Top 10 Email Marketing Tips For Entrepreneurs
A quick guide on all things email marketing: how to boost your audience and network!
For small business owners and entrepreneurs, finding the best tools to promote your brand, and gain new clients and engagement is really important.
Now, I’m sure we all know the wonders of social media and how it can help us virtually get the message out there. From Instagram to Facebook to Twitter and beyond - these widely used platforms have become a necessity in today’s business world. But to ensure the growth of your business, you cannot depend on these media channels alone.
Often overlooked, email marketing continues to be a crucial tool in the digital marketing industry. And if Morpheus from The Matrix is telling us, then it must be a pretty big deal...
Did you know that email users will frequently check their personal accounts, around 20 times each day regardless, at work, home or on their phones? According to e-commerce and online marketing company Oberlo the estimated number of email users globally for 2023 is a whopping 4.3 billion users...that's half of the entire world's population!
If that's not mind-blowing enough to change your mind, I don't know what is! Regardless of how big or small your business is, email marketing is a fantastic opportunity to increase your visibility and connect with viewers.
So don't go anywhere - read on to learn the top 10 tips for email marketing.
1 - Who is your audience?
Know your target audience!
First things first. Before you can start thinking about creating a great email, you have to know exactly who your target audience is. Make sure you really hone in on who you are going to write to. Keap highlights knowing what qualities best resonate with your audience - and how this can help you position your brand and business in the most effective and appealing way.
Figuring out your target audience will help you with:
📣The type of language, or jargon, you use
📣Specific buzzwords or phrases to catch their interest
📣Style and structure of the email
📣The range of topics and content they like
2 - Grow a good-quality email list
This goes hand-in-hand with point no. 1.
Once you know who you are writing to, you can focus on growing that list of people. To get the maximum impact from your emails, you have to make sure you have an email list that consists of a network of good quality, engaged customers. A tool you can use to grow your email list is by using pop-up forms or opt-in forms on your website. This can be a great way to catch more emails from viewers who are browsing on your website, increasing rates of conversion. You can even provide an incentive or promo offer with it to boost interest.
Take a look at this opt-in form used on the homepage of High Profile Club that does just this, by offering a 30-day free membership trial to attract viewers.
Marketing automation system company eSputnik's opt-in form on their homepage, which then comes with a pop-up form for viewers to enter their details if they click 'Try Now'.
Another popular tool to grow your list is by featuring gated content, which partially hides content behind a virtual 'gate'. Viewers are required to enter details like their email, to gain full access. This filters through viewers who are really interested in your content and services, improving your list's quality.
Global Women Magazine showcases this well on their website. Although there is free access to articles, halfway through each article the viewer is presented with a form requesting for the viewer to either sign up or log in if they want to continue.
3 - Refine your strategy
Planning, planning, planning! One of the most common mistakes is to start an email marketing campaign without a clear strategy. Think about:
💻The main goal - what you want to achieve
💻How many emails will be sent
💻What kind of email will best deliver your goal - monthly newsletters, weekly or bi-weekly updates?
💻Tone of voice
Identifying these details will make a huge difference to your long-term results.
Jonny Nastor, marketing consultant and founder of business podcast Hack The Entrepreneur breaks down effective strategy into 3 types of email, each with different intent:
Engagement - new leads who have signed up will be the most engaged. This is your chance to grab their attention! Think about introducing your brand, encouraging the viewer to take action, and giving a sneak peek of what's to come.
Selling - the main method to expand your business. Your leads will already be interested in your services, and 'sold' on what you can provide. It's time to look to change the relationship you have built, from a friend > loyal customer.