This month, 68 college basketball teams entered basketball's biggest competition -- the NCAA tournament. Supporters of the top teams tune in for a full month of madness, hoping their team will make it to the coveted final rounds. Even more basketball fans across the country build their brackets and watch games hoping their predictions will come true.
In the same way that basketball teams run drills and practice plays to prepare for each game in the tournament, email marketers can use certain tried and true tactics to create slam dunk campaigns. Consider these strategies to grow your subscriber base and effectively reach your customers, driving conversion and revenue.
Study your opponent's strategy.
In each round of the tournament, you'll face a new team with a unique style, different players and a fresh set of plays. For your best shot at beating every team, you should study their strategies to learn their strengths and weaknesses and play against them. As you plan your email marketing campaign, familiarize yourself with your customers' behaviors to learn which messages they respond well to and which are less effective. Choose from your email marketing playbook to use certain moves with certain customer segments so your messages reach those most likely to convert.
Block out the hype.
Playing in a high-publicity tournament can be stressful, and opposing fans will do everything they can to make noise and distract players from making their shots. As the stakes get higher with each round, it's imperative to ignore the hype and keep your game focused on making your shot. Keep your messages free of clutter and focused on your end goal so your best players -- your customers -- don't get distracted. Think of your call to action as a basketball hoop, and make it easy for your customers to shoot and score.
Enable an assist.
The best offensive players are often the ones who share the ball on the court -- they don't just take all the shots themselves. Encourage your best players to share your content by incorporating social sharing buttons in your messages. The assist may lead to a better play and you may score double by gaining new customers in the process.
Time your shots right.
Everyone loves a buzzer-beater. Few things generate more excitement for fans than a player making a great shot at just the right time to win the game. Score big with your potential customers by leveraging big events to deliver relevant, timely messages to your subscriber base. Time your campaigns to hit your customers precisely when their minds are on the event, and, chances are, you'll hear the swoosh of success.
As you build out your email marketing campaign, don't forget to learn from your customers' behaviors, keep your emails clear and focused, enable social sharing, and make your messages timely and relevant. With these strategies on your bench, your email marketing campaign will be sure to win championships.