Email marketing remains one of the best ways to attract new customers.
There are still more people with an email address than with social profiles.
Social media is definitely important, but there tends to be more noise.
It’s challenging to get permission to email someone, more challenging than getting them to follow you on social media, but once you get permission to send someone an email it’s like they’re letting you into their house. You have a great chance of making a connection and earning their business.
If you’re struggling with email marketing and want to make some improvements then we have some good strategies to use to start bringing in new customers.
1. Automated Content Series
You’ve probably seen this tip before in other places. Automated content series have become fairly common in recent years. It has been a great strategy for B2Bs, but I even see a number of B2Cs using this strategy and using it well.
The idea is that you identify a common struggle or question that your target customers have and you provide help or answers with content and you provide access via email.
With this strategy you’re targeting people that fit your target customer profile, but that don’t really know about your business. You’re focusing on an issue they’re having with their job (B2B) or with their life (B2C). It’s not a promotional email.
Let’s say you sell a new technology device for bicycle GPS and navigation. A common struggle for urban bikers is being comfortable while biking. A great content series would offer, say, 5 tips on making cycling more comfortable.
Cyclists signup for the series and get the content and by the end of they are happy with the information and they know about your company and feel grateful that you’ve provided the information.
2. Automated Content Updates
This is a simple one to setup. It’s a good first step if you’re getting started with email marketing.
At GBW we have our blog and every week an automated email goes to subscribers and it simply has the posts from the previous week.
Every once in a while we’ll get an inquiry this way from someone that found a post, subscribed to get the weekly update of posts and that is now ready to get blogging services for their business.
3. Curated Content Newsletter
These all take a bit of work and it would be challenging to do all of these. I don’t recommend trying that.
This one seems a little easier on the surface, but it can be time consuming, but it’s a great strategy especially if you don’t create your own content right now.
It’s still valuable to curate the best content in your industry and send the list to subscribers. A number of businesses do this and they’ve created a great email program with a number of subscribers.
Identify who your target customer is and consider the content they would find most valuable. Find the best content each week or each month (articles, videos, etc.) and email the list.
This saves your target customer the time to find the content themselves.
4. Engage Inactive Subscribers
I have an email list for a country music blog and sometimes people signup and then don’t open emails after a few months. Sometimes I’ll create a specific email for people that haven’t opened a message in six months. I’ll ask them what they’re looking for or if they have any suggestions.
Usually you’ll get some good responses.
I know ecommerce businesses have some good messages for these subscribers too. Some make an offer, but others ask questions. Sometimes a person might say that they haven’t seen any emails about a specific product and the company can respond if they do have that product and a sale can happen.
5. Case Studies
I subscribe to a few email lists that do this really well. Every few weeks they’ll send out an email that discusses a new case study they’ve created. They’ll lead into it a little bit in the email and then they’ll link to the full case study on their website.
And sometimes they’ll do it, possibly automated, for new subscribers that haven’t seen existing case studies.
This is a good way to get prospects that are a little more into the sales process to make the jump from thinking about your service/product to being ready to purchase.
6. Add A Link To Your Email Signature
I know some people that do this one really well. It’s simple, but I know it’s effective because I’ve clicked on these more than I even realized.
In business, we email people all the time. We email clients, colleagues, friends, prospects, etc.
Those messages are all opportunities to possibly connect and make a sale.
You add a link to your email signature after your name and title. You can link to a new case study, a new article or maybe to a service that you offer.
7. Targeted Business Outreach
This one is only for select situations.
Sometimes I’ll browse some business websites that are similar to businesses we’ve worked with in the past. I’ll see if they have a blog, but a blog that’s been inactive for a few months.
If they have a public email address or a contact form I’ll reach out and simply mention that I noticed that they have a blog, but that it hasn’t been active. And I’ll ask if they’re interested in blogging services.
Some say, Thanks for reaching out, but not right now. Some say that they are interested in learning more.
8. Referral Requests
Sometimes when I’m getting the itch to add a few new clients to our roster I’ll send out a few individual emails to our current clients. I’ll keep it short and simple and ask if they know of any businesses that have mentioned a need or struggle with blogging recently.
That’s it. Short and simple.
Some of the businesses respond that they don’t recall anything and that they usually send referrals our way, but others say that they have recently heard a colleague mention blogging and they provide their contact details. Then I’ll reach out to that colleague and see if there is a possible place for us to start a relationship.
9. Surveys
Another good way to make contact with people is to do surveys. You can get subscribers this way by doing the type of survey where you get responses and create a report and when the report is done you email it to those that participated.
Business execs like these kind of reports because it gives them insight into what others in their industry are doing. They’ll be happy to participate and signup for the email and it gets some exposure for your brand.
You can also do this to trigger some re-engagement with subscribers. You can send a quick survey asking what they’re looking for from your business or what they’re struggling with. It can give you insight into your business and how you can possibly solve the challenges your target audience is having.
10. Regular Client Newsletter
Finally, this is a simple one and it’s just a regular email newsletter you can send to existing clients to stay in touch. You can do it monthly.
Share an update about your business. Share some content that you’ve found interesting in the last month. Share a new case study. Ask a question or two and you can even discuss new offers or things to possibly get some new sales from existing clients.
Conclusion
Email marketing continues to be one of the best ways to get new customers and new business. The strategies listed above are some of the best ones I’ve used myself and that I’ve seen other businesses used. The great thing with email marketing is that the strategies are usually simple. They take work and effort, but they can work well. Try out a few that fit your business. Give them some time and you should see some good results.