THE UNTAPPED (UNTIL NOW) POTENTIAL OF E-NEWSLETTERS
AAUP 2016
BUT WHY EVEN SEND E-NEWSLETTERS? 1. ON AVERAGE, (PEOPLE OF ALL AGES) IN THE U.S. CHECK THEIR PHONE 46 TIMES A DAY. 2. BOOKS PUBLISH ALL THE TIME. NOT JUST CATALOG SEASON. 3. IT IS LOW COST. 4. YOU CAN TEST WHAT WORKS. AKA FAIL, AND WIN, AND THEN REPEAT THE WIN. 5. YOU CAN INCLUDE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTENT: BOOK RELEASES, EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS, BLOG POSTS, SALES, SURVEYS, ETC.
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU HIT SEND WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE? HOW WILL THIS LOOK ON THEIR IPHONE? IPAD? WOULD YOU CLICK ON THAT SUBJECT LINE? BETTER YET, WOULD YOU FORWARD IT TO YOUR FRIENDS? WHAT IS YOUR ACTUAL GOAL? SALES? CLICK-THROUGHS? BRAND AWARENESS? MAKING YOUR BOSS HAPPY?? WOULD THIS BE BETTER AS A BLOG POST? WHO SENDS E-NEWSLETTERS THAT YOU LIKE? HOW CAN YOU TEST YOUR CAMPAIGN?
A SOLID E-NEWSLETTER CONTAINS... 1. CONTENT THAT IS 90% EDUCATIONAL AND 10% PROMOTIONAL 2. A GOOD AUDIENCE 3. A CATCHY SUBJECT LINE 4. A STRONG CALL TO ACTION 5. THE SAME APPEARANCE ON A MOBILE DEVICE 6. MINIMAL DESIGN AND COPY
...SO I TESTED THESE WITH: 2 MULTI VARIANCE TESTS 1 BOOK (A BODY, UNDONE) 1 THEME: MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS TEST 1: GENERAL INTEREST LIST (NYU PRESS SUBSCRIBERS) VARIATES TESTED: SUBJECT LINE, CALL TO ACTION TOTAL COMBINATIONS: 8 SUBJECT LINES: 4 CALL TO ACTIONS: 2 (ONE COMBO PER SUBJECT LINE AND CTA) TOTAL RECIPIENTS: 16,000 EACH COMBO WAS SENT TO 1,000 & THE WINNING COMBINATION WAS SENT TO THE REMAINING 8,000.
TEST 1: GENERAL INTEREST LIST CTAS: “ORDER NOW” & “GET MY COPY” SUBJECT LINES:
PERFECT FOR MOTHER’S DAY: A BODY, UNDONE BY CHRISTINA CROSBY A MOTHER’S DAY GIFT YOU’LL WANT TO KEEP FOR YOURSELF HOW IS YOUR MOTHER’S DAY SHOPPING GOING? “A POTENT MEMOIR THAT RIPS OPEN A MOST HUMAN HEART”
TEST 1: GENERAL INTEREST LIST CTAS: “ORDER NOW” & “GET MY COPY” ONE PRIMARY CALL TO ACTION BUTTON APPEARANCE “MY” VS “YOUR”
TEST 2: RECENT WEBSITE BUYERS (NYUPRESS.ORG) VARIATES TESTED: SUBJECT LINE, CALL TO ACTION TOTAL COMBINATIONS: 8 SUBJECT LINES: 4 CALL TO ACTIONS: 2 (ONE COMBO PER SUBJECT LINE AND CTA) TOTAL RECIPIENTS: 6,400 EACH COMBO WAS SENT TO 800 PEOPLE. NO WINNER TEST THIS TIME.
