4 tips for helping your email marketing team stay organized

A lot is going on this month. The U.S. elections are finally over, you’re knee-deep in organizing your Thanks/Friendsgiving and you’re executing on your holiday strategy. How you have time to read this is beyond me, but yay you for taking a few minutes to expand your horizons.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with everything, I get it. I have some advice for you this month that I’ve refined over years of helping companies large and small navigate this time of year and get everything done without ending the year in a frazzled heap.

Have your key information on instant recall

My primary mantra is “Strategy over tactics.” The corollary to this is “Get organized.” You need a system and tools that give you time and headspace to plan and execute effectively. A key part of this process is having the information you need to keep your team informed, whether you’re in a meeting or talking with your bosses or key stakeholders. 

When you are organized — when you know what’s happening when, where and how — you will have that information at near-instant recall. Supplying that information on demand increases your professionalism. Remember, you have a lot of information floating around out there. Keeping track of it all can be overwhelming if you’re not prepared.

Organization develops professionalism and that professional glow rubs off on your email program. It persuades others that email should be respected. 

Email has always been perceived as a lightweight operation that anybody can do. It’s just knocking out campaigns and collecting the money. It’s at the bottom of the priority list for investment but critical for revenue. This dichotomy baffles me, but that’s a conversation for another time.

As a business professional, you must be ready to report on your email performance whenever someone asks you for it. If you’re organized, you can go to your spreadsheet and find the numbers.

Once, in my retail email career, my boss caught me off guard with a metrics question during a meeting at the height of the holiday season. “I don’t know,” I stuttered. “I have to go look.” 

He looked at me in disbelief and said, “You own email. How do you not know your own numbers?” Even in my frazzled state, I knew the man had a point. After that, I was never caught without having my key numbers at hand.

Now it’s your turn. Check out four ways I’ve helped executives organize their programs so they have the numbers and the plans right at hand.

1. Have a daily stand-up meeting

Yes, adding a daily meeting can make you more productive! Our daily stand-ups help keep my team on track when we have tight deadlines and big projects. These short, focused catch-up meetings were a holiday season fixture in my retail days, too. 

You need just 15 minutes or so for everyone to report on what happened yesterday, what’s happening today and what should happen tomorrow. What went well? What are your blockers? Your main goal is to keep people informed and accountable. 

Have someone take notes and then circulate a quick update memo after the meeting. An AI notetaker can do this for you automatically. My team uses Fathom, which records meetings, sums up key points and sends an email with takeaways, the recording and a transcript to everyone on the call right after the meeting ends. 

Pick up the phone

I can’t tell you how many times I solved a problem by getting on the phone. My first boss gave me the best advice. I had complained about being unable to get hold of someone after emailing them repeatedly. He put down his pen, looked at me over the glasses permanently perched on the tip of his nose and said, “Sometimes email doesn’t work. Pick up the phone.” In hectic times, your email can get lost. Pick up the phone.

2. Keep a spreadsheet close by

Set up an email eyes-only dashboard that you update every morning, manually or automatically, with your KPIs. Memorize the numbers and keep them in your head. When your boss buttonholes you in a meeting or the hallway, you’ll have them on instant recall.

If you must refer to your spreadsheet, repeat the phrase “As of this morning.” This will further enhance your organized persona.

In my work for a global big-box retailer, our holiday email program was insane. One team managed a massive list of email campaigns for two brands. I created a giant Gantt chart that organized every campaign. (Take a peek!)

It listed when the campaign was going out, what the population size was, what the expected results were and what the revenue forecast would be. If anybody asked me about a campaign, I could pull out that Gantt chart and tell them anything they wanted to know.

In the busy season, a visual aid like this is essential not just for keeping you organized but also for communicating to your community that you are on top of things. If you don’t carry your laptop everywhere, make your chart fit on a piece of paper.

This organization tool also boosts your professionalism. Your CFO and CTO walk around with their key numbers, too. I was always impressed with people who maintained this kind of structure because it told me they were organized enough to have their numbers at their fingertips. It upped my perception of who they were in the organization.

Dig deeper: 6 tips for creating a winning email marketing calendar

3. Put Google Docs to work for your team

Before the season shifts into high gear, develop an internal document or Slack channel your team members can use to add ideas, comments, learnings, what’s working, what isn’t and anything else you could use to improve. You need a place to put in raw comments that you can synthesize at the end of the season. It doesn’t have to be pretty, edited or grammatically perfect. 

A document like this gives your team a place where everyone can dump their thoughts in the moment without taking time to write memos or channel posts. If you wait until you have a quiet moment to write down your inspirations, you’ll forget those “Aha!” moments (and even the “WTF??” ones). 

When it’s time to go back and review the season, you’ll have a fresh document that you can review, revise and consult when it’s time to update your procedures and program.

4. Cancel ‘The boss knows everything’ syndrome

Communication starts with humility. I’ve always asked my teams what they think and how they might do things differently. This creates an approachable, collaborative atmosphere. I make it clear I don’t have all the answers. Often, it’s just my opinion. I think my opinions are more informed than off the cuff, but they are still opinions, and they might not be as realistic or helpful as I think they are.

Being humble might not look like a key trait for a leader. You’re probably wondering how a little executive humility can make your team more organized and effective. But here’s what works for me and my team.

Whenever you are developing a project or a dashboard like the ones I have described here, always ask your team what they would do if they had your job. Besides generating potentially helpful advice, this also lets your team members know they have a voice and something to contribute. 

We all come to our work with vast backgrounds of experience. It doesn’t mean that you are bound to do things the way you did them at your previous employer. However, being able to bring that perspective into your discussions about structure and workflow can uncover hidden reservoirs of efficiency. 

The best way your team can grow is to work together. The only way to succeed is if you listen to your team members, and they listen to you and to each other. 

Wrapping up

I could go on with more things for greater team efficiency and productivity, especially during high-stress periods. For now, the most important point for all marketers, regardless of channel, is to stay organized. This will help you update your numbers and your priorities and know where you stand at all times. This is key, not just for the job you have today but for your next job and the one after that.

I use spreadsheets I developed 10 years or more ago. I have improved on them and learned from them. They take time to create and maintain, but I am glad I invested that time back then. That organizational structure has carried me to the job I have today. 

Yes, times, technologies and processes change. But going through that organizational exercise serves me well in stressful times. I use it today with clients, too. It’s one of the things that make me an effective marketer and executive.

This is not just busy work. You aren’t just documenting things instead of getting real work done. You are building a strong foundation by accumulating the knowledge and insights you have gained over the years to help you grow as an individual and a company. 

And now, back to your Thanks/Friendsgiving plans!

Dig deeper: Email excellence: The top 10 traits of highly effective email marketers