STOP BLASTING, START
CONVERSING!
(and converting)
Karen Talavera
President, Synchronicity Marketing
@SyncMarketing
Digital Summit Dallas, December 5-6, 2017
A Success Blueprint for Cultivating Lasting
Relationships with Email Marketing
Karen Talavera is the Founder and
President of Synchronicity Marketing
Providing email marketing strategy, consulting, coaching, training
and education since 2003
Who is Karen?
• Internationally-recognized email strategist, consultant, and speaker
• Leading email marketing trainer and professional educator for the ANA,
MarketingProfs, the DMA and eConsultancy
• Board Member of the Email Experience Council (EEC)
• Member Only Influencers, Women in Email, Alley to the Valley
• Serving data-driven marketers and major brands such as:
About Your Speaker
Before We Begin . . .
1. Take the 2-question survey
for a chance to win a $100
Amazon Gift Card TODAY
2. All responders receive a
free Email Metrics & ROI
Calculator
3. Enter at
http://bit.ly/dsdallasemail
Let’s Start with Mindset
 Mindset over Skillset!
 Just as important as knowing the “what” and
“how” of improving email marketing is knowing
the “why”
Nurture budding
relationships
Segment and
personalize
Sell by Way of
Serving First
Conversation vs.
Broadcast
Think “Long Term
Relationship”
©
Synchronicity Marketing. All rights reserved
Today’s Mindset for Email
Success
©
Synchronicity Marketing. All rights reserved
Marketing Evolved; Did Your Email?
 One-way communication
 One-size-fits-all messaging
 Broadcast vs. conversational
 Little or no segmentation
 Creating demand more important
than creating value
 Primary intent: sell vs. serve
The Old School
 Two-way communication
 Opportunity for dialog
 Segmented messaging in which
content, tone and offers vary by
customer life cycle stage with brand
 Centered on creating long-term value,
relationships and loyalty
 Primary intent:
Sell by way of serving
The New School
Consumer
Time &
Attention Span
Email Volume
& Channel
Engagement
Key to the Inbox: ENGAGEMENT
Be
Subscriber
Centric
Choice &
Control
Listen &
Respon
d
Deepen
Trust
Surprise
&
Delight
But How?
Your Email Program
Framework for Success
Like an Architect, We Need a Plan
 Specific Function
 Amusement
 Utility
 Infrastructure
 Foundation
Variety is the Spice of Life
 People become immune to and ignore repetition
 Both predictability and unpredictability are effective;
each is appropriate for different communications
 Over promoting is self- vs. audience-serving
 Content “sells by way of serving”
 1:1 messaging gets personal, and personal stands out in
a crowded inbox
 Variety increases utility
1:1 Personal
Interactive
Engagers
Educational & Informational
Content Marketing
Promotional
Foundational
Continuity programs like newsletters, bulletins,
updates, style guides, etc.
Segmentation Message Volume
Low
High
High
Low
Under-utilized growth opportunity
Email Program Blueprint
Level 1: Foundational
 Purpose
 Communication baseline: maintain
channel relationship
 Create CONTINUITY
 Umbrella messages if higher
volume is a challenge
 Foundational programs reinforce
and establish intentional redundancy
with your single-subject messages
Level 1: Foundational
 Defining Characteristics
 Low Segmentation (usually sent to entire list or broad
segments)
 Wide content and topical range, but organized
 Regular, predictable schedule important!
 Weekly or MINIMUM once a month
 Issue date, month or other identification included
 Content vs. promotion-centric
Level 1: Foundational
 Types
 Monthly Newsletters
 Weekly Bulletins
 Company & Community News,
Announcements
 New Product
or Feature Alerts,
Announcements
 Holiday Greetings
Level 1: Foundational ExamplesB-to-C
B-to-B
Level 2: Promotional
 Purpose
 Directly or indirectly generate
revenue
 Raise awareness of merchandise,
products, and services available
 Encourage use or trial of free sites,
services, or systems
 Expand share of wallet
Level 2: Promotional
 Defining Characteristics
 Urgency
 Brevity
 Clear CTA
 Price-and-offer-centric
 Event or Seasonally-Themed
Level 2: Promotional
 Types
 Direct selling
 Sales, Discounts, Close-outs
 Coupons (to stimulate
purchase especially offline)
 Limited-time-or-quantity offers
 Membership or Subscription
offers
 Free or limited trial
Level 2: Promotional ExamplesB-to-C
B-to-B
Level 3: Informational
 Purpose
 Build relationships over time
 Progress customers into deeper relationships
by informing, teaching, serving prior to sale
 Create KLT (Know, Like, Trust) Factor
 Leverage content developed for other places
 Create breaks from promotional messaging
 Don’t be “the friend who only calls when you
need something”!
