7 Ways to Use Email Marketing to Increase Sales in Your Business
Feb 19, 2024Season 1Episode 45
Janice Hostager
Unlock the power of an inbox! In this episode, I talk about 7 types of emails (plus one bonus type) that are must-haves for getting sales and happy customers. I also touch on tips for writing all your emails!
I talk about...
Email Type #1: The Email Welcome Sequence
Email Type #2: Lead nurturing Emails
Email Type #3: Weekly Educational Content
Email Type #4: Promotional Emails
Email Type #5: Feedback and Survey Emails
Email Type #6: Re-engagement Emails
Email Type #7: Cart abandonment Emails
Email Type #8: Transactional Emails
This episode is more than just a talk—consider it a guide to email marketing and lead nurturing! Join me, and let's turn your email list into your most valuable asset.
Unlock the power of an inbox! In this episode, I talk about 7 types of emails (plus one bonus type) that are must-haves for getting sales and happy customers. I also touch on tips for writing all your emails!
I talk about...
Email Type #1: The Email Welcome Sequence
Email Type #2: Lead nurturing Emails
Email Type #3: Weekly Educational Content
Email Type #4: Promotional Emails
Email Type #5: Feedback and Survey Emails
Email Type #6: Re-engagement Emails
Email Type #7: Cart abandonment Emails
Email Type #8: Transactional Emails
This episode is more than just a talk—consider it a guide to email marketing and lead nurturing! Join me, and let's turn your email list into your most valuable asset.
I'm Janice Hostager. After three decades in the marketing business and many years of being an entrepreneur, I've learned a thing or two about marketing. Join me as we talk about marketing, small business, and life in between. Welcome to My Weekly Marketing.
Janice Hostager:
Email for your business can take a lot of time, but, truthfully, email can be a game changer for your business too, that's if you do it well and do it consistently. Today, I'm talking about seven types of emails that can increase sales in your business, but before you create any of these types of emails, you need an email list. In fact, before you can sell anything in your digital business, your list is the most vital component, and I have some exciting news for you about that. I'm offering, free for a limited time, my email list- building accelerator. Yep, you heard that right. I said it's free this 14-day challenge will walk you step by step through the moving pieces of setting up your email list and automating much of your email. I also include bonuses such as ideas for lead magnets, a calculator for you to know exactly how many subscribers you'll need to meet your revenue goals, and many other free bonuses, all included just for signing up. In this 14- day challenge will cover why you need a list, email service providers and how to choose one, how to research topics, SEO basics, lead magnets, goal setting, Google Analytics, and even more. If you don't have a list at all or you just need a boost to build a bigger one. This challenge is for you. Visit janicehostager. com Forward slash list to sign up.
Janice Hostager:
We all get a lot of emails right, and I don't know about you, but not all of mine get opened up. So the quality of the email is, of course, important, and we'll get to that in a bit. But beyond that, the types of emails you send out need to be focused on specific goals as well, and that's what we're going to talk about today. By diversifying your email categories and leveraging these seven different types of emails, you can optimize engagement and increase brand loyalty. It's essential to understand that each type of email serves a unique function in your overall communication and sales strategies. By incorporating these seven types of emails into your email automation and your marketing strategy, you'll cover all the basis. So here we go.
Janice Hostager:
Email number one is the welcome email sequence. When it comes to email categories, one of the first email series you should create is the welcome sequence. This sequence sets the tone for your relationship with your new subscribers and can significantly impact how people see your brand. The welcome sequence is simply a series of two to four or maybe more emails that you should send to your subscribers right after they first subscribe. I like to send out the first email of the series the day after they download a lead magnet or just subscribe to my list. Personally, I space them one to two days apart, but I know of businesses that send them out for weeks following an email subscription. By sending out the sequence, you have the opportunity to give them a glimpse into your brand, provide valuable information about how you can help them with their problem, and start building an authentic connection with your audience. This is a great time for your brand personality to shine. If you're not sure what your brand personality is, I have a free download for that and I'll put the link into the show notes. For today, I like to start out the sequence with a warm welcome and an introduction to my brand story and, most importantly, how I am poised to be able to help them, then include a special offer or discount as a call to action to encourage further engagement. You might also want to ask more about them by offering to have them email you back or by asking them to click on a link that's most similar to their situation. For example, if you sell pet food, you might ask them to click on the linked name of the animal that they own cat or dog. This series of emails is your chance to make a great first impression and lay the foundation for a long- lasting relationship with your subscribers. So don't underestimate the power of the welcome email sequence. It's a key player in your email marketing strategy, moving along to email number two, the lead nurturing emails.
