Reviewing Your Email Marketing Campaign

This article was written by Gail F. Goodman of Entrepreneur.com

As we start a new year, it's always helpful to take some time to slow down, look back and evaluate the year gone by. Examining the past year's email marketing efforts and results can help you uncover new ways you can improve going forward.

To get started, take a moment to review the results of your email campaigns from the past 12 months (this is where the reporting features of an email marketing service really come in handy). Then, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What was I trying to accomplish with email marketing, and did I do it?

What was your goal for your email marketing efforts? Did you achieve what you set out to do? Did you measure the results? Is your email marketing adding significant value to your organization? Did you uncover other useful purposes for email marketing? Asking these questions can help you set your goals for the upcoming year.

2. Did I grow my list, and is it better segmented?

There are many great opportunities to grow a list. Looking back, how did you do? Did you collect email addresses whenever you got the chance -- at events, during networking, at point of sale and on your Web site? Does everyone in your organization ask for email addresses? What can you do differently to grow your list even more this year? What about segmenting? Did you divide your list into groups so you could send more-targeted email campaigns? How can you further segment your list in the future?

3. Did I send consistent, high-value email communications?

With email marketing, you have a great opportunity to stay connected with your list members. Did you communicate with them as often as you intended to? Or on the flip side, did you contact them too often? What about the quality of your campaigns? Did you spend the time you needed to create compelling content that included images and well-written copy? Did you put thought into offering your list members information they'd value and find useful? (Hint: Your open and click-through rates can help you figure out their interest level.) How can you improve your communications next year?