Today marks the first in our brand new series, the Benchmark 5. Each week, we’ll bring you a list of 5 somethings. It could be my five favorite foods or some marketing tips (probably not my favorite foods – you don’t care about that). Point being, I’ll switch it up. Today we’ll give you the 5 things you need to know about email marketing that you learned in preschool.

  1. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. In preschool that means finger paint. In email marketing, it means getting involved in the process. Don’t just pawn it off onto an intern.
  2. Share. Email forwarding and social share buttons are essential. You can get beyond your own subscriber list, just with the click of a button. You may not have wanted to let that smelly kid play with the green Play-Doh, but you do want your email campaigns being passed around as much as possible.
  3. Clean up. I quit a part-time job at the Gap in high school, because I didn’t like folding clothes. I don’t even fold my own clothes. I guess I missed that day in preschool. However, it’s imperative that you keep your emails clean and uncluttered. Too many images and blocks of text that are too large are difficult to read. A clean, well-designed email campaign will make the important parts stand out more.
  4. Play nice. Take care of your subscribers. Offer promotions and deals. Rather than trying to sell to them, consider what they’d want to hear from you. Do this and the sale will come naturally.
  5. Enjoy recess. When you think you are done with your email campaign, walk away for a bit before scheduling it to send out. Go do something else entirely. Sleep on it if you have to. When you get close to something, it’s hard to see any errors. Coming back to it with fresh eyes will help you pick up on something you may have missed before.