Mighty Marketing Mojo

Tag: email marketing

  • 8 Solopreneurs Tell Why Email is Mighty Marketing for Them

    8 Solopreneurs Tell Why Email is Mighty Marketing for Them

    8 Smart Solopreneurs – Coaches, Community Builders, Creators – Tell Why Email Is Mighty Marketing for Them

    If you’ve been online for business for even a hot minute you’ve heard lots of folks talk about the power of email marketing, that email is NOT dead, it has a great return on investment, its an asset that YOU own (unlike social media), and so much more. And it’s all true! Email is very mighty marketing for online business owners across all niches and client types.

    But becoming good at email marketing can feel hard, taking time, patience, and testing. Thankfully, there are awesome business owners out there willing to share what they’ve learned over the years in creating an email community and using email to build their businesses.

    One thing they all echo is that success comes from honoring your subscribers and readers as community members  – not just a name on a list. Connect with them, build relationships, encourage feedback and connection, and you will all benefit.

    I asked several of my online business pals, across different niches and client audiences, to share a story of what it has meant for their business to use email marketing and to offer some encouragement  for engaging with your growing email community. Please enjoy and add your own email stories and tips in the comments section!

    Melissa Brown of She’s Got Content

    Melissa Brown shares her email marketing story

    “These people are my community … I don’t take them for granted”

    I always remember that an email list is comprised of people. And these people are my community–each and every one of them has their own dreams and hopes. At some point, they said yes to one of my offers to be on this list. I don’t take them for granted.

    However, my respecting their inboxes got in the way in the beginning when I was building my list. I didn’t want to ‘bother’ anyone by emailing them! I was having full-blown anxiety about sending an email to be sure. I was so afraid that any email I sent would bring an avalanche of unhappiness from the people on my list.

    My coach, Kelly McCausey challenged me to begin sending just one email per week. I could talk about whatever I wanted to share in that email. And that was the turning point because now, in almost 3 years, I have not missed a week sending my weekly email on Monday Mornings. I send more emails throughout the week now, too, if there’s something I want to share with my community.

    All it took was a commitment to email just one time per week. Simple. Once I started racking up the weeks of emailing, I didn’t want to break the chain. And now after this long having a weekly streak, I do whatever it takes to send out that email.

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    Finding and making offers that my people love. I feel like a matchmaker when I share n affiliate’s link for a service or product and someone buys.💙 And then I know better what kinds of offers to bring more of to them.

     

    Kelly McCausey of Love People and Make Money

    Kelly McCausey shares why email is important

    “Email gives us choices and is empowering”

    Like everyone else, over the years I’ve played on a variety of social platforms from the old Ryze.com and Yahoo Groups to the common social spaces everyone tinkers with today. I’ve had success for a season in most places I give attention to – but nothing lasts forever. If I weren’t leveraging the opportunity to invite people over to my mailing list community, those connections would be lost.

    I invite you to think about email as building a community of people. When I hear “list”, I like to think “Community.”  My Community – not one that I own, but one that I’m a part of. [Me too Kelly, me too! ~Jennifer]

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    Being a choice about when I make contact is empowering. I get to choose when and how often I send email. Will I mail a couple times this week or every day? I can popcorn topics or I can drill down on one thing for a week. I did that recently, focusing on passion in business. Seven emails that built one on another and has now turned into a meaty blog post and evergreen coaching offer.

     

    Val Selby, Coach and Community Builder 

    Val Selby tells how important email marketing is to her business

    “Email is the constant that’s been part of my business success for years”

    I truly feel it means everything to my business success to have an engaged list. Social media is ‘fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants’ if they will want to stay connected or click on products to buy. Those in my email community are saying they want to invest just a little with me to find our more. Plus, now that I’m using Active Campaign I can get really targeted to those that are clicking on things and could use more information on any given topic.

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    My absolute favorite is getting replies from an email I’ve sent out. Whether it’s laughing at something I’ve said that made their day better or sharing a tough story, it’s definitely my favorite to get the feedback that they opened AND read it. *all the warm fuzzies*

     

    Pam Hamilton at Building Visibility

    Pam Hamilton shares importance of learning email marketing

    “the power of email for business success comes from relationships built through emails”

    Having an email community allows me to talk with the people who have shown in interest in what I have to offer without all the outside noise.

    I didn’t fully appreciate that in the past and had often ignored my list. Now-a-days I know how important it is. And, I’m working hard to get better at communicating with the people who’ve trusted me with their email address.

    People always say the money’s in the list, the money’s in the list. But, that isn’t quite true. The money is in having a community of people that you have built a relationship with, so that they know, like and trust you. Those people will buy your products and services and those you recommend. Email allows you to do that with people all over the world, and people right around the corner too.

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    My favorite part of having an email list is knowing that the people on it, chose to be there. I know each of the people on my list want to hear from me. That makes it a lot easier to make sure I speak with them through email regularly. I’m still not as regular as I want to be; but I’m way better than I was. I’m a work in progress just like the folks on my list. I love knowing that they appreciate that just as much as the content I share.

     

    Terry Loving WordPress Management Services

    Terry Loving shares her email marketing story

    “I love how some emails are a real conversation and I’m looking to find my voice that way”

    I know why I should have an email community and I have tried to build a responsive one interested in what I do. However, I admit that I find growing an engaged email community to be very challenging as website management doesn’t feel like a “Sexy” topic. I am currently working on making my topics more specific and my emails more frequent.

    I love receiving Jennifer’s emails and save them as I like how we are having a conversation. The conversational style and how she shares her tips and processes of working with her community is very helpful. I’m looking to find my voice in a similar way. [awww thanks Terry!~Jennifer]

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    Some days I wrestle with sending emails if response has been quiet. But, I know that when you have a list that engages your people, those email interactions can be very effective.  An email community is truly the most effective and inexpensive way to market on line as you are talking directly to someone.

     

    Dr Renee Cohn Jones of Helping Parents Parent

    Dr Renee Cohn Jones shares why she loves email marketing

    “I love getting replies, comments and being able to answer questions for my email community”

    Having an email list has been the best way for me to provide information, education, and support to the parents I work with. I’ve tried a few other things that have helped bring people in/let people know I am out there, but email is the tried and true way that I engage with my parents.

    I can share anything with them, so that is a bonus, too – whether it is an educational email, something interesting that I can turn into a parenting tip. For example, I shared about National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and how that can be a  science experiment in the kitchen, connecting with your child! Or I can email an offer for an upcoming webinar or course. Sending messages to my email list is a great way to reach everyone.

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    It has been so much fun for me to get responses and comments about an email I’ve sent (not always enthusiastic!) and is a great way for me to grow the connection and relationship I have with my clients/the parents I work with.

     

    Connie Ragen Green, Small Business Unmarketing

    Connie Ragen Green shares how important email marketing is to her business

    “With each email I’m renewing my vow to my community to provide them with content, ideas, and resources in way that benefits each of us.”

    When I think about my email list, I think of the trust people from around the world have placed in me over the years. They’ve shared their name and email address with a total stranger, or, at best someone whose articles they have read or perhaps seen on social media. Less common is the person who has met me in person and has more of a connection with me, and I with them.

    I do not take this trust lightly or for granted. With each email I send, I’m renewing my vow to them to provide content, ideas, resources, and more in a way that will be beneficial to each of us.

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    I love having an ongoing conversation with the people on my list! I ask probing questions and encourage them to reply to me. I believe this creates a Mastermind, where each person’s thoughts, feelings, and beliefs are valued and acknowledged. Even when we don’t see eye to eye, we are able to discuss even the most controversial topics with mutual respect.

     

    Stephanie Watson-Barry of Monthly Content Helpers

    Stephanie Watson Barry relies on email marketing in business

    “Without our email community we wouldn’t have a business”

    Without our list, we would not have a business. As we build this business and as the list grows with customers and interested people, income grows right along with it. Our email list is something we own that we can take with us to any platform/email software of our choice, depending on what’s useful to our customers and audience. Whether blab, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and so forth, the email list — regardless of the platform used to manage the list – adds enormous value to us as a business and our customers who can always get the information we distribute.

