I’ve been writing a LOT about email marketing recently.
The thing is, a well-executed email strategy can be one of the most effective ways of marketing your business so it’s worth exploring this topic more than once. I’ve already written a whole post on the power of email marketing for small businesses AND I’ve given you my best tips on building an email list.
Now it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of the different types of email marketing campaigns you can send to your subscribers.
You can categorise the different types of email into two main buckets:
One-off or ‘broadcast’ emails
As it sounds, these emails are sent to your audience on a one-off basis and are often written “live” to reflect current events in your business or the industry as a whole.
These include
1. Newsletters
What are they?
Email newsletters are the regular communications that you have with your audience. Whether it’s once a week, or once a month, sending a regular, consistent and valuable email to your audience is a crucial element of email marketing.
What’s in them?
There are no real rules for email newsletter content, you can…
Educate your audience on a burning industry issue.
Round up any new market developments.
Share your latest blog post, podcast or video.
Give a heads up about anything exciting happening in your business - a new service, a PR opportunity, a special offer you’re running etc…
In terms of format, newsletters can be written in “plain text”, as though you’re writing a letter to your readers, or you can create a branded template that ensures your audience recognises your email when it pops into their inbox.
When are they sent?
You can choose an email sending frequency that works for you. Some businesses will send emails daily, others opt for weekly, biweekly, or monthly.
I’d urge you to choose a frequency that you can stick to. If you say you’ll email every week then DO IT. And, it’s even better if you stick to the same day each week - that way your audience will start to expect your emails.
While email newsletters are filed under the one-off/ live email category, that's not to say that you can’t write and schedule them in advance. It can work really well to create a content strategy for your blog/ podcast/ video content as well as your emails up to a month in advance - that way you know what you’re supposed to be sending every week.
This means you’re never scrabbling around for email ideas at the last minute!
2. Broadcasts
What are they?
Broadcast emails are similar to newsletters in that they’re sent on a one-off basis. However, broadcasts tend to be purely informational in nature.
What’s in them?
You might want to send a broadcast email to…
Get important messages out to your audience at a time when disaster strikes in your area or industry. For example - when COVID hit or the recent flooding that has impacted so many Australian businesses. Don't leave contacts wondering or assuming if you're still available or operating or not.
Update your clients on any changes to your service agreements or T&Cs.
Give your readers the heads up about an upcoming event.
Let your waitlisted readers know about any last-minute openings in your schedule if they want to take advantage of your services.
When are they sent?
Broadcast emails are sent on a live, as-needed basis in reaction to changes in your business or industry.
Automated Emails
The one part of email marketing that business owners tend to overlook is the power of automated emails.
You might hear “automated” and think robotic, or spammy, but it really couldn’t be further from the truth.
Yes, automated email sequences are set up in advance and run on auto-pilot, but the key is to make sure that they’re working hard for you AND your client to help them understand how you can serve them.
3. Welcome Sequence
What is it?
When a reader signs up for your email list it’s the perfect chance to “roll out the red carpet” and capture their attention with an engaging sequence of emails.
What’s in it?
Instead of just one canned email to confirm their subscription, why not add your new subscriber to a series of 3-5 emails that outlines…
Who you are and why you’re uniquely placed to help them solve their most burning business issue.
Some nurturing content that can help them make some progress right then and there. This should build on any lead magnet that you’ve shared with your readers.
What they can expect from you going forward and where to find more information
The action you want them to take next - book a call, check out your podcast etc.
When is it sent?
A welcome sequence should be triggered as soon as your new subscriber is added to your email list. The timeframe of sending each email depends on your business and reader but it’s not unusual to send out the 3-5 email sequence over the first 5-7 days post-sign-up.
4. Re-engagement campaign
What is it?
Has it been a while since you last emailed your list?
(Don’t worry, you’re not the only business owner who’s let email marketing slide to the bottom of their “to-do” list!)
Or, maybe you’ve been diligently emailing your list regularly but you still have a long tail of subscribers who don’t open or click on your emails?
Common email marketing wisdom would say to “clean” your list by removing subscribers who aren’t engaging with your emails.
But BEFORE you do a list clean-up, why not reach out and see if they still want to hear from you?
Enter the email re-engagement campaign…
What’s in it?
Your re-engagement emails can…
Remind your subscribers who you are and why they signed up to hear more from you.
Share something valuable or educational to give a taste of why they might like to stay on your list.
Give them the option to remain on your list by clicking a link and invite them to unsubscribe to be removed from your audience.
When is it sent?
There are no hard and fast rules, but you could consider scheduling a 2-3 email campaign over the space of 1-2 weeks where you give your inactive subscribers a couple of chances to re-engage.
5. Trigger Email
What are they?
One of the most powerful features of email marketing is the ability to tailor, or “trigger”, content based on the actions that your audience takes.
When are they sent?
Trigger emails are automated emails that are sent when your reader takes a predetermined action, such as:
Clicking a link in an email, showing interest in a topic or service.
“Abandoning” an action on a website - such as booking a call or making a purchase.
The trigger email follows up with the reader and prompts them to follow through on the action, or provides a nurturing email sequence on the topic they’ve shown interest in.
Given 74% of marketers say targeted personalisation increases customer engagement, this advanced email marketing strategy is definitely worth exploring to maximise the potential of your email list.
Need to understand how email marketing fits in your wider marketing strategy?
My Ultimate Marketing Checklist will get you set up on the right foot, so you can make the most of your email list!
Grab your copy right here…
