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!
Tracey Lee Davis ZingPop Social Media Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. |  |
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I thought about several different things I'd like to do between now and Jan 1. This helped me really focus on what was measurable and attainable between now and then.
Hi @user672016,
I'm glad this exercise was able to help focus your priorities. That's important! Sounds like you have a reasonable plan in place. Leveraging social media will be a big help, such as sharing your emails on your social pages or utilizing paid ads to reach more users.
If you haven't yet, you can still participate in the other weeks of the challenge!
Content Manager Elevate your marketing with Constant Contact's Professional Design Services! From eye-catching email templates to custom branding and social media graphics, our professional design services are tailored to boost your business's impact and engagement. |  |
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Hi @JohnC53338,
I like that your measurable goal is tracking the increase in clicks to your webpage. It's simple, but can be an effective indicator of interest in your business/organization.
If you haven't yet, you can still participate in the other weeks of the challenge!
Content Manager Elevate your marketing with Constant Contact's Professional Design Services! From eye-catching email templates to custom branding and social media graphics, our professional design services are tailored to boost your business's impact and engagement. | |
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Hi @TiahniM,
I think the image came in super small so I can't really read what is on there, but I can tell you put a lot down so I appreciate you participating!
If you haven't yet, you can still participate in the other weeks of the challenge!
Content Manager Elevate your marketing with Constant Contact's Professional Design Services! From eye-catching email templates to custom branding and social media graphics, our professional design services are tailored to boost your business's impact and engagement. | |
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Great job @JoleneI!
Love this goal, especially knowing how powerful social media is. You have a metric and timeline tied to this goal so I think you are setting yourself up for success. How are you going to increase your followers? Are you going to post more often, run a sweepstakes, utilize polls, create posts to encourage sharing? Just something to think about...!
Abigail St Jean Community Program ManagerHelp others find this post by giving it kudos. | |
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I chose this goal as I have watched a number of our customers pass away over the past few years. Our primary audience (2/3 of the total) on Facebook is age 55+, with over 40% in the 65+ age bracket alone.
I did not have marketing goals last year. This is my first month on the job 🙂
Hi @User, it's smart to ensure you have an ongoing program to drive more customers and leads. What you write in you form, all makes sense, but I would encourage you to give thought about WHY people should sign up for your list, come to the store or online. WHAT makes you different or better that other companies that offer the same product or service (you don't mention what you sell). If the market can't tell what makes you better than others or HOW their lives will improve when they buy from you, then it'll be harder to grow.
We are a 14 year old marketing agency that specializes in marketing for small businesses, and if you'd like to connect with us for a chat, happy to hear from you.
David Fischer Solutions For Growth Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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This looks great, @DeAndraJ! Good luck with the rest of the challenge!
Tracey Lee Davis ZingPop Social Media Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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Hi, @JenniferF235. You're off to a good start! I'd like to see a specific number attached to the "add regional manufacturers as customers" section of your worksheet so you know when you hit your goal! 
Tracey Lee Davis ZingPop Social Media Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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Very informative. Thanks!
Cristina,
for Zikr Dance Ensemble
Hi @DavidT,
It will be helpful for this exercise if you qualify what an "increase in ticket sales" means to you. Do you want to hit a certain number? Increase by a certain percentage? Add that in to make your goal measurable.
Tracey Lee Davis ZingPop Social Media Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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Hi @user93539, Your goal of "increased engagement" is a little vague in that you don't give a specific target that you are trying to reach. Try to come up with a specific number: increase engagement rate to X, or increase our engagement rate by x%, which would be helpful for this goal-setting exercise!
Tracey Lee Davis ZingPop Social Media Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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please provide more details about your business so we can reply with specific information. Thanks!
David Fischer Solutions For Growth Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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