Email Toolkit

Communication
Matters:
Insurance Institute
Email Toolkit
V 1.0
February 2014
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Communication Matters: Insurance Institute Email Toolkit
A Four Fast Facts About Our Email Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
B The Big Picture: How Email Fits Our Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
C Excellence in Email Execution: Core Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Parts of An Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
D Setting Up for Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1: Make Your Email Deliverable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4
2: Clarity is Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4
3: Action! What do you want the recipient to do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5
4: Permission & Respect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6
5: The Power of Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6
6: Understand Member Preferences and Send Relevant Emails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7
7: The Preference Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
E Regulations: Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
F Email Operations at the Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Email Workow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Email Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
What Do I Do When . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
G Branding & Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Message Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Insurance Institute Template Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
H The Importance of Subject Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
How to Write an Eective Subject Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Subject Line Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Tips for Great Subject Lines with Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
I Working with Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Tips and Best Practices for Images in Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
J Email Check List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
K Best Practice Email Scenaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Seminar Promotion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Promoting Social Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
L Email Success Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
M Bringing it All Together: Best Practices in the real world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
N Email Marketing Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2
Section A
Four Fast Facts
About Our Email
Program
Section A
Four Fast Facts About Our Email Program
4
Four Fast Facts About Our Email Program
1. Email can be the most eective and ecient tool for developing loyal active and engaged
subscribers
Through email, you have the ability to send members relevant, valuable and timely marketing
communications and oers.
By continuously providing members with information in their inbox that is tailored to their
needs, wants, and interests, email is a powerful medium for building loyal, and long-term
relationships.
2. Email is data-driven
The Insurance Institute email system is integrated tightly with Aptify to allow us to connect to
our own member data.
Metrics built into our Insurance Institute email system allow us to immediately see if our
communication was relevant and eective.
3. Email supports each stage of a members journey with the Institute
We can send messages to welcome our members, to inform them about courses, and to help
further their skills development. Our messages provide details about certication, career
advancement and staying connected with the p&c insurance industry. Email is vital to our
engagement with members.
4. Email is cost-eective compared to print communication
Email provides a contained workow where the individual can be both author and publisher
and eciently control each stage in the email development and deployment. To contrast,
a brochure requires content development, design, approval, translation, printing and
distribution.
Section Title
Section Sub Title
5
Section B
The Big Picture:
How Email Fits
Our Strategy
Section B
The Big Picture: How Email Fits Our Strategy
6
The Big Picture:
How Email Fits Our Strategy
Email is a crucial channel for the Institute as we work to modernize our communications
infrastructure. As seen in the diagram below, traditionally the Institute has pushed messages in a
one-way model, which is institute-centric.
one way
Traditional
Newsletter
Brochure
Advertising
two way
Digital
Email
Web/Internet
Digital Content
ongoing
Social
Social
Network Sites
Blog
Wiki
The new Insurance Institute website provides us with an opportunity to better adapt to our
audiences wanting information on their own terms (where the individual can pull information
as they require it). We have moved toward an approach to digital content assets that can be
accessed on-demand by our audiences. This audience-centric model for communication is also the
foundation for our approach to email. It is a permission medium and the subscriber has the power
to decide what messages they want to receive.
Finally, we have the ongoing dialogue that comes from our social media executions. From YouTube
to Twitter and LinkedIn, we are ready to engage in an ongoing dialogue with our audiences via
social network tools.
When planning our digital strategy, we set a number of objectives. Email, working in concert with
the website and social media is a critical component in achieving our objectives to:
- Increase membershIp
- Ingage members vho have taken semInars, cIasses and purchased other educatIonaI
products
- Inhance both natIonaI and IocaI communIcatIons to key constItuencIes
- Iromote InstItute programs and products
- IstrIbute and communIcate InIormatIon In the Iormat requested by members
- Ieduce prInt materIaIs and dIstrIbutIon/maIIIng costs
7
As seen in the diagram above, our digital channels are structured in a hub and spoke model (like a
bicycle wheel) where InsuranceInstitute.ca is the hub. It is our most important digital property
because we have the most control over the user experience. It is where our audience converts
from visitor to member, or member to event registrant. This is the model at the root of our digital
strategy; Email as you can see in the diagram, is the crucial connector and channel to reach our
audience.
The Insurance Institute email system (and our digital strategy as a whole) has been developed to
meet the needs of our communities and local institutes and chapters who use email to promote
events, courses and seminars. We appreciate that most of the interactions a member has with the
InstItute are at the IocaI/chapter IeveI - so our ImaII system Is desIgned to support that member
connection.
Section B
The Big Picture: How Email Fits Our Strategy
Section Title
Section Sub Title
8
Section C
Excellence in
Email Execution:
Core Principles
9
Before data is pulled from Aptify and before we start working with the email sofware to produce
and distribute our message (and even before we start writing), we begin with these three core
principles
1
:
1. Serve the individual.
2. Respect their unique preferences with regard to communication (content, frequency and
channels).
3. Deliver them timely, relevant information that improves their member experience.
1 Adapted from http://help.exacttarget.com/en/documentation/exacttarget/resources/best_practices/
Excellence in Email Execution:
Core Principles
Section C
Excellence in Email Execution: Core Principles
10
Parts of An Email
CTA (text)
CTA (button)
Social Media Links
Pre-header
From Address
Email Body
From Name
Header
Footer
Subject Line
Pre-header
view in inbox
Section C
11
From Name and from address
The recipient wants to know who is sending him an email. There are two elements: the from
name that displays a name as used in normal world (e.g. John Doe or Insurance Institute of PEI)
and the from address (e.g. jdoe@insuranceinstitute.ca). These elements can both be congured
when sending an email and can be set on an email-by-email basis.
Subject line
The subject line indicates what the email message is about. The subject line is displayed next to
the from name and is the second thing the recipient sees. The subject line has a huge inuence
on whether a recipient opens an email or not and therefore is one of the most tested elements of
email marketing.
Pre-header or snippet
The pre-header is the rst text found in the email message. This pre-header is shown afer the
subject line in some email sofware and in inboxes on mobile phones. It acts as an extension to the
subject line. The pre-header is built into the IIC templates and is fully modiable.
Envelope
Together the from name, subject line and pre-header form the envelope of an email marketing
message. If the envelope is attractive your email stands a bigger chance to get opened, read and
acted upon.
Header
The top part of the email message is typically called the header. Extra care should be taken to
include recognizable elements like a Logo and the color scheme of the sender, because the header
is the rst thing a reader will see of the actual email. The header is also displayed in the preview
pane, making it extra important to make it both recognizable and enticing.
Email Body
The body is the meat of the email message. The body is where the magic should happen, taking
the reader from initial interest to reading and action.
Oer
Each sales-driven email should contain one or more oers. Oers can include your product,
service, content or other desired action (like lling a questionnaire) presented in such a way it
encourages action. An oer can be spiced up when including a deal or special discount. The t and
attractiveness of the oer have a huge impact on the results of your email message.
Images
Images are used to strengthen or even convey the main message of the email. Some email clients
however, do not display images by default. This means smart email marketers should craf their
messages to also render well when images are o.
Section C
Section C
12
Call to action (CTA)
No email is complete without a compelling Call to Action. The Call to Action (CTA) tells the
recipient what action they are expected to do. The CTA is ofen a text link or button that directs the
recipient to read more, click here or register now.
Footer
The footer is the bottom part of the email. It typically includes the unsubscribe link, links to the
preference centre and a disclaimer text.
Social media links and call outs
If your Institute is active on social networks, links to your social media proles could be a part of
the anatomy of your eective email message. There are dierent kinds of social links. You could
use a button or icon to link directly to your Institute social media pages, or direct them to the web
hub page for social media.
Section Title
Section Sub Title
13
Section D
Setting Up for
Success
Section D
Setting Up for Success
14
Given the importance of email as a channel for member communications, we must set up our
executions for success. Therefore it is key to make your email messages:
1. Deliverable
2. Clear
3. Actionable
4. Permission-Based
5. Personal
6. Relevant
7. Measurable
1: Make Your Email Deliverable
What is deliverability? Deliverability concerns all the techniques used to ensure that email
messages end up in the inboxes of your recipients, rather than in their spam folder. Its main goal
is to improve the success of sending emails and reach the recipients inbox while its end goal is to
avoid being blocked, labeled as spam, or both. Deliverability of email messages is dependent on
various factors:
- Senders IP address reputation. Each sender has a unique internet address (IP). If enough
people mark emails from the Institute as Spam, our overall deliverability will suer
because email systems will ag our IP as a spammer and our messages wont reach the
inboxes of our subscribers.
- Quality of database. Since Aptify is our primary database we can have condence in our
data. Rented or purchased lists can be of poor quality because they could have dormant
addresses or contain name of individuals who believe they didnt grant permission to be
contacted. This is a risk because the recipients can mark messages as spam.
- Message design, structure and content optimized messages stand a better chance of
being delivered to the inbox.
- Message frequency and relevance send email too frequently or messages that dont
appeal to the recipient and you risk being marked as a spam, deleted or unsubscribed.
2: Clarity is Key
Email must be clear in purpose and message.
We know our members. They deal with massive amounts of information on a daily basis. In fact,
Section D
15
- Studies of oce workers who use computers reveal that they constantly stop what theyre
doing to read and respond to incoming e-mails. Its not unusual for them to glance at their
inbox 30-40 times an hour (though when asked how frequently they look, theyll give an
much lower gure).
2

