Everything Old is New Again Georgy Cohen Confab Higher Ed 2016 Getting the Most Out of Your Email Newsletters
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Everything Old is New Again
Georgy CohenConfab Higher Ed 2016
Getting the Most Out of Your Email Newsletters
“We just want to send messages to people.”
Ray Tomlinson
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2991486/ray-tomlinson-email-inventor-interview-i-see-email-being-used
“Consider this: the amount of traffic BuzzFeed gets from our newsletters is almost as much as we get from Twitter. Not just our own Twitter account, but all of Twitter. ”
Katie Notopoulos, BuzzFeed, January 2016
https://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/the-guilt-trip-as-a-user-interface-element?utm_term=.imQekgAVQ#.kd9deJD5L
Email allows us to not only engage a captive audience, but forge meaningful, influential relationships.
“Publishers seeking to stick out of the clutter have found both traction and a kind of intimacy in consumers’ inboxes.”
David Carr, The New York Times, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/business/media/for-email-a-death-greatly-exaggerated.html
The Epistolary Novel
“[Newsletters’] recent renaissance is likely a result of the personal, customised experience they provide.”
Todd Haskell, Senior Vice President, Chief Revenue OfficerHearst Magazines Digital Media
http://www.fipp.com/news/features/the-rise-of-the-newsletter#sthash.dXQ0B3Q4.dpuf
“An inbox is a personal space … By signing up for your newsletter, they’re saying, ‘Come on in; I want to hear from you.’”
Kate Kiefer Lee, MailChimp
http://stet.editorially.com/articles/email-is-a-safe-place/
Current state of email on campus
Email is one of the most prevalent - and most neglected - content types that we manage.
Understand the landscapeWho is sending email newsletters on campus? How many?
How many email tools are in use?
Are there established standards, guidelines, or templates available to email publishers?
Do they use analytics tools to measure email effectiveness?
Are email tasks supported with adequate time and resources?
Do email publishers use editorial calendars or similar tools?
Where is email innovation already happening on campus?
Interesting news often gets trapped in department-level email newsletters.
Some new ideas about email
“The free-flowing newsletter formats allow outlets to experiment with content, take chances and try new things as they grow their list.”
Tim Cigelske, Marquette University
http://mediashift.org/2016/02/youve-got-mail-again-rethinking-the-role-of-email-newsletters/
Lenny
400,000 subscribers and 65% open rate (March 2016)
Nearly 2,000 words (Oct. 7, 2016)
Recent features include: Hillary Clinton, Sarah McLachlan, Amy Schumer, Gigi Hadid
http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/03/lena-dunhams-lenny-letter-has-grown-to-400000-subscribers-with-a-65-percent-open-rate/
“Newsletters are such an intimate medium, and they hold your attention in a way that I think websites deliberately don’t. ”
Jessica Grose, editor, Lenny Letter
http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/03/lena-dunhams-lenny-letter-has-grown-to-400000-subscribers-with-a-65-percent-open-rate/
N.Y. Times● Niche, theme-based newsletter
products● Dedicated editorial resources● Less automated generation,
more human writing/editing● Social media promotion● Attention to design
Outcomes
● 14% growth in subscriber base in 1st half of 2015
● 50% open rate
http://digiday.com/publishers/new-york-times-gets-70-percent-open-rate-newsletters/
Being experimental does not mean neglecting the fundamentals of content strategy.
Being experimental does not mean neglecting the fundamentals of content strategy.
In fact, they are more important
than ever!
Goals, messaging, & audience
How important are each of the following email objectives to your university?
June 2016 independent survey of higher ed web professionals
Newsletter Identity Exercise
Who are your newsletter subscribers?
Where does this audience spend their time online?
What does this audience want / need in a newsletter from us?
Where will subscribers be when they read this newsletter?
What content and format will best serve this audience?
Where will we recruit subscribers?
What does success look like in 3 months? 6 months?
What goal will a newsletter help you accomplish?
Who is responsible for getting this newsletter done? How does this fit into your team’s workflow?
http://training.npr.org/digital/want-to-start-a-newsletter-read-this-first/
http://training.npr.org/digital/want-to-start-a-newsletter-read-this-first/
Style, voice, and brand
Email fromLouis C.K.
