There is a
difference between just having a logo plonked onto your website to
having your marketing tell a customer a story. This post has been
written based on professional experience on how to make your brand
stand out by telling a narrative that will better engage your
customer.
Part of the brand story
There are
many factors that will help you to carve out a trailblazing business
and brand that offers a deeper level of engagement by telling a story
is a great way of making yourself more authentic, memorable and much
more human to your prospective customer.
How to make your brand stand out with a narrative (storytelling) approach
I have had
the pleasure of being able to work on numerous epic and
professionally rewarding projects over the years which I believe has
contributed toward further reinforcing the brand images and engaging
customers.
The
brand(s) I have been involved with has caught the attention of large
international retailers and the eye of Guy Kawasaki – Who was the
chief evangelist at Apple. It has both been a privilege, honour and
golden opportunity to develop myself and work on the conceptual and
creative direction part of the brand.
Many of my
past projects have been so much more than just dropping a logo onto a
website or a piece of packaging. With each project, I have strived to
literally make a brand tell and story and truly engage the consumer
and make a memorable experience. If you are here to find ways of
making your brand stand in a busy market place consider my tried and
tested methods in this article.
Steps | How to tell your brand story
1 ) Why did you create the brand?
Consider
why you created the brand or the company in the first place. Did you
create your brand to sell an ideal? Are you following on in the
generations of businesses? From Mother to Daughter, Father to son or
for another reason. Are you wanting to change the world? Does your
company have a uniqueness to which can be used to help you stand out?
Why are you here are why should I care?
Use parts
of this message, this story to talk about who you are. It can start
with the logo but should be woven into other parts of your brand.
The
deployment of your story would come much later in the plan once you
have settled on what it is you want to tell.
2 ) Why should anyone want to invest in you and hear what you have to say?
People
like to back other real humans. If you care about them, they are much
more likely to care about you. If you can create a message of how you
want to go forward and potentially improve their lives they are more
likely to take interest in you and your brand.
Tailor your story and your tone to your target demographic.
3 ) Integrate your message – both visual and written
Remember,
if you want to tell a story you need rely on more that just a single
logo to tell the whole story. Use written messaging across your
marketing alongside visuals such as photos and illustrations to drive
home the message.
4 ) Use good photo’s or images
Stock
photos are great as they are free and do a basic job for photography
– but it ends there. They are never a match for your authentic
photo’s or images. Using authentic imagery instead of ‘cookie-cutter’
solutions is better if you want gain real trust – especially in the
age where not all is as it seams.
Take away
– use genuine pictures and photos to tell your story!
5 ) Now make me want to be part of the journey
Where are
you heading to? Take your customer or client on the journey with you.
You want to immerse your customer or client in your brand narrative
and leave them wanting more! Considering what I said in a previous
point, you should also consider how you like to deploy your brand
narrative be it online or through print.
My professional approach to tell a brand story
I have had
the privilege of being involved in telling brand stories on numerous
projects, a part of my job I relish and go mad with if permitted. I
would take a challenge or a problem, consider how we could sell it
and then I would plot and strategise.
A miniature case study: For Satzuma, as a subsequent step to theme the brand for trade shows I came up with an ambitious idea and started with some hypothetical questions.
I needed to be considerate in adopting the brand guidelines
How do use a narrative to help sell a product?
How do I make it ‘fun’ this point was specific to the brand. If your brand will differ depending on your industry.
How to make your brand stand out – Developing a concept for a brand story
Taking the
above into consideration for the concept, I set about the next few
steps of brainstorming and liaising with the MD and Commercial
Director.
After much doodling, sweat and tears (translated – sketching, brainstorming and working with the team) I came back with the concept – the “gadget factory”.
IS it 100% unique, not really. Was it very applicable? – VERY. The products needed to come from somewhere. So why not have some fun with the brand and declare that all the cool gadgets and electronics come from a special Gadget Factory in a faraway land? The factory concept was black and orange – keeping it in line with the brand guidelines.
Typography
Gadget factory typography – this was used on cover work, stickers, websites, marketing both online and offline and integrated all mediums of branding.
The Gadget factory was a progression to the Gadget Garden – it’s predecessor.
Below are
some of the visual elements that I worked on when creating the
artwork for the brand narrative.
Print examples
The print samples above show how the narrative of the Gadget Factory was integrated into the marketing collateral to help it stand out in a busy crowd in a retail market.
Brand story applied to packaging
The image above shows how the story was also applied to packaging
And Website Design
Broken 404 page – includes part of the story
Factory Pest
Last but not least – the factory pest. A character that was created by me.
