Email newsletters are nothing new to the publishing world (speaking of, subscribe to ours here).
But despite the existence of contextual ads and the prospect of custom content, most publications take a one-size-fits-all approach when sending email newsletters.
Retail stores, however, have been using behavioral targeting tactics for years to create email campaigns that will most likely result in a sale.
We asked Chad White, Research Director at Smith-Harmon and author of the Retail Email Blog, for the retail tools of the trade that publishers can borrow from the Best Buys of the world to deliver highly targeted and successful email campaigns.
DYNAMIC CONTENT
This is the practice of inserting custom advertising or editorial into each individual's newsletter. Retail stores will often monitor what item you browse on their site and then include it front and center in your next email newsletter.
Application: Publishers can use this method to track what stories readers click on their webpage and then offer relevant content in the next newsletter.
TRIGGERED EMAIL MESSAGES
Sometimes, the reason people do not purchase something is a gap in education, not price. If retailers notice an item is viewed but not purchased, they will send additional information to help close that gap.
"Crutchfield (electronics retails) one day noticed I was looking at Blu-ray players,” said White. “They sent an email to me the next day all about Blu-ray players. The one I was looking at was the featured item, but they also had the latest Blu-ray player, the cheapest Blu-ray player and the Blu-ray player that had been discounted the most. They gave me lots of different paths."
Application: If you notice one reader’s browsing habits focusing around a single topic area offer white papers and other ecommerce products to satisfy their curiosity.
PURCHASE HISTORY
A method used by companies like Amazon. Keep track of what your customers have purchased in the past and offer them accessories or other related items.
“If I buy a Blu-ray player I’m probably going to buy a DVD next,” said White. "In the publishing world, clearly there are topics that are related to one another. If I were to explicitly say that I was interested in skiing, then maybe I’m also interested in snowboarding or snowmobiling and would be interested in those kinds of articles and that kind of publication."
Application: If your content is categorized, take a page out of Amazon’s book and offer article recommendations based on the user's past reading history. Keep an eye out for customers showing interest in topic areas where you have a sister publication.
MEASURING EMAIL CLICK-THRU's
Measure click-thru's in your email newsletter and use that information to customize the next edition.
“Hot Topic sent out an email with t-shirts and measured everyone that clicked on a World of Warcraft shirt," said White. "The company then used that info to send out an email that was dedicated to just those people featuring World of Warcraft.”
Application: If you have a general newsletter with a wider subject focus, measure headline clicks to see if your publication can offer any niche products.
THE EMAIL SURVEY
In a dream world, readers would fill out surveys that dictated exactly what kind of content they wished to read. Unfortunately, long questestions are the easiest way to scare off anyone with access to a back button. To combat this, some retailers have set up “quizzes” that collect reader information in a fun online game.
For example, Spiegel, the women’s clothes retailer, had a style quiz that would ask shoppers to pick which celebrities they liked and where they would like to travel.
"They would use the answers to figure out what kind of person you were and therefore what kind of clothing style would best suit you," said White. "Its extremely clever and its done in a way that helps the shopper discover something about themselves. While at the same time, it gives Spiegel fantastic information about how to serve that shopper"
Application: Construct a survey that is fun, but also gives you a peek into the type of reader you have.
Comments
How to execute?
These are great ideas that could be driving a lot of value for publishers. How do you identify, select, and integrate the tools & technolgies required? Are any of these tactics likely to be part of the suite of services offered by your email services provider, your CMS, or your ad server? I'm sensing some future article topics here...