When’s the last time you spent an hour in your inbox unsubscribing to a company’s email list? Especially one that you don’t remember subscribing to in the first place? A company whose emails inundate your inbox multiple times per day, whose name you start to loathe because you are sick of seeing it so often? Yep, we’ve all been there. And email marketing CAN be frustrating.
But there are also individuals or brands from whom you DO enjoy hearing! Whether it’s your favorite wellness blogger sending out a healthy recipe of the week, your favorite fitness studio alerting you about a special on a 10-pack of classes, or your favorite networking group (ahem!) sending out their newsletter chock full of info, these emails are fun to receive!
And while we still might delete a million unwanted emails a day, entrepreneurs and small business owners should not discount the effectiveness of email marketing. It remains one of the most effective ways to develop a relationship with your customers and establish brand loyalty. In fact, according to a recent Email Marketing Industry Census, email marketing outperforms all online marketing strategies including SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay-per-click), and content marketing.
WHAT IS EMAIL MARKETING?
Email marketing is one prong of the digital marketing sphere. There are many intentions and goals when it comes to email marketing, including the following:
• Helping prospective customers and clients get to know you, your brand, and your offerings.
• Guiding prospective customers and clients to purchase / subscribe / join and become current customers and clients.
• Creating brand awareness and brand loyalty.
• Educating customers and clients about new and important information in your field or industry.
• Selling products and services to customers and clients.
• Alerting customers and clients about upcoming promotions, events, updates, and changes.
THREE TYPES OF EMAIL MARKETING
There are many types of emails that can be crafted when it comes to email marketing, but we spoke to Stacey Beaman, BRA Member and Founder of Be.Woman Marketing, to find out about some of the most popular and effective types of emails. Here is what she had to say:
NURTURE SEQUENCE OF EMAILS
When a potential client first joins your mailing list, they’ve done so in a variety of ways. They may have landed on your website and opted into your mailing list to stay in the loop on what is happening with your company. They may have provided their email address in order to earn a discount code on a product or service. They may have handed over their email address in exchange for a free download or to be entered into a giveaway contest.
And let me tell you, each email address that is added to your email list is like gold, baby. So we must treat it as such.
These potential clients must be handled with care. You don’t want to come at them guns blazing with sales, promos, and more sales. Yikes! That’s a surefire way to push them to hit that unsubscribe button.
Instead, upon joining your mailing list, consider a sequence of emails that warmly welcomes these newbies into your community, focusing on some of the pain points you may be able to solve for them, offering education, case studies and testimonials, and inviting them to further become part of your world through other avenues like social media or a free webinar.
Only after you have begun to establish yourself, your company, and your intentions to improve the lives of your potential customers and clients can you start asking for something in return. A buy in. A purchase. A membership. A subscription.
A typical nurture sequence of emails may include between 4-7 emails that are sent out over a course of 7-10 days and could look something like this:
• Email #1 – Welcome to (insert business name). We get you and your needs and we are glad you are here.
• Email #2 – Our WHY behind starting (insert business name).
• Email #3 – How we work
• Email #4 – Don’t just take our word for it. (Testimonials)
• Email #5 – Education. Did you know (educate them on something interesting or often misunderstood or new in your industry)?
• Email #6 – Book a call. Join a webinar. Purchase a product.
And the best part about a welcome sequence is that you can set it up to be completely automated. Working with a marketing expert to set up your automations will be some of the best dollars you ever spend. You can sleep well at night knowing that each and every person who opts into your email list is about to go on a little journey, getting to know your business and feeling nurtured along the way.
NEWSLETTERS
This type of email is critical for building brand loyalty and awareness, staying relevant and credible, and keeping your business top of mind. I would aim for 1-2 newsletters per month, but that should be determined per business. Newsletters may contain promos or sales, but they are not the focus of the email.
Instead, the brand or business is sharing what’s new, announcing changes, upcoming events, providing a little behind the scenes peek of what’s happening in their world. This is the email that keeps customers and clients interested and coming back. This type of email helps customers and clients feel personal and like they have the inside scoop, as if they are shareholders in your company.
Side note: You can sign up for the latest BRA Network community updates HERE. BRA Members receive an exclusive newsletter called The Underwire with Members-only offers, events, and opportunities each month!
PROMOTIONAL OR SALES EMAILS
This type of email is probably the most obvious category in the email marketing world. You’ve been building, growing and nurturing your email list with other types of emails, but now you want to see a ROI (return on investment) on all that hard work.
It’s time to let your email list know about a new course you are launching, a promotion on a product, or early bird tickets for an upcoming event. And because you’ve been working and massaging your email list, your loyal recipients are much likelier to open your email and hit that purchase button. This is where the payoff comes and it’s the BEST FEELING EVER!
But again, HANDLE WITH CARE. Your promo emails should not far outweigh your other types of emails. That’s when you start to see those unsubscribes come through. And trust me, you don’t want that.
Email marketing is robust and powerful and there is so much more to be shared, but this is a good start in helping you determine if it’s simply irritating or invaluable. I hope you can see the high value in developing a strong email marketing strategy for your business. I believe that as long as you aren’t TOO aggressive in anyone’s inbox, your well crafted email marketing campaigns will lead to massive conversion.
To get in touch with Stacey and work with her for your marketing needs, reach out to her at [email protected].
If you are interested in joining a professional community and helping your business thrive, sign up for the next Fitting Room. You’ll discover how we can support you and your business during this free virtual orientation. You’ll also get to know our Founder, Carrie Murray, and network with some of our high-quality BRA Members!
