Email Marketing Playbook

Executive Summary

This playbook provides the operational framework for executing CloudCRM Pro's email marketing strategy. It covers daily operations, campaign planning, segmentation strategies, testing protocols, and performance optimization.

Team Roles & Responsibilities

Email Marketing Manager

Primary Responsibilities: - Campaign strategy and planning - Content creation and copywriting - Performance analysis and reporting - A/B testing and optimization - Vendor management

Key Deliverables: - Weekly campaign calendar - Monthly performance reports - Quarterly strategy reviews - Annual email marketing plan

Marketing Operations Specialist

Primary Responsibilities: - Technical setup and maintenance - List management and hygiene - Automation workflow design - Integration management - Compliance monitoring

Key Deliverables: - Daily list hygiene reports - Weekly deliverability metrics - Monthly automation audits - Quarterly compliance reviews

Content Collaboration Team

Sales Team Input: - Customer pain points and objections - Competitive intelligence - Success stories and wins - Common questions

Product Team Input: - Feature updates and releases - Product roadmap highlights - Technical specifications - Use case examples

Customer Success Input: - Customer testimonials - Case study opportunities - Usage data and insights - Churn prevention insights

Daily Operations Guide

Morning Routine (30 minutes)

9:00 AM - Performance Check

1. Check previous day's campaign metrics:
   □ Open rates
   □ Click rates
   □ Bounces
   □ Unsubscribes
   □ Conversions

2. Monitor deliverability health:
   □ Sender score
   □ Domain reputation
   □ Blacklist status
   □ Inbox placement rate

3. Review automated workflow performance:
   □ Welcome series engagement
   □ Trial nurture progress
   □ Re-engagement success

9:30 AM - Urgent Actions

1. Process unsubscribes (must be immediate)
2. Handle bounces (remove hard bounces)
3. Respond to replies requiring attention
4. Address any deliverability alerts

Afternoon Tasks (2 hours)

2:00 PM - Campaign Execution

1. Review tomorrow's scheduled sends
2. Final QA on email creative
3. Segment list preparation
4. A/B test setup
5. Schedule send times

3:30 PM - Optimization Work

1. Analyze A/B test results
2. Update winning variations
3. Document learnings
4. Adjust future campaigns

Weekly Campaign Calendar

Monday: Planning & Setup

Morning: - Review previous week's performance - Plan week's email campaigns - Content creation briefing

Afternoon: - Segment list building - Campaign setup in ESP - QA and testing

Tuesday: Educational Content

Campaign Type: Blog digest, thought leadership Target Segments: All engaged subscribers Send Time: 10:00 AM EST

Wednesday: Product Focus

Campaign Type: Feature highlights, updates Target Segments: Trial users, customers Send Time: 2:00 PM EST

Thursday: Sales Enablement

Campaign Type: Case studies, ROI content Target Segments: Sales-qualified leads Send Time: 9:00 AM EST

Campaign Type: Weekly roundup Target Segments: All subscribers Send Time: 10:00 AM EST

Segmentation Strategy

Behavioral Segmentation

Engagement Level

Highly Engaged:
- Opened 5+ emails in last 30 days
- Clicked 2+ times in last 30 days
- Email frequency: 3-4x per week

Engaged:
- Opened 3-4 emails in last 30 days
- Clicked 1 time in last 30 days
- Email frequency: 2x per week

Low Engagement:
- Opened 1-2 emails in last 30 days
- No clicks in last 30 days
- Email frequency: 1x per week

Disengaged:
- No opens in last 30 days
- Email frequency: Re-engagement campaign only

Lifecycle Stage

1. Subscriber → Welcome series
2. MQL → Educational nurture
3. SQL → Sales enablement content
4. Opportunity → Trial/demo follow-up
5. Customer → Onboarding & success
6. Churned → Win-back campaigns

Demographic Segmentation

Company Size

Enterprise (500+ employees): ROI focus, scalability, integration
Mid-Market (100-500 employees): Efficiency, growth, competitive advantage
SMB (10-100 employees): Ease of use, affordability, quick wins

