One of the big selling points of email marketing is that the only significant outlay is in gaining subscribers. We must be the envy of those who are restricted to other methods of marketing when it comes to cost per sale but this can encourage the mind-set of being reluctant to spend. It’s a point of view we all probably sympathise with.

You might be wondering, in this world of a post-Covid scramble for sales, whether or not a sponsored email campaign would be effective for your business, and unfortunately it’s something I can’t answer. On the other hand, it’s easy enough for you to check. In fact, one of its significant advantages is that it is easy to get an exact figure for ROI. Let’s look at that.

With a sponsored email marketing campaign, you will have a precise figure for how much you’re paying your partner. Further, by setting up a specific landing page for the campaign, you will know exactly how many click-throughs you obtain and what proportion go on to complete. It allows you to work out what works for you.

It is essential to pick a partner with care. First of all, work out what you want to get from the sponsorship, such as brand exposure, new leads, to see whether a different demographic would be interested in what you are offering, or just following a hunch. Then it’s a case of finding someone who can provide what you want. You should follow due diligence.

You need to know the precise breakdown of those who will receive the email, the number of recipients, and area coverage. You should check examples of their customer base and previous work, together with evidence of their success rate, an average being better here than the customers they’ve performed best for. Ask what can they guarantee. 

You will be given details of how responsive those to whom your marketing emails will be sent have been in the recent past, although allowances should be made for the current situation. Seek their advice on what type of campaign works best for sponsorship deals. Then it’s a case of negotiating price.

With all the information supplied to you, you should be able to determine whether or not your offer is suitable for the type of campaign you are considering. There are other things to consider.

Give some thought to having a dedicated landing page as you are working with a different demographic, and you want to know how well this specific campaign has done, especially with regards ROI.

Post campaign, make sure they have lived up to their side of the bargain or else you cannot depend on the stats. As ever, measure your results, but keep the statistics separate from your in-house campaigns. When considering how it has performed, accept that the results will almost certainly be down on those in a similar campaign based on your own email marketing list.

When assessing whether sponsorship is value for money, remember that this is your first attempt and subsequent attempts are likely to achieve better results.