    What is your favorite part of having an email community to talk with?

    No matter what happens to social media like LinkedIn.com and Facebook.com, we can always use email marketing to contact our customers and keep them informed, engaged, and on track with their business goals.

    What’s MY Email Story?

    Jennifer Burke Mighty Marketing Mojo Headshot Outside AtlantaMy email story is still evolving; like my business pals, I too know the power of honoring those who choose to receive my emails. Mighty Marketing Mojo has grown because my email community has grown.

    My community has grown because I’ve dedicated time, energy, and resources to building it – through list-building events like giveaways, bundle sales, speaking on podcasts, speaking at summits, creating multiple free opt-in offers to meet my audience where they are in their business journey. You can’t just plop a form in the side bar of your blog and hope people find it. You need to be proactive about sharing and promoting the ways to join your email community every day in multiple places. Leverage the power of your network and community to help grow your community.

    Creating a consistent habit of writing and sending emails has also been crucial. The more I write and send, the stronger my voice becomes, the clearer my message, the more responses I get, relationships develop, and my business grows.

    If you’re still on the fence, wondering about making choices for email software, or confused about the steps to get started – it’s time to get my free 12-step guide and checklist for Email Marketing Setup for Success.

    Email Marketing Setup Checklist Cover photo

    12 Steps to Setting Up Email Marketing for Success

    Sign up below to get our FREE guide and get started today

     

    Let’s hear your experiences with email marketing!

    Please add your email stories or tips in the comments

  • Discover 5 Ways to Naturally Share Offers in Your Emails

    Discover 5 Ways to Naturally Share Offers in Your Emails

    Are You All Give and No Receive with Your Emails?  aka You Aren’t Making Offers to Your List!

     

    When was the last time you sent an email to your mighty awesome community of subscribers, with a link in it? Specifically a link that asked them to take an action like signing up, registering, booking a call, or buying? Every solopreneur I know has been guilty of doing tons of nurturing and giving in their emails, and not enough sharing of offers. Often the reluctance comes from fear – fear of selling, fear of rejection, fear of no one wanting their offer, fear of how to write the offer, etc. What if it were easy to send your list offers? What if including links to offers – yours or an affiliate’s/partner’s – felt quick, easy and natural?  Read on to discover the 5 ways any online solo business owner can comfortably and naturally share links to offers in their emails.

    Email Relationship Are Two-Way Streets of Giving

    Email marketing is about relationship building for sure – but it’s also about building your business, which means earning money from your email list. They look to you as an expert, an insider, a trusted and respected source, and someone who offers them valuable solutions.

    But that can’t happen if all you do is give, give, give and never open up to receive (I don’t like saying ‘take’) – are you making it impossible for your list to give back to you because you never tell them HOW?  Because you don’t make offers?

    Let me guess … because you’re afraid to make offers! You’re afraid to sell or be ‘salesy’

    I get it  – I really do!

    But the offers in your emails could also be for a different freebie – or a webinar – a way to take another step deeper in relationship with you (they are now a warmer lead and more likely to purchase!).

    Or the offers could be affiliate offers – programs, books, courses that you LOVE and recommend.

    You need to work on naturally working in those offers and links to your emails.

    Some will be solo, promotional emails (your offers or affiliate offers)

    Sometimes those links will be just part of your regular newsletter or updates

    No matter which – there’s a way that will work for your audience and your offers. It’s time to start practicing sharing offers so your business actually grows!

    The 5 Ways to Naturally Work in Links to Offers

    List of 5 ways to share offers in email marketing

    The Blog Soft Sell

    Let a blog post do most of the ‘talking’, as a kind of ‘soft sell.’  In your email give a tip or two, as a snippet from a blog post and provide a link to the post to read more. In the post you discuss or review the product/course/offer.  Perfect for review posts!

    Want to see an example in action? For more than 6 years I’ve participated in Kelly McCausey’s annual Stretch Yourself Content Marketing Challenge. And participants frequently write posts about what we love and get from the challenge, as part of the challenge itself. AND we get to use our affiliate links to promote the challenge – in its live and self-study forms. It’s a blog post ‘soft sell’ in action.

     

    The Casual Mention

    You talk about a topic X, give a tip on X, and casually mention ‘oh hey here’s this tool that helps you do X’ in an email you send.  For example, my community knows I check out new software, and I love easy ways to do things, AND I dig video creation tools. It’s perfectly natural for me to email and give a tip or two about creating easy, short, social-friendly videos where you never appear on camera and why they’re so popular on social media (85% of videos watched sound off). And then mention the 3 tools I like for creating videos like that: Biteable, Wave, and Canva– yes Canva (affiliate) does videos. Oh, and each of those links is an affiliate link (yep, they are affiliate links here too!)

     

    See, this is mighty easy so far, right? You’re still giving value and information – but you are including affiliate links to the stuff you already love and recommend for your people. It wouldn’t be very kind or helpful of me if I taught you a tip and left you hanging on how to DO the thing. So I share the course, software, or tool that helps me and you get the thing done. Works for all niches and audiences.

     

    TIME OUT …

    There’s a video to go with this blog post AND it’s an example of content repurposing in action!

    I took a conversation with another online business owner, a question from my email community, and some private label rights content to create show notes/outline for a Facebook Live video. Then some of those notes became my email – with clear Calls to Action – to invite my email community to watch the video. And then I showed how those notes became this blog post and where the video would be added when it was finished. So now I can share this post – with the video in it – to social media or a different email. That’s Mighty Smart Content Repurposing in action! (oh, yes I have a self-study workshop about content repurposing where you can see more demos like this and get your content to work smarter and harder – not you work harder!)

     

     

    Strong Call to Action

    It’s time to move up a notch and to make a stronger offer- by including a clear, direct call to action in your email. Pick a topic for your email, write it with solid tips/info, then end with both text and a button as CTA (call to action) to “go pick up X course on Z topic” or “want to learn more, click here to sign up for X.”   Consider adding another link in the P.S.

    You aren’t being so soft here. You are making your CTA very direct and not buried in the text. Use bold, maybe even a color font, and test out the button graphics in your email marketing software. You are making it clear to your reader what you want them to do, where to click, and where it’s taking them.

    For example, I could write an email about why segmentation is the future of email and how it leads to more engaged subscribers, which means more sales. And then I could tell you the best way I know how to easily create segments is in my preferred software, ActiveCampaign – click here to sign up for your free trial.  It’s similar to the casual mention, but more direct; a little more overt of a promotion.

    Instead of sending you to an affiliate link for my fave email software, I could tell you that I have a webinar on email segmentation (I do!) or to hire me for a Borrow My Brain session to set up tags and segments in your ActiveCampaign account. (clients have done so!)

     

    “Sponsored By” in your Newsletters

    If you have a regular weekly or monthly newsletter you could make an offer for an evergreen product/service of your own (or an affiliate offer) and call it a “sponsored by” message.  Or just in some way visually and design-wise set it off from the rest of your newsletter content-  make your offer a mini ad.

    Several of my pals have added in regular reminders and mini ads to let people know they currently have coaching slots available.

    Pam Hamilton Coach email ad coaching offer
    Pam Hamilton of Building Visibility

     

     

    Kelly McCausey Love People and Make Money email ad coaching offer
    Kelly McCausey of Love People and Make Money

    Or I could create a “sponsored by” area with links to ActiveCampaign  – a natural fit for me.  Or add in my own little graphic ‘ad’ area for Borrow My Brain offers or a coaching offer.

    What offer could you choose to be your ‘sponsor’?

