Planning Email Digital Success
I believe the very first thing you should do is ask yourself this question?
How much time does it take to create my average email campaign?
Most people have no plan no calendar marketing entries, no meetings no written strategy with a time frame or outline plan, we all have a vision.
Where to start today?
For me it all begins with a time budget of eight hours minimum on my group Emails.
Given everything is perfect (and it never is) my time outline includes:
- Brainstorm with principles, get the vision down, select and create all images, logos and text documents. making certain all are current version and copy written, proofed, double checked and approved.
- Create or use a default Email template that meets the organizations branding.
- A quick market calendar of events
- Create and manipulate the graphic message
- Confirm the customer email database is tweaked, updated, reviewed and confirmed against everyone’s lists.
- Review campaign goals for outcome and the metrics are established, tested and measured .
- List & Contact all participating employees, salespeople, admin and executives are updated and a generalized to a system in place for both edits & measuring results.
My Eight Hour Minimum
I have come to rely on this and I always include the caveat when I plan and present that it always can take more time…
I arrive at 8 hours in creating a rather large number of campaigns over the years? The shortest turn around for an email can be much less but the average planned campaign is a scattered 8 hours and depending on the depth of the campaign, number of editors, contributions, customized graphics, multiple formats, external links, matching the campaign goals with external hardcopy or other digital campaigns, add in the unknown, changes, the last minute ideas and flashes of brilliance plus do you have access and granted use to all digital information, copy, will and are all employees on board & instructed in the loop to respond promptly… needless to say we can quickly add many more hours to this eight hour minimum budget.
Could and can you create an Email campaign in less time?
Absolutely, but email marketing has that all inclusive “opt out button” the slightest customer/reader displeasure you lose the customer not once but forever. A Loss in the email Digital age is paramount as it is not a change of the channel or flip of the page or toss the postcard as one has with other marketing mediums (print, radio, television or direct mail).
Make an error with the Email of any point… question yourself are you… missing info, fuzzy graphics, to self serving, to many words, to little attention to detailed, to much information and now include does the email open on mobile device?
Miss a step and you risk losing the customer opportunity for all future correspondence via email forever with a one click “opt out”.
Finding Value Of Your Time
I believe the lack of budgeting 8 hours to plan a campaign, is a huge reason why so many companies fail to send emails to customers regularly and in doing so fail to use one of the most powerful marketing mediums effectively.
Everyone I have ever spoke to has a wonderful vision, many have the tools, all have the ideas and product/services jumping out of a box. What misses month after month is the time and proper planning or delegation of the project that misses the mark.
One to two emails a month is a wonderful gift to give your customer base.
So how to you send more Emails and sell more?
1) Commit to an 8 hour plan per email…
2) Brainstorm a set of ideas with a vision and a plan of your future messages. Once you commit, Email Digital Marketing will take root with a fixed time, a budget of days each month every month.
3) Set a value to this time budget call it marketing time and turn it into hard money. Commit time or marketing money to this 8 hour rule/goal if you do not have the additional time put a cost of hard dollars of your time and transfer this money to an outsourced professional.
4) Goals… Once you commit and set a plan of action you can set a budget of time and/or money. Watch your email marketing rates and customer touches grow.
5) Results…. You will find this time well spent, as all good marketing grows your brand, customer and company.
I am interested in what others find a reasonable amount of time for a per Email campaign. Please share your thoughts, experiences and comments.
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