ideas into action
What I Do
Building Like-Minded Communities through Targeted Content
Define the Email Strategy
Strategic email planning fundamentally integrates your business’ 50,000 foot plan with the right ESP. The right ESP is the one that offers digital functionalities that synchronize and support the enterprises’ mission, vision, and values at optimum ROI. Strategically considered email marketing goals and action plans should slide naturally into the big picture, are necessary and sufficient to do the job, and are realistically achievable.
Conversely, if you don’t have THE plan, then “its spray and pray”. You get what you get, not what you want. Having written numerous successful 5 year plans, I can get you started. But that’s a whole other discussion.
Create Content
I relish marketing to enthusiasts. Successful content creation for enthusiasts must attract, engage, hold and grow them. A roadmap for creating enthusiast content includes findable, readable, understandable, and actionable. That’s been true for centuries; however, in digital marketing it also needs to be "shareable". And in the process of learning what turns specific markets on both parties are rewarded by expanding their knowledge and mutual admiration.
Footnote: Creating good content is like painting a house. The best jobs have the most prep! Content that is planned is better. Content that is proofread is better. Content that is reviewed by others is better. Content that “steeps” is better.
Manage Your Account
Day-to-day management of an email account is more about “doing than thinking.” It is the regular execution of pre-planned tactical actions supporting strategic goals, reacting and modifying to contact trends, calculating and improving KPI’s, and testing, testing, testing … everything. Subject lines, links, formats, landing pages, embedded applications, tagging, automations, drip funnels, lead magnets and more. Integrating and using data from social media programs, other digital marketing efforts, and available analytical sources and tools hones the program like a fine sharpening stone.
Outsourcing parts of your email marketing program can leverage your internal resources dramatically. Entrepreneur magazine suggests content marketing is one of the six best areas to outsource. "It can take years to figure out how to connect with the right audience and optimize that marketing for growth. Start with content marketing as a low barrier entry point to connect with your customers. ... If writing isn’t your expertise, then outsource it. Find a content marketer who can create the type of copy that converts to help educate, inspire, and generate leads for your business."
Acquire and Develop Your List
What’s the RFM model? Recency. Frequency. Monetary Value. Frankly it’s not rocket science. It’s as appropriate today as it was for Sears Catalog 150 years ago except that with email it is faster and more measurable. Send the email-get the results.
Prospecting. According to Return Path, consumer email addresses decay at a rate of approximately 30% per year due to changes in jobs, homes, schools, ISPs, etc. And contemplate what the WFH-Covid combo has done to B2B email list decay! We identify the best of the best, segment them into meaningful lists, and engage “actives” though strategically weighted lead scoring. Digital RFM!
Research New ESPs and Migrate Lists
Not every ESP is suited for every email program. If you’re dissatisfied with your current email marketing program, we can help provide and objective evaluation and recommendation. With first hand experience with numerous ESP we have a pretty good handle on strengths, weaknesses and more.