If you want to actually reach people with email—not just spray and pray—a targeted campaign makes all the difference. This guide is for anyone who wants to cut through the noise and get real results using Hook. Whether you’re a marketer, founder, or just the person who got “volunteered” to run email, you’ll find the straight answers here.
Let’s skip the fluff. Here’s how to plan, build, and launch a targeted email campaign in Hook, step by step—plus some hard-earned advice on what actually works.
1. Get Clear on Your Goal (Before You Even Open Hook)
Don’t just “send an email because it’s Thursday.” Before you touch a tool, get specific:
- What do you want people to do? Buy? Register? Read? Don’t settle for vague goals like “increase engagement.”
- Who are you trying to reach? Not “everyone.” Pick a clear segment: new signups, users who haven’t logged in, customers in a certain region, etc.
- What’s your message? What’s the one thing they should remember or act on?
Pro tip: Write your goal and audience on a sticky note or in a doc. Refer to it constantly. It’s easy to drift.
2. Organize and Import Your Contacts
You can’t target if your list is a mess. Hook works best when your contacts are clean and organized.
Clean Up Your List
- Remove obvious junk: Test emails, duplicates, ancient addresses.
- Add missing fields: If you want to segment by “industry” or “signup date,” make sure that data’s actually in your spreadsheet.
- Watch out for weird formatting: Extra spaces, inconsistent capitalization, and odd characters can break things fast.
Importing to Hook
- Go to the Contacts section in Hook.
- Use the “Import” feature to upload your CSV or connect your CRM.
- Map fields carefully. Don’t rush this—it’ll save headaches later.
- Tag or segment your contacts as you import. If you skip this, you’ll regret it later.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over every tiny data point. Start with the fields you actually need for this campaign. You can always add more later.
3. Build (and Test) Your Audience Segment
Here’s where targeting happens. Hook lets you create segments based on almost any contact data.
Creating a Segment
- Click “Segments” or “Audience” (naming may change, but it’s clear enough).
- Set conditions: e.g., “Signed up after Jan 1st and hasn’t purchased.”
- Combine filters for more precise targeting.
Reality check: Don’t make segments so narrow you end up with 12 people. Bigger isn’t always better, but you need enough for real results.
Test Your Segment
- Preview who’s included. Spot-check a few contacts—are they who you expect?
- Adjust filters if the results look off. (They often do the first time.)
- Save your segment with a clear name. “Q2 inactive trial users” beats “Segment 2.”
4. Craft a Message Worth Reading
If your email feels like marketing, people will ignore it. Be direct and keep it simple.
Writing Tips
- Subject line: Skip clickbait. Be clear about what’s inside (“Reminder: Your trial ends soon”).
- Body: Write like a human, not a press release. Use short sentences, get to the point.
- Call to action: Make it painfully obvious what you want people to do. One CTA is enough.
Using Hook’s Email Builder
- Go to “Campaigns” and click “New Email.”
- Choose from templates, or start from scratch.
- Use the drag-and-drop editor for layout. Don’t go overboard with images or fancy blocks unless you have a good reason.
- Personalize: Use merge tags like
{{first_name}}—but only if you’re confident the data isn’t blank or weird. - Add plain text fallback. HTML emails often look different depending on the reader’s client.
What to ignore: Don’t let design eat your whole day. A simple, readable email almost always outperforms a “pretty” but confusing one.
5. Set Up Tracking and Testing
Don’t just press “Send” and hope for the best.
Tracking
- Hook automatically tracks opens and clicks, but you can add UTM parameters to links for better analytics outside Hook.
- Test your links and CTAs—broken links are more common than you think.
A/B Testing (If You Must)
- Only run an A/B test if you have enough people for meaningful results. Under 1,000? You’re probably just splitting hairs.
- Test one thing at a time: subject line, CTA wording, etc.
- Don’t obsess over tiny percentage changes. Focus on big, obvious wins.
Pro tip: Send a test email to yourself and a colleague. Check on desktop and mobile. You’d be surprised how often formatting breaks.
6. Schedule (or Send) Your Campaign
You’re almost there. Now, decide when people should get your email.
- Timing matters, but not as much as people claim. Tuesday at 10 AM isn’t magic. Pick a time that makes sense for your audience.
- In Hook, choose “Send Now” or schedule for later.
- Double-check your segment and email details before confirming. Last-minute mistakes are common.
What to ignore: Don’t get paralyzed by “best time to send” advice. Consistency beats chasing trends.
7. Watch Results and Iterate
The real learning starts after you hit send.
What to Watch
- Open rates: Not perfect, but a good sanity check. If they’re super low, your subject or sender might be off.
- Click rates: The real test—did people act?
- Unsubscribes and spam complaints: If these spike, your targeting or content missed the mark.
What to Do Next
- Review the data after a day or two, then again after a week.
- Jot down what worked, what flopped, and what you’d change.
- Don’t be afraid to resend (with tweaks) to people who didn’t open—just don’t overdo it.
Pro tip: Keep a simple doc with campaign results and lessons learned. It’ll save you from repeating mistakes.
A Few Things That Don’t Work (and What To Ignore)
- Buying lists: Just don’t. You’ll get flagged as spam, and nobody wants your message anyway.
- Over-segmentation: Don’t slice your audience so thin you need a PhD to explain it.
- Design over substance: A clean, honest message beats a beautiful but empty one.
- Automating too early: Nail your first manual sends before you mess with complex workflows.
Keep It Simple, Ship It, and Improve Next Time
Building and launching a targeted email campaign in Hook isn’t rocket science, but it does take some focus. Get your basics right: know your goal, clean your list, write like a human, and watch what happens. Don’t let “best practices” or clever tricks distract you.
Start simple. Improve as you go. That’s how the best campaigns get built—and actually get results.