3 Simple Email Marketing Tips and Tricks To Get Started
So, in case you didn’t notice it, Facebook and Instagram were down for MANY HOURS a few weeks ago. And, of course, chaos ensued. The world came crashing down. The Earth’s magnetic poles flipped. People went to Twitter for their updates. Remember that?
Ok, none of that stuff except the Twitter thing really happened. But with how some people were acting during the outage, it seemed like the world was ending. Social media glitches, outages, and disappearances aren’t necessarily world-ending. But they can be business-ending if you don’t have other plans in place.
I’m sure you can guess where this article is going, so if you already know that you never want to write one single email to your list, let’s talk. Kristin Ratten Content Services offers done-for-you email newsletters so that you get the benefit of email marketing without doing the work. Yippee!
You Actually Need To Email Your People
If there’s one thing the recent Facebook-and-Instagramageddon taught us, it’s that you must have another way to reach your audience. It’s not negotiable or optional if you want to protect your business. And the odds are that you have heard this opinion no less than ten times a day since the outage happened.
But it’s just so true.
Email marketing is an interesting thing because all of the following are true:
Sending quick, conversational emails to your list isn’t complicated.
The return on investment is an astounding 4200%. That is not a typo.
More than 35% of businesses still don’t use it.
With such a high ROI for a relatively simple marketing piece, why do so many companies continue to skip over their email lists?
These are a few consistent things I hear from business owners:
Not Sure Where To Start
Before you can use an email list effectively, you have to have a list. Many business owners never get past the hurdle of choosing an email service provider and building their audience. The thought of selecting a program and uploading contacts stops many people in their tracks.
Time Constraints
Entrepreneurs can only fit so many hats on their heads. With the ever-present nature of social media, that form of marketing can take precedence for many businesses. When they’re on the content creation hamster wheel, they don’t find time for emails.
Don’t Know What To Write
Coming up with content for social posts, blogs, and emails is a continual challenge for most entrepreneurs. But for some reason, emails are often the thing that goes by the wayside because they just can’t think of anything to say.
Given all of this info, here are some ideas to help you get past any email marketing blocks you may have.
Email Marketing Tips and Tricks
Since it’s crucial for you to start, grow, and use an email list, let’s get you started on the right foot. Here are three tips to help you tackle this marketing job with minimal pain and suffering.
1. Pick a Provider You Like
There are dozens of email service providers (ESPs) to choose from for your marketing. Each one has pros and cons, and many of them have free levels available. Some options have an incredible number of bells and whistles, while others are much more bare-bones.
Your business niche, size, and scalability will help dictate which one is right for you. Personally, I’ve worked in Mail Chimp, Active Campaign, Mailer Lite, and Seguno (within Shopify). My favorite for ease of use and accomplishing what I need is Mailer Lite.
But do your due diligence to pick one that does what you need and that you feel comfortable using. It doesn’t matter how many cool things it does if you won’t use it.
Often clients ask if they need an email service provider when they already have Google Workspace. The answer is a resounding “YES!” It is not only more professional to use an ESP, it helps you comply with privacy laws. Every major ESP has built-in protection to help keep your email marketing legal.
2. Be Consistent
Full disclosure: email consistency is something I struggle with myself. I always seem to push this task to the end of my to-do list even though I KNOW BETTER!
But as with anything in your marketing, consistency is crucial. So how often do you need to do it? You could ask 20 experts how often to email your list, and you’d probably get 20 different answers.
My answer? Pick a frequency that works for you. Whether it’s once a day, week, month, or even quarter, be like the shoe giant and just do it.
3. Don’t Overthink It
Unless you are writing specific sales copy for a promotional email campaign, you don’t need to fret about the topic and verbiage. Most of the emails to your list should be conversational and simple. The point with these communications is to stay top-of-mind for people so that they remember that you exist and what it is that you do.
It is so easy as entrepreneurs to get in our heads and overthink all the things. I might have done this once or 1000 times. But the truth is that you can keep this simple. I promise.
Did you learn something new in your industry? Send a quick email to your list to share a link. Are you celebrating a milestone in your business? Drop a line to share the fun. Is there something cool going on in your neck of the woods? Let your list know all about it.
Let’s Get Started
These three tips and tricks are a small portion of the email marketing world. There are, of course, many other things that can go into the strategy:
List Building
Welcome Series
Sales Campaigns
When you don’t let these pieces stop you from getting started with email marketing, you’ll have many opportunities to grow your business.
Relying solely on social media for connecting with your audience is risky. As we saw with the FB and IG outage, those platforms could disappear at any time, leaving you high and dry. And the bottom line is that social media reach and effectiveness are minuscule and diminishing all the time.
It is not too late to start your email list, and you can begin with a list of one. There are zero reasons or excuses to put this off any longer, so let’s talk and get this process started.
I can help you with the strategy, the writing, and the nuts and bolts of setting up your ESP. Ready? Book your free call now to get going.