- In 2009, it was estimated that the average corporate worker spends more than 40% of his
or her day sending and receiving some 200 messages
3
.
We also know from behavioral studies that people scan online information constantly and only
read what catches their eye (literally). It is easy to ignore an email message and with a simple key
stroke a recipient can delete or mark a message as spam.
The Institute competes amongst hundreds of messages in our recipients inboxes. Our messages
must be clear in purpose and optimized to cut through the noise.
3: Action! What do you want the recipient to do?
Why are you sending an email message? Chances are you want the member to do something.
Within the world of email marketing, there is a quick acronym to help us remember that each
message should be actionable: Call To Action (or CTA for short).
A CTA is a banner, button, or some type of graphic or text in an email meant to prompt a user to
click it.
There are all kinds of CTAs:
- Register
- Sign up
- Join
- Download
- Follow
- Click
- Read
- Enter
- Share
- Comment
It is best practice to repeat your CTA, and include multiple formats such as a text version and a
button version. Sometimes the button can look like a graphic but it is actually a non-image based
button so that if the email reader has images o, they can still see the CTA.
2 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327590ijhc2103_3#.Um5SziS-O98
3 http://www.radicati.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Addressing_Info_Overload.pdf
Section D
16
4: Permission & Respect
A key concept in email marketing is Permission. Noted author and marketer, Seth Godin who
coined the phrase permission marketing explains it best:
Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and
relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.
It recognizes the new power of the best consumers to ignore marketing. It realizes that treating
people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.
Pay attention is a key phrase here, because permission marketers understand that when
someone chooses to pay attention they are actually paying you with something precious. And
theres no way they can get their attention back if they change their mind. Attention becomes an
important asset, something to be valued, not wasted.
Real permission is dierent from presumed or legalistic permission. Just because you somehow
get my email address doesnt mean you have permission. Just because I dont complain doesnt
mean you have permission. Just because its in the ne print of your privacy policy doesnt
mean its permission either.
Real permission works like this: if you stop showing up, people complain, they ask where you
went.
4

Lack of trust is the number one inhibitor to growing authentic, connected relationships. According
to the Edelman Trust Barometer, consumers cited quality products and services as the top
standard of trust in 2006; by 2010, 83% of consumers named transparent and honest practices
as the most important element to establishing brand trust (AdAge, 2012).
5

Every time we send an email message to promote an event or provide information, we are
honoring a commitment to respect our recipients and we show that respect by ensuring that the
message aligns to their permission and preferences.
5: The Power of Personalization
Our email system sends out messages to many recipients at once, but we do have the chance
to personalize how that message is delivered, and it makes a dierence. Below is a list of
personalization elds available in our system:
- Person ID (Membership #)
- First Name
- Last Name
- Designation
- Company
4 http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/01/permission-mark.html
5 http://www.business2community.com/social-data/increase-trust-transparency-permission-based-data-access-0648583#tCdlU
3OKWsQAyUmt.99
Section D
17
- E-mail Address (Email 1)
6

- Organization (Chapter) Institute
In the industry, smart marketers are personalizing their communication based on a prospects
interestsusing behavioral data and a whole new generation of online personalization technology.

Theres another concept underpinning personalization, and that is the value exchange.
There are dierent kinds of value exchange when it comes to people and their relationships with
organizations like the Insurance Institute:
1. The trading of money for goods or services.
2. The consumer sharing information in return for a reward.
3. The promise and delivery of a better consumer experience.
For our email to be eective, we must consider the value exchange. When our communication
becomes too one-sided is when we see our members unsubscribe.

Tip: Watch your own inbox to see personalization in action from large retailers and e-commerce
companies.

6: Understand Member Preferences
The Institute uses online preference centres to manage permissions and preferences for Members,
Graduates and Non-Members. The preference centre is a key tool to ensure the Institute remains
in compliance with Canadas anti-spam legislation (discussed in detail in the next section).
When members set their preferences (permission for the Institute to email them) that information
is ported into the Aptify database so that that individual will be included (or excluded) from any
specic mailing or list thats pulled for a given purpose.
7: The Preference Centre
In order to remain compliant with privacy laws within Canada, it is important that we allow our
members and other customers a means of opting out of our e-mail services. To manage these
preferences, a preference centre has been created. Should you create a communication that does
not Lt Into any oI the categorIes oI the IreIerence Centre, pIease contact the Irector oI E&C /
Privacy Ocer to discuss. The preference centre is essentially a webpage (with a mirror tab in
Aptify) that tracks the preferences for each of our members and others.
6 The Career Connections team regularly uses the Email4 feld. This will be accounted for using advanced SQL on the Aptify side. The
CC team will be trained to alter their views to pull Email4 in place of Email1.
Section D
18
What Does the Customer See?
The customer is able to visit the preference centre either through a) clicking manage my
preferences or unsubscribe at the bottom of an e-mail sent from HighRoad, or b) by selecting a
link from their prole on the website.
When they get to the preference centre, they will see options that are based on their persons
record in Aptify. There are four dierent options - paid graduates, paid members, career
connections contacts and general.
Paid Member*

Section D
19
Paid Graduate*
Section D
20
General*
*Note: For all three options, only those individuals with a Career
Connections tag on their persons record will see the Career
Connections Communications checkbox
How It Works
When an individual selects (or de-selects) a box, that change will be reected in Aptify (on the
updated Communications tab). As the system pulls the views (which have been built to look for
these preferences), individuals who have opted in will now be included in the distribution list
and vice versa.
Section D
21
Manually Updating User Preferences
As mentioned, the Communications tab in Aptify now mimics the preference centre as it appears
above. II an IndIvIduaI caIIs Into a member servIce representatIve, or IocaI InstItute/Chapter,
any user can select (or de-select) the desired option within Aptify. This change will then also be
reected on the web-based preference centre, if the member were to log in.
Managing your Opt-Outs
You may wish to monitor your opt-outs, especially afer an e-blast, to ensure that people are
nding value in your communications.
Please note: It is important that individuals who opt out are not contacted again, as this is in
violation of the privacy legislation.
Section Title
Section Sub Title
22
Section E
Regulations:
Canadian
Anti-Spam
Legislation (CASL)
Section E
Regulations: Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
23
Email in Canada is governed by legislation to combat spam. The legislation is intended to deter
the most damaging and deceptive forms of spam but it also covers how organizations (Insurance
Institute included) send what the statute denes as commercial electronic messages or CEM.
What is a commercial electronic message?
A commercial electronic message is any electronic message that encourages participation in a
commercial activity, regardless of whether there is an expectation of prot.
What are the general requirements concerning the sending of commercial electronic
messages for which the CRTC is responsible?
Generally, the sender will need to obtain consent from the recipient before sending the
message and will need to include information that identies the sender and enables the
recipient to withdraw consent.
7

So there we have it. We need to rst obtain permission and allow users to unsubscribe to email in
order to comply with CASL.
CASL not only aects email distribution but other forms of electronic messaging such as social
media and texting, so please do not use group messaging in social media channels without
consulting the Institutes privacy ocer or your regional director.
Tip: Visit http://Lghtspam.gc.ca to learn more.
At the Institute, the Privacy Ocer ( Director, Business Development & Communications ) has the
overall responsibility to ensure our members privacy is respected and privacy laws are adhered
to. Local Institutes and other communities that issue email must comply as well.
In following CASL, recipients of CEM must have indicated consent. Consent may be implied or
express. As we have had a long standing relationship with our members ( those over two years ),
the majority of our email contacts have resulted in implied consent.
The preference centre shows the information the recipient receives by email. They can
unsubscribe from non-essential communications at any time, though of course we hope your
communications are well targeted and well thought out so that they are relevant and therefore one
would not unsubscribe.

