Quick Info:

Why care?	“For ten years in a row, email generates the highest ROI for marketers and gives marketers the broadest reach of all the channels available to them. Despite the plethora of tools available to marketers, email marketing is simply the best bet for business growth.” (Source: CampaignMonitor.com)
Cost:	The cost of your ESP (which could start free, depending on how many email addresses you already have.)
Who should do this:	All businesses who want to sell to their customers online
Platform:	ESP (Email Service Provider)
How?	Read on…

5 easy steps to get started with email marketing:

Utilizing email successfully as part of your marketing strategy all comes down to leaning on systems.

Unlike social media, email takes a little bit of time and know-how to get set up, but then you will be able to wash, rinse, repeat each month without much hassle at all.

In fact, I was terrified to get started with email marketing myself. I kept putting it off because I was intimidated by the idea of creating consistent content outside of social media.

But I’ve been sending emails for 38 consecutive weeks now! (I haven’t missed one Tuesday!) And I’ve realized that email is the easiest part of my monthly content plan.

Plus, I consistently receive messages from readers telling me how much they appreciate these tips (You guys warm my heart! 🫶) So, I know it’s working and very worth the effort!

So let’s get you up and running, for real this time!

The initial email system setup looks like this:

1. Choose your ESP and set up your account
2. Set up your audience
3. Customize your email signup form
4. Create a branded email template
5. Review your sent email reports

1. Choose your ESP and set up your account

There are a TON of Email Service Providers to choose from and I highly recommend that you take time to do some research into which one will best suit your needs.

Since you’re reading my emails, you may be curious to know which one(s) I recommend and I’d be happy to share. PSA: Please never take anyone’s recommendation for your business without running it through your own lens and determining if it is indeed best for YOU.

My #1 recommendation for businesses who want a user-friendly platform that’s not going to break the bank is: MailChimp. (Not an affiliate)

I’ve used Flodesk, Klayvio, MadMimi, & I’m currently sending from ConvertKit, but I still like MailChimp the most for capability and user experience.

For that reason, I’m going to give you extra links for walk-throughs in MailChimp throughout this email. If you use a different platform, simply pop the step into Google and follow the instructions for your specific ESP.

Signing up for a new MailChimp account is as simple as:

1. Navigate to Mailchimp’s signup page.
2. Type in your Email and Password, then click Sign Up.
3. A confirmation message will display. Check your inbox for the account activation email to complete your account setup.
4. Open the account activation email, then click Activate Account.

2. Set up your audience

Your audience is your collection of contacts.

Whether you’re starting from scratch, or bringing existing contacts into your new ESP, your audience is where you’ll store and manage all your contact data.

Most ESPs will automatically generate an audience for you when you create your account and populate it with details you provide.

For more info on creating an audience on MailChimp, click here.

3. Customize your email signup form

Once you have an audience created, it’s time to start collecting emails.

To do that seamlessly, you will want to generate a signup form that is linked to your audience, which you can post on your website and other platforms.

Most ESPs have multiple design and customization options for this form and I recommend choosing something that would best match your brand.

For more info about creating a signup form for a MailChimp account, click here.

4. Create a branded email template

This is the area where I see a lot of people skimping and I have to be honest, it really makes a huge difference in your brand perception & trust when you have consistency in the appearance of your emails.

They don’t need to be fancy or elaborate, but creating a template (like the one I’m using now) allows me to always have a branded header, consistent fonts, colours and header formats every time I send an email.

The reader begins to recognize your brand and will know it’s you instantly.

Set up your template so you can use it over and over. Create an email template on MailChimp by following these instructions.

​5. Review your sent email reports

You’ve clicked Send, but it’s not over yet! A key component of successful marketing is tracking audience engagement, so you can provide more of what your readers want and less of what they don’t.

By looking at metrics like your email Open Rate and Clickthrough Rate (CTR), you’ll learn about what subject lines get your customer to open your emails. And what links do they like clicking on…

This is super valuable information as you continue to grow your email marketing efforts.

I like to set up a simple spreadsheet to track each email and record the metrics. This way I can see what has been happening over time.

To learn all about email reports within MailChimp, click here.​

Today’s task

✅ Pick the step that you’re stalled on in your email setup journey and tackle it today.

Do One Thing to finally turn your unused email account into a new revenue stream for your business and get ready to fall in love with email! 📧