Most targeted email marketing campaigns start with something to sell. From then on decisions have to be made, the most important being who you are going to sell to. Once you have decided which of those on your email lists the campaign will be directed at; every other parameter is defined to a great extent.

Targeting is the most fundamental requirement in email marketing. Crack that and everything else falls into place.

The first thing you will need to know is how to define the subscribers to your email list. There is no official list of parameters. Each person has their own favourites depending on their own business and what data they collect. So do not get hung up on each individual title as the edges are fuzzy and overlap. Here are the basic ones:

Demographics

Age, gender and location are generally much more important in B2C although they should not be ignored in B2B. It is obvious that an email intended to appeal to someone in their twenties might well repel another two or three times their age, even if they spent the reception of their daughter’s wedding dancing with the youngsters.

Lifestyle

Whether all you need to clarify is the difference between those who opt for burgers and those who are tofu fanatics is entirely up to you. Depending on your business you might require tens of parameters. What is definite is that the greater the definition the more accurate your targeting.

History

What a person has bought in the past will show their area of interest and also, it should be remembered, what areas you could expand into. Even if you are just starting, the way your subscribers opted in to your email list will tell you something about what they are after.

Value

It is easy enough to work out what the person has paid to you in any set period. However, this is all in the past. What you need to do is work out their potential and what they are likely to spend in the future.

Responsiveness

A variable, but one that will be generally predictable once statistics start to come in. Subscribers’ purchasing habits will vary over time. Be aware that those new on your lists will tend to be enthusiastic and more susceptible, so go for them.

Products

Do not get bogged down into classifying individual products, but just use general categories. It is easy enough to predict that someone who buys a football might well opt for a kitbag but looking at the bigger picture, a wine fancier who buys a crate or two might well appreciate a holiday in the Côte de Nuits.

Accept that different headings can be used, and perhaps should be used, without changing the basic premise. The more you know about your subscribers the more accurately you can aim your products and also predict the likely returns. You will then be able to confidently decide on the other aspects of email campaign planning.