Most first email campaigns are judged on the wrong numbers. A healthy open rate (The share of delivered emails that someone opened.) feels good, but it never tells you whether the email brought in an enquiry or a sale. The fix is to tag every link so Google Analytics, the free reporting tool from Google, can tie visits, enquiries and sales back to the campaign that caused them.
Key takeaways
- An email campaign is one planned set of emails, sent to a chosen group of contacts with a single result in mind.
- Work through six steps: goal, list and consent, one-off or automated, writing, sending, measuring.
- Tag every link so Google Analytics can credit visits, enquiries and sales back to the campaign.
- Get clear consent, offer an easy unsubscribe and keep a record of both, then check anything unclear with the Data Protection Commission.
- A short list of people who already know the business can be enough to start; judge the campaign by enquiries and orders, not list size.
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How to run an email campaign in six steps#
The six steps below turn that idea into a few hours of work. An email campaign is one planned set of emails, sent to a chosen group of contacts with a single result in mind. It can be a single send or a short automated series, and a shop or trades firm can run one without a marketing department.
Deirdre’s hardware and garden shop in Boyle is a useful test case for the steps. She has nine staff and a contact list built from quote requests, special orders and a sign-up card at the till. Until now her marketing has been a printed flyer and a Facebook page she updates when she remembers, so here is what she works through, with the time each step takes and the mistake to avoid.
- Pick one goal. Choose a single result you can count, such as enquiries through the website form, bookings by phone, or orders collected in the shop. About fifteen minutes; the mistake is choosing ‘more awareness’, which nobody can count.
- Build the list and record consent. Mail only people who gave you their address for marketing, and note where and when that happened. About an hour; the mistake is assuming an address on an invoice counts as permission, which is a question for the Data Protection Commission rather than a guess.
- Choose one-off or automated. A one-off send suits news, new stock or a seasonal push, while an automated campaign keeps running after set-up. Half an hour; the mistake is trying to build every automation before sending one email.
- Write the email. One email, one job, one main link, written in plain words with a reply address a person actually reads. One to two hours; the mistake is three offers and five links, which splits the reader’s attention.
- Test, then send. Send it to yourself, open it on a phone, click the unsubscribe link and check that it works. Twenty minutes; the mistake is skipping the phone check before a real send.
- Measure what came back. Tag the links before sending, then look a week later at the visits, enquiries and orders the email produced. About an hour; the mistake is stopping at the open rate.
Why opens and clicks are not the finish line#
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That last step is where most campaigns are judged too early. Google Analytics groups visits to a website by source and medium, which is simply where a visit came from and what kind of route it was. Google Analytics Help gives email campaign as an example of a source and email as a medium, so a properly tagged send shows up as its own line in the report.
Tagging is what makes that line appear. Each link in the email carries UTM parameters (Short tags added to a link so analytics shows which email sent the visitor.), and Google Analytics Help explains that UTM parameters identify traffic that results from an email campaign. In practice the tags carry a source, a medium and a campaign name, so every link in the same email adds up under one heading.
Deirdre tags every link in her autumn email with the same campaign name. A week later she opens Google Analytics, sees which visits came from the email, and checks how many of those visitors filled in the enquiry form or ordered online. Those two outcomes are the conversions she counts: an enquiry or an order, never an open.
Tip: Keep the campaign name identical on every link in the same email, so the report adds the clicks together instead of splitting them.
Building a list, consent and the unsubscribe rule#
None of that measurement matters if the list itself is a problem. Data protection rules in Ireland and the ePrivacy rules on electronic marketing apply to every marketing email sent. In plain terms you need clear permission to market to someone by email, an easy way to opt out in every email, and a record showing where the permission came from.
The Data Protection Commission is the authority to check when a case is unclear, for example whether a customer who bought once can be added to a newsletter. Keep the record simple: who agreed, when, and through which route, such as the till card, the website form or a quote request.
Deirdre keeps that record in one column next to each contact, with the date and the source. When someone asks to come off the list, she removes them the same day and notes it, because a stale contact who keeps receiving email causes more trouble than a missing one.
Watch out: A bought or borrowed list is likely to produce complaints and damage your sending reputation, and it is the hardest kind of list to defend.
Automated email campaigns versus one-off sends#
With the list in order, the next choice is between a single send and something that repeats. A one-off email goes out for a reason: new stock, a price change, a Christmas order deadline, a new service. It is quick to produce and it needs a prompt, because nothing sends itself.
An automated email campaign runs on a trigger instead of a diary note. It might start when someone joins the list, buys a particular product or asks for a quote. Set-up takes longer, but the campaign keeps working while the owner is on a job or serving at the counter.
