7 Key Email Marketing Campaign Elements

• Do you have your message map? In our post by the same name we talked about the importance of having a Message Map and how to build one. They are essential tools when it comes to crafting effective email marketing campaigns. They will save you time and keep your communications consistent.
• What content do you want to share? Your Message Map will help you answer part of this question in that it helps you set your destination, the mindset you are looking to create with your audience. But now is when you need to take it further. How will you get them there? Are you going to offer a series of tips or informational emails? Are you going to focus on stories of how you have helped others navigate the same terrain (solved the problem your brand / product solves)? The answers to these questions will help you define your content.
• How many emails will you send? Once you know what content you want to share you will start to determine how many emails it will take to deliver that content. If you have a lot to say you don’t want to send one or two giant emails. You’ll want to break them up into easy to read and comprehend chunks. This also creates repetition and familiarity with your audience. It is just as important to make sure you are sending informative emails and not just emailing for the sake of emailing.
• How frequently will you email? You want to stay top of mind for your audience but balance that with not being annoying by emailing too much. The content you are delivering should guide the frequency you choose. If your audience will need time to take action on what you have sent you need to allow for that time. So really look at what you are sending and what you want them to do and think of what kind of time that will realistically take.
• How do you want the emails to look? Any platform you choose will have a series of templates to pick from. As you are designing your campaign you will want to choose a template and stick with it. This creates familiarity for the reader and allows them to get to the content faster because the recognize how it is being delivered. It also makes it easier for you in the set-up process.
• Who will receive the emails? Not all of your list will always get the same emails. Remember we talked about segmentation before in Selecting the Right Email Marketing Tool? This is where that comes in. You want to determine who is the best audience for your campaign and will receive the greatest benefit from receiving it.
• What is your Call to Action? Each email should have a Call to Action for your audience. These are additional opportunities for your audience to interact with you. You can send them to social media to post their thoughts. You can send them back to your site for a download or additional information. And at the end of your campaign should lead them to a revenue-generating Call to Action (a purchase).

If you address these seven elements prior to building your email campaigns you will set yourself up for greater success. Each email will have your unique messaging, well thought out content, a dynamic look, and be sent to the right people at the right times. As with any marketing effort having a strategy first, will pay off.