By: Peter Keszegh

Email marketing is a way of communicating through email with your audience to grow your business. It’s an absolutely essential activity to develop relationships, build an audience and sell products.

We can say that it’s the number one way when it comes to building clientele and  being able to reach a massive number of people.

It allows you to build a database or so-called email list and reach established and prospective customers. Whether you sell, inform or educate through emails it is an essential way of communication.

Email marketing is usually handled by an autoresponder that is able to manage list building, signups, scheduling, segmenting and lots of other functions.

Here are some examples of autoresponders:

Here are some of the advantages of using an autoresponder for your business:

It’s cheaper compared to any other advertising strategy. Once you built an email list, sending your prospects messages regularly doesn’t cost you anything. Indeed, using an advanced autoresponder has monthly costs but most of them allow you to use their free plan which is more than enough at the beginning. 

Once you’ve set everything up properly, your mailing list will build itself. Additionally, scheduling and sending campaigns requires relatively little work on your part while still yielding incredible results.

Let’s say you’ve set up the scheduling of a 12-week campaign and with the help of the autoresponder you have no additional work with it.

Messages go directly to the inbox of your audience. These days, people carry mobile phones on them constantly which means you can reach them any time you want.

By having a database with a list of addresses, you have direct access to your audience without relying on a third-party platform. You own your list, which can also be imported or exported.

Here is a real-life possibility for you, imagine the following situation: you have a large Facebook page or group but after some time Facebook decides to delete your page or bans your account, or simply changes the rules. These things can happen at any time and you have no control over it. By building an email list, the contacts belong only to you. 

It allows you to track and analyze how your campaigns perform.

You will know who subscribed and unsubscribed, how many people opened your messages, how many clicked on your links and so on.

Furthermore, by split testing different campaigns, you’ll be able to decide which one to use.

Analyzing the different statistics can help you decide what changes to make to increase conversions.

I’m sure you understand now that email marketing is still effective and always will be.

List building means collecting email addresses of targeted subscribers into a database.

People who are interested in your business visit your website and you can acquire their addresses with a targeted marketing strategy. If you do it right, they’ll willingly give you their email addresses and thus you’ll be able to develop a relationship with them, build trust to the point where they are eager to buy from you.

That’s why list building is one of the best methods available to grow your business.

Apart from this, you can also perform email marketing through solo ads and cold messaging. In my opinion, these methods are not so effective because that kind of audience is not targeted enough and hasn’t given you permission to message them.

Consequently, they don’t know who you are, and the conversion rates will be much lower. So using proper list building techniques is by far the preferable scenario.

Luckily, if you find out that your current provider isn’t working the way you expected it to, it’s possible to export your list and move to another provider by importing it.

Regarding other email marketing tools, you might want to check the best autoresponders for affiliate marketing.

An opt-in form is a form where people type their email addresses and other related information. In other words, this is the place where they can sign up, so you would want this to look professional and enticing.

Example of an opt-in form:

Now let’s look at more options of placing the opt-in forms on your website:

An opt-in page or so-called squeeze page is an entirely dedicated space to getting people to sign up for your list. Likewise, you can also use your opt-in forms on your blog or website where they’re surrounded with content.

Let me give you an example of an opt-in page:

With regards to a blog, it’s quite an effective technique to use specific opt-in boxes to each blog page. You can even embed them directly into your content.

Remember, your readers will judge you based on the quality of your content. If they’re impressed with the value you offer, they’ll want to know more by signing up for your mailing list.

At the same time, always encourage your readers to sign up by including appropriate call to actions and further sign-up forms.

Remind them about your mailing list where they can get much more of the same information they were originally looking for.

Likewise, the lead magnet your audience gets by signing up should have at least equally valuable content.

Popups are one of the best ways of capturing leads because they appear in front of your visitors and grab their attention immediately. Keep in mind, you don’t want to over-do this because it prevents your visitors from seeing the content they came to enjoy and it might damage your conversions.

For further information about how to optimize your website, I suggest you go through my on-page SEO lecture.

I’d like to introduce 5 types of popups you can use on your site:

Click popups work by activating when a visitor clicks on a button or an image.

Timed popups work by appearing after a visitor has remained on your site for a certain amount of time.

Scroll popups appear when a visitor has scrolled down a certain percentage of your page.

Entry popups show up immediately when someone enters your site.

