Are you looking to reach a large audience and promote your business? If so, knowing how to create an email campaign can be a game-changer for you.
An email campaign allows you to send targeted messages to a group of recipients simultaneously. A well-crafted and perfectly executed email campaign helps you engage with your audience and achieve your marketing goals.
In this blog post, we’ll guide you through creating an email campaign using Gmail, one of the most popular and user-friendly email platforms. Let’s dive in!
How to create an email marketing campaign using Gmail
Decide what Gmail marketing tool you want
Manually creating an email marketing campaign can be a time-consuming and daunting task, so it’s a good idea to use an email marketing platform or mail merge. When it comes to creating an email campaign in Gmail, one tool that ticks all the boxes is YAMM (Yet Another Mail Merge), a Google Workspace add-on!
With YAMM, you get a user-friendly interface that simplifies the creation and management of your campaign, all while staying in Gmail and Google Sheets! You can personalize your emails at scale and see important analytics, too, something you can’t do while sending mass messages in Gmail normally.
Sound like what you need? Go ahead and install YAMM now.
Manage your email list in Google Sheets
Once you have the right tool for the job, you need to manage your email list. An easy way to do this is to create a spreadsheet, and if you’re using YAMM, you can send the mail merge right from your Google Sheet!
Once you’ve downloaded and installed YAMM, open it in your Gmail. Click the “Open Google Sheets” button to start managing your email list in Google Sheets.
You can also manually open your Google Sheet and click “Extensions > Yet Another Mail Merge > Start Mail Merge.”
Create an email template with markers
Now, it’s time to create your email. We’ll show you several options for how you can do this, but the most critical elements remain the same:
- Make sure that your email is well-designed and coherent with your brand image. You can do this by including your company/brand logo and strategically using your branding colors in your email design.
- Ensure that you draft your message with a clear call to action (CTA). Use different media types and ensure that all your outbound links are working.
- Personalize your message with markers. With YAMM, just use the double curly brackets format. For example, use the {{First Name}} to personalize each email with the recipient’s name.
Now, let’s get to where you can start creating your emails. If you’re not a Google Workspace user, you can create your marketing email in your Gmail by composing a new message. However, this might take work, and including all the design elements that make for attractive emails might be challenging.
To get around this, you can use one of the many customizable templates YAMM provides to create beautifully designed emails quickly.
Make your email shine with Gmail Layouts
If you’re a Gmail workspace user, you can easily create captivating marketing emails using Gmail Layouts. These layouts provide various design elements that can be customized to create stunning emails that align with your brand's identity.
You can select from different layout options—such as single-column, multi-column, or grid layouts—to effectively showcase your content. Furthermore, you can personalize fonts, colors, and backgrounds to match your unique brand style.
Follow email sending best practices
Once you’re ready with your email, check to see if your campaign meets these best practices:
- Build a targeted and permission-based email list. Focus on quality over quantity by collecting email addresses legitimately from individuals genuinely interested in your offerings.
- Only the emails that get opened get read. Craft compelling subject lines. Grab your readers' attention with concise, engaging subject lines that entice them to open your emails.
- Make your emails easy to read and mobile-friendly with a clean layout, legible fonts, and eye-catching images.
- Include a clear CTA. Direct your readers toward the desired action by including a clear and prominent CTA encouraging them to click, subscribe, purchase, or engage.
- Continuously test subject lines, CTAs, and content variations to optimize your campaigns based on open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
Track your email campaign metrics
Lastly, when running an email campaign, you need to track your email campaign metrics. Monitoring key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions provides valuable insights into the efficacy of your campaigns.
It helps you understand what resonates with your audience and allows you to improve. It also helps you identify trends, optimize your content, and refine your strategies to achieve better results.
Since tracking metrics is crucial, YAMM lets you do it directly from your Google Sheets. So, no more signing into separate platforms! Check, refine, repeat!
3 email campaign examples for you to try
If you’re ready to start email campaigns, we have three campaigns for you to start connecting with your customers.
Send an outreach email
An outreach mail lets you introduce yourself, your organization, or a specific offering. It can also be used to initiate a conversation or establish a connection with the recipient. When crafting an outreach email, it's vital to personalize your message as the goal is to capture their interest and establish a mutually beneficial relationship.
Here’s how to use YAMM to create a simple yet elegant outreach email in Gmail.
Announce a product launch
In a product launch email campaign, you communicate the exciting release of a new product directly to your audience. Through a series of strategically planned emails, you engage and inform your subscribers about the product's features, benefits, and availability.
In a product launch email campaign, you could:
- Draw attention to the product image
- Highlight product variations
- Link to a video of your product in action
- And much, much more!
Share a newsletter
Lastly, marketing with newsletters can also be a powerful way to engage and nurture your audience. You can provide valuable content, updates, and promotions directly to your subscribers' inboxes with newsletters.
Newsletters also allow you to build trust, maintain brand awareness, and drive traffic to your website or desired actions. Here’s how you can create stunning newsletters with Gmail layouts and use them with YAMM.
YAMM is the best tool to send email campaigns in Gmail!
Now that you know how to create an email campaign in Gmail, look no further than YAMM! It’s the ultimate tool to create and send effective email campaigns.
With YAMM, you can personalize your emails, track their performance, and manage your recipient list effortlessly. Don't miss out on the opportunity to engage your audience and achieve your marketing goals. Try YAMM today and experience the difference it can make in your Gmail email campaigns!