What elements should be included in an effective email marketing campaigns?

[Elizabeth_K]

An email marketing campaign can be as simple as a single, carefully crafted, and well-timed email or it can be a meticulously planned series of emails, depending on your organization’s needs. But what makes a good email marketing campaign? Let’s discuss!

An individual email

When you’re sending an email, it needs to make an impression! Each email in your campaign needs a couple of key elements:

• An enticing email subject line and preheader combo that makes your contacts want to open it. Dive in here, the water is fine!
• Branding that makes it clear the email came from your organization. Did you know we have a BrandKit that can help get you started by pulling in the logo and colors from your website?
• A personal greeting that makes the email feel like it’s written specifically for each unique contact. The greeting is the easiest way to start personalizing your emails, but there are more ways to get even more personal too!
• A clear-call-to-action to entice your contacts to interact with you in some way. It can be a link to a website where your contacts can get more information or make a purchase or donation, a request for a review or a social media follow, or an invitation to take a survey or participate in an event. You can get really creative here, but if you’re stuck, make sure you read this article.

A series of emails

An email series works best when you give a little information, and then tease a little more so that your contacts are eagerly awaiting your next email. Each email in your series should still follow the tips above, but the overall series should have:

• A clear goal. Each email should support your goal, and everything else gets put aside for another time or a different series. Here are a few examples of different types of email series to use for inspiration.
• A timeline. You may think of a timeline as something set in stone, but you do have flexibility! You can schedule your emails to send at a certain date and time, or you use triggers to ensure an email doesn’t send unless your contacts take some sort of action first. (You’ll find that our marketing calendar and our automation path builder are handy tools when you’re planning your campaign!)
• Some segmentation. When you spend a long amount of time planning, the best way to ensure that your work gets seen is by choosing the right audience for your content. Segmentation can help you target the right contacts who are going to be most interested in your content. Here’s how it works.

There’s lots to chew on here, but we’d love to hear from you! How are you planning email campaigns that work for you? Have you had to course correct to see better engagement? Let us know what you did!

Be sure to check out the Authentic and Timely Communication episode of our Be A Marketer podcast too!

[Chris-S]

Emojis 😎 can add a personal touch to your message; these tiny symbols can pack a punch 👊 of personality, color, and emotion into your messages. Which is more attention-grabbing—a subject line that reads “Check Out Our Newest Gadgets!” Or “Unleash the Possibilities! 🚀✨"? 

An emoji explosion might overwhelm your readers or come off as unprofessional, so be responsible with them. Use them only where they value or match your message’s tone. Remember, as Uncle Ben told his nephew Peter Parker...

[Caitlin_M]

Welcome emails are a quick way to say "thank you" for new sign-ups and make a good impression. They don't need to be long. A simple thank you message, information on how to reach them, and links to your social channels and website. If you choose to do so, add something extra like a coupon or a downloadable file that's only available to sign-ups.