Your email marketing set up is cruising along. You have all of your systems in place and you’ve drafted your welcome email. Now it’s time to plan for continuous future content so you don’t leave your readers hanging.
Disclosure: Some of the links on my site are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase from one.
Goal: Keep It Moving
By now you’ve spent a lot of time setting up your email marketing. If you’re feeling like it’s time to put your feet up and take a break, don’t!! To make the most of your email marketing list, you need to provide continuous content.
Three Types of Content
When it comes to email marketing, there are three common types of emails: feed/posts, promotional offers, and autoresponders/series. Your site feed/posts is the easy one. You can set MailerLite or ConvertKit to automatically send your blog posts out to your subscribers. If you’re blogging in a niche and all of your posts hit your target audience, then this is an easy way to send your subscribers continuous, quality content. As an example, I primarily write free guides and tutorials, so my subscribers can count on getting an informational post to help them improve their website or branding in their inbox every week.
Promotional offers are occasional “pop up” emails that promote a limited time offer, new product, etc. Your subscribers should always feel “in the know” as your valued customers and promotional offers can help with this. Maybe they’re the first ones to gain access to your content or receive exclusive limited time discounts.
Autoresponders or series emails involve much more work. These are handcrafted emails that are set to deliver in paced intervals. I personally use a “Welcome Series” with a handful of emails that all subscribers receive when they join my list. Subscribers are then rolled into my feed/post emails to receive my regular weekly content.
For now, let’s focus on your welcome series. My next free guide will help you craft your first full email series after that.
How to Improve Your Continuous Content
Subject Lines
Your subject line determines whether or not your subscribers open your email. It should be specific and inviting. As you send out content, you should periodically examine what works best. Look at the stats in your email marketing provider to determine which emails have high open rates and which ones don’t. Then use what you’ve learned to craft better subjects. Here are some tips to help you get started.
Content Counts
Next, take a close look at the content you’re sharing in your emails. Are you solving reader problems with valuable content? Are you staying in your niche? Are you showing up in their mailbox frequently enough to build the relationship? Or are you perhaps showing up too frequently for your readers? The data in your email provider should help you answer those questions based on your open rates.
If you’re just starting, plan for one email a week that solves a problem for your typical reader.
Logical Order
Take a close look at your autoresponders. Does the order make sense? Are you building on previous content? If you’re selling in your emails, do you start with small offers {like your tripwire} and then moving toward bigger purchases?
As you add new content to your site, you may choose to go back to your welcome series and add those posts. For example, I wrote a free Launch Your Site in 30 Days training series. This content was initially presented in weekly blog posts. But new readers/subscribers who joined me after that launch might have missed it if they didn’t go back and read through all of my old posts. So, once the series was over, I added an additional email to my welcome series. Now new subscribers receive a link to this training series in one of their welcome emails. Make sense?? Repurposing your site content in your email marketing is almost always a good idea; visitors rarely go back and read all of your previous posts. When I finish this Email Marketing Training series that you’re reading now, I’ll add it to my welcome series as well.
Priced Products
Last but not least, let’s talk about monetizing your list. I’m careful that my emails don’t read as a constant sales pitch and personally unsubscribe from lists that are. Remember how we talked about give to get? If you’re providing free, high-quality content to your subscribers, then you may also consider including priced products as well.
Ultimately your subscribers trusted you with their information, so you should always have your subscribers’ best interest in mind. Are the products you’re recommending worth the money? Are they a good fit for your readers? Do they provide value?
Homework
- Start with your welcome series. Craft 3-5 emails that subscribers will receive in the days/weeks after joining your list. These should be simple topics that add value for your readers. What does your audience need help with?
- Determine if RSS feed/blog posts also make sense for your list. If so, set those to deliver to your audience automatically
What’s Next
Now that you’ve planned your initial content with your welcome series, the next step is planning your first full email series.
