Three ways to make sure yours actually WORKS
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been addressing the top excuses businesses give to not start an email marketing program. Today I’m going to wrap up with the most difficult to overcome objection to email marketing program creation.
“I’m not sure an email marketing program will work for my business.”
– Thousands of business owners around the world
Here are three ways to guarantee that when you start an email marketing program, it drives results for your business.
1. Know what email marketing success looks like
When I say that an email marketing program will work for any business, the “work” part can mean so many things.
WORK = more engagement
WORK = direct revenue
WORK = traffic to your brick and mortar store or event
WORK = brand awareness
WORK = fewer customer service inquiries
All of those are good things for a business owner, and all of them are achievable when you start an email marketing program.
So, what do you specifically want your email marketing program to accomplish?
What do you want for your subscribers to do, know, or have after they’ve opened your email campaign?
If you are truly asking these questions regularly, you’re on the way to email marketing success.
2. Be consistent
Pick an email marketing cadence that you can stick to, and then STICK TO IT. Even if you don’t know what you’re going to email your subscribers about (yet), put your email campaign on the calendar every quarter/month/two weeks, and do not let yourself off the hook. SEND THE CAMPAIGN.
Every email you send has the opportunity to nudge your subscriber one step further to a deeper relationship with you. If you miss a quarterly email, you miss a nudge… and your customer doesn’t hear from you for 6 months! For your email marketing program to work, you must commit to your cadence.
P.S. I often find that email marketing cadence inconsistency is an indicator that email campaigns aren’t being very well thought out. Reactive email marketing because you all of a sudden have a ton of inventory, for example, comes across as needy and diminishes your brand. Proactive email marketing that is regular (and therefore, on the calendar)? That’s a sign of strategy.
Might be chicken-egg, but food for thought.
3. Have a solid foundation in place
A beautiful, on-brand email marketing template.
A comprehensive strategy to earn new subscribers at every touchpoint
An immediate welcome email (with nurture as a bonus) for new subscribers that is customized based on where they signed up to hear from you.
Triggered email based on subscriber actions, information, or preferences.
Optimized transactional email to reduce customer service inquiries and reinforce your brand value.
And thoughtful, respectful handling of preference updates and unsubscribes.
These are my Email Essentials. With them in place, all your other outbound email marketing programming will enjoy a significant lift in engagement.
If you’re curious about Email Essentials, I encourage you to take my free email course by signing up through the sidebar. DO IT.
SUMMIN’ IT UP
Will an email marketing program work for your business?
I wish I could SILVER BULLET say yes to you. But like all things in life, you gotta do the work.
Making the commitment to an email marketing program is just that: it’s a commitment. You aren’t going to be able to half-ass it. You have to consistently send email campaigns and then analyze your results to see how you’re delivering on customer expectation. And you must have solid foundations in place or you run the risk of leaving money on the table.
But I promise you, the effort is worth it. Your customers will have the chance to be more informed and more enamored of your brand. You will have the opportunity to share your product and service to reach more customers and impact more lives. And yep. All of that equates to MORE MONEY, if that’s what you’re worried about.
So, what’s holding you back? I want to see your business WINNING with email. If you don’t know where to start, I’d love to chat. Contact me for meets & treats, and I’ll follow up with a free roadmap for your business to follow, whether you choose to work with me directly or not.