You Sent a Marketing Email… Now What?

I will admit, it can feel like an accomplishment just to hit the send button on a marketing email, but you need a plan for after your email hits the customer’s inbox. You wrote, created and sent it, savor the moment – okay, the moment is over. Here’s what to do now:

Statistics – You can’t manage what you can’t measure

There are several different email stats you can gather from each send, and all will help improve your next email. The basics are built into most email automation platforms and they include: number of emails sent, open and click rates. These will show progress or lack thereof, but it isn’t enough to determine the cause of an increase or decrease in email performance. You should be recording several factors to help plan your next move:

• Day and time of send: There are suggested statistics for this, but your audience is unique. Determine what works best for your target audience.
• Subject Line: Keeping a record of which subject lines you have used, can help determine if a specific word length or style yields better performance.
• Formatting: Certain templates and formats can encourage higher click rates. Not to mention the importance or mobile optimization.
• Call-to-Action: Track the wording of your CTAs and their placement. You never know what will cause a click.
• Sent to: Don’t group all of your stats together if they include different audiences. Personalized emails and blast emails will almost always have drastically different results.

Not all readers are created equal

In a study conducted by MailChimp, segmented email campaigns received over 50% more clicks than non-segmented campaigns. There are numerous ways to segment your lists and no matter the segmentation, a tailored message will most likely have better results. You can target your message based on customer type or title, interest groups, date added to your list, or by specific activity.

If your list doesn’t provide this information, then consider the source of your list and possible ways to increase customer information. Some examples may include landing pages, robust forms, checkboxes, radio buttons or surveys. All of which require their own blog posts!

Follow-up Frequency – Choose wisely

 

“Frequency isn’t just about sending more or less emails to everyone; it’s about sending the right amount of emails, to the right people.”

I can’t remember the last time I developed a marketing or sales email that didn’t deserve some kind of follow-up. The basic principles of marketing/advertising frequency have been around for over a century, most consumers will not act on your message the first time they see it. Follow-up could mean sending a series of emails to the same group over a period of time. It may also involve a sales team contacting those who have engaged, with a phone call or personal email. Not to start territory wars, but follow-up is most effective with a mix of marketing frequency and sales intervention.  

Don’t stand in your own way. Hit send again.

If you are an email marketer, the best advice is to keep sending. Each email sent provides another valuable piece of data to work with. You can only improve by gathering more data and trying new tactics. Being a great email marketer is part science, part art.

Maren Hogan

Maren Hogan is CEO of Red Branch and general Bad@$$

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. Maren started Red Branch Media and, before she hired all the smiling faces you see below, she ran it on her own. In marketing for over 15 years, she has deep experience in strategic campaigns and a long-term, results-based operational approach.