webinar: email marketing best practices

3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210

Email Marketing:Tips & Best Practices

Kevin GuillDirector, Digital Services

www.rezstream.com

| About RezStream

www.rezstream.com


• Established in 2005• Located in Denver, Colorado• 21 Employees

WHO WE ARE

• Software and Internet Services • Independent properties• 100 Rooms or less

WHAT WE DO

• Founders of RezStream set the tone

• Hire passionate professionals• Education

WHY WE DO IT

|About Me

www.rezstream.com


• Kevin Guill, Director of Digital Services at RezStream

• Founder of the Denver ExpressionEngine Meetup Group

• Developed my first website in 2004

• Developed 100’s of websites, project managed many more

• Specialize in ecommerce and content management systems

• Starting marketing websites in 2005

• Helping hoteliers with their web presence since early 2007

Email:[email protected]

Phone:303-872-4118

LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/kguill

TABLE OFCONTENTS

www.rezstream.com


01Introduction: Why Email Campaigns

02Building a List

03CAN-SPAM LAWS

05Executing

Your Campaign

06Measuring Success

07Case Study

04Permissio

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08RezCampaign

s

01 |Why Email Campaigns www.rezstream.co

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Why Email Campaigns?• Cost effective

– Most services are based on the size of the list

• Stay Connected– Keep your business in front of travelers

• You have control– When and who your views your message

• You get results fast– You can send out a campaign and recipients can

open it within minutes

• Quick and easy to produce– Easy to use WYSIWYG formatting– Can be created and delivered within hours

02 |Building & Maintaining a List www.rezstream.co

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Building Your Lists• Website

– Newsletter, promotional sign up form on website– Contact us form with option to added to email list

• Booking Engine– Added to guest list when making the reservation

• Property Management System– RezStream will have connections with a few email

campaign software that automate the process

• Post Stay Thank You Email– Provide link to receive future promotional offers

• Facebook Sweepstakes– May grow your list now, but will have many

unsubscribes later


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Organizing Your Lists• Maintain multiple lists for

different segments– Prospects– Guests– Couples – Families– Adventurous– Room types


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The Opt-in Process• Manual Import of Subscribers

– Exporting them from one program i.e. Reservation software and importing them into your email campaign software.

– Advantages• Easy to Grow your list by exporting them from one program i.e. Reservation software

and import them into your email campaign software.

– Disadvantages• Often times the list being imported is old.• Errors made when entering emails, for example a typo• List quality is diminished, for the reasons mentioned above, making it difficult to value

metrics such as open rates and engagement levels.• The risk of spam complaints is increased because you don't know if everyone on the list

opted-in. High spam complaints and bounces, combined with low open rates and clicks, can negatively impact your delivery rates.


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The Opt-in Process• Automated Single Opt-in lists

– This list type simply requires someone to sign up through a subscribe form and submit their details. They are immediately added to the subscriber list the form points to.

– There is direct connection between your booking engine or property management system with the email campaign software. Email is automatically added when added when booking occurs or when added to property management system.


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The Opt-in Process• Automated Single Opt-in Continued…

– Advantages• Will grow your list faster because a one-step sign up process equals higher subscribe

rates.– Disadvantages

• Opens your subscriber list to collecting invalid, faulty and non-consenting email addresses, resulting from:

– Email addresses being added to the list by spambots.– Errors made when entering emails, for example a typo that results in someone

submitting an address that is not theirs.– Legitimate addresses being added by someone who does not own the address.

• List quality is diminished, for the reasons mentioned above, making it difficult to value metrics such as open rates and engagement levels.

• Important: The risk of spam complaints is increased because you don't know if everyone on the list opted-in. High spam complaints and bounces, combined with low open rates and clicks, can negatively impact your delivery rates.


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The Opt-in Process• Automated Confirmed Opt-in

– This list type is also known as double opt-in. When someone signs up through a subscribe form an email is immediately sent to the address they provided.

– The email contains a verification link which the recipient must click to confirm that they own the address and want to receive email campaigns from you. When the link is clicked, the person's email address is added to the subscriber list.

– Important: The verification email is not sent if you add subscribers via file import or manual entry through your account because you will likely be adding people who have already opted in through another system. However, any subscriber added via the API (direct connection) to a confirmed opt-in list will be sent the verification email.


