Which Variables Do You Need to Master to Succeed with Email Marketing?

You and your boss have set clear, specific goals, and you need to succeed with email marketing to reach them.

Your goals are probably related to the following:

• Selling more
• Communicating better
• Building customer loyalty
• Etc.

To properly define and quantify the effort needed to reach your goals, you need to understand and define the following three variables:

1. WHO? - DATA

2. WHAT? - CONTENT

3. WHEN and HOW? - STRATEGIES

1. DATA

Getting a list of email addresses isn’t enough to succeed. There is certainly value in collecting a large number of email addresses, but their quality will have a lot to do with your results. Here are the elements to pay close attention to:

1. Acquisition (how do you get your email addresses?)

2. Segmenting your targets and personas (how you store and process your data, and the groupings you can create). Here are a few examples of possible segments:

• Customers
• Partners
• Prospects
• Long-time vs. new
• Different regions
• Gender
• Interests or purchase history
• Etc.

3. Technical, legal and regulatory aspects (how you make sure you follow the rules and best practices in effect in your region)

• Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation
• GDPR
• Etc.

2. WHAT - CONTENT

You need to produce content that your subscribers will read or watch. Your content could be used not only for your newsletter, but also to fuel your social networks (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.) and even on your website.

1. What to produce

• News about your company
• Industry news
• Tips and tricks
• Contests
• Did you know...
• Your opinion on current issues
• Your opening hours
• Sales and promotions

2. Which formats (articles, videos, infographics, etc.)

3. Your production capacity

4. Can your content be reused on different platforms?

Note that how often you publish will vary depending on your goals for each target group.

3. WHEN and HOW - YOUR STRATEGIES

This last point is very important: you need to develop your own style and tone for your emails. Your style should be recognizable, and when your subscribers receive your emails, they should want to read them. The variables that shape your strategies can take into account the following:

1. Timing
   1. Frequency - consistency - velocity
   2. What day?
   3. What time?
2. Whether or not an email is opened
   1. Follow-ups - sequences
   2. Automation
3. Interaction
   1. Ask your subscribers questions
   2. Invite them to take part in events or contests
4. Your editorial calendar
   1. based on the themes you want to cover
   2. based on the seasons, times of year and holidays
5. Signature and branding
   1. Invest in the design and layout of your newsletter. Can people recognize you at a glance?
   2. Is the most important information always in the same place?

In conclusion, your efforts should always be measurable, so you can adjust them as needed.

These are the variables you need to master to succeed with email marketing. You now have everything you need to succeed.

Over to you!