• by April Mullen , Columnist, January 5, 2015

The beginning of another year is always a time for reflection, thinking ahead about the improvements we want to make. Here are four common resolutions that can be applied to email marketing programs to make the new year successful.

1.     Lose weight. I’m talking about body weight — email body weight, that is.  With mobile opens around 50% or higher, it’s imperative to consider images and content in your emails.  Audit your creative to ensure that email file sizes are low enough to prevent a download message on mobile devices. You’ll also want to review content to ensure it’s concise across all your communications.  Remember, the email is selling a click, and the landing page will present the details.  Lastly, use responsive formats to ensure your creative renders well, regardless of device, making your emails look svelte in 2015.

2.     Be wise with money. It’s no secret that email marketing is a long-standing contender when it comes to return on investment, yet in recent years companies have been unnecessarily frugal with the channel from a budgetary standpoint.  This is the year to change that. According to a recent survey, 61% of marketers plan to increase their spend in 2015.  This is good news, since the future of email relies less on broadcast emails and more on relevant communications along the customer journey.  Creating more personalized, triggered and automated programs requires an investment of technology, data and resources to be successful.  If your program is not receiving the budget it needs to advance, show your CMO the potential revenue lost if your department can’t create the experiences your customers demand.    

3.     Spend quality time with those who are most important to you. I’d like to emphasize “quality” in this resolution. The industry has long understood that overmailing and having a one-size-fits-all approach to email marketing is unacceptable, yet a large number of companies still do this — as evidenced from the emails I’ve received in my inbox just this morning. Let 2015 be the year that you get to know your customers and determine your sending based on what they need and want.  Create segmentation and run tests within those segments to determine sending frequency.  Better yet, automate or trigger campaigns based on consumer action or inaction, and even implement open-time personalization, so that the emails are more contextual and give your customers what they need at the right point in time.

4.     Create more “me” time.  I may be biased, but I think email marketers are some of the brightest resources on the marketing roster. But they’re also overextended, often too involved in the tactical execution of marketing plans.  As a result, these talented resources don’t get enough time to plan ways to maximize opportunities for email and cross-channel initiatives.  I challenge email marketers to create thinking time for themselves in 2015.  If you can even block 10% of your week for planning and strategy, you’re succeeding in this resolution.

Cheers to a successful 2015!