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The Opt-in Process• Automated Confirmed Opt-in Continued…

– Advantages:• The double opt-in process ensures people are entering their information correctly, which

equals a cleaner list and lowers bounce rates.• Reduces the probability of spam complaints because subscribers have had to take the

extra step to confirm their consent.• If spam complaints are recorded, you have a record of everyone's opt-in confirmation.• Subscribers who 'say yes twice' are generally more responsive, meaning they're more

likely to open emails and click links. Positive response like this boosts your sender reputation, improving delivery rates.

– Disadvantages:• Typically, up to 20% of initial subscribers will not complete the final confirmation step.

Reasons include: people forgetting they subscribed and confirmation emails being deleted accidentally, or getting stuck in spam filters.

• Potential subscribers who genuinely do want your newsletter may not understand the confirmation process and fail to click the link.

03 |CAN-SPAM LAWS www.rezstream.co

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Core Principles - FTC.gov• Don’t use false or misleading header information

– The From, Reply To, and other address details should all be valid and accurate.• Don’t use deceptive subject lines

– The subject line should accurately reflect the content of the email.• Identify the message as an advertisement

– Don’t try to disguise it as a personal email, for example. This law indicates why you sometimes see [ADV] in subject lines.

• Tell recipients where you’re located– Include a valid, physical postal address for the sender.

• Provide a way to opt out– You must include a clear, prominent way to opt out of future email (which can be automated

or manual).• Honor opt-out requests promptly

– You must give people a way to opt out that’s available for at least 30 days after you send them the email, and you must act on a request to opt out within ten business days, for free. An online opt-out must only require sending a single email, or visiting a single page.

04 |Permission www.rezstream.co

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What Counts?• Everyone signed up through my website

– YES! Perfect! That's clear, direct permission. Just make sure you: only send them what you promised you would; don't wait months to email people for the first time; don't wait months between sending emails.

• This mailing list is a few years old, everyone signed up through my website– MAYBE! If you haven't emailed these people in the last year or so, they have probably

forgotten about you, or may not be interested anymore. – If it's been between six months and a year since you last contacted them, you should start

with a simple reminder email, asking them to unsubscribe if they are no longer interested.• These are all guests of the property

– MAYBE! If they are recent guests, meaning they have stayed within the last two years, you are safe to assume an existing relationship.

– If it's been longer than two years, and you have not been emailing them regularly, then NO. Permission does not last forever – use it or lose it.

04 |Permission www.rezstream.co

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What Counts? Continued…• We ran a competition and these are all the people who entered

– MAYBE! Be very careful with this one. Competition lists like this often cause spam complaints. If people give you their email address just to win a prize, the only thing you can email them about is the competition, to let them know who won the prize.

– You don't have permission to send marketing content to them on any other topic. – It is different if you promote the opportunity to win a prize by signing up to the newsletter.

Then people know they will be emailed – and will be expecting to be able to unsubscribe easily if they don't like what you're sending them.

• These people all contacted me through my website– NO! Sending in a question or comment isn't the same thing as opt-in permission. Even if your

website form says "send me more information" it does not mean you can add them to a mailing list. It means you can send them specific information as requested.

– Unless your contact form clearly displays the option to opt-in for a mailing list, and people do opt-in, you do not have permission.

05 |Executing Your Campaign www.rezstream.co

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Planning• What is the main reason for sending these emails?

– To drive local guests for staycations – To remind repeat guests how beautiful the property is in summer – Get interested parties that have never stayed with you an incentive

• How often would you be sending emails?– The newsletter will be sent once a month, with other reminders and notifications as required– Promotional emails are Adhoc

• Who are you sending these emails to?– Repeat Guests

– Couples who stayed in a particular room– Business Traveler

– People who sign up on our website, but haven't been a guest• When are you going to send the campaign?

– Where is your target market? East Coast vs West Coast– Saturday morning vs Tuesday Afternoon– TIP! We have seen success with Saturday and Thursday sends


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Testing• Send a test campaign before the real deal• Check layout in multiple email clients

– Gmail– Comcast– Yahoo

• Check layout in multiple devices– Desktop– iPhone and other smart phones– Tablets

• Check links and clickable phone numbers• Content – multiple eyes

– Grammar– Spelling– Images

• TEST AGAIN!!!


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A/B Testing

• A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a way of working out which of two campaign options is the most effective in terms of encouraging opens or clicks.