    Ok, time to power up our asking and receiving even further – it’s time to work on a purely promotional email. But keep it in your style, your tone, your vibe and keep it natural! If you’ve built a relationship with your list as someone they trust, then they trust you to give them the straight info on how to work with you! Remember, they opted-in to your list because you OFFERED them some kind of a solution. Give them the next part of the solution!

     

    The Stand Out, Stand Alone Solo Promo Email

    Now we are taking a slightly harder sell because this email is dedicated to promoting a product or service and encouraging the reader to click and buy – or at least click and check out the sales page. Again, this could be something you sell or an affiliate offer. (hmmm when was the last time you did a dedicated campaign for an affiliate? Multiple standalone promo emails – talking about benefits, sharing results, overcoming any objections?)

    Solo promo emails are necessary! Your CTAs and offers can sometimes get lost otherwise. The issue our communities can have is when they become the ONLY email someone sends.

    It’s one thing for Kohls, Wayfair, Frontgate, Penzeys, or Readers to send me sales emails every day – they are all big retailers, all known for never-ending sales, and we signed up to their lists basically to get coupons and the sales. And THEY know, and WE know, that we delete 99% of those emails – which is why they send them ALL the time, so the one time I DO need towels or spices – boom, there’s the sale or coupon I need.

    We serve our clients a little differently. We believe in content marketing – which puts education first. People subscribe to our lists looking for information, and yes for solutions, and I hope to hell they realize we are BUSINESS OWNERS WHO SELL THINGS, but it’s not the only thing we send them.

    You have (or are working on – yay you!) built a relationship with your email community – you respect them, they respect and trust you, and you are establishing GIVE and RECEIVE. Your email community WANTS to know what you’ve got that can help them – and they can’t read your mind. So, sometimes you need direct, promo emails and sometimes you need to gently nudge and remind them via the other ways.

     

    See, that wasn’t so hard! Surely you can incorporate at least one of these 5 tips you’ve learned today to more comfortably make an offer via email this week. Mix and match your emails using a combo of offer types. Regularly work in links in your email that encourage your readers to click and take action. Sometimes it’s to check out an affiliate offer. Sometimes it’s to tell them about YOUR offers.

    Start right from the beginning of your email relationship to get your community used to seeing links and offers from you. They will come to know you send them quality offers, that the links are worth clicking, and they will build a habit of giving back to you by buying.

     

    Need help getting started with email marketing? Want to make sure you are setup for success right from the moment you decide to start a list? Then grab my FREE guide and 12-step checklist for the Mighty Email Marketing Setup for Success.

     

  • 5 Evergreen Content Ideas for any Solopreneur Niche

    5 Evergreen Content Ideas for any Solopreneur Niche

    If You’re Feeling Stuck for Content Ideas Pick One of These to Use for Any Small Business Type or Niche

     

    Summer is in full swing and the heat could be zapping your energy, fogging your brain, or melting your mojo. Or maybe you’re stuck inside on another cold day and the icy temperatures have your good ideas frozen in your brain. While I can’t give you ice cream treats or a nice warm cup of cocoa, I can share 5 evergreen content ideas to get you unstuck in your business. These topics will work for blog posts (original or go curate some content), live videos on any platform (please, if you do an interpretive dance on TikTok, let me know – it would be reason enough for me to get the app!), as a series of images and short videos in stories on IG or FB, as FB posts, as emails …

    OR HEY … mix it up – create a piece of content using one of the topics in one content format and then repurpose it to at least 2 others. Recycling is good for business AND the environment.

    Content Suggestions Fit Every Type of Solopreneur Business

    These 5 content ideas will work if you are …

    • a parenting coach or someone helping mompreneurs
    • teaching on mindset shifts for new business owners
    •  a writer or book coach
    • in the health/wellness niches
    • talking marketing to other businesses (like me!).

    No matter your niche and audience of customers, you can add your own stories or examples and adapt each idea to suit your business and your audience. And you can do so over and over again.

    Strategic Content Topics That Lead to Next Steps and Offers

    Plus each of these content topics naturally leads to other topics and to opportunities to offer a next step of help as an email opt-in gift, or a low-cost product, or even as a way to lead to your courses or coaching. That makes for more harder-working, more strategic content and less fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants efforts. Remember, content marketing is to educate and inform while inspiring your audience to take a specific action.

    Use the given headlines as blog post titles, video titles, or email subject lines – and just tweak or fill-in-the-blanks with your audience where appropriate. Don’t overthink it, just take the ideas and run!

    5 Boredom Busting Content Topics for Solopreneurs

    5 Boredom Busting Content Ideas

    How to Stop Feeling Stuck and Move Forward  

    This topic could be adapted to talk about moving forward with your business structure (LLCs vs Sole Proprietor, etc) or how to move forward with  creating and launching your next course.

    If you’re in the moms or parents space, it could be on moving forward with getting kids ready for back to school (especially after some weird virtual/hybrid learning times) or moving forward with aiding elderly parents.

    For fitness and wellness coaches, talk to your people about moving forward with an improved diet at the end of summer fun or how to stop feeling stuck with the same old at-home fitness routines.

    Try these 5 points under the main topic:

    • what’s the roadblock or crippling belief behind why your clients say they are stuck (with recipes, fitness, kids, course creation, etc)
    • what’s one small step you can recommend to get out of comfort zone
    • name one new piece of positive self-talk
    • how to ask for outside help
    • Then of course recommend they go ask for help – and get a trusted coach – AHEM THAT’S YOU!

    See, ANY topic or niche can work here!

     

    Easy  ____ Essentials to Boost Your _____

    Time to play content creation Mad Libs!  Fill in the blanks with your favorite easy tips and ways to boost to get a particular result.

    •  ‘easy mindset essentials to boost your sales success’
    •  ‘easy 3-ingredient recipe essentials to boost your morning energy’
    • ‘easy hip stretch essentials to boost your flexibility’   [wow, I really need those right now!]
    • ‘easy social media essential tips to boost your post engagement’

    You aren’t solving all their sales issues or fixing all flexibility – you’re giving them a few easy tips where they can see some fast “aha! moments” and come to see you as a trusted resource with valuable info.

    Now also add in what you offer that can also help them Boost X …

    Do you have a workbook on sales success tips for biz owners who hate sales?

    Can you offer a VIP day – maybe a wellness coach could offer flexibility and core stretch days?

    Maybe you have a self-study course on 90-days to greater mobility?

    Share a free video about creating more engaging Facebook posts?  Have you shared your podcast yet?

    Tons of opportunities here to show and tell them where they can get more valuable tips just like the ones you shared in your blog post, video or email.

     

    7 Questions Every _____ Should Ask Before Hiring a ______

    Yes, more great fill-in-the-blanks!   These are the questions a client or customer should ask before hiring someone like you! But they are often the questions our prospects are afraid to ask, forget to ask, or only think of later on. Be transparent and helpful by showing them how to make a more informed hiring decision.

    Examples could be …

    • the 7 things someone should ask before hiring a kitchen designers
    • the 7 things to ask before hiring someone to design a logo
    • the 7 things a new business owner should ask before hiring a lawyer  (or a business mindset coach)
    • the 7 things to know before hiring someone to help you with public speaking
    • 7 things to know before you hire a VA (including what is a VA)

    Ask yourself, what are the questions you wish your clients had asked or knew before you ever jumped on a first call? Or what are the common questions that come up in a first call?

    If you don’t do 1:1 or group coaching – what about teaching? What things do you wish someone thought about before they jumped in and purchased a class? What are the most common questions that come up in your first lessons or about your core courses?

    Another idea – Turn it around – tell them the 7 things you always ask in your first calls:

    •  what would reaching your goal look like?
    • Where do you want to be in 5 years?
    • How would 5 years in the future You describe X?
    • What do you like most about where you are now in X situation?
    • If you had a magic wand, what’s ONE thing you want to change this week?