Janice Hostager:
Lead nurturing emails can be the key to converting leads into loyal customers. It's pretty hard to convert a cold lead that is, someone who doesn't know, like, or trust you. That's why lead nurturing emails are so important. I send these out after someone attends a webinar or downloads a key freebie related to an offer, promotion, or launch that I have coming up. When it comes to lead nurturing emails, there are several different types of individual emails that can guide subscribers through a customer journey, or what I call the trail to the sale. These emails can include case studies or testimonials that showcase success stories for satisfied customers to build trust and credibility, or product demos and webinars which show them how your product or service can solve their pain points. Or promotional offers, including discounts or free trials, that encourage leads to make purchases or take the next step on the trail to the sale from awareness to consideration, to compare, evaluate, and finally, a purchase, because these emails are designed to nurture leads at various stages of the sales funnel. Providing them with valuable information and resources will help them make an informed decision.
Janice Hostager:
Lead nurturing emails can take the form of educational content, product or service updates, personalized recommendations, and exclusive offers tailored to each recipient's interests and also based on their click behavior. But here's the secret sauce Remember how we buy an emotion. These emails need to connect with them on an emotional level too. You can do this through testimonials and telling how people's lives were transformed by making that purchase, or by painting a picture for them how their life could be easier, happier, richer, or generally better once they buy your offer. By strategically crafting and delivering lead nurturing emails, you build trust, establish authority, and ultimately, by the time they complete the sequence, they're warmed up and ready to buy. Your job is to expedite this process with compelling email content.
Janice Hostager:
Moving on to email type number three, educational content. One of the essential categories of emails to include is content education. These emails are designed to provide valuable information, resources, and insights to your subscribers on a regular basis, keeping them informed and engaged with your brand. The weekly content education emails serve as a platform to showcase your expertise, share industry trends, and offer practical tips or advice that can benefit your audience. By consistently delivering valuable content, you can position your brand as a trusted source of knowledge and build credibility with your subscribers. I highly recommend sending these emails weekly. Each week, you have the opportunity to cover a variety of topics, address common challenges and talk about emerging trends within your industry, and keep your brand top of mind, because they see your emails each week. So don't underestimate the power of weekly content in nurturing relationships and providing ongoing value to your audience. Email newsletters are one form of weekly content, as are weekly blog posts, podcast episodes, or other relevant types of posts. One of my favorite weekly emails is from a restaurant who shares recipes each week. The key to these, just like any other email, is keeping your ideal customer in mind. What do they want you need to learn about? It's probably not your company picnic or your salesperson of the month, so keep that in mind when you put it together. Being relevant is key for keeping them on your list. So, moving on to email type number four promotional emails.
Janice Hostager:
Promotional emails are another critical component of any email strategy. These emails are specifically designed to showcase your products and services through special offers to your subscribers. The goal is to drive sales and increase customer engagement. After focusing on providing value to your subscribers, this type of email can feel like a little bit too salesy, but I've found a couple of things to be true. First, if you're giving your subscribers value on a consistent basis, they should be ready to want to take the next step with you by purchasing your product or services. And second, even if they're not interested in what you're selling, they will look past a few promo emails. They understand, after all, that you're in business to make sales. So, whether it's a limited time discount, a new product launch or an exclusive event, promotional emails provide an opportunity to create a sense of urgency and excitement with your audience. Who doesn't like a great sale right?
Janice Hostager:
When crafting promotional emails, it's important to strike a balance between showcasing the value of your offerings and respecting your subscribers. Inbox, as with any type of email, sending too many will tip them over the edge and trigger an unsubscribe. Personalization and relevancy are key factors in the success of promotional emails, as they can significantly impact the open rates and conversion rates. By assessing click behavior on the emails or subscriptions to the lead magnets that they signed up for, you can get a better feel for what products and services they're interested in. In fact, your lead magnets should be designed with the end in mind the sale that you hope to offer them. The key with promotional emails is scarcity. You need to give them a limited amount of time or a limited quantity for them to be motivated to take action. Keep in mind that promotional emails should be integrated with your overall email marketing mix, complementing other types of emails, to provide a well-rounded and engaging experience for your audience. When you're providing value with your other email content, they're not going to be as likely to unsubscribe when they get promotional emails.
