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What is a Data Collection Strategy (and Why Is It the Backbone of Great Email Marketing)?
If you’ve ever read any of my content before or any of my previous blog posts, you’ll already know my feelings, but I’ll continue shouting it from the rooftops — there is no marketing without data, and there’s definitely no email marketing without a data collection strategy.
Data is the backbone. It’s not a “nice to have”, it’s the thing that makes every part of your email marketing strategy work harder, smarter, and more effectively.
I wouldn’t call it the secret sauce of email marketing because it’s not a secret! But what it is is the necessary foundation for your email marketing efforts.
You could write the best subject line of your entire marketing career, but if it lands in the wrong inbox, at the wrong time, with the wrong message… what’s the point?
That’s where your data collection strategy comes in (or should!).
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RE:markable is the weekly email about emails. Dropping the latest email marketing news, updates, insights, free resources, upcoming masterclasses, webinars, and of course, a little inbox mischief.
Why a Data Collection Strategy Matters (More Than Ever)
We’ve already spoken about how data is one of the three pillars of email marketing success — alongside systems and strategy.Here’s the truth, though: if the data is wrong, none of the rest can work. It’s why it’s the backbone and the foundation of your email marketing strategy, and why a data collection strategy is so important!
Good data informs:
- Who you speak to
- What you say
- When you say it
- How you say it
- And why that message even exists
So… What Is a Data Collection Strategy?
Email data management - and your overall data collection strategy - doesn’t boil down to a bunch of random fields in your signup form.A data collection strategy is a comprehensive, intentional plan that outlines:
- What data you need
- Why you need it
- How you’ll collect it
- How you’ll store and manage it
- And how you’ll actually use it
If you build it well, it’ll bring in the right information that makes your entire email marketing strategy more effective, from better personalisation to more accurate timing.
My Framework for Building a Data Collection Strategy
Let’s break down the steps you need to take if you want your email marketing strategy to perform well:1. Define Your WHY and Your Goals
Not to sound like a part-time philosopher, but can you achieve success if you don’t even know what success looks like for your email marketing strategy?
You shouldn’t collect data for the sake of it. It needs to have a clear purpose and goal behind it!
Ask yourself what you’re trying to achieve. Do you want better segmentation? Smarter personalisation? Journey mapping? A single customer view?
Define the outcomes and shape your data collection around that. No goal = no strategy, so take your time with this step.
Example: Want to build abandoned cart journeys that feel human? Then you need to know behaviour, basket content, and timing - not just name + email.
2. Identify What Data You Need (and why)
This part is skipped so often, but every single field should be intentional and have a purpose (remember what we said about the “throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks” being a horrible strategy?).
Before you decide to go adding in fields with 99% enthusiasm and 1% strategy, ask yourself:
Remember: if the best email marketing strategies boil down to the right message to the right person at the right time, you can only achieve that with the right data.
Before you decide to go adding in fields with 99% enthusiasm and 1% strategy, ask yourself:
- Why do I need this data?
- What will it help us do?
- How will it be used?
- Demographic: name, email, location
- Behavioural: clicks, opens, pageviews
- Motivational: why they signed up or bought
- Transactional: past purchases, value
- Engagement: frequency, activity
- Psychographic: values, beliefs, preferences
Remember: if the best email marketing strategies boil down to the right message to the right person at the right time, you can only achieve that with the right data.
3. Decide HOW You’ll Collect That Data
There are two main ways to collect your data:
- Direct: Forms, surveys, preference centres
- Indirect: Cookies, tracking pixels, analytics tools
- Categorised (dropdowns, tags)
- Uncategorised (open fields, notes)
Use a mix, but don’t frontload everything at once. Progressive profiling - gradually collecting detailed information about your subscribers/leads over multiple interactions rather than all at once - is your friend.
Build your picture over time and it’ll give you richer customer profiles and avoid overwhelming your subscribers.
4. Figure Out Where and HOW You’ll Store It
No more spreadsheets (🥳) and no more exporting and importing!
Your CRM and ESP should be fully integrated and designed to do the heavy lifting. You need:
Your CRM and ESP should be fully integrated and designed to do the heavy lifting. You need:
- Fields for each data point
- Real-time updates
- Enrichment (especially for B2B!)
- Manual data processes built in (e.g., from customer service or sales)
Example: A work email domain can instantly tell you company, industry, and even job level… if your system knows what to do with it.
5. Keep It Clean - Always
We’ve got an in-depth guide on cleaning your email list, and data cleanliness is just as important!
Dirty data = broken marketing. You need systems in place to clean, validate, and maintain your data constantly.
- Regular data audits
- Suppress inactive users
- Validate at point of entry
- Remove bounces
- Sync unsubscribes instantly
- Segment out junk, spam traps, bots
6. Analyse It, Learn From It, ACT On It
Here’s where the gold is. After all, the hard work you’ve done collecting the right data and figuring out your goals needs to be put into action to see those all-important results!
Take what you collect, and use it to:
Take what you collect, and use it to:
- Build email journeys
- Trigger automations
- Segment based on motivation
- Personalise content
- Map personas
- Align with sales and service
7. Test, Optimise, Improve
NEVER just collect and forget. Even if you’ve nailed all of the previous 6 steps, without a plan to test your overall data collection strategy, none of it will matter in the long run.
Any strategy is a cycle, because you should consistently be implementing, testing, optimising and improving.
That means you should:
Any strategy is a cycle, because you should consistently be implementing, testing, optimising and improving.
That means you should:
- Test which data points actually drive performance
- Test content for different segments
- Refine your forms and flows over time
- Keep evaluating which data adds value (and what’s dead weight)
Why a Data Collection Strategy Isn’t Optional Anymore
I don’t mean to sound like a broken record here but if you want to win with email, a data collection strategy is the foundation — you can’t build on a rickety, unstable foundation, can you?
Hacks, templates, and “best times of day to send” aren’t going to cut it. You get results from better data.
You can’t cheat or hack your way into stronger email marketing, but you can build it, and it starts with your data.
So, if you’ve not already built your data collection strategy… now’s the time.
You can’t afford not to!
Let Me Help!
Let me know if you want to build yours, fix it, or audit what’s going wrong. I’ve helped businesses add millions in revenue through this one thing alone!
And if you take one quote from this whole blog: “There is no marketing without data.”
Period.
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RE:markable is the weekly email about emails. Dropping the latest email marketing news, updates, insights, free resources, upcoming masterclasses, webinars, and of course, a little inbox mischief.