A streamlined email marketing approach helps Stanford APARC grow new, better engaged audiences.
When I began my role as associate director of communications at the Stanford Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), I conducted a communications audit that unveiled a siloed email marketing system and stagnant email lists.
The Center had multiple email subscriber lists, maintained separately by its communications team and program staff. The programs used their lists for the sole purpose of event advertising, missing out on opportunities to tell stories of impact of APARC research and policy engagement. There was no branding or design consistency in communications sent across the lists, nor insight into subscriber behavior. The lists contained a large percentage of inactive users and hardly grew year-over-year, as the only method for signing up new subscribers was by using paper signup sheets at public events. The Center-wide list showed annual growth of just 6%. The average open rates of the Center’s emails hovered between 18% to 25%.
Within a year, grow the number of APARC’s newsletter subscribers by at least 25%, raise the average email open rate to at least 35%, and provide more varied and better-targeted content to subscribers.
Craft an email marketing strategy, overhaul the Center’s newsletter system, and revamp its content offerings:
Run an email reengagement campaign to win back inactive subscribers;
Create one master list segmented into interest areas that match the Center’s Asia focus areas;
Redefine APARC's newsletter offerings and build a newsletter preference hub;
Create a suite of redesigned email templates;
Send timely, interest-based newsletters;
Integrate email signup calls-to-action throughout APARC’s website, in news posts, and on virtual event registration forms;
Share newsletter content via APARC’s social media channels, using high-quality visual content and short-form videos.
Within a year following the project launch, APARC grew its Center-wide list segment by 64% and the entire subscriber base in its total master list by 35%. Engagement levels doubled, with the average email open rate ranging between 40% to 45%. The communications team now also has better data about the Center’s audience members and their preferences. It uses those insights to send content that better meets their interests, using segmentation and cohort analysis.
