Beginning your email marketing journey can be challenging. Your list is small and you probably have limited resources.
Don’t get discouraged. You are well on your way to building a successful email marketing program. It takes patience and dedication to have an impact. If you business is new, it can take a year before you have a big enough audience to truly understand the results of your efforts.
It’s easy to put email marketing on the back burner.
Below are a few reasons why you shouldn’t.
Consistency
If you can do something daily for thirty days, there is a strong probability it will become a habit.
The challenge with content marketing is you need to be consistent. Think about the expectations you have for some of your favorite news sources. There is always something new to read, usually on a schedule.
If you’re sending emails sporadically your subscribers won’t know when to expect your content. You can’t look forward to something that is inconsistent.
Plan out what you’re going to send in advance to increase the likelihood you’ll stick to your schedule.
Tip: Create an email calendar for the year and give each email a primary theme or topic. Look at your other marketing channels (blog, print, social media) and see where you can re-use content or themes to make email planning a breeze.
Consistency is a key component to any email marketing program.
Frequency
Out of sight, out of mind.
If you don’t send often enough, you may start to see a higher number of unsubscribes and spam complaints. People are busy and they receive a lot of other emails in addition to yours. If they can’t remember signing up for your newsletter because you aren’t sending enough you won’t see the results you are hoping for. When your list is small you can’t afford to lose the interest of the few people willing to listen to you.
Tip: When you are asking someone to sign up for your emails, include when you’ll be sending them emails and how often. Stick to what you promised.
It’s ok to change frequency occasionally, especially if you are sending too often. The number one reason subscribers say they mark an email as spam is if they are sending too frequently.
Make sure you are sending often enough so your business is always top of mind for your potential customer.
All It Takes Is One
I can’t tell you how often I hear this: “My list is too small, it’s not worth my team’s time to put together a newsletter for a few people.”
It can be incredibly discouraging to send emails week after week to a small list. But when you start to think of each subscriber as a person it may change your perspective.
Look at the room you’re in right now. Could you fit the number of subscribers you have in there with you? 50 or less might seem like peanuts now, but each of those individuals can have a big impact on your business. If they love what you’re providing they might tell their close friends about you. They may share your content on social media. They might even be considering purchasing from you.
All it takes is one. Don’t be discouraged by a small list. Small is relative.
Tip: If you’re struggling to gain new subscribers online, try some offline signup methods too.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Earning Trust
Don’t give up if you are not seeing sales in the first 3–6 months.
It takes time for you to earn the trust of a customer. Depending on what your selling, making a sale might take more time that you think it should. The more expensive your product or service, the higher the barrier to earning their trust.
Think about other ways you can provide your customer with value. What questions can you answer that might push them to purchase? Ask others who aren’t involved in the day-to-day business for their feedback. It helps to have an outside perspective.
Tip: Review your emails every 3–6 months to see where you might be able to start increasing conversions.
When your customer is ready to make a purchase be sure you are the first company that comes to mind. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither is your email marketing program.
Happy emailing!
