
In a session yesterday at the NEMOA directXchange Spring Conference in Boston, Anna Pfeiffer, a marketing strategist at marketing automation services provider Bronto Software, identified her top 10 must-have components for a successful email marketing program. Here they are:
1. Creative and content that are engaging to your subscribers: Convey your brand personality and interact with your subscribers, Pfeiffer said. For example, ask them questions, seek out their feedback. She cited three examples of retailers effectively using engaging content: West Elm offering design tips to its subscribers; Crate and Barrel's seasonal tips for outdoor furniture care; and Uncommon Goods providing background information on where its products are sourced from.
2. An abandoned cart series: I've seen these programs deliver up to a 60 percent lift in conversion rate vs. a standard email campaign, Pfeiffer said. Industry research has shown that sending the first abandoned cart email one hour after the event, followed by a second email 24 hours after the event (if no action was taken with the first email), followed by a third email a week after the abandoned cart (again, if no action was taken on either of the first two emails) has proven most successful, Pfeiffer noted.
3. A welcome series: Take advantage of the opportunity to welcome new subscribers and tell your brand's story, while at the same time encouraging and inspiring subscribers - and possibly incentivizing them - to generate either their first purchase or, more likely, their next purchase. A welcome series can produce conversion rates nearly double standard campaigns, Pfeiffer said.
4. A remarketing strategy: One of the simplest ways to do this is to resend the same email campaign to nonopeners three days to five days after the original email, but with a different subject line. The creative and copy can be exactly the same. This tactic will drive additional conversions, Pfeiffer said.

Joe Keenan is the executive editor of Total Retail. Joe has more than 10 years experience covering the retail industry, and enjoys profiling innovative companies and people in the space.