Mindset Makeover
Simple Things You Can Do to Adjust Your Attitude Toward Email Marketing
Start by Shifting Your Approach to Email Marketing
STOP approaching email marketing as simply a way to sell to your customer database.
START approaching email marketing as a way to serve and support consumers into becoming customers.
STOP thinking you’re being intrusive, over communicating, or that people will stop liking you if you send them emails.
START knowing that communication is the key to building lasting, strong relationships and that email marketing is, at its heart, communication.
STOP thinking social media is the only way to feel good about connecting with your customers.
START understanding that having a third party company between you and your ability to communicate with your customers is not a good thing.
STOP thinking customers don’t want to hear from you.
START building an email marketing strategy that helps your customers live better lives.
STOP thinking email marketing is too much work.
START using automation to make your business run smoother and your customers happier.
Change the Negative to Positive
Email Marketing Mindsets
Let’s address head-on some of the most common mindsets that hinder or hault your ability to do email marketing effectively.
Email Marketing is Dead, Past Tense, No Longer Useful.
Email marketing has an overall ROI of 4,200% (Luisa Zhou)
Here’s the thing: Email has been, is, and will continue to be one of the top forms of communication. To say email marketing is dead is a foolish notion. What is dead is over generalized emails, entire list broadcast emails with no purpose other than to sell, and communicating to consumers or customers who no don’t want to hear from you. The inbox is the first digital stop for most people in the morning, beating out social media, the news, and even search (Optin Monster). Email marketing has shown a consistent rise in revenue and is that trend is expected to continue. Email marketing is not only NOT dead or dying, it’s thriving and growing.
Email Marketing is Intrusive. I dislike marketing emails myself.
Email Marketing, especially email marketing that is delivered thoughtfully and in a way that helps customers and consumers problem solve, is not intrusive. SPAM is intrusive. Sending marketing emails to people who haven’t willingly opted in to your list is intrusive. Continuing to email market to unengaged contacts on your list is intrusive. If this is an issue for you, stop and think about the emails you get in your inbox. Is the problem with the emails you signed up to recieve and are relevant to you right now OR is the issue with emails you either never signed up for or have become irrelavant to you? My guess is the answer with rare exception will be the latter.
My customers complained about getting marketing emails.
If you’ve received customer complaints about your marketing emails (and notice complaints is PLURAL), you need to make an assessment of your email marketing practices and content. If one customer complained one time (or unsubscribed from your list and you took that to mean they complained), it’s not a pattern you need to worry about. I don’t get concerned unless I see an unsubscribe rate greater than .5% and I don’t get really concerned until it’s at 1% or more. When someone complains, as in tells you that don’t like your email, ask a lot of questions that will help you determine if it’s really your program that needs adjusted OR if that customer really isn’t a good fit for your business. Unsubscribes and customers leaving your list isn’t always a bad thing. It often means that your brand alignment doesn’t fit with them. That means your messaging is doing its job and making room on your list for your ideal customers.
I tried it once. It didn’t work.
I hear this sometimes from students. 99% of the time, the try was sending out 1 or 2 emails and not getting a landslide response, so they deemed it a failure. The truth is, good email marketing programs take a while to build. It’s a slow burn and if you tried it in the past and felt it was a failure, ask yourself honestly: did really did give it a good try? If the answer is: no, it’s time to try again. If it is: yes, you probably have earned a valuable lesson on how to do it better now.
I have a newsletter. Isn’t that enough?
Newsletters are a fine — but they tend not to convert as well as a full on email marketing program.
My list is too small for all this.
No. It’s not. I’ve seen businesses use good email marketing to grow their list exponentially from 10 people to 10,000. I’d far rather you come to me with 10 engaged people who fit your ideal client profile than 1000 people you signed up at random. Your list is definitely not too small.
I don’t have the time to build my list or do the work setting up an email marketing program.
If this is legit true, you are probably doing very well in your business and aren’t seeking to grow your sales or customer base. There is absolutely, positively NOTHING wrong with being in this spot. However, if you’re saying this because you’re spending all your time chasing down leads, running to answer customer questions, or struggling to keep up with communications, I’d be pretty confident in telling you making the time will give you back way more time than you’ll spend on setting up a CRM and creating a good email marketing program.
I’m technologically challenged.
Tech is a hurdle and I get that. However, there are a ton of resouces to learn the technology. I can promise you, if you use email and crm software daily, you’ll find your confidence and abilities grow easily. There are resources and help everywhere. Take advantage of them.
I’m not creative.
I will aruge till my last breath this isn’t true. Entreprenuers, by their very definition, are creators. That said, I do know a lot of people who struggle with words, photos, and graphics. Luckily, there are resources that, with a little prior planning, can help you fill those holes in your email marketing program.
Automation gives me the ick.
Automated emails can generate 320% more revenue than emails that are not automated (Campaign Monitor).
Wow, read that statistic again! Also understand that automation is the way that you will give yourself back time, do the things that you likely tend to procrastinate, and make your customers feel seen and loved. Automation doesn’t have to be cold and static. Modern CRM and email marketing tools give you the opportunity to create dynamic automations that trigger off of customer information, behavior, and actions. It is responsive, often in a way you can’t be because, well, you’re human and thankfully have other things to do than watch for a customer to click a link in an email or download a lead magnet!