Email Marketing is Very Much Alive, But These Practices are Dead

There is no shortage of opinions on the internet when you're making a decision.

Everything from the best take out in town to whether or not you should bring the elf of the shelf in your home, to the next right move in business. 

With the surge in social media platforms and the spam that comes through email, it's easy to listen to the chatter and stop your email marketing campaigns all together.

When I first started out as an online business strategist and content marketer, I did what all the influencers were doing.

I spoke like they spoke, wrote copy like they did, and put out the same kinds of campaigns.

It felt good, at first. But every potential client that I got on a discovery call with, soaked up our knowledge and tips and when it came time to hire us, they had no money.

I couldn't understand why we were attracting everyone who was broke. Then I looked at my websites. Everywhere it was plastered,

"Make money online, make money while you sleep."

When I stopped to think about it, money wasn't at all a driver for me. Creating impact and service was. When I changed my messaging to what mattered to me, the right clients started reaching out.  

You get to choose your why. You get to choose who you want to work with. You get to choose what content and causes you write about or don't write about. It's your business and your choice. 

Email is the perfect platform because you get to marry what matters to you, and what your community wants to hear.

Here's two other reasons why email is an essential marketing tool.

1. Social media could go poof tomorrow.

You don't own your social media platform. It can be shut down, censored, or disappear tomorrow. Do not build courses or memberships on it. Even if others in your industry are doing it. Use Kajabi, Learn Dash, Thinkific, or the other platforms that are built to hold assets. Kajabi, our preferred platform, had a community section just like a free Facebook group. 

2. You can track open rates. 

The number of likes, comments and followers don't matter. They don't always equate to people buying your products or services. Not to mention that algorithms change day by day. With email, you know exactly how many people and who is actually opening and reading your content. With that solid data you can change strategies to increase open rates and conversion rates.

Here's why email marketing doesn't work:

1. Not having a list builder opt in, freebie.

People who opt in WANT to hear your information and if done right, want to buy from you after the relationship is built. If you don't have a freebie, it's missed opportunity. Your freebie should always be your call to action at the end of a social post, podcast, or online summit if you can't make an offer.

2. The opt in is where it STARTS.

The more value you give, the more the relationship grows. Chances are if you've unsubscribed from a list, it's because you no longer are interested in what they have to offer. Or if you've angrily unsubscribed from a list, it's because you're only seeing offers. There is no value. There is no reason to stay because the content isn't speaking to you. It's about the business. I send out a weekly newsletter of pure value and my autoresponders are conversational. No one wants to receive another pitch or feel like they received a canned message in their inbox. Use their name, address them, tell a story, evoke emotions. Don't just sell. 

3. Not having segmented lists.

When you try to talk to everyone, you talk to no one.  When I was making the shift from wellness coaching to business strategy, I was creating separate content, but not separate lists. My wellness community didn't care about business. They wanted the latest clean eating strategy, not learning about sales. My business community wanted to know the latest social media strategy, not my current shake recipe of the week. Give your community the kind of info they opted in for and have separate lists if you serve different desires of people.

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Need help with your email marketing and autoresponders? Don't have a freebie opt in? My agency can help! Book a call with Eric and I here.  

Written by Lisa Pezik