We’ve all heard the saying “the money is in the list,” but what does it actually mean?
It’s referring to the massive earning potential of email list building strategies.
Whether you’re a content creator, coach, freelancer, or online entrepreneur, you can use email marketing to connect with your audience, generate leads, and make more sales. The best part is that you can accomplish this with a fully automated process!
Why invest in email marketing?
Since you are likely spending a lot of energy marketing your business already, what makes email marketing worth your time? There are a lot of reasons why businesses invest heavily in email marketing. The short answer is that it really works!
Let’s dive into the benefits of using email marketing to build and nurture your audience.
Your list is one of the only platforms you own
So many entrepreneurs and content creators spend most of their time building their audience on social media. As their follower count increases and the likes keep rolling in, it’s easy for them to justify putting most of their efforts into platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
What happens if a social media platform is here today and gone tomorrow? We’re not saying Facebook and Instagram are closing down soon, but you have to prepare for anything as a business owner. If you aren’t able to connect with your audience on other platforms that you own, you won’t have a way to contact them if social media platforms dissolve.
Look at what happened with Vine, the six-second video platform phenomenon. Some Vine video creators lost the ability to interact with millions of followers overnight when the platform closed its online doors. The smart video creators were the ones who used their Vine videos to regularly direct people toward their website or email list. The others, however, had to scramble at the last minute to convince their followers to subscribe in other places.
Unlike ever-changing social media platforms and algorithms, your email list won’t be affected by another platform. You get to decide what kind of content you share and when to share it when you build an email list.
More people will see your emails than your social media posts
Do you remember the good ol’ days when you could publish an Instagram post and nearly all of your followers saw it pop up in their chronologically organized feeds? It was so much easier to build an audience and increase your engagement rates back then.
Now, it’s a completely different story. When you post on social media today, only 2-3% of your followers will see your posts. Not only that, but you’ll need to cross your fingers and hope those followers will like or comment on your post. Otherwise, Instagram won’t usually share it with other people in your audience.
The best way to ensure your followers see your posts is to use paid social media ads, but not all entrepreneurs want to spend the time and money it takes to get ads set up. If you’re looking for a more cost-effective way to ensure more people see your content, email marketing is your answer.
When you build an email list, you won’t have to worry about subscribers missing your emails. Every time you create and send an email, it will be automatically delivered to your subscribers’ inboxes. They’ll have the opportunity to open and read your email whenever they’d like!
Email subscribers convert more than social media followers
It’s cool to grow a large audience, but if they aren’t buying what you’re selling, how are they contributing to your bottom line? Some of the most successful businesses aren’t the ones who have the biggest social media following, but rather the highest performing email lists.
Email subscribers are about 15 times more valuable than social media followers when it comes to conversions. That is a significant difference! If you’ve been focusing on growing your social media followers, you may want to shift some of your attention to building your email list.
You don’t need millions of social media followers or even a huge email list to run a profitable business. No matter what your business model looks like, you can use email marketing to sell more products or services based on your growth strategy.
You can easily personalize your marketing
Each member of your audience has a unique set of goals and skills. They likely found out about your blog or business from different referral sources, and they aren’t all looking for one thing.
When we treat our audience members like they are all the same, we miss the opportunity to make a personal connection with them. As an entrepreneur, you need to look beyond the size of your audience. They won’t stick around for long if they feel like just another number.
This is a huge reason why we’ve seen an increase in personalization marketing. Over 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with a brand that provides relevant offers and recommendations, and this doesn’t apply only to brands who operate out of brick-and-mortar locations. Consumers still expect a personalized shopping experience when they are buying products and services online.
Before someone decides to make a purchase, they will often collect research and read through your content to determine if you’re a brand they can trust. Instead of sending everyone on your email list the same content, take the time to understand what they’re looking for and how you can deliver tailored resources that solve their problems. There are many ways you can do this, but one of the best solutions is to create a fun, interactive quiz.
By asking your audience members to answer a series of questions, you’ll be able to give them personalized product recommendations based on their quiz results. It will feel like you are their personal shopper, only the whole process will run on autopilot after you initially set up the quiz. It’s a win-win for you and your audience members!
Best practices for creating an email marketing strategy
Okay, so you’re completely sold on building your own email list at this point, but how do you get started? Begin with a solid email marketing strategy. Otherwise, you may find yourself making decisions that aren’t aligned with where you want to grow your brand.
When you create your email marketing strategy, it’s less about what content you want to share and more about what your audience is already searching for. What do they want to learn about? What do they need to know before they can confidently purchase your product or service? These questions will help you create a strategic foundation for email marketing.
Here are a few best practices to follow as you start to build your email marketing strategy:
Send a welcome email so your audience doesn’t hear crickets when they sign up for your email list. In this email, tell them more about who you are, what you offer, and what they can expect from your emails.
Create a nurture email sequence that builds trust with your audience. Along the way, you can lightly introduce your signature product or service, but be sure to focus most of your efforts on creating educational content.
Use a lead magnet to entice your audience to sign up for your email list! Through your lead magnet (also called a “freebie” or “downloadable), you’ll deliver immediate value. This can look like a checklist, spreadsheet, template, ebook, email course, or even a personality quiz!
Keep an eye on your analytics so you know how well your emails are performing. You don’t want to have a “set it and forget it” mindset with your email list. Instead, regularly examine your open rates, click rates, and other engagement metrics to ensure your emails are optimized.
Send emails consistently and let your audience know when they can expect to hear from you. Some entrepreneurs choose to email their audience once a week, whereas others send emails more frequently. Some even choose to send monthly email newsletters! Your email frequency depends on what fits best for your brand and audience.
As you get started with email marketing, it’s important to know what your strengths are. The best marketing strategies will work with your strengths rather than against them.
Not sure what your marketing superpowers are? Take our quiz to find out so you can send better emails that will actually connect and convert!