Beginner's Guide to Creating and Managing an Email Marketing List

An email list can be a marketer’s dream or worst night depending on how you create and manage it. It comes as no surprise that a lot of people associate emails with mundane errands such as bank statements, bills, and work messages. However, what if you could grab people’s interest during that time while they’re scrolling through those “boring” messages and interest them with a fascinating product, offer, or service? That sounds much better, doesn’t it? Let’s take a closer look at how you can embark on the email marketing journey to unlock the potential you did know you had. 

Get Subscribers

Before you even dive into the type of email content and campaigns you want to launch, it’s important to determine who exactly will be on the receiving end of those emails. And where will you acquire the email addresses of those recipients? There are actually several answers to those questions. Generally, the readers’ attention you want to capture are those of your target audience, but they can still be segmented into different groups (a little more on that in a minute). You need to reach out to those different audiences in some way before you can send out your emails. Some ways are easier than others. For example, if you prompt users to fill out their emails in a sign-up form for your website, then you have the opportunity to send them emails whenever. Otherwise, you will have to ask them to fill it out in a form somewhere else on your website or a pop-up (i.e. to receive a voucher, special offer, etc.) The point is that you need to wait for the reader to give you their address to showcase their interest in your content. It’s not recommended, or ethical, to randomly email people or purchase an email list. 

Segment Your Audience

Now that you have a pretty hefty list of contacts, it’s time to group them accordingly with an email marketing tool. Divide your audience into groups depending on what type of emails you want to send them. For example, you’ll have a separate audience for those who are subscribed to your weekly newsletter compared to those who aren’t. Similarly, you can choose to send out special offer campaigns only to returning customers, and so on. Don’t forget to review this list regularly to keep it up to date. Keep in mind that the same contact can be in several groups at the same time if they overlap with the needs of multiple groups. 

Create Content

Now you can crack your knuckles (carefully) and get to the content production process. There are a variety of directions to go in terms of email content so it’s best to create a list and determine which ones you want to work on and when. For example, do you want to have an email-only newsletter for subscribers? If yes, how often will the newsletter be sent out? Biweekly or once a month? All of that needs to be answered, and that’s only considering newsletters. Perhaps you don’t want to do newsletters but instead send special offers, promotions, and campaigns targeted at specific offers you have at the moment. You also need to plan out automatic emails for instance when shoppers have just bought something (shipping info email or “thank you” email), when they have a cart with items in it but didn’t check out a welcome message for signing up, and more. Those are all optimal suggestions if you have an eCommerce business. Work closely with your content writers and marketers to determine what type of content you need in advance. 

Make it Pop

Emails that are trying to stand out should be anything but ordinary. Black text on a white background is not going to generate the results that you expect — or anywhere close. And no, we don’t mean changing the font color to blue instead of black. That’s why you need to “decorate” your email campaigns with colors, images, gifs, videos, and more. By that, we mean putting together a cohesive layout and captivating design. Email marketing tools like Mailchimp allow you to use the online editor to add creative flair to your email with ease, but if you want something completely unique, you’ll need to work with your in-house designer.  If you feel like that is out of reach at the moment and your current resources don’t suffice, then you may need to seek digital marketing services from specialists in agencies or freelancers who already have the resources at hand’s reach. 

Review the Results

One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is not taking the time to slow down, assess, and adjust based on the results of previous campaigns. Especially since you’re just starting out, you need to determine what is working and what isn’t. You don’t want to continue making the same mistakes and avoiding change for a prolonged period of time. That’s simply a waste of resources, especially since many email marketing tools provide you with detailed reports and analytics. 

Happy emailing!