Janice Hostager:
Moving on to email number five, feedback and survey emails, sometimes we don't know what our audience wants to hear. That's where feedback and survey emails come in. These emails provide a direct line of communication with your subscribers, allowing you to gather feedback, opinions, and preferences that can inform your business decision and enhance that customer experience. You can use them to seek input on recent purchases, gather suggestions for product improvements, or just get feedback. By actively listening to your subscribers and valuing their input, you can show them that they really do matter and that their opinions are valuable. Feedback and survey emails can be powerful tools for identifying areas of improvement, uncovering new opportunities, and strengthening customer relationships. They can also allow you to tailor your offerings and your communication strategies. But one thing to consider is if you have a smaller list, say under a thousand subscribers, I'd like you to wait before doing an actual survey. It's because it's important to have a big enough sample size for your survey to have statistical significance. You don't want to make big decisions based on survey feedback from only a small number of respondents, because they can skew your results. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't get feedback. I'd recommend reaching out to a few people to get feedback without using survey tools. Getting customer feedback and using the customer's own words is valuable for communicating to them in your future marketing. Survey emails can foster open dialogue, gather actionable data, and demonstrate your commitment to being a business who listens. Okay, how are we doing here? Ready for the last two Number six re-engagement emails.
Janice Hostager:
Re-engagement emails are specifically designed to reconnect with inactive subscribers and reignite their interest in your brand or your offers. Whether it's a special initiative, exclusive content, or a compelling call to action, re-engagement emails can capture the attention of recipients who've been disengaged. Many email service providers make automating these really easy. You can set up an automation to reach out to them with a specific email or a special offer to anyone who hasn't clicked on or opened an email in a period of time, say like 90 days. So why are these re-engagement emails so important? A few reasons. First of all, you're probably paying for your email software based on the number of subscribers you have. If someone isn't opening your emails, they're probably not a good fit. Also, email companies such as Google and Yahoo look at your engagement rate. If your subscribers don't click on and open your emails, they assume your audience isn't interested and your content isn't relevant. Then they send them to fewer inboxes and instead route them into the spam boxes. None of that is good. We all love more email subscribers and it does kind of hurt to see some of them go away when we weed them out, but we really only want subscribers who want to get our emails. Otherwise, it works against you. It's essential to recognize that re-engagement emails serve as a valuable opportunity to win back potentially lost connections and revive the interests of subscribers who've just kind of drifted away. So, whether it's a targeted promotion, a personalized reintroduction, or a friendly check-in, re-engagement emails can play a pivotal role in revitalizing your email engagement and nurturing long-term relationships with your subscribers.
Janice Hostager:
Okay, email number seven cart abandonment emails. According to Shopify, the average shopping cart abandonment rate is 71%. That's a lot of revenue set sitting in carts, but abandoned cart emails can recover between 5 and 11% of those lost sales. I'm guessing you've done it, and I know I have. I'd be shopping online for something and either get distracted and forget to complete an order or run to grab a credit card and get busy with something else, and then I forget completely to check out and complete the sale. That's why cart abandonment emails provide a valuable opportunity to remind customers of their pending items and encourage them to return to complete the transaction.
Janice Hostager:
By leveraging personalized content and strategic incentives, such as limited time offers or free shipping, cart abandonment emails can effectively capture the attention of the recipients and prompt them to take more action. And these emails is important to convey a sense of urgency and highlight the benefits of completing the purchase, showcasing the value of the items behind, behind and addressing any potential concerns or hesitation. Again, it's also helpful to address the emotion they feel when they buy through appealing product images, persuasive messages and clear calls to action. Most e-commerce platforms give you the ability to set these up fairly easily. So remember to set up card abandonment emails to re-engage your customers and drive revenue for your online business. Okay, I know I said there was only seven emails that we want to send out, but I'm giving you a bonus email. This one is kind of almost forgotten, but it's very important too. So email number is eight transactional emails.
Janice Hostager:
Transactional emails are triggered by specific interactions or events, such as order receipts, shipping notifications, delivery confirmations, and accounting updates. The primary purpose of these emails is to provide relevant information to the recipient. We don't often think about them being marketing-related, but they're really a great opportunity to create a connection with your customers. Unlike promotional or informational emails, transactional emails are highly personalized and directly related to the recipient's action, making them a valuable touchpoint in the customer experience journey. Transactional emails also present an opportunity to cross-sell or upsell related products or services, further enhancing the customer's experience and driving additional revenue as well. When it comes to crafting transactional emails, it's essential to focus on clarity, accuracy, and branding consistency to deliver a seamless communication experience with them. By optimizing the content and design of your transactional emails, you can elevate the overall perception of your brand and reinforce a happy customer. So that's it. That's a seven- plus one type of email I recommend for small businesses, but there are many other reasons you can email, including announcements or just reaching out one-on-one to thank or follow up with a sale.
