Email marketing has been around forever, and it is here to stay – for good reason! It’s the most direct and effective way of reconnecting with your clients and turning any potential customers into clients.
But just like our social media feeds, some people can be overwhelmed with emails in their inbox. Though you might think your email is exciting, there is a high probability that to the receiver, it looks the same as all the other emails. This why it’s important to be polite, engaging, and educational.
The first step to any email marketing strategy is getting permission and building an email list.But to do this, you must first have a place to collect and manage your email addresses. This can be done via my favourite email marketing platform, Mailchimp. Here are a few ways that you can collect the email addresses of your contacts or potential contacts:
As well, if you have a website, you can include a sign-up call to action in the footer or exit popup. There is no right or wrong way but if you need my help with anything just let me know.
Simply saying… “enter your email for updates” isn’t going to get anyone excited. There are many ways to persuade a person to sign up for your email marketing but it’s always easier if you are offering something for free…
1. Free downloads
2. Limited promotions
3. Discount
4. Weekly tips
So, before you get started, have a think about what you can offer! Then promote it on social media and to your existing customer base. If you have an existing database, you can upload directly to Mailchimp but Mailchimp will ask you to confirm if you have received their permission.
Once you have that all-important email list in Mailchimp, you should now include a welcome email. This email should be sent immediately as a way to introduce yourself and detail what you plan to do with your new subscriber’s email address.
Remember, being consistent is important, if you say you’re going to send out weekly emails don’t suddenly change it to daily, it’s all about meeting expectations. The beauty of Mailchimp is you can automate this journey by setting up a welcome email to send on sign up.
Now you have people to email, it’s time to think about your content. What do you want to say to your audience? You’ll want to send relevant emails with purpose, that keep people engaged and stop them from unsubscribing.
When working with our clients, we find it useful to outline general content types, which we can include in their email marketing campaigns. Content marketing examples include:
• Blog articles
• Team updates
• Upcoming events
• Popular posts from social media
• Details about featured or new products
• Industry guides
Show personality, keep it snappy but useful and link to your website.
In Mailchimp, you have the option to code your own HTML template and import it to Mailchimp but this can take time and expertise you might not have.
To save time, I suggest using one of the Mailchimp templates which are editable in the easy-to-use template editor. This way you can ensure they’re displayed properly across different email inboxes. Mailchimp is free for up to 2000 subscribers but if you do pay then you do get access to more templates.
Once you’ve designed your own template you can then turn this into your first email. This is an easy way to make sure your emails are consistent every time you send one out. When you have finished, your gut instinct will probably be to click ‘Send’ immediately, to me this is a scary thought especially if you have a growing database.
I advise you to take a little time to test your design to make sure it looks good in as many different email clients and devices as possible – this will make it much more effective. You can do this by sending a test email to your friends and co-workers. Now your email is ready to send!
Congrats, you’ve now got the basics of email marketing down! The final great thing about sending your emails via Mailchimp is that you can review the report to see who opens or clicks on your emails!
Rockstar Top Tips
1. Create a series of automated emails to keep your users engaged
2. Use a variety of call to actions in your emails
3. Follow up with the customers who open or click on your emails
4. Learn from your analytics and send at the best times
5. Don’t forget to personalise your sign-up forms in Mailchimp by uploading your logo and brand colours.
Stay Safe,
Stacey
#realfaces #stickingtogether