Level 3: Informational
 Defining Characteristics
 Usually a series (or “drip”) campaign
 May or may not come on a predictable, regular
schedule
 Always more in it for receiver vs. sender
 Selling by way of serving first
 Content-centric
 Video is huge – leverage videos if you have them
Level 3: Informational
 Types
 Promote Content for
 Lead generation
 Lead nurturing
 Driving site traffic
 Product-related education
 New user/system training
 “How-to” series
 Value-added tools, information
related to product or category
Level 3: Informational ExamplesB-to-C
B-to-B
Level 4: Engagers
 Purpose
 Reactivate
 Entertain, amuse, involve
 Collect feedback and input
 Further develop a conditioned pattern of response to
low-commitment actions (like taking a survey) to reduce
resistance to high-commitment actions (like buying)
 Pattern-interrupt from promotional AND content-heavy
email
Level 4: Engagers
 Defining Characteristics
 Extremely audience-focused
 Often leverage interaction in
complementary channels,
specifically social media
 Lower-commitment and faster
response than content
 Experience-centric
Level 4: Engagers
 4 Main Types
 Educational: Interactive learning,
training, apps
 Entertainment (gamification):
quizzes, games, fun
 Feedback-oriented: Surveys,
ratings requests, polls, voting,
reviews
 Reward-Driven: Sweepstakes,
contests, prize drawings
Level 4: Engager ExamplesB-to-C
B-to-B
Level 5: 1-to-1 Personal
 Purpose
 Respond to specific subscriber behavior,
lack of behavior, or personal
characteristics
 Stimulate action at the individual level
 Reach right person at right time
 Recognize key personal milestones
(customer anniversary, birthday,
expire/renew dates, re-order intervals,
etc.)
Level 5: 1-to-1 Personal
 Defining Characteristics
 Personalized (by name or other
data attributes)
 Dynamically-customized content
 Audience of one
 Deployed using automation, AI, or
rules-based marketing
 Triggers can be behavior, date,
action or inaction
 Low volume, highest response
Level 5: 1-to-1 Personal
 Types
 Welcome, Onboarding
 Abandoned Cart/Browse
 Anniversary or Birthday
 Cross-sell/Up-sell
 Next Product Recommendation
 Thank You/Bounce-back
 Product/Subscription
Replenishment
 Expire Notice/Renew
 Loyalty/Frequency
Program Status
Level 5: 1-to-1 Personal
 Types
 Welcome, Onboarding
 Abandoned Cart/Browse
 Anniversary or Birthday
 Cross-sell/Up-sell
 Next Product Recommendation
 Thank You/Bounce-back
 Product/Subscription
Replenishment
 Expire Notice/Renew
 Loyalty/Frequency
Program Status
Level 5: 1-to-1 Personal
 Types
 Welcome, Onboarding
Abandoned Cart/Browse
 Anniversary or Birthday
 Cross-sell/Up-sell
 Next Product Recommendation
 Thank You/Bounce-back
 Product/Subscription
Replenishment
 Expire Notice/Renew
 Loyalty/Frequency
Program Status
Level 5: 1-to-1 Personal ExamplesB-to-C
B-to-B
Last Chance . . .
1. Take the 2-question survey
for a chance to win a $100
Amazon Gift Card TODAY
2. All responders receive a
free Email Metrics & ROI
Calculator
3. Survey at
http://bit.ly/dsdallasemail
Program Planning:
Blueprint for Email SuccessPutting It All Together:
My Program Planning Process
Create a Program Matrix
 Map campaigns by level and lifecycle stage
 Identify both existing programs, and gaps
 Which campaign types should be received by:
 Leads/prospects?
 New customers/first-time buyers?
 Existing customers?
 Defecting or inactive customers?
 Identify relevant subscriber segments by product, line
of business, B-to-B/B-to-C, etc.
Example Program Planning Matrix
Then Prioritize Your “New” List
• A successful program feels more like a two-way
conversation than a “blast” or broadcastConverse vs. Blast
• Leverage marketing automation to trigger
customized, “sense-and-respond” campaignsIntelligent Automation
• Separate content into smaller chunks; don’t “stuff”
emails, leverage content assets
Strategically Use
Content
• Advance-plan series and sequences including
branching tracks, initiation- and end-pointsBe Intentional
Summary
Let’s See Who Won!
