6 WAYS EMAIL CAN BOOST YOUR SALES (THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT)

When you think of email marketing, typically you think of newsletters. And this is a big deterrent for many small businesses because they feel like they don’t have much to say that would have people want to read their emails. And of course the fear of “spamming” comes into play. While I don’t believe you don’t have anything of value to share (I have a whole blog post on that here), there are many many other ways in which email marketing can be used to grow your business. Ways which you probably haven’t thought of. Modern email marketing tools have a whole suite of automations available to us. In simple terms, these are emails (or a series of emails) that start getting set out when a certain condition or trigger is met. For example, with some providers, you can have it set up so that someone is sent an email automatically after they click a particular link in another email you sent (trigger). This opens up a wide range of possibilities for us as small business owners. In this post, I’m sharing 5 different ways in which you can use this powerful tool.

way #1: welcoming new subscribers

One of the biggest mistakes I see small businesses make is they don’t welcome a new subscriber to their list. The typical scenario goes something like this:

1. Ideal customer fills out subscription form on website
2. Ideal customer confirms subscription
3. Ideal customer receives freebie (if setup)
4. Ideal customer doesn’t hear from you again until you send your next newsletter which could be a month (or more) away
5. Ideal customer gets the newsletter and doesn’t remember that they signed up for your list so they are left with a bad taste in their mouth about this person just randomly emailing
6. Ideal customer unsubscribes

In the end, because you are scared to send emails in the first place for fear of being spammy – you actually end up coming across as spammy! So instead of going through this process, you can set up a simple series of welcome emails to welcome your new subscriber. This can include as many or as few emails as you like and they can be spaced out as much as you like. So you could choose to send an email every day for 3 days OR you could send one email a week for 4 weeks answering the most common questions a new lead has about your business. And the result? You end up with a new subscriber really getting to know your business and how you can help them – sent at the time they are MOST INTERESTED in your business. Right after they subscribe. This doesn’t have to be all “salesy”. In fact, it can be filled with connecting stores, extra helpful information and breaking down barriers to purchase. Plus the welcome email can see open rates of 70% plus, so this is where you share the most important information about your business and the big WHY you do what you do. The stuff that may appear on your About Page that they didn’t visit. Even if you just set up that one email to start – it will make a huge difference to how your new subscriber connects with your business.

way #2: sales funnels

I’m putting sales funnels in a different category from a welcome sequence as I feel they are two different things. A welcome sequence is more about nurturing and welcoming your new subscriber whereas a sales funnel has a very specific purchase end goal in mind. For example, a sales funnel where you want someone to buy your e-book would look like:

Email 1: Welcome new subscriber & connect with their challenge Email 2: The “you think you need” but “what you really need is…” email Email 3: Introduce them the solution (your offer)

Sales funnels can be a powerful tool, particularly for online course creators and service providers – but they aren’t for everyone which is why I suggest a welcome sequence as a start.

Way #3: onboarding new clients, students or members

You’ve worked hard to get that brand new client, student or member of your online community. And they have just taken a chance on your business and might be feeling a bit vulnerable (or worse second guessing their purchase). You can help alleviate this stress, make them feel good about buying from you and provide amazing customer service – all with a simple series of emails that are sent automatically after purchase. These emails can include explaining how the process works (even if you’ve said it already), where they can access all their materials and even combat head-on some fears they might be experiencing. Not only can this result in more satisfied customers – it can remove alot of the admin load from you.

way #4: abandoned cart

If you are an e-commerce store owner, I’m sure you know the frustration of seeing someone add something to their cart and then leave your website without buying. In fact, stats show this happens around 70% of the time! There are many reasons for this from using the cart as a bookmarking tool to fully intending to buy but having a last minute change of mind. With modern email systems, you can now setup automated abandoned cart emails which can be sent to anyone who gets to the point of entering their email address but don’t actually go through with the transaction. And by doing so you can see 10-15% more sales. All with the setup of a single automation. That sounds a lot easier than trying to get more visitors to your store from your promotional efforts.

way #5: customer service

We’ve all heard that it is so much easier to get repeat business than new business. So how much more powerful would it be if you could automate a chunk of this process? Instead of just sending someone your product or having a client session, what if you could follow up with an automated series of emails? This could include emails like:

• How to use your new product
• How to look after your new product
• Styling tips
• Satisfaction surveys

The end result is a happier customer and someone much more likely to buy from you again or refer you to their friends.

way #6: loyalty offers & reminders

Another way to capture repeat business, is to create offers just for those new customers. You could automate this by saying to send an email weeks or months after their purchase. For example, a hairdresser could send a reminder (complete with special offer) to book their next appointment 6 weeks after the last haircut. For product based businesses, you could create special offers to those who haven’t purchased from you for 6 months.   As you can see, the power of email goes way beyond just sending a newsletter. If you are interested in learning more about how to get email setup for your business, then make sure to grab a copy of my FREE email marketing step by step guide here.