“Email newsletter's don't work anymore and building a email list is hard, it doesn't serve anyone.” - The Lier on Social Media

Introduction:

If you have a product or service online, chances are you have communicated with customers or providers directly via email. Why not start making email work for you? It can cost relatively low time and money for you and reap benefits that you wouldn't believe.

Why not give it a chance? Lets dive into a few things to keep in mind when looking to set up a email newsletter.

With that said, here are 11 steps to think about when doing email marketing for the first time! 👊

1. Define Your Goals

To begin setting up an email funnel, it is crucial to clearly define your goals. Are you aiming to generate leads, nurture existing subscribers, promote a product, or achieve some other objective? By establishing your goals, you can shape the structure and content of your email funnel accordingly.

2. Pick a Email Marketing Platform

Pick a Email Marketing Platform that meets your needs. Popular options include Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and AWeber. (My current favorite for smaller needs is SendFox, currently $50 on AppSumo for a lifetime membership) Get a account and spend the time to get used to the platform's features and functions. Don't overthink it. Go with one that looks and feels the best for you, it is the list that is important. Not the platform, you can always change platforms.

3. Build Your Email List

Start building an email list, who has shown interest in your business or products? Build for people like them.. Encourage visitors to subscribe to your email list by offering valuable content or incentives on your website or through your social media. How? Look to the next point...

4. Create a Lead Magnet

Give people a reason to join your email list, create a lead magnet—a valuable resource or content piece that visitors receive in exchange for their email address. Examples of lead magnets include e-books, cheat sheets, templates, or exclusive access to specific pieces of content. What do people that are looking at your business find valuable or cool to have access to? Some people like cool calculators for real estate, others would love a free print or short class taught by a artist they enjoy. Others go crazy for a cheat sheet to picking the perfect gift or flower arrangement. What do you have to offer that is valuable enough to people where they don't even have to think about giving you their email or phone number?

5. Set Up an Opt-In Form

Most email marketing platforms have tools to create an opt-in form for collecting email addresses that you can put on almost any website you have. Customize the form to fit your branding and embed it on your website, landing pages, or promote it on a blog/social media posts. Most platforms have a easy to follow guide on how to do this for that specific platform

6. Welcome Email

Once someone subscribes, set up an automated welcome email to introduce yourself, express gratitude for their subscription, and deliver the promised reward. (The lead magnet.) This initial email is an excellent opportunity to make a great first impression and begin building a relationship with your subscribers.

Gift them something, the reason most will sign up for the email list... Doing a proper Welcome email and Welcome sequence goes a long way in creating a loyal following that will look forward to your emails rather than just get the free gift and unsubscribe.

7. Create a Sequence of Emails

A email sequence is simply a series of emails that are set up to automatically send out at a set time after they opt into your email list. You can customize this in whatever email platform you are on.

Develop a series of emails designed to nurture and engage your subscribers over time. These emails should provide valuable content, share relevant information, and showcase your expertise. Consider incorporating a mix of educational content, case studies, testimonials, and promotional offers.

DON'T sell something in every email. Your goal is not hard sales, it is to create value. People trust others that create value for them with out constantly asking for something in return.

This doesn't mean do ask, it means make sure that they understand that this is a valuable relationship, not a one sided "gimme gimme" cash drive.

8. Segment Your Email List

Most people won't need to do this until you get over 3,000 addresses. If you have multiple offers or lead magnets, you may want to do this right away to keep things cleanly separated. Not everyone want the same thing. If the Lead Magnets are related, use your best judgement.

You can segment your email list based on various factors such as interests, behavior, or demographics. This will allow you to tailor your emails and create more personalized experiences or products for your subscribers. Your email marketing platform should be making this easy to do.

Be considerate. Maybe people want other offers that you have, not everyone is going to want the same thing or be at the same point in the buyers journey with you.

9. Automate Your Email Sequence

This is different than Step 6 in that rather than focusing on the content of the email, you are checking the timing of the emails.

You can set automation in your email marketing platform to send the sequence of emails at a set time and date, its super cool and is a science all in itself but don't worry about it getting started. People just want to hear from you first.

The sequencing ensures that subscribers receive a consistent flow of content and helps you maintain engagement with them over time. Cool thing is that if you are not delivering time sensative info or products it can be set up once and left to run over a set period of time. Super fun.

It is important to think about the progression of the persons relationship with you, create a story, a journey to take people on.

10. Monitor and Optimize

Regularly monitor the performance of your email funnel. You will want to pay attention to metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to gauge the effectiveness of your emails.

Experiment with different subject lines, email content, and calls to action to optimize your funnel and improve results.

Having experience with copywriting helps quite a bit, if you are wanting to grow quickly than hiring one can get you further faster but be aware that most quality copywriters cost thousands of dollars to write out a series of emails.

This can be worth it if you have a product that is higher ticket ($500+) and a decent (over 4,000) email list of people interested in what you have to offer.

If you are making money, don't be afraid to reinvest it.

11. Iterate and Refine

Based on the data and feedback you gather, refine your email funnel over time. Continuously test and experiment with different approaches to enhance engagement and achieve your goals.

Remember, every business and audience is unique, so it's important to adapt these steps to your specific needs. By following this guide and continually optimizing your email funnel, you can establish strong relationships with your subscribers and drive meaningful results for your business.

Until next time, keep growing.