Exit popups work by appearing when a visitor is planning to leave your site.

Entry popup example:

Scroll popup example encouraging to share the page:

The easiest way to build your email list is to offer an attractive lead magnet. It’s a free gift you offer to prospects that will encourage them to sign up.

In other words, it’s an incentive in exchange for their email addresses.

Therefore, the gift you give away should be something free that won’t cost you any money. Giveaways are usually digital products, so you can create one yourself.

You also have to make sure it’s relevant to your industry and it’s so valuable that it  straightaway
motivates your prospects to sign up.

So what kind of incentives can you give away? We’ll take a look at the most popular choices:

Lead magnets are excellent tools for generating more subscribers and they can be created in a relatively short time.

Ebooks tend to be one of the most popular types of incentives. They are cheaper and easier to create.

Free reports are usually much shorter than ebooks and they offer a lot of value in a short period of time.

On the other hand, videos are interactive and most people are visual learners. In my opinion, templates are even more irresistible because they are usually ready-made things. All you have to do is to copy, paste and customize them a little bit.

Offering a membership can also be an excellent method to get your audience keep coming back. By calling it a VIP program, you can make it sound more appealing and exciting. It makes your subscribers feel important, especially if it’s an exclusive deal. Since people love being part of something, they’ll be more likely to read your messages and buy your products.

By the way, there are more plugins and platforms out there that can manage and control membership functions.

The drawback of using gifts is that you might end up with a lot of subscribers who are hunting for freebies. Or, they might just grab the freebie then unsubscribe from your list. You can’t completely prevent this from happening but setting up some rules deciding what to do with inactive subscribers is a good idea.

Driving the right audience to your website also increases the chance of having quality subscribers. What I’m saying is that having a mailing list of a 100 people who are your biggest fans is better than having 1000 freebie seekers. 

Apart from asking people to sign up, another option you can choose is to ask your prospects to perform an action such as sharing your page on Facebook, tweeting it on Twitter and so on. This way, only the people who really need your offer will act on it. Many plugins and programs are available these days that can manage content locking and share functions.

Here’s another tip: If you offer a free consultation or a mini training and you attract lots of freebie seekers, then in some cases, it might be a more effective method to make it at least a $1 offer. This way, your prospects have to make a micro-commitment eliminating those who are really not serious.

Using the right language also helps a lot. Refer to your prospects as your “exclusive members” and make sure to keep offering them extra bonuses and benefits. Make it sound exclusive, exciting and important to be a subscriber and therefore a member!

Once you’ve built a highly targeted list, the next step is to monetize it and convert leads into loyal customers. For this, you’ll need to carefully plan every little step, how to best establish a relationship and a rapport with them. A well-written sequence is crucial as it gradually builds trust instead of trying to sell immediately.

Remember what your product means to your audience and try to sell a lifestyle or a future by using a compelling copy that paints a picture.

Let your subscribers feel like “exclusive members” by giving them news, special offers and discounts before you announce them publicly through other channels.

Think about what incentive you could give them to buy immediately.

When it comes to monetizing your mailing list, there are several options:

The number one way to do this is by promoting your products and services regularly. Again, most people will ignore a promotion the first and second time but as they come to know you and respect your opinion, they’ll be more likely to become customers after some time. The good news is that once someone has bought from you, there is a high chance they’ll do so again in the future.

Besides selling products and promoting affiliate products, another great way to earn money is to sell solo ads.

By the way, if you want to get an in-depth guide about affiliate marketing, check out this lecture.

Another option is to sell your mailing list. Of course, there are better ways to make money from a list but this can also be a viable option when you sell your whole business. Thus, selling your mailing list along with your business will increase its value and is a great “exit strategy.” You’ll be surprised how much money other companies might be willing to pay for your list.

Incorporating AIDA into your emails is also a fundamental technique you shouldn’t miss. It means gradually introducing your subscribers to your product so that they badly want whatever it is. Of course, it’s a slow transition and your job is to lead them through the process.

When it comes to emailing, you have space and flexibility to handle each step in a different message.

In your first emails, don’t forget to provide exceptional value and make them aware of your new product by mentioning that you have something new and exciting. This will warm them up to the next stage.

The next one is about raising interest. Explain what your new product does but don’t give away everything, yet. At the same time, make sure they get enough information to be interested and to look forward to the next message.