TEST 2: RECENT WEBSITE BUYERS CTAS: “ORDER NOW” & “GET MOM’S COPY” SUBJECT LINES:
PERFECT FOR MOTHER’S DAY: A BODY, UNDONE BY CHRISTINA CROSBY A MOTHER’S DAY GIFT YOU’LL WANT TO KEEP FOR YOURSELF LAST MINUTE MOTHER’S DAY SHOPPING: DONE! “A POTENT MEMOIR THAT RIPS OPEN A MOST HUMAN HEART”
TEST 2: RECENT WEBSITE BUYERS CTAS: “ORDER NOW” & “GET MOM’S COPY” ONE PRIMARY CALL TO ACTION BUTTON APPEARANCE MOM’S/THEME SPECIFIC
RESULTS BREAKDOWN (TIP BY TIP)
TIP 1. CONTENT THAT IS 90% EDUCATIONAL AND 10% PROMOTIONAL CONTENT THAT IS: TIMELY, RELEVANT, INTERESTING AND UNIQUE TO YOUR PRESS. LIKE: -A GREAT BLURB-A BLOG POST, CURRENT EVENTS/RELATED ARTICLE OR GROUNDBREAKING STUDY-AN AUTHOR OR PRESS-HOSTED EVENT-A COMPANION BOOK-A HOLIDAY OR SPECIAL SALE REASON-
UNIQUE SELLING POINT (MEMOIR) & SPECIAL SALE: MOTHER’S DAY
SOLID BLURB
TIP 2. A GOOD AUDIENCE: INTERESTED (OR OPTED) IN FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOPIC YOU’RE SENDING
-GIVE SUBSCRIBERS MULTIPLE OPT-IN OPTIONS, AND LET THEM SELECT AS MANY AS THEY WANT-GET TO KNOW YOUR SUBSCRIBERS DEMOGRAPHICS (AGE, LOCATION, JOB TITLE)-SEND OUT SPECIAL “SUBSCRIBER ONLY” DISCOUNT CODES OR DEALS-OCCASIONALLY ASK FOR FEEDBACK: “WAS THIS E-NEWSLETTER HELPFUL?”-RECENT SUBSCRIBERS/PURCHASERS TEND TO HAVE THE HIGHEST OPEN RATES-
RESULTS DEMOGRAPHICS TEST 1: GENERAL INTEREST LIST
TEST 2: RECENT WEBSITE BUYERS
FUTURE CONSIDERATION: ADD OCCUPATION FEATURE WHEN USERS SUBSCRIBE
TIP 3. A CATCHY SUBJECT LINE (AND A GOOD TEASER, TOO) HAVE A DIFFERENT, CREATIVE, ENGAGING SUBJECT LINE FOR EACH NEWSLETTER YOU SEND
TIP 4. A STRONG CALL TO ACTION MAKE IT SUPER SIMPLE FOR YOUR SUBSCRIBERS TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO — AND THEN DO IT.
RESULTS: TEST 1 COMBINATION WINNER: “A POTENT MEMOIR THAT RIPS OPEN A MOST HUMAN HEART” & “GET MY COPY” PERFECT FOR MOTHER’S DAY: A BODY, UNDONE BY CHRISTINA CROSBY (16.9%) A MOTHER’S DAY GIFT YOU’LL WANT TO KEEP FOR YOURSELF (18.8%) HOW IS YOUR MOTHER’S DAY SHOPPING GOING? (14.5%) “A POTENT MEMOIR THAT RIPS OPEN A MOST HUMAN HEART” (20.2%)
CTA: GET MY COPY (2.6 %), ORDER NOW (1.7%)
TEST 2 COMBINATION WINNER: “A POTENT MEMOIR THAT RIPS OPEN A MOST HUMAN HEART” & “GET MOM’S COPY” PERFECT FOR MOTHER’S DAY: A BODY, UNDONE BY CHRISTINA CROSBY (26%) A MOTHER’S DAY GIFT YOU’LL WANT TO KEEP FOR YOURSELF (27.4%) LAST MINUTE MOTHER’S DAY SHOPPING: DONE!(23.1%) “A POTENT MEMOIR THAT RIPS OPEN A MOST HUMAN HEART” (30.1%)
CTA: GET MOM’S COPY (3.3 %), ORDER NOW (2.8%)
TIP 4.5 (A GOOD TEASER)
WHAT APPEARS IN THE TEXT AFTER THE SUBJECT LINE ON A MOBILE OR DESKTOP. ALMOST A SECOND HEADLINE!
I USED: “IN 2003, CHRISTINA CROSBY WENT ON A BIKE RIDE THAT WOULD CHANGE HER LIFE FOREVER”
TIPS 5 & 6 MOBILE APPEARANCE AND MINIMAL DESIGN LESS IS MORE.
ALTERNATIVE TEXT AVOID USING ONE IMAGE AS AN EMAIL AND LINK ALTERNATIVE TEXT.
RECAP: WAYS TO INCREASE CLICKTHROUGH AND OPEN RATES: TEST! SUBJECT LINES AND CALL TO ACTIONS TRY ACTIONABLE, PERSONALIZED, CLEAR & INFORMATIVE WORDS.
MINIMAL DESIGN AND TARGETED COPY
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE, AND THEIR WANTS AND NEEDS. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS.
PERSONALIZE YOUR EMAIL
WITH UNIQUE CTAS, COPY RELEVENT TO YOUR AUDIENCE & MAYBE A P.S.
INCLUDE SOCIAL SHARING ICONS
MAKING YOUR EMAILS MORE EDUCATIONAL THAN PROMOTIONAL, AND PUTTING ALL YOUR CHANNELS AND ONLINE EFFORTS ON YOUR AUDIENCE’S RADAR.
MAKE YOUR EMAILS MOBILE
INCLUDE ALT TEXT FOR PHOTOS AND BUTTON APPEARANCES FOR CTAS.
KEEP LEARNING.
FOLLOW YOUR COMPETITION, ASK YOUR AUDIENCE & TRY SOMETHING NEW.
SARA JOHNSON MARKETING ASSOCIATE, HUMANITIES NYU PRESS SARAJOHNSON@NYU.EDU @NYUPRESS @SARASOLAMAE WWW.NYUPRESS.ORG