New members sign up will be reviewed so that we may possibly receive express consent at the
onset of their relationship with IIC.
7 http://fghtspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/00221.html
Regulations: Canadian Anti-Spam
Legislation (CASL)
24
Institute communication has been divided into essential and non-essential communications.
Essential means that it is information that members receive and it is critical to our bylaws.
( notication of the Annual General Meeting in newsletters for example ).
Non-essential communications is information that is deemed a Commercial Electronic Message
and has opt out / opt In optIons, vhIch compIy vIth the CASI act.
Section E
Regulations: Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
Section Title
Section Sub Title
25
Section F
Email Operations
at the Institute
Section F
Email Operations at the Institute
26
For eective electronic communications, simply sending emails is not enough.

As we continue to move forward in our eorts to deliver an excellent customer experience,
the tools we use to communicate are becoming increasingly important. While we have been
using e-mail to communicate with our members for a long time, the implementation of the new
HighRoad e-mailing system gives us the opportunity to evaluate our current process and to
implement some standardized procedures across the organization to ensure consistency and,
above all, a positive customer experience.

Email marketing is at the core of digital marketing and enhances the Institutes use of other digital
media such as our website and the use of social media. Email is the connector.
Privacy and Mailing Lists at the Institute

Mailing lists are the property of the business not of an individual. The information within the
list may not be used for non Institute purposes, and may not be shared with non Institute sta,
or any third party. Volunteers, including instructors, should not have access to any mailing list
unless those contributing their information to the list are apprised of the use. When mailing
information it is generally addressed to one recipient, other recipient addresses should not be
visible.
The Institute does not sell or rent its lists. Out-of-house mailing lists may be purchased for one
time use to help augment your own contact list. There are many companies that rent or sell lists
that target specic businesses, demographics or geographies. Should you choose to explore
this option to grow your membership, you should discuss with the Business Development &
Communications team in advance to ensure privacy laws and anti-spam are adhered to as well as
ensuring your marketing eort results in more contacts.
27 Section F
Email Workfow
The following are the high-level steps necessary when distributing an e-mail communication.
Detailed information about each step can be found in the subsequent sections of this document.
Choosing Your Audience (Distribution Lists)
It is important to ensure that you are targeting your email to the correct audience. The HighRoad
system connects with Aptify to allow you to build a distribution list that meets your needs (or use
one that has already been created).
Pre-Dened Views
A set of views have been pre-dened and created within the HighRoad system. These segments are
as follows:
Determine Your Audience Determine who needs to hear your message and your call to action. Then you will need to build
a view within Aptify (or use an existing view) to capture these customers.
Determine Your Timing - In consultation with the communications calendar, ensure that you know what other
communications the audience of your e-mail are receiving.
Determine Your Template - After you know who needs to hear the message, you will need to determine what
template best suits your needs. Templates are illustrated in this document.
Create Your Message - Once you have built your view and determined your template, you can log in to the
HighRoad system and build your message.
Send a Test Message - Once your message is ready to go, send a test message to yourself and
perhaps to a colleague to ensure that you have not missed anything. Read about A/B split testing in
the toolkit and consider using this for larger mailings
Send Your Message - After you have sent, and reviewed, your test message, you are ready to
Review Your Data After sending your message, it is important to do some
analysis and manage your bouncebacks.
28 Section F
AII Members (by InstItute/Chapter)
AII Iormer Members (by InstItute/Chapter)
AII IenevIng Members (by InstItute/Chapter)
AII IaId Graduates (by InstItute/Chapter)
AII Students (by InstItute/Chapter)
AII Graduates (by InstItute/Chapter)
Tip: Views are pulled over to the HighRoad system on a nightly basis, so it is important that
when you create, or change, a view you do so the day before you need to use that list.
These views are available for use by anyone using the HighRoad system. The views have been
built for those communications that are indicated as essential.
Customized Views
If the views above do not meet your needs, any user has the capability to create a view within
Aptify and have this view pulled into the HighRoad system. For more information about how to do
this (please reference the HighRoad training documentation).
Email Scheduling
This schedule represents the current schedule of email-based communications at the Institute.
When sending out an email communication, it is important to ensure that you consider the other
communications being received by your target audience.
Timing Item Name Author Distributor Frequency
DAILY
Daily
*1
ADVANTAGE
Daily
CIP Society CIP Society Daily
WEEKLY
Monday
*2
ADVANTAGE
Hebdomadaire
CIP Society CIP Society Weekly
Tuesdays/
Wednesdays
*3
CC Career
Opportunities
Career Connections Career Connections Weekly
Thursday
*4
IIO E-Blast IIO IIO Weekly
MONTHLY
First of
the month
ADVANTAGE LIVE
National Webinar
Series Promotion
CIP Society CIP Society Monthly
ANNUALLY
- IIBC Newsletter IIBC IIBC Annually
As needed
Registration
Reminder [Regional]
Programs Programs Annually
Section F
29
QUARTER 1:
JANUARY - MARCH
January
National Education
Week
BD&C Annually
Winter/Spring Schedule
for Professional
Development Programs
Programs Programs Bi-Annually
ADVANTAGE LIVE
National Webinar
Series Promotion
CIP Society CIP Society Monthly
March
Institute Quarterly Programs BD&C Quarterly
IIO Newsletter GTA GTA Quarterly
IIO Newsletter SW SW Tri-Annually
IIO Newsletter OT OT Tri-Annually
IIO Newsletter CN CN Tri-Annually
IIO Newsletter HN HN Tri-Annually
IISK Newsletter IISK IISK Tri-Annually
IADQ Newsletter IADQ IADQ Tri-Annually
Winter/Spring Schedule
for Professional
IISK Newsletter IISK IISK Tri-Annually
IIMB Newsletter IIMB IIMB Quarterly
IINS Newsletter IINS IINS Quarterly
QUARTER 2:
APRIL - JUNE
April
[As needed]
Customer Service
Survey
Member Services Member Services Annually
May
Membership Drive -
First Notice [Part 1]
FCIP - Send out
apply now E-blast
BD&C BD&C Annually
June
FCIP Send out second
apply now E-blast,
if necessary
BD&C BD&C Annually
FCIP Registration
(CIP Students)
BD&C Bi-Annually
Section F
30
June
Membership Drive -
First Notice [Part 2]
Fall Schedule
for Professional
QUARTER 3:
JULY - SEPTEMBER
July
Membership Drive -
Second Notice [Part 1]
GTA Newsletter GTA GTA Quarterly
August
FCIP Original track
reminder to registered
students
BD&C BD&C Annually
August
FCIP Original Track
Reminder
BD&C BD&C Annually
Membership Drive -
Second Notice [Part 2]
Customer Service
Survey [As needed]
September
Fall Schedule
for Professional
FCIP Apply now
E-blast
BD&C BD&C Annually
NICC Conference Notice CIP Society CIP Society Annually
Section F
31
QUARTER 4:
OCTOBER DECEMBER
October
FCIP Registration
(CIP Students)
BD&C BD&C Bi-Annually
November
CIP Society Survey CIP Society CIP Society Annually
December
*1
Sent out on every business day for the entire year
*2
Sent out on a weekly basis every Monday for the entire year
*3
Sent out on a weekly basis every Tuesday/Wednesday for the entire year
*4
Sent out on a weekly basis every Thursday for the entire year
What do I do When
the template I need doesnt exist?
The templates created as part of this project have been designed to meet the current needs of the
business. If you see a gap (that is a message you are consistently sending out that has no template),
please follow the necessary steps to have a new template created.
the list I want to use isnt from Aptify?
Aptify serves as our central database across the organization. Having one source for customer
information is important to ensure that we are using the most up-to-date information and that we
are complying with the customers preferences (especially now given the new preference centre).
If you have a list of customers you wish to email and these individuals are not in Aptify, you may
wish to consider adding them to the database. If they are people you wish to communicate with
frequently, then it makes sense that they are included in our system. If, however, your e-mail is
more of a one-o to a set of individuals we may not wish to speak to again, you may consider
using Outlook or Aptify for your e-mail message, instead of the HighRoad tool.
I am only sending an email to a few people?
The HighRoad tool is meant for mass e-mail communications. That is, email communication to a
large group of individuals. It is up to your discretion what you deem a large group, but HighRoad
32
should in no way replace Outlook as your regular e-mailing tool. If you are sending out, as an
example, a meeting agenda to your council for an upcoming meeting, this should continue to go
through your Institute Outlook account.
I dont know how to do something in HighRoad?
The training specialist is available as your rst point of contact should you be unclear about how
to complete a step in the HighRoad system. Training documentation will be made available, and
onboarding training sessions will occur to ensure that you have the tools you need to succeed in
using the new e-mail system. For additional questions, the training specialist can be reached by
submitting an on-line ticket to the Service Desk under the How Do I section.
something isnt working with HighRoad?
If there is an error of a technical nature within HighRoad (i.e. you are unable to login), a ticket
should be logged on the Service Desk to be dealt with by the IT team.
I need a new view/distribution list?
If you are unsure about how to pull the individuals you need for a given distribution list (i.e. how
to build the appropriate view in Aptify), please contact the Training Consultant for assistance.
Please note, there is also a virtual training session on creating views available on myInstitute for
your reference.
Section F
Section Title
Section Sub Title
33
Section G
Branding &
Consistency
Section G
Branding & Consistency
34
At the Institute, we are consistent with email communications so that our:
- Recipients trust and recognize you
- Chances are increased that your email will get read and not marked as spam
- Communications have the desired impact.
We have brand standards, guidelines and fonts that form the visual identity of the Institutes
brand. Our Email system contains templates that have been developed to our brand standard.
To learn more about the Insurance Institute brand, please check out the IIC Brand Toolkit
Guidelines and Fonts on MyInstitute under Business Development and Communications.

