Email Marketing Strategy for the Creative Entrepreneur
Did you know that “email [marketing] is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter?” In addition, “email marketing drives more conversions than any other marketing channel”* The effectiveness and importance of email marketing cannot be disputed and all the experts joined the train a long time ago! If you’re reading this, I doubt I need to convince you that you need an email list. You’re probably here because you don’t know how OR you don’t know what to do now that you have an email list!
I hear you, sister.
It can be overwhelming and a lot of people would just give up.
But, that’s not you.
Here’s why you need to care:
We’ve seen it over and over again, social media changes and fails and eventually disappears. Myspace anyone? So, you need to make sure your business is “proofed” and ready if Instagram or Facebook disappeared tomorrow.
Enter: Email Marketing.
Starting your list can be one of the most intimidating steps, but you can’t grow your list if you never start it, silly!
RELATED: Marketing Strategy For The Creative Entrepreneur
Five Ways to Kickstart Your Email Marketing e-book:
The tips I go over in the aforementioned guide will help you get started. Now, that you have a list, how are you going to keep them engaged and excited about your emails? And how will you make it grow?
Keep ‘em engaged:
Ask for replies: when you send your emails (whether they are weekly, bi-weekly, monthly), make sure your content encourages a reply. Ask a question. Encourage them to reply for something in exchange. You want the people on your list to feel taken care of and important. You also want to talk as if you are having coffee with a friend. Be inviting.
Give, give, give: in order to build trust with your audience, you want to give things away. This could be your expertise about a specific topic, or a hand-lettered print, or a custom design. If you want your list to be profitable, you need to build trust by giving away your time and expertise.
Be yourself, show your personality: Your audience wants to feel like they are connecting with a real person. This means you need to show your true self. Don't try and mimic the emails and voice of your favorite entrepreneur. Figure out YOUR voice, hone in on that, and be yourself. Trust me, it's a lot easier to be yourself than to try and be someone else.
Communicate clearly: Make sure your email list knows how often they will hear from you, why you are writing to them, and what they can expect. I often write a little blurb at the beginnings of my weekly emails to remind people who I am, what I write about, and why it matters.
Make it grow:
Give, give, give: Like we talked about before, you want to build trust with your audience. So, a simple way to grow your email list is by having free downloads throughout your website. This allows you to grow your list, while also giving away something for free. The more people who see it and sign up, the more your list grows.
Have multiple “points of entry” on your website for people to get on the list: You can have an opt-in for simply joining your list for updates or discounts or a freebie. But, throughout your website (for example: blog posts), you should have various ways to grab the attention of your readers and encourage them to join your list or download a freebie. Giving them one option (a pop-up), is not always enough; and can often be annoying.
Free online challenge: One of the best things I have done to grow my email list and audience was through hosting free online challenges. The first one I hosted was #theheartfeltgrid: a free Instagram e-course all about curating a feed and growing a tribe by being heartfelt. The second challenge I hosted was for product shop owners which helped them organize and systematize their shop!
Participate in a giveaway: There are several types of giveaways that gather email addresses of the participants. This would be a great way to do a collaborative giveaway with multiple product shops. However, once the giveaway is over, make sure you send a welcome email to those new emails you gathered and clearly explain how they got on your list, what to expect from you, and what you provide. This continues to build trust! And hopefully lessen the amounts of unsubscribes!
Email marketing is the way of the future, friends. So, you better hop to it and get it going! I can't wait to see how your business continues to grow.