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Step 3: Collect the data:
Decide where and how to collect your data,
whether to require birth date and how much
data to collect. Your delivery schedule and the
number of other required fields drive some of
your decisions.
Requiring day/month/year data will give you
the richest amount of data but can reduce form
completions. A/B split tests on your registration
form might show you how much data your
customers are willing to provide.
Step 4: Greeting or incentives?
If using incentives is a common part of your
email approach, then incorporating them in
your birthday messages should be a no-brainer.
More than half the marketers in Silverpop’s
benchmark study provide some incentive.
Without an incentive, your email content must
be strong and creative to make an impression.
If you’re unsure, or you need to sell management
on the benefits, test both approaches side
by side for a few months.
Step 5: Single or multiple
emails?
Sending a single
birthday wish is the
most common and
easiest strategy. However,
sending multiple
emails can motivate
your subscribers to
redeem an incentive
before it expires.
Step 6: Design your message.
Because birthdays are usually fun days for subscribers,
your creative approach should reflect this.
Push your designer to create something fun and
engaging that’s distinctive from your other messages
while still following your graphic standards
and email design best practices.
Copy styles can take many forms. Be sure the copy
drives the action you want, is simple and straightforward
and meshes with your brand or corporate
image.
Step 7: Test and optimize.
Although listed last, testing and optimization should
be part of every step in your pilot program as well as
after as you refine it.
Here are some facets to test:
• Data capture: Try different form layouts and
data-field locations to see which ones deliver the
most completions.
• Incentives: Try at least two to see which drives
the best combination of conversions and margin
impact.
• Subject lines: Consider whether tactics such as
first-name personalization or listing the incentive
in the subject line affect conversions or opens.
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