You’re launching a new email marketing campaign. How can you ensure it reaches your target audience?

Different goals require different approaches. It's super important to start any campaign with clear goals so you can define the best strategy and measure performance.

Be gentle on your customers. Aggressive on prospects. Remember - a prospect (an opt in who has not purchased) is negative ROI till you convert them to a user. Focus on: Getting their attention, be bold, and have a goal to have them become a loyal customer. Oh and send more messages to this group, your cadence should be up to 2x more to these opt in's. And for customers - nurture their loyalty, and thank them for sticking around. Help lead them to the repeat purchase. Retention starts with audience management and messaging. Make sure you have a unique strategy for each.

Is there an opportunity to use personalization? Is there an opportunity to use humor? Is there a design tweak or change that you can make to shake things up a bit?

Find the sweet spot: It’s not: All Contacts It is: Prospects (Did not purchase yet) who engaged recently on your email and sms in the last 90 days It’s not: ALL Contacts - Engaged 90 days It is: Prospects - engaged (click, website) - 90 days, who opted into FORM A (A discount opt in) It’s not: All Contacts - Engaged 60 days It is: Customers - Who clicked/engaged in 60 days and did not pay in 60 days Leverage the data at your fingertips and behavior, and find the balance that fits best for your retention strategy. Remember, retention marketing is a game of volume. And there IS something called “too small.” And there IS something called “too broad.” Find your sweet spot and stay consistent.

Make sure you are leveraging the 3E's in every email or sms: EXCITE: Create hype and give the customer a reason the open the message. EDUCATE: Once you have them hooked, give them value and deliver on the hype from the excitement. EDIFY: Ask for the click, give a reason. Checking these off is a quick and easy way to make sure you're getting the most out of your next email or sms campaign. Simple, effective formula to get you clicks. And let your landing page, close the sale.

Some of the ways I have leveraged partners for audience expansion: Collaborate with partners to feature each other in your respective email campaigns. This cross-promotion can introduce your brand to a wider audience and create a mutually beneficial marketing effort. Develop co-branded content or offers with your partners. This can add value to your email campaigns and provide unique incentives for recipients, enhancing engagement and fostering a sense of joint credibility. Fundamentally, you should have identified partners with similar target audiences but non-competing products or services. By leveraging each other's customer base, you can extend the reach of your email campaigns and potentially tap into new markets.

First, I'd identify partners with a similar target demographic and aligning values. Collaborating with them can provide access to their established audience. Next, I'd focus on co-branded emails or shared promotions. This not only expands my reach but also adds credibility through association with trusted partners. To optimize targeting, I'd leverage the partner's data insights to refine my audience segmentation. By combining our knowledge, we can create more personalized and relevant content, increasing the likelihood of engagement. I'd also hold regular partner meetings to analyze performance metrics and adjust strategies based on feedback from our shared audiences.