Gnosis
Process Documentation

Effective Email Campaigns

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Styles of Email Communications
3. Follow the Principles

1. Overview

An effective email campaign consists of many component parts in the areas of, technical, procedural, content management and analysis. This article looks at some of the basics in the content management area and suggests approaches and principles for maximizing the impact of campaigns using different email content strategies.

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2. Recipient Chosen Content

For the most effective result, one should always approach communications from the perspective of the recipient.  For instance, try to plan your communications structure such that the recipient can elect to receive the type of content that they desire while still providing for the opportunity for you to highlight items that may be outside their elected content. This can be achieved a number of ways:

1. Headline Edition
   In this format, you would include only a title and one or two sentences about each subject matter with click-through links to your web site for the main content on each message. This approach would generally include “sidebar type spotlights” of special events or other content subjects not included in the main body.
    
2. Customized Content
   Provide a link to allow the recipient to go to your web site and check attribute boxes to elect what type of content that they would like to receive in a single periodic newsletter. Gnosis would then “exclude” some content on an individual basis if they elected not to receive it in their preferences. This style of communication would also include cross selling opportunities via “sidebar style spotlights” and click-through references to items that may have been excluded by the recipient.
    
3. Transition to Multiple Subscription Based Emails
   In this mode, you would create multiple different emails, one for each subject and your recipients would elect which email(s) they wish to receive. For the few weeks or months (depending on your current schedule) before launch of the new format, you would include a call to action for recipients to click-through to your web site to choose which new publication categories that they would like to receive in the future.
   
   Each of your new individual emails would have content focused on the subject that the recipient signed up for and a “cross-selling” sidebar for the other subjects that they may not have signed up for. This could be supplemented with something like a monthly “everyone gets it” general communication (probably a "headline edition") to fill in any communication gaps.
   

An effective option may be to implement both #1 AND #2, allowing recipients to choose which version they want to receive, and giving them the option to change the version they want to receive at any time in the future by clicking on a link in any of the messages they receive.

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3. Follow the Principles

At the end of the day, there are some basic principles that when followed, result in significantly more effective email campaigns. They are:

1. Provide an obvious next step
   Always provide the reader with an option to get more information on any topic or take action in some way via a click-through link, button or even a course of action like a link that adds an appointment to their outlook calendar.
    
2. Less is more unless more is needed
   If the recipient has not specifically requested the specific content being provided, keep the content volume in the email to an absolute minimum while still getting the message through.
    
3. Use “Cross-selling”
   Use “sidebar’s” and click-through references in main message text to effectively bring attention to subject matter potentially outside the areas that the recipient has elected to receive.
    
4. Move to a Subscription Model over time
   It can be difficult to move from a “blast” model to a “subscription” model and it can take quite a bit of time to execute, however, there is no denying that a subscription based model (where recipients specifically sign up for the content that they want) is orders of magnitude more effective. It also requires much more time to plan, implement and execute, so, one must make sure the resources are available for both strategy and execution.
    
5. Keep non-subscribed volume low
   Keep the volume of “non-subscribed” emails as low as possible. One per month is excellent, one every two weeks is good, one per week is OK but high, after that, you start to go into the danger zone. More than 6 per month is definitely off the scale.
    

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