How To Effectively Use Email Marketing

Email. You know it’s important, in fact, vital to your business to use email marketing to make sales and increase profit.  But how or Where do you start? This is one of the most frequently asked questions by entrepreneurs, coaches, and small business owners when it comes to marketing. 

I’ll pre-warn you…If you think of email marketing as just an option or something to get to later when you get a chance…Think again! Because you are leaving a lot of money on the table. 

The main ideas for you to takeaway:

1) Email is a long-term strategy

2) Get started and be consistent 

A key to success in marketing and your business is to build your list and have a strategy. 

Perhaps you tried sending out an email here and there but you’re not consistent or sure you’re even doing it right.  You signed up for an ESP (Email Service Provider) but don’t know how to use it or that you are maximizing its full potential. And these are just the beginning of your questions. Let us not go down the rabbit hole that automation and segmentation can lead to!

Oh, the possibilities! If only you had more time. But you’re already juggling running a business, managing social media, sales calls and you still have laundry to do.

Fret not! I’m going to break down the most common email practices and how to effectively use email as a marketing tool to get you started. 

The importance of email marketing

Done right, email marketing will do the following for you: 

• Increase brand awareness 
• Sell products/increase sales
• Drive traffic to your website
• Nurture the relationship with clients
• Turn subscribers into paying clients

More on these later…Let’s begin with basics, shall we? 

What Is Email Marketing?

Emails are also known as “campaigns” by many Email Service Providers. Email is just another form of marketing campaign: “an organized course of action to promote and sell a product or service.”

Many times, startups or entrepreneurs starting are more lost than they need to be. I always encourage new startups to have a business plan, nothing fancy, but you do need to know who your market is, what your message is, how will you reach your audience, and execute on these basics.  I recommend the 1 Page Marketing Plan.

It helps to have a 12-month marketing strategy, once you plan, you’ll have a blueprint, a roadmap that will guide your marketing campaigns.

Let’s continue with more basics.

Broadcast & Automation Emails

The emails you write will fall into 2 categories: Broadcast or Automation

Broadcasts are one-off emails that you send out when you are either making an announcement, promoting a sale, or sharing something new with your business like a new service or product. You can even send out a survey, and send out a monthly newsletter. You can send it out as an email blast or schedule the email to go out in advance.

Automations are just that, they are automated. Preconfigured based on the subscriber’s actions. A subscriber takes an action which then triggers an email based on that action. They can be a sequence of emails anywhere from 1- 10 or more emails that are triggered to send when a subscriber meets the criteria you have pre-set.

An automated email is designed to save you time from having to do the same task for every single new subscriber. It can be simple or complex enough to take your prospects into a sales funnel to generate income.

Your automated messages should align with your prospects at the right time of their customer journey. This is what makes them HIGHLY EFFECTIVE. 

For example, your welcome email falls into the automation category. Anytime a new subscriber joins your list, it triggers an automated welcome message. Usually, it delivers your lead magnet content as well. 

More complex automation includes a sales sequence. A subscriber joins through a landing page which then triggers a series of automated messages you have scheduled all designed to move them closer to the purchasing decision.

Automated messages are the holy grail of email marketing because you can send messages that meet the buyer at the right stage of their buying journey. You can automate your growth, at scale and increase revenue.

For example, you wouldn’t send an email to a subscriber to buy a high ticket item to a brand new subscriber. They haven’t gotten to know like or trust you enough. The chances of them buying a high-priced item, while not impossible, are slim. You’re better off sending them an email that takes them to a landing page that asks them to book a consultation/sales call.  By now you’ve established they have an interest. You’ve captured their email and can now send them targeted automated messages specifically designed to get them closer to making a buying decision.

However, say you send the same message to a long-term subscriber that’s made several purchases before, your rate of success increases.

With automation not only can you send customizable emails, but you can segment emails to different groups. 

For example, if you’re an author and you have 2 types of audiences, fiction, and nonfiction, you’re able to tag and group these Audiences so that you’re sending out targeted messages.

Sending out target messages helps strengthen the relationship with your audience. It makes them feel like you know them, their pain points, and how you can help them solve their problems. Amazon built its business model on this foundation. Obsessing over the customer journey. They used data to make recommendations based on predictable behaviors thereby increasing the cart value of each customer. In a nutshell, it’s why you’re probably getting Amazon prime orders every other day. 

5 Purpose To Emails

• Increase brand awareness 
• Sell products/increase sales
• Drive traffic to your website
• Nurture the relationship with clients
• Turn subscribers into paying clients

Emails are like writing a personal message to your audience. Imagine what writing a daily email would do to the relationship with your prospects? 

It’s like that relative that always calls just to say hi and see how you are, asks about your day, and provides value. Unlike the relative, you only hear from on holidays or when they want something from you. Which do you think you’re more warmed up to? Who’s built that trust and likability factor? 

The same principle applies here.

Writing an email a day helps to bond with your prospect. 

  I know what you’re thinking-

“How am I supposed to write an email a day?!”

Here are some stats to prove why

• There are 3.9 billion daily email users
• Mobile opens account for 46 percent of all email opens.
• 35% of business professionals check email on a mobile device.
• 73% of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email.
• Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue.
• 35% of marketers send their customers 3-5 emails per week. 
• 78% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months
• 80% of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention. 
• 59% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions.

Email generates $38 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 3,800% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available.*

How Frequently Should You Email?

When you think of email, always think long-term goals.

You will get better results over time. It’s better to get started now than not begin at all. If you wanted to forgo one aspect of marketing, email is not the one to neglect. 

Another factor to consider, how frequently can you commit to emailing your subscribers? 

I highly recommend daily, but if you can churn out 2-3 emails per week you’re in a good spot. And don’t worry, they need not be essays, sometimes the most effective emails are short and punchy. Anywhere from 100-500 words. The key here is to send something out consistently. 

You can also commit to a once a week newsletter/updates email or a very thorough once-a-month report/newsletter.

You may shy away from daily emails thinking it’s spammy, but I say do it, but only if you are truly providing value. 

Your customers WANT to hear from you and how you can help them as much as you want to help them reach your goals. Everyone is a happy camper. 

You should also consider the context of your subject/or niche.

I sign up for investing reports and because they are well researched and thorough, the author only sends them out every month. But if you are a coach or info product, you can send them daily tips, or answer frequently asked questions, point them to your blog, or include client testimonials. You can keep them Short to the point – sweet and simple. 

I also suggest keeping a Daily Email Ideas note on your phone and anytime you think of a topic you add it quickly. 

If you truly do not have the time to create daily emails, consider outsourcing it.

Check out the email campaign services we offer. 

To tie it all together, test out different emails to see what works best with your audience.

CTA’s. Every Email Needs A Call To Action

Email marketing is most effective when you keep in mind, it is after all marketing. Every email should lead your customers back to the solution to their problem that you can solve. Either by pointing them to a course you offer, a coaching or session call, a video you created, or a blog post.  

Remember, Emails are a form of expression. You are conveying a message in writing. It is a message being transferred from one person or entity to another in a written form. 

This also includes leading them to connect with you more on your social media profiles all the while deepening the bond with your prospects. Readers want to be taken on a journey. They’ve already taken the time to read your email, they’re expecting you to close by asking them to take some sort of action.

What is your message? What is your goal? What are you ultimately trying to accomplish?  It should all align with your brand vision and mission. 

Put it out there and as long as you have created value, then you are on the right path to effective email marketing.

*Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-stats