How to Set Up an Email Campaign: 9 Steps to Take
Originally written for Hearst Bay Area by Bella Mello
A great email campaign can go a long way for your business.
Email marketing has been around for quite a while, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Even with the meteoric rise of social media messaging apps over the last decade or so, 60% of consumers still prefer to receive promotional messages via email, and 60% of email users have purchased something after receiving promotional emails, according to research by 99 Firms.
So for those saying email is no longer relevant, think again.
Companies that nail their email marketing campaign strategy can achieve goals like boosting sales, educating customers on new products or services, and driving customer engagement through the roof.
But there’s more to a full-fledged email marketing campaign than just typing out what you want to say and pressing send.
Wondering how to set up your next email campaign?
In this article, we’ll share what makes an email campaign different from other marketing emails, how to put one together from start to finish, and examples from companies that are doing it right.
Let’s get to it.
What is an Email Campaign?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s define what an email campaign is.
An email campaign is a coordinated sequence of marketing messages that a brand will send out to a particular group of contacts for a specific purpose.
For example, you’re enjoying a blog (like this one you’re reading right now!), so you subscribe to it, entering your email information. The company sends you an email, or series of emails, welcoming you to their site and sharing additional information about their offerings.
This is what’s know as a “welcome series.”
Marketing emails that aren’t part of a campaign include transactional emails and general newsletters. A transactional email is an email that facilitates routine “transactions,” such as a password reset email, a purchase receipt, or other types of account notifications.
Newsletters are distinct from email campaigns because they consist of general content and updates, and sent to a broad audience. Typically, newsletters don’t promote one specific initiative.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of email campaigns, let’s dive into some best practices for setting them up.
9 Steps to Running a Successful Email Marketing Campaign
Step 1: Define Your Goals
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again.
Marketing initiatives need to have defined goals, especially if you’re testing a new strategy. With so many tactics available to you, it’s easy to lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve. Defining clear goals can help you stay on track and see how much progress you’re making.
Before setting up an email campaign, ask yourself what you’re trying to accomplish. Are you promoting a new product or service? Looking to increase audience engagement? Driving downloads for a piece of content?
Once you’ve settled on your objective, create a SMART goal, identify the KPIs you’re going to track, and write them down.
Here’s an example of a goal you could have: increase loyalty program sign-ups by 50% in 45 days.
Having clearly defined goals for any new campaign will inform your email content and help you stay focused on what really matters.
Step 2: Define Your Offer
You’ve defined your goal for the email campaign, but what’s in it for the consumer? Settle on how you are going to incentivize them to complete the desired action.
For instance, if you’re running a campaign to promote a new product, offer your email recipients a discount. You can include a special discount code exclusive to your email list to track how many of your audience members converted.
Think about what your customers want, and focus on providing value. Having a good understanding of your marketing personas can help.
Step 3: Build Your Targeted Email List
When it comes to implementing email campaigns, many brands will use email marketing automation software, to help them create their email lists, schedule the content, and analyze results. Here at Hearst Bay Area, we use HubSpot.
Other popular options are MailChimp, SendinBlue, and Constant Contact.
Send your emails to the relevant groups. For example, don’t promote an initiative to someone who’s already participated. Only send your emails to those who have opted into your content.
Many companies have “Do Not Contact” lists, so at the very least, make sure you’re emails aren’t going to that group.
Step 4: Consider Different Email Campaign Types
There are many types of email campaigns that marketers use to achieve different objectives.
Here are a few of the most common types:
- Welcome series: emails sent to new subscribers when they sign up for your blog, emails, or other website content.
- Re-engagement campaigns: a set of email messages sent to contacts who were once active who have since stopped engaging, to try and bring them back into the fold.
- Post-purchase campaigns: emails sent to customers who have recently made a purchase. There are several different types of post-purchase email campaigns. They’re a good opportunity to highlight similar offerings or ask your customers to engage with you on social media.
- Seasonal campaigns: email promotions sent out at a certain time of year, such as a fall back-to-school themed email campaign.
