6 Steps to Convince your Boss to Adopt a New Email Strategy

By this point in this 12-week series on improving your email strategy by Q2, you understand the importance of…

• Setting email goals and developing a testing strategy
• Creating a winning email subscriber base
• Testing the frequency and timing of your messages
• Utilizing a drip strategy that focuses on personalization and relevancy
• Checking off all the email design best practices
• Knowing and following the laws that govern email marketing
• Synchronizing email with your other marketing channels
• Recovering from mistakes with grace and dignity
• Tracking your metrics
• Managing key aspects of deliverability

…but does your boss?

Sometimes change can be difficult for agencies and organizations to embrace (especially when the change is centered around technology and/or public image), so you may need to do a little prep work to ensure you’re ready for the conversation about updating your email strategy. Here are six steps to broaching this subject with the powers-that-be:

1. Bring a detailed proposal. I’ve learned never to share a problem without also recommending a solution. Show your boss you’ve thought things through by having an actionable plan to accomplish the mission.
2. Explain why email works when used correctly. Support your assertions with some of the data points I’ve previously shared.
3. Explain why your current method does not work. Building on the second step, share how your messages have performed in the past to demonstrate the immediate need for improvement.
4. Present examples. The old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” holds true in this case. Show the examples I shared from the Department of Health and Human Services’ ACA Open Enrollment 2015 campaign.
5. Start small. Avoid overwhelming yourself and your boss with an overhaul of your entire email strategy. Pick one item at a time from the list above that you can implement quickly and seamlessly to build your boss’s (and perhaps your!) confidence in applying these changes.
6. Enlist buy-in from other stakeholders. Getting a middle manager on board with your idea before taking it to your boss and presenting a united front lends credence to your cause.

Above all, be patient and persistent. When you get the go-ahead and have implemented your new email plan, let me know in the comments. I’m always looking for new email subscriptions to follow!

Amber V Hammond is part of the GovLoop Featured Blogger program, where we feature blog posts by government voices from all across the country (and world!). To see more Featured Blogger posts, click here.