Email marketing is when you use an email service such as MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, or Infusionsoft to send emails to your audience and contacts. The people on your list have given you permission to email them and you’ll find you get the best results when you email them on a regular basis.
For some people this may seem overwhelming and they may question why do it at all? Here’s my simple answer; email gives you an opportunity to show up in your prospects inbox on a regular basis.
You may say, well I’m already on Facebook, Instagram or another social media platform. The problem is you don’t know how to get in touch with them through there. It’s kind of a shot in the dark because they may never see your post. Certainly not everyone sees your emails either. But let’s say you have built a huge following of thousands of people on Facebook, there is great interaction and you are getting a lot of business from it. Then all of a sudden for whatever reason, Facebook goes kaplooey. It either shuts down itself or it shuts you down (which has happened). Now you have lost all those people! With the magic of email marketing though you have these people on your list and you are able to access them no matter what.
What should you put in your emails?
- A welcome email. Say something like, Hi! Thank you so much for signing up to receive___________. (They have usually signed up to receive a free opt-in you have created.) Then share 1-3 benefits they will get from receiving this thing they signed up for. You can also let them know who you are and what to expect from you.
- Scheduled series of emails. Maybe you haven’t created a newsletter yet but you definitely want to keep in touch with people once they sign up. You could create a series of 3-5 different tips that you write up in email form. Each email will be one topic. Let’s use coaching services as an example. You may take one benefit of working with you, share a testimonial or success story, share some insight on your process, or link to a recent blog post. This starts building a trust and relatability.
- Have a point and goal in mind. Know your end before you get started. Do you want them to watch a video, schedule a call with you, read a blog post? If you are planning to sell something at a certain time, work backwards. Plan out what points and benefits you want to make and decide how many emails you need between now and then.
How often is too often?
- Though I don’t like to receive or send multiple or daily emails, they do work because some very successful people use this method and track the statistics to prove it.
- Weekly emails are good however if you are just getting started you could do one per month. But you will want to build it up to a more frequent schedule.
Simple or Detailed? Graphics or Not?
You may be seeing emails that have no graphics. The html (text only) emails have lower deliverability issues. Emails with graphics can get trapped in the spam file where they will likely not be seen. So this is a good thing to consider this when creating your emails. You could create a page on your website or a blog post that you could link to within the email that directs people to something with images.
How long should they be?
This totally depends on content and the skill in writing it. Track your opens and statistics to see what is and what is not working. There is no right or wrong here, it depends on your market and audience.
Watch the whole video below for more examples.