Then comes desire. Focus on your value proposition. Basically, it’s the benefit they get by buying your product. Get them to imagine how their lives will change by using it such as having freedom, control over life and so on.

At the same time, you should also try to tell a story to get your audience to listen to you. People love stories because they automatically imagine themselves in the shoes of the person they’re reading about. This way, you can really sell that emotional hook and value proposition.

The last part is action. This email should include a clear call to action and provide a quick and easy way to buy your product. Obviously, your only goal here is to get the readers to click on the link in your message. The rest will be handled by your sales page and checkout process.

By creating an autoresponder sequence, you can automatically send out messages with the right amount of time in between them. For instance:

Send out a series of emails to provide value and build trust and then follow this up immediately with the AIDA technique that will convince your audience to buy.

And remember, it’s much easier to sell to someone again who has just bought a product from you. That’s why you should take advantage of upselling.

Putting together a follow-up sequence is a base feature of any email marketing software. It means creating your campaign in advance and scheduling them to go out at certain times.

As I stated in the last chapter, you don’t want to jump right away into a sales pitch. Instead, you want to build trust and authority by providing value in the first few e-mails and thus showing that you’re an expert in your field.

Knowing the right timing between your messages is also very important.

Most of the time your first message will be a welcome email. It will welcome the people who sign up to your list and thank them for joining. Introduce yourself, talk about how excited you’re and your recent experiences.

In your next emails, demonstrate the fact that you’re an expert and give some powerful tips, like an interesting blog post or a video. You might also mention your related product here without diving into the details too deep.

Later you can focus more on the product and talk about how it works, what it does, teach something valuable regarding it.

When it comes to your real sales emails, there is no rule saying how many you can send out. I recommend you to send as many as you need to be able to sell the quantity you anticipated. As you increase the regularity of your messages, don’t forget to remind your prospects that they’re running out of time soon and also teach something new regarding your product. I think when it comes to marketing methods you should favor a soft sale approach rather than a hard sale.

There are a number of different ways to create and put together an email sequence. Now, let’s see what type of messages there are that you can deliver to your audience:

Creating quality campaigns is just the same as writing any good content but there are also some unique things you need to take into account. You want your prospects to keep opening and reading your emails, right? The key is to focus on delivering fascinating, unique and valuable content.

(source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/danardvincente/2690611419)

The goals of your mails should be the same as the goals of your blog posts. This means you need to make sure that you’re consistently delivering real value that builds trust. When you do it right, people might even start recommending their friends to sign up.

There is no right answer for timing, either. The information about your target market can help you decide when to send out mails. One thing is for sure though,
you should avoid sending them while they’re sleeping. Some statistics say:

weekends usually have low open rates

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days

people tend to open their emails in the mornings between 8 and 10 am

Depending on your business, choose the right tone for your emails.

What I can suggest to you is to use a language as if you were talking to a friend, especially if you have a personal brand. Emails should be more personal than simple blog posts. This is how they build that ever wanted trust.

Here, you’re speaking directly to your audience therefore, you should use plenty of “I” and “you” throughout the message.

Emails should generally be much shorter than blog posts due to the restricted time people have. While people usually read blog posts on desktop computers, they often read messages on phones. Aim for a few hundred words at most, depending on the format of your email.

Take into account that people can be anywhere when reading your emails. So get to the point quickly, avoid fluff. If your mail is longer, tease the value early.

Frequency is also an essential factor and keeping consistency is key here. In other words, you need to decide how often you’re going to send out your emails and keep that timeframe constantly.

Don’t annoy people by sending messages too often but at the same time don’t abandon your list.

There is no perfect solution for all this but I think sending an email about once or twice a week might be a good choice. Depending on the email formats and campaigns you’re running, you might need to increase or decrease this frequency.

For example, increasing the regularity of your messages might be beneficial, as you get closer to a product launch date. Remind your subscribers that they’re running out of time and also teach something new regarding your product.

Offer something new that no one else is offering. If your content is not original, try to add your own opinion and make it unique. Turn it into other formats, include case studies, provide exclusive information and in-depth guides to make it different. Or, conveying that information in an entirely new way might also boost it significantly.

One of the most critical parts of an email is the subject line. Lots of people decide based on the subject line alone whether or not to read your message.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_irish/957300577/

Therefore, you need to make sure your subject line stands out by using compelling titles that describe the value of the content within. This can also include asking a question, asking for feedback or anything developing the curiosity of your audience.

