Jaimie: In today's episode, we're focusing on email marketing, and the crucial importance of building your email list. Today, I really want to just guide you through the ins and outs of this valuable marketing tool. So let's dive in. Let's start with a fundamental question. Why email marketing? Well, in a world where social media is really dominating email marketing holds its ground as a powerhouse. It's personal. It's direct. And incredibly effective for building relationships with your audience. Plus, it offers a fantastic ROI. For every dollar spent. Email marketing generates about $42 on average, that's a return that you can't ignore. I've seen those stats recently. But the key to unlocking this potential lies in building and nurturing your email list. Now this list is your direct line to your audience. It's a group of people who are interested in what you have to offer, and they've invited you into their inbox. That's a privilege and a powerful marketing opportunity.
So how do you build this list? It's not just about adding as many emails as possible. It's about attracting the right people quality over quantity. Use your website, social media, and even offline events to encourage signups to your list. Maybe you could offer something valuable in return, perhaps exclusive content, maybe a discount or just simply insider tips. I have a lead magnet that's called your free paid speaker guide. And it's basically a two page PDF with all my tips. It's kind of a checklist on “How you can become a Paid Speaker.” And so I've made it compelling and certainly relevant to my target audience and I encourage you to do the same.
Now once you have a list, that's where the real work begins in engagement. This is where many businesses fall short, sending generic sales heavy emails won't cut it. In fact, when I've done that, and I speak from personal experience here, you get huge amounts of unsubscribes. So lesson learned from that and what I'm sharing with you is that your emails should be about building a relationship. So share stories, maybe insights, helpful tips, and yes, occasionally your products or services but always focus on providing value to your subscribers. Now personalisation is your secret weapon here. Today's email marketing tools offer incredible capabilities for customisation and segmentation. So address your subscribers by name, recommend products based on perhaps their past purchases, celebrate their birthdays and segment your emails based on their interests or behaviours. The more personalised your emails, the stronger the connection with your audience.
Now let's talk frequency and timing. How often should you email your least? Well, there's no one size fits all answer, but consistency is key. So whether it's weekly, bi weekly or monthly, the important thing is to keep a regular scheduled So be consistent and with the timing I would say test and learn. Some audiences respond better to weekday mornings, others to weekend evenings. I always generally send mine out at about 6am on a Wednesday. That's just kind of a retainer how I might differ from that sometimes if I'm in a launch for my course. But use the data from your campaigns to find that sweet spot. Now email marketing is also an essential tool for driving traffic to your website or perhaps your blog. So use intriguing headlines and compelling calls to action to encourage clicks. But beware of the spam trap. So how you can avoid going to people's junk mails in their spam folders is to of course avoid using those spammy words in your subject line and always deliver what you promise in the email body don't try and do click bait or I've tried that. And you know it gets people opening your email but it certainly doesn't keep them subscribing.
Now let's address a common misconception email marketing is outdated. This could not be further from the truth. Email is evolving. And with advancements in AI and machine learning, the future of email marketing is more personalised and interactive than ever before. So think of emails that adapt content based on user behaviour or automated sequences that are triggered by specific actions. Now an important aspect of email marketing is analysis and adaptations. So every campaign provides valuable data, open rates, click through rates, conversion rates, all these metrics tell a story. So analyse them to understand what resonates with your audience, test different approaches, subject lines, email formats, content types, and adapt based on what works. Now as you refine your email strategy. Don't forget about mobile optimisation, a significant portion of your audience will open your emails on their mobile devices. So you need to check and make sure that your emails look good and are readable on smaller screens, not just on the desktop version. So like large images, perhaps small text, or even just complex layouts, they can look great on a desktop or a computer. But when someone opens it on their mobile, it's all over the shop.
So let's also consider the ethical side of email marketing. Now respect for your subscribers is paramount. This means not only there's a certain laws you need to adhere to, it's called the GDPR. And there's another spam act. It depends on what country you're in and different countries have different rules there. But regardless of all that, it's also about respecting their time and attention if your subscribers so be transparent about how you're going to use their data, provide easy unsubscribe options and never by email lists. Growing your list organically Yeah. Sure. It's much slower, but it's far more effective and ethical.
Now integration with other marketing channels is another aspect of a well rounded strategy. Email marketing shouldn't exist in a vacuum. So integrate it with your social media, blog and other marketing efforts. For example, use social media to promote your email newsletter and vice versa. And this really creates a cohesive and multi dimensional marketing approach.
Let's also talk about content diversity because it's nice to talk about this topic. But let's talk about content diversification because your emails should not be the same autonomous all the time mix it up with different types of content. So sometimes you might want to have industry news, how-to guides, client testimonials behind the scenes looks and personal messages from your team. This variety keeps your audience engaged and looking forward to your emails.
Now another strategy is leveraging user generated content. So showcase customers stories reviews or just how they're using your products or services. This not only creates relatable content, but also fosters a community around your brand. And it's a powerful way to build trust and credibility.
Lastly, don't underestimate the power of storytelling in your emails. People connect with stories. Share your brand's journey, the challenges you faced, the successes you've achieved, and the lessons learned along the way. This humanises your brand and creates a deeper connection with your audience. So to wrap up, never thought I was going to enter my soapbox, but to wrap up building and nurturing an email list is one of the most effective strategies in your digital marketing toolkit. It allows for direct personalised communication with your audience. It builds long lasting relationships and drives meaningful engagement.
So thank you for tuning in to this episode of Pitch Perfect. I've still got just under 10 minutes. I just want to remind you that in the world of digital marketing, email is not just alive, it is thriving. So keep building that list. Keep engaging with your subscribers and watch your business grow. Until next time.
