How to Kick Start your Email Marketing Campaign in 7 Stages?

Are you looking to create a compelling and robust email marketing campaign but don't know how to?
Whether you are using a Bulk email sender or not, first, you need to create an effective email marketing campaign. And here is how you can craft excellent email campaigns.

Stage 1 – Determine Your Goals

The first stage in an email marketing campaign is to know your goals. You're not merely blasting out emails to everyone on your list in hopes that they might resonate. Instead, you need to send highly targeted and specific emails tied tightly to your marketing goals.

So question yourself. What is the aim of your marketing campaign?

For instance, you want to get new subscribers for your list. In such a case, you need to inform them about your business. Then, give them essential resources that help them understand your core values and give them the next steps they need to take to come on board.

Stage 2 – Know your Target Audience

Once you have set your email marketing goals, the next step is to know your target audience. If you want them to open your email and click on it, you need to understand what matters to them. Find out the following:
What was the reason behind them signing for your business?

What are the pain points that they hoped your business could solve?

Were they looking for services or products?

If you have no idea about your target audience, you can't send them emails that they would want to read. So, if you send irrelevant emails, open rates will plunge, and your click-through rates will be terrible.

Try to get to know your target audience through Google Analytics and Facebook Insights.

Stage 3 – Plan Out Your Email Schedule

Once you know your campaign goals and have taken some time out to learn about your target audience, it's time to plan your email schedule. When mapping out your sequence, you need to consider the email frequency, email content, and call-to-action.

Consequently, these three things will help you know what you have to do to reach your marketing goal. While mapping, make sure you understand the purpose of every email and direct action you want your target audience to take.

Stage 4 – Segment Your Email List

Preferably you need to segment your list before you start sending emails. In simpler words, you can’t send every campaign to each member of your email list. Because every single email will not be relevant to the targeted person.
So, you have to send targeted emails to specific segments on your list. There are different ways to segment your list, such as:

1) Existing VS new subscribers

2) Geographic location

3) Click behavior

4) Purchase history

5) Company role

6) Opt-in form

7) The lead magnet they downloaded

8) Age

9) Gender

10) Abandoned cart

11) Website behavior

Segmenting your list gives you a chance to send highly relevant emails to targeted subscribers on your email list. For instance, you get a lead magnet on your business website that is related to email marketing. People who end up downloading the lead magnet mostly have an interest in the subject, and then you can send them additional resources and offers.

Stage 5 – Write Your Subject Line

Finally comes the time to write your emails. The first step in drafting winning emails is to create a catchy subject line that people will click. The subject line is similar to the headline of a newspaper. It’s what grabs people’s attention. It instills curiosity and makes them want to open the email.

Thus, when so many emails are being sent to everyone, you need to make sure that your email stands out and people open it. A good subject line can get a high open-rate, while a mediocre one will generate mediocre results.
You can make the following types of subject lines:

The question

– It makes people ponder on what the answer is. “Have you ever felt that email marketing is something that you need to explore?”

The how-to

– It taps into your audiences' interests, mainly if they are interested in it. For instance, "How to get 1000 email subscribers in a single day".

Scarcity

– It creates a sense of urgency. For instance, "Only two days left till the sale ends."

An announcement

– It informs the people about what new things are coming out. For instance, "Brand new: get paid faster."

The numbered list

– It’s when you present your information in a list form. For instance, “5 ways to succeed at email marketing”.

The curiosity gap

– It creates curiosity in the audience and makes them want to open the email. For instance, "The results are here, and we did not expect that."

Don't skimp your subject line. It's the first thing that will catch people's attention when your email appears in their inbox. It is the number one factor that will determine whether your email gets opened or not. So spend ample time on drafting a clickable and compelling subject line. And make sure that your email's content meets the expectations set by the subject line.

Stage 6 – Write Your Body Copy

Once you are done with the subject line, it's time to write the body copy. For the optimum results, your body copy should have the following:
1) Get quickly to the point.

2) Write in the second person, such as yours, you, etc.

3) Put more focus on benefits.

4) Engage and delight your readers.

5) Have a compelling CTA.

6) Optimize emails for the cell phone.

Stage 7 – Track and Test Everything

Finally, you are ready to send emails. You have segmented the listed, made a perfect subject line, and written a body copy in line with the subject line.

But just because you have sent your email to the targeted audience does not mean that you are done. You need to track and test each aspect of your email to ensure that it performs at an optimum level.

So, A/B test your subject line to see which one gets opened more. Next, test out different designs and layouts. Then, track the clicks on the links. And lastly, experiment with the different times of sending the email. Monitor unsubscribes, open rates, and click-through rates. All these steps are necessary to improve the overall performance of your email marketing plan.
With the stages of a good email marketing campaign clearly defined, we hope that you succeed.
Good Luck!