I often refer to email marketing as a war, one with many battles. And the only way to win the war is to win each battle.

A little too intense? Maybe. But the point remains, a successful email marketing program has many pieces. And in order to achieve success, there are multiple points in the email marketing process that need to be identified and perfected. Let’s review what those are from a high level:

1. Get a name - The first battle you have to win is the battle to build your list. No list means no email marketing program. To win this battle I suggest an incentive. Give new subscribers something that they would not otherwise get.
   
2. Get a delivery - The second battle is landing in the inbox, giving your email a chance of being read. Get spammed, or worse get lost, and the war is over. Make sure you are CAN-SPAM compliant, using a reputable email service, and make sure those people receiving the emails expect them.
   
3. Get an open - The third battle is won by getting someone to click on your email and open it. Open rates vary widely from industry to industry, company to company, and between different types of emails. Your goal should be 100%, however unattainable that may be. How do you do this? Test your subject lines. Never stop testing them. The best subject lines will get the best open rates.
   
4. Get a click - The fourth battle is won be getting someone to click through on your email to land on your website or sales page. It’s a battle easily lost with a lack of design, poor writing, or content that does not meet expectations. As soon as I open the email, I want to see the offer and I want to see how to take advantage. Test changing the number of links, the amount of text, and the amount of images you use. Higher click-through rate means better emails.
   
5. Get a sale - This is less about the email than it is about the sales or landing page and the offer being made, but it’s still a critical part of a successful email marketing campaign. Without the sale, what’s paying for the emails? If you’re getting names, getting email delivered, getting them opened and clicked, but missing out on the sale, it’s time to turn your attention to the website and checkout process. The war is almost won, time to get serious.

Winning the email marketing war is not simple. Luckily you can afford to continue to test your way into a winning strategy without losing lives and spending billions. Good luck!