Passed on 22 May, 2025
4. Managing successful email campaigns
There’s a lot to manage when running an email campaign – use these strategies to set yourself up for success. In this lesson, we’ll explore how to use A/B testing to improve engagement, create relevant campaign landing pages, and measure the performance of your email campaigns.
✅ Learning objectivesBy the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:Check the items off as you go.Understand how to use A/B testing to improve engagement.Create relevant campaign landing pages.Measure the performance of your email campaigns.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
Understand how to use A/B testing to improve engagement.
Create relevant campaign landing pages.
Measure the performance of your email campaigns.
Email marketing and automation tools
When it comes to digital marketing, automation has become the key to an email campaign's success. Email marketing automation helps you find your audience and serve them relevant content. These tools help email marketers generate leads and send personalised messages to each individual subscriber.
What are automation tools?
Email marketing automation tools are software, programs, and technology that are able to manage email marketing processes automatically.
Simple and smoother
Email marketing automation makes the email marketing process simpler and smoother. It ensures your campaign stays organised and on track, and it happens in the background so you can complete and focus on other tasks if necessary.
✅ What can automation tools do?You can use email marketing and automation tools to…Check the items off as you go.Efficiently build up your contact list.Segment your contact list into categories (like ‘Cat owners’ or ‘Dog owners’).Send automatic welcome and acquisition emails to new subscribers.Automatically follow up with newsletters, promotional emails, and retention emails using templates.Easily track the engagement and behaviour of each subscriber.
What can automation tools do?
You can use email marketing and automation tools to…
Efficiently build up your contact list.
Segment your contact list into categories (like ‘Cat owners’ or ‘Dog owners’).
Send automatic welcome and acquisition emails to new subscribers.
Automatically follow up with newsletters, promotional emails, and retention emails using templates.
Easily track the engagement and behaviour of each subscriber.
Time to research
There are countless options when it comes to marketing automation tools so research options that fit your needs and budget best.Regardless of what automation tools you choose, these tools are an important aspect of email marketing and will help you improve your digital marketing efforts significantly.
Regardless of what automation tools you choose, these tools are an important aspect of email marketing and will help you improve your digital marketing efforts significantly.
Regardless of what automation tools you choose, these tools are an important aspect of email marketing and will help you improve your digital marketing efforts significantly.
Email campaign strategies
Running an email campaign involves many moving parts, but the right strategies can set you up for success. By testing your emails, creating relevant landing pages, and measuring results, you can continuously improve your campaigns.
A/B testing
A/B testing is a powerful way to improve your emails by identifying what works best. It helps you test different elements – like subject lines or calls to action – to see what resonates most with your audience and help drive better results.
Two versions
A/B testing is when you create two versions of an email with one varying element to see which one performs better. You can use this technique to test different email approaches.
Example
If you’re announcing a new product and can’t decide on a subject line, you could send version A to half your audience and version B to the other half. Or, test A with 25%, B with 25%, and send the winner to the remaining 50% for better results.
Measure
To determine which subject line performed best, you’d check the ‘open rate’. That’s the measure of how many people open your emails, compared to how many emails were delivered. Whichever version had a higher open rate, wins!
Ways to use A/B testing
A/B testing can help in a lot of ways. You can use A/B testing to test different subject lines, frequency, content and images.
Prepare your website
If you’re including a link to your website, make sure to link to the most relevant page for your email campaign. A landing page is the first page someone sees when they click through, so it’s important that it aligns with your email content.
Relevant landing pages
When someone clicks a link in your email, they should arrive on a relevant page.
Relevant
Your email campaigns will be more successful if you send visitors directly to the page they’re interested in. This allows them to quickly find the information they need or take the desired action, like signing up or making a purchase.
Reliable
People will read your emails on all kinds of devices, like mobiles, laptops, and tablets. This means your email and landing pages need to work across different devices and adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes to ensure a great user experience.
Accessible
Help ensure your email and landing page are accessible by using clear, readable fonts, sufficient colour contrast, and descriptive alt text for images. Include keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility to make your content usable for everyone.
Types of reports
Email marketing is easy to measure with the right tools. Once you’ve set up your automated email marketing platform, explore the different types of reports available to track your campaign’s performance.We’ll go over these and more metrics in the next class.
We’ll go over these and more metrics in the next class.
We’ll go over these and more metrics in the next class.
Open rates
Open rates can help you learn which subject lines are most compelling based on how many emails are opened (just like we explored in A/B testing).
Click-through-rate
Click-through-rate (CTR) shows you which content drives people to visit your website based on what people click on within the email.
Segmentation and personalisation
With so many types of email, how can you ensure your emails are reaching the correct target audiences?You need to make sure you’re sending the right content, to the right people, at the right time. To do this, it’s important to understand segmentation and personalisation.
You need to make sure you’re sending the right content, to the right people, at the right time. To do this, it’s important to understand segmentation and personalisation.
You need to make sure you’re sending the right content, to the right people, at the right time. To do this, it’s important to understand segmentation and personalisation.
Segmentation
Email segmentation is the practice of dividing an email subscriber list into smaller groups or segments, based on criteria like interests, location, or purchase history.This allows you to customise emails for different groups and send subscribers content that's relevant to them.
This allows you to customise emails for different groups and send subscribers content that's relevant to them.
This allows you to customise emails for different groups and send subscribers content that's relevant to them.