Site/Blog: www.SynchronicityMarketing.com
Email: karen@SynchronicityMarketing.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/SynchronicityMarketing
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/KarenTalavera
Twitter: @SyncMarketing
Phone: 561.738.5138
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
Digital Summit DC, September 6-7 2017

Stop Blasting, Start Conversing & Converting with Email Marketing

  • 1.
    STOP BLASTING, START CONVERSING! (andconverting) Karen Talavera President, Synchronicity Marketing @SyncMarketing Digital Summit Dallas, December 5-6, 2017 A Success Blueprint for Cultivating Lasting Relationships with Email Marketing
  • 2.
    Karen Talavera isthe Founder and President of Synchronicity Marketing Providing email marketing strategy, consulting, coaching, training and education since 2003 Who is Karen? • Internationally-recognized email strategist, consultant, and speaker • Leading email marketing trainer and professional educator for the ANA, MarketingProfs, the DMA and eConsultancy • Board Member of the Email Experience Council (EEC) • Member Only Influencers, Women in Email, Alley to the Valley • Serving data-driven marketers and major brands such as: About Your Speaker
  • 3.
    Before We Begin. . . 1. Take the 2-question survey for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card TODAY 2. All responders receive a free Email Metrics & ROI Calculator 3. Enter at http://bit.ly/dsdallasemail
  • 4.
    Let’s Start withMindset  Mindset over Skillset!  Just as important as knowing the “what” and “how” of improving email marketing is knowing the “why”
  • 5.
    Nurture budding relationships Segment and personalize Sellby Way of Serving First Conversation vs. Broadcast Think “Long Term Relationship” © Synchronicity Marketing. All rights reserved Today’s Mindset for Email Success
  • 6.
    © Synchronicity Marketing. Allrights reserved Marketing Evolved; Did Your Email?
  • 7.
     One-way communication One-size-fits-all messaging  Broadcast vs. conversational  Little or no segmentation  Creating demand more important than creating value  Primary intent: sell vs. serve The Old School
  • 8.
     Two-way communication Opportunity for dialog  Segmented messaging in which content, tone and offers vary by customer life cycle stage with brand  Centered on creating long-term value, relationships and loyalty  Primary intent: Sell by way of serving The New School
  • 9.
    Consumer Time & Attention Span EmailVolume & Channel Engagement Key to the Inbox: ENGAGEMENT
  • 10.
  • 11.
  • 12.
    Like an Architect,We Need a Plan  Specific Function  Amusement  Utility  Infrastructure  Foundation
  • 13.
    Variety is theSpice of Life  People become immune to and ignore repetition  Both predictability and unpredictability are effective; each is appropriate for different communications  Over promoting is self- vs. audience-serving  Content “sells by way of serving”  1:1 messaging gets personal, and personal stands out in a crowded inbox  Variety increases utility
  • 14.
    1:1 Personal Interactive Engagers Educational &Informational Content Marketing Promotional Foundational Continuity programs like newsletters, bulletins, updates, style guides, etc. Segmentation Message Volume Low High High Low Under-utilized growth opportunity Email Program Blueprint
  • 15.
    Level 1: Foundational Purpose  Communication baseline: maintain channel relationship  Create CONTINUITY  Umbrella messages if higher volume is a challenge  Foundational programs reinforce and establish intentional redundancy with your single-subject messages
  • 16.
    Level 1: Foundational Defining Characteristics  Low Segmentation (usually sent to entire list or broad segments)  Wide content and topical range, but organized  Regular, predictable schedule important!  Weekly or MINIMUM once a month  Issue date, month or other identification included  Content vs. promotion-centric
  • 17.
    Level 1: Foundational Types  Monthly Newsletters  Weekly Bulletins  Company & Community News, Announcements  New Product or Feature Alerts, Announcements  Holiday Greetings
  • 18.
    Level 1: FoundationalExamplesB-to-C B-to-B
  • 19.
    Level 2: Promotional Purpose  Directly or indirectly generate revenue  Raise awareness of merchandise, products, and services available  Encourage use or trial of free sites, services, or systems  Expand share of wallet
  • 20.
    Level 2: Promotional Defining Characteristics  Urgency  Brevity  Clear CTA  Price-and-offer-centric  Event or Seasonally-Themed
  • 21.
    Level 2: Promotional Types  Direct selling  Sales, Discounts, Close-outs  Coupons (to stimulate purchase especially offline)  Limited-time-or-quantity offers  Membership or Subscription offers  Free or limited trial
  • 22.
    Level 2: PromotionalExamplesB-to-C B-to-B
  • 23.
