Introduction
I’m Ivan Tsekov, and I’ve spent the last eight years deep in the trenches of growth marketing. Over this time, I’ve developed a knack for creating strategies that blend PPC, SEO, CRO, and Email Marketing into powerful growth engines.
In this strategy, I’ll walk you through identifying your top competitors in email marketing, uncovering their strategy, and creating an actionable plan to improve your own email marketing efforts. Let’s dive in.
Goals
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s clarify this strategy’s goals. This will help you stay focused on what matters most and measure your success effectively.
- Identify Competitors Driving the Most Email Traffic: We’ll pinpoint which of your competitors are leading the pack in email marketing.
- Analyze Competitors’ Email Strategies: We’ll dive into how these competitors are using email to drive traffic and engagement.
- Develop an Improvement Plan for Your Email Strategy: Using insights from our analysis, we’ll create a plan to elevate your email marketing efforts.
Key Takeaways
Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll gain from this strategy:
- Competitor Insights Made Easy: An efficient way to simplify the process of monitoring competitors, delivering insights directly to your inbox without complex setups.
- Actionable Data: You’ll get industry benchmarks and specific competitor data that you can immediately put to use.
- Improved Email Marketing Strategy: With a clear plan based on competitor analysis, you’ll be well-equipped to boost your email traffic and engagement.
What is Spycrow?
It’s a competitor monitoring tool that automatically identifies your main rivals and sends you detailed reports on their traffic distribution across various channels, including email marketing.
What makes Spycrow particularly useful is its simplicity—you don’t need to set up anything complex. Just add your website, and Spycrow does the rest, delivering weekly insights straight to your inbox.
For this strategy, we’ll focus on Spycrow’s Channels Traffic Performance report. This report shows how much traffic each competitor gets from different channels, including email marketing. We’ll use this data to benchmark your performance and develop an improvement plan for your email marketing efforts.
Strategy Process
To put this strategy into action, here’s how I usually proceed:
Step 1: Submit Your Website to Spycrow
To kick off this strategy, the first thing you need to do is submit your website to Spycrow. This is a straightforward process and is where the magic begins. By doing this, Spycrow will automatically identify your top competitors and start generating reports on their traffic distribution across different channels, including email marketing.
How to Get Started:
- Visit the Spycrow Signup Page: Head over to Spycrow’s signup page.
- Enter Your Website URL: Once on the signup page, simply enter your URL. Spycrow’s AI will then take over, scanning your site to find relevant competitors in your industry.
- Confirm Your Email: After you submit your website, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Spycrow. Check your inbox (and spam folder, just in case) to confirm your email address. This step ensures you’ll receive the weekly reports directly in your inbox.
- Receive Your First Report: You’ll start receiving reports within hours. These will include detailed data on your competitors’ traffic distribution, highlighting which channels are driving the most traffic for them.
By completing this step, you’re setting the foundation for the entire strategy.
Step 2: Analyze the Report and Benchmark Your Performance
Now that you’ve received your first report from Spycrow, it’s time to dig into the data. This step is crucial for understanding how your email marketing efforts compare to those of your competitors.
How to Analyze the Report:
1. Open the Report: Start by carefully reviewing the email you received from Spycrow. The report typically includes a breakdown of traffic distribution across different channels, explicitly focusing on email marketing.
2. Understand Industry Benchmarks: Look at the “Industry Channels Overview” section to see the overall traffic distribution in your industry. Pay close attention to the percentage of total traffic driven by email marketing across the entire industry.
Example: If the report shows that email accounts for 15% of the total traffic in your industry, this means that the industry utilizes the email marketing channel very well, and there are gains to be made.
3. Identify Top Competitors in Email Marketing: In the “Traffic Channels by Company” section, you’ll see how much of the total email traffic each competitor captures. This is a critical part of the analysis, as it shows you who leads in email marketing and how much market share they hold.
Example: If Trello.com holds 48.89% of the total industry email traffic, this means it is capturing nearly half of all the industry’s email traffic. This is a significant insight, suggesting that Trello’s email marketing strategy is highly effective.
4. Compare Your Performance: Next, compare your share of the industry’s email traffic with your competitors. This comparison will help you determine if your email marketing efforts are competitive within your industry.
