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How to start an effective email marketing strategy
E-mail marketing is often underestimated or dismissed as an outdated channel. Nothing could be further from the truth—email marketing is alive and thriving.
But how do you start with email marketing? Let us guide you through a few steps toward an effective email marketing strategy.
Start every campaign with 2 questions!
Before launching a new campaign, always ask yourself two key questions to challenge your thinking and ensure the campaign you’re about to create is as relevant as possible.
- What is the goal of your email campaign?
- What action do you expect your contacts to take based on your campaign?
Once you’ve answered these questions, think about how to apply them to your audience.
Right person, right message, right time, right frequency
Now that we’re ready to start our campaign, we need to ensure we’re doing the right things for our audience.
What is the “right person”?
Look beyond the email address to understand the person behind it. Who are you addressing? What are their interests? What do you need to know about this person to achieve your campaign goals?
What data should you consider?
DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION > PURCHASE BEHAVIOR > INTERESTS > SEGMENTATION & PERSONALIZATION
Each person is unique and requires their own approach, also known as the “right message.”
How do we determine the “right message”?
Is it even possible to create a personalized message for every individual? Not exactly, but through segmentation and personalization, you can approach your contacts as personally as possible.
What are the biggest advantages of segmentation and personalization?
- Create meaningful and valuable email content for each individual in your contact list
- Maintain a stronger sender reputation
- Increase engagement by building a personal relationship with your recipients
Segmentation may seem challenging, but starting with the basics can go a long way:
- Personalized subject line
- Personalize the greeting in your email
- Tailor visuals based on personal interests
Now that we’ve determined our message, we need to decide on the “right time” to send it.
When is the “right time”?
There’s no definitive best time to send an email. The right timing depends on your audience and the industry your business operates in. You can determine the optimal time by testing, analyzing, learning, and applying your findings with each campaign you send.
The right time is derived from your engagement metrics:
- Clicks: The number of times links in your emails are clicked
- Opens: The number of times your recipients open your email
The moment your engagement metrics peak is the ideal time to send your next campaign.
How do you start without historical data?
Conventional wisdom suggests starting with sending emails on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons, using this as a baseline to begin testing, analyzing, learning, and applying.
While starting with one email is common, businesses often want to communicate with their contacts more frequently. Is there such a thing as the right amount and repetition of communication?
How do I determine the “right frequency”?
Just like timing, there’s no exact number for frequency—it depends on industry conventions and your audience’s expectations. The best way to determine the right frequency is to ask your contacts how often they’d like to receive emails. Additionally, you can rely on engagement metrics to adjust your frequency.
Research shows that 54% of unsubscribes happen because contacts receive too many emails. Start with healthy intervals like bi-monthly, monthly, or weekly emails and adjust based on feedback and performance.
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