No discussion about marketing would be complete without email marketing. It took me many years to get on board with email marketing. I did not think email marketing was worth investing time let alone money into it. This was because, at the time, most of my clients came through social media or referrals. Let me tell you why I changed my mind about sending email marketing campaigns and some help for yours.
Why I Changed My Mind
I learned how wrong I was when I did a S.C.O.R.E Webinar years ago while I was still a Virtual Assistant. The Changing Roles of VAs had almost 1200 people signing up for my email list. I was not ready and suddenly wondered what I was going to do with all of these names.
So, when I did another webinar nearly a year later called Scaling By Outsourcing, I was a little more prepared when my list went to over 2,000. I was still not emailing regularly. It was after this webinar, I decided it was time I really made use of these lists and I began emailing at least once a month. It was a game-changer!
Let me share a few things I have discovered over the last several years about email marketing.
Why Should I Do Email Marketing At All
Now, first how about if we talk about “Why?”. Most of us know that we should be trying email marketing, however, in your online service business is not normal to suddenly receive 500 to 1,000 email addresses. Instead, they come in like trickles, don’t they? Regardless of how many you have on your list, whether it’s 3 or 50, or 5,000 they are still WARM LEADS for you! These are people who signed up to hear more. They trusted you with their email address and that is pretty amazing. So, please pay them back and honor them by giving them help in each email – they are waiting for you.
Warm Leads = means a possible future client who wants information from you. Versus a cold lead being someone you do not know at all, a warm lead means this person is interested in something you offered and could be a potential client in the future if you continue to nurture them so they come to know, like, and trust you (as this is needed before they will purchase).
These warm leads chose to be on your list. You didn’t beg, bribe, or take advantage of them. In fact, you gave them something of value (your free offer usually). Now they are waiting to hear more valuable information from you. And no matter how long they stay on the list (and I can honestly tell you that I have had people on my list for a year or longer before they decided to finally become a client), they have been listening to you and hearing the information you are sharing with them. One of these email names could be your next new client.
Getting Started With Email Marketing
Now that we have established that email marketing is a necessity if you would like to attract warm leads let’s discuss some of the how-to’s.
#1 Start with Your Free Offer – you must give away a piece of valuable information (pdf, checklist, ebook, workbook, etc.). You could also conduct a free webinar, course, session, or another offer in order to collect those email addresses. They must perceive that it is of value so make sure that the name will help them know it is desirable (my secret tips on____, how I made $___ in 30 days, etc..).
#2 Choose Your Software – as it is a necessity for email marketing. Do not use your personal email as it could get you banned from your platform. When we discuss email marketing most know the names MailChimp, MailerLite, or even FloDesk. Let me suggest, however, another program called Moosend. It is one of the top contenders but rarely mentioned. I use this platform and really love it. Moosend has email templates for your newsletter, e-commerce, or other needs. A landing page builder with templates is another benefit. It also offers automation for your new email signups to get a nice welcome email if you set it up. And has the ability to email after an action on your email was taken or not taken. Best of all it is inexpensive, only $9/month for 500 contacts or less (which let’s face it most of us qualify for when beginning) and only $24 a month for 2,000 contacts (if you have been building up your list). So, check it out with the others and compare.
Purpose of Email Marketing
You may be wondering about the purpose of email marketing at this point. It can actually have a few different purposes. It can be used to welcome and onboard clients (or new sign-ups), it can be used to help develop your brand identity, and of course, the biggest reason would be to get your audience to buy or purchase something or services from you.
As we discuss this, it is important to point out the ROI of email marketing.
#3 ROI – email marketing has by far one the greatest return on investments (ROI) of any digital marketing.
“The ROI of email marketing is 44$ for every 1$ spent (according to the DMA, 2021).
-Moosend
Maintenance of Your Email Marketing Lists
In maintaining your lists there is often the discussion of purging lists. This brings us to point number four.
#4 Purging Lists – this is one of the questions that always comes up when talking about email marketing. Whether you should purge your lists regularly or not. As you see in the quote below, it is often recommended to purge every 6 months, no later than a year.
“…a good rule of thumb is every six months — and definitely not longer than a year. Or, if you want to keep your list squeaky clean year round, try cleaning your list every 3 months.”
-Aweber
As I mentioned, however, I have had people come to me after being on my list for over a year and want to become clients. I believe it’s because they see my name come up regularly in their inbox, even if they do not open it. And when they were ready or in need of my services they remembered me and reached out.
If you’re not sure if you should purge then why not try a re-engagement campaign? It is when you notify those who have not opened your email in a long time (or ever) that you will be taking them off your list if they do not re-confirm wanting to be on it.
When To Email
It is important that you know when to send your email so as to maximize your effectiveness.
#5 Timing – knowing the right time to send out your email is also crucial. You should familiarize yourself with the right day of the week and the right time that is best. Your email software should have data on this and hopefully notifies you of the best time they are getting the most open rates.
You should also take a look at your own analytics (on most email software dashboards) as well as test out a variety of days and times. Discern which day of the week works best for you and your schedule but also gets those open rates. People will get used to the day of the week you send them (loyal readers will anyway). All of that to say, do your own research and testing as well.
More Tools
There are a couple more tools to discuss. One of which is the headline checker to help you with your effectiveness to reach those you desire. And let’s not forget the emoji and how it can help you with your email marketing. Yes, that is right, an emoji in the headline can often add to open rates, believe it or not. My own 2 cents on that is that because it is showing emotion which in turn can evoke emotion. After all, this is the key to gaining audience members and email readers.
#6 – Headline Tools – are also important especially if you do not have enough data to review and see what your audience is opening. Hubspot has a good article with 15 line testers they tried. If you do not have the data take a look at the article.
#7 – Emojis – Yes I said it, emojis. They are important in getting more open rates for your campaigns.
“Experian found that using emojis in email subject lines increased their open rates by 56%“
-Moosend
If you are not currently utilizing email marketing campaigns I suggest that it is time to start. The first step is really to create a valuable free offer – even if it is simply a free consultation until you can figure out another idea. This will get you started and should help you collect names. Remember to connect your email marketing program to the form(s) on your website so that you collect those emails.
If you need help setting up or with marketing strategies, please let me know. I have been in the marketing world for well over a decade and can advise you on the next steps.
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