Pivot Your Practice To Flourish in The Future — Using Email to Get Better Marketing Results
Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing ever used.
So if you are serious about pivoting your practice it’s time to consider how to incorporate this into your marketing strategy. It’s still more effective than social media marketing, advertising and other forms of marketing available to use today.
Any rumours to the contrary are wrong. Forbes, CopyBlogger.com, and Hubspot all agree that email marketing is still highly effective. However its success depends on one thing. The quality of the people on the list (your database of names and contact details of people who are interested in what you do). They have to be your ideal group who really get you, whose values are aligned with yours and who strongly identify with what you stand for — and against.
Attract the Right Sign Ups for Your List
You do not have to have a large list to make money. A smaller, more targeted list is loads better than a huge list with people who aren’t united by a shared vision. Build your list with smart campaigns that attract only your ideal customer. If your free gift offer, which you are using to invite them to get to give you their contact details is only of interest to your perfect client, that’s a good start. Don’t worry about taking a stand and sharing your unique take and experience on the issues you write about. The people who ‘get you’ will really be drawn to work with you.
Use Double Opt-in Lists
SPAM laws in many countries like the UK, USA and Canada should be followed. They are mostly the same but if you market internationally, follow the ones that are most strict just to be on the safe side. Getting double opt-in agreements is your best bet to avoid issues with SPAM which would mean any email message you send would be shunted into the Junk Mail folder and never even seen if you didn’t comply.
In addition, sending only relevant — by which I mean really, really valuable information to your audience will help too. That means it has to actually help them and not just be a case of you chatting with them about what you are doing and thinking.
Segment Your Audience
You don’t want to have people on a list that promotes product A when they’ve already bought it. Instead, you want them to be on list B now so that you can promote product B to them. Your email software can be set up to do this automatically. This action alone can help you avoid problems with customers getting bothered by your emails. It will also increase the likelihood of your audience buying your next product because it solves their next difficulty on the chain of events that will take them to what they desire.
Keep Relevant Information Flowing
When someone signs up for a list it’s because they’re interested in getting the information for which they signed up. If you don’t send them information, and remember it has to be really helpful information, not generalities. No fluff that they can find with a quick Google search. You need to be giving them rich, useful, considered and nuanced tips and help. And you need to do this on a regular basis so that they stay responsive and committed to opening up your emails. But, if you do send them what they’re looking to get, you’ll be surprised at how positive the email list experience will be, for you and your audience. Not only will you sell more but you will be known, liked, trusted and seen as an authority who is approachable. That is a good feeling. One you will probably feel honoured to have. It is a very special trust they have placed in you.
Point Your Audience to Helpful Information
Help your list by pointing them toward information and products or services that they need that you don’t create. You can become a needed and trusted resource for your email list members if you do that. Saving someone from a pile of time consuming research and that uneasy sense of not really knowing the right questions to ask about a problem they are having will make you invaluable to them.
Remind Your Audience about Your Blog
A good use of your email list is to remind them about the messages on your blog. Introducing a new blog post within an email message is a great way to ensure that your readers get the information they need about you. Yes, they can also mention your products and services and any other offer you might be making but mostly the blog posts are about opening the door to your office and showing them what it would be like to be working with you. They share your thoughts, your tips, your ideas, all the helpful twists you are working with, they see and hear your response to the themes and topics relevant to your field and you become a trusted friend and advisor.
Write Effective Interesting Headlines
Don’t be too clever with your headlines. People get angry when a headline is deceptive and dishonest. Be direct about what’s inside so that when they open it and read it they develop even more trust for you based on the fact the headline matched the message.
The more direct you are, the more honest you are; the more effective your email marketing messages will be. There used to be an advert in the UK for home maintenance products whose slogan was ‘it does what it says on the tin’. Each product was named exactly by it’s function. Floor Sealer, Window Weatherproofer etc. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind what they were for or would deliver.
Remember the Call to Action
Like blog posts, every email message you send to your audience should include a call to action (CTA) of some kind. Whether its buy now, read this blog post, or share with your friends include something for your audience to do. If you don’t tell them what to do or ask them to do something there is a very high chance they will do nothing. It can just be a line at the end and a link to the next step. The CTA doesn’t need to be in their face or pushy. It is there to help if they are ready to follow up on the topic.
Collect & Test Your Metrics
Nothing is ever done without the numbers. Try different headlines, and different CTAs to see what gets the best results. Which headlines are opened more often? The analytic capabilities of whatever means you are using to publish or send these emails will be able to pick this information up. Make sure you look at them and keep tweaking and testing. Which CTA’s were answered? How many people purchased X product upon your recommendation? How many people are responding to your questions and surveys? If you know this information you can use it to improve your email marketing campaigns.
Finally, repeat everything that works. When you find a winning way to run your email campaigns, keep repeating it for your different products and services. You’ll get better sales results and you won’t make more work for yourself.
This is a series of articles for coaches and therapists who are passionate about their work and their clients but struggling to find a way to make things work post-Covid as clients melt away and money becomes an issue for most people.
This is a time when most of us are scared. Nothing is known or predictable and many of us are dithering about what to do in the face of uncertainty. In fact, this indecision is something we all experience. Trouble is, it can start to paralyse us. And that paralysis will derail your business success with your practice. Therapists and coaches who are successful are people who have learned to do two things.
One is be flexible enough to pivot their business to do what will work now — and the other is to break through enough of the fear barriers to get productive again.
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If you want quick and easy steps to setting yourself up for a safe and happy future doing the work you love, join me for my free webinars. I usually give at least 5 tips for moving forward and implementing in ways that will move you forward in all of my webinars. Each is about a certain angle on the issue. They, on their own will have an immediate effect on your mood and your outlook on life with your business. Get off the hamster wheel and take some time for yourself with my webinars, learn and act, learn and act — that’s the way to start flourishing. Join my list and be the first to know when I’m live online. https://forms.aweber.com/form/76/1704509576.htm
“Just imagine if the next 5 years is like the last 5 years? How are you keeping yourself financially secure, happy and living your life of purpose by helping other people succeed?”
Elizabeth specializes in helping you Get Your Coaching or Therapy Practice Back On Track. Sign up for her highly-acclaimed free challenges and webinars to find out how to Pivot that Practice to FutureProof Yourself.
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