Deciding to utilise a new marketing channel is an exciting time in any business and symbolises the desire to grow, but care should be taken. It is easy to start executing any strategy before giving it a thorough think and as a result you risk losing sight of your goals. When it comes to email marketing, it is crucial that you follow a strategy as there is a fine line between bombarding your list with emails and not reaching out enough. By ensuring that the following steps are taken before you execute your email marketing strategy, you can avoid any hiccups and inconsistencies along the way.
1. Use an email automations provider
To get your email marketing strategy in full swing, you want to be using an email automations provider such as Mailchimp or HubSpot. The benefits of using such platforms are endless but mostly they are brilliant because of the attention to detail they provide to allow your emails to enjoy a range of successes. From optimising your send time to adding alt text to imagery within an email to make it accessible for everyone, there are so many avenues to explore. As with any subscription, there are various plans which will give you access to different features to benefit your strategy. The reporting features are a personal favourite of Your Marketing Team’s as they allow for you to improve your approach one campaign at a time.
2. Create a mailing list and ensure it is up to date
Now you’ve set your business up on an email automations provider, it’s time to create a mailing list if you don’t already have one. It is important that your mailing list for marketing communications only includes contacts which have opted in. If they have not opted into these communications, you could be in breach of GDPR legislation. For more information on how GDPR works, read this resource provided by the Advertising Standard Authorities.
Of course, your email automations platform can be used for more than just marketing emails, it can also be used to communicate with your customers about their orders. For example, within Mailchimp you can connect your Shopify store to automate emails when a customer purchases a product or service.
Another factor to consider when setting up your mailing list is whether you can segment your audience to enhance your email marketing strategy further. Within a provider like Mailchimp you have the ability to uniquely tag your contacts. For example, you might choose to tag contacts based on whether they are a repeat customer or a prospective customer – this will allow you to customise your emails based on who you are targeting, changing the language and even potential discounts, where applicable, inside each campaign.
3. Get a handle on your email templates
The design of your email is vital. It should be consistent with your brand across different channels and in line with your brand guidelines. When designing your template, it is worth considering how your audience is opening your emails - are they viewing them on their mobile or desktop? This will tell you whether you need to focus on optimising the design of your email for mobile over desktop. For example, if your audience is more likely to open your emails on their mobile, you need to consider how your design will appear in a stacked format versus on a desktop in a grid format.
Grid view – optimised for desktop | Stacked view - optimised for mobile
Credit: YMT
It’s worth noting that your business can have multiple templates, and not all emails need to fit into a singular template. For example, you might send a monthly newsletter, a targeted email and a reminder email all in one month. Each of these emails might have a different template with different call-to-actions and layout.
4. Verify and authenticate your domains and try avoiding the junk mailbox
Your sender address might be something along the lines of ‘hello@[insert business name].co.uk’. This is the email address which will receive any replies to your campaigns and should be a well-managed inbox. This will also be visible to your recipient, so should follow a professional business structure. It is important to note that you can use free email providers such as Gmail or Yahoo for your sender address, but you cannot verify them as there are limitations with these domains as they are not owned by you but by Google or Yahoo for example.
Now you are aware of your sender address, you need to verify and authenticate your business domain. There will be clear steps within your chosen platform as to how you can go about doing this. The benefits of verifying and authenticating your domain are to ensure that your emails are kept out of spam folders and will protect your business reputation in the long term as other users cannot use your domain without permission.
5. Create an email calendar so you never miss an important date in the diary
Planning is the key to success. Now read that again! As a business owner often wearing many hats, usually means that lots of campaigns are executed reactively. And whilst we aren’t opposed to reactive marketing, your email marketing should follow a clear mapped out plan to aid you in achieving your goals.
We recommend creating an email marketing calendar which highlights key dates for your business, products or services which might be popular at a particular time of year and any other dates which might be of interest.
Not only will creating an email marketing calendar keep you organised, but it will also ensure that you’re reaching out to your audience at least every quarter and keeping your business front of mind.
If you’re hoping to get your email marketing strategy off the ground in 2025 but simply don’t have the time to do it yourself or hire and manage a marketing professional to do it for you, reach out to us today and find out how we can help bring your marketing plan to life as your outsourced marketing team.