January 26, 2015
“Hello. So below are my messy thoughts about my new special “Louis CK live at the Comedy Store” available here https://louisck.net/purchase/live-at-the-comedy-store for 5
dollars, all over the world…
So this is my sixth hour-long standup special. The truth is, I
really love making these. I skipped doing one last year and I
missed it. This one is different from the recent others. For one
thing, it was shot in a nightclub instead of a theater. I love
doing the theater shows. When I was a kid, my favorite thing in the world was Richard Pryor’s concert films. The idea of being a comedian and doing a “concert” was a real goal for me. Performing in a theater expands your material and opens
you up as a performer. The pressure of playing to thousands
of people, I found, always makes you better. And every
concert hall I’ve played has made me feel like I’m getting a
whiff of that city or town’s history. The whole thing can be
very exhilarating. …”
Brand
CTA
“Louie manages to write to his fans in a way that seems far more personal than the marketing messages that promote other entertainers in his class. … [He uses email] with a level of credibility and authenticity that politicians never quite capture.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/the-brilliance-of-louis-cks-emails-he-writes-like-a-politician/374034/
Voice = identity
Tone = purpose
Findings:
● Voice and tone matter● Vast opportunity to get creative with layout● Attention-grabbing subject lines drive opens● Major stories get click-thrus● Link liberally to provide context
http://kelseyweekman.web.unc.edu/
“theSkimm sounds like your friend telling you what you need to know. It’s relatable and to the point.”
Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, The Skimm
http://brandchannel.com/2014/07/17/now-read-this-5-questions-with-danielle-weisberg-and-carly-zakin-of-theskimm/
“We know that if we include content that doesn’t appeal to them, we will lose students’ trust.”
Natasha Wetten and Kate O’Neil, Temple University
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03-LdkUfp04&feature=youtu.be&t=3m37s
Can we turn system messages into touchpoints of delight?
http://blog.drift.com/the-huge-email-marketing-mistake-we-were-making
http://blog.drift.com/the-huge-email-marketing-mistake-we-were-making
“Thank you for receiving this email. If you hated it, or you hate me, feel free to unsubscribe. Keep in mind that I am personally informed whenever anyone unsubscribes and I cry very hard every time it happens.”
Louis C.K., January 2014
https://louisck.net/news/tomorrow-night
Some messages don’t warrant personality.
Planning & process
Planning & GovernanceOwnership
Content planning
Visual, brand, and content quality standards
Delivery tools
Available resources (hours, budget, content)
Scheduling (frequency, timing)
Mobile-optimization
https://blog.case.org/2016/03/14/using-email-to-reach-alumni-best-practices-for-effective-outreach/
How are internal faculty/staff email newsletters measured?
(Other = mostly “not measured”)
June 2016 independent survey of higher ed web professionals
How are internal current student email newsletters measured?
(Other = mostly “not measured”)
June 2016 independent survey of higher ed web professionals
How are prospectivestudent email newsletters measured?
June 2016 independent survey of higher ed web professionals
Measurement
Process
● Define segments● Use Google Campaign
Tagging● A/B testing● Loop back into
content planning
What to Track
● Open, click-through, and conversion rates
● Bouncebacks, forwards, new signups, unsubscribes
Segments & personalization
“ Historically, the newsletter has just been based on our sections. We realized that’s not necessarily what people are interested in. So we’ve been exploring ... going beyond sections to lifestyles and different themes.”
Dork Alahydoian, executive director of product, The New York Times
http://digiday.com/publishers/new-york-times-gets-70-percent-open-rate-newsletters/
Email Personalization
http://mediashift.org/2016/08/rji-fellows-ongoing-e-newsletter-personalization-experiment-yields-surprising-results/
“ In 2005, the year before it brought on Royall, [Ursinus’] yield was about 30 percent … But by last year, the yield figure had plunged to 13.5 percent. … So how did Ursinus manage to consciously slim down this year? For one thing, it ended its relationship with Royall last spring.
The New York Times, February 2011
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/ursinus/?_r=3
“ These e-mails are one argument among many for upgrading the quality of school's marketing offices and not leaving creative execution to admissions offices exclusively or to direct mail mills like Royall.
Mark Neustadt, 2009
http://www.ncmark.com/marketing-education/post/the-e-mail-sophomore-search/
Closing thoughts
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