Message Templates
It is highly advised that when using the new HighRoad system, users work within a pre-
created template to send out their messages. These templates ensure brand consistency and
professionalism for all of our e-mail communications from the Institute.
Current Templates
As a part of the HighRoad integration project, a series of message templates were created to meet
the majority of the communication needs for the Institute. The templates are listed below, as well
as a quick note about their intended use.
Institute Quarterly Template
This template is only used by the BD&C team quarterly to distribute the Institute Quarterly
(IQ) newsletter to all members.
CIP Advantage Daily Template
This template is only used by the CIP Society team when sending out the daily ADVANTAGE
Daily e-blast to all CIP Society members.
Local Institute Periodic E-blast (Option A) Template
1hIs tempIate Is used by a IocaI/InstItute or chapter (and potentIaIIy E&C) to send out
information about upcoming seminars, news and other opportunities on a periodic basis to
theIr membershIp. 1he OptIon A tempIate Is Ior IocaIs vIth Iess InIormatIon/actIvItIes that do
not require as much space.
Local Institute Periodic E-blast (Option B) Template
1hIs tempIate Is used by a IocaI/InstItute or chapter (and potentIaIIy E&C) to send out
information about upcoming seminars, news and other opportunities on a periodic basis to
their membership. The Option B template is for locals with more information who require
more space.
Section G
35
Event/Seminar/Course Listing Template
This template is used by a local Chapter or Institute to provide a list of upcoming events,
seminars or courses. It is important to note that this template corresponds with three
dierent items on the preference centre, which will be important to remember when pulling
your distribution list when using this template.
Targeted Event/Seminar Template
This template is used by a local Chapter or Institute to highlight a specic event or seminar.
Again, it is important to note that this template corresponds with three dierent items on the
preference centre, which will be important to remember when pulling your distribution list
when using this template.
Survey Template
This template is used by any department or team wishing to send out a survey. This could be
a survey oI our membershIp, a post-event/semInar survey or any other survey.
Academic-Related Communications Template
1hIs tempIate Is used by the programs/member servIces team to send out InIormatIon
(related to courses and other academic items) to members. Examples include: release of tax
receipts, change of exam center, grades release and class cancelation notications.
Membership Renewal Notice Template
This template is used by the member services team as part of the annual membership
drive, to encourage members to renew their membership. This is only sent out to those on
individual bill.
Career Opportunities Template
This template is used by the Professionals Division team to send out a list of highlighted
career opportunities within the industry to our membership. These opportunities will be
culled from our job site.
Using the Template
As you are creating your message, you will be able to select the template that meets your needs
(see training materials for more details). Each template allows the user to manipulate the template
to IncIude the InIormatIon he/she vIshes to see.
Requesting a New Template
Given that all of the existing templates were developed within the boundaries of the e-mail project,
there may be a time when the existing templates do not meet your needs. If this is the case, it will
be important to understand if a new template is required or if you are sending out a one-o type
of e-mail that can go out without the development of a new template.
If, indeed, a new template is required, a formal request must be submitted to your director or VP.
He/she can heIp assess the urgency and necessIty oI the request. 1hIs vIII aIso heIp ensure that
multiple requests for the same template arent being made to the graphics department.
Changes to an Existing Template
If you are nding issues using an existing template, this concern or change request should be
submItted to your manager or dIrector. He/she can heIp assess the necessIty and urgency oI the
Section G
36
request. II you receIve approvaI Irom your dIrector/VI Ior an aIteratIon to a tempIate, you vIII
need to submit a graphics request to the graphics team indicating the change required, the aected
tempIate and that you have receIved consent Irom your dIrector/VI.
Please note, given the nature of these requests (i.e. there should be no URGENT changes required
as all of the templates are exible enough to meet immediate needs), that requests of this nature
will be dealt with in sequence and graphics will be unable to facilitate immediate turnaround.
Section G
37
Insurance Institute Template Gallery
This section illustrates which documents are considered essential and therefore members are
not able to opt out of them. Other documents are considered non-essential and are considered
commercial electronic messages so must be opt out for existing members and opt in for new
members. New communications not listed here will need to be opt in structure.
Each of these templates is designed for both computers and mobile devices.
Legend:
Career Connections Communications
Providing periodic updates on Career
Connections activities and invitations to
events and presentations related to
promoting careers in insurance.
Career-Related Communications
Providing information, resources and
tools including job postings as you
explore career options and opportunities.
Networking Events
Connect with leading industry profession-
als at social and sporting events such as
golf, curling, softball, speakers events or
wine & cheese celebrations.
Academic-Related
Comm. Template
Surveys Template
Career-Related
Comm. Template
Event Listing/Targeted
Promotion Templates
Promotion Templates
Promotion Templates
Essential
Communications
Non-Essential
Communications
Your annual reminder to renew
your membership with us.
Providing graduates with a daily dose
of industry news from across Canada
and around the world.
IQ Template
Advantage Daily
Template
Membership Renewal
Notice Template
Not sent by email so
no template
No Template
No Template
No Template
Periodic Templates
IQ Template Academic-Related Surveys Template
Communication Template