• In an A/B test you set up two variations of the one campaign and send them to a small percentage of your total recipients. Half of the test group is sent Version A and the other half gets Version B. The winning campaign and that version is sent to the remaining subscribers.

What To Test• Subject Lines• From Sender• Content• Images• Layout

What To Measure• Open Rate• Unique Clicks• 3 of clicks on selected Calls to Action

06 |Measuring Success www.rezstream.co

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The Basics


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Open RateWhat is an Open?• Reader email client is capable of displaying HTML with images• Has the option to display HTML & images TURNED ON

What is Not an Open?• Text Only Email• Preview Pane• People reading HTML email without images showing will not be recorded as opens.

Improving Your Open Rate?• Subject Lines: Include details about the content. A/B test!!• Position important content at the top.

Open Rate (unique) Average

Travel 20%

MailChimp Stat 2014


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Click-Through Rate

Improving Your Click-through Rate?• Feature a clickable calls-to-action near the top

• Make it easy for the reader to know what they need to do in order to take action on the email.

• Develop a personal connection• It's much more likely that subscribers will respond to someone they feel an

intimate connection with.• Keep your content short and stay focused

• If the content gets too long, it is better to link out to the full content on your website

Click-through Rate (unique) Average

Travel 2.77%

MailChimp Stat 2014


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BouncesTypes of Bounces• Soft Bounce

• An email message that gets as far as the recipient's mail server (it recognizes the address) but is bounced back undelivered before it gets to the intended recipient. A soft bounce might occur because the recipient's mailbox is full, the server is down or swamped with messages, or the message is too large.

• Hard Bounce• An email message that has been returned to the sender and is permanently undeliverable.

Causes include invalid addresses (domain name doesn't exist, typos, changed address, etc.) or the email recipient's mail server has blocked your server.

Improving Your Bounce Rate?• Build & maintain a good list by using double/confirmed opt-in lists• Monitor Delivery Rates By Domain:

• Track your open and bounces rates by major domain, such as AOL, Comcast, Yahoo. If one is significantly different than the others, or you experience a sudden change, your campaign may be getting caught by spam filters.

• Test your emails prior to send Click-through Rate (unique) Soft Bounce Average

Travel 1.12% MailChimp Stat 2014


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Unsubscribes/Spam ComplaintsReducing Unsubscribes & Spam Complaints• Target your audience correctly

• For example, if you are sending a property newsletter to subscribers who said they were interested in receiving promotions, they may see your email as being of no value to them and may no longer want to receive it. Targeting based on interests is key to keeping your subscribers interested and reducing your unsubscribe rate.

• Avoid over-communicating• The general rule of thumb is to send no more than one email every 10-15 days. If you are

emailing more than once every 10 days, you may want to consider reducing the frequency of your emails.

• Send only what your subscribers signed up for• If you've been collecting email addresses from guests, then it's best to stick to sending

those subscribers email related to a return trip versus trying to sell the value of your property for the first time.

• Send regularly• If haven't sent a campaign in more than 6 months, then it may be worth sending a re-

engagement campaign, to prevent subscribers from hitting 'Spam' when you finally start sending in earnest.

Unsubscribe GOAL: Below 2% Unsubscribe GOAL: 0%Industry norm: less than 1 per 5,000 emails sent

07 |Case Study www.rezstream.co

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Surprise Your Valentine with a Winter Getaway

• Target for Campaign– Sent specifically to repeat guests who had not made reservations with the property between

February 1 through March 31, 2014. • Subject line

– Surprise Your Valentine with a Winter Getaway• Sent day/date/time

– Tuesday, January 16, 2014, 4am• List size: 13,019• Unique Open Rate: 35.45%• Unique Click-through Rate: 14.12% (609 people)• Unsubscribes Rate: 1.1% (134 people)• Marked as Spam: .25% (31 people)

07 |Case Study www.rezstream.co

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Surprise Your Valentine with a Winter Getaway

The Number #1 Metric = Revenue

Cost to send Campaign

$135

Online Revenue Generated(Direct & Assisted Conversions)

$23,914

08 |RezCampaignswww.rezstream.co

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RezCampaignsRezStream has partnered with a leading Email Campaign Software to bring our clients the very best in delivery, reporting, and overall success in Email Marketing.

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