Summary | How to make your brand stand out – Tell a story
I hope
that this article has helped shed some light on how to potentially
make your brand stand out. Using the approaches above these projects
and brand “stories” have been placed with global high-street
retailers and at trade shows across the world.
I have
attached a quote that I felt was interesting for this post.
“A brand is a voice and a product is a souvenir.”
– Lisa Gansky
If you
felt that this article was useful you may find these useful:-
I am a Designer & Developer with over 10 years of commercial experience looking to push businesses to the next step and help them grow. I have been involved with Creative Direction, product development and trying to come up with quirky marketing approaches. If you would like help in telling your story I can certainly help!
So “How do I design an email marketing campaign for old leads?”… overview.
This post offers some potent tried and tested methods you can implement into your email marketing campaign to get those old leads to sit up and pay attention! They may be asleep now, but hopefully, by the end of this list, they will feel as refreshed as your with your marketing ideas.
Reading on – nuggets of juicy information on how to design an email marketing campaign for your old leads. Rock on!
Get a response from old email marketing leads!
Who are your ‘old leads’?
A good starting point, who are your old leads? Why do you regard them as old? What have they done to warrant being targeted and regarded as ‘old’. Another way to look at your old contacts and subscribers is to view them are as loyal customers and clients. The list below covers tried and tested ideas, but perhaps a good place to start is how you perceive them, and how in turn they may come to perceive you.
1 ) Most important, offer something ‘they’ want
I wanted to start with this point as I felt it was actually the most obvious but possibly most overlooked. If you are failing to get the enquiries or interest are you failing to engage the reader? Are you selling a product that they no longer want or need? Are you talking about a topic they no longer care about? If so, how can you change it?
How to do it
Make your marketing about ‘them’ and their business – not yours. Tell and show them how you can help them to grow.
Fulfil their needs first!
2 ) Offer a loyalty scheme
So they have been on board for a long time but there has been no activity from them? You could potentially offer a discount to try and coax them back to life and become an active subscriber. Give a bumper service to the loyal ones and offer a reward.
3 ) Treat your ‘old email marketing leads’ as special customers.
In the body of your email consider using wording that makes your trusty old subscribers feel special and acknowledges that they have been loyal for a long time. Perhaps, writing a message along the lines of :
“Dear (name), as a loyal customer we have decided to offer you (x service) for a limited time. The company wouldn’t be where it is today without its loyal customers such as yourself and that is why we have decided to offer you this excellent reward!”
4 ) Talk about something new
It’s a very strong possibility that your old leads are bored with what you have to say, your brand your message anything and everything – people get bored very easily, and especially the internet user. In the past, I have noticed a strong correlation in campaigns with the wording “New” generally pushing more interest. So, create something new, or talk about something new.
5 ) If you have a tidy list, address them directly
If you have a contact list with all the personal *contact names as and where they should be you could write an email campaign addressed directly to them. But this only works as well as the cleanliness of the list. For example :-
Clean List
Dear
Dave Higgins
Vs Untidy List
Dear
123 at qwqwq
Why is the second example like that? Because the name field was left with a trash name or a number in the field because somebody forgot to change it or the subscriber didn’t give you their actual name.
In other words, the form – personal name – form field will pull in whatever data is in the “name” column. be it good or bad.
6 ) Change up your email design to catch the attention
Visuals do work. Have some catchy images, logos and importantly a Call to action! Click me!
Example of a responsive mailshot
My Old leads – They are still playing backgammon?
Made it this far down the list eh and your old email marketing leads still haven’t turned their heads away from their game of backgammon? Don’t worry just yet, we still have some thoughts and ideas yet that will hopefully help you in getting responses! Continue reading – How do I design an email marketing campaign for old leads!
7 ) Use stats and numbers
Analytics’ data or sales figures can be a good way or proving how good your service is – with numbers! It makes you look authentic. I also believe (my opinion) people love data and numbers as it makes information easy to digest.
Hey! don’t lie about your numbers or stats. There will come a day when people won’t believe what they read – if that day hasn’t arrived already.
8 ) Use a timed offer to encourage an urgent response from your old leads
I have mentioned this in a previous post (link) but placing a timed response or a limited offer can encourage urgent action. This approach can be a little pushy in my opinion but I can’t deny that I have seen it used effectively including by myself.
9 ) Consider who your old leads are – your message, your tone.
This is important, who are you talking to? Your messaging needs to resonate with them. It needs to talk to them and it needs to be useful to them – create good content for your quality readership. Connect.
