Email Marketing is ranked as the most effective marketing tool, above social media, SEO and affiliate marketing. 

How to start a successful marketing campaign

Phase 1: Get permission 

How do you build a sizeable email list? 

• Have a clear purpose and call to action - Why should users subscribe to your email list? What benefits are they receiving from it? 
• Establish credibility - What are the emails for? 

Establishing a clear call to action or benefit to giving an email address will get more people to subscribe. 

There are various ways to build a list for an email campaign. Below are some common ways used to entice people to sign up:

• Email series
• Free downloads 
• Free eBooks 
• Update lists, for new releases and product updates

Make your incentive clear, enticing and promote it. 

Phase 2: Follow through with great content 

For a successful email campaign: set expectations and follow through.

• If you set the expectation that you will send out a weekly newsletter outlining product updates, make sure you follow through with this expectation.

How to set expectations? 

The first follow up email is the most important in establishing the success of your email marketing efforts. This should be sent immediately after a person subscribes to your mailing list. Use this as an opportunity to introduce yourself/brand and outline what is to be expected. 

Example: Welcome Email to New Host from Airbnb

You can use an autoresponder to send out your initial welcome email - This will be sent out immediately after a person subscribes to your email list. 

Once your expectations are set, make sure you follow through. 

When to pitch a product?

The purpose of using an email list is to engage with customers and make sales.

• If customers have shown interest in a specific product, send similar offers. Don't blindly send offers. 
• Be consistent with the expectations you've set. If you've established that you will send out emails once every week, don't send 5 pitch emails within a week

Tips on how to write a good newsletter: 

• Frequency: stay consistent, to stay relevant. 
  • Don't go long periods at a time without sending out an email. 
  • Ideally, once a week. At the very least, once a month.
• Balance: keeps your customers interested.
  • Mix up your content. Example: personal message and product updates.
• Building Relationships: use the newsletter to establish/build on, your relationships with your customers.

Use an autoresponder 

As your email list grows, you can't do it all by yourself.  

An autoresponder automatically sends out emails that are scheduled in advance 

• Scheduling emails in advance will help you stay consistent.
• You can plan out a series of emails to be sent out, over a set period.
• Helps keep complex campaigns organized.

Phase 3: Analytics and Segmentation 

Refine for better results. 

Pay Attention - Email Analytics give you insight into what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.

Target - Segmentation helps you separate your audience into smaller targeted groups to make your campaigns more effective

Three most important email analytics: 

(1) Open Rate

• # of people that open your email 
• A high open rate means you've established a good relationship with your audience 

If your open rate is low:

• Unengaged subscribers.

Solution? Work on providing users value and managing expectations.

(2) Click-Through Rate 

• # of people that clicked on a link in your email (if applicable)

If your click-through rate is low:

• Your message isn't getting through to your customer.
• You aren't targeting the right audience.

Solution? Improve your copy and segment your audience into targeted groups.

(3) Unsubscribes 

• # of people that clicked "unsubscribe" in the footer of your email. 
• Your unsubscribe rate should be low in relation to your subscription rate.

If your unsubscribe rate is high:

• Determine when/why people are leaving.

For example: If customers are unsubscribing after a marketing email is sent out - Re-work how you are                         presenting offers.

How to segment your email list 

What is segmentation? 

Segmentation is the division of your email list into smaller targeted group lists 

For example: You can segment your full email list into the following segmented lists 

• Customer list vs. Leads list
• Newsletter list 
• Daily email list 

Benefits? 

• Splitting your list into smaller lists gives you the opportunity to send out more targeted communication to your customers.
• You can also use your segmented lists to try split test messaging to see which communication performs better. 

Source: https://neilpatel.com/blog/beginners-guide-email-marketing/