Strategy for Email Messages Summerlee Walter Communications Coordinator Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

What types of emails do you like to receive?

What do we send? Weekly e-news Messages from the clergy Event-specific emails Weekly lectionary Monthly newsletters Reminders to servers Prayer lists Concert/public events Fundraising Children/youth updates Seasonal offerings Notices to deans, vestry, committees

Email trends for 2019 Increased personalization Quality over quantity Increased mobile traffic FUN!

Know Your Audience Who is reading the emails? Who is not reading the emails, and why? How many audiences do you really have? How many emails do they want to receive, and how often?

List Segmentation Send the right people the content they need when they need it.

List Segmentation Weekly e-news Weekly lectionary Acolytes, lectors and servers Children’s and youth ministry Vestry Prayer list Emergency/inclement weather Seasonal offerings Preschool/day school Spanish-language Capital campaign/annual campaign Concert series, community events, etc.

List Management Who manages the lists? Who emails the list? How do you handle teams of people with access? Where are the lists managed? Email marketing software Database Customer relationship management (CRM) software

User Experience Use a responsive template > 2/3 of emails are opened on phones/tablets Pdfs are very difficult to read on a phone MailChimp free: 2,000 subscribers + 12,000 emails per month Avoid clustering links in copy

User Experience Link to videos instead of embedding Clean, well-organized design Regular sections with headers Delineate sections with color, graphic elements For e-news: Establish submission guidelines to reduce clutter Include short text with links to website

GDPR General Data Protection Regulation Sets strict standards for collecting and using personal data Currently applies only to citizens of the EU, but California is expected to implement even stricter standards this year. Opt-in only

Audience Engagement Industry average open rate: 25.33%* Industry average click-through rate: 2.92%* *Source: MailChimp, March 2018 https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing- benchmarks/

How do I get more opens? Caveat: Opens are not the ultimate goal Provide content relevant to your audience Send on a regular schedule How often should you email your list? Make your email the go-to source of information Design a pleasant, easy-to-navigate user experience

Engaging Subject Lines Include the publication name Be descriptive – All writing needs a hook Shorter is better, esp. for mobile readers Most email apps display 30-40 characters* Don’t forget about preheader text! Emojis Test your subject lines (even if you can’t A/B test) *Source: Campaign Monitor, May 7, 2018 https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2018/05/7-data-backed-ways-to-write-email-subject-lines-that-boost-open-rates/

Questions?