Industry

Technology: Innovation, API, technical features
Financial Services: Security, compliance, accuracy
Healthcare: HIPAA, workflow, efficiency
Manufacturing: Operations, visibility, scale

Role

Executive: Strategic value, ROI, competitive positioning
Manager: Team productivity, reporting, process
End User: Ease of use, time savings, daily benefits

Geographic Segmentation

Time Zone Optimization: Send based on recipient's local time
Regional Content: Localized case studies and examples
Language Preferences: English primary, Spanish secondary

Campaign Planning Framework

Campaign Brief Template

**Campaign Name:** [Name]
**Objective:** [Specific goal]
**Target Audience:** [Segment details]
**Key Message:** [Primary value prop]
**CTA:** [Desired action]
**Success Metrics:** [KPIs]
**Send Date:** [Date/time]
**A/B Test:** [Variable to test]

Content Creation Process

Step 1: Strategy (Monday)

Define campaign objective
Identify target segment
Choose email type
Set success metrics

Step 2: Creation (Tuesday)

Write copy following templates
Design email layout
Create landing pages
Set up tracking

Step 3: Review (Wednesday)

Internal review and feedback
Legal/compliance check
Technical QA
Final approvals

Step 4: Testing (Thursday AM)

Send test emails
Check rendering across clients
Verify links and tracking
Test personalization

Step 5: Launch (Thursday PM)

Final segment verification
Schedule or send
Monitor initial metrics
Document launch

Step 6: Analysis (Friday)

Review performance
Document insights
Plan optimizations
Share results

A/B Testing Protocol

Testing Priority Matrix

High Priority Tests

Subject lines (biggest impact on opens)
Send times (optimize for audience)
From names (trust and recognition)
CTA buttons (drives conversions)

Medium Priority Tests

Email length
Personalization depth
Image vs. no image
Preview text

Low Priority Tests

Font styles
Footer content
Social proof placement
PS line inclusion

Test Design Requirements

Sample Size Calculator:
- Minimum 1,000 recipients per variant
- 95% confidence level
- Test for full business cycle (minimum 7 days)
- Document all variables

Test Documentation:
- Hypothesis
- Test variants
- Success metrics
- Results
- Action taken
- Future implications

Testing Calendar

Week 1: Subject line optimization Week 2: Send time testing Week 3: CTA variations Week 4: Content length experiments

Email Production Checklist

Pre-Send Checklist

Content Review

Subject line under 50 characters
Preview text compelling (90 characters)
Copy proofread and edited
Links tested and tracked
Images optimized (<100kb each)
Alt text on all images

Technical Review

Segment Review

Compliance Review

Post-Send Monitoring

First Hour

Monitor open rates
Check for bounces
Review click activity
Respond to replies
Address any issues

First 24 Hours

Analyze performance trends
Compare to benchmarks
Document anomalies
Adjust future sends
Share initial results

First Week

Complete performance analysis
Document learnings
Update segments
Plan follow-up campaigns
Archive campaign data

Performance Optimization

Improving Open Rates

Subject Line Optimization

High-Performing Patterns:
- Questions: "Is your CRM costing you deals?"
- Numbers: "3 ways to close more deals"
- Urgency: "24 hours left for special pricing"
- Personalization: "[Company] - your custom ROI report"
- Curiosity: "The #1 mistake sales teams make"

Avoid:
- All caps: "SPECIAL OFFER!!!"
- Spam triggers: "Free", "$$$", "Act now"
- Misleading: Clickbait without delivery
- Generic: "Newsletter #47"

Sender Optimization

Use personal names vs. company name
Test different sender names
Maintain consistency for recognition
Build sender reputation over time

Improving Click Rates

CTA Optimization

One primary CTA per email
Button vs. text link testing
Action-oriented copy
Contrasting colors
Above the fold placement

Content Relevance

Segment-specific messaging
Personalized recommendations
Timely and contextual
Clear value proposition
Single focused message

Improving Conversions

Landing Page Alignment

Message match with email
Consistent design language
Clear next steps
Reduced friction
Mobile optimization

Follow-Up Strategy

Timely sales outreach
Retargeting campaigns
Nurture non-converters
Multiple touchpoints
Cross-channel coordination

