Confessions of a (Reformed) Goal-Hungry Marketing Executive

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		October 2009, Issue 68

BtoB Email Marketing
Confessions of a (Reformed) Goal-Hungry Marketing Executive
By Jeanniey Mullen, Executive Director, Email Experience Council

The Six Building Blocks of a Strong Email Marketing Foundation

An interesting thing happened to me about a year and a half ago. I took a job as the Chief Marketing Officer of a digital publishing company. About 30 days into my job I realized I had turned into "one of them." You know: the "C-level" exec more worried about the size of the list than the quality, the goal-hungry executive who allows best practices to slip occasionally.

I was horrified.

Was it really this easy to forget more than 15 years of training when hitting goals were at risk? I immediately splashed cold water on my face, returned to the land of email integrity and got things back on track. Immediately I saw revenues and loyalty climb. It was nice!

I was happy.

As the months have gone by, I am often reminded of how easy it was to become sidetracked, but have also remained intrigued by an interesting phenomenon that hits all of us on the front lines of marketing. Yes, we need to balance hitting company-driven goals and targets with employing best practices and effective strategies. But, we also need to filter through mounds of email best practices being defined by people who may not still be on the front lines. How are we supposed to know the difference between a "good idea on paper" and a strategy that is really going to move the needle in the right direction?

This struggle became really clear recently, when I engaged in a great conversation with a group of email strategy experts. We talked about new deliverability issues, Google Wave's potential impact, Twitter vs. email—and more. It was a passionate conversation. The next day I participated in a roundtable conversation with front line email marketers. When I asked them what topics they felt were the hardest-driving in email results, they didn't care so much about the future, but more about the now. And they saw tremendous opportunity to improve on what they were currently doing. They mentioned things like frequency, personalized image placement and permission.

It was then I knew that there may be a disconnect between the email best practices many of us experts write and speak about, and what the experts on the front lines actually need to know to drive results. I walked away with six things that I believe build the foundation of a strong email program today—regardless of what level of marketer you are:

1. Preference Centers Are Not Optional.

True, preference centers sometimes aren't realistic in terms of budget, politics or access to resources. At the very least, ask your email vendor to find you some free survey pages to use as a Plan B.

2. Test Small, Win Big.

No one has the time or budget to test every image in an email. Step back and think about your audience: What is their personality? Design for action based on that, and begin your testing there. Will an impulse buyer really want to click a button that says "Learn more"?

3. Frequency Is a Business Decision.

Yes, you should never over-mail. But how much you mail your readers is up to the type of content you have to share. (This one is tricky, so email me if you need help at jeanniey@emailexperience.org)

4. Link in to LinkedIn.

Use LinkedIn and network with other front line people. Asking your peers how they solved a problem, got funding, or created results will get you very, very far. You can't win the game if you don't play: LinkedIn is a great place to find other people with similar titles to yours who are trying similar things or things you haven't even thought of.

5. Integrate with Social.

This article is too short to explain why—just make sure you put ShareThis or Twitter links in every email. You will be glad you did.

6. Ask the Experts Questions.

Reach out and ask questions that matter to you whenever you read an email column from an expert. By asking about the challenges near and dear to your heart, you will also be helping many others in the industry. Many people have the same questions you do.

Don't give up or give in to not-so-great-practices because someone hasn't covered a topic you find important. Stick with it and raise your hand. You won't be disappointed.

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Jeanniey Mullen is the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Zinio, the global leader for digital publishing products and services. She holds the same position for VIV Magazine, the first fully interactive and all digital lifestyle magazine for women. An accomplished expert in the email and online marketing world, Jeanniey is recognized as a pioneer and visionary, advocating for, and driving change that redefines the impact of various marketing channels. Prior to Zinio and VIV, Jeanniey was the Senior Partner and Global Executive Director of the Email Marketing and Digital Dialogue Practice at OgilvyOne Worldwide. In 2005, Jeanniey founded the Email Experience Council, and currently maintains her role as its Executive Director.

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