The document discusses how email marketing should emulate the experience of exchanging valentines in third grade. It recommends that marketers 1) plan campaigns weeks in advance to ensure messages are memorable and relevant, 2) keep messages simple, clear and tell the audience what action you want them to take, and 3) get creative with design to make messages stand out from competitors while embracing boldness. It also suggests 4) including bonus content like videos, ebooks or affiliate offers to provide value to recipients like candy with valentines.

1. Kenneth I. Evans, II
Writing samples
Written 2013, for HYPD Media
Why Your Email Marketing Should Be Like a 3rd Grade
Classroom on Valentine’s Day
Every holiday seems so important when you’re in 3rd grade. Especially Valentine’s Day.
Your entire class is encouraged to exchange Valentine’s with each other. Then after weeks of
reminders and preparation, everyone is anxious to see how their messages will be received.
Now fast-forward years later. You’ve spent weeks preparing your email marketing
campaign, and you feel it’s ready to go live. Just as you start to press send, you feel that same
excitement and anxiety that you did back in 3rd grade. Follow these tips and your email
marketing (or Valentine’s Day) experience will go a lot smoother:
● Plan ahead
○ You can’t just give someone a Valentine the day of and expect it to be special.
That’s why you have to prepare weeks in advance for your message to be both
memorable and relevant. This includes identifying and knowing the audience you
plan to send messages to.
● Keep it simple
○ There’s no need to write long and flowing messages to get your point across. Be
clear and tell your audience who your message is from, address it them, and tell
them what you want them to know. Also let them know if you want them to take
an action. Remember, short and sweet wins their hearts.
● Get creative
○ Valentine’s Day is one of the most decorative holidays of the year. Everyone
expresses their passion, and uses hearts to do it. The question is: how do you
get your message to stand out from the rest of your competitors?
○ The answer is to be unique through your design. Don’t be afraid to be a little bold
with your email marketing. Instead, embrace your creativity and design a
message that your audience will absolutely love.
● Give them candy
○ You know that feeling when you get a card, but you’re disappointed to see that
nothing else came with it? Your audience does. That’s because people
instinctively expect to get a treat with their Valentine. The same goes for
successful email marketing.
○ Let them know you care by offering them something special with your message.
It could be videos, ebooks, or any other kind of bonus content. You can also
partner with an affiliate to offer them a unique product or service outside of your
business.
Do you have stories about your 3rd grade Valentine’s Day experience, or suggestions for
successful email marketing campaigns? We’d love to hear them. We can also help you organize
and design spectacular digital marketing campaigns for your audience.