Email Marketing Optimisation Case Study

Flamingo Gifts Marketing Campaign Review
Flamingo Gifts is an online shop specialising in unique and novelty presents. In a competitive market, Flamingo Gifts needed to ensure that they had the edge over rivals. As well as working on their SEO and launching a new site in Summer 2013, MoneySpyder’s in-house team took over the site’s email marketing campaign.

What We Did

Firstly, MoneySpyder developed a marketing calendar for Flamingo Gifts to introduce a more disciplined and forward thinking approach to their weekly emails. We also made the signup process much simpler on the Flamingo Gifts website. This increased the rate of list growth, which was highly beneficial in the run up to Christmas. We tested a number of email elements to ensure that each part of the marketing campaign was optimised.  These included landing pages, enticing subject lines and different layouts in order to maximise engagement with customers. 

The Results

In a two month period Flamingo Gifts saw a 71% increase in email traffic whilst email conversions almost tripled. These improvements have shown the importance of email testing and, more broadly, forward planning for marketing strategy. By developing the process from the marketing calendar upwards we have ensured that this success can be sustained throughout 2014

Are you interested in improving your email marketing strategy? Read more here or get in touch by email on info@moneyspyder.co.uk, or phone 0207 492 1929.

Top Five Ecommerce Articles for February 2014

January flew by and we can't believe it's already February. Here's our round up of the best Ecommerce articles from the first month or so of the year, giving us a broader picture of what 2014 is shaping up to look like for online retailers.

1. 33 Mind Shattering Email Marketing Statistics You Know Need to Know in 2014 - Mind shattering indeed. Read here.

2. Building SEO-Focused Pages to Serve People and Topics Rather than Keywords and Rankings - Good overview of optimising landing pages for SEO. Read here.

3. Four Types of Content Every Site Needs - How many types of content does your site have? Compare it here.

4. Matt Cutts Declares the Death of Guest Blogging for SEO - The topic on everyone's lips when it comes to SEO. Read here.

5. YouTube Marketing and Analytics: A Primer for Magnificent Success - YouTube advertising is getting much easier, and much easier to do badly. Read tips here.

If you need help with any of the above areas - SEO, Linkbuilding, integrated marketing, content creation, SEO for YouTube or Analytics - take a look at our site to see what we do, or drop us an email. 

The only thing we can't help with this February is finding you a date for Valentine's Day...

Maximising your Email Content

Email Content

Meaningful Messages

Why make the effort?

Even in this age of shifting social media trends, email is still ranked as one of the most important marketing channels, if not the most important. Good email content not only enhances your brand image but also allows online retailers to build a sustained marketing campaign. It is a crucial for good engagement with customers both pre- and post-sale.

In fact, studies suggest that…

·       91% of consumers check their email daily.

·       74-77% of consumers prefer to receive commercial communications via email.

·       Email marketing has an ROI of 4,300%.

Dos and Don’ts of email content

DO

·       Test everything. Especially your subject line. 33-35% of people open emails purely based on the subject line.

·       Include easily identifiable links to your site, remembering to consider your landing page carefully. People don’t want to have to search for a product they’ve just clicked on.

·       Plan. Prepare an email marketing calendar in advance so that you know when promotional/sales events are coming up.

·       Tag your campaigns in order to monitor their success using Google Analytics.

DON’T

·       Forget that around 50% of emails are read on smartphone or tablet screens. Email design that responds automatically to the device it’s opened on is crucial.

·       Write too much. Keep your copy brief and your images engaging.

·       Rely on gimmicks or spammy sounding offers to try and increase customer engagement. Your email will either end up in the junk folder, or you’ll destroy customer trust in your brand.

Tips for growing your email list

·       Incentivise sign-up with special offers for those who are subscribed.

·       Reassure clients that you won’t share their data with other parties.

·       Make sure your opt-in/subscribe box is clear and prominent on your website. 

·       Go for quality of subscribers over quantity – better a few subscribers who buy regularly than a long list of recipients who don’t even open the email.

·       Show people who aren’t subscribed what they’re missing using Twitter, Facebook etc.

Segment your emails

Remember your different sectors of target customers.

Are you trying to…

…engage with people who haven’t bought from you before?

...re-engage with people who haven’t bought for a while?

…encourage people who buy regularly?

The secret to great marketing…

Test everything.

The idea of a generic ‘best email marketing practice’ can only go so far. You know your customers best – and if you don’t, testing is the way to find out everything you need to know about them. The obvious example is A/B testing subject lines to determine best open rates. Other things to consider include:

·       Which are the best days and times to send out emails. This will vary depending on whether you are marketing your products to other business who are usually contained between the hours of 9-5 or individual customers who generally shop out with these times.

·       Different ways of phrasing your calls to action e.g. ‘Buy Now’ vs. ‘Add To Basket’

·       Different layouts. Mix it up, pure and simple.

Want any help or advice on email content? Get in touch on 0207 492 1929, email info@moneyspyder.co.uk or visit our website.