Janice Hostager:
No matter what types of emails you send, there are a few things you should always think about when drafting an email. Number one make them personalized. Talk to one person, your ideal customer. It helps to actually think about your ideal customer avatar or actually look at a photo of them or an image of them while you're writing your email. This keeps you focused on appealing to your best customers and not be tempted to talk to a whole group of people. Be careful not to use words like we and all of you, or in Texas, we say y'all. Talk to them in the first person. So when you're talking to them, say you and using their name will also catch their attention. We know it often, of course, and so we can recognize our name without even thinking twice about it. You can also keep them personalized by segmenting the emails according to what they've clicked on in the past or by other behaviors where they've segmented themselves in prior emails. By making sure your emails are targeted and personalized, you'll have fewer unsubscribers and have subscribers who think you can read their minds. What's better than that right?
Janice Hostager:
Number two create compelling subject lines. The subject line is the most important part of your email. Why? Because if the subject isn't interesting or intriguing, they won't open it. Now what good is an unread email? By spending time to craft a subject line that's intriguing, personalized, and relevant to the recipient, you can significantly increase the open rates and click- through rates of your emails. Just a suggestion I have a swipe file on my email program that's called well email swipe file where I file away interesting subject lines or interesting emails in general that get my attention. Then I sometimes use them for idea generation when it comes time for me to write one. Whether it's leveraging the power of curiosity, highlighting a compelling offer, or teasing exclusive content, a well-crafted subject line can pique the interest of your subscriber and compel them to explore the contents of your email.
Janice Hostager:
Tip number three use your brand voice. I touched on this earlier, but having a brand voice and speaking to your subscriber in a conventional conversational tone is important for that great connection. We've all been in stores or businesses where the person behind the counter basically rang you up, thanked you, and sent you on your way. You might leave feeling fine about the interaction, but not that special. But I'm guessing you've also been in a store or coffee shop where somebody started chatting with you, asked you about your day, and had a real conversation with you. I know the Stafford trader, Joe, does this really well. That sort of interaction creates a much warmer experience and actually makes me want to go back and maybe use that same cashier next time. So even if your brand voice is more professional, it's okay to still talk in a conversational tone. After all, no matter what type of business you're addressing, it's a person on the other end reading it right, and we all like to be treated like people.
Janice Hostager:
Okay, tip number four make sure your emails are optimized for mobile. Mobile optimization is an essential aspect of email marketing that cannot be overlooked these days. A study by Backlinko found that 49% of us open emails on our phones. So when you're putting your email together, don't forget to make sure it's not only mobile responsive but also looks good on mobile. That includes making sure the font size is large enough to read without grabbing reading glasses, the buttons and links are big enough for fat fingers and that the emails don't contain any large graphics that prevent them from loading with a weak signal, and make sure that you have all your important information in text format, not written on a photo. If the photo doesn't load, then your content isn't viewable.
Janice Hostager:
Tip number five use automation to save your valuable time. I mentioned automation earlier, but with email today, it will truly make your life so much easier. Once you automate email funnels and sequences, you won't have to think about them, because I know you have other things to do. Automation enables you to segment your audience based on their preferences, engagement levels, purchase history, or to give them tailored emails that resonate with the unique needs of each subscriber. By setting up workflows, triggers and conditional logic, automation allows you to give your subscriber an email experience that guides them through conversions and long-term loyalty.
Janice Hostager:
Okay, tip number six test through split testing. Split testing, also known as A-B testing, is a really valuable email tool. It involves creating two versions of an email with distinct elements, such as varying subject lines, layouts, and calls to action, or to send them to different segments of your list. By analyzing the performance metrics of each version, including open rates, click- through rates, and conversion rates, you can gain valuable insights into the preferences and behaviors of your audience. Many email service providers provide the option for split testing. Like when you do polls, you'll want to have a statistically significant result, so I recommend having a minimum list size of a thousand to do this and tip number seven. Be sure to check your numbers.
Janice Hostager:
Once we have an email done and sent, it's tempting to just kind of move on to the next one. But looking at the data and metrics about your open rate, click- through rate, and other performance metrics can give you really valuable insight as to what your subscribers like and what you can do better on. So what do you think? Do you have some ideas for your emails that you can implement in your business? Again, if growing an email list has been a challenge, I want to remind you again to check out my free email list- building accelerator challenge. Again, you can sign up at janicehostager. com. Forward slash list, but I'll also put a link to it in the show notes for today, along with the other things that I talked about in today's episode. Just go to myweeklymarketing. com. Forward slash 45. That's episode 45. That's all for this week. Thanks so much for joining me today. If you found this at all valuable, I'd so appreciate a positive rating on iTunes or your podcast platform of choice. We'll see you next time. Bye for now.