It should explain what you’re offering and why they should listen to you. In other words, always ensure the content in the email reflects the subject line.

Don’t use words that trick people to open your mails. It will perhaps work for the first time but you’ll damage any trust you’ve built and your audience may unsubscribe.

Some people advise using the word “Re:” in the subject line so that people think they’re responses to previous e-mails. This is not a strategy that will work in the long term. On the contrary, it’s quite disappointing and desperate.

Consequently, choosing the right subject line is similar to choosing a headline for a blog post. If the readers are genuinely interested in the subject, then they will want to read more.

As you might know, people are constantly
bombarded with marketing messages these days, so it’s crucial to set yourself apart from that marketing world. With this in mind, I give you a pro tip:

Instead of trying to sell directly in your emails, create a great article or case study providing value and send that to your subscribers.

Obviously, you should promote your products on the website but the top priority is giving value by teaching something new, informing or entertaining.

In addition to the content, remember that you only have 50-60 characters for the subject lines. As more and more users read their emails on mobiles, less than 50 characters might be even better.

Setting up high-converting email sequences is not as easy as it sounds first. Your emails should engage your customers and encourage them to take a specific action.

EmailDrips website collected the best campaigns used by top companies. Those emails are proven to work, so it’s a great way to model them and get ideas of your own.

Visit the site and choose from different email campaigns like product launches, webinars, free trials, live events and more.

With regards to email marketing, one of the most important things is that your emails should be able to get past the spam filters. If they can’t, people will never even get the chance to open them. Successful inbox delivery rates depend on a lot of factors and you also need to understand how spam filters work.

(source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Feedback_loop_(email).svg)

Spam filters scan through the content of all incoming emails and also check other different data. For instance:

If they find some spammy words in the content of an email, they send it to the spam folder.

Additionally, spam filters handle much more than all these. They look at a wide range of factors to determine whether each email should be sent to the spam or the inbox folder. Let’s see some of these:

As you can see now, spam filtering works with quite sophisticated algorithms.

For example, one’s reputation is calculated based on many other factors including user complaints, blacklists, the age of IP address, etc.

Engagement includes open rates, replies, click through rates and so on.

When it comes to content, spam filters look at the ratio of images to text, the length of the content, spammy words and much more.

So, what is the best strategy to avoid being identified as
spam? It’s quite simple. Creating high-quality content is the key.

Furthermore, it’s essential to keep the standard email marketing rules.

If you deliver quality information, then people will engage and as a result, you become a trustworthy source hitting the inbox all the time. Your audience will be excited to see the next valuable email you send.

Another thing you can do though is just to ask your subscribers to whitelist you. The best if you apply this strategy on the thank you page, right after your subscribers signed up.

Example: 

Now let’s see some email marketing best practices to develop a good sender reputation and avoid spam filters:

Maintaining a good sender reputation is also a factor that plays a vital role in email marketing. Luckily, some autoresponders have email hygiene tools and other advanced features to help solve these issues, or you might also use external online software for this purpose.

This is a feature with which you can prevent fake, invalid or spam addresses in the first place.

Double opt-in means that the reader needs to confirm their subscription via an email with an embedded link. This way, you can also avoid robots and scripts sign up automatically by filling in forms.

Example:

At the same time, it also blocks those people from signing up who never check their inboxes meaning they aren’t really interested in your product.

On the other hand, the drawback of using this feature is that you make it harder for the real subscribers to join. So, it’s up to you to decide whether single or double opt-in is more suitable for your business.

If you want to learn more about different tools, I suggest you check out my ultimate list:

The 61 Best Tools For Digital Marketing

To filter out potential email issues a lot quicker, you can also look for bounces.

A bounced email is an email that fails to deliver and there are usually two types of these. Soft bounces are temporary bounces that can be due to a range of factors, whereas hard bounces are delivery failures that are unlikely to be resolved. These emails have never existed in the first place, or the email account was deleted for instance.

Take a close look at the analytics tab and delete emails that are consistently failing to be delivered. What’s more, autoresponders are usually able to decide and automatically suppress bounced email addresses.

Break-up emails are emails including notifications to people that it is your last message and their last chance as they haven’t shown any interest beforehand. You usually send break-up messages to people who haven’t opened your emails recently or haven’t clicked any links in them.

Let me give you a break-up email I received some time ago as an example: 

And finally as a reminder: