In the current economy, we're all trying hard to keep up or out-perform everyone else in the game. But for some reason it seems like there’s never enough time to get anything done. So how do you keep up with your competitors while you juggle all the other responsibilities? And more importantly, how do you make your online campaigns work better than everyone else’s?

One option is to look at your overall workflow and find methods to create greater efficiency. For example, if you're running email marketing campaigns, consider creating some automated email messages. You can do this by scheduling email messages to go out at regular intervals, or you can have email sent out when triggered by customer activity. Not only does this eliminate the redundancy of manually creating a new email campaign each time, but you get the benefit of sending on a consistent schedule or on a real-time basis.

The above solutions can definitely save you time in the long run, but how do you keep up with the trends if you’ve got the 'machine' doing all the work? The straight answer is, “you can’t”. At some point in time you’ll need that human perspective to jump in and take the lead. If you don’t have the time or know how to analyze your reports, and dig deep into your code, consider having the experts at your online marketing vendor do the leg work. Not only can they take on the day-to-day responsibilities, but they’ll know what’s hip and working. They can take a gander at your email campaign performance, trend information, perform tests, and even compare with your competitors’ strategies.

The point simply is, if you have the ability to do online marketing but don't have the time to do it, think of the options that will allow your online campaigns to move forward. Some hours spent in the beginning to build an automated system can help in the long run. Or some queries into what your online marketing vendor can do to help can save you precious time and help you succeed!

###

About the Author

Ghia Espino is an account manager at Lyris, Inc. She strategizes with clients to improve their online marketing performance and works as their Lyris advocate.