By Would your email marketing campaigns stand a better chance of success if recipients were engaged by more relevant and dynamic images?
If you could change the product image according to known reader preferences?
Or change the countdown timer to a more inspiring message on the day of the special event or occasion?
When it comes to marketing, I think we can all agree that the more personalized a message is, the more engaging and successful it’s likely to be.
And nowadays that goes beyond simply using a first name.
Econsultancy reports that 74 percent of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement. And according to Experian, personalized emails deliver six times higher transaction rates.
With such incredible tools and data available at out fingertips to increase engagement, we can bask in the real beauty of online marketing when compared to traditional offline channels: greater personalization and relevance.
And rule sets are another string in your bow to make this happen…
Lasering in on your target audience
When we say “target audience”, this is often actually several different target audiences under one larger umbrella.
It’s necessary to segment your audience as much as possible in order to show highly relevant content to recipients of your emails.
Marketers report a 760 percent increase in revenue from segmented campaigns, according to Campaign Monitor.
And you have all the tools we need to do that at your fingertips.
Rule sets are a really nifty way to make automatic changes to your email content for different market segments after you have launched the campaign.
And the real beauty is that this can be done quickly and easily without any html coding skills. Simply by using one image URL, images are automatically changed based on the rules you setup.
You can either upload your own images or choose between different NiftyImages for each rule you make.
Let’s look at a few of the smart ways to press the right buttons for your target audience with rule sets….
What types of image changes do rule sets enable?
Rule sets allow you to change the following types of images:
- Countdown timers – show a second timer for a special event or date after the first one has expired
- Personalized images – based on a user’s name and purchase history
- Live social feeds – transition to an Instagram or Pinterest collage after a sale
- Live images – showing live information like number of tickets left
- Photoshop images – with multiple variables
Each of these types of images can be changed according to the following parameters:
- Date and time – e.g. change image after 6 PM on Friday 12th September
- Day of the week – e.g. change image on Friday
- Time of day – e.g. change image if a user subscribes after 2 PM
- Query parameters (email variables) – e.g. change image if the customer’s last purchase was greater than $200
- Random – changes the image randomly (not based on any special criteria)
- This gives you great scope to get more dynamic and personalized with your marketing campaigns.
How can you use rule sets for the upcoming holiday campaigns?
Let’s look at a few idea as we approach the end of the year and marketing teams go into overdrive for the upcoming holidays…
Run a promotion for Black Friday with a countdown timer.
This works excellently to raise expectation levels before the big day. But, once the sale starts, the timer is no longer relevant course.
You can change the image to include a message like “The sale has now started…head on over to XXXXXXX to pick up a bargain” or “Save NOW…the sale has started here…”
After your Black Friday sales has ended, run a separate countdown for Cyber Monday…
Then another can automatically feature on Cyber Monday itself.
All with one email campaign!
How about a Holiday Example…
Remind customers about shipping cut-off dates for receiving purchases in time for Christmas.
Initially, you can announce the deadline if customers want to receive their products before the holidays:
Later, on a certain date a few days before, change it to a timely reminder that the deadline is fast approaching.
FINAL TIP: Add variety to your campaign messages over the holidays…
Start with a timer. Through rule sets you can change this to a personalized image; then a live Instagram collage and then a timer again… this keeps users engaged on several different levels.
Here’s an example you may have seen before..it uses a countdown timer, then changes to a personalized image with the subscriber’s name; and finally it changes to show a live Instagram feed.
Get more intelligent with your content.
Rule sets are a must-have tool if you’re looking to create intelligent content that engages more of your audience more often.
They allow you to really tailor your email marketing for maximum impact.
As we’re coming up to the end of the year, when online sales and marketing gets really competitive, why not use the tools available to help your email campaigns stand out and drive extra clicks through to your landing pages.