The IDM Award in Email Marketing

Who should enrol?

If you are responsible for planning or implementing email marketing campaigns and want to ensure that you are fully abreast of the latest thinking and best practice techniques then this is the programme for you.

Why this qualification?

Email marketing offers marketers a one-to-one medium that is fast, effective and measurable. However, it can also be highly damaging to brand health if poorly executed or used insensitively. Email marketers are under pressure to keep up-to-speed with the latest legal considerations, the newest technical developments and the challenges of deliverability as well as trying to establish what's coming next – ultimately, to take advantage of opportunities to increase customer engagement and response. This qualification will equip you with all the skills you need to become an effective, knowledgeable, trusted email marketer. Its highly practical syllabus is delivered by leading email marketing experts who will share their current, real-world experience in the technology, delivery methods, creativity and customer insight that’s essential for successful email marketing today. This is your opportunity to become a qualified email marketer with the IDM Award in Email Marketing. It will set you apart from the competition and give you the recognition you deserve.

Benefits to you and your company

If you are responsible for planning or implementing email marketing campaigns and want to ensure that you are fully abreast of the latest thinking and best practice techniques then this is the programme for you. Upon successful completion of your studies and exam you will be awarded with the IDM Award in Email Marketing, taking your place among the first qualified email marketers in the UK.

Syllabus

Day one

The business case for email marketing

• A brief history of email marketing
• The continued growth of online audiences
• Similarities and differences between B2C, B2B and Not-For-Profit email marketing
• Integrating email marketing with offline promotional activity
• Integrating email marketing with other digital techniques

Setting objectives for email marketing

• Developing SMART objectives and aligning them to broader business goals
• Establishing measurement tools for efficiency and effectiveness
• Resource management and service level agreements
• Calculating RoI for email marketing campaigns
• Calculating lifetime value through the email marketing channel

Data gathering and managing customer data

• Legal issues and best practice guidelines
• Developing the email value exchange
• Creating effective registration forms and unsubscribe processes
• The importance of a welcome programme

Customer lifecycle marketing

• Identifying the customer life-stages and developing appropriate messaging programmes
• Email for prospect conversion and re-activation
• Alerts and triggered campaigns
• Registration data – how to ask for it and keep it up-to-date
• Transactional data – how to manage and segment your most valuable data asset
• Click-stream data – how to mine it successfully

Testing

• Understanding leverage points and where to test for the biggest wins
• Developing a 12-month testing road-map
• Understanding statistical principles for testing
• Landing page testing strategies
• Testing capabilities of email broadcast tools and multi-variate page testing vendors

Email delivery and message rendering

• ISP and email client rendering capabilities – the challenges we face
• Templates that render properly in the widest range of email clients including mobile emails
• The latest design rules including mobile emails and Facebook Messages

Day two

Creativity guidelines to get your emails noticed

• Research techniques – eye tracking and click-density analysis
• Templates for different campaign objectives – what should go where?
• Tone of voice guidelines for customer segments
• Persuasiveness – developing calls to action
• Personalisation – what can you change to suit the recipient?

Acquiring customers through email marketing

• Third party data
• Planning acquisition campaigns
• Email as an acquisition tool – list rental, list sharing and viral

Effective email marketing

• Understanding your strategy
• Building your emails
• Testing, testing, testing
• Case studies

Technology infrastructure

• Email broadcast platforms – how to evaluate the supplier options
• Tracking technologies – understanding email measurement and web analytics tools
• Data and database management tools
• Programmes for designing and producing email creative
• The latest ISP techniques for spam monitoring – authentication, reputation and accreditation
• Best practice delivery guidelines and delivery monitoring tools

Multichannel planning and execution

• on and offline customer behaviour
• Channel preferences
• Integration of email with direct mail, telemarketing, social media and mobile campaigns

Campaign and project management

• Key processes – budgets, schedules and project plans
• Who does what in the campaign process?
• Data and message quality control processes
• Principles of project management for email

