Sending an email campaign can be a cost effective way of advertising your products and services directly to your target audience. Below is a simple, 5 step guide to planning and sending your campaign:
**Planning**
Planning your campaign is the most important step. We recommend sending a series of emails, the frequency is up to you but beware, hounding your contacts will do your brand damage, so be careful. If you’re selling a consumer product then we recommend one a week, where as a service and/or B2B we would advise once a month or every two weeks – maximum. With this in mind, you need to plan what you will say in your emails: Emails should be used to sell and/or inform, all with the aim of driving traffic to your website, so if any special landing pages need designing, then these will also need planning.
The day you send your email is also important and should be thought about carefully. If you consistently send your emails at the same time and day each time, customers will learn to expect them.
**Database**
After you’ve planned the campaign, it’s time to review your database and get this ready. We always recommend using your own existing database as opposed to buying data, however in some instances buying data can’t be avoided.
Spend some time cleansing the list and ensure the email addresses are all correct. This is not wasted time; if you know all of the contacts and details are correct, you can be confident that you are targeting the right people.
Think about splitting your list too. By that we mean into different sectors, so for example, if you’re selling tools you could split your list into plumbers, electricians and builders. This means you can tailor the products you’re selling in your emails to the correct audience.
**Design**
Having the email designed professionally will increase the open and read rates. Ensure the design is kept simple and consistent. Have a clear header, headline, one main image and clear, easy to read offers. Keep text to a minimum with clear ‘read more’ links directing the reader to your website.
Keep it simple and be straight to the point; sticking to this rule will give you a higher success rate.
**Sending**
Before sending, ensure the email has been tested on all email programs such as Outlook, Hotmail and Entourage. If you have planned correctly, you can build a series of emails and schedule them all to be sent at a later, specified date. One thing we would advise when hitting the send button is to consider the time of day: For example, the open rates will be low is you send your email at 9am on a Monday morning, because people are generally busy having just got into the office after the weekend.
**Evaluating**
After you’ve sent the emails, always take time to evaluate the results. Many email programs will show you stats; from the amount of opens, to exactly who has clicked on links to the amount of unsubscribes. Evaluating this information carefully will allow you to improve future emails to optimise the amount of opens and clicks. For example, if one offer has 400 opens, and the next has none, you know that the first was more appealing!