Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Spark Your Business with Email Marketing

briberrie on etsy
We've discussed email signatures and using this free marketing tool to your advantage but how many of you have an email list? (You know, a way to keep up with your audience if your Blogger or Wordpress account goes wonky and you are freaking out and want to let everyone know you are still around and are having an incredible sale.)

An email list is not when you cut and paste from people that have purchased from you and begin sending them emails. That is spam and you don't do that because it is wrong. And unprofessional. But an email list is one in which you let folks sign up and you deliver content to their inbox once a day, once a week, once a month, or what ever time frame you think reasonable. But what do you send?

*Customize your Newsletters. Not everyone that reads your blog necessarily cares for all of your content so customizing newsletters allows you to send out something special for their needs. I have done this before and found it useful. Someone interested in my workshops or journals might not have any interests in my tutorials or recipes.

*Choose the Content Wisely. I made the choice to focus my newsletters on inspirational, get-your-rear-in-gear content because it was what people asked for and is something I am passionate about. I also choose to not send only links to my products (in fact, I hardly ever link to something in one of my shops).
Think about what you would want to see in your inbox.

*Have a Plan. Knowing what you want to accomplish with your email list helps with your strategy. Set up goals and map out the strategy of how you will reach those goals. I need to improve this with my list.


*Be Crystal Clear and Upfront. On my sign-up I mention what you are getting, how often, and why they want it in the first place.

Be mindful that it is not all about the numbers. Some people think they have to have a 1,000 followers on their blog and 10,000 email subscribers to be successful. If only five people buy from you or leave comments then that is not what I think of as success. If you only have 50 people on your list but those are 50 valuable customers then that is priceless.

QUESTION: Do you have an email opt-in?

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Today's guest blogger is Erika. She is the creator of Artful Rising where she encourages you to get-your-rear-in-gear to Create. Inspire. Change the World. Join the conversation today via the weekly Artful Rising Newsletter and receive your own ebook on following your dreams.

10 comments:

Memories for Life said...

This is definitley on my to-do list for 2012!
I think a monthly newsletter would be good for me so I can recap new items, important blog posts give sale info and giveaway info!

Rose Clearfield said...

I do have an e-mail opt in and try to send a newsletter once a month. I have not had a huge success with it but even a few extra sales per year is better than nothing.

Linda B said...

I started to set up Mail Chimp, but haven't finished it. I'm more apt to send an email to customers when I'm having a sale or starting to design for particular holidays.

Thanks for sharing.

Linda E. Pruitt said...

Great post! I will definately be thinking of this when I am on my "vacation." I need to think about it and see if it is what I want to put my time into.

BeadedTail said...

Great advice Erika! Every time I get a newsletter I think I should be doing one too but just never seem to get it done. My to-do list is growing!

Kathleen said...

I have thought about doing this for quite a while, but haven't done it yet. Thinking about it again - thanks for the great post!

Splendid Little Stars said...

great post! This is something I will think about!

Anonymous said...

This is something that's been floating around in the back of my mind for quite some time now. I need it- especially as I do more craft shows as a way to hopefully gain those people as repeat customers or blog followers. I love your newsletter (and it's one of the only ones I actually read fully each month!). I think yours is one to inspire others, well done, and thanks for the tips!

Karen said...

I tried starting a newsletter back in 2009 and didn't have much luck, but I'm going forward with a new one this year. I'm actually looking forward to the challenge and opportunity of doing a newsletter!

Judy Nolan said...

These are great suggestions for a newsletter, although I must confess that I have not done one myself.