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 started as a Communications Specialist at Southside Electric Cooperative in August. The monthly internal and external newsletter is a big part of my job,
I used Google Sheets to track my campaign/goal?
The sales team asked for the second campaign and I suggested the first campaign.
I am trying to get the team to think of some value added content for our customers/leads. They are finding it overwhelming.
Hey @user065571 thanks for sharing your SMART goals with us. The goals are pretty specific, especially when it comes to who we're trying to reach and how we want to promote. But maybe explaining "client touches" a bit more. What exactly does that mean? Are we talking about newsletters, social media, or something else?
Your numbers (Opens, Clicks, Unsubscribes) are looking good. Maybe try setting some specific goals for each one, like aiming for a 20% open rate or keeping unsubscribes under 5%. Just make sure they're doable with the resources you have. It might help to compare them to our past performance to make sure they’re doable. And you've made it clear how these goals fit into the bigger picture for the company. Don't forget to mention how hitting these goals will help the company as a whole.
Keep up the good work!
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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The marketing goal is super clear -reach out to real estate investors and turn 'em into customers. But it'd be even better if you could explain how you're gonna organize all the contacts.
If you're using Microsoft Excel to keep track of how many deals you've closed with each client, that's a great idea! You might wanna think about adding in some other cool stats too, like how many people you're turning into customers or how many new leads you're bringing in.
You might want to add more ways to see how well you’re connecting with people. You could check how many people are opening your emails or responding to your QR code flyers. It will give you a better idea of how your marketing is doing. Just a friendly suggestion!
If you work on these things, you can make some really good goals that’ll help your marketing go well.
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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Hey @CarolynS13! Good start to your goals! It might help to put things into perspective if you attach an actual number you want to see your customers grow by. Do you want to acquire 10 new customers? 50? By attaching a number to the goal you can measure it more effectively.
Awesome start! Be sure to lock in for weeks 2 and 3 and we'll help you advance your goals even more!
Abigail St Jean Community Program ManagerHelp others find this post by giving it kudos. | |
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Great goals @MikeL3205! We can't wait to see what else you contribute in weeks 2 & 3!
Abigail St Jean Community Program ManagerHelp others find this post by giving it kudos. | |
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JimP925
Jim Pierce Jr
@JimP925 Love that you want to grow your sales and foster the relationships! I hope you acquire 5 new businesses in the next few months! Also, be sure to check out week 2 and week 3 of this challenge to help make these goals an even greater reality!
Abigail St Jean Community Program ManagerHelp others find this post by giving it kudos. | |
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Hi @user6679143
Thanks for sharing your SMART goals. It’s awesome to see how you’re focusing on getting your team members involved. Here are some helpful tips to make your goals even better:
It might be helpful to explain what exactly counts as "actively reading." Are you talking about how many people open the emails or click on the links? Knowing this would make it easier to understand your goal and keep track of it.
Using newsletter feedback as a measure of performance is great, but consider establishing specific measures to assess reader engagement. For example, strive for a particular open or click-through rate, in addition to the overall number of readers. This approach could provide a more accurate indication of success.
Your dedication to communication and engagement is praiseworthy! By further developing these objectives, you can establish a strong structure to ensure your team members are informed and equipped for success.
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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Hey there @PatriciaS710
I just checked out your SMART goals, and you’re on the right track! Here are some thoughts to make your plan even better:
Your plan to reach buyers is off to a good start, but maybe we could make it even better. What exactly do you want them to do when they hear about the market? Do you want them to check out a website, sign up for a newsletter, or something else?
You mentioned keeping tabs on how buyers engage and give feedback, which is great! If you can, set some specific goals—like trying to get a certain amount of clicks or responses. It'll give you something to work towards and make it easier to see how well you're doing.
Overall, it sounds like you’ve got a solid plan in place! Just fine-tune a few details, and you’ll be all set. Can’t wait to see how this all plays out for you!
Cheers and looking forward to seeing you participate in week 4 of the challenge.
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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@Patricia kudos for putting effort into trying to raise your real estate business's profile by staying in touch with your email list and using SMS and social. We'd love to provide specific advice on your channels, so if you'd like, post the links to a couple of emails you sent, text screenshots and social media posts so we review them. 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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