Recently in Planning Category

  As a recent college graduate and someone who is brand new to the world of email marketing, I found out quickly that simply “sending out a few emails” can be a little demanding.  Why?  Every day is a deadline.  Every email that gets sent out is different and every client has their own revisions and input as to how they would like it to look.  The goal is to get the proof done perfect and on time.  Depending on the design, amount of text, and whether or not a template is available, this can take anywhere from ten minutes to two hours (or more!).

Keeping the “creative-building” time down to a minimum is a key part of keeping clients satisfied with the work being done which, in turn, keeps your business growing strong.  However, it’s important to note the old saying from mom…“Haste makes waste”.  How do you keep your emails rolling in and out in a timely fashion, without sacrificing simple mistakes (ie spelling errors, missing links, etc).

The answer is obvious and simple – put a system in order, and stick to it.  If you are new to email marketing, using the system pictured here may be a step in the right direction for you.  If you are a veteran, using this general idea may help you to install a working system that will allow you to double-check your work before sending the proof onto the client.  Whatever the case, installing a system in your every-day email tasks will allow you to pick up better on mistakes, both minor and disastrous.
 
In looking at this chart, you’ll notice that I follow a system of putting text in before adding images.  I find that this is easier because it allows you to see the space that is left once the text has been added.  This will tell you what you should resize your images to, and will keep your email looking clean and in order.  Also, make sure that all of the links to the images are correct and if possible, link all of the images.  The more links you have in an email, the more click-throughs and hopefully, the better the return.
 

Now that we're all in the middle of planning and budgeting for 2008, I've noticed that people tend to overlook the importance of a sound interactive agenda. It's not at all unusual to sit down with a client who has a detailed media plan that details every aspect of a campaign down to the tracking phone numbers and has a PR plan that has a list of the top ten stories to push but when we turn to discuss their interactive plan I typically hear, "We’re going to send a monthly email, keep our site updated and run some pay-per-click." Ladies and gentlemen, that does not make a good interactive plan.

A good interactive plan, just like with all marketing disciplines, is the first, critical step in ensuring success. When you have a firm plan with every strategy mapped out and every contingency identified, you'll have a better chance of executing the full plan than if you just have a few broad ideas. Typically clients pay a great deal for me to develop this plan, but if you're reading this you're about to get a blueprint to interactive success in 2008..