Benchmark your workflow against best practices and understand the components that make up an efficient email process.

1. REINVENT YOUR
EMAIL WORKFLOW
#LitmusLive

2. GET THE RESOURCES
You can find the slides and more at:
pages.litmus.com/reinvent-your-emailworkflow
Wifi: LitmusLive Password: weloveemail
#LitmusLive

3. JAINA MISTRY
Email Marketing Manager, Litmus
@jainamistry

4. AGENDA
• 8:15am - What’s an email workflow?
• 8:40am - Email conception and planning
• 9:05am - Creating an email brief
• 9:40am - Copywriting and content creation
• 9:55am - BREAK
• 10:10am - Design and development

5. AGENDA
• 10:45am - Testing, QA, and approvals
• 11:05am - Send & Post-send reporting
• 11:15am - BREAK
• 11:25am - Quick refresh
• 11:40am - Q&A
• 12pm - And we’re done! Time for lunch

6. YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW EXPERTS
SHANNON
CRABILL
Senior Email
Developer
STEPHANIE
MCKAY
Email Marketing &
Personalization
Manager
JESSE
BLANNER
Senior Design
Manager

7. WHAT IS AN
EMAIL WORKFLOW?

9. EXERCISE #1
Define YOUR email workflow

10. WHAT PART OF YOUR EMAIL
WORKFLOW ARE YOU
MOST PROUD OF?

11. “The email team's collaboration with
the design and content teams.

12. “A/B testing and optimization.

13. “That we've standardized for most
campaigns, sending three comms:
awareness, action, reminder.

14. “We have sped up our build time by
using the MJML framework that
helps us build fully responsive
emails.

15. “Nothing

16. WHAT’S THE MOST PAINFUL
PART OF YOUR CURRENT
EMAIL WORKFLOW?

17. “Too many hands in the pot.

18. “Getting senior leadership to get
their content in on time without last
minute changes.

19. “Quality assurance.

20. “The planning and approval portion
of the campaign, and the back and
forth with the creative team.

21. “We send emails for dozens of
business groups across the
company and don't have a solid
request and approval process.
Most requests come in via email
and things get lost in the shuffle.

22. EMAIL CONCEPTION AND
PLANNING
Step 1:

23. ONLY 17% OF BRANDS PLAN
MORE THAN THREE MONTHS OUT
FOR PEAK SEASON CAMPAIGNS

24. MODERN PLANNING METHODOLOGIES
📅 Calendar
💦 Waterfall
#Agile

25. WHY PLAN YOUR CAMPAIGNS
IN ADVANCE?

26. WHAT CAN YOU USE TO HELP
PLAN YOUR CAMPAIGNS?

27. 69% OF BRANDS USE SOFTWARE OTHER THAN
OR IN ADDITION TO SPREADSHEETS,
CALENDARS AND DOCS

28. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR
CAMPAIGNS?

29. Case Study:
How Automation
Impacted Our Workflow
at LuckyVitamin
Stephanie McKay | IG: @smckaydesign

30. Where to Start?

31. Where to Start?
Get a Project
Management
Tool.
➔ Place of record
for your efforts
➔ Doubles as
creative brief

32. Workflow Example: Trello
IDEATION REVIEW SCHEDULE
CREATIVE HTML DEV

33. Why are we sending this
email?
Who is this going to?
What is the KPI for success?
Target Customer
Provide her value or
solve a problem!
01
Goal or Purpose

34. 02
Template Needs
How many templates?
What are the details?
Is there a reminder email?
Target Customer
Provide her value or
solve a problem!

35. 03
Creative Direction
& Messaging
What is the look and feel?
How will the messaging and
artwork support your goals?
Target Customer
Provide her value or
solve a problem!

36. 04
Execution:
Who | What | When
WHO is doing WHAT and
by WHEN?
Communication is key!
Target Customer
Provide her value or
solve a problem!

37. Creative Brief Example
01 Goal

38. Creative Brief Example
02 Template Needs

39. Creative Brief Example
03 Creative

40. Creative Brief Example
04 Execution

41. Action!

42. Process Example: Handoffs
01
IDEATION
Establish your creative brief! Know your purpose, template needs,
creative and message direction, and assign the who what when.

43. Baby, You’re a Firework

44. Process Example: Handoffs
02
CREATIVE
01
IDEATION
Designer and copywriter will work together to create the
first mockup for the team to review.

45. Process Example: Handoffs
03
REVIEW
02
CREATIVE
01
IDEATION
Team comes together to discuss… did you accomplish your goal? Is
anything confusing or missing? Refer back to that creative brief!

46. Process Example: Handoffs
04
HTML DEV
03
REVIEW
02
CREATIVE
01
IDEATION
Coder develops HTML template, tests (in Litmus, of course),
sends out for proofing and feedback.

47. Process Example: Handoffs
04
HTML DEV
03
REVIEW
02
CREATIVE
05
SCHEDULE
01
IDEATION
Now finalized, time to set up the campaign and go live!

