On 1st Oct 2024, Kit became the new name for ConvertKit.
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What exactly is email marketing?
Email marketing is the process of sending marketing emails, normally in bulk, to the people who have shown an interest in your products or services.
Ultimately, the goal is to deliver a series of emails that will persuade your audience to take a particular action, such as accessing something that you’re giving them, or purchasing a product, or even signing up for your newsletter.
Why should I be using email marketing in my business?
As the widely accepted most lucrative of digital marketing channels, email marketing provides an average return on investment (ROI) in the region of 36 to 1, meaning that for every £1 you spend, you can expect to get £36 back again.
Also, as the most ubiquitous of media, every person who wants a digital presence uses an email address. Just to register with a social platform like Facebook, Linked, or Twitter – you need to a valid email address.
What do I need to get started?
Anyone (yes, literally anyone) can get started with email marketing. Even if you don’t have a scooby-doo when it comes to technology! If you’re capable of opening and reading this email, then I can assure you that you have enough tech skills to start your own email marketing system – you just need to follow the simple steps.
What you’ll need more than anything else, is the desire to make it work for your business. It doesn’t pop out like a rabbit from a top-hat in a magic act – it takes effort from you, but it’s effort that brings its rewards in the form of income in your business.
The 5 basic elements
- An account with an email marketing platform – EMP (e.g. ConvertKit, Mailerlite, ActiveCampaign etc.).
- A lead generator (or lead magnet) – something of value that you can give in exchange for email addresses.
- A landing page or opt-in form to collect name + email address, connected to an autoresponder (comes with your EMP).
- A lead magnet sequence (a pre-written series of 4-6 emails that complement your lead magnet).
- A ‘Welcome’ sequence (a pre-written series of 4-6 emails that allow subscribers to get to know more about you).
Once you’ve got these in place, you’re good to go. Start sharing the link to your lead magnet on your social channels and other networks and start to grow your ‘list’.
Once your subscribers are on your list, then you need to regularly provide more value to them via more emails. Doing this consistently will lead to sales, which will then lead to even more sales (providing you’re delivering value, of course).
By the way, all the EMPs offer a free account to get you started, however features such as drip-fed email sequences are normally chargeable, starting from around £10/month.
💡Tip: If you haven’t already, then get started this week on creating your own email marketing system. It’s simpler than you might think and you’ll be thankful for the additional income opportunities it’ll create for you!
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Consider the next 100 people who find you
The next 100 people who come across you or your business, AND are interested in what you provide, will fall into one of two categories;
- Likely to become a client right now.
- Unlikely to become a client right now.
Not exactly groundbreaking information I accept, but true nonetheless. Let’s make an assumption that the numbers come out at around 3:97 (3% likely, 97% unlikely).
There could be a number of factors at play here, but one of the most obvious ones is affordability.
Can they afford to buy what you offer?
The short answer – no, not everyone who wants to buy from you, can afford to buy from you.
But how do you make your stuff affordable without lowering your prices? (lowering your prices is rarely a good idea)
The good news is, you can.
In business, you need to have a range of offers to satisfy all levels of ‘readiness-to-buy’, regardless of where they are right now in their own paths (some people can’t buy right now due to many reasons – lack of funds, lack of time, lack of headspace etc.).
*Just to be clear – I’m NOT saying you need to have something for EVERYONE; I’m saying you need to have something for everyone who wants what you sell, but for whatever reason, can’t buy yet.
To do this, you need to have something to offer in the following price brackets;
- Free: give stuff away that helps people to solve at least one of their problems. Then, when they eventually can afford your offerings, you’ll be top of mind when they consider their options.
- Introductory: low cost offerings that can give your clients an experience that serves to reinforce the message that they made the right decision in working with you.
- Core: your ‘everyday’ offerings that make up the bulk of your income.
- Flagship/Signature: your premium offerings, available to those who want the very best you can provide.
So, for the next 100 people who come across you and your business – what can the get from you right now? Can you satisfy the 97 who are unlikely to buy today, as well as the 3 who are ready to buy?
💡Tip: Make sure you have something to either give or sell to EVERYONE who shows up at your door, no matter where they are in their own travels of improving their business or life.
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Did you know this about Jeff Bezos and Netflix?
In 1997, only 4 months after Netflix was launched, Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos offered to buy the company from founders Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings for $14m. He obviously saw the potential in what they were doing.
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Interestingly, Amazon went on to acquire ‘LoveFilm’ for a figure rumoured to be around $200m in 2011, and more recently, in 2022, purchased MGM Studios for a whopping $8.4bn!
It would be interesting to know what the TV and film on-demand entertainment space would look like today, had that initial offer by Bezos had been accepted.
I guess that’s a ‘Sliding Doors” moment… one that nobody will ever know!
P.S. As an aside, and as a useless piece of trivia; before Netflix was called ‘Netflix’, it was called ‘Kibble‘. If you visit the domain kibble.com it takes you to Marc Randolph’s own website.
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Cheers, If we’re not already connected on LinkedIn, then let’s fix that now! If you’re new around here, let me give you a brief intro to who I am and what I do; 👋 Hi, I’m John, a freelancer with 30+ years of experience in software development, business start-up and growth strategies, and digital marketing, specialising in email marketing. I help service-based freelancers grow their businesses by showing them how to effectively implement an email marketing system that’ll bring them leads, prospects, and new clients, complemented with proven success strategies for solopreneur-type businesses.
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