• Your goals should be specific: If the goals for your email marketing campaign are specific, you will be able to clearly explain them in only a few sentences. You should have a clear idea of the various requirements for achieving the goal as well as what types of constraints, if any, may stand between you and the completion of the goal. You should also feel as though the goal has a clear timeline and whether you will need any outside help to complete it.
• Your goals should be measurable: If a goal is measureable, you will be able to clearly determine if your campaign has been either a resounding success, acceptable, or a huge mistake. You should also be able to split the goal up into smaller pieces which can then also be measured for success or failure to keep you firmly on the path to success.
• Your goals should be attainable: Attainable goals are those that accurately take into account anything standing between you and the successful completion of the goal in question (such as the inherent bias against email marketing). It is important to take a look at your goal from all sides and be realistic when it comes to determining what might stand in your way. Looking at your goal with rose-colored glasses won’t help; it is in your best interest to be as critical as possible.
• Your goals should be realistic: A goal is realistic if it is attainable, regardless of the amount of effort required, without requiring an act of divine intervention to see them through. The ideal goal is one that is difficult enough that you will have to work for it, but not so difficult that it becomes impossible. Likewise, it is important to not pick easy goals as studies show that believing a goal is easily within reach is actually a detriment to your motivation to complete it.
• Your goal should have a timetable that is clearly defined: Even the best goals are likely to fall apart if they have a timetable that is either too strict or too generous. If a timeline is unreasonably short, you run the risk of having to cut corners to see it through to completion. On the other hand, timelines that are too lenient don’t provide the proper motivation to give them your full attention in the present. As such, finding the appropriate middle ground is the only realistic path to success.