Email marketing remains one of the most effective marketing platforms. However, they take a lot of effort to put together. If you want to make email marketing work for you, you’re going to need a plan.
Putting together a plan for your email marketing campaigns is going to streamline your efforts. The question is, how do you go about creating an email marketing plan?
Here, I reveal the 6 steps to plan an email marketing campaign you’ll want to follow.
It doesn’t matter how good your email marketing campaign is, it isn’t going to deliver any results if you don’t have a strong email list. This means having a list of subscribers that are actively interested in your brand and its products.
At one time, it was common practice to purchase an email list. However, these days it is crucial you build your list organically. Once you have a list of subscribers, segment them into categories. This will allow you to create more personalized messages. For example, you could segment your subscribers into new and existing customer categories. You’ll then send different types of emails to each category.’
Before you write your marketing emails, you need to identify your goals. That is, what is the goal of the emails? Some of the most common email marketing goals include:
Whatever the goal is, it will influence your entire campaign.
To get your emails out to your subscribers, it’s worth signing up to an email marketing platform. There are lots of different email software you can use to enhance your marketing campaigns. However, not all of them offer a good quality service.
Compare different platforms by reading online reviews and taking advantage of free trials. A good platform will revolutionize your marketing efforts, helping you to automate and design effective emails.
Once you have a good platform picked out, it’s time to start planning your emails. You need to think about how many emails you need and how frequently they need to be sent out.
Another thing to consider is what type of emails does the campaign need? Are you sending out promotional emails such as discounts and offers that are currently running? Or maybe you are planning on sending useful tips and advice in the form of a newsletter. Identify which type of emails will work best with the campaign you are running.
The design of your emails is more important than you might think. You’ll want to make sure they are simple but visually appealing. Most email software companies offer a variety of templates you can use. These typically come with attractive designs, and customizable options.
Your emails should have a catchy subject line and headline, alongside relevant images. Make sure they are easy to read and split up with subheadings, graphics, or bullet points. You should test the emails out on mobile devices too. Most people read their emails on mobile or tablet, so it is crucial they load up correctly on these devices.
The key to a successful email marketing campaign, is tracking its progress. In order to do this, you will need to collect data.
If you are using email marketing software, most will collect data for you as part of their paid plan. However, you can also use website analytics and figures from specific sales departments. You’ll want to look for open rates, click rates, unsubscribes, and conversion rates.
Once you have the data available, you can use it to improve and tweak your campaign. What parts of it are working and which emails aren’t generating a lot of interest? Making the necessary changes will help to boost results and help you develop the perfect strategy.
As you can see, there is a lot that goes into creating and planning an email marketing strategy. The above are the main steps to take to ensure you achieve best results from your efforts. Like all marketing techniques, it takes trial and error to determine the best strategy for email marketing.
