Developing A Cohesive Email Marketing Plan – A Fundamental Process

So, you have discovered email marketing.  You’re exactly right to think that it’s a great way to stay in touch with your existing customers and develop relationships with prospective customers.  A good email marketing plan will reach its intended recipients, engage them and encourage them to act based on a specific call to action in the document.

Before you begin sending emails, you must develop a cohesive email marketing plan that supports and enhances your brand image.  This is a critical step in the design process.  So critical, in fact, that opting out of a careful, measured approach can actually damage your brand identity.

Specifically, you should answer the following five questions:

1. How does email fit into your existing overall marketing plans? Email marketing should not stand alone as a sole marketing activity.  Instead, email marketing needs to be an integral part of your overall marketing strategy and business plan.
2. What are the objectives for your email marketing plan? Email should support and facilitate current marketing objectives and ultimately should be designed to convert recipients to purchasing customers.
3. What look and feel will your emails have? Consistency is key when designing emails for marketing purposes.  A template should be designed that looks and feels professional.  Fonts, colors and graphics should match the organization’s website and marketing materials.
4. What will the conversational tone be of your emails? The conversational tone of your email is very important.  It can either grab a recipient’s attention or alienate them immediately. Develop a tone which reflects the nature of your organization and the information being conveyed.  Make sure to avoid a strong sales tone.
5. How can you ensure that your emails conform to your organization’s aesthetic and content requirements? Again, another critical component.  In this insta age where your brand can be damaged in literally an instant, it is crucial to ensure that you are complying with the publishing criteria your organization has established.

Answering these questions and developing a cohesive email marketing plan with a thoughtful, measured approach will ultimately lead to more success with your email campaigns – more opens, more click-throughs, more conversions, more customers.