Business consultant Brittany Becher explains how to convert readers into buyers via email marketing. By Dianne M. Pogoda
Congratulations — you have a blog, and people actually read it. Now what?
In her breakout session at the Design Bloggers Conference in Beverly Hills this month, Brittany Becher offered a plan to turn those readers into customers.
In “Amplify Your Design Blog With Successful Email Marketing Strategies,”
Becher, CEO of digital marketing agency Scoop Industries and host of the “Small Business Boss” podcast, discussed how to determine if email marketing is right for a design business and tips and tactics for successful email marketing.
“Your blog is your home base,” said Becher, a sales and marketing automation specialist. “Your site showcases you and your business, but that’s not enough. You have to gain clients and business — but you don’t have to spend a fortune on advertising in social media.”
Email has taken a backseat to social media today, she explained. But with all the shifting algorithms — those pieces of data that tell social media sites like Facebook and Instagram what you like, share, and click for more information — in social media platforms, email marketing is constant. Emails are five times more likely to be seen then a Facebook post, and six times more likely to get a click-through than Twitter. Email has a 122% ROI, and works best in tandem with a good social-media strategy.
“Email marketing is a way to set yourself apart, but few are able to do it well,” she said, noting that the whole process starts with getting your readers to “opt in” — getting them to click a button that says they want to subscribe to your newsletter, or are interested in additional information about your business, product or service. “The best opt-ins are irresistible to visitors. Put your ‘opt in’ high on the home landing page or in your sidebar. You can also do it at the end of your blog post — this shows that the reader is already interested in what you were writing about, if they’ve gotten so far.
“Use all your assets, share your best content, your best images,” she added. “You’re a designer! Make it look great. Compelling content in the blog post leads to them to opt in — they click that button and you get their email.”
Now they’re subscribers — what’s next? The goal is to convert a subscriber into a buyer, and the best way to do this is via email.
“You need what’s known as a ‘funnel,’ which narrows down all those subscribers into a realistic potential buyer base. It starts with the ‘nurture’ funnel — letting people get to know you, grow trust in you and see if you’re a good fit to work together. This trains them to trust that when they click, they’ll get good information. These emails deliver real value, show what you have to offer, and give readers the opportunity to solve their problems.”
She outlined a seven-email strategy.
- Email #1: The Know. This typically has a high open rate because they asked for this information. Introduce yourself and make sure you include your link.
- Emails #2 and 3: Like me. Gets the potential clients to like what you’re all about.
- Emails #4 and 5: Trust me. These include testimonials and an invitation to a free consultation.
- Emails #6 and 7: Invite. Reemphasize the invitation for a consultation, show you can help them achieve their goal. Consider offering a discount, too.
The timing for these seven emails is usually that the first two emails go within the first two or three days, then send one every other day. After that, you can move the readers to your newsletter. Be smart: stop the emails after they buy or sign-up — there’s nothing more annoying than getting reminders to do something that you’ve already done. Keep your branding consistent.
She pointed to two important metrics to evaluate: First is the click/open rate, and then there is the click-through rate. “You can see what emails are unopened — resend them. Evaluate your subject lines to see what phrases work best for you, and which ones get the readers to click.”
She concluded with three things to remember:
- Consistent communication. Keep it simple and stick to the same timing.
- Make periodic offers to your existing list. Remind them that you’re still around, use smart tagging and segmentation for the most targeted offers. Include an element of scarcity or time sensitivity to encourage that call to action.
- Combat subscriber for fatigue — keep them engaged with fresh and interesting material.
Becher suggested committing to 90 days of email marketing to give the system a fair chance to work, and use a tool like Mailchimp or Convertkit to help track success.
