Email Marketing – A Thing Of The Past?

Email Marketing can double your revenue. Ask any successful business owner and she’ll tell you, the faster you can move a potential client from the “prospect” side of the ledger to the “buyer” side, the higher your profit margins will be. That’s why millions of dollars have been spent studying marketing strategies, client on-boarding methods, follow-up contact, and more.

As an online entrepreneur, you have the same powerful tools at your disposal that much larger companies enjoy, but if you’re not taking the best advantage of them, you’re leaving money on the table.

The most powerful of these tools?

Your email marketing follow-up sequence.

While the “know, like and trust” factor is important when it comes to making sales, it’s also worth remembering that new subscribers are highly likely to take action.

Even if they’ve only just met you, a well-designed email marketing follow-up sequence can quickly:

1. • Establish you as the leader in your market

1. • Provide proof of concept

1. • Solidify that “know, like and trust” element

1. • Turn browsers into buyers

Click here for a tool to help you plan next week's emails.

Irresistible Email Marketing

The key is to present an irresistible email marketing flow that leads naturally from one step to the next, making each offer along the way—whether free or paid—a “no brainer” your reader would never consider rejecting. In fact, she’ll anxiously await your next email (and the next, and the next) and happily fill her virtual cart with your latest products and services. Read more about offers now.

And all because you’ve designed an email marketing follow-up she’d be foolish to ignore.

Email is not dead yet and not predicted to go anywhere any time soon.

There are over 4.35 billion email accounts accounts. This figure is predicted to reach 5.59 billion by 2019 which is a growth of more than 26% - Radicati Group (2015)

There are 2.586 billion email users worldwide, including both business and consumer users. - Radicatti Group (2015)

72% of US online adults send or receive personal emails via smartphone at least weekly - Forrester (2014)

122,500,453,020 emails are sent every hour. - MarketingProfs (2014)

People prefer email for commercial communications

81% of US online shoppers are more likely to make additional purchases, either online or in a store, as a result of emails based on previous shopping behaviors and preferences. - Harris Interactive

72% of consumers say that email is their favored conduit of communication with companies they do business with. 61% say they like to receive promotional emails weekly and 28% want them even more frequently. - MarketingSherpa (2015)

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Email Marketing Best Practices

1. • Keep it brief
     People want something quick and something helpful. If you feel like giving them an eBook, then email them a link to your eBook. Emails are being checked more and more on mobile devices, because people are moving around with a little time in between stops.

1. • Keep links to a minimum
     It’s all on Google, their email filters thinks it knows best. So too many links will hurt you. Even the unsubscribe link is being counted by Google, which is kind of strict. Emails with too many, which is more than three links will be put into the Promotional tab automatically. Then, you are risking your emails even being opened at all.

1. • Make it about the reader, very personal
     Organize your readers in the list they come in. Include their first name in the email or subject. Say things like, “ Hey it’s been 2 weeks since you join the list and I’m so excited to tell you about……” Try to get as personal as you can with your audience. Also, write like you’re writing to one person. This keeps the connection burning. Be creative and divide your list up based on the say they signed up.

1. • Be consistent with delivery
     Let people know when to expect you. Have a set day you send out emails, even a set time of day. That way they know, every Tuesday morning at 10 am, they will be getting an email from you.

1. • Add value to your reader
     You’ve got to send something that your reader is looking for. Can you inspire them, make them money, save them money, save them time? Wow them with your language in the email, don’t just tell them to click a link. Why should they? Every time they see your name, they must feel that value is coming their way.

1. • Pictures are NOT worth a 100 words
     Studies have shown that emails do way better without the images. Unless you’d rather have a corporation feel over open rates, I would remove the header and logos. I know this one hurts. You may make better profit with the images in all your emails, but if you’re looking for higher open rates, get rid of them.

1. • Awesome subject line
     Your subject is probably the most important part of the email. The object is to get them to open and hopefully read the email. Spend as much time on the subject line as you do the rest of the entire email.  Make them fun, and leave them to wonder what is it they will be missing out on my not clicking and opening your awesome email!

1. • Reply back to your readers
     Always reply back to your readers. Nothing is more important than this one thing. You complete that connection by responding. People want to know that you’re real. Make your replies #1 priority. Do not send emails from no-reply@yoursite.com. You’re emailing them, but they can’t email you? So this is a one-way street? Not a good message you’re giving here. Actually, having them to reply to you can increase your deliverability tremendously as the servers will see you as real.

Know Your Follow-up Goal

You will very likely have many follow-up sequences in your business. While you have a larger, overarching funnel with a clear goal (perhaps a VIP day or exclusive retreat), each follow-up series will have its own smaller goal as well, with each one designed to move subscribers deeper into your funnel.

For example, you may offer a free webinar training to show attendees the power of blogging for business.

After the webinar, you’ll reach out with a series of five or seven emails which:

• Restate the importance of blogging

• Provide proof of concept through case studies

• Offer tips and strategies not covered during the webinar

• Give links to supporting documents and additional resources

• Finally, you’ll offer your paid blogging program, which subscribers can purchase at a discount if they do so within a set period of time.

In this example, the paid blogging training is the goal for this follow-up sequence, but not your big, end-of-funnel goal. It’s merely one step along the path to that VIP program, retreat, or high-end private coaching program.

As you can see, email marketing is an extremely important piece of the puzzle. It does not work on it's own though. Staying in touch is important and getting them to take action is even more important. All the pieces work together and fit together to create the perfect online presence. Click here to finally understand your entire online puzzle.