From Guest expert: Gemma Knight, from Gemma Knight Writes
Does the thought of email marketing overwhelm you?
You know email sequences are important, you know you should be emailing your list something, but what on earth should you be sending them?
Newsletters, emails to say hello, announcing your new products… with so many different options to choose from, how do you know which are the important messages and when you should send them?
Well, luckily Gemma from Gemma Knight Writes has put together this guest blog detailing the types of emails you should be sending to your list and why you should be sending them.
The Email Sequences You Should Be Sending Your List
Welcome Sequence
Why Send It? A Welcome sequence is one of the most important set of emails you can send to your list as they have an open rate 4 times higher than any other email.
People may be attracted to your business because of your irresistible lead magnet, but might not know anything about what you do, or if they should trust you. If you expose them directly to the sales offers in your regular newsletters, you might scare them off before they are ready to buy. You need to build trust first, and that is what your welcome sequence does.
What Else Does It Do? Not only do you get the chance to introduce your business and your best content, you can also give people a glimpse at the person behind the brand and introduce yourself. This introduction is the first steps towards building that vital element of trust. You can cleverly personalise your content so it is like you are speaking directly to your new subscriber. You can also take the opportunity to segment your list so that you only provide your readers with the content they are interested in receiving.
Your Welcome Sequence should prepare your subscribers for the next level of your relationship, where you can convert them from a prospect to a paying customer or client.
Regular Newsletter
Why Send It? It is pretty safe to say that you are not the only business in your industry. There are other people out there that do what you do, so why would someone choose your business over another? People are bombarded by so many messages every day that it can be easy to forget who they have worked with, or the businesses who have interesting offers. A newsletter is the perfect way to remind your audience who you are, what you do, and why they should choose your business on a regular basis.
What Else Does It Do? A regular newsletter is the perfect way to continue building a relationship of trust with your subscribers. They are getting to know you – you are consistently reminding them of your business, keeping yourself front of mind, and showing your audience that you truly are an expert in your field. All of this helps to convince them to work with you.
Less than 5% of people are ready to buy on the first interaction they have with your business. It can take up to 20 interactions before they are ready to part with their hard earned dollars. So, until they are ready to talk business, you can keep the communication lines open with your newsletter.
But don’t be put off from giving your readers regular opportunities to buy from you. Each subscriber will be at a different point in the buying journey – some will be ready to buy now, some next week, some in a month’s time, and some in a year. Email marketing is a long term plan that helps to build consistent sales over time. If you can nurture your subscribers with each newsletter, you will move them closer to paying clients.
Sales Sequence
Why Send It? Let’s face it, even if you love what you do, you are in business to make money. Once you have done the hard work of building the relationship of trust, the sales sequence lets you finally ask for the sale.
What Else Does It Do? It is important to use a sequence of emails when you make your sales offer. Even though the intent of a sales sequence is to make a sale, you want to ease into it. Use a number of emails to create interest. Take your readers on a journey of discovery where you build the desire to buy.
Once you have built the desire, offer the sale. Then simply follow up with a couple of reminders for those that are interested but didn’t buy on the first opportunity for whatever reason. If you make your offer legitimately time bound then you can create a sense of FOMO – and no one wants to feel like they are missing out on a great opportunity!
Thank You Email
Why Send It? Hearing someone say a genuine thank you makes you feel appreciated and valued. There is no better reason to send an email if it generates a response like that!
What Else Does It Do? The simple act of saying thank you can nurture your subscribers and convince them to stay on your list. It makes them feel special and acknowledges that you see them as a valued reader, not just a number in a database. Not only is it a positive relationship builder, but you can encourage your loyal customers to buy more with a simple thank you.
Abandoned Cart Emails
Why Send It? One reason and one reason alone – you can recover up to 60% of abandoned carts simply by sending a reminder email.
What Else Does It Do? People abandon their carts for a number of reasons, sometimes a simple reminder (or two) is all they need to remember how much they want the item. This is a bonus marketing opportunity that you would not have had before. It is a powerful way to reconnect with a customer and hopefully make a sale!
The Importance Of Automation
These email sequences are all important to your business, but so is your time. When it comes to email marketing you want to embrace the power of automation. Most email providers give you the option to automate email sequences so that they operate on autopilot. That means they work at all hours of the day and night – they work even when you are not working.
When you craft these automated email sequences it is vital that you use personalisation and clever copy. Your sequences will not be half as effective if it seems like you a mass mailing people. You want people to feel as though your emails are written specifically for them as a casual conversation between friends.
How can you do that?
Well, you can steal my best 10 tactics for creating the emails that your subscribers want to read by downloading this free resource.
Or… ready to dive in and start writing the most important email sequence in your arsenal? Then you can grab 20% off my mini course of ‘How To Write The Perfect Email Welcome Sequence’ right here, just enter MARKETINGBAKERROCKS at checkout to secure your discount. The course includes 5 short video modules, step by step instructions of what to write in each email, and templates you can simply personalise for your business.