10 ) Solve their problems, help with their pains
Companies/businesses/people have pains – not ones for a real doctor, business ones I mean. These pains can vary from: How to get more leads, how do I get people to stay on my website, how do I get people to sign up, how do I make this easier, I have no time, I’m tired, etc, etc.
So once you have identified their pains, and if you are familiar with your industry, you will be better equipped at answering their questions and helping to solve their problems. Using you, or your service will help solve their problems – or better still. Avoid them altogether!
11 ) Try to be helpful
As
mentioned a couple of times in this post make contacting your email
leads about them and how you can help with your experience. Answer
questions create posts, try to see what types of questions your
demographic ask by trawling forums and post online to give you
indications or if you have a survey software use that to learn about
them.
12 ) Speak their language
Try to speak their lingo. If they use industry-specific jargon use this in your email to make it sound like you know what you are talking about (oh, and check that you know what you are talking about). If your email marketing is more B2C then try to understand the demographics of your readership, how old are they, are they male, female, what are their hobbies and so on.
learn who they are.
13 ) Check you are emailing the right people
If
you have a very specific few golden leads out there and they have
stopped answering your emails or opening them, check to see if they
are still working at the company or have moved to another department.
You
can use LinkedIn to see who is correct contact and start building a
new working relationship.
Summary | How do I design an email marketing campaign for old leads
I hope this post is useful. I have given you some tried and tested ideas which I have seen work first hand in the past with my email marketing experience. Many of these approaches should be useful for tomorrow and for the future as many of the tips approach geared toward what messaging is as well as how.
It is worth your while employing not just one of the tactics above for best results but many with a mix and match to see which are most useful for ‘your’ email marketing. There isn’t a golden bullet for things like this as some would like to sell to you, it requires learning and effort. I have sent out many, many campaigns over the years and have seen which works for gifting, retail, subscriptions, and general newsletters.
Setting aside the technical information, the tricks etc, it often tends to boil down to something you probably already know, and I knew but didn’t want to admit either – they weren’t interested...
So make them interested
Sell
something your customer or client ‘wants’ or needs. Don’t push
something onto them that they don’t want or need. It is a tired and
boring struggle for both parties.
As time goes along, trial and error will show which tactics bare the most fruit – all the best in “designing email marketing for your old leads.”
About Me – A Designer
I have worked on numerous email campaigns over the years sending campaigns to 1000’s of contacts. Much of the data I have written here has been based on my first-hand experience of blood sweat and tears and also with keeping myself up to date with new email marketing ideas. You are more than welcome to read a bit more about me below.
You may find the article on the 32 tips useful for more visual design tips.
To create a digital STEM or E-learning game ‘app’ you will need to make a plan, download software to construct the game and have access to or own software to create the artwork and ‘assets’ for the game. This post covers all of the details on how to create a STEM game or application in a step by step process from software suggestions, to hints and tips.
Caption from E-learning game
The steps I used to create an E-learning / STEM game.
This post covers the
steps and stages I undertook to create a STEM game or what was then
an E-Learning game that could be played on a computer, be it either
an iMac or PC.
I would like to mention now that I am not a teacher or a STEM specialist. I took what was a principle and applied it to my game design for a major project. This article focuses more on the creation of the application itself, opposed the focus of STEM subject matter itself. If you wish to read more specifically on the subject of STEM you can find out more here : source
Why Create an E-learning (STEM) Game?
Before STEM was a term I had heard of, I wanted to create an application that was both entertaining and educational for young children. Games or gaming has a bad rap for being mindless and many are (I do like a mindless shooter as much as the next person). I was also a fan of the classic puzzlers growing up such as Monkey Island and Fate of Atlantis.
I wanted to create a
fun purposeful experience through the medium of gaming that will help
children.
And…
When the project was
assigned to create a big experience I wanted to create a game that
would utilise some of my existing skills as a young designer and
illustrator (as a student) and create a product that I would be proud
of. I wanted the E-learning game to have engaging puzzles and
characters that would pull the children in and compel them to explore
through the levels. They also had a mission, they needed to save a
friend.
Crooked Castle for E-learning
About this E-learning game – Blossom Tree
The game was aimed towards children aged 7 +. As the player progresses through the game, they would have to answer questions of varying difficulty until they arrive at the final stage and save their friend. There were 2 main paths that had 2 types of questions.
Path 1 = Sums
Path 2 = Spelling
It should be noted that you can pick any of the core STEM subjects for your own project.
Both paths converge at
the end to logic and problem-solving questions which broke format
from traditional ‘yes” and ‘no’ English and maths.
