5 Simple Tips To Get Your Emails Opened & Generating Revenue Today
Over the past few years, I have heard a good amount of entrepreneurs share a few different opinions about email marketing.
Some have said email marketing is a thing of the past, others have shared that they don’t read their emails so, in turn, they don’t think their community will read them. The opinions go on and on, but the reality is, data is still showing that email marketing is alive and an essential leg of your business.
According to Hubspot marketing stats for 2019, “email generates $38 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 3,800% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available.”
Another interesting stat, “99% of consumers check their email every day.” Hubspot. The stats are clear, but the reality is, email marketing has changed.
Getting your community to read your email and avoiding the spam or promotions folder has become more challenging. So what do you do?
As with any marketing, you don’t have to completely remove it, just slightly modify your strategy.
Why Do You Still Need Email Marketing When You Have Social Media?
Let’s say your focus is social media marketing or you have a great following and don’t think you need email marketing. Totally get it, but here is the reality.
If social media was gone tomorrow, how would you get ahold of your community?
I know this seems unrealistic and most likely is, but the great thing about email marketing is that you own your email list. You actually have your community's full contact information and could email any individual at any time. Having direct access to your community is crucial.
According to Campaign Monitor, Organic Reach on Facebook (i.e., the number of your fans who actually see your posts in their Newsfeed) is only 6%. Email open rates range anywhere from 20-30%, quite a difference!
Now that we have chatted about the “why” and importance of email, let's get down to the most important part of the article, how to start sending emails that will actually get opened!
Tip #1: Decide What You Are Going To Talk About
If you aren’t excited to share, no one is going to be excited to read.
Sounds simple right?
When I was a business coach, I sent a weekly email. Over time, I found myself not getting as excited about it. It became a chore, I would do it last minute, and as a result of my open and click-through rates dropped dramatically.
The reality is, writing a weekly email or newsletter can feel draining. This can be challenging when the goal is to make it something people look forward to.
Ever start to put a pen to paper and feel like your creative juices are drained? You aren’t alone!
To figure out what you are excited to share, there are 3 important steps:
What are you excited to share with your community? Think about what topics you are passionate about teaching and list that out. What topics do people always ask you for advice about? What could you talk about for hours? This is always a great starting place!
What does your community need, what are their pain points? If you can answer their questions and help them with the challenges they are facing, they will be sure to open your emails. What questions are they typing in google that they are looking for a solution to? These are the type of questions you should be answering!
What can you provide that is valuable? This could be a monthly discount only for your community. First access to courses or events. It could also simply be valuable content that is helping your community through the challenges they are facing.
From there I suggest making a google document that has all of your ideas from above. These will be your content ideas!
Top Tip: When you are deciding on your email content, also decide on your content for any of your other marketing channels.
If you are sharing a video on your YouTube channel for the week, share it in your email. We will talk more about this shorty, but the content you put on social media can also make amazing email content.
Tip #2: Batch Your Content
I have written hundreds of newsletters. Some last minute, some prepped, and the best route I have found is batching content.
What does batching content mean?
I would suggest figuring out one day a month where you can brainstorm content and map out your content calendar for the next month. Ideally, your social media content coincides with your email content.
Step 1: Grab your content list from above and decide what topics you want to talk about this month with your community.
I would suggest picking topics that coincide with product launches or anything you are trying to sell.
For example, if September is devoted to launching your 3 months to crafting your first business program, then your content could be teasing that product.
Each week you could share challenges business owners face and give tips/solutions from what you teach in your product. Then the last week you launch your product.
Step 2: Once you have the content you want to chat about what the heck do you do with that content? While there are a ton of options, I always suggest figuring out what your marketing channel will be.
If you are big into video, then I would make videos for each of those topics. If you are into blogging, then I would write a blog for each of those topics.
Pick your marketing channel, then create the content.
Top Tip: Don’t overwhelm yourself with marketing channels. One great thing about algorithms not always showing your content it that you can repurpose content!
Step 3: Once the content is created, then start scheduling it out in your social media posts and uploading videos or blogs to draft mode! Later is a great tool for scheduling out social content! I also love using my calendar to plan out social media & email content each month.
When I do my planning session, I put a quick note each day on what I am going to share and which days my emails will go out. This helps me stay accountable and also in any product I am selling for the month.
Step 4: From there, I like to use emails to write a couple of paragraphs and highlights from the content I am going to share. If I have a video that is “5 steps to creating Instagram content in under 10 minutes,” then I give quick highlights from the video, the benefits that the video will share and then direct people to the video.
Top Tip: People are not reading as much these days. Keep your emails short and to the point. Put lots of calls to action to link towards the content you are sharing and see where people are clicking. This will give you good data on how long to make emails in the future. If no one is clicking on an email at the bottom of the email, maybe it is a sign that they aren’t making it there.
Tip #3: Decide On Timing
What day of the week should you send your emails? What time?
