Optimizing email marketing in 2023

Phew! It's here until 2023! As the end of the year approached in December, the finish line seemed very far away. Many marketers have told me they are busier than ever.

I personally fielded calls for strategic support, worked on deals, and dealt with disruptions until the eve of Christmas Eve, something that has rarely happened in my 20+ year career.

Look back, celebrate, and move on.

Our first task in 2023 is to take a step back, clear our heads, and reflect on all the great things we accomplished in 2022 despite the unexpected (i.e. coming out of COVID-19, rebounding; (such as the shift to supply during the second round of COVID-19), facing chain shortages and other issues, and a potential recession), and how they impact the work they have done to succeed. I will explain Taka.

And now it's 2023. I hope your budget request is approved and you have a clean slate ready to hit your new KPIs. You're probably wondering, “What can I do now to grow my program?”

3 Directional Changes to Grow Your Email Program

Naturally, every marketer's goals are different. We have different audiences, challenges, resources, and goals. However, I am focusing on three major changes in direction for her with clients this year. Which of the following will help you succeed this year?

1. Stop sending bulk emails

Yes, I know. This sounds strange coming from someone who truly believes in email and its power to build business. But I also have my limits!

Emails during this last holiday shopping season were insane. He's worked in the email industry for more than 20 years, but he can't remember a time when his inbox was this full, even during the COVID-19 lockdown.

I'm not the only one who noticed this. Customers also realized that their inboxes were being sent to the North Pole. And they complained about it, as the Washington Post reported (“Retailers are sending you more emails than ever to get you to shop'').

I didn't run any numbers to measure volume, isolate cadence, or track frequency curves. But every time I turned around, I saw emails pouring into my inbox.

My advice to everyone regarding frequency: If you picked up the pace over the holidays, now is the time to slow down.

This should be a regularly scheduled move. However, it's important to make sure executives understand that increased email frequency, volume, and frequency are not the new email norm.

When you commit to this demanding schedule, you end up screwing yourself and driving your audience to other brands and social media.

If you increased your cadence, what did it do for you? You may have achieved the numbers, but consider the long-term costs.

• Further unsubscribe.
• Complaints about spam are increasing.
• Reachability issues.
• Revenue per email decreases.

Take what you've learned from vacation rhythms as an opportunity to discover whether it's a viable strategy or only done as an “emergency glass breaker.”

My advice? Slow down. Return to normal volume, frequency, and rhythm. Consider a customer who received a large number of emails over a 60-day period and their response.

2. Stop spamming

I was encouraged by the Washington Post article I mentioned earlier that mentioned one of my complaints about email: visiting websites and receiving emails without first giving permission. Ta.

Giving the Post a scathing quote about my experience with SafeOpt and predatory email (“Business stress is no excuse for spam”) to visitors to my client’s website. You could have done it too.

Successful email marketers believe in the sacredness of permission. That permission-based practice is what you want to be involved with. Purchasing a list means not hiring a company to sell it to you, whether it's a data broker or a technology provider like SafeOpt.

Spamming doesn't work in the long run. Sure, I've heard of people using purchased lists and companies like SafeOpt and making money doing it. But that's an idiosyncratic view of impact.

Email is the only marketing channel you can do wrong and still make money. But is it the right thing to do?

The problem with the “I made money” argument is that there is nowhere to go after that. Do you measure the number of customers you lose or the impact your sender reputation has had because of sending spam emails?

You may achieve your short-term goals, but lose the long-term battle. If you become known as an untrusted sender, you risk losing access to your customers' inboxes.

Apart from permission violations, sending email after a visitor leaves your site is a waste of effort for three reasons:

• A visit is not the same as an intention. I don't know why they ended up on your site. Perhaps they entered your URL incorrectly or quickly realized that your brand wasn't what they wanted. Even if I chase them by email, they won't come back.
• We're not measuring interest. Did they visit multiple pages or check out your “about” page or FAQ page? Similar to intent, just visiting a page doesn’t show interest.
• They didn't give you their email address. If they are interested and intentional, they will want to connect with your brand. I don't have an email address or permission.

Good email practice holds that email performs best when it is permission-based. Most ESPs and ISPs operate on this principle, as do many email laws and regulations.

But even in the United States, where opt-out email is still legal, just because someone visits your website doesn't mean they can't send you email without your permission.

3. Do one new thing.

Many email marketers start the year by making a list of 15 things they want to accomplish in the next two months. I try to temper that frenetic vision by focusing on achievable goals with the following questions:

“What is one thing you can do this year that could make a big difference in the success of your email program?”

When I started my job as Head of Strategy at Acxiom, I wanted to create a long list of goals to impress my new boss. I showed it to my mentor, the great David Baker, and he said, “You know what? “Can you guarantee that you can not only do all these things, but get them done right away?”

Hmm…

“That's why I don't score that many goals,” he said. “Go in on your own. Once you've done that, think about the next thing. Then do something else. If you propose five projects, your boss will assume you'll do five projects. If you don't, it just means you didn't get it done.”

This was some of the best advice I've ever received. I'll tell you that.

Think of one goal, project, or change that will move your program forward. Take it to your boss and say, “This is what I'm going to do this year.”

To find that one project, research martech, then consider these 6 most popular articles in martech in 2022 for expert advice.

You'll find tons of ideas and tips to help you implement your one big idea to drive growth and bring success. But be realistic. You never know what events will impact your operations.

Power your email program in 2023

The new year has just begun, and I've been having a bit of a hard time finding the motivation to tackle the big things this year has to offer. you too?

I enjoyed my holiday break. I went golfing with his dad and his friends, ate some great food, and took a moment to step back and appreciate the great people I work with and the great industry.

What drives me in the end? Calling my team, friends, and all of you. A lot of my motivation comes from my fellow marketers. That means what you need, what you're worried about, and what I can do to help you succeed.

If you're on the struggle bus with me, borrow motivation from your colleagues and teammates. That way, he can get together 12 months from now and toast to each other that he made it through another year.

It’s time to put on your marketer helmet and fire up the starters. I hope this year will be another wonderful year. Let's get the job done!