the importance of storytelling
How much information should I include in my marketing emails?
Client Asks:
My business offers a number of different services. When someone new joins my email list, I don’t know how to get all the information in front of people without overwhelming them.
I’ve tried newsletters that include a message about each service area, but even though my open rates are solid, it’s not converting into new business. What can I do?
Frizz Answers:
This is a common question I get from businesses. First, it’s important to celebrate the wins:
(1) People are signing up for your emails
(2) People are looking at the messages you send
(3) There are some easy tactics to break your services down into more bite-sized messages.
My favorite explanation about WHY we need to keep emails short is this: People have shorter attention spans than goldfish – and we have a heck of a lot more distractions.
Here’s what has worked well for a number of businesses I’ve worked with:
(1) Set up an automated campaign for anyone that joins your email list. When they enroll, they should first immediately get a welcome email thanking them for signing up, and letting them know they will receive periodic messages from you.
(2) Establish a time frame for the automated series. The first message should an overview of who you are and what services you provide. Let them know that they will receive [x] messages over [y time frame], spotlighting the services that you offer.
(3) Next, build a series of messages, each one spotlighting one service. How you approach this can vary: It may be a description of the service, a problem you solved for a client, or a video spotlighting that service in action. Keep these messages succinct, and whenever possible, try to stick with one call to action. (Bonus points if you’re using click segmentation, but that’s a topic for another day.)
(4) When the series concludes, these new leads will have information about the full range of your business – which means you can continue to send specific, targeted messages going forward.
Would your business benefit from an automated service series? I can help.
What tips do you have for sending promotional emails? Leave a comment below! Got a question to be featured (or just in general)? Drop me a line!
Article photo credit: Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash
This is very good information for me. I have sent out two email newsletters and then stopped. I accidentally sent the second one straight from my address not mail chimp and did not BCC the email list. I was so embarrassed I have not sent out a third.
Paige, don’t get discouraged! We *all* make missteps in our business along the way – it’s part of the learning curve.
– Don’t be afraid to send an “oops” message when something goes awry (and don’t be afraid to have a little fun, too). My website and email went down for a week during some critical deadlines, so I sent out a lighthearted message about technical difficulties with a silly graphic, and gave alternate contact info.
– Don’t be afraid to try again. Some messages will be hits. Some will bring crickets. You might miss a newsletter when work is crazy. That’s all okay. You’ve got great info to share, so make sure you give yourself a little grace along the way.
My ideal clients (attorneys) are really busy people. I’ve read about email marketing but dont think it’s a good path for my business & marketing.
My own email inbox is overwhelming I can only imagine theirs.
LinkedIn seems to be a better means to communicating the value and benefits of my services for my ideal client.
Is email marketing a good tool for everyone?
I love this question, Alexandra. Ultimately, you know your audience better than everyone. So, if you think email will hinder your business with them, there are certainly other strategies.
However, there are multiple goals for email. Some obviously include getting opened and getting read. Some of it, too, is simply about remaining front of mind. Even if a potential client skips messages because they are overloaded, they will still (consciously or not) notice they’ve heard from you.
And, you can keep messages simple. One campaign might just be a quote from a happy client with a call-to-action to schedule their own appointment.
That aside, LinkedIn is a great resource as well. Because how much people see of your feed varies, I would use it in conjunction with other tools.
There’s a lot to cover here – Would you mind if I used this for the next Quiz Frizz to answer more fully?
Sounds Great! Id love to hear more. Thanks so much for your great insight!