Personalisation
While segmentation helps you connect with groups of subscribers, personalisation helps you to customise email content for individual subscribers.That doesn't mean running a different email for every single subscriber. But there are some things they can do to deliver an experience that feels specific to each individual.
That doesn't mean running a different email for every single subscriber. But there are some things they can do to deliver an experience that feels specific to each individual.
That doesn't mean running a different email for every single subscriber. But there are some things they can do to deliver an experience that feels specific to each individual.
Segmentation examples
There are a number of ways you can segment your contact lists and each has a benefit.
Location
You could segment your contact lists to have emails of people from certain geographical areas.Benefit:Email your local customers about events near them.
Benefit:Email your local customers about events near them.
Benefit:Email your local customers about events near them.
Activity
You could segment your contact lists by subscriber engagement, such as how often they open or click on your emails. Maybe even a list for subscribers who regularly interact with your emails and a list for those who rarely do.Benefit:Having a list of subscribers who rarely engage gives you an opportunity to reach out and find out why and maybe get those subscribers back to regular engagement.
Benefit:Having a list of subscribers who rarely engage gives you an opportunity to reach out and find out why and maybe get those subscribers back to regular engagement.
Benefit:Having a list of subscribers who rarely engage gives you an opportunity to reach out and find out why and maybe get those subscribers back to regular engagement.
Adapting with automation
Automation tools track changes in customer behaviour. For example, if a subscriber purchases a product, they can move to a segment for recent buyers and receive follow-up emails, like care tips or complementary product suggestions. This keeps emails relevant and strengthens customer connections.
Personalisation examples
Now let’s check out ways that you can personalise emails to further build customer relationships.
Recipient details
Using a subscriber’s name in the subject lines of newsletters or a customer’s name in purchase confirmation emails makes communication feel more personal. Adding offers for special occasions, like birthdays or holidays, shows appreciation and builds connections.Benefit:Subscribers will be more likely to engage with emails that feel tailored specifically to them.
Benefit:Subscribers will be more likely to engage with emails that feel tailored specifically to them.
Benefit:Subscribers will be more likely to engage with emails that feel tailored specifically to them.
Follow up
You can follow up on previous interactions like asking a customer to share their opinion on a recent purchase.Benefit:Make the customer experience feel authentic by following up and asking for feedback. This helps subscribers to feel valued.
Benefit:Make the customer experience feel authentic by following up and asking for feedback. This helps subscribers to feel valued.
Benefit:Make the customer experience feel authentic by following up and asking for feedback. This helps subscribers to feel valued.
Opportunities to improve
You should seek out opportunities to improve the website experience for email visitors. These three steps will set you up for success and help you understand the value of your email marketing campaigns.You can regularly improve your email campaigns by…
You can regularly improve your email campaigns by…
You can regularly improve your email campaigns by…
Testing different versions (A/B testing)
Creating relevant landing pages when needed
Using analytics to see what’s working best
Check your knowledge
It's time for you to check and reflect on what you've learned so far.You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
Question 1 of 2
Lupita is curious to learn how her customers react to email marketing campaigns.What kind of analytics data might she expect to get from her recent email marketing action?
What kind of analytics data might she expect to get from her recent email marketing action?
What kind of analytics data might she expect to get from her recent email marketing action?
Weekly rates
Open rates
Clickthrough rates
Trash rates
Submit
Submit
Yes.Analytics will give Lupita the…Open rates:How many of her marketing emails are opened by customersClickthrough rates:How many customers have clicked links within her emailsAnalytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Analytics will give Lupita the…Open rates:How many of her marketing emails are opened by customersClickthrough rates:How many customers have clicked links within her emailsAnalytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Open rates:How many of her marketing emails are opened by customersClickthrough rates:How many customers have clicked links within her emailsAnalytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Open rates:How many of her marketing emails are opened by customersClickthrough rates:How many customers have clicked links within her emailsAnalytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Clickthrough rates:How many customers have clicked links within her emailsAnalytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Clickthrough rates:How many customers have clicked links within her emailsAnalytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Analytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Analytics can’t tell you how frequently emails were moved straight into the trash by a potential customer. As well as the analytics described above, Lupita can use web analytics to find out more about how customers interact with her site.
Question 2 of 2
What is one of the benefits of segmenting your contact list?Segmenting your contact list allows you to…
Segmenting your contact list allows you to…
Segmenting your contact list allows you to…
Decide which customers you like best and which customers you like least
Organise your potential customers in alphabetical order
Unsubscribe large numbers of contacts who you think won’t be customers
Categorise lists so you send contacts relevant emails
Submit
Submit
Yes.Segmenting your contact list allows you to categorise those segmented lists so you only send relevant emails to your customers.For example, you don’t want to send customers you’ve identified as dog owners an email about your new range of cat toys.
Segmenting your contact list allows you to categorise those segmented lists so you only send relevant emails to your customers.For example, you don’t want to send customers you’ve identified as dog owners an email about your new range of cat toys.
For example, you don’t want to send customers you’ve identified as dog owners an email about your new range of cat toys.
For example, you don’t want to send customers you’ve identified as dog owners an email about your new range of cat toys.
Lesson complete
Great job!You now have a better understanding of the tools and metrics you need to manage a successful email campaign.Next up we’ll go into more detail on measuring success in your email marketing.
You now have a better understanding of the tools and metrics you need to manage a successful email campaign.Next up we’ll go into more detail on measuring success in your email marketing.
Next up we’ll go into more detail on measuring success in your email marketing.
Next up we’ll go into more detail on measuring success in your email marketing.