Email marketing is still one of the best ways to bring revenue into your business. It helps you reach the people who want to hear from you, right in their inbox. Email is a great way to nurture your relationship, build trust, and sell your offers.
Now that you know why it’s important, it’s time to delve into the 5 steps to boost your email marketing in 2024.
Step 1: Grow your email community
The first step to get people to opt-in. Think about this as an invitation to your email community. What can you offer your ideal clients so they want to opt-in? Is there a guide, coupon, checklist, or something else you can provide? What problems can you help your ideal clients solve?
Whatever you use as your invitation to your email community, make sure it relates to your offer. For example, if you’re a meditation teacher you might offer a free meditation class. A social media manager can provide a checklist to optimize social media profiles.
Once you’ve decided how you’ll invite people into your email community, it’s time to mail your invitations. There are 2 main ways you can grow your email community: organically and paid ads.
If you go the organic route – start promoting. Drop your invitation on social media regularly, collaborate with other entrepreneurs, and share everywhere. Remember, organic growth takes time, so be patient and consistent. Paid ads are faster, but can be expensive. Find what works best for you, or do a mix of both.
Step 2: Welcome new subscribers
So you’ve sent out your invitations, and people are RSVPing yes! But now what?
Imagine your email community is like your brick and mortar store, and you want to welcome people so they have an amazing client experience. How would you greet them? Would you offer them coffee or tea? Would you ask them to sit down or to browse? Would there be music playing? Think about how you want your readers to feel. Then cultivate that feeling through a welcome sequence.
Welcome sequences are automated emails that subscribers receive after opting into your list. They build brand awareness, engage your audience, and can even make sales. But how exactly do you write one? There’s lots of ways to format a welcome sequence but here’s a sample outline to get you started:
- Delivery email → If you promised something in exchange for the opt-in, it’s time to deliver. This email is transactional giving access to a coupon, a free guide, or something else (be creative!)
- Brand Story email → Tell your brand story. Why did you start your business? What is your why? This is a chance to connect with people emotionally and build a relationship.
- Value email → What can you provide to your readers? Is there another free resource, a perspective shift or something else you can offer them?
- Social Proof email → Can you tell a story about a past client or show testimonials? This builds trust with your audience and helps build your authority and credibility.
- Summary email → Give your readers an overview of how they can work with you. Remind them of your journey together and what you’ve accomplished so far. Then, let people know what to expect going forward. What makes your email community unique? Is it special offers and exclusive discounts? Is it a weekly podcast? This is your chance to differentiate yourself from other email communities.
Step 3: Decide on content pillars
People have arrived in your community, you welcomed them, but now what? It’s time to mingle! But what do you actually say in your emails to keep your readers interested, engaged and ready to buy?
Content pillars are a great way to structure your email content with intention. They help you to focus on topics that warm up your audience and move them along the customer journey.
Here are some example content pillars you can adopt for your email marketing:
- Authority: What have you done that will help build trust in you as a professional? Are there podcast interviews, client wins, or other ways of showcasing your expertise?
- Stories: Tell your brand story, the stories behind your offers, and stories of clients wins. All of these help connect with your reader and build trust in you and your brand.
- Value: What are the perks of being on your email list? Do you give exclusive discounts, free resources, links to cool events, new insights, tips and tricks? This is where you deliver extra value for your audience.
- Sales: Sales emails should have a clear call to action. Make sure to include relevant links, and a clear timeframe. Finally, make sure to balance sales emails with lots of value.
Step 4: Create a schedule
There’s a lot of factors to consider when deciding how often to email. The more often you email, the more brand awareness you build. Consider what works best for you based on budget and capacity. Email at least once a week to stay top of mind for your audience.
You can plan out your content on a monthly or quarterly basis. Think about any special promotions or events and place them on the calendar first. Then, use your pillars to fill in the rest of the schedule. Use your email service provider to schedule your emails ahead of time.
Step 5: Measure, refine, elevate
How do you know that your email efforts are actually working?
At least once a quarter, delve into your email analytics and strategize for the upcoming quarter. When looking at your email performance, consider these metrics:
- Open rates: How many people open your email. If your open rates are low, test out different subject lines. Play with piquing your readers’ curiosity, using emojis or try different lengths. Whatever you do, test out one thing at a time.
- Click through rates: How many people click the links inside your email. If you notice a high open rate but low click through rate, it’s a sign to optimize the email copy. Experiment with button placement, change the content of the email, or try different calls to actions.
- Deliverability: Whether or not your emails are ending up in your subscribers inboxes. If you have low deliverability it means your email is being sent to spam. This can happen when people get added to communities that they didn’t opt in for. It can also be an issue with your email domain.
The possibilities for email marketing are endless. Promoting your community is key to maintaining an active and thriving email community. Being consistent will help you expand your reach and boost your sales. Then use metrics to help you refine and elevate your email marketing strategy.
This is a contributed post by Stacy Braga, a copywriter and consultant helping coaches and course creators elevate their launches and offers for a better client experience
Are you interested in writing an article for Massachusetts Business Network? Please fill out our contact form.