{"id":175,"date":"2025-09-18T14:50:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T14:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ccsbinc.com\/?p=175"},"modified":"2025-09-18T16:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T16:31:12","slug":"how-to-run-your-first-email-marketing-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ccsbinc.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/18\/how-to-run-your-first-email-marketing-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"How to run your first email marketing campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
Despite being one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, email marketing remains one of the strongest ways to reach and engage with your target audience. <\/span><\/p>\n It’s also one of the best places for beginner marketers to start, as it’s easy to set up and doesn’t require a big budget to achieve results.<\/span><\/p>\n What’s more, you don’t have to be super tech-savvy to create an effective email campaign either. With the right <\/span>CRM software<\/span><\/a>, it’s easy to design professional-looking emails, segment your audience, and automate follow-ups without needing coding skills or advanced marketing experience.<\/span><\/p>\n In this article, we’ll guide you through how to create your first email marketing campaign step-by-step to help you grow your audience and start seeing real results from your marketing efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n An email marketing campaign is a series of emails sent to a group of people with a specific goal in mind, such as promoting a product, sharing updates, driving traffic to your <\/span>business website<\/span><\/a>, or just building a stronger relationship with your target audience.<\/span><\/p>\n Email marketing is important because it gives you a direct line to your audience. Unlike <\/span>social media marketing<\/span><\/a>, where algorithms decide who sees your posts, emails land straight in your customers’ inboxes — a space they check every day.<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, it’s cost-effective, making it accessible for small businesses or beginners on a budget. It also offers a high return on investment (ROI) and gives you clear data, such as open rates and clicks, so you can see what’s working and what needs improvement. <\/span><\/p>\n There’s no single way to carry out email marketing, as it comes in a few different styles, each with its own purpose, including:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n If you’re new to email marketing, the process of creating your first campaign might feel overwhelming at first, as there’s a lot to consider. <\/span><\/p>\n To help you out, we’ve created an easy-to-follow guide below to help you create, send, and optimise your campaign, even if you’ve never done it before.<\/span><\/p>\n The first step is to have a good understanding of your <\/span>target audience<\/span><\/a> and what you want to achieve from your campaign. This means knowing who your ideal customers are, what problems they face, and what kind of content will grab their attention.<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, you should set clear goals for your campaign. These could be driving sales, increasing website traffic, growing your email list, or building stronger relationships with your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n However, it’s also important to understand compliance and rules around email marketing. Ensure you follow regulations like the <\/span>General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)<\/span><\/a> and always get clear opt-in permission from your subscribers before sending emails. You also need to provide them with the ability to unsubscribe at any time. This will keep you on the right side of the law and build trust with your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n There are several ways you can build your subscriber list. This includes offering an incentive (e.g., a discount, free guide, or a chance to win a prize in a giveaway), dedicated landing pages or pop-ups on your website, or encouraging referrals from current subscribers.<\/span><\/p>\n However you do it, the main goal is to build a strong subscriber list. This will help you connect with your audience directly and personally, foster brand loyalty, and drive consistent engagement and sales over time.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, keep in mind that quality is better than quantity, and good customer engagement is more important than volume. Having thousands of subscribers might sound impressive, but it won’t do much if most of them never open your emails or click your links.<\/span><\/p>\n On the other hand, engaged subscribers — AKA those who actually interact with your content — are far more likely to take action.<\/span><\/p>\n Next, you’ll need to decide on an email platform or CRM software to execute your campaigns. There are several options out there, many of which are beginner-friendly and don’t require advanced skills to set up.<\/span><\/p>\n These platforms include Mailchimp, Freshsales, Zoho Campaigns, and <\/span>HubSpot<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, HubSpot offers email tracking and notifications, letting you know when customers open your emails and click links in real-time. Meanwhile, Freshsales provides auto-scheduled follow-up emails, chasers, and personalised content based on user behaviour (e.g., email opens, link clicks, or form submissions) — ideal for online stores<\/a> and ecommerce businesses<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, there are several <\/span>free CRM systems<\/span><\/a> you can use. However, their features are quite limited compared to their paid plans.<\/span><\/p>\n You can start with free CRM or email marketing tools when you’re just building your contact list and sending simple campaigns. But it’s worth upgrading to a paid plan once you need more advanced features, such as automation and drip sequences, better analytics and reporting to track performance, and higher sending limits as your subscriber list grows.<\/span><\/p>\n Once you’ve decided on a platform, it’s time to start creating content for your campaign. This can be daunting at first, but it gets much easier once you understand the key components of an effective campaign. Here’s a quick rundown of what they are and how you should use them:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Now that you’ve got your campaign laid out and ready to go, the next question is when you should send it. This can be tricky to know at first, but there are a few ways you can figure it out, including:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n After your first email is sent, you should look into how it performed, as this will help you understand what worked well, what didn’t, and how to improve your future campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n There are several key metrics you’ll need to focus on, including:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Most CRM platforms also offer dashboards for reporting, making it easy to track these metrics in one place.<\/span><\/p>\n Optimising your email campaigns is essential for improving engagement, increasing conversions, and getting the best results from every message you send. Here are a few ways you can do so effectively:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Email is one of the most widely used <\/span>digital marketing<\/span><\/a> channels because of its direct reach and flexibility. But like any strategy, it also has its weaknesses. Here are the main advantages and disadvantages of email marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n Depending on the email platform or CRM software you use, the cost for email marketing can range from <\/span>£0 to £89 per month.<\/b> Here are the prices you can expect, based on our top picks of the <\/span>best CRM systems<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n 💡Key takeaways <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n
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What is an email marketing campaign?<\/h2>\n
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How to run your first email campaign in 6 steps<\/h2>\n
1. Define your goals and audience<\/h3>\n
2. Build your contacts list<\/h3>\n
3. Choose the right email platform or CRM<\/h3>\n
Can I use CRM software for free?<\/h4>\n
4. Create your campaign content<\/h3>\n
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5. Schedule and send your campaign<\/h3>\n
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6. Measure results and optimise<\/h3>\n
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Advanced email marketing tips<\/h2>\n
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Pros, cons, and costs of email marketing<\/h2>\n
✅ Pros of email marketing<\/b><\/h3>\n
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❌ Cons of email marketing<\/b><\/h3>\n
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How much does email marketing cost?<\/h3>\n
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\n \nPlatform<\/th>\n Cost<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Freshsales<\/td>\n £0-£49 per user, per month (billed annually)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Zoho CRM<\/td>\n £0-£42 per user, per month (billed annually)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Pipedrive<\/td>\n £14-£79 per seat, per month (billed annually), or free trial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n monday CRM<\/td>\n £10-£24 per seat, per month (billed annually)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n HubSpot<\/td>\n £0-£9 per user, per month (billed annually)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Zendesk<\/td>\n £15-£89 per user, per month (billed annually)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Salesforce<\/td>\n £20-£80 per user, per month (billed annually)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n