     

    I Practice What I Teach – Here’s a Video of Me Explaining the 5 Evergreen Content Ideas

     

    5 _______ experts you shouldn’t ignore

    This topic is for sharing the people and resources you turn to and introduce them to your audience. Think of this as a specific kind of round-up post. It’s both very valuable and a great place  for affiliate links!  Share the love time.  Who do you follow on a topic in your niche that you think the rest of your people should know about?

    Share 3-5 blogs you read all the time or 5 podcasts you always listen to – and most importantly share WHY. Why are these 5 experts in your overall niche that can help your community go further. Maybe they cover some aspect that you don’t. For example, I’m not an Instagram marketing expert – so tell my mighty pals to check out Jenn Herman at JennsTrends.com because she IS a bonafide IG expert and a voice I trust.

    Pick one tidbit or best piece of advice you’ve gotten from each person you follow and share in the short paragraphs about each person.

    You can repeat this type of content over and over by sharing different experts or different resources. One time it was bloggers, another time it was podcasts. One time you share your favorite recipe sources, another it’s quick videos for stretches. Easily repurpose into graphics for social media, or 5 social posts – one per person.

     

    4 (or 5 or 7 or whatever number greater than 3 lol)  ____ traps that could keep you stuck

    Every niche has common pitfalls, mistakes, or possible traps that your audience could fall into – and you want to be the person to show them how to avoid those sneaky traps. You can also share how YOU hit a roadblock or trap and how YOU got out of it – be an example to follow.

    • 4 common mindset/thinking traps that keep you stuck in a life rut
    • 5 common exercise traps that keep you from making fitness progress (or get more specific –  5 common mistakes that keep your legs and hips weak; or 5 reasons you will never actually ‘blast your belly’)
    • 6 common snacking traps that keep you low on energy
    • 5 behavior traps that keep you and your kids in the fight zone
    • 5 writing traps that are keeping you from getting the first draft of your book done

    Reassure them that everyone in X Niche falls into one of these traps at times. Paint a picture of the story of how you failed and then how you got out of the trap.  Give a tip on how to recognize the traps.  Give a tip on getting out of one or two of the traps.

    You do NOT have to go into detail on how to get out of every trap – you’re giving them a map of what to avoid and that in itself is very helpful. The logical next is showing in more depth HOW to get out of the traps and that comes in your course, your coaching, or even your email follow-up series after an opt-in.

    Link to a freebie or a call where they can get more help getting past the other Z traps and the other hidden lurking traps of X Niche. Keep leading your people to more next steps to keep taking action and seeing even more results.

    I love myth-busting and helping my biz pals to avoid tech and marketing mistakes so I’ve used variations on this topic multiple times. I advised on blogging mistakes to avoid; shared about the pros and cons and some mistakes made when I switched email marketing services; plus avoiding bad social media advice.

     

    Pick One Evergreen Content Topic and Create Over the Next Month

    These are all evergreen topics – you could come back, update them, or do them again later. They work in all content formats. Use a blog post, or an email – or BOTH! Make a good blog post on the topic, then share the highlights in an email.

    Or go from blog post to video, or video then blog post (ahem, that’s what I did -the notes came then the video and both into a blog post). Start from your area of content creation strength.

    AND all the topics can all lead to other content and offers. They help educate your audience – not just about X topics but about YOU and your expertise.  They give some info on the WHAT and WHY ….

    They start to hit on the HOW … but all need more … more HOW. More on HOW TO AVOID, HOW TO KEEP IMPROVING …. Hence, leading to OFFERS.  An email opt-in, a webinar, a summit, a video, a course, your 1:1 offers, etc.

    Get off the fly-by-seat-of-your-pants content creation treadmill or just throwing any old content up on your blog, start from solid topics that address key, ongoing concerns of your audience. This makes for mightier content. 😁

  • 5 Email List-Building Tips You Don’t Want to Overlook

    5 Email List-Building Tips You Don’t Want to Overlook

    Don’t Overlook These 5 Simple Email List-Building Tips

    As a busy solopreneur you have a lot on your plate and many marketing tasks are calling your name. I get that growing an engaged email community can feel like a super slow process; but every effort we make adds up. Are you taking advantage of the easy, plug-n-play, or nearly set-and-forget ways to build your email list? Here are at least 5 email list-building tips you don’t want to overlook.

    Let’s simplify marketing, not over complicate it. We KNOW we should be using email marketing and building our list, but many small business owners struggle with HOW to build. Or they don’t have a simple plan to show them where to go. Take small chunks of time each day to start with the little things that can work for your business 24/7/365 and add on the efforts that bring in new people in bunches as well.

    Bullet List 5 Easy Ways Build Email List Don't Overlook

    Don’t Miss These List-Building Tips:

    One: Your Email Signature

    Add a compelling description of your free gift to your business email signature.

    You probably send dozens of one-to-one, personal emails daily. Why not get a little extra boost from each by including not just your website, but a link to a great email opt-in gift in every one of those emails?

    There’s even software and plugins for your email that will make your signature look better (and convert better), like WiseStamp. You can see email signature examples from them here. Also see the tool NewOldStamp for branded email signatures – more ways to add a call-to-action in the emails you send every day.  And YesWare has a few more tips and examples on how to create a more effective email signature.

    WiseStamp software examples email signatures

    Also add a link to your free gift landing page to the signature field for any non-social media forums or groups you are in too!  [below is a pic of my profile in an online forum where I can share a bio and add a link to an evergreen free gift landing page]

     

    Jennifer's Profile and signature in online forum

    Two: Your Social Bios

    Add a ‘link in bio’ area to your social media profiles that links to a landing page for your free gift.

    There are apps and software like LinkTree, Lnk.Bio, FeedLink, Later (a great IG social management tool- has a free ‘link in bio’ option) or others  that can make this easier, especially for sites like Instagram where there are no active URLs in posts or captions.  LinkTree and similar options make it easy to share more than one link, when you only have space on a social profile for a single link.

    LinkTree bio link tool example photo

    BETTER ….  make your own super basic ‘link in bio’ landing page on your website – that way YOU get the benefit of that social media traffic to YOUR site, not LinkTree.

    Create a page with a short name, like  yourcoolsitename.com/connect

    That page has a top resource, or your most recent top social posts/videos, or your book, a video, could be an Amazon affiliate link to a product you talk about on social, your other social accounts, but most importantly – your email opt-in freebie link.

    And, this way you don’t have to change out the link in your bio every day (ugh who on earth does that?!) over on IG if you are promoting or sharing different things. You send them back to one page on your site – and THAT is where you put the most up-to-date offers.

    List Building opportunity with Link in Bio Landing Page with SeedProd
    Link-in-bio landing page example made with SeedProd

    You can use any page-builder plugins or tools you already have for your site, such as: Elementor, BeaverBuilder, ThriveSuite; or tools like LeadPages.

    Here’s an article with step-by-step instructions on using Elementor to create a ‘link-in-bio page.’

    Keep the page simple, mobile-friendly, easy to click, and don’t miss out on opportunities from that social media traffic.

     

    [Note: No, I don’t have a landing page that looks like this, mostly because I don’t use IG for business, only personal use. But if I were using IG I’d go the route of making my own page with Thrive vs. spending for a 3rd party tool. If you aren’t comfortable creating your own landing pages – by all means use one of the apps!]

     

    Three: Make It Easy for Your List to Share with Friends

    Be sure there’s a signup link in the newsletter itself – great for if a member of your email community forwards your email to a friend.

    Why not also use that as a CTA (call-to-action) in your next email – ASK your people to forward a great email from you to a pal who would be interested.

    Bonus related tip from your email software:

    Use the archive feature in your email marketing software to share the page for a sample issue of your regular, newsletter-style emails (like when I send a #ThursdayTips with the area for Tech-Tools-To Read). There should be a link on that page to your sign-up form in your email software.