Crisis Management Protocols

High Bounce Rate (>5%)

Immediate Actions: 1. Pause all campaigns 2. Investigate list source 3. Run email validation 4. Check for technical issues 5. Clean list before resuming

Prevention: - Regular list hygiene - Double opt-in - Email validation at capture - Monitor list growth sources

Spam Complaints (>0.1%)

Immediate Actions: 1. Review complained-about email 2. Check unsubscribe visibility 3. Analyze send frequency 4. Review list acquisition 5. Implement feedback

Prevention: - Clear expectations at signup - Easy unsubscribe process - Relevant content only - Proper list segmentation

Deliverability Issues

Immediate Actions: 1. Check authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) 2. Review sender reputation 3. Analyze engagement metrics 4. Check blacklists 5. Contact ESP support

Prevention: - Consistent sending patterns - High-quality content - Engaged segments only - Regular monitoring

Reporting & Analytics

Daily Dashboard Metrics

Emails sent
Open rate
Click rate
Bounce rate
Unsubscribe rate
Conversion rate
Revenue attributed

Weekly Performance Report

Executive Summary:
- Total emails sent: X
- Average open rate: X%
- Average CTR: X%
- Leads generated: X
- Revenue influenced: $X

Campaign Performance:
[Table of individual campaign metrics]

Segment Analysis:
[Performance by segment]

A/B Test Results:
[Test outcomes and learnings]

Next Week Preview:
[Upcoming campaigns and goals]

Monthly Business Review

Agenda: 1. Performance against goals 2. ROI analysis 3. Competitive benchmarking 4. Strategic recommendations 5. Resource requirements 6. Next month planning

Key Metrics: - List growth rate - Email-attributed pipeline - Cost per lead - Customer acquisition cost - Lifetime value impact

Tools & Resources

Primary Tools

ESP: Brevo (campaigns and automation)
Analytics: Google Analytics (attribution)
Design: Stripo (email templates)
Testing: Litmus (rendering tests)
Validation: ZeroBounce (list cleaning)

Resource Library

Email templates: /templates/email/
Brand assets: /assets/brand/
Stock photos: /assets/images/
Copy guidelines: /guides/writing/
Legal disclaimers: /legal/email/

Training Resources

Brevo University: [Link]
Email Marketing Institute: [Link]
Litmus Community: [Link]
Really Good Emails: [Link]

Compliance Guidelines

CAN-SPAM Compliance

✓ Accurate "From" information ✓ Non-deceptive subject lines ✓ Identify as advertisement (if applicable) ✓ Physical postal address ✓ Clear unsubscribe method ✓ Honor opt-outs within 10 days ✓ Monitor third-party compliance

✓ Lawful basis for processing ✓ Clear consent mechanism ✓ Data portability ✓ Right to erasure ✓ Privacy policy link ✓ Data minimization ✓ Purpose limitation

Industry Best Practices

✓ Double opt-in for new subscribers ✓ Preference center for subscribers ✓ Regular list hygiene ✓ Engagement-based sending ✓ Clear expectations setting ✓ Value-first content

Appendix: Quick Reference

Email Size Limits

Gmail: 102KB
Outlook: 100KB
Apple Mail: 7MB
Yahoo: 100KB Best Practice: Keep under 80KB

Optimal Send Times (EST)

B2B Best: Tuesday-Thursday, 9-11 AM
Secondary: Tuesday-Thursday, 1-3 PM
Avoid: Monday morning, Friday afternoon

Industry Benchmarks

Metric	SaaS Average	Our Goal
Open Rate	21%	30%
CTR	2.5%	5%
Conversion	1%	3%
Unsubscribe	0.3%	<0.2%

Emergency Contacts

ESP Support: support@brevo.com
Deliverability: postmaster@cloudcrm.com
Legal/Compliance: legal@cloudcrm.com
IT Support: it@cloudcrm.com

Document Version: 1.0 Last Updated: 2024 Owner: Email Marketing Manager Next Review: Quarterly

Remember: Every email is an opportunity to build trust and deliver value. Quality over quantity, always.