TFD Blog Series: Marketing Funnel + Email Conversion

We’re almost nearing the end of our series and now that we’ve laid the groundwork to be able to nurture our leads by having the right martech in place, we can get to more of the fun email stuff. From capture to conversion, we’re highlighting some of the best practices that have proved successful for priming our customers to conversion.

It starts with the capture

A successful conversion begins with a successful capture. What does a successful capture look like? Good conversion rates (naturally) plus low unsubscribe rates = longer customer lifetime value. You may be able to get a site visitor’s email by overly inundating them with aggressive pop-ups but will that capture serve you in the long run? We don’t want to strongarm our consumers into starting a relationship with us (or worse, compel them to leave the site). Instead, use more timely pop ups that don’t interrupt or exhaust the reader’s experience. We’re huge proponents of exit-intent pop ups, grabbing someone as they are about to leave the site reads as a timely reader service, not as a method to fill our own email quotas. Also, be honest about your offer and don’t overly gimmick yourself. You are not a car salesman. Don’t sell on price, sell on product. Tell me what I’m going to get and how it benefits me. Lastly, use your site’s email capture rate (number of monthly emails/visitors) to get an idea of how well you’re capturing your audiences information. If the site is your contact’s primary gateway into your database, you better get really good at acquiring it.

Welcome Workflow

First impressions are everything. In fact, we wrote a whole blog post about first impressions. What you do with an email address after you’ve captured it is the telltale sign of who you are as a brand. Do you sign them up for every newsletter you offer? Add them to your third party special offers mailing list? (Please say no.) Instead, create a custom welcome journey the user actually wants to go on. I once heard the phrase ‘add value, before you extract value’ and I’m this close to tattooing it on my arm because it speaks so much to middle-funnel-marketing. Some businesses choose to market to their client in a way that bangs them over the head with emails, which could prove effective for a commerce site looking to make a one time product sale. But publishers should be in it for the long haul, we’re looking to build a relationship with the consumer that will last years, not days. So let’s treat them like we would our long term partner, not just a one night stand.

Keeping that database tidy

What’s that saying? If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were. Stay with me, this one tracks. 

Not every person in your database is going to be a forever loyal user. Some people come into your database via a contest entry with no intentions of ever sticking around. Others got inundated with other emails and boycott their inbox all together, while some just simply go stagnant. It’s the cycle of email for publishers.

In order to cleanse your database (and improve those open rate percentages!), we recommend a simple re-engagement campaign. A series of three emails spread out over 21 days to anyone who hasn’t opened an email in six months or more (here is some fun inspiration). Not only will you be improving engagement in general and saving money, but you’re also creating space for more focus and energy on those engaged emails that have a higher likelihood to convert. (A potential subscriber who receives the weekly newsletter is around 1.4 times more likely to subscribe than one who does not.)

Personalization and sending practices

I think it’s tragic when marketers think of personalization as just a subject line with my name in it (I GET THAT YOU KNOW MY NAME IS ASHLEY), and essentially have overused that tactic as now I definitely know you’re hard selling me. So, let’s look beyond that in our sending practices. What else do we know of this contact that helps us put relevant content in front of them. Are they parents? Students? What area of town do they live? Does knowing this information about them change whether we send a specific email to them? Because it likely should. For example, I don’t have kids. This email about a Kid’s Day Camp doesn’t serve me. Since we are building a relationship (see above), not just a transaction, knowing your user matters. Each day the average office worker gets 121 emails per day, and that’s just on their work email. Don’t find yourself on the bulk delete list after sending a few irrelevant emails. (TFD tip: Don’t be creepy though, consumers are extra suspicious of how businesses are acquiring/using data these days. Thanks a lot, Facebook). 

Getting good at personalization also means taking into account my entire relationship with your brand. Use segmenting to build out your customer pools. For example, those that are visiting your site 15 times, plus paid subscribers, are good loyalists in your database to tap into. Understanding the entire relationship could change the content of your email, so use it to your advantage. Your click thrus and conversions will thank you.

With just a few simple core automations and practices in place, you’re now ready to convert, convert, convert! Want to talk more email? Email ashley@twentyfirstdigital.com to nerd out together.