Blank background for level
The steps used to create the E-learning game whilst adopting STEM
After studying design
this was my first venture into developing websites, apps and 2D games
in Adobe Flash. From the start, I planned the project from the look
and feel to how it would play. I also made a level randomiser but the
concept ran into technical difficulties late into the game
development – get into your “white boxing people” please. It is
such a valuable stage for the process. I have mentioned in detail
below what “White boxing” is.
1 ) The idea for the E-learning Game
Sounds obvious, but the
idea was an important step. I had a vision and idea for what I wanted
the game o achieve and how it may look! After developing a viable
idea I set about doing some research online into “pedagogy” and
how it could be applied to the design of my e-learning game.
2 ) Game Objectives – “The Mission”
So you have an idea,
now what do you want it to achieve? You will need to consider the age
range for your game, whether it will be for all educational subjects
or will it just 1. If this going to be for free? Etc. As a teacher or
somebody looking to make a STEM game grab a piece of paper or open
word and start jotting down what you would like your application to
do for the world.
3 ) Planning your STEM / e-learning game
Great, so you have
established what you want your game to achieve and what will happen
in the game. I approached a more narrative approach to my game which
lent itself well to word challenges and maths questions. If you are
making a Science themed game maybe you could have a lab and you need
to find the secret ingredient for a concoction? Of you have
calculated sums and outwit an evil computer! The ideas are endless.
Start to the application – you game, how many levels, how many
characters, sound, animations, and try to do a rough cutting list of
what will need to be created. This may change as time goes along.
* note: the more ideas you have the longer it will take finish
Level map for game
4 ) Your Game Project Timeline
If this is your first
venture into creating a game project it’s tricky to gauge how long it
will take to create a fully-fledged game. If you are building it all
yourself – and learning all of yourself it could be a steep old
slope = a lot of time. None the less, in order to get your STEM game
live you need to set up milestones. I would advise breaking your
milestone down into smaller steps if not for timekeeping, then for
your own morale.
So, with your idea
ready and your research finished and plan set to be into motion. Now
is the time to roll up your sleeves and start building. The next set
of steps covers the more technical steps for getting started.
Technical steps on “how to create your STEM game”
The game that you see displayed was created by me in Adobe Flash (See product here). To create this game, I had learned how to code in a language called “Action Script”. Action Script is what made the nuts and bolts of the game tick, from the scene transitions to the answers boxes checking to see if the question is right or wrong. I have attempted to break down the process of making your game.
1) What gaming program should I use? Select a program to start making your game
Example of game engines you could use for your STEM project
Stencyl (great for beginners with no programming knowledge)
Stencyl is great for complete coding novices. The coding system works similar in principle to Lego Bricks, where you can stack and click together the functions and activities in your game. I have attached an example of what you can do in Stencyl. Or if you would like to, you can navigate to the post here and get an idea of how it works – (Stencyl post, custom cursor) Although Stencyl is good and has merits it has many limitations in my opinion. It should also be noted, that this engine is 2D only.
Unity Software (great for someone with some coding skills, create powerful games)
Unity software is everywhere and with large developer communities constantly improving the assets and the software but, be warned – it can have a steeper learning curve if you are wanting to create e-learning or STEM games this is truly a powerful piece of kit. One great advantage is that Unity comes with LOTS of tutorials, assets and game templates to bump up your game into completion.
Adobe Animate (Used to be king of the game makers, still good but not the most powerful)
The E-learning / Stem game shown throughout this post was created in what was known as Flash. Flash, now Adobe Animate has somewhat fallen out of favour with powerful programs such as Unity bumping it out of top position and accessibility issues for Smartphones driving in the wedge.
It’s a misconception that you can’t use Animate anymore to create rich-media applications – it’s not true. You can still create phone apps, HTML 5, animations, video indents, and games!
2) ‘White Box’ your game first
White boxing is
single-handedly one of the best modern techniques I have been taught
in recent years as it can save so much time. When I say ‘white box’
its a case of roughing out functionality and lose the form of your
game. Worry about the function and how the game plays first and use
place holder graphics in the early stages of development.
One terrible mistake I
have made in the past with utilising time is to create artwork for a
component (part) of a game that will not work and you end up having
to junk not only the component but the artwork/animation also.
Rough it, test it, play it and then make it beautiful!
3) Find a game Artist or Designer
A very important step
for your STEM Learning game is creating artwork that will be visually
appealing to children (and adults) when they interact with your
awesome puzzles. I tried to make the artwork for my game appealing to
a younger audience, to keep them engaged in the topic. You can either
create the visuals yourself, hire an artist (link) or look for free
and open-source artwork and make a Frankenstein monster of moving
stock graphics! (yes, a pinch of sarcasm)
4) Test, test again and assess – then develop your game further
Test your game on players that have never heard of it or played it. Although, I have to confess that I had trouble finding young testers and the youngest I could go to was 9 years old. Watch how people play your game and take notes on what you can improve. This is a valuable step, more so if this is being created for commercial purposes.
