Before You Start Sending Email Campaigns:
- All email subscribers must have previously given you permission to receive email campaigns from you. You are only allowed to send them content they expect to receive. Adding them to different lists requires their permission again. Using Granza means you are adhering to all of our policies.
- Use quality images and logos. The images (ads) you will use, such as those seen in other Granza user dashboards, are always a square. Use an image that is minimally 400 x 400 pixels.
- Double check your grammar and spelling.
- Be consistent with the overall look of your emails. This will let your subscribers become familiar with your brand.
- Select a Granza email template that best fits your message and brand. You can edit any of our email templates or create your own. Email campaigns allow for a wide variety of image shapes and sizes.
- We recommend that you send yourself a test email campaign before sending it out to your entire list. Just follow the instructions on the screen. Check again for grammar, spelling, and any layout issues. With their permission, include any other subscribers that will give you feedback on your test campaign.
Simply sending a campaign does not guarantee success.
Effective email marketing campaigns require some thought. Consider the below:
- Your products
- Services you offer
- Pricing
- Quality of your subscriber list
- General content
- What do your subscribers want to see?
- Long messages may bore your subscribers and increase your opt outs.
- Messages should be clear, thoughtful and to the point, but not overly short.
- Have something to say that’s interesting and relevant to the subscribers on that list. Treat your audience with respect. You will want them to look forward to your next message.
- What does your competition send to their email subscribers? What do you think is working for them? Even so, it might be best to simply find your own voice. Being a “real person” can be very effective.
- Sending too often or too little can be less effective. Good send schedule(s) are generally:
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
- Between 9-11am or 1-3pm.
- Once you determine you have an email “send schedule” that works, stick with it unless you receive feedback to the contrary.
- Your own personal skill set, including your staff.
The examples below will likely be approached in very different ways:
- Newsletters
- Promotions
- Restaurants
- Special sales
- New products or services
- Mortgages
- Real estate
- Car and truck sales
- Stock market or other news information
- Upcoming events
- Charities
- Customer surveys and testimonials
- B2B sales
More to know
Pay regular attention to your statistics in your dashboard. How are your read rates? Are you getting too many opt outs? What feedback are your subscribers giving you? Ask for it. How about spam reports? Getting reported as a spammer is not acceptable and is a violation of your Granza user agreement.
From time to time, try A/B testing. This is a method of comparing the effectiveness of two versions of a campaign. To do this, split a subscriber list into two separate lists. Half the users will be on one list and half on the other. Experiment with changes to the content, images, wording, and your offerings. Based on the statistics that follow, which one is more effective? When you figure that out, choose the better campaign format. A/B testing is common with all types of advertising and marketing, not just email marketing.
Find out what other Granza users are doing. Participate in the Granza blog.
Suggested reading: Email Marketing Campaigns