Membership Renewal
Notice Template

Essential
Communications
Section G
38
INVOICE
Hello Kristi, its time to renew your membership!
Payment Due By: June 29, 2014
Local Institute Membership: $00.00
+ Taxes: $0.00
Membership Year:
June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2014
Insurance Institute of Nova Scotia
GST Number:
Member Details:
First Name, Surname
Organization
Address 1
Address 2
City, Province, Postal Code
Member ID: 00000-25-0225
The Insurance Institute offers unparalleled programs, seminars and
networking opportunities for our members. Renew today and see for
yourself why our 39,000+ members are among the worlds leading
insurance professionals.
We make renewing your membership easy:
Total Amount Due:
$00.00
RENEW ONLINE
RENEWONLINE (VISA / AMEX / MasterCard)
Simply click here to sign into your member account
and process the renewal.
RENEWBY PHONE (VISA / AMEX / MasterCard)
Call 1-866-362-8585 and speak to an Institute
member services associate.
RENEWBY MAIL (Cheque / Money Order)
Attach your cheque or money order to this
invoice, payable to Insurance Institutes and mail
to the address below.
INSURANCE INSTITUTE
Member Services
18 King Street East, 6th Floor
Toronto, ON M5C 1C4
2013 INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF CANADA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRIVACY POLICY
Heading Here
Possible Subheading
LOGIN
Body Subhead Body Subhead Body Subhead Body Subhead Body
Subhead Body Subhead Body Subhead
Institute Update:
classes rescheduled
due to bad weather
CIP & FCIP INSURANCE EDUCATION CIP SOCIETY RESOURCES ABOUT THE INSTITUTE INSTITUTES & CHAPTERS
INSURANCE INSTITUTE
1-866-362-8585
IICmail@insuranceinstitute.ca
STAY IN TOUCH
Add IIC to your address book
Update your email address
Manage settings
Unsubscribe
PRIVACY POLICY
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam
nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat
volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo
consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate
velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis
at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio Eodem modo typi, qui nunc
nobis videntur parum clari, fiant sollemnes in futurum.
Students, you can
now check your
exam grades online
A friendly reminder,
its time to renew
your membership
Heading Here
Possible Subheading
INSURANCE INSTITUTE
18 King Street East, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 1C4
(P) 1-866-362-8585 (E) iicmail@insuranceinstitute.ca (W) insuranceinstitute.ca
Having trouble viewing this email? View online
TAKE SURVEY NOW
Wed like to know
what you think.
CIP & FCIP INSURANCE EDUCATION CIP SOCIETY RESOURCES ABOUT THE INSTITUTE INSTITUTES & CHAPTERS
INSURANCE INSTITUTE
1-866-362-8585
IICmail@insuranceinstitute.ca
STAY IN TOUCH
Add IIC to your address book
Update your email address
Manage settings
Unsubscribe
PRIVACY POLICY
Have you interacted with the Insurance Institute in the past year? If so,
wed love to know what your experience was like
We would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete our Member
Experience Survey. For you, our members, its a great opportunity to pass on your
feedback about your recent service experiences, and it provides us with invaluable
information in our efforts to continuously improve the service we provide to you.
Complete this survey by Wednesday, July 31, and your name will be
entered into a draw to win an Apple iPad, a $100 voucher to Best Buy
or a $50 voucher to Chapters Indigo.
Advantage Daily Periodic Templates Career-Related
Template Communication Template
Targeted Event Promotion Event Listing Template
Having trouble viewing this email?
View online
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commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa, sociis natoque penatibus et magnis.
Dynamic risk management needed to address mining's
threat landscape: Willis
Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings plc advises that more
dynamic risk management will be necessary to answer an..
Industry could see more M&A activity this year, outlook
report says
The Canadian insurance industry could see more merger and acquisi-
tion activity in 2013, in part because of continuing low investment..
Marine risk experts invited to bid on
federal hazardous
The federal government announced Monday it is
looking for a contractor with expertise in marine..
More from Canadian Underwriter
NYS proposal seeks to buy
storm-wrecked homes
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to spend up to
$400 million to buy and demolish homes wrecked..
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$109 million personal-injury award in Western
Pennsylvania offers insight into tort system
When Carrie Goretzka's two young girls ran out onto the porch of
their suburban home 30 miles east of Pittsburgh in the late..
Takaful puts pressure on local markets
Because Takaful companies are competing for the same market as
conventional insurers, with much the same product offering, local..
Beyonce did not cause Superdome's Super Bowl
blackout
Beyonce' s high-powered halftime show did not cause the 33- minute
power outage in the third quarter of Sunday's Super Bowl, NFL..
NEWTRENDS PAPER - CLASS ACTIONS
Each month, the CIP Society brings you an in-depth analysis of an
emerging trend or issue with an addition to the Advantage Monthly
Hot Topics Library. Since March 2007, the CIP Society has explored
over 40 different topics, including cybercrime and cyberrisk, nano-
technology, flood insurance and cloud computing.
Two new papers are now available, giving you both a look back and
a look ahead in respect to important events and devlopments in the
P&C insurance industry: 2012 Year in Review and Trends to Watch
in 2013.
The entire back catalogue of trends papers is available after the
login in the Hot Topics Library.
NEW! CIP SOCIETY PROEDGE SEMINAR SERIES:
DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
To coincide with the publication of the Insurance Institute's latest
demographic research report, A Demographic Analysis of the P&C
Insurance Industry in Canada 2012 - 2022, the CIP Society is
pleased to host a series of seminars across the country featuring
Richard Loreto, President of R.A.L. Consulting, and author of the
research report.
Locations and dates:
IIO- GTA - Wednesday, February 13, 2013
IIO- Ottawa - Thursday, February 14, 2013
IIO- Conestoga - Thursday, February 21, 2013
IINA- Edmonton - Wednesday, March 6, 2013
IISA- Calgary - Thursday, March 7, 2013
IIBC- Vancouver - Friday, March 8, 2013
IINS- Halifax - Wednesday, March 13, 2013
IIM- Winnipeg - Tuesday, March 26, 2013
IIS- Regina - Wednesday, March 27, 2013
IADQ- Montreal - Thursday, April 18, 2013
NEW! CIP Society PROEdge Seminar
Series: Demographic Research
To coincide with the publication of the Insurance
Institute's latest demographic research report..
More from CIP Society
Set The Stage:
National Leadership Awards
Recognizing leadership in the industry across
Canada.
Learn more
TODAYS DAILY PULSE
AT A GLANCE
CANADIAN HEADLINES FROM
CANADIAN UNDERWRITER
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES FROM
ADVISEN FPN
NEWS FROM
CIP SOCIETY
PRIVACY POLICY
REGISTER
The Institute's Job Site, as part of
the Career Connections program,
is your direct link to searching and
posting jobs in the industry. As the
source for Institute graduates, the
job site is an excellent tool to
search for jobs, post your resume
and manage a full career search.
As a recruitment tool for
companies, the job site is an
excellent source to post jobs for
CIPs and FCIPs and search for
new recruits from a roster of
resumes.
LEARN MORE
CAREER CONNECTIONS
MANAGEMENT
DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
In 2010, the Insurance Institute of
Canada launched what is now
referred to as the Management
Development curriculum.
HOWEVER, if you thought the
Management Development
curriculum was only for managers,
think again! This curriculum offers
practical, relevant, skill building
courses designed for managers
AND individual career
professionals. Register early to
avoid disappointment!
REGISTER
FEBRUARY 7 | TORONTO
PROedge Seminar: Class Action
Lawsuits
PROedge Seminar: Demographic
Analysis of the P&C Industry 2012-2022
FEBRUARY 14 | OTTAWA
FEBRUARY 21 | KITCHENER
FEBRUARY 25 | REGINA
PROedge Seminar: Credit Scoring
Lunch & Learn with Andrew Cartmell
FEBRUARY 26 | SASKATOON
PROedge Seminar: Credit Scoring
Lunch & Learn with Andrew Cartmell
PROedge Seminar: Class Action
Lawsuits
UPCOMING
SEMINARS
& WEBINARS
Your local CIP Society presents
a variety of seminars and networking
events for the benefit of graduates.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
GTAAnnual Fellows Reception
CIP Society Pool Party
FEBRUARY 21 | VANCOUVER
Battle of the Insurance Bands
FEBRUARY 22 | LONDON
CIP Society Volleyball Tournament
CANADIAN
HEADLINES
INTERNATIONAL
HEADLINES
Section G
39
Non-Essential
Communications
Section Title
Section Sub Title
40
Section H
The Importance
of Subject Lines
Section H
The Importance of Subject Lines
41
Subject lines are the most important factor related to whether your email gets opened. Their
eectiveness is tracked and measured as the Open Rate. Email subject lines are the gatekeepers of
your email communications:
35% of email recipients open email based on the subject line alone
69% of email recipients report email as spam based on subject line alone
8

