So you’ve heard that “email marketing” is something you need to do… 

At this point you’re wondering: 

• How do I get people’s email addresses in the first place? 

• What on earth would I write about? 

• Who would read an email from me? 

• How often do I have to send an email? 

First up, you’re receiving this email because you’ve given me your email address at some point, whether that was through downloading one of my free resources, joining a webinar I’ve hosted, signing up for training I’ve run or perhaps we’ve met at an in-person event and you’ve asked to be added to my email list. 

No matter how you’ve come to share your email with me, thank you. I know how sacred our inboxes are (no one has time for unnecessary “junk” in their inbox), so I appreciate that this is one of the emails you still choose to receive each week. 

For the purposes of making this topic easy to digest, I’m going to talk about email marketing in the context of “newsletters”, which is essentially what you are reading from me right now; it’s a regular piece of content that lands in your inbox. Newsletters are about nurturing your customers and bringing value to them so they begin—and continue—to know, like and trust you and your business. 

I’m sure you could name off the top of your head the emails from businesses that you know you’ll always open and read… and also the ones you’ll immediately delete. The goal is to have a newsletter that falls into that “always open and read” category! 

Here’s how to do that: 

• Consistency is key, whether that’s weekly, or monthly; whatever is manageable for you. People read emails from people they expect to hear from. When you become a frequent fixture in people’s inboxes, reading your email will become a habit for them. (As long as you’re bringing them value, of course.)

• Make it personable. People want to connect with other human beings, not faceless companies! Share some behind-the-scenes of what’s been going on in your business, show them you understand a struggle they might be experiencing.  Let people in a little and be a solution they’re looking for. 

• Focus on a formula of 80% sharing and 20% selling. If every newsletter is trying to sell people something, they’ll quickly unsubscribe or stop opening your emails. 

• Avoid sitting down and staring at a blank screen! Find a content creation system that works for you. I love audio, so what I do is record voice memos of my thoughts and share them with my content writer, Tahnée, who then turns my thoughts into my weekly newsletter. 

• Create a template that you just need to populate for each newsletter. It gives you a framework to go off of, rather than a blank screen, and also helps your newsletter be in alignment with your branding. (There’s plenty of free software that helps you do that! Hit reply if that’s something you need help with and I’ll give you some ideas.)

And one last thing: Don’t be overwhelmed by the technical side of email marketing. It can be a really simple process if you want it to be. And you can also outsource that side of things to a virtual assistant, if that’s your preference. 

For a deeper dive on this topic, listen to this episode of How to Run a Successful Business (and still have a life!)