Cracking email

 Faced with budget cuts, most arts organisations are looking for savings that won’t impact on sales. The obvious solution is to slash print and postage costs by sending emails instead of paper (and save the planet at the same time). But marketers and box office staff alike tell me that, unless they book online, most people won’t divulge their email address. So how can you get more people to sign up to emarketing?
Let’s start with a reality check. You have been posting leaflets to persuade people to visit, attend or participate. There is no point in developing a bigger emailing list if its members won’t respond to online marketing. Quality is just as important as quantity, so focus on getting more of the right people to sign up. The emarketing gurus all recommend the same five steps: make it relevant; make it obvious; make it easy; show they can trust you; and don’t abuse their trust.

Make it relevant
People don’t want to sign up to an emarketing list. They do want to be the first to know, be guaranteed to get tickets, see behind the scenes, get privileged information, feel they belong, be invited to special events, have a say, find out how to… Tell them how they will benefit from signing up, not what you will get out of it. They want communications that reflect the relationship they feel they have with your organisation. Back in 2005, research showed that only 24% of marketers sent out one-size-fits-all emails. I now estimate that 75% of arts organisations are doing this. My enthusiasm for one particular dance company takes a dent every time they email me about weekly workshops for children in Leamington Spa. (I live in Lincolnshire.)
To be relevant, you need to have a basic understanding of the person signing up. But the more information you request, the less likely they are to complete the sign-up process, especially if they are new to your organisation. You need a balance, and the key is seeing the sign-up process as a transaction. People will exchange information for a benefit they want. I’d happily give that dance company my postcode in exchange for news about their activities in my own area. Tell customers how each item of information will help you serve them better.
The gurus recommend:
• a sign-up form that collects only the essentials of email address, name (for personalising emails) and postcode
• a pop-up that appears when they click ‘submit’ that asks for additional information but makes it clear that this is optional
• a two-stage sign-up process is good practice, so ask for more information in the confirmation email
• good emarketing tools allow you to
send questionnaires that feed the responses straight into your database. Use this occasionally to ask a single question with a one-click response
• only ask for information that enables you to send better emails (better for them, that is): one regional theatre insists on a full postal address even though the button invites
email sign-up
• allow recipients to change what they get and how often they get it in a preferences screen
• tell them how they will benefit from giving additional information.

Make it obvious
How many clicks does it take to sign up? Have a call to action at the top of your website’s home page and all landing pages, rather than hiding it at the bottom or on the Contact Us page. There is no sign that Facebook and Twitter are replacing email marketing. These are personal spaces where people resent being sold to, so use a link or a button to offer them the opportunity to sign up for emails. Promote your online information services offline too, on season brochures, ticket wallets and your outgoing voicemail message. Make sure that your front-line staff know what people will get and how they will benefit.

Make it easy
Use a mini-form, not just a button. See the illustration above for an example.

Show they can trust you
Customers hate spam. They will only give you their email address if they trust you.
A mini-form allows those that do trust you to sign up with a minimum of fuss. Notice how the examples tell you exactly what you will get, how often and how you will benefit. They also promise that you will not get any spam as a result of signing up.

Offer the visitors that don’t yet trust you a link to a fully fledged sign-up page. This must:
• tell them exactly what you will do with their data and link to a full privacy policy
• give them a choice of different types
of information, e.g. a monthly listing, fortnightly news or last-minute offers
• link to examples showing exactly what they will get
• tell them how they will benefit from signing up using ‘you’ and ‘your’
• prove that your information will be relevant, personal and timely with testimonials from current recipients.

Don’t abuse their trust
Make sure you deliver the benefits you promised. Consultant Beth Aplin signed up to 12 venues’ emailing lists. She never heard from five of them ever again. Another sent her 18 eflyers in eight weeks. That’s stalking! People will quickly regard irrelevant and over-frequent emails as spam. Emarketing is cheap, but sending emailings that everyone ignores is a waste of time and money, however big your list.