Tag: email content

Do You Really Need to Use Email? (Part Two)

Post author By Patricia Durgin
Post date June 12, 2024
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In Part One we discussed how very valuable email is to our platform, and why using an email provider such as Aweber, MailChimp, Active Campaign, or others, was the best way to experience continued growth. Let’s continue the discussion in this article.

Is There a Charge to Use an Email Provider?

Virtually all bulk email providers offer a free level to start. Fees are based upon how many subscribers are on your email list.

The more subscribers–whether they open your emails or not–the higher your monthly fee. But don’t fret. For most of us, it takes years to get enough subscribers to warrant a significant monthly fee. (NOTE: It’s relatively pain free to move to another email provider if you so desire.)

Though free, don’t use Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo to send emails to your subscribers. In the early Internet years, these services were safe and free. They were the cool kids in town. 🙂

Years ago the marketplace, weary of spam, made room for better options. Along came MailChimp, Aweber, Constant Contact, and Active Campaign, among others.

Email regulations became stricter as the decades added up. The latest round of regulations, released in February of this year, tightened email requirements even further, in part to reduce spam, which is rampant.

So…Is It Hard to Learn How to Use Email?

The Big Dog email companies like Active Campaign, Constant Contact, etc., offer free training, usually via video, which I prefer. You, too?

As you research these companies for yourself, consider not only their cost but also their customer support. Sooner or later, you’ll need help. So find out what each offers before you sign up. This will reduce frustration ahead of time.

Is their support available 24/7 or only Monday-Friday? Can you reach them by phone day or night? Is there an additional charge for one-on-one assistance? Or do they only offer help via email? This information could make the difference between email success or failure.

Also be aware that some email providers only offer help via text on FAQ pages, so it’ll be up to you to dig through their documentation to figure out how to use their service. I don’t care for that approach. I’m guessing you don’t, either.

After choosing a provider, don’t let your new account lie fallow. The majority of these companies offers a free 30-day trial period. Take advantage of that time to learn the basics.

And conduct trial runs during this time. Ask up to 6 friends to be Test Subjects (guinea pigs). 🙂 Go through the full process of writing, uploading, scheduling, and sending perhaps 3 emails over a week’s time to these volunteers, to get comfortable with the process.

You’ll experience glitches here and there. We call that “learning.” 🙂 Give yourself grace, keep moving forward, offer great content, and your audience will grow.

Last step?

Close your computer and take a well-deserved break. Happy emailing!

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Tags email content, email list, email marketing, marketing, marketing for writers, Marketing Sense, marketing strategies, marketing tips

Marketing Sense

Welcome Email Series Example: Part 1

Post author By Patricia Durgin
Post date November 12, 2023
No Comments on Welcome Email Series Example: Part 1

When a new subscriber signs up for a Lead Magnet (those 3–10-page free resources we offer in exchange for a subscriber’s first name and email address), we’re wise to send them a Welcome email series.

Why?

To connect with them person-to-person instead of digitally “tossing” them the promised resource and then returning to whatever we were doing.

Below you’ll see the first of the four actual emails I sent when delivering–in this case–a free resource titled Titles That Fit. It coordinates with a workshop I delivered by that same name at a conference.

Watch for the remaining three Welcome emails over the next three months.

(Notice the red asterisks and their coordinating, strategic comments after the email content.)

***

Email #1 Title: Do You Write Titles or Craft Them?

Content: Hi, [first name]! Good to (digitally) meet you at (insert conference title here ’23)!

I enjoyed serving you via my workshop, Titles That Fit.

Thanks very much for requesting my workshop’s Slide Deck. It will arrive *tomorrow. I pray you find it a valuable reference.

** For now, let’s chat about you, shall we? 🙂

What’s the difference between writing a title and crafting one?

The first seems simple. We begin our project with a working title then invest hours, months, or years writing our content. We know it well. Tweaking our title’s final version should be a cinch, yes?

Strangely, that familiarity can keep us from writing our best title. Why?

Because when we’re so close to our content, we often come up with a title that’s generic without realizing it. Trying to capture the overall concept, we may go too broad.

Imagine attending a party when a new acquaintance asks why you do / did love your spouse. How can you choose The Perfect Answer in only 30 seconds?

In such situations, we go wide instead of deep, weakening our answer at the very moment we want to be precise.

It’s like that with our titles sometimes.

On the other hand, great titles are crafted. Let’s talk about that next time.

Watch for my email ***tomorrow (unless today’s Sunday–then it will be sent out Monday).

It will include the link to my Slide Deck for Titles That Fit.

Till next time,

Patricia

**** P.S. I usually attend (insert name of conference here) but could not this year, so be sure to give me a hug at next year’s conference. Deal? 🙂

————————————–

Strategies for Email #1

In the Strategy List below, you’ll find a duplicate of every sentence above shown with an asterisk, then my strategy, so you don’t have to scroll up and down the page constantly. You’re welcome. 🙂

#1: It will arrive in your Inbox *tomorrow.

(Why not just send the Lead Magnet’s link with this first email or attach it to the email? Because I want a valid reason to connect with them again very soon after my initial contact.)

#2: **For now, let’s chat about you, shall we? 🙂

(The first three sentences in this paragraph contain our “business.”

