Email marketing is still BOOMING! But are you really taking advantage of it in a way that’ll help you to build a meaningful relationship with your audience?

Because email marketing is often given the ‘all about me’ spray and pray treatment. Where it’s seen as “job done” if a newsletter is drafted and blasted to the entire list, with little to no value given.

And this is often where cries of “email marketing is dead” originate. 

The real truth is that email marketing can be a huge boost for your business. 

But you have to be prepared to invest time and energy into it. Just like you invest time and energy into your social media strategy.

In fact when it comes down to it, email marketing should really be your digital best friend.

Here’s why…

• Email marketing is better at driving conversions than other marketing channels including social media (Monetate).
• An email hitting the inbox of your subscribers is much more likely to be viewed than if you were to put that same message on social media. 5x more likely in fact, according to research group Radicati.
• Hubspot say that on average, email generates $38 for every dollar spent, which is a 3,800% return on investment.
• Which means that email marketing is one of the cheapest (and most effective) forms of marketing that small businesses can use to their advantage.
• It’s also highly measurable. Which means you can set goals, dig into the stats (deliverability, open rates, click through rates), and use this information to refine, plan and structure the copy for your next email. Small tweaks can make a big difference.
• You can segment your email list and tailor your content to provide a greater level of value to your email subscribers. 
• You OWN it. You are the owner of your email community. No one can take that away from you. Just make sure you always keep it backed up.

What can you use email marketing for?

There are so many ways you can use email marketing to grow your business. Some of the most common ways include:

• Promoting your content. Blog posts, videos and any other content you’ve published.
• Nurturing your email community members. Providing engaging and valuable expert content that will help them to solve a problem you know they struggle with.
• Building relationships. Show your readers who you really are. Don’t shy away from being yourself in your emails. Being yourself will help your audience to understand who you are, to like you (or not – which is all good too, because you want to attract or repel people to stay or go), and to build trust in you. Ask them questions (and tag their answers), encourage them to reply or to interact with you in some other way so you can start to build solid relationships.
• Promoting/selling your services. Just don’t overdo it. People expect some sales emails, but if that’s all you send you’ll turn them away pretty quickly. Try following the 80/20 rule. 80% valuable content to 20% sales.

How do you get started?

If email list building and email marketing is new to you, here’s what you’ll need.

First off you need a way of collecting email addresses, via a website or via social media.

Then you’ll need an email marketing provider such as Mailchimp (great if you’re just starting out) or my personal favourite, Convertkit.

Next set up an opt-in form so that people can subscribe to your list. You need to place this on your website or set it up on a landing page. You can add a signup form to some social media too.

TIP: You’ll get much better traction if you provide an incentive for people to join your email community. Think of the common pain points your clients have and create a checklist, cheat sheet, eBook, email series or something else that you will send to people once they’ve joined.

Write an email that will go to them as soon as they have joined your email community. People are most receptive to you when they first join your list. So maximise this opportunity!

Next you can either set up an automated welcome sequence to nurture your readers. Or you can send individual emails on a regular basis. Always provide value – entertain, inform, inspire.

Once you start to get the hang of it, think about how you can segment your community based on attributes such as location or interests. Then you can write and send content that is relevant to people in your chosen segments. 

FINALLY…

Always remember there is another person at the end of your email. So speak to them like a person. Have a conversation. Think of ways to encourage them to interact with your emails.

Think about how you can build your know, like, trust factor. How you can showcase your expertise without pushing a hard sell.

It’s all about trying and refining. Don’t be scared to give it a go. And if people unsubscribe – remember this:  They were probably never going to be a paying client anyway. And in that case I say better out than in!