Afer putting hours into preparing an email distribution, make sure you consider the subject line
or your eort will go to waste!
How to Write an Efective Subject Line
- Be specic and unique
- Tell (dont sell) whats inside (make the recipient curious)
- Localize by including a city name, where applicable
- Keep it short: 50 characters or less works best (test with your recipients)
Tip: while its important to establish continuity and branding, repeating the same subject
line leads to a drop in open rates. For example Our Spring Newsletter is likely not going
to encourage curiosity. Find a way to indicate whats inside the message that would be
interesting to the recipient.
Subject Line Testing
Our emaII system aIIovs Ior A/E SpIIt testIng oI subject IInes. 1hIs type oI test aIIovs you to send
a dierent subject line to two random sample of recipients. By comparing email open rates of each
group, you can quickly tell which subject line performs best.
Testing helps improve the eectiveness of your email messages by using the subject line that leads
to the best open rate.
Our emaII system aIso aIIovs A/E SpIIt testIng beyond subject IIne IncIudIng:
- From Name
- Message Body
- Send Time
8 Jay Baer, Convince and Convert News
Section H
42
EeIov Is a screenshot oI the A/E SpIIt Ieature.
A/B Split Testing
Here's a sampIe process oI an A/E spIIt test.
1. Choose two dierent subject lines and send to a random sample of your list (10% get
subject line A, 10% get subject line B).
2. Wait for the results of the test (typically at least 24 hours) and see which subject line has
the higher open-rate.
3. Send the winning subject line to the remaining 80% of your list.
Over time, you can analyze successful subject lines to gain a better understanding of your
recipients and what motivates them in terms of: incentive, curiosity, value exchange and
newsworthiness.
Tips for Great Subject Lines with Examples
Subject Line Tips Examples
Leverage Localization
Use location details to be personal
and relevant
Convocation is Coming to Calgary!
Monctons Hot Ticket: Annual Golf Tournament
Jump in to Ottawas Winter Pool Party
Ask it away
Use location details to be personal
and relevant
Whats on your mind in 2014?
All set for exams?
How important is human capital in your frm?
Keep it Short and Sweet
Subject lines of 50 characters or
less perform best
Learn all about Liquor & Host Liability Law (43)
What about ethics in the insurance industry? (45)
Demystify condo insurance once and for all (42)
Section Title
Section Sub Title
43
Section I
Working with
Images
Section I
Working with Images
44
In our email system, the BD&C team has uploaded standard and brand images. In addition, our
system allows any user to upload their own photo, as they need to be a specic size when using
one of the pre-designed and approved templates.
If you require a specic photo for your email message, local Institutes should work with the
Institutes graphics team to get the images sized and then upload it to the system.
The IIC mailing system has an image library uploaded with sized images ready to go and pre-
selected. These will be refreshed from time to time.
Tips and Best Practices for Images in Email
9

The use of images in newsletters and marketing emails is a hotly debated topic. Designers and
traditional marketers want to include a heavy use of visuals and images for both aesthetic and
brand purposes. Email marketing specialists want to minimize email images for deliverability
and display reasons.
The Truth: Email Images Sell
Images and visuals are absolutely a critical part of marketing your events, seminars, courses, etc.
To send an email with no images is both a branding and conversion error. The trick with email is
to nd a way to use images in a way that will benet your emails performance rather than detract
from it.
Remember: An Email is Not a Print Mailer or Brochure
Your email template is not a brochure. It does not have the same exibility of design that a print
mailer would. Recipients do not navigate an email communication in the same way that they
would a printed communication, both in how they respond to it and in how their eyes track
through the design. Finally, email has many other usability factors to consider that a print
marketing piece would not. Encouraging clicks, the need to sell recipients on reading the email in
less than two seconds within a preview pane, and actual inbox deliverability issues all regulate the
use of email images.
You cannot approach designing an email, as you would approach designing a print marketing
piece. That means that you may be frustrated that your email cant look as good as a catalog or
print mailer. However, at the end of the day, while your email certainly does need to look good, it
needs to drive results. In fact, driving results is certainly more important. As you begin designing
your email messages, remember that you are not designing a printed piece of marketing collateral.
You are designing an electronic mail that has usability limitations.
9 Adapted from: http://emailmarketing.comm100.com/email-marketing-ebook/email-images.aspx
Working with Images
45
Remember: Not All Email Service Providers Will Display Your Images
One reason that you do not want to rely too heavily on using email images to convey the message
within your marketing email is that not all email service providers display images by default
in your email. Gmail defaults to turning email images o and relying on users to proactively
download images in order to see them. The reality is that many users will not download the
images, so if youre relying on a picture or graphic button to convey an important message within
your email template, then more than half of your subscribers may never see that message or
request.
Remember: Images Can Send Your Email to the Spam Folder
The use of images can result in your email going to the spam folder. Its not the use of images
exclusively that can land you in the spam folder, but overuse, bad use, and certain other triggers
when combined with your overall sender reputation and quality score can mean that emails
hit the spam folder instead of the inbox. In fact, if you have started experiencing an inbox
deliverability problem, then one of the rst steps that you should take is to remove some of the
images from your email.
Best Practices for Using Images in Emails
1. Limit the Use of Images in the Top Two Inches of Your Email
In the majority of cases, your subscribers will scan your email for less than two seconds
before they decide if they want to bother reading it. Most of that scanning will happen within
the email preview pane. The typical email preview pane is horizontally aligned and less
than two inches in height. That means that you have approximately two inches of space to
convince a subscriber or user to continue reading your email. Theres nothing wrong with
using an image within the top two inches of space. In fact, we recommend it because it will
have a positive impact and result on users who load email images automatically in their email
browser. However, because so many subscribers and users will not automatically, or possibly
ever, see the email images, you need to be sure to get compelling text into the top two inches of
your email template in order to engage them.

