The ability to sell to current customers is the most important tool in your marketing toolkit. After all, these people already know you, like you, and trust you!
The problem? You need some way to reach them.
This is where email comes in. An email address is a direct line to your customers.
As you gather email addresses, build lists, and launch drip campaigns, you’re able to put selling and upselling on autopilot.
And that’s exactly what I’m going to show you how to do! Follow these four simple steps to build email lists with ease and create powerful email campaigns that convert:
1. Create Your Irresistible Offer
You might be the kindest, most charismatic business owner in the world, but nine times out of ten, customers aren’t going to give out their email addresses for free.
You’ll almost always need to offer something in exchange.
The offer doesn’t need to be huge or costly. It just needs to possess enough perceived value to be enticing to the customer.
Some common types of offers include:
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- A 10% discount on the customer’s next purchase.
- A chance to win a $100 gift certificate from a monthly drawing.
- Weekly emails with coupons and specials.
- A free ebook or other download.
- … and others!
2. Identify Opportunities to Capture Email Addresses
You’ve got your offer, but now you need to identify the methods you’ll be using to collect email addresses. After all, you’re not seeing your customers every day. You and your staff should know to capitalize on any opportunity to add them to your email list.
Here are some different strategies you can implement:
- Make your offer in person, before or after a sale.
- Include the offer on the back of your business card.
- Send your offer via a mailer (if you happen to have their physical address).
- Advertise your offer in a social media post or paid ad.
- Launch a Google Ads campaign that includes your offer.
- Set up a QR code in-store that leads customers directly to your offer.
3. Choose Your Email Marketing Platform
You have an offer. You have a strategy. Now, you need a place to build your lists. Fortunately, there are dozens of email marketing platforms you can use to not only capture email addresses and build lists but also run your entire email marketing campaigns.
Here are several options:
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- Constant Contact
- Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign
- HubSpot
- GetResponse
- Drip
- Brevo
- Benchmark
- Zoho
- Moosend
- Omnisned
- … and many more!
These platforms can be seamlessly integrated with your website, ad campaigns, and other online tools so that any email addresses captured are immediately stored within the platform and can be segmented into other lists as needed.
But that’s not all. From there, you can create your own professional emails in minutes by choosing from hundreds of templates and design elements—often with one-click editing tools and user-friendly interfaces.
What’s more, platforms like Constant and Mailchimp even offer free coaching and support so that you always know exactly what’s going on with your email lists and campaigns!
4. Plan and Launch Your First Drip Email Campaign
Now for the fun stuff! With your email marketing software fully integrated and a list of email addresses, it’s time to launch your first email campaign.
The best part is that these platforms provide autoresponder software, which allows you to create pre-written emails and schedule them to be triggered whenever a new contact is added to your list. This automates the entire marketing process for you!
Remember, an effective email should walk your customers through each phase of your sales funnel.
You should aim to achieve the following when crafting your pre-written emails:
- Welcome your customers, thank them for signing up, and deliver on your initial offer.
- Deliver email and blog content that educates your customers on your products and services.
- Send out your weekly coupons and monthly newsletters.
- Invite customers to join your business’s loyalty program.
- Introduce your referral program (and your big incentive!).
As you’re writing your emails, take advantage of your software’s spam check tool, which will help you weed out any language that could get flagged as spam!
After going live with your campaign, your email marketing software will track and measure your results. This allows you to view real-time data on how many people are clicking through, reading, and responding to your emails.
You’ll also be able to A/B test different options, make changes to your campaign, and find the formula that produces the best results!