5) Publish your STEM application / E-learning game
You’ve done it! Depending on the size of your game, you have spent a year, 6 months, 2 weeks and you have published the application ready to go out to your classroom. You have created a game with a purpose that will hopefully help with learning and STEM development. – Well, in theory, you have made it, now you need to put it into practice.
How “I” created my STEM / E-learning game
I have outlined how you can create a STEM or E-learning game based on my experience and playtesting. I have attached a few conceptual details and visuals of the original game – Called “Blossom Tree” which was my first major foray into interaction and game design at the University of Cumbria.
Static visual for field
I wanted the game to feel warm, friendly and filled with the freshness or being the outside, you never know – the artwork my spur children to go play outside, maybe build a den. You may also notice in the background there is a twisted silhouette of a castle. That is the final destination for the player.
E-learning game spoiler alert!
(Wilber Worm)
Speed rounds and classroom chalkboard.
Speed Round from e-learning game. (Do you reckon children will know what a blackboard is 20 years? Probably not. Castle level Background – getting near the end of the game.Dungeon
Looking back
I feel I may have constructed this game slightly ahead of its time. This game was created as part of a final major project whilst studying at the Cumbria Institute of the Arts in my final year of study. This would have pre-dated the surge in the smartphone and the tablet technology and well before the surge in digital downloading platforms such as Steam, Google Play, Apple Store, PS4 network etc.
This e-learning game
was created to be a web application or CD ROM .exe. The platforms for
downloading such games weren’t as prevalent then, whether they
existed at all. The commercial standpoint if I was to create this
game again I do a lot of things differently.
things I would do differently, for my STEM / E-learning game
If I was to remake this game I would add so much more interaction into the game, maybe some quicklimes scenes, a bit more movement and generally make feel a little less static, but hey, this was my first ever go at making something like this. I look at many aspects of the project – especially on the design side of things and hiss through my teeth or feel my toes curl as some of the aesthetics but still proud to this day to hear this from around the corner.
“This is F*****g ace!”
in a Cumbrian accent. And that was directed at what I had learned, what I had created and I had hoped would be an of a benefit to a few.
The take way on how to create a STEM game application
I hope my project and
how to post has motivated you and given some insight on how to create
a STEM application or learning game. The process of creating a game
such as this can be incredibly rewarding. It can also be a big
undertaking and if you need any help or have any questions. Well, you
know where I am.
If the found this post on “how to create a stem game application” useful please share. It could be helpful for those looking to create an educational game or something for friends and family.
This post is a light-hearted free-for-all which shows, no… even allows you to take these CSS snippets for free for personal or professional use. Free inline CSS Snippets, here is why it is useful:
You don’t know what you are doing with certain CSS
Are in a mad hurry to get a project completed for a deadline
Can’t be bothered trying to work out your own code
Are so stuck you just don’t know what to do next, don’t worry, I feel your pain.
Also, in this post it covers a little bit about what is going on, if you have time to read it.
In-line CSS snippets
It is time to get some Free Inline CSS snippets into your work! This article has been written with responsive mailshots in mind, although there’s no reason why you couldn’t adapt the code for you CSS on your website it is mostly inline CSS. So casting my CSS magic wand I have created some snappy grabby inline CSS for you to copy and paste and do with as you please. Are you In a hurry? Just need to whack it together because the boss or client has given you a tight deadline? Well, this article is for you! As I have have already mentioned!
( Inline ) CSS Naughty Top Div Spacer
Need to add space at the top of the div to move text down or fake padding from the top? This crude but effective hack should do the trick! You barbarian!
// Place this inside the parent div, or span you are trying to force down.
<div style="height:5px;"> </div>
Add this spacer div. change px height for your purpose, ideal for mailshots and serve!
Naught Div Spacer with Inline CSS
(another horrific way of doing it would be to a clear .png and change its height) To use the div place the snippet inside the master div. <div> <spacer> </div>
CSS inline – Waist Size for Mailshots
For
the purpose of responsive mailshots, this can set the bounding div
width. This will help make the width elasticated so when you come
to viewing your email campaign on mobile it will constrain to the
screen width… providing all the other elements are not forcing the
mailshot outside the screen etc
<div style="max-width:640px;"></div>
Max width CSS – Belt sizes!
Elastic Imagery | control image width with inline CSS
Like a magic trick, make your images adjust to the size of the mobile device or tablet. This can also be applied to desktop computers. Notice how the code needs to placed inside the image.
That’s all for now – 4 handy Inline CSS snippets for you to grab and run off with!
Thank you for reading this post. If you have a moment please feel free to share on social media, your blog or even your website. Free inline CSS Snippets
Your agenda and measure for success may vary, but I am sure there are email design and marketing tips ideas here that will help steer you towards your own success. This post is a list of 32 ideas and tips to help either help you if have run out of steam or set you on the path if you are new to email marketing. Your goal could be to inform your readers of your latest product, get a sale, receive a bulk order or to push contact form enquiries, I will leave that part for you and offer up tips!
This post covers tips and techniques which have been tried and tested.
My credentials
I have designed, created and launched email campaigns for over 10 years for various projects, products, and newsletters. I am going to share some important techniques and trade secrets that will hopefully move you in the right direction and avoid disappointment. I’m also pleased to mention whilst working at the previous position, that I managed to get into the TOP 500 for email design, according to Vertical Response.
32 awesome tips for creating a successful email campaign
32 email tips!
1 ) Have a good list
I would like to put
this as number 1 as having a non-responsive, dodgy or an uninterested
email list (readership) will undermine all of your best efforts. It
is pointless to create an email campaign where the user won’t open or
react to your message because they are bored or didn’t sign up in the
first place.
I can’t emphasise how
important it is to have a receptive list of readers. A clean database
will help tremendously in the success of your email campaign.
2 ) Be GDPR compliant
GDPR is a ambiguous topic. Web marketeers were left in a turmoil in 2018 when they had to bring all their data collection practices inline with the new legislation – I found myself in the same situation. In essence, GDPR is about protecting your client or customer data and making their privacy a priority.
Practices such as scraping, harvesting – generally taking data without consent, is a big no-no! If you are taking an email address off somebodies website and adding it to your bulk mailing list ready for spamming, this is strictly against GDPR. If you are doing this, please stop now. Besides, there is little point in plugging your services or wares to somebody that really couldn’t care less about what you have to say.
GDPR, in a nutshell (please note I am not a GDPR consultant, but have taken the time to learn best practices)
It is important to
create a clean and responsive email database, it is also important to
know who you are talking to. If you can identify who you are sending
your marketing emails to, you will stand a much better chance at
creating a message that will resonate with the reader.
Somebody who is into
fly fishing probably wont be interested being sold air vents, or
train wheels (I have actually received an email with a company trying
to sell me train wheels!) but, an avid fisherman may want to buy
fishing rod or read tips on how to catch a certain fish with rod you
have just promoted – especially if it is about Fly Fishing.
Another example worth considering is a Gamer. Who is your Gamer? Do they like Chess, Warhammer of video games? These are all Gamers, but they all different gaming groups and demographics. Narrow down on who it is you are talking to. You would be better to send a relevant message to: a ) The chess player b ) The Warhammer collector c ) A video games enthusiast.
One size fits all, or maybe none at all!
4 ) Establish what you want the email to achieve
Establish what you want
the email to achieve and make that your primary goal! If you want
your reader to send an enquiry as to the main action, make that a
number 1 objective. Avoid the urge to bombard the reader with too
many calls to action and too much noise, keep it focused.
5 ) The subject line is very important (but you may already know that)
I wanted to avoid
mentioning this tip but could be wrong in assuming that this is your
first post and only post you have read for finding tips on creating a
successful email campaign. The subject title is important – very
important. Having a subject title that works with your target
audience could make the difference between your email being opened or
deleted.
6 ) Adapt, record and improve
Adapt, record and
improve – repeat. When you send an email marketing campaign make sure
to observe how it is being opened, when it is being opened and what
your readers like! Based on your results over time you can make more
calculated decisions be it the design, format, time of day and so on.
7 ) Time and Geography can play a part
Where and when your
email campaign goes can be important to its success. If you send an
email campaign when your audience is at their busiest can have a
negative impact on your open rates. Also, if you have database that
covers the whole world it could be worth translating your email so
other nationalities can actually read your email!
8 ) Strike whilst it is hot
If you have just
returned from a trade-show or a networking event, I have always found
some of the best responses were within a week of sending a ‘thank
you’ email.
You are still fresh in
the other person’s mind when you send the email. If you leave it 3
months before saying “thank you” they will have forgotten who you
are… more than likely.
(sometimes people can
forget who you are the minute you walk away!)
Tips on important design elements for your email campaign
How you structure your
campaign can be very important to get that click, button press of
response. You shouldn’t overlook the graphic design of your email
campaign which goes hand in glove with the marketing.
