So, I bet you have heard over and over again that you need to be using email marketing for your business, right? Well, I am another person to tell you that you really should implement an email marketing strategy for your business and in this post, I am going to go over all the juicy details on why you SHOULD be using email marketing in your business.
Why having an email marketing strategy can help your business.
This is not meant to scare you but the truth! How many times have you not been able to post on social media or even worse ended up in Facebook jail? It happens and it can happen to any of us.
Social Media platforms and any platform really that is free to use, you do not own it. You are using someone’s platform and they have full control of what can be posted, what can be removed. They can close your account with no notice etc.
Now….. If this happens and you do not have an email marketing strategy in place how are you going to contact your customers/clients? You could be manually keeping track which is great, but who has enough time to email each person from your personal email.
People also expect to be sold to from emails. Open rates from emails vary, but 20% open rate is pretty standard. Social media does not even show your content to 20% of your audience. So right there email marketing will reach more people. In your emails, you can also write more content, provide value and ask for a sale.
Setting up an Email Marketing Strategy does not have to be difficult
Lots of people think that starting to use email marketing in their business is a hard task, but really it is not that difficult. I will be walking you through the steps so that after you are done reading and implementing this post you will have started your email marketing for your business.
First things first…. You need to pick an email service provider. Below are my personal favorites:
This is what I currently use and will never move away from it. Their automation features are by far the best out there and the support is amazing. They do not have a free plan, but they do offer a free 30-day trial.
One of the things I regret most is trying everything under the sun before I finally switched back to ActiveCampaign. It integrates with so many platforms. You will need to make sure whatever email service provider (esp) you choose, make sure it integrates with the platforms you are using.
Many bloggers and business owners use Convert Kit which is another amazing email service provider. I have personally used them in the past but I personally liked ActiveCampaign better.
If you are just starting with email marketing and need a free plan, Convert Kit does have a free tier. Now it will be limited on features but will be enough for you to get started with your email marketing strategy and setup.
If you are just needing something simple and not as robust, MailerLite may be great for you and your business. It lacks some of the automation features as compared to Convert Kit and ActiveCampaign but it is really easy to use. They do offer a free plan as well which has some limitations. MailerLite is affordable as well when you decide to move over to a paid plan. You will definitely want to make sure that it integrates with the tools and software you are using for your business.
Getting people on your email list – using a form or landing page/lead page
You may have been collecting email addresses and storing them somewhere safe, now would be a great time to import those contacts into your email service provider.
You may be wondering how to grow your email list! There are quite a few ways to get people to sign up for your emails, check out the ways below:
- Create an amazing Freebie/Lead Magnet – you can give away something for free and have people opt-in to receive it. You then would deliver it with your email marketing platform.
- Put a Signup Form on your blog posts – this is another great way to have people opt-in to your email marketing strategy. You can place a form on your blog post asking people to join your newsletter.
- Collect emails from people requesting to join your Facebook Group – this is an amazing way to gather emails to put into your email list. You can set up questions that people have to answer before being approved to your group. You can ask them if they would like to leave their email address for important updates, training, etc.
Creating your “Welcome Sequence” for your email marketing strategy
Please do not skip out on doing this step. Once your audience starts to opt-in to your email marketing via your blogs, landing pages, etc you will want to create a Welcome Sequence. You can set this up in your email service provider.
You welcome sequence to introduce you and provide value so that you can start to build the relationship up with your email leads. Check out the photo below with a diagram example.
Welcome Email (1st email you send) – this can be an introduction to who you are and what you do. Make your email relatable and add your story to it. This email can be sent a day or so after they have opt-in to your form or lead magnet. Remember to always have a CTA (Call-to-action) at the end of the email.
Value Email (2nd email you send) – the purpose of this email is to address a pain or problem that your audience is having. You can talk about the pain and problem, then you can redirect them to a blog post, youtube video, etc that addresses how to solve the pain/problem. You will want to send this about 3 or 4 days after the initial welcome email. Remember to always have a CTA (Call-to-action) at the end of the email.
Another Value Email (3rd email you send) – Providing value and relatable content is what will position you as the expert you are in your business. Provide another email with tips or training on how to do something in your niche. You can send this email 4 or 5 days after the first value email. Remember to always have a CTA (Call-to-action) at the end of the email.
Relatable Story Email (4th email you send) – people connect easier when they feel that they can relate. Share a story, it can be a family story, funny story, or a motivational story. You want your audience to become connected to you. You can also provide tips to overcome an obstacle they may be facing. You can send this email 5 to 7 days after the 2nd value email. Remember to always have a CTA (Call-to-action) at the end of the email.
Ask for the SALE Email (5th email you send) – it is time to send the email promoting your services and or products. In this email, you will want to address the pains and problems your readers are having and provide the solution with your services/products. You will only make a sale if you ask for it! You can send this email 3 or 4 days after the relatable story email you sent. Remember to always have a CTA (Call-to-action) at the end of the email.
Keeping your readers engaged with your email marketing
One of the most important things you will want to do is keep your readers engaged. You can send them out a weekly email providing value and stories and then when you are ready to send a SALE email you can.
During your offer launches, you will also want to set up your pre-launch sequences, launch sequences, and follow up emails. I will go more in-depth in these in future posts.
When planning out your email strategy take a sec to think about how many emails you like to receive from others. You do not want to bombard your people with emails. You want people to open your emails so really pay attention to your open rates. You could also put up a poll in your Facebook group asking people how often they would like to receive emails from you.
It never hurts to ask your audience
Key points to help you get started with your email marketing strategy
Now it is time for you to get started. So go ahead and follow the steps below and start building your list TODAY!
- Choose an Email Service Provider
- Create an amazing Lead Magnet/Freebie and promote.
- Create a form inside your email service provider and embed it on your blog or website.
- Create your Welcome Sequence
- Plan out your weekly email that you will send the people on your list.
So in 5 steps, you will be on the way to building your email list. Remember that we all have to start somewhere and you need to just take that first step.
I would love to know how it is going with your email marketing so you can either drop me a comment or send me an email. Email marketing will take time, but having your strategy in place off the get-go is going to help you in the long run.
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Join the Women Growing their Business Facebook community. We would love to have you so that we can show support, join your list and cheer you on.