    Level 3: Informational Purpose  Build relationships over time  Progress customers into deeper relationships by informing, teaching, serving prior to sale  Create KLT (Know, Like, Trust) Factor  Leverage content developed for other places  Create breaks from promotional messaging  Don’t be “the friend who only calls when you need something”!
  • 24.
    Level 3: Informational Defining Characteristics  Usually a series (or “drip”) campaign  May or may not come on a predictable, regular schedule  Always more in it for receiver vs. sender  Selling by way of serving first  Content-centric  Video is huge – leverage videos if you have them
  • 25.
    Level 3: Informational Types  Promote Content for  Lead generation  Lead nurturing  Driving site traffic  Product-related education  New user/system training  “How-to” series  Value-added tools, information related to product or category
  • 26.
    Level 3: InformationalExamplesB-to-C B-to-B
  • 27.
    Level 4: Engagers Purpose  Reactivate  Entertain, amuse, involve  Collect feedback and input  Further develop a conditioned pattern of response to low-commitment actions (like taking a survey) to reduce resistance to high-commitment actions (like buying)  Pattern-interrupt from promotional AND content-heavy email
  • 28.
    Level 4: Engagers Defining Characteristics  Extremely audience-focused  Often leverage interaction in complementary channels, specifically social media  Lower-commitment and faster response than content  Experience-centric
  • 29.
    Level 4: Engagers 4 Main Types  Educational: Interactive learning, training, apps  Entertainment (gamification): quizzes, games, fun  Feedback-oriented: Surveys, ratings requests, polls, voting, reviews  Reward-Driven: Sweepstakes, contests, prize drawings
  • 30.
    Level 4: EngagerExamplesB-to-C B-to-B
  • 31.
    Level 5: 1-to-1Personal  Purpose  Respond to specific subscriber behavior, lack of behavior, or personal characteristics  Stimulate action at the individual level  Reach right person at right time  Recognize key personal milestones (customer anniversary, birthday, expire/renew dates, re-order intervals, etc.)
  • 32.
    Level 5: 1-to-1Personal  Defining Characteristics  Personalized (by name or other data attributes)  Dynamically-customized content  Audience of one  Deployed using automation, AI, or rules-based marketing  Triggers can be behavior, date, action or inaction  Low volume, highest response
  • 33.
    Level 5: 1-to-1Personal  Types  Welcome, Onboarding  Abandoned Cart/Browse  Anniversary or Birthday  Cross-sell/Up-sell  Next Product Recommendation  Thank You/Bounce-back  Product/Subscription Replenishment  Expire Notice/Renew  Loyalty/Frequency Program Status
  • 34.
    Level 5: 1-to-1Personal  Types  Welcome, Onboarding  Abandoned Cart/Browse  Anniversary or Birthday  Cross-sell/Up-sell  Next Product Recommendation  Thank You/Bounce-back  Product/Subscription Replenishment  Expire Notice/Renew  Loyalty/Frequency Program Status
  • 35.
    Level 5: 1-to-1Personal  Types  Welcome, Onboarding Abandoned Cart/Browse  Anniversary or Birthday  Cross-sell/Up-sell  Next Product Recommendation  Thank You/Bounce-back  Product/Subscription Replenishment  Expire Notice/Renew  Loyalty/Frequency Program Status
  • 36.
    Level 5: 1-to-1Personal ExamplesB-to-C B-to-B
  • 37.
    Last Chance .. . 1. Take the 2-question survey for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card TODAY 2. All responders receive a free Email Metrics & ROI Calculator 3. Survey at http://bit.ly/dsdallasemail
  • 38.
    Program Planning: Blueprint forEmail SuccessPutting It All Together: My Program Planning Process
  • 39.
    Create a ProgramMatrix  Map campaigns by level and lifecycle stage  Identify both existing programs, and gaps  Which campaign types should be received by:  Leads/prospects?  New customers/first-time buyers?  Existing customers?  Defecting or inactive customers?  Identify relevant subscriber segments by product, line of business, B-to-B/B-to-C, etc.
  • 40.
  • 41.
    Then Prioritize Your“New” List
  • 42.
    • A successfulprogram feels more like a two-way conversation than a “blast” or broadcastConverse vs. Blast • Leverage marketing automation to trigger customized, “sense-and-respond” campaignsIntelligent Automation • Separate content into smaller chunks; don’t “stuff” emails, leverage content assets Strategically Use Content • Advance-plan series and sequences including branching tracks, initiation- and end-pointsBe Intentional Summary
  • 43.
  • 44.
