Hello there,

Football has always been a passion of mine.

What I like most is its ability to bring together people from different walks of life.

If you give it a thought, your emails should also have the same effect.

It should appeal to people from various streams, positions, and geographies.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to draw some similarities between football and email marketing.

So if you are a fan of either one or both, hang in there. You are in for a treat!

How does football inspire email marketing?

Just like football teams need consistent training, solid strategy, and teamwork to win, email campaigns need these too to be successful. And let’s see how that is done:

The Playbook: Segmentation and Positioning

A great team leader knows the strengths, positions, and roles of each player in the game, just like in email marketing. By dividing your email list into segments, you can make sure that you’re sending the right content to the right people, which makes them more likely to engage with your content and convert.

Example: Take Black Friday/Cyber Monday as an example. Last year, we used segmentation to offer personalized deals based on customer history during Black Friday/Cyber Monday. The result? A staggering 70% open rate and a 25% increase in conversions from the previous year. Our MVP? Personalized content that made our subscribers feel like they were getting VIP treatment at the finals.

Teamwork makes the dream work

Next, let’s talk about teamwork. In a football team – each player has their position, right? Well, the same goes for email campaigns. You’ve got your defense (the email layout), midfielders (content), and strikers (CTAs). So while the open rates get the ball rolling, it’s the combined efforts of layout, content, and CTAs that drive engagements, responses, and conversions. They all have to work together to get good conversions, just like the players need to score goals in a match.

Example: An email campaign promoting a new product release would need a striking subject line (defense stopping opponents), engaging and informative content (midfield creating opportunities), and finally, a compelling CTA (striker hitting the back of the net).

Scoring the goal: Call to action

Scoring a goal is the highlight of a football match. Similarly, the most thrilling part of an email marketing strategy lies in the call to action (CTA). The moment a customer clicks on that CTA, it’s like watching your favorite team score a goal. Just like when you couldn’t resist clicking on that ‘Buy Now’ button on the latest gadget deal, right?

The art of defense: Customer retention

Defense in football is all about stopping the other team from scoring. It’s similar to retaining customers in email marketing. By providing value, engaging content, and timely responses, you keep your competitors from ‘scoring’. Remember that informative newsletter you received a few weeks ago? You’re still subscribed because they deliver value!

Passing the ball: Sharing valuable content

Passing the ball in football is similar to sharing valuable content in email marketing. As marketers, we strive to pass information that engages, educates, or entertains our audience, building rapport and trust. Have you ever shared an informative email with a friend? That’s passing the ball!

Example: Do you remember when GDPR came into effect? Email marketers had to adjust their strategies to comply with new regulations in order to share valuable content. Similarly, football teams must continuously adapt to changes by introducing new set-piece strategies.

So that’s how closely email marketing and football are related.

What’s your take on it?

I’m keen to know if my email was successful in scoring a goal a.k.a your interest.

Cheers to making every email a winning play!