The “death of email” has been greatly exaggerated.
I first heard that phrase more than a decade ago…and it’s been used many times since then.
Social media was supposed to replace it.
Yet, email is still king when it comes to online sales for my clients and me.
Social media has instead become an additional channel and a good way to grow your email list.
I don’t know how many times ‘experts’ have predicted email was going away.
Now we’re hearing new rumblings about the “death of email” again because of the updates Gmail and Yahoo are doing in 2024 to combat spam.
Here are a few tips to deal with these changes.
Do the one-time set-up of DKIM and DMARC records on your domain if you haven’t already. I’m not going to go into those here, because most email service providers (and many web hosts) have instructions on their sites about setting these up. If the tech scares you, you could hire someone on Fiverr to help. Also, I’d suggest signing up for Google Postmaster tools to keep an eye on reputation. It’s free at https://postmaster.google.com (you’ll need a Google account).
Here’s my #1 tip…
Don’t spam!
Focus on attracting the right people to your list (this is rule #1 for success in any type of direct marketing).
Clean your lists of free subscribers who never open or click your emails (be careful cleaning buyer lists since open stats aren’t perfect).
Send emails your subscribers want to read.
You’ll hear all kinds of advice about what YOU should do with email such as mail every day, mail multiple times per day, don’t mail too often, etc.
In general, you will earn more from sending more emails. But I’ve also seen clients improve results by mailing a little less often (still several times per week though).
Be consistent. If you only mail infrequently when you have a launch to promote, you’re going to get spam complaints.
You’ll also hear the gaggle of gurus tell you exactly how to write each email.
Sure, there are basic principles that apply such as providing infotainment, including stories, diving deep in the problems you solve, dropping authority tidbits, and giving clear calls-to-action.
But I’ve seen a LOT of different email styles that work…
Long emails. Short emails. One main story. Several different topics in the same email. Curated content. Hard pitch upfront. Content rich email with a link only in the PS. Weekly special offers. The same offer most the time. Branded banner at top of the email. Plain text only style email.
And that’s just a small list of what can work.
As a coach who helps clients with their emails, I must be careful about editing their emails too much.
See, it would be easy to make their emails sound like me.
But that’s not what will generate the best results for them.
Their voice needs to shine through.
Write like YOU talk.
It can be useful to model someone else, especially when starting out. But don’t become a carbon copy of them. Don’t copy them word-for-word (that’s plagiarism). Instead, simply look for ideas you can test yourself. For example, do they start their email with a question a subscriber sent them? Is there a rhythm to the stories they share? How do they transition into their offer?
But whatever you do…write for your audience. Not anyone else’s.
And of course, concentrate on growing your list with your ideal customers and clients.
It was the secret that set me free so many years ago.
And it’s still a major key today.
My course, Authority Lists & Traffic, will help you choose and implement your own personalized list building system.
Attract ready-to-buy customers and clients.
Tap into a system that’s a good fit for you.
Grow your list.
