Email continues to be one of the most effective tools in the marketer’s toolbox. But before you launch your first email campaign, you should ask yourself, “What are your objectives? What formats are most effective to communicate these objectives? How often should you send the emails?”

Constant Contact, an email marketing solutions company, offers a way to match the formats you choose based on the objectives of your email campaign.

Here are their formats and their suggestions for using them:

1)    Newsletter Format: Use this format when your objectives include:
a.    Enhance awareness
b.    Increase interaction
c.    Educate recipients
Send a Newsletter monthly or quarterly.

2)    Promotional Format: This format works best when your objectives are to:
a.    Motivate purchases
b.    Generate traffic to a storefront
c.    Generate traffic to a website
You’ll want to send promotional emails bi-weekly or monthly.

3)    Announcement Format: These press releases or new product offerings are effective with objectives such as:
a.    Increase event attendance
b.    Increase donations/contributions
c.    Improve public relations
Since these are usually event-based, send an event invitation with multiple communications allowing for recipients to first “save the date”, then sign up, then get a reminder. Announcements, of course, would only need a single communication.

Constant Contact reminds us – track your responses to be sure what you think is effective really is effective. If the campaign isn’t getting the results you expected, check your format, check you objectives, check your timing, and see if you can tweak.

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