20 Minute Workshop: Growth Hacking and the Email Signature
What We’ll Talk About Today
• Really? The email signature? • No, seriously, why are we talking about the email signature?
• Growth hacking tac>cs • Examples for innova>ve companies • What to look for in your own solu>on
The Email Signature | Long ForgoHen
The Email Signature S>ll Has a Place
Why? 1. Branding 2. Compliance
• A lot of organiza>ons stop there • Coincidentally, a lot of organiza>ons don’t consider growth hacking a core competency either…
The Explosion of Social DistribuDon Channels, and the Content MarkeDng Strategy Driving Those Channels, Has Created the Need for PromoDon at Every Turn
Crea%ng an Renaissance for the Email Signature
What Kind of #’s Are We Talking?
The average 150 person company sends 1.5 Million emails a year – that’s 1.5M brand impressions!
125,000 Highly Targeted Impressions/Month
Aren’t We Already Doing This?
Think Differently Peer-‐to-‐Peer Email ≠ Mass Email
Why Can’t We Do This Via Mass Email?
Open rates aren’t what they used to be
Passive & Con>nuous Campaigning
Let’s Talk Tac>cs • Extend the life of your earned, paid and owned media – If you paid for it, drive down that cost; make the email signature part of your refactoring process
• Don’t simply link to social networks; ask them to join a specific network and tell them why – You can rotate networks as needed
• Consider your segments, both internally and externally – Who does your finance team email the most? Is that a source of referrals?
– Support should link to the knowledgebase; a single help >cket avoided is real money saved
Let’s Talk Tac>cs (cont’d)
• Where possible, personalize – Local office addresses, as opposed to corporate – Regional events; drive engagement
• Don’t be afraid to ask for the money – Have a product that is an easy sell/buy? Go for it
• Email marke>ng is your thing? – Focus on subscriber growth
Real World Examples
Major MoDon Picture Studio
• Each department leverages a unique promo>onal banner for a new movie currently in theaters – links to >cket purchase page
• Rotates with newly available DVDs a well – linking to purchase page
• $20 at a >me; passive campaigning/con>nuous marke>ng
Real World Examples
Broadcaster • Every day, company
promotes their TV lineup in their signatures
• Company measures click thru to see which groups are driving the most traffic to show community pages
• Rotate their banners every day to focus on the day’s shows
Real World Examples
AccounDng Firm • 3 regional offices, twice a
year, compete against each other in raising money for charity
• Each office features their chosen charity in their signatures; driving dona>ons
• Winning office gets lunch served by losing offices
If You Can’t Measure It…
Common Measurements/KPIs • CTR and conversion • Community network growth • New subscriber growth
– Create separate sign up form, or u>lize progressive form fills to iden>fy new subscribers
• Revenue • Departmental contribu>ons
– Many customers run contests/quotas to see which groups’ passive campaigns are most successful
What to Look For
• A vendor who can provide measurement of the ac>vi>es being done
• Granular controls over signatures and the related campaigns
• Flexible signature crea>on for rapid itera>on • Integra>on with exis>ng systems • Low IT overhead
Puing a Bow on It
• Branding and compliance are now simply table stakes when it comes to email signatures
• The numbers don’t lie – there’s a massive untapped reservoir of revenue hiding in your company’s email
• Innova>ve companies are using email signatures to drive quality engagement and conversions
• Email signatures can be A/B tested as effec>vely as landing pages or web copy
• ROI is immediate
