One of the services that I offer my clients still flies under the radar for many - email marketing. A big reason for that is that many business owners, founders, & solopreneurs still struggle to make the time for it. I get it; it’s long form, time-consuming, & the set up can be technical & somewhat fiddly to execute effectively.
Having spent more than 10 years designing & creating content for my clients’ email marketing campaigns, I wanted to share a step-by-step on how you can incorporate email into your marketing strategy today, & share some reliable tools, their price points, & some best practices to help you get started.
1.Building a Database
Before you do anything else, you need to know whether you already have an existing database of email contacts who have opted in to receive marketing emails from your organisation. If you didn’t build your own website, ask your web developer.
If you’re starting a new organisation, you must start a new database with a new opt in, & cannot use existing contacts. Each corporate entity requires express consent from contacts in order to send marketing communications.
2. Choosing an Email Marketing Tool
Check to see if any of your existing platforms offer email marketing. If you use Squarespace, HubSpot, Shopify, or Wix - congratulations! You already have access to an email marketing tool. If you don’t use any of these, or would like more in-depth analytics for your email marketing campaigns Mailchimp offers storage for up to 2,000 mailing list contacts on their free plan, which is a great way to get started with minimal cost.
3. Creating a sign up capture
Now that you have a database set up, you need somewhere to allow people to sign up to your marketing emails or newsletter. If you have a website create a pop up window or page with your sign up embedded. You can find advice on integrating Mailchimp with your site here. If you haven’t built your own site, speak to your web developer. If you don’t have a website yet you can share your email list sign up link on your socials, send it to previous clients & collaborators, or include it in a micro-site like BioSites or Linktree.
4. Get sharing!
Your email list is now ready for you to share your products, services, company updates, or informative industry thinkpieces with your audience. You might be starting off small but you have to start somewhere, so don’t forget to make your content informative, engaging, & functional for your readers.
If you need ongoing support or help getting started with email marketing, you can always reach out at hello@phoebeperson.com.
