What to Include in Your Email Marketing Emails
We are big advocates of email marketing. The engagement rates are off the charts in comparison to social media and the results we personally see in our business, from just taking some time to keep in touch with our contacts are fantastic.
However, a big question we get asked a lot by clients is – what do we say in our emails?
Here’s a rule we live by. Every email you send must be: Useful, Interesting or Entertaining.
Email marketing in the small business world will NOT work if you use it to just SELL. Looking long term you want to not only grow your email audience, but keep your current audience interested and engaged, which isn’t going to happen if you just sell.
For that reason GOOD EMAIL MARKETING is fueled by GOOD CONTENT.
So, as a general rule of thumb, to see great results from your email marketing you need to be keeping in touch AT LEAST once every 3 weeks sharing:
1. Articles you have wrote
2. Articles you have found
3. Videos
4. What’s new in your business
5. Top Tips
6. Latest product/service news (though go easy on this)
7. Industry News
8. Case Studies
9. Photos (if applicable)
10. Fun Stuff (remember: entertaining!)
However, you need to run the above list through the Useful/Interesting/Entertaining rule before you include it. Having the permission to put your message in somebody’s email inbox is not something to take for granted. We all too often see ‘lazy’ content coming through in Email Campaigns, used to either fill up space (e.g. non-newsworthy stuff) or indirectly sell (e.g. OTT client testimonials). Don’t do it! Overtime your will lessen the effectiveness of your campaigns.
ACTION: We want you to be honest with yourself now. Look at your last email campaigns and ask yourself were they really: Useful, Interesting or Entertaining
ACTION: Using the list above, write down some useful, interesting or entertaining content you could include in your emails.
P.S. Remember the point to email marketing is to stay in people’s minds, by being useful. We have had people buy from us over a year after meeting them, just because we have stayed in their minds. Not everybody is ready to buy today, but you never know who will be ready to buy in the future.