Lessons in Email Marketing from a 4-Year-Old

John W Hayes

There’s a big event coming up in the Hayes household in the next few weeks. It’s little Dotty’s 5th birthday and for the better part of a month, she’s been diligently planning her birthday party. There’s quite a lot of planning going into the event. In fact, the average email marketer could learn a lot from her strategies to ensure her party is the talk of the playground for months to come.

Have a Brilliant Product

Dotty’s lined up what she hopes to an entertaining event. There will be a bouncy castle, a performance from Elsa and Anna from Frozen (she tells me they are the real deal), lots of food and drink and to make it extra special it’ll be in fancy dress.

Build Your Lists & Segment

Dotty has three lists:

1. Girls in her class at school (and yes we do start them early in the UK)
   
2. Boys in her class at school
   
3. Girls at her dance school (there are no boys here)

It’s important that these lists are kept separate. We’ll discover why next.

Create Your Campaign Templates/Themes

Dotty will hit her three separate lists with three different campaigns. The girls in her class will receive a Frozen-themed invite while the boys will be targeted with a Spiderman invitation. Her dance friends will receive an invite featuring Angelina Ballerina. She’s really taken the time to get to know her potential guests and is targeting them with something that will definitely spark their interest.

Timing

Dotty ensured her invites were sent in good time, allowing her friends (and equally importantly their parents) to plan their diaries around the event.

Call-To-Action/ No No-Reply

Dotty’s included a solid call to action in her invites. By including an RSVP will ensure there’s enough cake for everyone. She’s made it as easy as possible for her friends to confirm they can attend by including her mother’s mobile phone number (which never leaves her side).

Return-on-Investment (ROI)

OK, it would be really cynical to suggest a great ROI from a birthday party but needless to say Dotty is hoping for one or two extra presents on her big day.

Follow Up/Customer Retention

Dotty won’t take her guests for granted. Because she’ll be looking to retain her party guests next year so she’ll be following up with a timely communication in the days after the event.

Email marketing really can be child’s play.

This post first appeared on the iContact Email Marketing Blog.

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