    Another Bonus Tip:

    If your friends or colleagues are part of your ideal client audience, have you invited them to your list yet? Use the app for your email marketing software or their tools for gathering contacts legally, offline, and ask the next time you see them. Or forward them one of your great newsletters – that has that link to sign up – and ask them to join. OR … send them to your free gift page and ask them to sign up that way. Make it easy!

     

    Four: Putting Your Link in All Your Videos

    Do you mention how to join your email list on all your social media videos, live chats, or YouTube videos? Is the URL to your best-converting landing page in the description of each video on YouTube? Don’t forget that the world’s second largest search engine … is YouTube!

    Use simple video editing software to add in a graphic during your video or at least at the end of your video with a call to action to get your free gift and show the URL. Make it short and easy to remember.

    My preferred video editing software is Filmora – it’s pretty easy and intuitive to use and has lots of goodies built in (like title graphics, lower thirds, music, etc). But you can do simple edits with the Video editor built-in to Windows and even YouTube has a simple editor.

    Did you know I make simple animated intro/outro video clips for clients? I just made a simple outro animation to go at the end of all videos and remind viewers to Like-Comment-Subscribe AND it has a link to an evergreen free offer for my client. Contact me to learn more!

    Here’s a still from an outro I use in videos to remind people to join my Mighty Marketing Mojo Facebook Group. I have others with my blog, landing pages, or other CTAs.

    Still image from video join Facebook group
    Outro – at end of videos with call-to-action to join Facebook Group

    Five: Your Most Visited Pages

    Look at your website analytics – what are your most visited pages? I’ll bet that over a year or more, your About page, services page, the category pages for blog posts, your resources or recommendations page – all get a ton of the percent of traffic on your site. Do you have attractive, attention-grabbing, and relevant opt-in forms on each of those pages to connect and convert those visitors to members of your email list?

    Mighty Marketing Mojo blog post traffic summaries data

    While you’re working on opt-in forms on your website – if you want to check out 3rd-party opt-in form tools (this means NOT the kinda ugly forms built-in to AWeber, ActiveCampaign, MailChimp etc) – 2 of the stand-alone tools I have tested and recommend are: Sumo and OptinMonster.  Sumo has a Free Forever plan worth checking. OptinMonster is super robust, but plans start at $9/mo.

    My preferred tool that I’ve paid for happily for years is ThriveLeads and its part of the great set of tools in ThriveSuite. You get access to all their conversion-minded tools and plugins in ThriveSuite. I personally like the analytics and color-coded dashboard that shows me how each opt-in form or lightbox is doing. But ThriveSuite is way more than just an opt-in tool and it might not be right for every biz owner.

    I know these tips can seem basic, but every bit helps. And we shouldn’t forget about the easy, very nearly set-n-forget ways we can build our communities while we’re off doing other great things in the world.

  • 20 Things to Know When Choosing Your Email Marketing Software

    20 Things to Know When Choosing Your Email Marketing Software

    20 Things to Know About When Choosing Email Marketing Software for Your Small or Solopreneur Business

    Email is THE TOOL to set you up for a laptop lifestyle, work-from-anywhere, business.  And yes, your business, no matter how small or large, physical retail or online only, needs its own email list. But getting started with email marketing can seem daunting for a lot of small businesses, especially solopreneurs doing everything themselves. There are many options in email marketing software. So let’s sort through 20 things you should know about email marketing: facts on email, how to go about choosing software for your business, and what some top software options are.

    Get the Facts on Email Marketing

    Yes your business needs email, yes it’s still effective, yes all businesses can benefit.

    Did you know …

    By any set of numbers, email marketing is FAR from dead and should be cornerstone of the marketing plans of any business.

    Email Marketing Facts Infographic

    Yeah, email is all that and more!

    But what if you’re in the smaller percent of businesses that haven’t dove into email marketing – yet?

    Tap Into the Enduring Power of Email to Grow Your Business

    List building activities and email marketing are some of the most valuable and most profitable strategies for any business with an online presence – that’s all businesses! But it’s hard to focus on strategies and tactics to build our email lists if we don’t HAVE an email list. Just because email has been around for many years doesn’t mean it no longer works or that newer marketing tactics automatically work better.

    But we don’t want just any list! We know it’s a no-no to ever buy a list or buy leads (that violates all kinds of rules plus it’s bad business). We don’t want to ‘churn-n-burn’ through a list either. It’s not just about building a list to get to a certain number (though, yeah numbers kinda matter!), it’s about building an engaged list that wants our emails, opens them, and takes action on them. We want a high-quality, targeted list. And to make the most of a targeted list + email marketing (personalization, segmentation, timing, automation), we need email marketing software.

    But HOW do you go about email marketing and sending emails?

    First things first – use software that lets you stay safe and legally compliant

    To properly, legally, send marketing emails out to a list who has chosen (opted in) to receiving your emails, you must use email marketing software/service (EMS).

    Just a reminder, you can’t send marketing emails through your domain email, Outlook or Gmail (sending one-to-one to a contact, friend, or prospect is ok – not mass emails). You’ve heard of email regulations such as the CAN SPAM Act in the US, CASL in Canada or the GDPR rules in Europe.  As a business owner (or ANY organization – this applies to nonprofits and educational orgs too), you need an email marketing service to stay safe, legal, and to make your marketing more efficient.

    While this sounds intimidating, if you’re a legit business using a known, reputable email marketing service, you should have few problems. Choosing and using a reputable EMS should be one of the first steps, and maybe first purchase, when creating your independent, online,  laptop lifestyle business. Ok, it should be one of the first decisions for ANY type of business! Email is for every business.

    Next to choosing a reputable software option, the best way to ensure you stay safe, legal, and ethical with your email marketing is to get clear, explicit permission to email people.

    Give folks a way to choose to receive your emails – and in some locations, this means even asking your paying customers if they want to receive marketing emails. People choosing to join your list can be current or new customers, prospective customers who signed up via a blog post, a webinar, a social media post, or who heard you speak at an event. No, merely exchanging business cards doesn’t count – send them a personal follow-up email and ask them to join your list.

    But which email marketing software do you choose? How do you go about choosing?

    Before you jump in to looking at trials or signing up for one of the email marketing services I will go over below – you should think about what you and your business need.  These steps apply not just to choosing email software, but any software, purchases, or investments for your business. Your business is going to be slightly different than mine, your audience different, your comfort with software and tech will be different. Go through my recommended questions to sort the software options into what fits you right now.

     

    Ask These Questions for the  Business or Marketing Services/Software You Are Considering

    What stage of development is your business?

    There are differences between what you might choose if you have a hobby or a side gig and this is not a full-time business. Consider whether you mostly sell crafts on Etsy, or journals through Kindle Direct Publishing, or you are a consultant to nonprofits, or you are creating online courses for other business owners, or you sell classes to busy moms of toddlers. It can make a difference if you have prior business experience, or this is your first exciting adventure.

    Also consider how tech savvy do you feel – or how well do you handle pressure or learning new software? Or do you only want to learn the basics and then hand things over to a VA (virtual assistant) or OBM (Online Business Manager) to run daily operations?

    Will this software grow with you, your business, and your list?

    Does the tool have the features you need right now and features you think your business will grow into in the next 12-18 months? 

    If the software is missing a key feature (like email automation/autoresponders), it doesn’t matter how cheap it might be. Likewise, if the features are too hard to learn, will the tool hold you back when you are just starting out?

    I’ve seen both sides to this with solopreneurs I’ve worked with – they paid big bucks they didn’t have for tools like InfusionSoft or LeadPages before they had products or services to sell, before they had a list. The tools confused them and were holding them back, not helping. On the flip side is a coach who went with the free MailChimp account because they didn’t have much of a budget, but back then the free plan didn’t have the tools (autoresponders) they needed to sell their services and new courses. They limped along for too long.

    How much do the next tiers of subscriber numbers cost and when do you likely think you will reach those levels? Are you able to budget for the next levels of service/number of subscribers that your business will need?

