Ready Set Send Challenge Week 1: Goal Setting

[TraceyLeeDavis]

How Goal Setting Can Transform Your Marketing

Get ready to level up your marketing game with Constant Contact's Ready, Set, Send Challenge! This week, we're kicking things off with the cornerstone of successful marketing: goal setting. Having clear, well-defined objectives is the foundation for success. By setting focused and achievable goals, you'll stay on track, make informed decisions, and measure your progress effectively.

I am Tracey Lee Davis, founder of ZingPop Social Media. I help small business owners become online marketing rock stars by discovering and acting on their goals. So, whether you're looking to boost sales, build brand awareness, or nurture customer relationships, this week I will help you discover how goal setting can transform your marketing efforts. If you’re not measuring, you’re not marketing, so let's discover the power of well-defined goals by watching the video, following our tips for goal setting, and then filling in our goal-setting worksheet. 

Tips for Goal Setting

Well-defined goals help guide your decision-making and keep you on track. You will use these goals in the following weeks to guide how you design your emails, how you manage your contacts or grow your subscribers, and how you create engaging campaigns.

Your goals, as an email marketer, will vary based on your business needs  Maybe you want to communicate with your contacts, but many new customers that come to Constant Contact have the goal of creating a brand presence. Because that’s a really big goal, it can feel daunting, and they may give up before they start. And setting those big goals isn’t SMART goal setting. 

SMART Goal Setting

The goals of an email marketer will vary based on a business’ needs.  The goal could be as simple as wanting to communicate with contacts, or as complex as starting a new business. If a goal is too broad, however, it can feel daunting and impossible. And setting those big goals isn’t SMART goal setting.

Hold on, I’m not yelling, at you, I promise. SMART goal setting is an acronym that will help you break down your big goals into those smaller, more well-defined objectives I talked about with Dave in the above video. SMART goals are:

• Specific: What are you trying to achieve?
• Measurable: What data will you collect to measure your success?
• Achievable: Is your goal possible?
• Relevant: Does your event goal align with your broader marketing goals?
• Time-bound: What’s your timeline to achieve your goal?

So what does it mean to have a SMART goal? Let’s put it into perspective. 

Examples of SMART Goal Setting 

Maybe you send a regular newsletter letting your association members know about upcoming events. In this case, your Specific, Measurable, and Achievable goal might look like more opens on your regular newsletter in the next month (Time-bound), which could translate to more people at your events (Relevant). 

If you’re selling goods on an Etsy store, your goal could be to sell more products, which you can easily Measure. However, the goal still needs to be translated into an Achievable goal, such as selling more products in the next two weeks by targeting repeat customers or selling more products in the next three days with a limited-time offer.

What if your goal is to significantly build your brand presence? You have to start somewhere, and growing your subscriber list is a solid beginning. The next question is “how?” You could launch a campaign on your social media that directs users to a sign-up landing page, or use a QR code in your store that leads to an online opt-in form. If you already have a list, ensure your emails align with your brand. Additionally, consider creating an email content calendar that complements your social media strategy.

You can see how breaking your big goal into a few SMART goals can give you the focus you need, help you stay on track, and measure your progress effectively. 

Your assignment:

• Complete the Creating Goals and Measuring Success worksheet to create your SMART goals. This should take 15 minutes or less.
• Reply below with a screenshot of your worksheet.
  • What influenced you to choose this goal?
  • If you had marketing goals set at the beginning of this year, have you seen any successes so far?

How you’ll earn your badge: 

Reply below with your assignment, and you’ll receive the Week 1 badge and it will be proudly displayed on your Community profile! Keep an eye out in your inbox for a larger image to share on your own social channels once Week 1 is finished.

