There is no such thing as a risk-free guarantee when it comes to marketing and growing your business. With hundreds of available options, it can be overwhelming, time-consuming and expensive to test out new ways to connect with your ideal clients.
Within this fast-moving world of constantly changing marketing tactics, there is an old work horse that is often overlooked and taken for granted…
Your email list could be a golden opportunity if you build and treat it well. Imagine this:
You’ve generated leads, cultivated a relationship and continue to provide value-added reasons why your subscribers are on your email list.
Because of your efforts, you how have a virtual line out your door of people ready and waiting to buy from you. When you send an email with an offer, sales come back almost immediately.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not (although it does take some work). In fact, when compared with other popular marketing channels, McKinsey & Company found that:
Email is nearly 40 times better than Facebook and Twitter at acquiring customers.Click To TweetHubspot found that companies who nurture their email list generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost.
Email is also extremely cost-effective. Exact Target discovered that for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment was $44.25 (and that’s the average – for some companies it’s much higher).
Clearly, creating a great email list will help you make more sales while saving money.
So, how do you cultivate a lucrative relationship with these potential clients?
It does require a bit of wooing to get your email list to pay attention and trust your company. And you’d better use a killer headline because according to a study by Litmus, you only have 3-4 seconds to grab your reader’s attention.
To get started with emails your subscribers truly want to read, use these 7 killer email categories. And for more help, grab your free cheat sheet: 100+ irresistible subject lines to dramatically improve your email marketing RESULTS!.
7 Killer Email Types
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Welcome Email
You only have one chance at a first impression, so make it a good one with your new email subscriber.
A good welcome email can set the stage for an incredible relationship… or it can leave your new potential client feeling less than excited about you and your company (and prompt them to unsubscribe quickly).
Create a welcome email that engages and excites your ideal clients. When done correctly, they’ll pay much more attention to your future emails and become actual clients quickly.
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Insider Secrets
Want to keep email subscribers eagerly anticipating you in their inbox? Create an insider secrets email.
Insider secrets can be anything from a secret discount to behind-the-scenes information to the latest trends. Think about celebrity and political blogs, an in-depth news story, and even the NFL miking the offensive line so fans can get on the field ‘secrets’.
When done well, an insider secrets email will have your potential clients enthusiastic about email from your company.
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Personalized Promotions
According to Experian, personalized promotional emails have a 29% higher open rate and 41% higher click rates than non-personalized emails.
Simply inserting your email subscriber’s name into a subject line gives you a 29% higher opportunity to sell your product or service.
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You’re Invited
Find a way to make your email subscribers feel special and like they belong to something bigger than just your email list.
For example, I have a client who delivers workshops all over North America.
At every stop on his tour, he’ll host a free meetup for his email subscribers. Not only is this great for connecting with potential clients, it’s also amazing at cultivating a relationship where his subscribers can’t wait for his email to arrive with the latest ‘you’re invited’ special invitation.
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Lessons Learned
People love to know the behind-the-scenes dirt – and transparency can pay off big in terms of creating trust and buy-in from your email list.
Depending on your business, what are the lessons you could share with your subscribers that they would find valuable in their life/business?
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Real Examples
People love to know the hero’s journey – and highlighting your clients is a great way to showcase real examples of how your work provides value.
The best example of this is with anything weight loss / fitness where it shows someone out of shape suddenly ripped and toned, yet this ‘real example’ email can be used in just about any industry.
Using a real client example not only showcases what you do, but provides tangible proof that what you do actually works.
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Ask For Feedback
The last killer email category is asking for feedback.
On the surface, this can seem like just a survey email, but if done well, the feedback email builds confidence and excitement with your audience.
As a bonus, getting your email subscribers to tell you a bit about themselves, what they’re looking for from you AND what they don’t really care about provides insight into what works with your marketing.
Now it’s back to you. Which email types have you used that have worked well? Any that you’re now going to try? Leave comments below and share what’s working for your killer email categories.