There are many styles of campaigns to choose from, so think about what fits best with your overarching business goals, and tailor the message to suit your audience.
Step 5: Choose Your Subject Line and Write Your Copy
At this point, you’ve selected the why (your goals), the what (offer), and the who (your list). You’re also ready to go with the type of email campaign.
Now’s the time to use your words.
If you’re creating a sequence of emails, plan out the copy for the entire campaign, and make sure that the messages work cohesively.
Choose subject lines that pique your audience’s interest. After all that work planning your email campaign, you want the people on the list to open it!
You can also A/B test your subject line to see what works best.
Another key component of the copy is your call-to-action. Your call-to-action (CTA) will tell your readers what to do next, which should be directly related to the goal you set, so it’s important that it is clear and easy to see.
Step 6: Design Your Email
When it comes down to it, your email copy will only be as good as its design.
Put together an easy-to-read, visually appealing email template. Consider using interactive elements in your email design, and keep up with what’s trending in the world of email to make sure your email designs look fresh.
Your emails should be consistent with your brand’s visual identity, and all of the emails in your campaign should go together.
Your emails don’t have to match the rest of your marketing materials exactly. But the reader should be able to recognize that it’s you based on the design. Use one of your signature colors, fonts, and make sure to include your logo or brand name.
A well-designed email is an opportunity to show off your brand and reinforce the users’ brand affinity.
If you’re designing the emails yourself, there are plenty of tools available, such as Canva, MailChimp, and Constant Contact.
If you’re working with a graphic designer, make sure to give them a clear brief of what you’re looking for, a general sense of your objective, and an outline of the copy.
Step 7: Test Your Emails
You don’t want to be the brand that sends out an email full of mistakes. Sending a test copy of your email will help you catch errors before blasting your email out en masse.
Send a test to yourself, trusted coworkers, or others who are able to give you feedback. It’s recommended to send to multiple different email providers, because emails may show up differently in each program. For example, send your test to folks who use Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo, etc.
Look out for the following common issues:
- Links not working
- Copy mistakes
- Image sizing
- General email formatting and display
You’ll also want to optimize your emails for deliverability, maximizing the potential that they’ll end up in the recipients’ inbox, rather than spam.
We wrote a whole post on email deliverability here if you want to learn more on the subject.
Step 8: Schedule it
At this point in your email campaign set up process, you’re ready to schedule your email.
People have varying opinions about the best time to send an email, but it depends on your target audience. Think about when they’re most likely to check their inbox and make sure to account for different time zones!
Not sure when the best time to send is? Test it!
Sometimes it’s best to send an email when other brands are less likely to be aiming for the same person’s inbox. Try out two different time slots (like 6am and 9am) over a dedicated period of time (depending on how many emails you plan to send — the more you send, the more data you can collect in a shorter period of time) and measure your results.
Choose the best time and test it against another time until you are confident that you’ve proved out an optimal sending time for your audience.
Step 9: Measure Your Results
After your campaign is finished, analyze the results and find out how you did! Measure your actual performance against your goals and KPIs to determine whether it was a success.
Depending on the automation software you use, you can see metrics such as open rate, click-through rate, and more, and even compare the performance to past campaigns.
If you included an offer with a tracking code, you can see how many people converted on it.
If your email campaign did not perform as well as you’d hoped, think about what you can do differently for next time and make notes of the optimizations you should implement.
Setting Up Your Email Campaign: Key Takeaways
Emails done right can provide your audience a lot of value, all while pushing forward your overall marketing goals.
Depending on what you’re hoping to achieve, find the email campaign that’s right for you and your customers.
When you’re setting up your next email marketing initiative, here are some key takeaways to remember:
- Email campaigns are different from other marketing emails because they have a specific objective, are sent to a targeted audience segment, under certain or timely circumstances.
- There are several types of email campaigns, so choose the one that makes the most sense for you.
- Pay attention to the design and the copy when drafting your email, And always, always test before you send.
- Measure the results of your campaigns to optimize your emails going forward.
This post is adapted from the original post on the Hearst Bay Area blog. Read the full post here.