48. Process Example: Handoffs
IDEATION REVIEW SCHEDULE
CREATIVE HTML DEV

49. SL: Doesn’t A Dozen Sound Delightful?
Copy: Don’t whisk missing this deal!
For two days only, use code XXXX to
take 12% off your $55+ order. Eggs-
ercise your right to save & get this deal
before it’s over (easy)!
Finished Campaign

52. Evaluation!

53. ➔ Nothing can be “set it and forget it”
➔ Perform a post-mortem at least monthly
➔ No shame in finding out something isn’t
working as intended - it’s opportunity!
➔ Always provide value and solve problems for
your customers
Evaluation

54. [ FIN ]

55. CREATING AN EMAIL BRIEF
Step 2:

56. WHAT IS AN EMAIL BRIEF?

58. WHY CREATE AN EMAIL BRIEF?

59. SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH

60. NOT A ONE TIME USE DOCUMENT

61. EVERY EMAIL GETS
AN EMAIL BRIEF

62. MAKE IT EASY TO FIND

63. EXERCISE #2
Fill in the email brief

64. EMAIL PLAYBOOK &
WORKFLOW
Shannon Crabill
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

65. THE PROBLEM
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

66. “I need to send an invite/newsletter/
product/etc. type of email. What are
my options?”
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

67. EMAIL PLAYBOOK
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

68. CASE STUDIES
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

69. “What other options are there?”
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

70. #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

71. “I’d like to hear stats from outside of
the company”
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

72. Gifs increase
click rates by
48% - Emma
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

73. "What does this look like on mobile?”
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

74. #LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

75. "Which is the better? A or B?"
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

76. ACTION ITEMS
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

77. Map current workflow to identify pain points
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

78. Source: goleansixsigma#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

79. Empathy maps are a valuable tool
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

80. Source: UXPin#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

81. FINALLY
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

82. This is a living document and that's ok :)
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

83. THANK YOU!
#LitmusLive | shannoncrabill.com/litmuslive

84. COPYWRITING AND
CONTENT CREATION
Step 3:

85. ON AVERAGE
EMAIL
MARKETERS
SPEND 2,9 HOURS
WRITING COPY

86. INTRODUCING THE
EMAIL COPY DOCUMENT

87. WHAT DO YOU INCLUDE IN AN
EMAIL COPY DOCUMENT?

88. SUBJECT LINE AND PREVIEW TEXT

89. HEADLINES, BODY COPY, CTA COPY,
EVERYTHING

90. INCLUDE WHAT YOU’RE TESTING

91. NOTES FOR DESIGN

92. WHAT’S NEXT?

93. EXERCISE #3
What’s missing from this email copy document?
pages.litmus.com/ll-email-workflow-copy

95. BREAK TIME
Grab a drink and have a stretch

96. DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Step 4:

97. DESIGN AND BUILD
OR
DESIGN THEN BUILD

98. DEFINE YOUR DESIGN REVIEW
PROCESS

99. DEVELOP EMAILS FASTER

100. JESSE BLANNER | SR. DESIGN MANAGER, MEREDITH CORP. @D_ZYNREMAIL
HOW MODULAR DESIGN
CAN IMPROVE YOUR
EMAIL WORKFLOW

101. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW
February 2018 - Meredith acquires Time, Inc. After a few months
of corporate restructuring, the Digital team launches an updated
email roadmap, which includes onboarding 12+ new brands and
making updates to 60+ email templates, all before the end of
the 2018 calendar year. Many of these updates involve rebuilding
existing layouts so there is a measure of unity within the under-
lying frameworks (for ease of use in cross-brand testing).
CASE STUDY

102. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW
CHALLENGES WE FACED
Limited Resources
Aggressive Timeline
Disjointed Code Structure
Template Volume
Organizational Turnover
CASE STUDY

103. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW
Modular email design
to the rescue!
Wait, what is that?!?
It’s a system of interchangeable components
(aka modules) and reusable patterns that can be
combined to create email layouts.
OVERVIEW

104. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW STEPS
STEPS TO CREATE A MODULAR EMAIL SYSTEM
Discovery Phase
Select a Grid Structure
Component/Pattern Library
Develop Framework + Module Code
Create Snippets + Partials

105. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES
Improves Collaboration
Modular design increases the ability for collaboration between
designers and email marketers. There’s often a disconnect
between these two worlds; the modular design system can
act as a common ground and help the two sides communicate
more directly and clearly with one another.

106. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES
Provides Clarity
Standardizing the code framework and designing from a base
grid means having a finite set of circumstances to work within.
Designers and developers don’t need to spend time working out
the details of an underlying framework, they can move right to
creating a layout to suit the needs of the content.

107. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW WORKFLOW EFFICIENCIES
Saves Time
A system guide can help bypass the need for wireframes during
the design process. System components (snippets and partials)
are pre-built, tested, and ready to use interchangeably. And since
everything is built on the same HTML framework, the potential for
error is minimized and confined to a fixed number of variables.

108. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW GET BUY-IN
KEY SELLING POINTS
Simplfies
Efficient
Cost Effective
Scalable

109. HOW MODULAR DESIGN CAN IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL WORKFLOW
@D_ZYNREMAIL
Jesse Blanner | Sr. Design Manager, Meredith Corporation
jesse.blanner@meredith.com
THANK YOU!

110. DISCUSSION
How do you handle pushback from stakeholders in the
design/development process?

111. TESTING, QA, AND APPROVALS
Step 5:

112. ONLY 23% OF MARKETERS USE AN
EXTENSIVE PRE-SEND CHECKLIST

113. WHAT IS A PRE-SEND CHECKLIST?

114. BUT WHY?!

115. WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED?

117. EXERCISE #4
Create a pre-send Checklist for your organization

119. SEND!
Step 6:

120. POST-SEND REPORTING
Step 7:

121. BREAK TIME
Grab a drink and have a stretch

122. QUICK REFRESH

123. “Too many hands in the pot.

124. “Getting senior leadership to get
their content in on time without last
minute changes.

125. “The planning and approval portion
of the campaign, and the back and
forth with the creative team.

126. “We send emails for dozens of
business groups across the
company and don't have a solid
request and approval process.
Most requests come in via email
and things get lost in the shuffle.

127. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
FOR US?
Q&A Time

128. TIME FOR LUNCH!