I Attended a Fantastic Webinar on Email Marketing Today
November 8, 2007
I don’t have a lot of experience in email marketing. But, many of Bold’s clients are growing closer to the email marketing stage of our online marketing services.
So, today I attended a free webinar on email marketing offered by Elastic Path, an ecommerce software company based out of Canada.
After the hour long event ended, I was blown away at how much information they gave away for free. I learned:
- Emails with one offer convert better than emails with multiple offers
- Test and track trends. Plan future strategies according to the results
- Don’t use the term “e-newsletter” if you’re sending out promos or quick tips. “E-newsletter” indicates long emails with editorial content, something most people don’t have time for
- Put the call to action in multiple places
- Images are turned off by default on most mail clients, so be sure you have text and not just images
- Use HTML not CSS
- User-generated reviews convert well (as long as they’re authentic and have authority)
- Build, don’t buy lists
- Don’t assume the competition is doing it right
- Do’s and Don’ts for opt-in lists
- Know your audience and target accordingly for message and timing
as well as many many more things.
They provided examples of solid practices from:
- Air Miles
- Dell
- Staples
- The Body Shop
- Legendary Whitetails
- Home Depot
- Roots
- Chapters.Indigo.ca
The good news is that my already existing online marketing skills are easily transferable to email marketing. I feel much more confident in engaging in this channel and not like I’ll be winging it or faking it for my clients.
Elastic Path truly knows how to conduct a webinar. I’m glad it wasn’t a disguise for a sales presentation! I’m amazed at all the take-away knowledge I gained.
Tell me about your webinar experiences by leaving a comment!
Posted in Online Custom Publishing by Nathania Johnson
1.919.451.8983
November 8th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Nathania, sounds like a great webinar - thanks for the info! I have bookmarked it so I can get the details when they post it to the archive. I am trying to get more proficient with email marketing too.
November 8th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Hi Nathania,
It’s me Carolyn (who, you ask?!)…Well, I was actually the guest presenter on elastic path’s webinar today and I’m thrilled you had so many great takeaways! If you’re turned on to email marekting, you really should go to our blog where you’ll see posts from myself and my Sitebrand colleague, the lovely and talented Kelly Rusk. Thanks again for the positive feedback on the webinar!
November 8th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Cool. Thanks for the summary and also for the link to Elastic Path.
I’m just finishing up two print-based direct-marketing campaigns, and I suspect that a lot of the wisdom is transferable to/from e-mail direct marketing.
The biggest struggle: self-discipline in reducing the number of “messages” in each piece.