Email content can be digital gold , whether you are a solo operator, or running a mid-size business. However, this is only true when content is handled correctly. In our on-going series, The 8 Marketing Must-Have’s, your email platform is typically the most under-utilized and mis-utilized tool.
Why An Email Platform is So Important
Your email platform is how you communicate with prospective, current and even past clients, as well as partners and influencers. Relying on social media and traditional marketing to fill your sales funnel is far more random, even when it is “targeted”. Additionally, it takes a minimum of 5-7 touches from your brand to begin establishing trust. The best way to do that is through email content delivered directly to individuals who have expressed an interest in you and your offerings.
How to Build Your Database
Many businesses feel their email databases are too small to warrant an email platform or communication strategy. In fact, all the effort put into social media and website visibility without collecting email information is a lost opportunity. Using lead magnets, also known as opt-ins, or using social media to point individuals to your lead magnets, is a fantastic, low-cost way to grow your database, along with any networking efforts you engage in.
If you provide valuable content, even to a small database, over time, your database will grow. Sometimes it will grow rapidly, depending on what you are offering and where.
Top 10 2020 Email Platforms Anyone Can Use
If you are not currently engaged in email content strategies, you may wonder where to begin. Here are the most common email platforms small to midsize business use. Most of them have free options for small databases and less complicated email funnels.
If you are already using one of the platforms, now might be a good time to investigate whether it is really the best platform for your business in its current stage of growth.
According to QuickSprout:
HubSpot —Best one-stop-shop for inbound marketing management
Constant Contact — Best drag-and-drop builder
GetResponse — Best all-in-one solution for automated lead generation
MailerLite — Best for the essentials at an affordable price
AWeber — Best value for low subscriber count
ConvertKit — Best for ecommerce and sales funnels
Mailjet — Best for real-time collaboration between multiple teams
Drip — Best all-in-one email marketing and CRM platform
ActiveCampaign — Best sales CRM with email marketing capabilities
Mailchimp— Best for startups
What to Say in Your Email Content
It can be tempting, when you know you have a captive audience in your email database, to flood them with all your promotional content. Resisting this urge will pay off over time.
The best use of email is to deliver useful, valuable, entertaining and inspiring content. Useful content builds trust, which leads to purchase. Potential customers are more likely to buy from you when you establish trust than when you pound them with promotions. When you do this, you can easily add in a couple of calls-to-action for readers effectively, so that when they are ready to buy, you are providing a clear channel for access. Whether you are sending advanced email funnel content or e-newsletters, this approach is proven to be the most powerful.
Here is an e-newsletter checklist if you are still unsure what to say to build trust with your audience.
Your ideal customers want to connect with you. They long to feel known, seen, heard and understood by an organization just like yours. No matter whether you are offering insurance, health care, beauty products, non-profit offerings, coaching, or real estate – using your email platform to build unbreakable emotional bonds with them is highly effective, when done correctly.
If you would like guidance or assistance with your email content, reach out to us at: hello@insideoutsmart.com