This post will walk you through the steps to create an automated email campaign using Active Campaign, one of the most popular email marketing tools available. At the end, you will have a fully-functioning email marketing tool that will handle all the heavy lifting so that you can take a backseat and focus on growing your business.
Why Use Active Campaign?
There are several good reasons why you should try out Active Campaign. First, it’s easy to use. Second, it’s got a decent reputation. And last but not least, it’s reasonably priced. If you’re looking for a full-featured email marketing tool that you can run from your own server at a fair price, then you should try out Active Campaign.
Setting Up The Account
To get started, you will first need to register for a free account at activecampaign.com. Remember to verify your email address before starting up the account. You will then be prompted to choose a username and password. Next, click the Create an account button to continue to the Dashboard.
On the next screen, you will be asked to pick a Plan (Basic or Pro) and whether you would like to use a free or paid email address. You can use any email address you wish for your paid plans, but you will need to verify it with an additional click to proceed.
Building The List
After you have your account set up, you can start building your email list. At the top of the Dashboard, you will see the option to Add New List in the form of a button. When you click this button, you will be brought to the New List page where you can add contacts from your email, phone or Google Sheet. You can add a max of 100 contacts per list.
To add someone from your email, simply click the ‘+’ icon next to the name of the person you want to add to the list and hit Enter.
From there, you can add the person’s email in the field provided and then click the ‘Next’ button.
In the same way, you can add someone by phone or Google Sheet. When you are adding contacts from these three sources, you will need to make sure you enter the same email address for each entry.
Creating The Automated Campaign
Once you have your list of contacts built, you can move on to creating your automated campaign. To get started, click the Gear icon in the top-right corner of the Dashboard and select Create Automated Campaign. On the next screen, you will be asked to choose the Template for your email campaign.
The options here are Classic, Minimal, Fancy or Mobile. If you have a specific template in mind, you can click the Customize button and search for the perfect match. If you aren’t sure which one to choose, the basic options are Classic, Minimal and Fancy. These templates are nothing more than stylings of the email and it’s up to you to ensure that each design is easy to understand and memorable.
When you have chosen the template, you can then move on to the next step by clicking on the Create button.
In this step, you will be introduced to the concept of Parameters. Parameters let you easily control the look and feel of your email, without resorting to styling. To continue, simply click the ‘Next’ button.
Review The Results
Once your email is built and you have finished tweaking the Template, you can review the results. To do this, click the Gear icon again and select Preview Campaign. This will bring you back to the Dashboard where you can see a preview of your email in the form of a letter.
At the top of the letter, you will see the statistics for the campaign including the number of subscribers, open rates, click-throughs and unsubscribes. From here, you can easily see how each part of your automated email performed and make any necessary adjustments.
Optional Steps
If you want to take your email marketing tool further, you can perform several more steps. First, you can segment your list and send targeted emails to certain groups of people. To do this, click the Options icon in the top-right corner of the Dashboard and select the Groups feature. Here, you will be able to create as many groups as you like and then choose which ones you want to make active. The default option is to have all of them active, but you can choose to have just one or two.
Next, you can change the look and feel of your email using the Theme feature located under the Gear icon. Here, you can customize the color scheme, add images, insert logos and even switch to a full-blown template. For example, if you are using Minimal as your Template, you can choose to have a more modern look by using the Theme feature.
Last but not least, you can export your email list as many times as you want, which can be useful if you are wanting to import it into another tool or platform. To do this, click the Gear icon again and then choose Export List. This will bring you back to the main screen of the tool where you can select the format of the file you want to export and the quantity.
Using Active Campaign
Now that you have a fully-functional email marketing tool, it’s time to put it to use. To do this, click the Gear icon in the top-right corner of the tool and select Automation. Here, you can choose to have the tool send out a Test Email to verify the settings and then launch your campaign.
When you launch your automated email campaign, you will be brought to the main screen where you can see your full list of contacts with the option to Add or Edit at the top. When you click the Edit button, you will be brought to the New Contact screen where you can add a note to the contact and then click the Save button to continue to the Full Details page.
Here, you can review the campaign and then continue to the Next step where you can choose exactly when you want the email to go out.
When the email goes out, you can then click the Follow Up button to have the tool send out a few more emails to the list. When you are finished with the follow-up emails, simply click the Gear icon again and select the End Automation.
Overall, Active Campaign is a great choice for someone looking to create an automated email campaign due to its ease of use and low price point. If you’re looking to take your email marketing to the next level, then you should consider giving Active Campaign a try.