Example: If your company holds only 5% of the industry’s email traffic while Trello holds 48.89%, this reveals a substantial gap that you need to address to enhance your email marketing strategy.
5. Document Key Insights: As you analyze the report, it’s essential to document the key insights that will guide the next steps in your strategy.
Here’s an example of how you might document this information:
| Insight | Trello (Top Competitor) | Your Company | Actionable Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of Industry Email Traffic | 48.89% | 5% | Significant gap; need to increase email campaign frequency or quality. |
| Top Performing Channel | Search | Consider reallocating resources towards improving email marketing. | |
| Traffic Ranking in Email Channel | 1st | 4th | Analyze Trello’s email strategies to identify areas for improvement. |
This table is designed to help you quickly identify areas where your email marketing strategy may need to improve. By comparing your performance with that of your top competitor, you can prioritize the next steps in your strategy.
By the end of this step, you should have a comprehensive understanding of your position in the competitive landscape, specifically regarding email marketing. This analysis will prepare you for the next step, where we’ll explore your competitors’ email strategies to uncover what makes them so successful.
Step 3: Explore Competitors’ Email Strategies
Now that you’ve identified your top competitors and analyzed where you stand, it’s time to dig deeper into their email strategies.
This step is about reverse-engineering their tactics to see what you can learn and apply to your strategy.
How to Explore Competitors’ Email Strategies:
- Sign Up for Competitors’ Newsletters:
Start by subscribing to the email newsletters of the competitors you’ve identified as leaders in email traffic. This will give you direct access to their content, frequency, and overall approach. Make sure to use an email address that you monitor regularly so you can stay on top of their campaigns as they come in. - Organize and Monitor Emails:
As you start receiving emails, create a dedicated folder for each competitor in your email client. This organization will allow you to systematically track and review their emails over time. Pay attention to the frequency of emails, the time of day they’re sent, and any patterns that emerge. Monitoring these aspects will help you understand their email cadence and timing strategy. - Analyze Email Content and Design:
Open each email and closely examine the content and design. Look at the subject lines, the types of offers or information provided, the layout, and the use of visuals. Is there a strong call-to-action? Are the emails personalized? How do they balance promotional content with informational or transactional emails? Taking notes on these elements will help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your competitors’ approaches. - Engage with Emails:
Engage with the emails by clicking on links, downloading resources, or even making a small purchase if applicable. This will give you insight into the customer journey that your competitors are creating. Document each step of the journey—from the initial email to any follow-up communications. This will help you understand how they nurture leads and drive conversions. - Identify Automated Sequences:
Try to trigger any automated email sequences your competitors may have, such as welcome emails, cart abandonment reminders, or re-engagement campaigns. This will reveal how they maintain engagement over time and how sophisticated their automation strategies are. - Compile and Analyze Your Findings:
After gathering all this information, compile your findings into a structured document. Organizing the data will allow you to see common themes, unique strategies, and opportunities for improvement in your own email marketing. Here’s an example of how you might document this information:
| Competitor | Email Frequency | Common Subject Lines | Call-to-Action | Personalization | Engagement Strategy | Automated Sequences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trello | 3 times/week | “Get More Done with Trello,” “New Templates Available” | Clear, strong CTA buttons like “Try Now” | Uses recipient’s name in subject line and greetings | Encourages trial and account sign-ups through exclusive offers | Welcome sequence, follow-up after account creation, cart abandonment reminders |
| Asana | 1 time/week | “Boost Your Productivity,” “Join Our Webinar” | Subtle CTA links embedded in content | Basic personalization, name only | Drives engagement by promoting webinars and tutorials | Onboarding sequence, event reminders, re-engagement emails |
| Monday.com | 2 times/week | “Simplify Your Workflow,” “Special Offer Inside” | Promotional offers with direct links | Occasional personalization, based on user behavior | Heavy focus on discounts and special offers | Discount reminders, post-purchase follow-ups |
This table format helps you compare the different aspects of each competitor’s email strategy side by side, making it easier to identify areas where you can enhance your own efforts.
This knowledge is invaluable as you move forward to develop an actionable plan to enhance your own email marketing efforts.