9 ) Announce who you
are early on
I would advise putting
key pieces of information such as your brand, name or title at the
very top of your campaign so the reader knows who you are before
pressing the ‘junk’ button.
10 ) Don’t do an image only email-shot
If you do an image only
campaign you will seriously reduce your chances of your campaign
being opened correctly. Your campaign should have visible text which
is part of the HTML and not embedded into the jpg.
11 ) Have a clear call to action
Are you trying to get
someone to email you, send an enquiry, order a product? Make your
call to actions easy to find. *certain audiences respond better to
bold and brash, others to subtle and clear. Like a little text link
or polite encouraging Call to Action – read more.
12 ) Make sure it works on a Smartphone + Tablet
In 2019 (and last
decade) your snazzy mail-shot should display on a smartphone! this is
called a ‘Responsive” design as it will adapt to the size of the
reader’s screen. The images will be elasticated. In essence, stretch
and scale according to the width and dimensions of the viewers’
screen. Before launching, test your email campaign on all devices.
13 ) Check, debug, then
check again
Great, you have
designed a killer email campaign with a witty headline that is
certain to get a price request or order!
Whoo-hoo!
Wait why haven’t they
clicked anything… oh, you forgot to link the graphic to the contact
page! Check the email campaign before sending, ideally with another
team member on a different device. They may see something that you
have missed! e.g spleling or a tech…
… nic
……al … issue.
14 ) Fresh and interesting design will make a difference
In a previous position, I remember sending email after email after email to the same bored and tired list. It was a case of selling the exact same product worded in a different way to the same 2000 or so prospective subscribers, they must have been tired of seeing those emails coming into their inbox twice a week!
I recall taking a step
back and coming up with an imaginative marketing email with distinct
image: it was a vector image of a fist grabbing cash “Taking back
power”. cash talk was also topical back in the time of the last
recession and this design caught attention. I remember getting extra
conversions and enquires from this.
The takeaway, create punchy visuals, make them look, don’t just talk at them. And of course, keep trying to come up with new stuff.
15 ) Use a style that appeals to the target reader
When you create an
email campaign make sure it resonates with the reader, it is about
getting their interest, not yours. If you are trying to sell
skateboards, look at themes that may appeal to skateboarders, look at
urban art, graffiti, sports, etc. If your target demographic are wine
lovers, create a look at feel that may suit them.
16 ) Keep it visible for all devices (Photo Fitting)
Odd point? Not as
strange as you might think. Make sure your photo’s or core imagery is
easy to see if viewed on a Smartphone or Tablet. If you stick a large
group shot of products together and place them in your email, it can
be tricky to see the details of what you have to offer, possibly due
to scale or width. For example, if you take a photo with 20 products
side by side and then scale this down you are more likely to lose the
detail due to how much of the picture you need to fit sheer amount
going on in the picture.
It may be worth your
while if you must have a group photo to ‘pull’ out core products and
place them underneath or on their own so they can see what is being
sold more easily
Also remember that your
text / copy needs to be read on computer and smartphone’s too.
17 ) Mix up the design
format
Rearranging the design
and format may be just enough to freshen up the email campaign so
that it engages the reader or gets them to click on a link and delve
a little bit deeper. People get bored, try to keep them interested if
you want to have a successful email campaign!
18) Don’t obsess by how pretty it is
Surprised to hear this? That is because the design isn’t all about the aesthetic, and this also applies to email marketing. You should consider how the reader will experience your campaign when it is opened and how they will engage with it. Your campaign needs to offer good information, strong calls to action, accessibility and then… last but not least, the aesthetic. Put content and messaging first, theming second.
19 ) Time efficiency – Re-purpose and recycle a previously created email campaign
If you have just
designed an email in the graphics program, there is nothing wrong
with considering how you can repurpose it for the future. There isn’t
always a need for you to redesign your campaign every time you want
to launch – just a thought!
20 ) Oh, it moves!
Animations in email
campaigns can be very catchy! If you create an email with an
animation embedded into the body this can be a great way of getting
people to look but do take a couple of things into consideration. It
takes time to create an animation. Not all animations will be seen or
downloaded. Is it worth the time when a simple static would do the
job?
21 )The type of subject heading matters
How you write an email
campaign subject heading can influence its success. You could
consider asking your audience a question about them or their
business, keep it open-ended allow the reader to say “yes… that’s
me go on” if they were to read the copy aloud.
22 ) Heal a pain
If you are in tune with
your target audience and hear common complaints and questions
consider how you may be able to address their problems. Are they
strapped for time? Would they like more activity on social media but
are pre-occupied with other aspects of the business.