In this fourth sentence in my first Welcome email, I turn the conversation fully upon the reader by sharing an awkward story describing a situation we’ve all suffered through. Writing in a conversational manner, I hope my choice of words creates a sense of “you and I are in this together” mindset for my reader.

If they’ve been in an awkward situation–even if it’s not the one I shared–we have an additional point of connection. That’s a good thing. 🙂

#3: Watch for my email ***tomorrow (unless today’s Sunday–then it will be sent out Monday).

(This is a casual, non-aggressive reminder that I fully intend to deliver the promised free resource, but not today. It’s bolded so it will draw their eye–they’re more likely to read it. And it’s above my signature instead of randomly placed in a paragraph “somewhere” on the page.

The italicized text lets my reader know I don’t send emails on Sundays.

This is a personal choice and not a typical one, so it needs to be mentioned. No need to explain how or why I made that decision; that’s not the point.

The point is if they subscribe on a Sunday, they can expect the promised information on Monday.

#4: **** P.S. I usually attend (insert name of conference here) but could not this year, so be sure to give me a hug at next year’s conference. Deal? 🙂

(This is a subtle way to let my subscriber know I’m familiar with the conference mentioned. I’m a member of the same group, so I’m part of their world, not just “the world at large.”

I’m inviting them to connect with me in person without using those words.

See how it can work? 🙂

Website: marketersonamission.com
Facebook: MarketersOnAMission

Tags email campaign, email content, email list, lead magnet, lead magnets, Marketing Sense, welcome email

Marketing Sense

Email Content Demystified

Post author By Patricia Durgin
Post date January 12, 2022
No Comments on Email Content Demystified

One of the great mysteries new platform builders (aka Christian writers and speakers) seek to solve is, “What should I write about in my weekly email?”

Initially it’s a joy to have email readers, but as month after month passes, draining your content well (and your mind!), creating new, interesting email content can become, well, wearisome.

Here’s the good news: your message is broader than your book. It’s true, and aren’t you glad? You know scads and scads about your topic, only one part of which is your book. Share the email content your readers expect, then share the unexpected. They’ll thank you with their loyalty.

Ideas to Take Your Emails Beyond the Same ‘Ol Same ‘Ol

May the two examples below revitalize your email content in 2022.

Option #1: Health and Fitness

Yes, we all know we should eat less sugar and drink more water. Though true, that’s old news and will drive readers away in droves. They anticipate suggestions about having fun on vacation without sabotaging themselves and how to make wise choices at the church potluck. Deliver that, then broaden your content’s reach.

Send emails about mindset and hope and goals and progress and confidence…without once bringing up the words “health” and “fitness.”

You have so much to offer your audience, no need to beat the same drum every week. They’re three-dimensional people with fears, challenges, and a past that, while not directly tied to your topic, impacts their ability to apply your message successfully. Weave insightful content into your emails without ignoring your primary message.

Once readers realize your emails aren’t one-trick ponies, they’ll open, read, and apply your message more often, reaping the rewards you always knew they could (but that they doubted). You’ll become one of their trusted resources. Now you’re growing your platform!

Option #2: Fictional World War I Romance Set in England

Readers interested in this book’s storyline might also be drawn to Europe’s pre-WWI royal lineage and its multiple entanglements and intrigues. The main players were family, after all, and that means misunderstandings, pride issues, disappointments, and the like.

Perhaps these same readers would like to know which political decisions set the stage for this disastrous war, particularly if national or international politics are woven into your story.

Bringing it more current, consider sharing news of upcoming events in your story’s locale, along with links to find more info. Even if your readers can’t attend, they’ll enjoy discovering more about the area because your book sparked their interest.

For a fun idea, consider setting up a get-together with your readers either at your story’s locale or yours. An event gathering like-minded people builds community.

And the best part? Each idea mentioned above requires email content that is not–I repeat, not–formulaic, which gives you yet another chance to stand out from the crowd. Sweet!

The Ideas Are Limitless Once the Lid Is Ajar

Let these suggestions become thought-provoking ideas for the surprising (and interesting!) journeys you’ll take your readers on via email, for email is simply regular, written conversations between two people with similar interests and/or experiences, one of whom (you!) knows more about the subject matter. 🙂

As You Develop Your Content Plan, Remember…

How much your audience already knows–or thinks they know–about your topic. Create your content accordingly. Let Christ guide you, for He knows what He wants you to share with those He’s gifted you to serve.

In the first example above, the writer’s audience is well versed on the health and fitness topic, having read 100’s or 1,000’s of articles about health and fitness through the years. That also means they’ve read misinformation, too. Those may be the two top “content buckets” from which most health and fitness emails are drawn. Adequate, but since there are so many more possibilities that other experts don’t offer their audience, if you do, your emails will surely rise to the top.

Readers served by the WWI example may not know the basic, historical facts about that time in history, and while your emails shouldn’t be instructional, recognize that your readers don’t know as much about your topic as you do.

Draw them further into the intrigue of your book’s story. Share additional back story info without “stealing” from the book. Further flesh out that time in history, contrast the location from nearly 100 years ago to now, keep them informed about current events there…anything connected to your story will do, if it’s interesting to your audience. May writing emails that captivate your readers never be a mystery again!

Website: marketersonamission.com
Facebook: MarketersOnAMission

Tags email content, email marketing, Marketing Sense