    You don’t want a tool that is too limiting and you will outgrow quickly, nor a tool that has so many advanced bells + whistles that you don’t have time to learn or will not use for years to come (if ever). You are not marrying your tools or software for life, you will change! It’s ok. (Psst – I’m on my 3rd email marketing software in just less than 10 years of business – it happens!)

    What plans and price points does the software offer?

    If you work steadily on list-building or participate in events, will the tool accommodate you? Will you outgrow the basic plan too quickly? Can you afford the next tier of pricing? What kind of business goals and growth will you need to set in order to comfortably afford the next tier?

    Email Marketing Setup Checklist Cover photo

    12 Steps to Setting Up Email Marketing for Success

    Sign up below to get our FREE guide and get started today

     

    How proven is this software?

    Is it a brand new startup with little track record yet? Is the tool still in beta or testing phases of any kind? Is it a more mature tool?

    There are marketplaces that specialize in showcasing newer software and getting apps/software to their first big audiences and sets of users (especially AppSumo + ProductHunt, also StackSocial). There can be some great deals there! BUT … beware that many of those deals are on new, unproven software, or software that may still be in a limited form. Do your homework, read the reviews, know exactly what features you are getting (or not) if you see deals from these types of third-party marketplaces. Friends and I have been burned with deals on software that had too many bugs or the version on deal at AppSumo didn’t include all the features.

    Does it have lots of testimonials, reviews, a substantial knowledge base with support and feedback from its users?

    Has the tool aged well and kept up with changes in marketing technology? Alternately, has the tool been around a while but is no longer a leader nor has the most current features?

     

    What is the reputation of the software you are considering?

    What do reviews say?

    What do your colleagues or friends with a business similar to yours use and what do they like about it? It’s very helpful to know other friends who have a business model similar to yours and what tools they use and why (it’s why you’re reading my blog post and my emails, right?!). Ask around in groups or among your business friends and get honest assessments. And take their recommendations with a grain of salt. 😉

     

    What is customer support like for this tool?

    How responsive do they seem to be?

    What methods do they offer for contacting them? Do their business hours match yours

    For example, a key piece of business software I use is from a European-based company, they only reply via email or chat, and it’s necessary to take time differences into account when seeking support. It’s not great when a problem pops up on a Friday afternoon!

    Do they offer timely training? Does the training look easy to understand and not time-consuming?

    For example, in addition to all their videos, tutorials, customer forum, and blog post – my email service Active Campaign runs a live, in-person training program that travels the country. I attended their Study Hall in Philadelphia not long after I made the switch. They’re doing virtual Study Halls now too.

    Sign outside the ActiveCampaign Study Hall in Philadelphia
    ActiveCampaign offered an all day training in Philadelphia – very timely!

     

    How easy is it to operate?

    How easy is it for you to navigate through the tool and its user interfaces?

    How easy is it to get started and take your first actions in the app? For example, how quickly and easily can you create your first form, create your first email, create a segment for a list, or create an automation?

    Your EMS should make it easy to manage your contacts, send automated emails, have a way to tag or segment subscribers, easily create campaigns, and track performance.

    The tool that lets you easily, consistently send engaging emails, that reach your audience, and lets you work smarter not harder is the system that’s right for you.

     

    How easy is it to send different types of emails?

    Is it clear how to set up an automated email vs. a one-time or broadcast email?

    What do the emails look like?

    Are the included templates modern and follow current best practices? Or do they look stale and years old?  [hint: overly styled, graphics heavy, multi-column ‘newsletters’ are a thing of the past]

     

    But I’m on budget, bootstrapping, no money for marketing – can I go free?

    It’s often true what they say, “you get what you pay for” – so free is not always better. And I stand by the assertion that email is so vital to growing your online business that you just can NOT skip out here.

    If it’s a ‘free’ email software – what’s NOT included?

    What are the limitations – and not just in numbers of contacts or emails sent per month?

    Do you have access to automation/autoresponders?

    Can you segment your list?

    Will it integrate with 3rd party tools?

    What level of support or service is offered to customers of the email marketing software?

    Often customer service is severely limited for those on free plans -e.g. you may only be able to send them emails and wait for a reply.

    Compared to so many other tools and tactics out there, email marketing is still very inexpensive, especially given the high return on your investment. It’s much better to invest and spend for a solid email marketing service that serves you well and has the features you need instead of cheapening out and needing to move services in a few months or a year as  your business grows.

     

    Questions to ask in evaluating business software options choices

    Ok, But What Are the Common Email Marketing Software Options for Solopreneur Online Businesses

     

    ActiveCampaign (my preferred software)

    I’ve tested and used multiple services over the years, researched to move to a new system, and am delighted that I’m now with ActiveCampaign. AC has made my marketing better, my email more efficient and effective. This is the tool I demonstrate in additional courses on email, tech, and marketing. I love how easy it is to tag, segment, and run multiple automated series, all with people on just one list. Lite plan for up to 500 subscribers is $15/mo and goes to $29/mo for 1,000 subscribers. [Note: I pay one-time, annually, which makes my per month cost just $17/mo, less than some other companies]

    Mighty Marketing Active Campaign Dashboard email marketing software
    Dashboard of my ActiveCampaign account

    AWeber (I used this one for years before moving in 2019)

    AWeber is a favorite among many online business owners I know because they offer a free/low-cost trial, have relatively low monthly rates, ($19/mo) and offer very good customer service (one of the few that has phone-support). Their tool is pretty easy to learn and use.

    They were also one of those tools that qualifies as proven, but also dated technology. They just didn’t seem to be keeping up with changes in design, interfaces or features. I’m glad to see they’ve finally added features and improved things (e.g. added built-in landing pages), I’m still also glad I left. NEWS: As of spring/summer 2020 AWeber has launched a totally free tier for up to 500 list contacts and they have added features like a landing page builder. This makes them competitive and worth checking out.

    [NOTE: Warning … many of my solopreneur pals and client who participate in list-building events such as bundles or giveaways have run into major problems with AWeber in 2020 for disallowing or unsubscribing the new opt-ins who joined during these events. The company’s responses have been unsatisfactory and turned a lot of business owners off. If you are planning to build your list through strategies like giveaways or bundles, at this time I recommend you stay away from AWeber until they stop this behavior toward legitimate opt-ins.]

    ConvertKit

    CK has gained a lot of fans among online solopreneurs, especially pro bloggers, authors and marketing geeks for its strong tagging and automation features, as well as built-in landing pages. When I was doing my research to move in 2019 it was a serious contender – and I followed my own tech advice and asked other business others for their thoughts, plus poked around inside. For me, it had too many quirks, odd naming of structures/systems, was not intuitive for me to setup or use, had poor designs, and cost more than ActiveCampaign. But it has many fans in my circle of business pals! Free 14-day trial, rates start at $29/mo

    MailChimp (like many, I started here on their free plan, but moved quickly)

    Known for its totally free plan for up to 2,000 subscribers. But it has limitations, quirks, not always intuitive or user-friendly. While they’ve added ‘advanced ‘features and say they’re built-in, they aren’t truly advanced and some require paid plans. MailChimp has significant restrictions on affiliate marketing that can scare off certain business owners (do read all the fine print). Support is very limited for free plans. Paid plans start at $10/mo for up to 500 subscribers.

    GetResponse

    Small business friendly with automation tools built-in and easy drag-n-drop email builder. Their built-in forms and landing pages are attractive and easy. But some clients I’ve worked with complain about GR not being so easy, not connecting well to other tools, or being hard to learn. Those are possible pitfalls with most of the email systems. GR has a 30-day free trial; Basic plan $15/mo up to 1,000 subscribers.

    ConstantContact

    A frequent TV advertiser, this tool is popular among many offline, retail, or e-commerce businesses and claims to be very user-friendly. $20/mo up to 500 subscribers, $90/mo for 5,000. 60 day free trial.

