The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing in 2023
So starting an email list has been on the top of your to do list for a while? With worries of social media shutdown and every marketer telling you to start your list, email marketing may be calling your name more and more. But what are the steps to create your email list?
Grow your list with a lead magnet
Ever heard of words like Lead Magnet and wondered what that meant?
Let's break it down:
Lead: A person who is in your ideal audience that you are trying to convert into a client or customer.
Magnet: Something that attracts your ideal audience to gain their attention.
Simply put a Lead Magnet is a resource, guide, quiz, or freebie (free offer) that entices the right people (aka your ideal audience) to get on your email list.
So sign up for an email service provider (I recommend Flodesk because of the design capabilities) and get started.
Side note: It's important to note that you should only start a lead magnet if you are ready to nurture your list.
OK– how do you create something that is enticing?
You Ask.
This can be through asking in a Facebook Group where your audience hangs out or scrolling through IG/Reddit comments.
This gives you a chance to swoop in and show your expertise.
Ideas include:
Quizzes
Mini-Course
Magazine
Video Training
Checklist
How-to-Guide
Templates
Remember the purpose of a lead magnet is to get comfortable in providing free value and tie it back to what you do. You have to be comfortable in having people--including competitors--have access to that information.
You do this by giving away the what, but not the how.
Example: If you're a designer they would be looking for a way to audit their current homepage (checklist) or how to know they are ready to outsource or DIY (quiz).
Quick Note: A lead magnet doesn't have to be a pop-up. It could be a link-in bio if your audience prefers. Test out what gets more subscribers.
BONUS: What is opt in copy?
Let's rewind and talk about lead magnets.
To get people to sign up for your lead magnet, you will need compelling copy. This is called opt-in copy and this should tell them:
what they get out of the freebie (clarity on what to do next in their business, education on a topic)
when they get it (immediately after opting in)
why they need it (how will this benefit them? what will it do)
how the freebie is formatted (is it a PDF, quiz, mini videos, secret podcasts)
So your copy has to be worth it for them to trade in their email. You can even segment your email list based on stage of business of brand archetype then funnels them into different services.
You also don't have to any of these ideas and can have your pricing guide as your lead magnet. This will help your audience know how much it costs to work with you and further plan.
Write your Welcome Sequence
So why is a welcome sequence important?
Well, for starters, this is a good way to introduce yourself and what you do. One of the great rules of copywriting is to build know, like, and trust. A welcome sequence will get leads to know more about you, see if they like you, and (with consistent emailing) trust you.
Although not everyone who is on your list will work with you, they may refer you to someone who needs your service.
So how do you structure your email sequence? Here's an example:
First email: An overview of who you are, what you do, who you work with, and backlinks to your site.
Second email: Your services and breakdown of your process
Third email: Show your expertise by answering a common question
Fourth email: Who you are as a person (this is the chance to show off your personality)
Fifth email: Show your expertise even more
You can set this up through your email provider as a workflow that automates after getting your lead magnet.
And that's it. Easy breezy.
Do you need a welcome sequence if you are a product based business?
Lead magnets for product based businesses often look like discounts, but many of those businesses don't follow up with a traditional welcome sequence that service providers do. If you are a product based business you can send out a welcome sequence that talks about the philosophy and story behind the product, but it could be less emails in the sequence. BUT you don't have to.
Nurture your email list
While your email list is a great way to promote your services, it should focus on nurturing and connecting with people who actually want to hear from you.
That's why it's important to set up a lead magnet and welcome sequence when you are ready to nurture that list.
Now that we have that settled, what do you actually write?
An exclusive tip (that can't be found on Google)
Encouragement for your community
Themed content
A mini-training
Telling a story that relates to your service/industry/commonly held beliefs that people may have
Polarizing content in your industry (hint: this doesn't have to be controversial)
Answering FAQs
A walkthrough of your creative process
How you find inspiration
What you wish you knew when you first started
Creating the project of your dreams and the process behind it
How often should I send out my newsletter?
I like to send out emails weekly to stay top of mind. If you send them biweekly or monthly, chances are people will forget about you. BUT this doesn’t apply to industries this could look like a monthly newsletter with some sales emails throughout. Or this could be 1-2 nurture emails and a biweekly newsletter. Remember that consistent emails are key to building an engaged audience that knows, likes, and trusts you.
And if you are thinking that once a week is too much for you. Don’t worry, I got you covered with this freebie on lead magnet and newsletter ideas. Feel free to open the Notes App or MilaNote (it’s free!) to get started on those ideas!
Different Types of Email Marketing Campaigns (and when to use them)
What about emails for launching? What does that look like?
Launch emails are a whole different ballgame. If you are launching a product, course, or membership, preparing your audience for the launch would be similar to a welcome sequence. Maybe you would send out an email every day leading to the launch (or even more). The sequence would often map out how the product helps you, questions you may have, for example.
In this case, we are talking about e-mail campaigns. Which actually has 5 different campaign formats.
1) The Announcement Newsletter:
This allows your community to be the first to know of new content such as press appearances, hosting opportunities, podcast appearances, or YouTube videos. You can take a look at my announcement about launching my website last year.
2) The Content Round-Up:
This is a great way to repurpose content without having to go back and forth on multiple platforms. Here is another example from a past newsletter.
3) Subscriber-Only and Sales:
This gives your community access to subscriber-only or waitlist sales, community-related content, education, and user-generated content from others who are enjoying and using your products.
4) Exclusive Content:
This gives your list access to educational, inspirational, and resourceful. The only challenge with this is that you have to create new content that no other platform has access to (so no repurposing).