Wondering who is responsible for the newsletters that land in your inbox? We caught up with Wakelet’s email marketer, Helen McMahon, to find out more
1. How did you become an email marketer at Wakelet?
‘I previously worked in a digital marketing role for an e-commerce company and I was eager to work within the tech industry, while also refining my specialism to email marketing. Wakelet offered the perfect opportunity to do both – plus there are no other companies like it in Manchester!’
2. What are essential skills for an email marketer to have?
‘I’d say attention to detail is the most vital skill. Wakelet’s email database has grown significantly during my time here, and the last thing we want is a spelling mistake or broken link to be the first thing a user sees or interacts with when they open our emails. It’s also important to be able to strategize and ensure we send the right email, to the right person, at the right time.’
3. How can email marketing help a start-up?
‘Email marketing provides a direct line of communication between us and our users. We can segment users by location and activity on site, which allows us to send tailored, personalized messages directly to our users. We’re able to focus on providing content that really adds value to our users and helps them make the most of Wakelet.’
4. What challenges have you faced?
‘I’m Wakelet’s first dedicated email marketer so it’s been a challenge formulating our email marketing strategy from scratch. Our business model is unique so getting to grips with the user journey, from sign up to curation has been a crucial part of my role. And, as with any start-up, plans can often change at the last minute, so you need to be flexible and resourceful every day!’
5. What does your day-to-day role entail?
‘Most of my day is spent preparing content for our marketing emails and ensuring campaigns go out correctly and on schedule. I run A/B tests on campaigns to learn more about our database and improve our communication with users. As well as the newsletters we send out, I also work on creating automated email journeys that are triggered when a user performs a particular action on Wakelet. At the end of each month, I report back on the performance of our campaigns and tweak the plan for the following month based on the results.’
6. What advice would you give to someone looking to work in email marketing?
‘Email marketing is a great skill to learn if you want to get into a digital marketing role. We all receive numerous emails daily, but I think it’s really important to get to grips with the theory side of things. Luckily, there are tonnes of free online courses and websites, which can help you pick up the main concepts.’
7. How do you use Wakelet?
‘I use Wakelet almost every day to save links as I’m browsing the internet on my laptop and phone. I also find it really useful for planning trips abroad, collecting interesting recipes, and saving clips of gigs that I like from YouTube and Vimeo.’