     

    MailerLite

    A newer player in email marketing, like its name suggests, it’s a bit stripped down. It’s missing many of the advanced features of other EMS, including some key automation features. But it’s simple and affordable, with a free plan , a $10/mo unlimited emails to 1,000 subscribers, and a $15/mo plan for up to 2,500 subscribers.  Note: a few biz owners I’ve worked with have had problems setting up automations or scheduled emails – a toss-up as to system issues or user error.

    There are many others, but these are most common among online, solopreneur businesses- ones that my colleagues, friends, and clients are using or have used.  Some of the newer, start-up options could be a good fit for you, IF you can go through the questions  I gave you earlier for evaluating software AND that new tool meets those requirements.

     

    Choose the email marketing software that lets you get started building your list and sending emails quickly

    It’s so much better to just get started then to worry about finding the perfect tool. Done is better than perfect!

    And while changing systems can be a pain, it’s often necessary as our businesses change, our needs change, and the tools change. Don’t be afraid to switch if a tool doesn’t match you, your needs, your business, or if the tool is holding you back instead of helping you move forward with ease.

    It helps to choose an email marketing service this is known among your peers and other online business owners, that VAs know, so you can get community support.

    If you are still struggling with the pains of setting up your email marketing software or getting started so that you CAN go build a list and write awesome emails, check out the course I created just for business owners like you – Hell Yeah You CAN Start Your List – Even If You Aren’t Techie.

  • Email Is Smart Solopreneur Marketing

    Email Is Smart Solopreneur Marketing

    Why Email Is Still Smart Marketing for Solopreneurs

    Email has always been one of the most powerful tools in a business’s marketing toolkit. Yes, it’s been around for what seems like forever (I got my first email address in 1992) and there are newer, shinier marketing tools. But it’s still going strong. Email marketing can be personal, direct and one-to-one, cost effective, has a high ROI, and your email list is an actual business asset. If you only build your online community via social media, it’s like you’re building your house on shifting sand. Email is a more stable platform – even today when our inboxes are indeed getting more crowded. Let me show you the objective numbers behind why email is still smart marketing and also why I’ve personally embraced it as part of my marketing mojo.

    The Stats Behind the Continued Power of Email Marketing

    But what about chatbots, Instagram, influencer marketing, live video and all those other shiny neat marketing tactics we hear about all the time? They have their place. And let’s face it, some of that advice to grab shiny new things is by people selling you … shiny new things!

    But did you know …

    Email is alive and kicking. Stop believing the myths of its death (which seem to show up every year)!

    Sure, there are more digital marketing tools than ever before and they are in the reach of small business and solopreneurs in all niches. I love that we have so many affordable tools! But not all tools are necessarily equal or easy or great at building relationships.

    Don’t discount email as a key tool in your marketing toolkit. Far from disappearing, recent statistics show email is evolving and even growing. According to one of my fave sources of  research and stats, Statista, email usage is predicted to grow by 2-3% each year from 2018 to 2023. Businesses are spending more money, not less, on email marketing.

    email marketing key statistics

    Even given that email is still a reliable, proven, winning marketing tactic for all sizes of business – online + offline, solopreneur + big brands – it’s not so easy to have email marketing that is consistent or brings steady results. But it’s possible!  And consistency is indeed a key to email success.

    I’ve put together some templates to help you get started with targeted email follow-up –
     get them for free here

    Why am I enthusiastic about email?

    I’ve seen it work!

    I’ve bought loads of things personally and professionally via email marketing.

    I’ve grown my own business and community via email.

    I can share more stories, more tips, more links via email than I can a social media post. It’s more targeted than a blog post.

    I see it’s power to share the right messages to the right folks, easily, quickly, and cost-effectively.

    Businesses Sell Things – Email Marketing Helps Sell the Right Things to Right People at the Right Time

    Let’s start with an assumption. You are a smart, savvy solopreneur who is in business to be profitable, not run a charity. To make money and be profitable you need two basic ‘things’. First, a product or service to sell. Could be a course, monthly coaching, writing services, low-content journals and planners, homemade Christmas cookies, or amazing social media graphics. Second, you need an audience, a niche market of interested people who want and need what you offer, who will benefit from your expertise and knowledge. And who will pay you for your knowledge, services, and goodies.

    There’s a lot of ways today to find potential buyers and to sell your awesome stuff. In some way or another, you’re going to make use of digital or online marketing tools, even if your business lives mostly offline. But you can’t treat your business like Field of Dreams – if you merely build it, they won’t just come. You need promotion, traffic, offers, targeted marketing and getting in front of the right people with your stuff. And even then your conversions and sales not be so high. People need to know, like and trust you before they pull out their wallet.

    Email gets you in front of the cookie buyers at holiday time, the parents of a toddler who need some new bedtime tips, the folks starting up new exercise routines in January (and again in March after they fell off the wagon), and those who need your service, but maybe not right now. Email helps you stay in touch so they remember you, and trust you, when all of a sudden they DO need you.

    The power of email is in the follow-up and nurture

    I’ve written about the power of a planned, consistent follow-up with prospects, current and past customers. Don’t wing it or leave it to chance. You need a consistent way to stay in touch with the targeted audience who needs you, but is still getting to know and trust you. Enter email marketing.

    From this eMarketer study, 80% of professionals say email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention. Email is what helps them get known and to stay liked and trusted.

    The newer, more powerful, more personalized email of today allows businesses – even us solopreneurs – to personalize and to offer targeted nurturing and follow up via email.  The yearly studies done by the Content Marketing Institute show that 87% of marketers are using email campaigns to nurture their audiences.

    These businesses use email to build and boost that Know-Like-Trust factor that’s key to business success. Yes, it takes more strategy and work than it used to – but email nurture campaigns are vital, practical, and do-able.

    happy woman laptop sending followup solopreneur email marketing

    Be Useful, Be Helpful and Be Proud of What You Send

    Don’t apologize for sending emails and making offers! You’re in business, remember?

    You’re out there helping people – whether as a wellness coach, a career coach, a parenting coach, a resume writer, a technical writer, a content marketing ghost writer, a website builder, or a graphic designer (whew – just some of my biz pals and clients). You can’t help more people with your coaching or writing if they don’t know you, trust you, and see the value in what you do. And you can’t keep helping people if you do all that work for free!

    Please don’t treat your emails, tips, and offers like something you need to apologize for sending. You are sending valuable info as well as ways to work with you get even more valuable results. Go share your mighty self! Give tons of value but don’t de-value any of what you sell in the process.

    I hope you see that keeping email marketing in your toolkit will lead to some marketing mojo for you. There’s lots to learn and work on – and we can work on it together! If you’re stuck at any stage of the email process, let’s get you unstuck and list building and sending those nurturing follow-up emails. Build your Know-Like-Trust factors with prospects with smart and mighty email marketing.

    Naturally, this is where I ask if you’d like to get my stories and marketing tips via email. 😉 I’ll send you a pack of templates for faster email follow-up if you join my Mighty Marketing Mojo community here.

     

    Need to see even more email marketing stats? ‘Research’ is my middle name and I got you covered:

  • Marketing Success Is In the Follow Up

    Marketing Success Is In the Follow Up

    If You Aren’t Consistently Following Up, What to Do About It

    Marketing isn’t ‘one and done’ – you can’t create a single blog post, a webinar, or a single email to promote something and be done for good. Big brands don’t even stop at running a Super Bowl ad just during the big game – nope, you see that ad through the year now to make the most of all that money spent! Your marketing and communications need to be consistent and repeated to see success. A frequent marketing quote is ‘the money’s in the follow-up.’

    I had a chance to have brunch and chat life and business some super smart solopreneur pals and one thing we questioned, nudged, brainstormed and supported each other on was about if, and how, we were following up with clients, customers, and our community members. Each of us had recently offered a training, a webinar, a course, some live coaching, or a challenge. And each of us had had less than 100% enthusiastic participation and worried we had left some of our awesome clients stuck or even just unaware of what had gone on during the challenges and training.