Step 4: Create a Plan for Improvement
With a comprehensive understanding of your competitors’ email strategies, it’s time to turn those insights into actionable improvements for your own email marketing efforts.
How to Create an Actionable Improvement Plan:
1. Identify Key Areas for Improvement:
Start by reviewing the documentation you compiled in the previous step. Focus on identifying the areas where your competitors are outperforming you. This could be in the frequency of their emails, the effectiveness of their subject lines, the design and layout of their emails, or the sophistication of their automated sequences.
Example: If Trello’s frequent, personalized emails with strong call-to-action buttons are driving their dominance in email traffic, consider how you can incorporate similar elements into your campaigns.
2. Set Clear Objectives:
Based on the gaps you’ve identified, set specific, measurable objectives for your email marketing strategy. These should align with your overall marketing goals and address the weaknesses revealed by your competitor analysis.
Example Objectives:
- Increase email open rates by 15% over the next quarter by testing more engaging subject lines.
- Implement a personalized welcome email sequence to improve new subscriber engagement.
- Boost email conversion rates by 20% by refining call-to-action placement and clarity.
3. Develop Targeted Campaigns:
Design email campaigns that incorporate the successful tactics observed in your competitors’ strategies. Focus on the areas most relevant to your audience and your business objectives.
Example Campaign Adjustments:
- Frequency: If competitors are sending emails more frequently and with higher engagement, test increasing your email frequency. For instance, move from a weekly to a bi-weekly campaign while carefully monitoring engagement metrics to avoid subscriber fatigue.
- Content: Enhance your email content by integrating more personalized recommendations, exclusive offers, or educational content that resonates with your audience. Consider introducing similar content if your competitors successfully use webinars or tutorials to engage their audience.
4. Optimize Automated Sequences:
Use the insights you gained from exploring your competitors’ automated sequences to refine your own. This might involve setting up or enhancing sequences like welcome emails, cart abandonment reminders, or re-engagement campaigns.
Example Optimization:
- Welcome Sequence: Create a multi-step welcome email sequence that introduces new subscribers to your brand, highlights key products or services, and encourages immediate engagement through a special offer.
- Cart Abandonment: If your competitors effectively recover abandoned carts with personalized reminders, consider implementing a similar sequence that includes tailored product recommendations based on the customer’s browsing behavior.
5. A/B Test and Iterate:
Implement A/B testing to refine the changes you’ve made. Test different versions of subject lines, email layouts, send times, and CTAs to see what resonates best with your audience. Use the data from these tests to make informed decisions and continuously improve your strategy.
Example A/B Test: Test two versions of an email—one with a strong, direct CTA button (“Sign Up Now”) and another with a more subtle approach (“Learn More”). Monitor which version drives more clicks and conversions, then apply these findings to future campaigns.
6. Monitor and Measure Success:
As you roll out your new campaigns, closely monitor the key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ve set. Track metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and overall email traffic. Compare these metrics to your baseline to assess the effectiveness of your improvements.
Example Measurement: If one of your objectives was to increase the open rate by 15%, regularly track your open rates and compare them against your initial data. If you achieve or exceed this goal, analyze what worked well and consider applying similar tactics to other campaigns.
7. Document Learnings and Refine Strategy:
After implementing your plan and measuring the results, document the outcomes and lessons learned. Use this information to refine your email marketing strategy continually. Regularly revisit your competitor analysis to stay updated on industry trends and adjust your tactics accordingly.
Example Documentation:
- What Worked: Personalized subject lines and more frequent emails led to a 20% increase in open rates.
- What Didn’t Work: Increasing email frequency too quickly led to a slight increase in unsubscribes.
- Next Steps: Gradually introduce more content-rich emails to balance frequency with value.
By following this process, you’ll develop a robust and responsive email marketing strategy that not only closes the gap between you and your competitors but also positions you to lead in your industry. Continuous optimization and a keen eye on competitor strategies will keep your campaigns fresh and compelling.
Conclusion
You’ve laid the groundwork for a more robust email marketing strategy. Using Spycrow, you’ve gained key insights into how your competitors excel and what you can do to match or surpass them. The key is to keep testing and refining—stay agile, and you’ll stay ahead.
If you have any questions or need further advice, I’m here to help. Let’s turn these insights into real growth!