    Site/Blog: www.SynchronicityMarketing.com Email: [email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/SynchronicityMarketing LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/KarenTalavera Twitter: @SyncMarketing Phone: 561.738.5138 THANK YOU! QUESTIONS? Digital Summit DC, September 6-7 2017

Editor's Notes

  • #2 Fr
  • #5 Yes I want you to walk away with practical action steps you can take for better email. But even more importantly, before you get into “doing”, I want to set you up for correct “thinking”. I’d be remiss if I didn’t try to convey a healthy mindset for understanding what you can do with email, where it works best, and why. I want you to have realistic expectations of what email excels at, and what it doesn’t. Of where it’s highly effective, and where it isn’t. Just as important as knowing the right things to do with email is knowing the right way to think about it and not misuing it.
  • #6 When individual email marketers say, "I send batch-and-blast, and I'm doing fine," that's ignorance on a par with people who believe old-fashioned direct mail is the only marketing channel that pays off. Many of us have the same challenges: lack of time, resources and money, as well as management indifference. I know it's hard. I've been on the front lines on the client side, too. I know it's not easy. But If you can innovate your program incrementally so that you learn something new every day and make one small improvement with each campaign, at least you're trying. Just the other day I was talking with someone who wanted to know how he could move from Email Marketing 101 to an advance stage. "Do something. Anything," I said. "Then, at least you're one step closer than the guy who's doing nothing." These five points sum up the way successful email marketers are applying the channel and developing strategy . . .
  • #7 One of the things I love most about email and hands-down the single greatest factor that has kept me interested in working in this space for almost 15 years is that it’s continually evolving and changing, and we need to evolve with it. In this seminar you’re going to see numerous examples of real-life email marketing campaigns that are starting to take advantage of some of the newer approaches I’ll be discussing. But you know what really struck me while putting this together? Despite having an archive of thousands of email marketing messages from hundreds of senders to comb through, it was really hard to find good examples of the points I’ll be illustrating. Most email I looked at fell into predictable patterns or followed static formulas and designs – rarely changing or evolving even from the same sender over time. Basically it was boring, too matter-of-fact, and looked too much like traditional print advertising. So today, if I can inspire you to move your email in a new direction, to appeal to people’s hearts instead of heads, and to take a few risks, I’ve done my job!
  • #8 So let’s understand a recent evolution that has taken place in the marketing demand generation model itself. The old marketing model relied on a funnel approach which was mostly one-way from advertiser to audience. Advertisers were more interested in broadcasting a message to a large, like-minded audience. Audiences usually had little mechanism for feedback – other than to buy or not buy. The market determined the effectiveness of advertising messages, which were designed basically to generate demand for products and sell them rather than communicate the value of such products or any transformational outcome from using them.
  • #9 The new model is quite different. Internet marketing channels like social media sites, blogs, and email make it possible for advertisers and audiences to have two-way conversations. In fact, audiences have shown they are eager to provide vocal and frequent feedback when given the mechanisms to do so. Therefore, the marketers who will succeed in the new world are required to engage in conversations rather than simply broadcast a message to the masses. The goal has shifted from simply selling product (of course, that’s still what needs to happen to stay in business) to developing long-term, loyal customer relationships. Any good direct marketer knows it costs more to generate new customers than keep the ones you already have, so if we continually demonstrate value through information, education, entertainment and by way of serving communities, customers will stick around. The new model has evolved into selling by way of serving rather than selling by way of promoting.
  • #10 So, as advertising channels increasingly grow both more fragmented and more targeted, we see less consumer time and attention given to any one. However, with channel proliferation each channel becomes part of a holistic whole that frames brand and customer perceptions, so the idea is they need to work together, in concert. You can’t afford disconnects between online and offline marketing, nor between the different components within each context. Furthermore, you can’t afford to make an emotional disconnect from email to email as you step through your program. There should be continuity, connection and a consistent context. But we’ll get to that shortly.
  • #13 just as the blueprint for a building is drawn up and certain essential parts of the building support specific functions and needs, the blueprint for your email program support be designed for base levels to support advanced.
  • #15 Pyramid showing 5 types of messages that together make a successful email marketing program (from broadest to narrowest segmentation) Foundational (broadest segmentation, continuity, general) Newsletter, bulletin Promotional Educational & Informational (Content Marketing) – nurturing tracks Entertaining & Engaging (games, contests, surveys, user feedback, fun) Personal (1:1 Triggered)
  • #19 EEC email live link with animation: http://inboxgroup.msgfocus.com/q/13Z4lyUWwEZJ6V3syPREB/wv
  • #21 Content can support but is not the lead approach in promo campaigns.
  • #22 Replace example with B2C
  • #26 Replace w/new example – keep B2B
  • #28 (li
  • #30 Replace w/newer example