As B2B marketers, what would you expect to be the highest ROI drive within your marketing efforts? According to Litmus, an email-first marketing platform, email is the highest ROI drive in a company’s marketing mix. It is also the greatest tool your company can use to interact with clients and subscribers in a more personal way than social media.
Our team recently sat in on a webinar hosted by Litmus where they shared what they deem as the “Three Pillars of a Successful Email Program.” The pillars consist of three stages: “Pre-Send,” “Post-Send,” and “Perform,” which they feel any company should go through when creating an email campaign. Here is a breakdown of each:
Pre-Send
The Pre-Send stage is where content is created, the length of time needed for each piece is evaluated, and the template design is adapted. Most companies spend 1-2 weeks on each email because the email has to go through many stages of approval and revisions before it can be produced. Litmus shared the best way to maximize efficiency is by having a small team with a thorough description of what each of their jobs entails. Another important aspect of Pre-Send is to test template designs often. This is a way to experiment with which template receives the most positive feedback and interactions from the audience.
Having a weak Pre-Send stage can lead to your team missing deadlines or finding errors in your emails after they’ve already been sent. It’s important to do an audit of this stage to find out where your weaknesses are. That way, you’ll be able to fix any issues your team may be having, which will lead to a stronger email campaign.
Post-Send
The Post-Send stage occurs when the email is sent and the research of analytics begins. One of the top ways to enhance reader interaction is by knowing your audience. Do they view your emails on a desktop or mobile device? Are they Google/Apple users or Windows/Outlook users? This is crucial to know because the design format you use may only be received correctly on one of those email platforms. If you know 80% of your viewers are Gmail and iCloud users then you can adapt a template with gifs, videos, etc. that you might not be able to do for the other platforms.
Other pieces of information to analyze during the Post-Send stage include:
- Your open and deliverability rates. Is your email being sent to everyone’s mailbox correctly?
- Your subject lines. This plays a big factor in open rates, so analyze which campaigns performed really well and take a look at their subject lines.
- Click-through rates. Are your readers taking the actions you want them to take? If not, it might be time to take a deep dive into the content of your emails, as well as your calls-to-action.
Perform
Like the Post-Send stage, the Perform stage focuses on analytics. However, the Perform stage is the step where your team should also focus on ROI. This is best done by running tests through different focus groups at different times to better understand what your audience likes to see.
This stage should also include the sharing of information as a way to minimize workplace silos. If your company has a small team working on email marketing campaigns, any results or insights they find can be beneficial to other members of the marketing department. The goal of this sharing of information is to lead to more effective marketing through all channels, not just email.
Understanding the different components of email campaigns can help your team navigate the areas that need most improvement, which will lead to stronger marketing performance. To read more about Litmus’s “three pillars,” you can read this blog on their website.
Bonus Tip: Always send your email as a plain text version after you send the main email so it doesn’t end up in junk mail.
Contact us today to learn how we have helped clients develop and implement email marketing campaigns that get results! Email our president, Bill Kiefaber to set up your complimentary consultation.