This question gets asked a lot. The first thing I would do is evaluate your audiences. Are they busy professionals? Young Millenials? Mom’s who are at home full time with the kids? Different people read emails and different times.
The moms may be reading emails before their kids wake up. The busy professional may be reading an email when they get into work or on their lunch break. The young Millennials may be reading their emails all the time.
Step 1: Figure out your audience and some trends!
Step 2: Decide on the day and stick to it! If people know what to expect and when to expect your emails, they will start looking forward to it!
This is an example of a local boutique in San Diego that is my favorite, Vocabulary. She sends the email consistently each week. There is always a cute new outfit (LOVE) and fun tips about restaurants in San Diego or even some awesome life lessons!
She also ONLY sends discount opportunities in her email, which means that her email community feels special!
Step 3: Figure out how often! I would suggest once a week to start. If you can’t commit to that, then go every other week. What is crucial is letting your list know what to expect. I have seen some marketers cut back to even once a month.
Tip #4: Mix up Your Types Of Content
Still not sure what to share in your email? I got you! Here are some ideas:
A new or old video you created
A new or old blog post
Special discount
Flash sale on your online store (24 hours only)
Case Study or story of a client success
Products that you love that you think your community will love
New podcast episode
Contest
Sharing products that colleagues or friends are launching
Free webinars or workshops
Selling a product
Sharing when you have spots available in your coaching program
Tip #5: Use your favorite emails or newsletters as an example
I get my inspiration from businesses that I admire. Make sure not to subscriber to too many, otherwise, you may get stuck in comparison mode and never write your own!
Marie Forleo Weekly Newsletter: Marie is a great example of good email content. She releases a weekly video for her Marie TV each Tuesday. She sends an email that does a quick intro, has an image of the video and then shares what you are going to learn in the video. This would be a great template for blogs, videos, and podcasts that you may be sending out!
Neil Patel Weekly Emails: Neil, the founder of our software Hello bar & Subscribers also has his own personal brand where he teaches business owners how to get more traffic to their websites. This is an example of the emails he sends, short and to the point. He links out to his blog posts every time he sends an email. His marketing channels are blogging and video. What’s great about this email is he is speaking to his audience, they want more traffic, and ideally free website traffic and he is showing them how a simple hack got him more traffic.
Sunny Lenarduzzi Example: I love this example. This is perfect if you are launching a program or even have spaces available in your coaching program. What is great is she uses the story of her client. She shows how Wendy (her client) was scared to share her business. Then she shared how her program helped her to skyrocket her growth. This is social proof! Most of her audience is probably very scared of either starting their business or sharing it online. She used an example of someone they could relate to. If your audience can put themselves in the shoes of other people, they are far more likely to see how your products can get results.
Screw The 9-5 Example: For those that want to do a true newsletter or have a lot going on, this is a great example! It starts out with a fun quote and then it’s a highlight reel of the content they have. Every section is broken up, it’s easy to read.
Bonus! Email Template: Some Quick Templates You Can Swipe
Now that we are set to write, let’s make sure that you feel fully ready to start writing your emails! Here is a template you can swipe to use.
Name,
This week has been (Insert some fun facts about your life or the week, the more personal the better).
Enough about me, let’s talk about you. I know you are feeling (Insert some of the pain points and challenges your audience is going through).
That’s why I put together this (Insert the content you are going to share).
I am pretty pumped about this video, here is what we are going to cover:
Insert what they are going to learn and what is going to change about their life as a result of them watching this video.
Click Here To Watch Now!
Lindsey
PS: You seriously don’t want to miss this video, it’s a quick 5 minute that will literally change (Insert what results they will get from watching it).
Conclusion
In conclusion, first and most important, you do you boo! Figure out what you love to chat about, what you are the best in the world at solving and how you can best serve your audience and community.
From there, batch your content, this will make a HUGE difference! Pick one day to just focus on content for the next month and plan it all out.
Timing is crucial, but bigger than that is just pick what you can commit to and let your audience know what to expect.
Mix up the content and make your community feel special! If you provide value to them, they are far more likely to buy from you long term!
Lastly, look around at what emails you open! BUT, big caution here, don’t subscribe to too many newsletters or emails.
I found the more I subscribed to the more I found myself in constant comparison and overwhelm! I usually pick 3-5 mentors that I subscribe to so my inbox doesn’t get too crowded. How do I choose those? I choose people that bring value to my inbox and support the current problems that I have with solutions!
ABOUT LINDSEY MORANDO
Hello Bar & Subscriber's Director of Marketing, Lindsey Morando, has 15+ years of marketing and business development experience that spans multiple industries including health & wellness, SaaS, lifestyle and hospitality. No matter which industry she is focusing on, Lindsey prides herself on the creation and implementation of engaging grassroots and online marketing tactics that convert fans into paying, happy customers. When Lindsey is not moving the marketing needle for businesses, she is a marketing professor at the San Diego Fashion Institute and the author of "It's Just the Beginning, Break Up, Get Up & Walk Away."