offerings.
You were WAY ahead of the trend when it came to seeing the power of content as a marketing and sales tool. Why did you have such faith in content as a form of marketing before others saw the potential? Did you have a particular positive business experience that made you realize "wow this is an area I need to double down on"? If so, what was that experience?
First of all, content marketing has been around for hundreds of years, even though the term is relatively new (a little over 10 years). I believed in it because I saw it work first hand. I sold content marketing services to large business-to-business companies and saw that it was helping them build amazing relationships through email newsletters, custom magazines and then later into blogs and social media.
After selling it to customers for seven years, I went "all in" on the practice to eventually create Content Marketing Institute. I saw so much potential but there was very little information available for marketers on how they could do it right. Shortly after CMI was created, we knew that an event was critical to the industry's growth. So we launched Content Marketing World. Today, the content marketing community comprises the most amazing people I have ever met.
In your very early days, what were the biggest doubts and criticisms you heard about content marketing? How big of a challenge was it to get businesses to see the potential you saw in content marketing?
There were many. How do I sell it internally? How do I know it will work? Where can I find budget for something like this? How do I integrate it with the rest of my marketing? These are all reasonable questions that happen from anything new.
The challenge was that 15 years ago there were not many case studies available. Then Red Bull came along. Then BlendTec. And then a hundred more. Once the large enterprises, like Microsoft, started to dabble in it, we became confident that we were on the right track.
Today, how have those doubts changed? When you hear people doubt content marketing as an effective marketing tool today, what are their common objections? How do you respond to these doubts or rejections?
You don't have to convince marketers about content marketing anymore...at least to try it. You have to convince them that it takes time and patience for it to work. Most content marketing programs take well over a year to bear fruit. This is a challenge since most enterprise marketers have the patience of a gnat. Content marketing programs are generally killed, not because of lack of results, but because the executive team either loses faith in the program or doesn't understand what the content marketing team is trying to do.
That's why, right from the beginning, you have to tell the marketing executive team not to expect anything for nine to 12 months. Now, you may reap benefits before that, but you need to keep expectations in line. It takes time to build quality relationships with customers.
How have you seen content marketing strategy shift in the last 5 years? Are there any interesting content marketing trends you're seeing as being unusually effective?
The biggest shift I see happening right now is that large brands are starting to consider buying distressed media assets instead of just building internally. I believe this is a huge opportunity for brands out there who want to shorten the cycle of building loyal relationships. Also, with all the privacy regulations going on right now, first-party data is critical...so purchasing first-party databases is incredibly smart. I just wrote an article about how media companies are selling to their advertisers.
If you had to give a percentage for the amount of revenue that content drives for your company (or client companies you've worked with), what would you say the % of revenue that content drives in most cases?
That's a tough question. When I was at CMI, 99% of our revenue came from content marketing initiatives because that's all we did to market. Also, content marketing programs should work with your advertising and PR programs (not separately). That said, in most innovative companies you are seeing at least one or two touch points that lead to a sale come from content marketing approaches. This could be an article they find in a search engine. A subscription to an email newsletter or magazine. Listening to a podcast. Watching a webinar, etc.
You previously talked about buying distressed media properties. If you had to acquire a web property to help Content Marketing Institute, what type of property would you be looking for? What traits would you want your acquired web property to have and what role would you want it to play in your portfolio?
I would be looking for the leading education brand in an industry. This could be led by a podcast or a YouTube series or an event. I'm most interested in the first-party database. Is it growing? What's the open rate like? How are unsubscribes? What's the purchasing power of the audience? I would also want to know if they are monetizing the content brand in multiple ways - advertising/sponsorship plus direct sales or more.
You're deeply involved in the world of email marketing as well. As a content marketing specialist, you bring a unique perspective to the world of email marketing. Do you think your background in content marketing heavily influences the work you do with your email marketing campaigns? If so how?
I believe that email marketing is the cornerstone of any content marketing approach. I fully believe in growing subscribers, and the best way to do that (today) is through email. I don't see this changing anytime soon.
Thank you greatly for taking the time to chat with the mailfloss email marketing blog readers today Joe. We really appreciate you taking the time. To our audience, if you’d like to learn more about Joe and the work he does, you can follow him on Twitter or head over to his website here.
