Remember how we said blogging is like owning, and social media is like renting? Well, email marketing is another way to own your corner of the internet and deepen your relationships with your audience members. In fact, the relationship between email marketing and blogging is a key place for you to shift from audience-building to community-building.
It may sound like a minor shift in language, but the meaning behind it is significant.
Marketing is about causing people to know, like, and trust you. When a reader or social media follower agrees to sign up for your email list, they already know your brand (at least to a certain degree).
Your email list then provides a direct pathway to communicate specific reasons why they should like and trust you. This is done by including regularly scheduled emails in your content calendar.
How do you get people onto your email list?
On a basic level, you can get ideal customers/clients onto your email list by first offering them something they want. This is why we examine email marketing and blogging, instead of approaching them separately.
Many businesses offer free downloads, e-books, checklists, email courses, and other forms of entertainment or education. They specifically give these things as free gifts, so that later on the recipient feels comfortable enough to spend money on a product or service that’s right for them.
The free offer is connected to either a landing page or an opt-in form.
Landing Pages
links within blog posts, links in the bio sections of your social media accounts, links on your homepage
Opt-In Forms
Embed (or insert) opt-in forms at the end of your blog posts or at the top of your homepage.
What kind of emails should I send my subscribers?
Once you’ve gained a subscriber, it’s important to strike the balance between being forgotten and bombarding them with a million emails per week. Your particular email marketing schedule is totally up to you. You know your audience best.
Now, what do you send them?
- New blog post announcements
- Newsletters that highlight products, services, discounts, stories, and testimonials
- Throwback emails that feature blog posts from the previous month
- Sales sequences (this is where your copywriting skills get to shine)
- Mini-trainings, based on a recent blog post
Are you enjoying this sustainable content marketing journey? We’re almost there! Let’s check out on-brand writing.