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If you’re a writer or blogger and looking to build your business, you need to use email marketing immediately. And yes, I know I’m useless at it myself!
I fully admit that I don’t use email marketing properly. I tried to get into the habit, and then I failed. It’s something that is always on my mind. However, one thing that I believe is to not try to do everything at once. I need to build my way up to doing everything. I just wish that email marketing had been at the top of my list of priorities when I started.
People in business always make things look so easy at first. It’s not, and we all know it, but we all want to be the next big thing. It takes work to get there, and it takes consistency. Follow the right people, and you will figure out their secrets. Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income is one of my favorite bloggers to follow.
One thing Flynn and others share is that their email list is one of the biggest reasons for success. There are a lot of reasons for that, and they’re all reasons you should pay attention to.
Build trust through email marketing
People are not going to buy from you right away. They need to know more about who you are and what you offer. They want to know why they should hire you.
Getting them on your email list and building trust is one of the best ways to do it. You have permission to email them because they’ve signed up. When they decide to take away that permission, they can unsubscribe. But while you have their attention, you get to make it clear why they should spend their money on you.
Use email marketing to build their trust in you. You get to show why you’re the expert and market your products to them. As they get to know more about you and see how valuable your information is, they’ll start buying from or through you.
You have control over your email list
You may turn to social media marketing, or maybe you’re using SEO. They are all important, but there’s one downside that email lists don’t have. They take control away from you.
If Twitter decides to shut down and that was your main way of reaching an audience, you’ll have to start again. If you relied on Pinterest marketing, you may realized now that your views are dropping and it’s having an affect on your sales. Google is always changing its algorithm, which is affecting where you rank online.
With email marketing, you have the control. Sure, the company you email through can change, but you can switch over to someone else and migrate your list with you. You have this direct attachment to your audience.
Connect with your audience via email
Other forms of marketing run the risk of reaching the wrong people. No matter how many times an ad is seen on a website, if they’re not interested in your products or services, they won’t bother clicking and buying.
Email marketing is targeted. The receivers choose to sign up to your list so you know they’re interested in something that you’re offering.
If they decide against your products or aren’t really that interested, they can unsubscribe so you’re not wasting an email on them.
This helps you turn one-off buyers into repeat buyers. You may have new products on offer every month or so. By using email marketing* you can target those who have already bought from you. This is where the majority of money comes from people.
People will often forget to go back to websites after buying something, unless there’s a problem or a question. They’ll forget about you unless you give them a reason to go back and remind them you exit. You emails easily do this.
I admit that this is a little trickier for writers selling their services. You could get in touch with former clients who have just trickled away.
Remind people you’re around
If people read your blog, they have an interest in the products or services you offer. They have an interest in your content. The problem is, they likely read and then click away.
With an email list, you can remind them that you’re around. You can have a pop-up that encourages people to sign up to your email list before they close down your website. When they sign up, they get your content directly to them. They’re reminded of who you are and what you offer.
This increases the chances of people buying. Not only does it turn one-off buyers into repeat buyers, but you can turn readers into buyers.
MORE: Creating a schedule and plan for a 30-day blogging challenge
What are you doing to gain an audience? Is it time for you to use email marketing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Let me know what you’re struggling with as a blogger so I can help you.