The key to a successful email marketing campaign lies in ensuring the right message reaches the right person at the right time.
The email marketer working with multiple clients needs to remember that not only the message but also the key person and time changes for various companies depending on their needs and the kinds of issues they are tackling. However, most marketers fail to manage their email campaigns well, which ultimately leads to ineffective marketing activities.
To make things easy for you, we will take you through the tools that can help manage campaigns more effectively and ultimately lead you – and your clients – to success.
Source: Tools and Assets to Facilitate a Successful Email Campaign.
1. Collect data effectively
Tools to use: Leadfuze or Smartsheet.
Before beginning your journey into defining an email marketing strategy for your client, it’s important to understand what their brand thrives on and what kinds of problems they aim to solve.
To gain access to this type of information, you can release a questionnaire. It should ask about:
- Brand values.
- Customer problems.
- Solutions the company offers
- How they want to structure their email marketing.
- Buyer personas.
- Ultimate goals for their email strategy.
- Additional marketing challenges they face.
Using data throughout the process is the best way to create a successful email strategy, win your client’s customers and increase their conversions.
Two such tools that help with the on-boarding checklist that we swear by include Leadfuze and Smartsheet.
2. Evaluate the current strategy
Tools to use: Email audit process or worksheet.
You must understand what their current marketing and email strategy is, if there is one.
Conduct an audit on every aspect of your client’s marketing strategy including email messages, CTAs, subject lines, etc. Offer insight into what has worked for the brand and what hasn’t. This will help you understand how exactly you can improve their email strategy.
You can choose to go with a complete audit process or email a worksheet to your client for them to complete.
3. Plan the campaigns
Tools to use: Trello or Asana.
You need to plan your campaigns for all the seasons across the year and automate campaigns that are sent regularly.
There are several tools available for planning an email marketing campaign. Trello, Asana or alternatives help with not just planning, but also brainstorming and making sure all the stakeholders of the campaign are on the same page.
4. Create the email copy and design
Tools to use: Wunderlist or ActiveCollab.
You need a complete understanding of the client’s design needs. Ask them about brand colors, design elements, CTAs, message length and word choice.
If they leave certain things for you to decide, writing and designing your emails may be easier. However, if you need to plan beforehand with the client, release a questionnaire with a checklist to answer all the design- and copy-related questions.
Collaborate with a tool like Wunderlist or ActiveCollab so that everyone is on the same page.
5. Code the email right
Tools to use: Litmus or PreviewMyEmail.
Once the design is ready and approved, it has to be coded. It should render well on all the email clients and devices. Check the size of the email which includes the width as well as the image size as well as the other aspects. Next comes the final approval stage.
6. Get the deliverables approved
Tools to use: InVisionApp or ProofHub.
It’s important to acknowledge the deliverables of the email and finalize them before you set forth with your email campaign. The approval of these deliverables needs a thorough checklist and should be seen by all involved in the campaign.
InVision App helps create the deliverables and let the clients suggest changes, if any. You can also use checklists for the approval.
Wrap up
When planning an email campaign, marketers need to keep their end goals in mind. They should acknowledge the need for strategy and should have all the deliverables approved by the key decision makers. The right tools, complete checklists and a well-defined approval process are essential if you want to make sure your campaigns are successful.
To read more in detail about these different tools and checklists, check this insightful infographic from Email Uplers: Tools and Assets to Facilitate a Successful Email Campaign.