Day 3

Understanding lifetime value

• The importance of LTV for email marketing strategy
• Its application for email planning and budgeting
• How to calculate LTV

Budgeting for email marketing

• What’s free and what comes at a price!
• Benchmark costs – from copywriting to broadcasting
• Building and managing email marketing budgets

Integration with on and offline activities

• Generating “successful outcomes” through offline channels
• Using email to support other marketing activity, both on and offline
• Measuring the impact of these “Non-Line Marketing” campaigns

Managing email marketing teams and suppliers

• How to recruit team members and suppliers
• In-house or out-of-house – understanding skills needs and knowledge gaps
• Reviews – how good are your team members and your suppliers?

Assignment briefing

• Background to the company and task
• Report audience, tone of voice and presentation format
• Word count, marking scheme, deadlines and submission details

Exam technique and revision

• Date and venue of examination
• What to revise, how to revise and how much time to spend
• Some hints and tips on time management and picking up marks

Study options and tutors

Students are assessed through one assignment which is briefed on the 3rd day of the course and a 3-hour examination to take place at an IDM examination centre. The Award represents a total of 75 hours of study time.

Free study aid

All students will receive a free copy of the highly acclaimed Email Marketing: An Hour a Day by David Gilmour, Jenny Mullen and David Daniels.

Tutor

Chris Combemale F IDM is the Founder of The Email Academy, a consulting, creative and training company specialising in strategic planning for email and digital marketing. Chris is also the Executive Director of the Direct Marketing Association with overall responsibility for all DMA activity in the UK.

Chris launched his career in New York with Young & Rubicam and his 12 years at Y&R included founding the Wunderman direct-marketing office in Singapore in 1992 and managing the Wunderman office in Hong Kong. Chris moved to London in 1994 as European Direct Marketing Director for Franklin Mint and created his own on-line catalogue company (Living Heritage) in 1998.

Speakers

Kath Pay is founder of Plan To Engage and is one of the pioneers of the email marketing industry in Australia. In the 12 years that she has worked in the digital marketing industry, Kath has developed a reputation as an email marketing expert through her insights into the industry which are documented via the DMA Email Council’s blog. Kath is also a member of the UK DMA’s Email Marketing Council.

Mike Teasdale F IDM is Planning Director at Harvest Digital - a specialist online marketing agency helping clients to exploit online marketing opportunities, including email, online advertising, search engine optimisation, microsites and tracking/reporting. Clients include Autotrader, Norwich Union and Tesco Personal Finance. As Creative Partner, Mike is responsible for all aspects of the creative product including copy, design and overall creative strategy. Before Harvest Digital, he worked as a consultant with Answerthink where he developed online marketing strategy for clients like IBM Global Services, Shell and Abbey National.

Susan Laurie Dip DigM is Retention and Communication Manager (E-Commerce) at Screwfix and has increased email revenue by approximately 40% through implementing a combination of testing, behaviour-driven emails, segmentation and design improvements. Susan is also responsible for areas of social marketing at Screwfix, driving engagement, trust & sales across the Screwfix brand. Coming from a background in business change, Susan is well-placed to drive changes in business practice to maximise sales in this tough economic climate.

Feedback

“I wanted to study a digital qualification and the Award appealed to me as it focused on a marketing channel that I use frequently. I have come away with so many ideas and tips, including – of course – best practice and confidence in legal compliance. I’m already making changes to the way we market by email, from the data/segmentation process through to creative execution.”
Emma Moreton Cert IDM, M IDM Marketing Campaigns Manager, The IDM

“I wanted to build my skills in email so I enrolled on the Award programme… it’s given me a much richer view of email marketing whilst at the same time giving me a rounder view of related areas such as social media. It even helped me get my current job. This is a great course and I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest in relationship marketing.
Graham Ellor Cert DigM, M IDM Senior Data Planner, EHS 4D Discovery