Your email list is your biggest asset. It’s a direct line to those who have consciously decided that yes, they want to see you in their inbox. This is a huge opportunity for you, and it’s why email marketing should be a part of any brand strategy.
But how do you with your audience through email? How do you get people onto your list to begin with, and then how do you keep them there? All valid questions, and all part of a strong email marketing strategy.
Have a strong lead nurturing pathway
The first step to effective email marketing is creating a strong lead nurturing campaign. This means creating a lead magnet (a free offer) that is enticing enough for someone to part with their email address, and then following it up with a series of emails that welcome them to your list.
Your lead magnet can be anything from a free download to a video series to a discount coupon. Whatever it is, it likely will provide an immediate solution to a frustrating problem that is related to your service or product. Once an email is submitted, they receive the solution and their frustration is eased. At this point, you’ve begun to develop a relationship with your subscriber.
From here, the key is continued nurturing. Instead of dumping your new subscriber into your regular newsletter campaigns, send them through an onboarding sequence designed to build upon that relationship. This series of emails (usually 5-7 total) is a chance for you to provide your new subscriber with free, high-value content, a low-cost offer, and proof of your expertise.
Think quality over quantity when list building
Growing an email list is a smart business strategy. Growing an email list simply to see the number of subscribers go up is not. When you’re building your list, pay attention to the quality of your subscribers. Make sure you have a handle on who you want on your list, and that all of your content is directed to those people. Having a list full of people who aren’t actually interested in buying from you won’t help anyone.
Stay on message in all of your content, and don’t forget to sell
Throughout your relationship with your subscriber, you’re providing them with something they want or need. They entered the relationship looking for help with a problem, and now it’s your job to drive home your ability to solve that problem. That means remaining on topic in all of your emails, providing content relevant to your brand image. It also means giving your subscriber list an opportunity to buy from you. Many businesses hesitate to sell within their email sequence, but this is the only way to turn your subscriber into a paying client. If you go too long without making an offer they won’t think of you as someone to buy from so much as a free content resource.
Email your list regularly
Be clear on your objectives, and make sure your content is on task. To that note, it’s important to email your list frequently enough that they don’t forget about you. It won’t matter if you’re on message and making an offer if you only email your list once a year and they don’t remember who you are. Set up a schedule and stick to it. Let your readers know how often they should expect to hear from you, and make it frequent enough that they won’t forget about you (but not so frequent that they get annoyed). Every audience is different, and it may take some finagling to find your sweet spot.
At the end of the day, an email marketing strategy is like any other content strategy. It’s about treating your readers as human beings and your brand as a solution to their problems.
For more information about starting and optimizing your email marketing strategy, contact us.