3 Steps to Get Started with Email Marketing

Watch Now: 3 STEPS to get you started with EMAIL MARKETING

Welcome back to the second article of the series, “Email Marketing 101 for Business Owners”. Last time we explored the Six Reasons Why You Need an Email Marketing Strategy.

Today we will discover the three steps that will help you get started with email marketing. Suppose you are considering implementing email marketing in your business strategy. Here is what you need to do to get started.

STEP 1. Start building your email list

Your email list is the holy grail. Ideally, it should contain contacts that are suitable to become your customers in the future.

You can utilize multiple tactics to build your email list, but today we will discuss the two most common ones. Essentially, the key is to gain your audience’s trust and provide them with an irresistible incentive to share their contact information with you.

Now let’s select the way you want to grow your email list.

Option 1: Launch an email newsletter series

A thought-through email newsletter strategy can bring a lot of benefits to your business such as

• connecting with your audience on a one-to-one basis.
• building trust by showing up consistently and providing value.
• and last but not least, drive traffic to your website to increase conversion.

The first step towards launching your email newsletter is to have a newsletter sign-up form on your website.

To increase the sign-up rate, offer something unique to your audience. It does not necessarily have to be sending a monthly email about your company updates. Consider your audience and their needs. Maybe you want to send them a weekly round-up email on industry news or a mini email course. There must be something your audience is eager to learn about. How about creating a five-week email course to help your audience develop the desired skill?

You can get as creative as you want; the opportunities are truly endless.

Option 2: Create a freebie, aka lead magnet

You might have downloaded dozens of freebies yourself without even knowing that the primary purpose of that free content was to add you to an email list. A freebie or a lead magnet is the free material you can get from companies in exchange for your name and email address. In my opinion, freebies are one of the best ways to build your email list. Companies of all sizes use this tactic to collect data on their potential customers.

A freebie can be anything your audience might desire. It can be an e-book, a workbook, a checklist, or even a video training.

How can you attract the right audience with your freebie?

Well, the answer is simple. Think about your audience’s questions or pain points they won’t find the solution to by simply Googling. If you know your ideal customer, you must be aware of their main daily challenges, which in return can help you craft an irresistible freebie.

The more targeted and specific your freebie is, the more successful you will be at building your email list.

If you already have a list of current customers, that is amazing. You can ask them to give you permission to add them to your mailing list. Remember, you are not allowed to email them without their consent. Their rights and interests are protected by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, or Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) in Canada.

Having existing customers does not mean that you are all set. Growing your email list should always be on your to-do list if you want to have new prospective customers in your pipeline on a consistent basis.

STEP 2. Select an email marketing software

Now that you have decided on the tactic to build your email list, it’s time to discuss where and how you’ll store the email addresses you’ll collect. The best way to collect, store and keep track of the newly acquired contacts is with an email marketing tool. If you don’t have one yet, it’s time to sign up!

Let’s review what you can do with an email marketing tool:

1. Collect email addresses of existing and potential customers
2. Sort new contacts into different buckets based on the freebies they have downloaded. This is very useful if you have various freebies targeting different customer types.
3. Group existing contacts into separate buckets, more specifically, into newsletter subscribers, leads, current customers and customers that have not bought from you for a while.
4. Use the automation, personalization and dynamic content functions to increase email marketing success.

Here are five email marketing and automation tools for your consideration:

• Mailchimp
• Klaviyo
• ConvertKit
• AWeber
• MailerLite
• Active Campaign

There are dozens of email marketing software to choose from, which means you can find the one that will cater to your businesses’ special needs. As soon as you sign up for the software you chose, you’ll be able to make your freebie available for download or publish the email newsletter sign-up form on your website.

STEP 3. Start developing these must-have email campaigns

Every business is unique in its own special way, with its business model, the products or services they sell and its customer base. When you get started with email marketing, you’ll have a customized email marketing strategy that includes different email campaigns. But there are three email campaign types, that in my opinion, every business can benefit from:

#1: Welcome email campaign

We all know the saying “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Do not miss your chance. Create an email campaign that will welcome your new email contacts. The welcome email series can focus on thanking new contacts for their trust and welcoming them to the community.

Use this opportunity to introduce your company, what you do, how you can help, and where they can find you online. Manage their expectations and let them know how many times they will receive email communication from you. An advanced step would be to also ask your subscribers about their preferences. For example, the type of content they are interested in receiving or the kind of products they would like to hear about.

#2: Thank you email campaign

The power of a “thank you” shouldn’t be underestimated, not even in email marketing. Every positive action your audience takes towards your brand has to be acknowledged by you! Whether someone has signed up for your newsletter, downloaded a freebie, purchased from you, or has been on your email list for a year — it’s your time to show them your appreciation.

Create a thank you email for different scenarios. Whenever someone does that specific action, your email will be triggered by that action and sent to that contact. I can assure you that your small gesture of appreciation won’t go unnoticed. Moreover, it will bring you closer to building a stronger bond with your audience.

#3:Testimonial request email campaign

The testimonial request email campaign is another must-have. Start getting comfortable asking for a review or a testimonial from your customers!

When the time comes, send your customers an email guiding them to a page where they can leave a review. If you want some detailed feedback, you can also send them a survey. This way, you will have feedback on what works well and what needs improvement. Not only that, you can use positive testimonials as user-generated content (UGC) on your website and social media, as well as incorporate them in your welcome emails as social proof for new prospects.

To recap, today we have explored the three steps that will help you get started with email marketing. First, start building your email list by providing a freebie to your audience. Select the email marketing software that best fits your business goals and add the three must-have email campaigns to your marketing strategy!

I wish you luck in your new adventure! Keep an eye out for the following article, where we will take things to the next level. I will walk you through the step-by-step process of launching your email campaign with confidence.

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