Tip: Use the text-only Pre-Header area to engage people to read on into the email.
2. Dont Send an Email That Is One Big Image or All Image Files
How many times have you opened an email that a company sent to you, and the entire thing
was a blank white screen asking you to download email images? That single image (or a series
Section I
Working with Images
46
of smaller images built together using an html table to form a larger image), may be visually
amazing. But, the true fact that you need to worry about is that half (or less) of the people
who you sent the email to never saw the graphic or message. Not only did the image not load
when they opened their email, but also because there was no text in the top two inches of the
email to tell them why it was important that they download the image, they never bothered to
explore the email at all. If you send an email that is only images, then your email marketing
results will be dramatically reduced.
Tip: In the Institutes Email system, the ability to create a web-hosted version of your graphic
email is built into the template.
3. Dont Trap Important Messages or Calls-to-Action in Email Images
Similar to the reasons for avoiding sending emails that are entirely image les, youll want
to avoid trapping any messages that are critical for your recipients in image les they may
never see. For example, on a webpage, using a graphic button to indicate that a user should
click to Buy or Read more is eective. However, in an email template users may not see
those graphic buttons and may be confused about where they should click within the email.
Links in email templates should always be formatted text links. If you want to use a graphic
button to indicate a place to click, you should include a text link.
Whats the basic rule? If its something that your recipients absolutely need to know, it needs
to be in text, even if that text is in addition to a graphic.
4. Always Provide Alt and Title Text
Alt text is the html-coded text that appears when an image doesnt load (its short for
alternative text). Title text is the hover text that appears when a user passes their mouse
over an image.
Why are alt text and title text important to you? As mentioned, at least half of your recipients
will not see images in your messages. For those for whom email images dont load, seeing an
alternative piece of text that describes the image means that you have not wasted the space in
your email template. Youve used the space to convey an important message even if the image
didnt load.
Of course, what you write for your title and alt text is equally important. Remember, if the
email images dont load, you are losing one of your most powerful methods for inciting action
in your recipients. Youll want to try to compensate for that with good, strong call-to-action alt
and title text.
Section I
Working with Images
Section I
Working with Images
47
Tip: Use the Alt Text elds when working with images in the Institutes email system
5. Thirty Percent is a Good Rule
Only use about thirty percent of your available space for images. A good designer can use even
less than that and still make email images eective. However thirty percent means that youll
still have enough images to entice users but you wont be in danger of either creating spam
problems for the Institute or presenting large, blank emails to people who dont use email
images.
6. Do Not Make Image Files Too Large
Finally, avoid making the les too large. This is not only from a space perspective, but large
image les can create signicant spam and email deliverability issues. Small, compressed,
well-formatted images are the key to successful use of images for email marketing. If youre
working with a large image, please save it to 72 dpi which is standard resolution for web use.
Interested in learning more about digital marketing and images? Please review the social media
training module: Working with Images for details on sourcing images found in MyInstitute.
Section Title
Section Sub Title
48
Section J
Email Check List
Section J
Email Check List
49
- Default content is replaced such as dates, pre-headers, alt-tags
- Review for:
- grammar and style mistakes
- clarity
- spell-check
- correct information
- Check the subject line
- Check all links, including clicking the image links
- Make sure your brand is recognizable in the name and email address
- Send a test to yourself
- Send a test to email clients (if using a new template or HTML)
- Campaign is sent to recipients who are interested in your message
- All recipients opted in for this message
- Your email complies with the (local) laws
- Do the number of subscribers match what you expect? Double check this is the right list
- Make sure the list is up-to-date (check the last date it was refreshed)
Make sure to hyperlink the relevant text when adding attachments
- Make sure you do not include any sensitive or potentially embarassing information
It Is the responsIbIIIty oI the IocaI Chapter/InstItute to revIev theIr IIsts to address these LIes.
You may choose to simply delete the errant e-mail addresses from these les or you may choose to
follow-up with the individual (if possible) or assess the le to determine the correct address. For
assistance in pulling this information from Aptify, please speak with the training consultant.
Email Check List
Section Title
Section Sub Title
50
Section K
Best Practices
Email Scenaria
Section K
Best Practice Email Scenaria
51
Seminar Promotion
Seminar Invitation
Section K
52
Seminar Reminder/Last Chance
Section K
53
Promoting Social Events
Curling Event
Section Title
Section Sub Title
54
Section L
Email Success
Metrics
[DRAFT]
Section L
Email Success Metrics
55
To assess your email marketing performance, it is important to understand the key metrics.
Here, well cover the most important email metrics to measure include metrics specic to your
email campaign.
Email Metrics
Total Opens measures the number of times a given campaign is opened. This is typically achieved
via a count of the number of times an invisible pixel is loaded.
Total Open Rate simply takes the total email opens divided by the net delivered emails for the
campaign to express a percentage of total email opens.
Unique Opens is similar to Total Email Opens, but here, the measurement aims to count an
individual opener only once regardless of the number of times that recipient may have opened the
email in total. The goal with this metric is to better understand the number of unique individuals
who viewed an email campaign.
Unique Open Rate takes the unique email opens divided by the net delivered emails for the
campaign to express a percentage of unique email opens.
Total Clicks aims to measure each click on a link for the campaign. Many times your unsubscribe
link (and any other links you choose) is excluded from this measure to help get a picture of
engagement with the campaign (rather than the negative result associated with the unsubscribe
link).
Total Click-Through Rate (CTR) takes the total clicks divided by the net delivered emails for the
campaign to express a percentage of total click-throughs.
Unique Clicks measures how many unique individuals clicked on at least one link within the
email.
Unique Click-Through Rate takes the unique clicks divided by the net delivered emails for the
campaign to express a percentage of unique click-throughs.
Click-to-Open Rate is gaining in popularity, as it can be done specically for mobile opens and
clicks, allowing for a better gauge of mobile action. It measures activity of combined opens and
clicks. In other words, the number of individuals who clicked afer opening and can be done for
both total and unique opens and clicks.
Bounce Rate is the percentage of total emails sent that could not be delivered to the recipients
inbox, known as a bounce.
Delivery Rate is the percentage of emails that were actually delivered to recipients inboxes,
calculated by subtracting hard and sof bounces from the gross number of emails sent, then
dividing that number by gross emails sent.
Section L
56
Unsubscribe Rate is the percentage of delivered email messages that generate unsubscribe
requests. Can be a good IndIcator oI reader dIsengagement. Hovever many members/ readers that
dont want to receive your messages dont go through the formal unsubscribe process. They stop
opening, reading and sometimes even lter your messages so they never see them.
Conversion Metrics
Conversion metrics attempt to evaluate the eectiveness of a campaigns call-to-action. Most ofen
conversion metrics seek to tie revenue or ROI to a given campaign. Measuring conversion rate
requires integration between your email platform and your web analytics (or CRM).
Here are a few examples:
- Course/Ivent IegIstratIon
- Tradeshow Promotion
- Promotional Oer (Revenue Generated)
Metrics references:
http://vvv.cIIckz.com/cIIckz/coIumn/226947/back-to-basIcs-emaII-marketIng-metrIcs
http://bIog.hubspot.com/bIog/tabId/6307/bId/2910/Your-CompIete-GuIde-to-MeasurIng-ImaII-
Marketing-Success.aspx
Section Title
Section Sub Title
57
Section M
Bringing it All
Together:
Best Practices in
the real world
Section M
Bringing it All Together: Best Practices in the real world
58
Bringing it All Together:
Best Practices in the real world
A picture says a thousand words:

Institute version:
Subject: Build Better Relationships At Work
Pre-header: Some people are harder to work with than others, come and learn how to bridge the
gaps.
Image:

Alt Text: Learn about DiSC styles and youll be better able to connect with colleagues.
Body Copy:
Gain a deeper understanding of your personal style and your impact on others.
Build relationships and help create a positive work environment.
C1A: (text/graphIc)
Learn more
Section M
59
Inspire and Connect with Your Customer
Institute version:
Subject: CIP Graduate Rings Order Now
Pre-header: A beautifully crafed way to commemorate a graduates success in the years to come.
Images:
Text Overlay & Alt Text: Attaining CIP designation takes hard work and dedication
Text Overlay & Alt Text: Celebrate your success with a CIP Graduate Ring
C1A: (text/graphIc)
Shop Now
Section M
60
Minimalist Style Still Efective
Section M
61
Institute Version:
Subject: Learn, share and grow at National Education Week Events
Pre-Header: Elevate your career at the Insurance Institutes National Education Week Feb 24 28
Body copy:
Dear <rst name>,
Im writing to invite you to participate in special seminars and networking events oered during
the Insurance Institutes annual National Education Week.
From February 24th to 28th, 2014, education and career development will be at the forefront
of conversation with insurance professionals across the country. Your Institute will be hosting
topical seminars and one-on-one conversations with high-prole insurance professionals. To nd
out whats happening at your local Institute visit our website or join the conversation on Twitter.
Watch and share this video with colleagues, family and friends to celebrate your commitment to
professional development as a proud member of the insurance industry.
Video:
https://vvv.youtube.com/vatch?v=OIsaZkYIMIA
<IIrame vIdth="640" heIght="390" src="//vvv.youtube.com/embed/OIsaZkYIMIA"
Irameborder="0" aIIovIuIIscreen></IIrame>
Video Text Overlay and Alt Text: National Education Week celebrates with insurance
professionals across Canada their commitment to insurance education
Body text:
Expand your career horizons during National Education Week:
Network with colleagues during coee meetings and social events
Attend seminars covering timely insurance topics such as weather preparedness
Educate yourself about the steps you can take in deepening your knowledge about the
insurance industry
Connect with us on social networks to continue the conversation
We look forward to seeing you during National Education Week 2014.

