This time of year in Indiana is basically a weather cornicopia - hot and humid (wickedly humid), partly sunny, pop-up severe thunderstorms, 60mph winds, enough rain to cause flash floods, and the occassional tornado. Summer is like a weatherman's Superbowl, World Cup and Academy Awards all rolled into one. Midwesterners that are prone to DVRing know that it's hit or miss as to whether you are recording your favorite show or play-by-play storm watch for two hours (and I really wanted to see the Last Comic Standing). The only things missing are plague, pestilence and the kitchen sink.*
Trying to stay on top of the latest information and best practices for email marketing can often feel the same way. Everything is thrown at you all at the same time: list growth techniques, subject line ideas, helpful hints on subscriber engagements, how-tos on driving higher open rates and click-thru rates, tips and tricks on leveraging email on smart phones, changes in deliverability laws, knowing the best time to send emails, ensuring your email is rendering properly, etc. That's not even beginning to tackle all the information on incorporating mobile and social into your overall interactive marketing program. Go ahead and add another dozen white-papers that you need to read just on those subjects alone.
It's just too much to think about when all you want to do is hit the send button and get your email out the door. I'm here to tell you - that's OK. If all you have time to think about this month is ensuring delivery of your emails - that's OK. It is perfectly acceptable to focus on just one thing at a time as you work to build your email and interactive marketing programs. Throwing everything at your marketing program including the kitchen sink is no way to test and track your results. The same goes for "email marketing best practices".
So, don't fret too much. Take it one day/week/month/quarter at a time if needed. Often times it is not the grand plans or the intricate and convoluted multi-variant tests that make the biggest impacts to your email campaigns. It can be the minor tweaks and changes that bring the results that you are working towards. After all, that is what really matters - your results and your business. If you try to focus on everything all at the same time, you will get nothing done. This can be especially true for small businesses where time and resources are at a premium.
Forget about the kitchen sink, forget about the cornicopia of white-papers, case studies and expert advice. Make a pledge to just learn about one thing this week and enjoy the sunshine.
*We're very thankful that nothing serious has happened to us, and our thoughts are with the unlucky who've experienced the severest of the weather that has plagued the Midwest.
Trying to stay on top of the latest information and best practices for email marketing can often feel the same way. Everything is thrown at you all at the same time: list growth techniques, subject line ideas, helpful hints on subscriber engagements, how-tos on driving higher open rates and click-thru rates, tips and tricks on leveraging email on smart phones, changes in deliverability laws, knowing the best time to send emails, ensuring your email is rendering properly, etc. That's not even beginning to tackle all the information on incorporating mobile and social into your overall interactive marketing program. Go ahead and add another dozen white-papers that you need to read just on those subjects alone.
It's just too much to think about when all you want to do is hit the send button and get your email out the door. I'm here to tell you - that's OK. If all you have time to think about this month is ensuring delivery of your emails - that's OK. It is perfectly acceptable to focus on just one thing at a time as you work to build your email and interactive marketing programs. Throwing everything at your marketing program including the kitchen sink is no way to test and track your results. The same goes for "email marketing best practices".
So, don't fret too much. Take it one day/week/month/quarter at a time if needed. Often times it is not the grand plans or the intricate and convoluted multi-variant tests that make the biggest impacts to your email campaigns. It can be the minor tweaks and changes that bring the results that you are working towards. After all, that is what really matters - your results and your business. If you try to focus on everything all at the same time, you will get nothing done. This can be especially true for small businesses where time and resources are at a premium.
Forget about the kitchen sink, forget about the cornicopia of white-papers, case studies and expert advice. Make a pledge to just learn about one thing this week and enjoy the sunshine.
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