Extra credit: Want to learn more about goal setting? Watch our webinar: Decoding Online Marketing Success: Your Guide to Planning, Reviewing, and Executing

Resources:

• Handout: Foundations for Online Marketing Success worksheet
• Blog: SMART Goals
• Community link: Q&A: Decoding Online Marketing Success: Your Guide to Planning, Reviewing, and Executing

TL;DR

Transform your marketing by setting SMART goals. This week, learn how to set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives to guide your campaigns. Watch the video, follow the tips, and fill out the goal-setting worksheet to kickstart your progress.

Your Assignment: Complete the worksheet and comment below with a screenshot! Once done, earn your Week 1 badge.

Not yet a Constant Contact customer but want to start crushing those goals? Start a free trial. 

We’re excited to see your responses and develop your marketing strategy together!

[TraceyLeeDavis]

Hi @user82423,

Thanks for completing this challenge! If I am reading this correctly, it sounds like your goal is to increase the open and click-through rates of your email. If that is the case, it would be helpful to give a specific number:  Increase the open rate by 5%. Increase CTR to 12%. Assigning specific numbers will allow you to measure if you hit your goal! 

Good luck!

[JudithJ0]

We are a non-profit describing population healthcare databases. 

 

[Caitlin_M]

Hi @JudithJ0 ! Your target audience is very detailed. What will you use to encourage subscriptions to your resources? Is this something only those with "special access" can view? Show them the perks!

[JudithJ0]

Our resource does require a paid subscription to use. The customers who actually use our resource need to convince their superiors which then starts the whole payment process. We offer specials like 10% off, there is a sample to show what kind of information we offer. We have tutorial videos on the main features. We usually talk about features, statistics about our resource, and improvements in our marketing. Is it ok to mention the same things over and over?

[JoseB018]

Hello there! Here are our goals. I am new to this, so I am unsure if they are well-stated. However, I did my best. Thanks for the feedback. 

[TraceyLeeDavis]

Hi @JoseB018,

You're off to a great start! If you are looking to increase sales, it might make sense for you to change your goal to be to grow your email list. The more people you can get in front of, the more likely you will reach someone who is looking to buy or sell. So, perhaps a great goal would be to grow your email list by 10%. Does that sound good to you?

[DeborahW]

[TraceyLeeDavis]

Hi @DeborahW,

You're off to a great start! It will be helpful for you in the long-term if you assign a number to the increase you want to see across the events, programs, and digital services. Good luck with the challenge!

[MTassone]

Looking forward to upcoming exercises. 

[TraceyLeeDavis]

Hi @MTassone,

This is great! How many more clients do you want to sign up? If you could add that info in, this would be perfect! Have fun with the challenge! 

[CWP]

[TraceyLeeDavis]

Hi @CWP,

Simple and to the point. Excellent start to the challenge. Keep it up! 

[nickfromdoublestar]

[Caitlin_M]

Hi @nickfromdoublestar . I like the detail you put into your goal and listening which programs you'll be using to measure your success. The idea of a podcast ad is cool! Best of luck to you.

[KCSL]

 I was influenced to choose this goal as our social media is a connecting point to the families we work with and families we could work with. Expanding this reach only leads to successes on both sides!

[TraceyLeeDavis]

@KCSL Perfect! Great start to the challenge! 

[VioletT]

[Abigail_S]

Amazing goals @VioletT! I love that you are trying to increase your click rate and conversion rate. That always seems like such a daunting task but I think you have some great goals in mind in order to do this. Do you have any ideas on how you want to implement a call to action button in your emails? I am going to suggest you use a color that is to your brand to make it stand out!  I am also going to suggest that you have a clear message within your email in order to attract these click rates and encourage conversion. Stay tuned for week 2 of this challenge as we talk all about how to craft the perfect email. I think this will be right up your alley. Can't wait to see what you come up with, keep us posted! 

[user19649]

[TraceyLeeDavis]

@user19649, you are off to a good start, but I would love to see some specific numbers attached to this goal. How many new clients and what % sales growth do you want to see in 4 months? Add that in, and you'll be able to measure your success in 4 months! 

[RachaelK54]