This article will guide you through getting your first email marketing campaign out quickly!
Prerequisites
First, there are some prerequisites to sending your first marketing email.
Need to subscribe to ThinkMarketing Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3.
Need to have your email settings configured at the domain level.
To navigate to the Email Marketing module, click the ThinkReservations house icon (main menu) and click "Email Marketing".
Step 1: Create a template
Click on Templates on the left to review and create a new template. When you are ready to select a template to use later, you can edit it, but the template remains the same. We recommend creating a template that has a framework that you can use over and over. For example, create an email newsletter template that you can use for each newsletter you send. This ensures that your emails are on-brand, consistent, and professional.
Click the New button on the top right to create a new one. If you would like to instead manipulate an existing template, click on the template.
Use the smart editor to tweak the template. Click and drag items from the right to where you would like them to appear on the template.
Use the right-side panel to edit options for selected elements in the template.
Drag-and-drop elements using the blue four-arrow icon to the right of the selected element.
Review the Audit section to make sure your email is compliant. Alt text ensures that you have descriptive text for ADA conformance.
Save your changes when ready.
Again, please note that further changes can be made to the specific email you want to send.
💡For a more in-depth guide on using the template editor, see: Email Marketing Templates
Step 2: Create a segment
Before you can send a campaign, you need to first decide which customers get the email. This is done by creating a segment. A segmented list of customers (segment) is filtered with field options you might already be familiar with in the Advanced search from the Customers page.
Click Segments from the list on the left under the Configuration heading.
Click the New button on the top right to create a new segment. If you instead want to edit an editing segment, click it from the list.
Give the Segment a name, for internal use only.
Use fields to filter the list of customers.
Click Preview segment to see the list of customers that meet the criteria.
Click Save at the bottom to create your segment.
Step 3: Create a campaign
The next step is to select and tweak the template, apply the segment, and then start the campaign. There are two types of campaigns, so we need to decide which one is right for your use case.
One-time vs. Automated
One-time campaigns: These are traditional campaigns that allow you to send one-off emails and emails like newsletters. You can send one, or up to three emails to create a drip-campaign.
💡For a more in-depth guide on one-time campaigns, see: One-time Campaigns
Automated campaigns: These are specialized messages for the below use-cases:
Birthday emails to go out to the guest on their birthday
Anniversary emails to go out on the anniversary date
OTA win-back emails to go out to reservations that book with a thrid-party three days after the guest checks out.
💡For a more in-depth guide on automated campaigns, see: Automated Campaigns
Decide either one-time or automated.
Click the New button on the top right to create a new campaign.
Give the campaign a name for internal use only.
Select the template by clicking "Edit Design"
Specify when the campaign should start/send.
Select a segment.
Click Save at the bottom right.
When ready, click the ▶️ Start button.
You can decide to send the campaign as soon as you click the green Start button, or schedule it for later. Scheduling allows you to set up your email to go out on a specific date and time in the future. For automated campaigns, it will start sending emails at the next scheduled time set.
Step 5: Review the data
Once emails have been sent, you will be able to report on them inside the email marketing module. Navigate to a campaign that is has either completed or sent emails. You will see the open rate, reservations, and other data to help you determine the effectiveness of your email campaigns.
For the number of reservations, click on the number to review the conversion report.