    We hadn’t done a good enough job at following up. 🙁

    We needed more follow-up.

    Following up and checking in was the answer and all of us needed to do more of it! We had all fallen in the trap of assuming our people had seen and read all our emails or social posts about what was happening and when. Or we assumed the dates and times we picked would be ok with the majority of our people. We just plain assumed stuff … and you know what happens when we assume! 😁  D’oh!

    We whipped out our notebooks (ok I grabbed the Trello app on my phone – I’m a techie geek, you know that’s how I roll!) and made notes about how and when to do more follow-up, including one-to-one, with our folks. [Psst – I know we’re taking action as I got two follow-up emails from these same fine ladies 24 hours after our meetup!]

    Time for you to pay attention too – because the marketing success (and the money) is in the following up.

    Why is Follow-Up So Crucial for ALL Solopreneurs?

    • Building relationships with customers gets them returning to your business over and again.
    • Building relationships gives you unlimited opportunities to deliver content and opportunities to serve.
    • Building relationships gives you the go-ahead to sell to them.
    • Building relationships gives you access to your customers any time.
    • It’s 7x harder/mores costly to acquire a new customer vs. retain an existing, happy customer.

    In today’s digital world there are plenty of ways to connect and build relationships – but the only way we ‘own’ and control is email. You’re only renting that space on social and your followers don’t belong to you, they belong to the platform (and of course to themselves). Here’s one more admonition from me to not build your business on the shifting sands of social media – have a solid website, a blog, and your own email email list where people have clearly opted in to receive good stuff from you.

    If you want the one solid way to keep in touch, to nurture and build that long-term customer and client relationship – it’s all in the email. Sending one-to-one emails to prospects, colleagues, connections, past clients, and referrals sources. Building a list and sending emails from one-to-many, to nurture prospective customers, talk directly to all past customers, and generally give great service to the community you are building.

    And email is still a powerful, money-making follow-up tool of choice among small businesses, solopreneurs, and yeah big brands too. (there’s a reason my personal email account fills daily with emails from Wayfair, Penzey’s, Southwest, BookRiot, and plenty of charitable causes – because it WORKS!) Email is also a way to follow-up with your blog post readers and subscribers – letting them know you have great new content.

    But this isn’t wholly a post about email marketing – it’s about following up- and email is a great tool for that!

    Consistency is Crucial to Successful Follow-up

    People who read your blog, who follow you on social media, and especially those who have subscribed to your email list and have purchased something from you (products, courses or services) love you want to hear from you. Yes, really! We have to remind ourselves of that. And remember they want the advice, knowledge and expertise we each have and that we promised them when we asked for their email or they purchased from us. Deliver the great stuff they asked for and want! When they give you permission to reach out to them, it is vital that you consistently connect with them.

    Want some help doing your email follow-ups? Click here!

     

    Consistent follow-up is important for a few more reasons. 

    One – we are busy, distracted, squirrel-brained folks. Shiny objects and information are everywhere, and we dart here, there, everywhere in our lives. We forget. A lot. So following up reminds people of the good stuff they want, that they signed up for, that they purchased, and then got distracted from completing, attending, or using.

    Two – building those customer relationships is a lot like dating. No one realistically gets married on the first date! You may get a nice hug but it’s not a jump to commitment right when you meet. Sometimes things click instantly, and you can’t get enough of each other. You anxiously wait for the phone to ring or the inbox to alert you that a new message is waiting.

    Other times, it takes a while for things to click. Sometimes a customer may not seem interested at all and then boom, they are all-in with everything you have to offer. Or they seem uninterested, but really they’re just distracted by all the other shiny new things and relationships and they forgot for a bit. But when we put something awesome in front of them, boom, they remember why they were attracted and ‘in’ to us! And they want – and NEED – what we are offering them.

    No matter when you get a ‘yes!’ from someone, it’s oh so important to keep following up. Don’t drop that person because you got a hot date with someone new! 😁  Back in the days when I worked retail management, we always trained staff to ignore the phone if they had a customer right in front of them at the register. Ask a co-worker, or the manager, to answer the phone, but don’t ditch the person standing right in front of you with a question or holding their credit card.

    Follow-up with folks before, during, and after any webinar, course, coaching program, product sale, or project. In the same way other relationships grow and flourish, your relationship with your community, subscribers, clients and customers must be nourished and cultivated.

    Ways to Easily Follow Up

    Stay In Touch – it’s easier to follow-up if your messages don’t come out of the clear blue. Whether your readers are leaving comments or sending you private messages, it is important to answer and connect with them. The more personalized you can be, the deeper the connection and the bond for your business or product. Don’t let those easy opportunities to follow up go by the wayside.

    Asking for feedback- End emails with a call to action to connect or engage. Give invites to connect with you on other platforms Be ready when people do. Answer their emails and comments on your content.

    Engagement- Offering opportunities to engage is a playground for customers who feel connected.  You might consider hosting a social media group where your customers can have exclusive attention or special access to you. Group members will have a sense of insider knowledge and this is a great way to increase engagement and make your customers feel valued.

    Making offers- Yes, asking for the sale is a follow up! And we can’t assume, we need to ask. It is important to know when and how. Following up with subscribers routinely with free information opens the door for making an offer from time to time. Don’t just give away for free – it’s an unbalanced relationship, your audience is missing out on ways to be helped further by working with you, and you want active buyers in you community. While it’s not best to only ask for sales, it is completely normal to ask for sales. You ARE in business after all! 😁

    Being timely- Whether it is being timely with your email frequency or timely with what is current in the world, sharing content that is timely makes a difference. Customers who feel like you have your fingers on the pulse of what’s going on will likely trust you, which translates to sales when the time is right. Sharing tips and trends in your niche is a great way to follow up and stay top of mind with your prospective clients and your customers.

    Add Value – A good follow-up is not only timely and consistent but it offers something of value to the recipient too. Don’t send generic, vague follow-up emails, especially after events. Give value that shows you listened and are thinking of their needs (a timely news article for their niche, a post with resources related to what you discussed, an introduction to a mutual connection, etc). [Some more tips on adding value from Ian Brodie – an excellent consultant and small biz marketing pro in the UK – I’ve been on his list for years and he always gives value!]

    Tips for Customer Focused Easy Follow up in Marketing

    How much follow up is enough for success?

    Like a lot of marketing – the answer is ‘it depends!’ 😄

    But there are some tips from a variety of pros on how often your community should hear from you:

    • Weekly – at least once per week with general info and a check-in from you. No, they won’t ready every one but you need these frequent check-ins to just stay on their radar.
    • Monthly or so – for your older material and info if it’s still evergreen content.
    • Before, during, and after every event (including webinars – paid or free, events you host or where you speak) – follow up the day after an event, several days later, a week later, and of course wrap it in with your other communications after that.
    • Time-sensitive during promotions/sales – frequent updates may mean daily, even up to twice-daily on the last day of a big sale. Don’t forget multiple emails before your sale/promotion or launch.
    • Right away – when someone comments, reaches out, or otherwise significantly impacts your community.
    • Yearly or so – on anniversaries, important dates, birthdays, milestones for your business or relationship with a client

    If you have a good offer – for an ebook, a free webinar, a course, a coaching call, your skills on a project – you share it! And if it was good enough to share once, it’s certainly good enough to share multiple times. Remember, your audience of potential clients, happy fans, and past customers are all busy, distracted, going a mile-a-minute and they need your reminders. Follow up before, during, and after your events, projects, and promotions.

    Sustained success will depend on consistent follow-up so create a process that works for you and your business’s marketing.

     

    Not sure where to start or need some shortcuts on your email follow-up routines?

    Get this FREE pack of 10+ email templates you can use in a variety of instances to follow up after calls, meetings, live events, a webinar, and more.

    Mighty Marketing Mojo Email Templates ebook cover

     

    Click to Get Your Free Email Templates

     

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