I attended the 10th Annual MIMA Summit last week and a lot has changed since the last time I attended in 2009. Mainly, the number of presenters and attendees has steadily increased though one thing remained constant: the presenters did not divulge their top secrets. After going to close to 2-4 conferences and workshops a year for the past 4-5 years I have learned that the people presenting will rarely offer their specific marketing formulas to success. Which is fine, because I also would not give away my secret tips and tricks unless there was an opportunity to work together, so I look for presenters to offer different ways to approach basic themes and topics… bottom line, I enjoy the thought provoking presenters. If the presenter can make me re-think something I previously had a firm opinion on, I appreciate it.
Re-Thinking Email with Dela Quist
That is the main reason I enjoyed Dela Quist’s presentation at the MIMA Summit. Dela is the founder and CEO of Alchemy Worx in London which, according to its website, is the only digital marketing agency with a 100% focus on email marketing. Like most presenters, he did not give specific details on what his agency does to drive results for their clients; however he did present the theory of the Nudge Effect, which is the influence of subject lines in unopened emails on recipients.
The Nudge Effect
Since most emails go unopened, subject lines should be viewed as opportunities to influence future consumer behavior through on and offline channels. The challenge in optimizing the subject line for future behavior is to provide enough information that the subscriber retains in and acts on in. Some examples are: “Best deals in store all week” and “Huge savings this weekend only online”. The recipient may not open the email but knows to go to the store or online for savings, promoting future engagement in both off and online channels… and what I particularly like the most, you can attribute the email back to an increase in online and in-store sales.
Another example of subject lines influencing future behavior is to include a certain phrase or word in every subject line. For example, if you are promoting recipes, why not include, “Best recipes – …” at the beginning of every subject line? The point is that even though the recipient does not open the email, they continually see Best recipes next to your brand name in the from-address and will think of your brand when they need a recipe in the future. I have to be honest that initially I was a little skeptic on the idea because the repetition lacks any creativity; however I warmed up to the idea after thinking about it and applying to a testing scenario. Why not apply it to a historically less engaged segment? It may not necessarily spark opens and clicks on that email, but it may drive traffic to the website or store?
Reflection on Dela Quist’s Presentation
So how did this provoke thought in me? Like I mentioned above, perhaps incorporating a repetitive phrase in the subject line in less engaged segments will generate interaction, but more specifically it could be another testing or segmentation strategy. The bottom line is that the Nudge Effect is not a silver bullet for email strategy; however it is something to take it into consideration when developing email tactics.
Did you attend Dela Quist’s presentation at the MIMA Summit? We’d love to know your thoughts! Feel free to share in the comments below.
Hi, I’m Jeff. You haven’t heard from me in a long time on this blog, but rest assured, I have been involved with a flurry of activity over the past few weeks from local events to nationwide webinars and more.
For the month of October, Three Deep has committed to no less than 10 speaking engagements, award ceremonies, industry events, sales meetings and educational opportunities. It has been an exhausting month, but it has also been very fulfilling!
Fast 50 Awards Ceremony – October 6, 2011
Three Deep finished #6 on the list of the Twin Cities 50 fastest growing companies. This was our first time applying for the event, and we were very excited to receive local recognition. We look forward to being on the list again next year – maybe even higher!
MIMA Summit Intensive Workshops – October 11, 2011
As a speaker at the 2010 MIMA Summit and current MIMA board member, I wasn’t sure that I would be invited back to do a workshop this year. The good news is that not only was I invited back, but my session was popular both in person and on the web. It currently has over 53,000 views on Slideshare!
This was my “day off” where all I was expected to do was represent MIMA to our speakers, sponsors and membership… And give introductions to two people I look up to: Marty Weintraub and Rand Fishkin. I also got to talk with Avinash Kaushik, the Michael Jordan of web analytics. The highlight was going to dinner with Rand Fishkin, who is an all around great guy.
Three Deepers meet Rand Fishkin
Google Think Branding in NYC – October 13, 2011
After about 5 hours to sleep off the Summit I headed out to New York to join clients, colleagues and friends at Google’s Port Authority offices. The event was private, so I can’t share any details, but I can share that the key message of the session was reaching customers at the ZMOT. What is ZMOT? Well, it’s the Zero Moment of Truth, the time before visiting a retail store when a consumer makes their decisions about what to buy. Guess how they make decisions? Online!
This was arranged by friend of Three Deep, Colleen Foster and was my first BMA event. My role was to moderate the event on Social Media for Business to Business (B2B) organizations. We saw great case studies from 3M Interactive and Ergotron on how they have been able to use social media to bring revenue and cost savings to their business. To paraphrase a member of the crowd “This is my first BMA event, and if this is the quality of production you put on every month, I will be joining your organization and coming to a lot more events”
I have a feeling that I will be more involved as well!
James Hardie Social Media for Home Improvement Webinar – October 19, 2011
You may have seen James Hardie more than you have heard of it. They make beautiful and long lasting exteriors for homes. They also have been doing a great job of educating home improvement contractors on how to be better marketers. In September, Tom Audette from Three Deep hosted a webinar on online marketing. This month we were asked back to talk about social media where we provided some great examples of social media for the home improvement industry. Check out our 55 minute webinar below!
University of St. Thomas MBA Lunch and Learn – October 20, 2011
You either love your alma mater or are indifferent. I love mine, so I take every chance I can get to give back to the community that gave me many major life and business skills. The presentation was to 15 MBA’s who are interested in career opportunities in Interactive marketing. I provided stories about how Three Deep became a company, my career path, and what we look for in new candidates.
They must have taken the advice to heart, because I got 5 business cards and 6 LinkedIn invites within hours of the session!
Google Analytics Training – October 25, 2011
Ever since we became a Google Analytics Certified Partner in 2009, we have received many requests for Google Analytics training. We didn’t have anything to give them until we partnered up with Demandquest to offer Google Analytics Training in Minneapolis. Depending on demand for future sessions and turnout, it would be great to do these educational events every 3-6 months.
Guest Blogs
Without even knowing it, I posted more on external blogs than I did on my personal blog or Three Deep:
Met with two of the largest insurance companies in the US, had introductions with three Minnesota based Fortune 500 companies and I will be doing a lunch and learn with a local PR firm. Oh yeah, I’m also a groomsman in the wedding of a fellow Partner at Three Deep.
October has been a jam packed month, but it has also been among the most exciting months we’ve had at Three Deep. Now we just need to figure out how to top it in November and beyond!
