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Challenge 1: Time

Finding time to try new features and processes is never easy. And when your current strategy is already producing decent results the incentive to try something new probably isn't high on your to-do list. The good news is that a few small tweaks to your email campaigns will produce big results; and, in most case, you'll end up saving time in the long run. When you know what to look for, the time commitment needed to make these changes is kept to a minimum.

Here are some things you can do to save time and streamline your processes:

• Be more efficient - As stated above, you wouldn't promote an ad campaign without doing research and putting together a well-thought out plan. The same should be true for your email marketing campaigns. After all, a well-thought out plan leads to a well-executed and efficient process. Before pulling together an email to send out to all of your subscribers, sit down with an expert and come up with a strategy. Decide on a schedule, have your creative saved in a ready-to-use library, write the messaging, etc. If all of this is done in advance it will drastically cut down on production time for each email campaign.
• Re-use content - Writing copy for your next email newsletter is just one of your responsibilities. Depending on your organization you could have twenty different email campaigns going out this week and you not only have to put all of them together, you also have to update your blog and keep up with Twitter and Facebook. If you work for a smaller organization or if your department has recently been downsized, you could have other copywriting responsibilities such as web content, company literature, product documentation, etc. Re-using content across channels will not only save you time, but will ensure your message is consistent.
• Use professionally designed templates - HTML emails don't follow the same rules as websites. If a web designer built your template it could look great but it could have coding problems that prevent it from performing optimally. Even a small error in the code can cause rendering and deliverability issues, which kill ROI. These errors aren't always easy to diagnose and could end up wasting a lot of time and effort. Instead of relying on someone who doesn't know all of the rules up front, have the experts at your ESP design some templates for you. It's a minimal cost that will save you a lot of time. To learn more about email design, read Listrak's white paper "HTML Design and Rendering Tactics for Improved Email Deliverability," or contact Listrak's creative design team to have professionally designed templates created for you.
• Use automated features - Are you capturing subscriber data dynamically or is it still a manual process? Have you automated your A/B split testing procedure or, like many companies, do you overlook this step of the process all together because you think it takes too much time? Have you avoided creating your campaigns with dynamic content because of the time commitment needed to set up the campaigns? These features were designed to streamline your processes and increase your results. The learning curve is quick and you'll ask yourself why you didn't implement these features sooner.
• Use one master list instead of multiple lists - This one simple change will transform your email campaigns and will save you time, hassle, and headaches. If you are segmenting your subscribers by keeping them on separate lists instead of keeping a master list and using profiling attributes to target specific segments of your audience, you are not only wasting valuable time but you are limiting your audience for each email campaign. Defining profiling attributes for each email campaign only takes a couple of minutes, and with automated tools like dynamic profiling, collecting additional profiling attributes is quick and effortless. You'll be able to notice trends and segment your subscribers in ways you never imagined and the results will be tremendous.

If you need help with any of these time saving techniques, contact one of Listrak's email marketing experts today.