In other words, can you help to solve their problems?
23 ) Design functionality according to your readership
If you study your
analytics and record what you see, you may notice patterns: What your
audience likes to read, what they dislike and what they press when
they open your campaigns. Study your results and tag your images to
see what they have pressed. This could provide valuable information
for future email campaigns.
Place things like these at the end of your URL : #imgbtn1 #txtlnk1
You may also notice
that your audience may favour text links over images. I have
previously found that images were always a surefire way of getting
people to ‘look’ in larger businesses but my smaller business lists
tend to react more to text links – strange! But something I have
acknowledged.
24) What an ‘Open’ really means
You may confuse an
‘Open-rate’ with delivery. When a bulk email is sent to a customer
they will more often than not receive an email with a prompt in the
top of the Outlook preview panel (or any like) saying whether it is
safe or not top open. The images may be blocked out unless the reader
permits them to be shown.
Once these images have
been shown or displayed, that is in truth is what an ‘Open’ is in
email marketing terms. Once the tracking pixel has been shown
(because the reader has allowed it, and downloaded it with the
images) this is when the email campaign is logged as an ‘Open’.
The good news is, more
people than you realise may have seen your email but not reacted to
it. There is no saying that they haven’t read the information. So
back to an earlier point, don’t make it image only!
Your skimmers, if like
me or the general busy web user, they may only skim your campaign to
see if it is of any use to them. From there, they will either: read
it later, continue reading then and now, or quickly click a button.
Or, if they are no longer interested – unsubscribe. Make it easy to
skim – make it easy for them to find out what it is about.
Well, you may be
interested in knowing about what I had for lunch. But what you want
is help. Not just any old help, maybe tips to earn money more money.
Or balance a spoon on your nose… I find important information blah
blah blah. I had a cheese sandwich.
26 ) Doesn’t need to be
the whole article
Believe it or not, you don’t have to bore your readership to death by droning on in their inbox. If you are promoting a post or a blog, give them a quick overview of what it is about and why it may interest them. Give your reader a choice and let them delve a little deeper if they want to.
27 ) Create a HTML template
Doing this saved a tremendous amount of time when launching a campaign after campaign after email campaign. I would advise that you do the same as this is an invaluable time-saving measure. Create an HTML template which is easy to change and update.
Tips & ideas that provoke responses in email marketing (Messaging)
Tried and tested
methods for provoking a reaction and getting a response from your
email campaign.
28) Urgency!
On a personal level, I
hate this method of marketise, but I have to admit on a professional
level, that this approach has been very effective in the past. It’s
also effective on me.
If I know I need to do
something in a certain time frame to save money I will try harder to
work to that deadline otherwise I will lose out on money and a
potential discount. Moo does this quite a bit, as I write this
article Moo has sent me an email offering me a 25% discount which has
to be used by a certain time. Is it effective? I have placed that
order twice in the past. I have also seen this work in 2 places of
work.
29 )Having something ‘new’ to talk about
Announcing in your
headline that you have some ‘new’ would often catch the interest of a
potential customer. This may be part and parcel to do with the nature
of the readership as they were concerned with beating the competition
and getting their hands on the latest trend first, regardless the
freshness of content cannot be ignored.
If you launch a
project, a product, a website, a post, an article, the word “new”
in the subject heading has attracted attention, and increased
activity in email campaigns.
30 ) Giveaways
Giveaways can be a very
interesting carrot if you are really eager to get a response from
your list. This can work well if you are offering one of you own
products as freebie or part of service. Note, if you give something
away that isn’t part of your business, you could be kidding yourself!
The customer who takes the offer may only be interested in the
freebie and not your actual business, product or service. it could
act as a distraction.
31) Catchy discounts exclusive to this email campaign!
Discounts can be a very
strong incentive but remember only do this if you can afford to. It
is also a good idea to make the offers exclusive to certain audiences
for a limited time (combined with a timer).
Just so you know, I have seen discounts often bump enquiries, but don’t get carried away.
32) End of stock (EOL – idea for the retailer)
This falls inside
discount territory which can potentially be taken in two ways if you
are selling an End of line or end or stock product: 1, the product
didn’t do very well the stock is being dumped. 2) The product line is
being sold off as something new is about to come out. Either way,
looking at selling off a stock that is a dead-weight, old, outdated
could be an idea. It could be worth combing this with the sale of a
middle-range product that you are also actively looking to sell.
End email design and marketing tips!
Thank you for reading these tips and ideas for your email marketing. If you have any question, queries feel free to get in touch! Or in the meantime feel free to read another post that may help with your business.
If this article was helpful please share on social media!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
