Issue #150 All About Email

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #150 of All About Email!

Last week, I received a lot of feedback and questions about the new Google Ads (currently in beta) via email.

This week, I'm sharing my third summer guest post from the wonderful Elizabeth Jacobi.

🎉 🎉 Before we get stuck in, this is Issue #150! I’ll be honest. This crept up on me, and I really should have done something big. Maybe I will at some point. 🤔

Anyway, back to this week’s email…Let’s go! 👇

Guest Author - Elizabeth Jacobi

Now, on to the good stuff! 🎉

Creating a customer journey is not only an important aspect of email marketing, but it is also my favourite part.

Through a planned series of emails, you get to narrate your brand’s story, engage with subscribers, and nurture them into loyal repeat customers.

Starting may seem daunting, which is why some brands still don’t even have a simple welcome series, but I'll simplify the process by breaking down the five steps to building a customer journey.

Step #1 - The Journey Map

Starting within your ESP can be overwhelming. Mapping your journey outside your ESP will help you define your business objectives and create the different paths customers will take with your brand.

I use mapping software, but I also use pen and paper work too.

Design your journey map to meet your objectives, which could be as simple as a welcome or more complex, such as when it's time for a repeat purchase.

Outline the number of emails for each journey, where subscribers might drop off the journey, and where they enter a new journey.

Determine how many emails you need to accomplish this. When you begin building your journey, there are no wrong answers.

Step #2 - The emails

Now that you have your map, you know exactly how many emails you need. 

Step #3  The Journey Buildout

Use your map to build out the journey in your email marketing platform.

Trust me; it will go much faster if you do this as Step #3 vs. Step #1, which I see so many people starting on and then pausing and never launching the journey.

Your email marketing platform is used to execute your strategy, not be the strategy. 

Step #4 The Launch

When building a customer journey for a brand, I use sample test data to ensure that I thoroughly test the journey for content and that all triggers work as intended.

After that, you are ready to launch but check it daily for a few days to ensure subscribers are flowing through your journey. 

Step #5 The analysis

Automated emails were once thought of as "set it and forget it.”  But there is no such thing. You want to consistently analyse your journey and ensure it meets your business objectives. Keep that map handy. 

To close this out

Having a customer journey for your email program is vital today! Yes, it takes time, but trust me, the benefits can be huge.

I just launched a post-project journey myself (like you, I knew this was important, but it never got started), and guess what? The engagement has been great, and people are hitting reply.

I should have done this a few years ago. 

That’s it for this week 👋

A big thank you to Elizabeth for guest authoring this week’s newsletter.

Throughout the summer, we will have regular guest authors:

• Lindsey Carroll (Issue #146)

• Emily Ryan (Issue #148)

• Vicky Smith » next up!

• Robin Adams

• Larissa Uredi

⏭️ Next week is about the amazing Figma to Email plugin from Email Love. ❤️

Email Marketing News & Tips

This week's excellent and insightful Email News & Tips:

• Featuring Me - 5 Ways to Revitalize Your Email Marketing by Liviu Tanase of ZeroBounce. (Customer Think)

• iOS 18 - Introduces AI to Apple Mail. (Naomi West)

• A Misunderstanding - No, it’s not required for GDPR compliance, but it’s essential for a high-quality, engaged email list. (MV Braverman)

• Part 1 of 2 - Debunking Email Personalization Myths. (Act-On & Litmus)

• The Best Newsletter Growth - Operates in four growth quadrants: Owned, earned, algorithmic, and paid. (Inbox Collective)

• Bigger is Better? - Maybe not. An oversized list that under-performs bloats your marketing costs and contributes to deliverability problems is hardly boastworthy. (Alison Gootee)

I had much more news to send out this week friend, but this email is already late, so that means a lot of goodies next week!

If you have a question about this email or email marketing, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

I hope you have a great week! 👋