In Deirdre’s shop the mix is easy to picture. She sends one-off emails a few times a year for new stock and seasonal offers, and she runs a single automated welcome email that goes out whenever someone joins the list.
Note: The welcome email is usually the first automation worth building, because it reaches people at the moment they showed interest.
Drip email campaigns: start with a welcome series#
A drip email campaign is the repeating version taken one step further: a short series of emails sent automatically over a set period. Each email has one job and the series as a whole does the selling. The welcome series is the one to build first, because new contacts are the warmest people on the list.
A workable welcome series has three parts. The first email thanks the person and says what they will get. The second explains what the business does and answers the most common question. The third offers one clear next step, such as booking a quote or calling into the shop.
Then stop. A welcome series that runs for months feels like noise, and a series nobody updates is worse than none at all. Add another email only when there is something new to say.
Deirdre’s series follows that shape: a thank-you on sign-up, a note about how she handles special orders, and an invitation to call in for a quote. That series is the first piece of lead generation her shop has run on its own, and she reads it the same way as any other campaign, by the enquiries it produces.
Running campaigns from Shopify, HubSpot, Salesforce or Squarespace#
Wherever the list lives, the platform is only as good as the connection to it. Many Irish shops and firms use Shopify or Squarespace for the website, HubSpot or Salesforce for the CRM (Software that holds customer names, calls, quotes and sales notes.), and a separate tool for email. The platform choice itself is set out in this article on choosing an email marketing platform.
Check the list sync before every important send. A customer who bought in the shop may never have reached the email tool, and someone who unsubscribed in one system may still be marked as subscribed in another. Test the unsubscribe path from end to end and watch for duplicate contacts after each sync.
Deirdre treats her till system as the master list and runs a small test send each month to catch gaps before a real campaign goes out. A monthly check takes ten minutes and saves an awkward apology later.
Putting it to work in a small Irish business#
The tool is the easy part; the connections take the time. Before a first send, decide which system holds the master list, move the contacts across with their consent notes attached, and agree who approves a campaign before it goes out. Book an hour to train whoever answers the phone on handling replies and unsubscribe requests.
Off-the-shelf tools handle a simple newsletter and a welcome series well. They are weaker on lists built in a spreadsheet with untidy notes, on a shop keeping customer records in several places, and on approval steps that happen by phone. That is where outside set-up help earns its cost, and it is usually cheaper than untangling a wrong send afterwards.
Businesses that want the set-up handled can use the email marketing service for Irish businesses, which covers campaign planning, automation and measurement. The Local Enterprise Office Grow Digital Voucher may part-fund new off-the-shelf software subscriptions, along with their set-up and training, and the Baikou guide to the Grow Digital Voucher explains what it covers, including who qualifies and why the application has to go in before anything is ordered.
How Baikou sets up a first email campaign#
Baikou’s team builds the automated emails before any newsletter, starting with a welcome email and a reply to every enquiry, because those reach people at the moment they showed interest. Before the first send it checks that every contact has a consent note, that the unsubscribe link works from end to end, and that the sending domain is authenticated so emails land in the inbox. Every link is tagged, and the report shows enquiries and sales from email, not opens. The team also runs a free AI visibility check, because more customers now ask ChatGPT which local business to use, and the check shows whether the business is named in those answers.
Making the call this month#
The decision comes down to one send done properly rather than a perfect system. Pick a goal you can count, get the list into a state you can defend, and send one tagged email this month. Read the report a week later and let the enquiries and orders decide whether the next email is worth writing.
Plenty of opens with no enquiries is a signal to change the offer or the link, not the schedule. Baikou helps Irish businesses with email campaigns and the automation around them, and the Baikou home page sets out how that work runs.
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See Email marketingFAQ#
How often should I send an email campaign?
Pick a rhythm you can keep, because stopping and starting is what makes a list go cold. Once a month suits many shops and trades, since it gives time to gather something worth saying. Send more often only when there is real news, and never so often that replies go unanswered.
What does an email campaign cost?
Most email tools charge a monthly subscription based on how many contacts are stored and how many emails are sent, and some offer a limited free plan. On top of that comes the time to write the emails, plus any one-off design or set-up work if someone is brought in. Automation and extra users are often sold as part of a higher plan, so read what each plan includes before committing.
Is a small list enough to start?
A short list of people who know the business is usually enough for a first campaign. Relevance beats size, because warm contacts who asked to hear from the business can outperform a much bigger cold list. Measure the enquiries and orders it produces, then decide whether growing the list is the next job.
Can I email someone who gave me their address at the counter?
Ask for permission at that moment and record it, so the answer is clear later. If addresses are already held without a note, treat them carefully and check the position with the Data Protection Commission before mailing. An easy unsubscribe in every email is the minimum in any case.
