Let’s face it: we live and breathe by our calendars. Penciling in after-school soccer practice, oil changes, doctors’ appointments, parent-teacher conferences, business meetings, church events, and family reunions allows us to remove the burden of trying to remember or recall important events from memory and helps us keep a rhythm of routine for recurring tasks or reminders.
In the digital world, social content calendars have become an essential tool for marketers as they plan and plot a course of action to build brand awareness and communicate and engage with followers and fans through posts, photos, and videos. Utilizing this tool for your email marketing strategy is just as important!
What are some of the benefits of an email communications calendar?
For starters, it builds a plan for cultivating relationships and credibility with your audience without it seeming like you are “nagging” or bothering them. The last thing you want is to bombard your donors and supporters with multiple emails with the same exact message several times in one day. They may become frustrated or annoyed and experience “email fatigue” and mark your emails as junk or spam which will negatively impact your email credibility score (and potentially hinder donor retention and future giving!). Deploying your email campaign sends over a period of time will create a continuity and flow for your campaign messaging while keeping it top of mind for your audience. (Remember the calendar illustration earlier?)
Another benefit is organization! You have a clear map of what content you need for your email strategy, when and how often it needs to be delivered, and who needs to receive it.
What types of information should you include in your email communications calendar?
Here are a few suggestions:
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Name of email campaign theme/topic
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Send and resend dates and times
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Point person(s)/group(s) responsible for crafting and distributing the email campaign
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Target audience segments (who needs to receive this particular email?)
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Notes
You can also insert a section for key performance indicators (KPIs) in your calendar if you do not track these metrics in a separate report already.
How do you create your email communications calendar?
With a quick Google search, you can identify and download free content calendar templates (try HubSpot) or create your own using Google Sheets (while this option is budget friendly, it can be time consuming if you are developing a full year’s worth of content at one time). Several content management systems like Asana and monday.com offer customizable calendar options (subscription plan required) based on your organization’s or ministry’s needs and preferences. Always keep in mind that your calendar should be somewhat fluid, meaning there is room for additions, changes, and updates to your sending strategies.
The communications calendar can be a game changer for your email marketing campaigns and your macro-level brand strategy. Draft up a plan, share with your teams and start communicating more effectively!
Let Infinity Concepts use our expertise to help you build an effective email communications strategy for your next project or campaign!
CLICK HERE or call us today at 724-733-1200.
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