Getting Started with Email Marketing

I feel like a lot of people know that they ‘should’ be doing email marketing. And I think at a certain point, yes, everyone should be doing it.

But if it feels like something that's completely out of your capacity right now, that's okay. Because the last thing you want to do is start an email list, build it up and then never talk to people. That's like inviting a bunch of house guests over and then going and locking yourself in your room.

Which to be honest, I have done before. But hear me out. It's because I go to bed at nine o'clock and I was super tired. In that case, it's okay. But when it comes to your email list, we don't want to do that.

Perfection Is Keeping You Stuck

I think a lot of people let the idea of having to have the perfect email list stop them from doing it. And that's when it just gets pushed off more and more.

So honestly, messy action is better than no action at all.

If you can commit to one email a month, that's enough. It doesn't have to be weekly. It doesn't have to be multiple emails in a week. Even if you can commit to one email to your email list, then 100% it is worth it.

You Don't Need the Perfect Freebie

The perfection piece that even I struggled with when I started my email list was thinking I need to have the perfect freebie before I can start my list.

If you're not 100% sure what I'm talking about there, that's okay. A freebie is a lead magnet. You're attracting people to sign up for your list so that you can continue to nurture that relationship, grow that relationship and sell when you have something to sell.

Lead magnets can be pretty great. There can be some awesome ones like workshops or little guides with value or some people do quizzes. Quizzes have been kind of fun lately and there's really kind of no end to what kind of lead magnet you can come up with.

However, if that is what's holding you back, then I would encourage you to not let that hold you back. Go ahead and do it anyway.

I was also waiting to have the perfect freebie and what I've found is showing up for my email list and bringing value to my emails and then showing on my Instagram a sneak peek of what that value is has gotten me more signups than a freebie.

Maybe my freebies just aren't that great. I'm okay with that.

I want to attract the right people into my list. And that's people who want to learn about copywriting, about personal branding, about marketing. I make it a very storytelling based newsletter. And so that's what I use to attract those people. If people want to get to know me more, if they want to hear stories, if they want to get value and tips, that's who the list is for. That's how I market it.

I don't use a lead magnet (for the most part).

Which again, I know it's not the most popular thing in the world. But I felt like starting my list and starting it messy was better than not starting it at all. And so far it's worked.

So it's okay if you don't have the perfect lead magnet or freebie or whatever it is you think that you need.

What Do You Actually Say in Your Emails

If you're sitting there thinking, okay Evie, I don't have a freebie but I'm going to do it anyway. And I can email once a month. But what am I going to say?

That's a completely valid question.

I would say you want to lead with value and connection. Bring some value to the table, share a little bit and make them see what your expertise is, what your authority is, but also what your ideas are. 

What ideas do you have that are different from others in your industry? What's a different thing about your process that you can share?

Use Storytelling to Connect

Something that I really love to do is use storytelling. I pick one thing that happened recently that kind of got me thinking, got the wheels turning and think about how that ties back to my audience and how it can be something that they can take something away from.

Because yes, you're telling a story about yourself, but your audience wants to know how it reflects back on them. What can they get out of it? And there's nothing wrong with that.

In order to keep your audience engaged and to nurture that relationship, you want to make sure that they are given something to walk away with. Whether that's a tip or a different way of thinking about something or something new they can try that day, some sort of encouragement. Anything like that is really the sweet spot of making it about your audience while still telling a story about yourself.

The Monthly Update Approach

Another thing I've seen people do with monthly emails is make it kind of like an update. Say what's going on in your business. Say who you worked with, if you can. Say what kind of projects you worked on. Say what fires you up. Say what podcast you listen to. Share some tools that you've been using lately.

Like maybe I want to share what podcast mic I'm using or what podcast studio I'm using. That's all stuff that's going to add value to your audience even though you feel like it might not be that interesting. People do really love hearing about stuff like that.

So don't underestimate the power of updating your audience on what's actually going on behind the scenes.

Your List Isn't Just for Selling

One last point that I want to make is just because you're getting people in your email list doesn't mean that you have to sell to them all the time.

It's as important to nurture that audience before you're selling to them or in between selling to them.

You don't want every single email to be buy my stuff, buy my stuff, buy my stuff. People don't want more of that in their inbox. They get enough from Old Navy and whatever other store they signed up for to get 15% off. They don't want any more of that.

They signed up for your list to connect with you on a deeper level, to get more depth out of what you have to offer. And this is really your opportunity to do that.

Yes, sometimes you want to sell. There's sales sequences, email marketing is a huge part of selling. But the best way to do it is to make sure that you are nurturing your audience in between.

P.S - This blog is based on a podcast episode from The Unfiltered Tea with Evie. If you’d rather listen than read, you can check it out using the links below.