3.3 Nine Steps to Executing an Email Campaign

Preparation and Communication = Success

There are nine steps to executing an email campaign properly.

Step 1: Strategic Planning

The first part of any email campaign should involve planning around the goals you want to achieve. You will decide on the key performance indicators (KPIs), also known as key success indicators (KSIs); these help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals. Promotional emails will usually have an immediate goal:

• Users make a purchase
• Users download information
• Users request further information

Newsletters focus on longer-term goals, so your KPIs become more important here. KPIs include the following:

• Open rate: The percentage of emails determined as opened out of the total number of emails sent.
• Click-through rate is expressed as a percentage; this refers to the total clicks on a link divided by the number of times that link was shown.
• Number of emails forwarded
• Return on investment (ROI): The ratio of cost to profit. An example of this is advertising spending as a percentage of the revenue that it generates. ROI can be a campaign goal and can be used as a KPI.

A successful email campaign is most likely geared toward retaining and creating a long-term relationship with the reader.

Step 2: Definition of List

Running a successful email campaign requires that a business has genuine opt-in permission for emails to be sent to your database. This database, the list of subscribers who have agreed to allow a company to send them emails with marketing messages, is the most valuable asset of an email campaign. Permission must be explicitly given by all people to whom emails are sent. Companies that abuse this can jeopardize their reputation, and in some countries, legal action can be taken against companies that send unsolicited bulk emails—spam.

Growing this database while keeping it targeted is a key factor in any email campaign. The database needs only one entry—the prospect’s email—but the following should also be considered:

• First name, surname, and title
• Date permission granted
• Source of permission
• Country
• Telephone number
• Date of birth

Fields such as name, surname, and title should be separated in your database. You should also gather the date of birth instead of a prospect’s age—it ensures your database stays current. However, don’t be tempted to ask for more information than is required. The more information marketers can gather, the better they can customize their marketing messages. However, the more information a prospect must give, the more apprehensive he will be about parting with these details. This is in part because of the hassle involved and, in part, as a result of fear around Internet fraud. Following the initial sign-up, further information can be requested over some time.

There are many ways to attract prospects to opt into a database. An email sign-up form on a company website is key. Visitors to a website have already expressed an interest in a company by clicking through to the website—this is an opportunity to develop that interest further and collect valuable data.

Step 3: Creative Execution

Emails can be created and viewed as hypertext markup language (HTML) emails.  HTML emails usually contain graphics and can be interactive, or text emails which do not include graphics or any markup. Remember, though, that sometimes HTML emails are rendered as text emails.  The different language formats allow for email access across multiple devices.  Text emails are the plain ones—text only, as the name suggests. If you have a Windows computer and you open up Notepad and type there, then you will be creating a text file. These emails are smaller and plainer. HTML emails are the emails with all the bells and whistles. These emails can contain images, different fonts, and hyperlinks.

Step 4: Integration of the Campaign with Other Channels

While email marketing can operate as a stand-alone marketing campaign, integrating it with other channels, both online and offline, will serve to reinforce a brand’s message and increase responses.

There should never be a disparity between the content, tone, or design of an email when compared to the rest of a company’s offerings. In-store promotions can be reinforced and promoted to an email database, or website information can be summarized by email.

Custom landing pages, as required, should be created for any promotions that are communicated via email.

Step 5: Personalization of the Message

Email marketing technology allows for mass customization—one-to-one marketing on a macro scale. Even simple personalization can see improved results. Customization starts with using the recipient’s name and sending either HTML or text emails based on preference, to the sophisticated measurement of a recipient’s preferences and tailoring content to suit them. Segmenting a database can allow for customization across demographics or purchase history. Being able to reconcile browsing activity to an email recipient can give further opportunities for customization using artificial intelligence (AI).

Step 6: Deployment

By creating valuable content, establishing the correct frequency, and testing an email for display and deliverability, an email marketer should be able to ensure an excellent delivery rate. Consistency in deploying newsletters also aids in fostering trust and fulfilling expectations. Emails should be delivered consistently, but the optimum time for best results should be tested.

Email reputation can determine whether or not your message is regarded as spam. It can relate to a sender’s Internet protocol (IP) address, an exclusive number used to represent every computer in a network, sending domain, or both. This means that if someone sends an email using the same server you use, you could be damaged if they spam. This opinion is a reputation score created by an internet service provider (ISP) or a third-party provider. If the sender’s score falls within the ISP’s thresholds, a sender’s message will be delivered to the inbox. If not, the sender’s emails may arrive in the bulk folder, be quarantined, or be returned to the sender.

Becoming an effective email marketer requires constant list cleansing and hygiene. Most lists shrink by 15 percent yearly due to subscribers changing email addresses. Ensure you diligently maintain a current opt-in list to achieve maximum deliverability via reputation.

An email white list is a list of contacts that the user deems are acceptable to receive email from and should not be sent to the trash folder.

When should you send emails? Common sense tells you not on Monday morning or Friday afternoon, but it varies by audience. Testing will guide you.

When is an email an email, and when is it spam? Spam is unsolicited bulk email—it means that the recipient never gave permission to be sent that email.

If the recipient has given permission to send marketing messages by email, then it is not spam. Users give permission when they check a box that says, “Yes, please send me offers from your company by email.” The e-mail address can only be provided to another company if the user ticks a box that says, “Yes, please send me offers from third parties selected by you by email.”

Permission must be explicitly given to the company to be allowed to market to that user. Trying to gain explicit permission in a sneaky way will only annoy your users and might result in your e-mails being marked as spam, which subsequently damages your reputation.

Step 7: Interaction Handling

As well as the emails strategically planned as part of a campaign (promotional emails and newsletters), every interaction via email should be considered as part of a company’s email marketing practice. Automated emails, such as order confirmations and even out-of-office replies, are all opportunities to engage with customers. If a company has a particular tone or content style, this must be reinforced in these interactions. These emails can also be an opportunity to cross-advertise other promotions that a company is offering.

Step 8: Report Generation

As with eMarketing, tracking, analyzing, and optimizing is key to growth. Email tracking systems produce statistics in a user-friendly manner.

Open rate does not necessarily indicate whether or not an email has been read. How do you think a marketer can determine if emails are being read?

Step 9: Analysis of Results

Once the reports have been generated, it is time to work out what the numbers reveal and use this information to improve the next e-mail sent out.

With email marketing, split testing across various factors will enable campaign optimization. The following are some factors to test:

• Open rates across different subject lines and delivery times
• The optimal number of links in an email for click-through rates and conversions
• Different copy styles and copy length
• The effect of video on delivery rates, open rates, and conversions

First, an email campaign needs a database. A plan for growing this database needs to be put in place. Most email service providers will also provide tools for managing this database. Once an email has been sent, results need to be analyzed to pinpoint areas for growth for the next campaign.

“E-mail Marketing” by eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Online Marketing by Saylor Academy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-Share Alike 3.0 license unless otherwise noted. Modifications: removed the parts of an email.