As you start planning for 2012 and candidates begin their campaigns, take some time to plan out your e-mail marketing strategy.

Here are 4 great tips:

1. Determine a purpose and segment your list
For an effective e-mail plan, list your goals (raise money, differentiation, name id etc.), then identify which type of e-mail can help you reach each goal. Then segment your list by the type and frequency of e-mail each person should receive for maximum effectiveness.

Examine how newsletters, fundraising e-mails and other tactics hold hidden potential. And remember, where possible personalize content and make list subscribers feel like you're speaking only to them.

2. Test for perfect timing
The beauty of e-mail is that you can execute campaigns in real time. The best way for you to figure out how often to send and when to send campaigns is by A/B testing.

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times. “We don’t have time to update our site consistently.”

In fact, it is incredibly difficult to keep a website fresh with content unless you have a full time staff or some very dedicated volunteers. Fortunately, with website technology comes an easy to implement way to keep content fresh.