6 Critical Steps to a Successful Email Campaign

This outline lists several elements of a typical email marketing campaign. Each step is designed to improve the ‘conversion to buyer’ ratio of the email, and help you understand the why some email campaigns work, and others do not.

Most marketing gurus agree that an email has 3 seconds to catch the reader’s interest. However, most of us do not have the benefit of a good email marketing service, so we are left on our own wondering exactly what ‘will’ catch the reader’s attention.

There are six steps to create a successful email campaign:

• Design
• List Maintenance
• Segmentation Strategies
• Compliance to the Law
• Metrics
• Test, Review & Expand

Email Structure

Structure is simply the goal of the message, keep it simple, and focus on one purpose only. Do not mislead the reader, or use tricks to make them open an email. Do not use images for headlines, links, or the call to action. Many email recipients turn of images. When the images are a fundamental part of the email, the message is lost.

Branding is an important part of the email. Even if people do not buy today, they may buy in the future if they recognize the ‘branding.’ This element of marketing can build credibility, improving future conversion ratios.

Email List Maintenance

The law states that you must use opt-in lists, or the email distribution is deemed spam. Do not make the mistake of using the opt-in process as a market-research campaign. There will be time in the future to collect more information. In fact, the contact between business and customer does not always have to be a sales pitch.

People care about what is relevant to them. They do not care to weed through what is not. Keep the message simple, and focus it on a fundamental human motivation. The audience will consumer information in different ways based on age, geography, email activity, and internet habits. 

Email Segment Strategies

An email can have more than one purpose. It may be designed to incite a purchase. It may encourage recipients to offer information.  It may also encourage recipients to move through the purchase process based on past actions and reactions.

Compliance to the Law

One of the number one reasons to use a service is the safeguards against breaking the law. The internet spam laws are serious and strongly enforced. A good email marketing campaign service can help protect their business clients against spam lawsuits.

One thing that may small businesses overlook is their responsibility to protect their list member’s information. They store it on unsecured servers. They do not destroy old information when they move from one server to another, or when they buy a new PC and dispose of the old one.
The law says that email marketing communications may not be sent to an email recipient, under no circumstances, unless they opt-in. Many of today’s big marketing firms use double-opt-in when building an email list.

Email Campaign Metrics

The metrics or statistics are arguably the most important part of an email marketing campaign. They tell the business owner what works. More importantly, they reveal what is not working.

Test, Review & Expand

There is no way to define a good method of analyzing the data. Trial and error, follow the instructions offered by a good email service, and use your instincts. You know your customers better than everyone else, so trust yourself to be able to use the information to improve future marketing campaigns. Never let the campaigns stagnate. There is always room for improvement. Keep pushing your goals, and you will increase the Return On Investment and become a skilled email marketer.