62
Use Previous Events to Promote Future Ones
Institute Version:
Subject: Register for the 2014 CIP Society Symposium
Pre-header: The wait is over. It is time for the 2014 CIP Society Symposium.
Custom Image header/AIt 1ext: |2014 CII SocIety SymposIum 1hursday AprII 10, 2014 - 1oronto
Board of Trade, First Canadian Place, Toronto]
The CIP Society Symposium is the premier industry event for insurance professionals. Dont take
it from us though. Hear what some of last years attendees had to say:
|vIdeo]
This year promises to be even better with incredible speakers and sessions.
C1A GraphIc Euttons/1ext
Whats on the schedule so far?
Register Now
Section M
Section Title
Section Sub Title
63
Section N
Email Marketing
Glossary
Section N
Email Marketing Glossary
64
A
Acceptable Spam Report Rate - The rate at which you can be reported as SPAM without harming
your sender reputation. Anything over 0.1% (1 report per 1000 emails) will get a warning.
Acceptance Rate - The percentage of email messages that are accepted by the mail server. Just
because an email is accepted by the mail server does not mean it will get to an inbox.
B
Blacklist - A list that denotes IP addresses as spammer IPs, impeding email deliverability.
Bounce Rate - The rate at which your emails are not delivered. There are two types of bounces,
hard and sof, both of which are dened later in this glossary. An acceptable bounce rate is less
than 5%.
Bulk Mail - Large scale email marketing sends in which the same content goes to a large group of
people.
C
Call-to-Action (usually abbreviated as CTA) - An image or line of text that prompts your visitors,
leads, and customers to take action. It is, quite literally, a call to take an action. The action you
want people to take could be anything: download an ebook, sign up for a webinar, get a coupon,
attend an event, etc. A CTA can be placed anywhere in your marketing -- on your website, in an
ebook, in an email, on social networks, or even at the end of a blog post.
Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) - CASL requires you to get permission before sending
CEMs to your recipients. Consent can be express or implied. There are specic, limited exceptions
for sending electronic messages without consent, or with only implied consent.
CAN-SPAM - Short for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing
Act of 2003, its the U.S. law that outlines rules for commercial email, establishes requirements
for commercial messages, provides email recipients with the right to stop emails, and lays out
consequences for violations of the Act.
Clicks Per Delivered - A percentage measure of the number of clicks divided by the number of
emails delivered to the intended inbox.
Clicks Per Open - A percentage measure of the number of clicks divided by the number of opens.
CTR (Click-Through Rate) - The percentage (the number of unique clicks divided by the number
that were opened) of recipients that click on a given URL in your email.
Conversion Rate - The percentage of recipients who respond to your call-to-action in an email
marketing campaign or promotion. This is one measure of your email campaigns success.
Email Marketing Glossary
Email Marketing Glossary 65
D
Dedicated IP - In email marketing, it refers to an IP address from which only you send email.
Double Opt-In - The recommended method of building an email list, it requires subscribers to
conrm their opt in by clicking a link in a conrmation email or responding to the conrmation
email in some other way.
E
Eblast Institute e-blasts should use the periodic communications template and are considered
promotional or non-essential material. Therefore members may unsubscribe. Eblasts are not
considered member essential communications.
Email Campaign An email or series emails designed to accomplish an overall marketing goal.
Email Filter A technique used to block email based on the sender, subject line, or content of an
email.
Email newsletter enewsletters are considered essential member communications as they
contain bylaw information such as schedule of Annual General Meetings.
Email Sponsorships - Buying ad space in an email newsletter or sponsoring a specic article or
series of articles. Advertisers pay to have their ad inserted into the body of the email.
F
False positive - A false positive occurs when a legitimate permission-based email is incorrectly
ltered or blocked as spam.
H
Hard Bounce - A hard bounce is the failed delivery of an email due to a permanent reason like a
non-existent, invalid, or blocked email address.
Honey Pot - A planted email address by organizations trying to combat spam that, when a
spammer harvests and emails, identies that sender as a spammer.
House List (or Retention List) - One of your most valuable marketing assets, its a permission-
based list that you built yourself with opt-in subscribers.
HTML Email - Sending HTML email makes it possible to get creative with the design of your
emails.
I
IP Warmup - Sending a progressively increasing number of emails out of an IP address in order to
build the IPs reputation.
L
Landing Page - A lead-capture page on your website that is linked to from an email to provide
additional information directly related to products or services promoted in the emails call-to-
action.
Levels of Authentication - A way of establishing a senders identity, and ensure the sender is
allowed to send from a given domain.
List Segmentation - Selecting a target audience or group of individuals for whom your email
message is relevant. A segmented list means a more targeted and relevant email campaign, thus a
higher response rate and less unsubscribes and spam reports.
O
Open Rate - The percentage of emails opened in an email marketing campaign, or the percentage
opened of the total number of emails sent.
Opt-In (or Subscribe) - To opt-in or subscribe to an email list is to choose to receive email
communications by supplying your email address to a particular company, website or individual
thereby giving them permission to email you. The subscriber can ofen indicate areas of personal
Interest (e.g. mountaIn bIkIng) and/or IndIcate vhat types oI emaIIs they vIsh to receIve Irom the
sender (e.g. newsletters).
Opt-Out (or Unsubscribe) - When a subscribers chooses not to receive email communications
from the sender anymore, and requests removal from your email list. It is legally required that
you provide a clear way to opt out in every email you send.
P
Personalization Adding elements to your email that are personalized based on information you
already know about them. It could refer to addressing the recipient by name, referencing past
purchases, or other content unique to each recipient.
Physical Address - The physical, street address of the company sending the email, usually found
in the footer of an email. Its inclusion is a legal requirement for all email marketing.
Plain Text Email - An email sent without HTML. You should always give your recipients the
option to read emails in either HTML or plain text for better readability.
Privacy Policy - A clear description of a website or companys policy on the use of information
collected from and about website visitors and what they do, and do not do, with the data.
R
Read or Open Length - A measure of the length of time a person opens the email until they close it.
Rental List (or Acquisition List) - Not a recommended email marketing technique, it is a list of
prospects or a targeted group of recipients who have opted in to receive information about certain
subjects, usually targeted by something like interest, profession, or demographic information.
S
Sender Score - A free service of Return Path, its a reputation rating from 0-100 for every
outgoing mail server IP address. Mail servers will check your Sender Score before deciding what
to do with your emails. A score of over 90 is good.
Shared IP - A less costly option than a dedicated IP address, it is an IP address from which many
people send emails.
Signature File - A tagline or short block of text at the end of an email message that identies the
sender and provides additional information such as company name, physical address, and contact
information.
Single Opt-In - A single opt-in list is created when users sign up for email communications, but
dont conrm the action. This means they can be signed up for a list by someone else, and as such
is not a recommended way to build a healthy email marketing list.
Sof Bounce - A sof bounce is the failed delivery of an email due to a temporary issue, like a full
mailbox or an unavailable server.
Spam or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) - Email sent to someone who has not opted-in or
given permission to email to the sender. Over 90% of email sent is classied as spam.
Spam Cop - A paid spam service that plants their own emails and monitors who harvests the
address and spams it.
Spam Trap - An email address that was once valid, but no longer is. If you email this address,
youll receive a hard bounce notice. When the mail server sees consistent trac going to the dead
email, however, they can turn the email into a spam trap. It will stop returning a hard bounce for
the known bad address, and instead accept the message and report the sender as a spammer.
SPF - Short for Sender Policy Framework, its a DNS record that says on whose behalf an IP or
domain sends email.
T
Templates pre-designed templates for local use and other community use are housed in
MyInstitute.
W
Whitelist - Instead of listing IP addresses to block, a whitelist includes IP addresses that have
been approved to deliver email to a recipient.
Glossary adapted from: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/7595/The-Ultimate-
Glossary-44-Email-Marketing-Terms-Marketers-Must-Know.aspx. Plus Institute additions.

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