E­-mail marketing is one of the most cost ­effective, fast ways to build your business online. 

Not everyone is ready to buy right now, a high percentage of people are just looking and gathering information for future purchases. 

How do you make sure these people will choose YOU when they are ready to buy?

Simple! You build a relationship with them through email marketing, so they get to know you, like you and trust you.

Here are my 5 steps to kick start your email marketing:

1- Choose an E-mail marketing platform

There are a number of low cost E-mail marketing platforms out there, such as Mail Chimp, Aweber, Campaign Monitor, or infusionsoft. I use Mail Chimp and it works fine for me.

An e-mail marketing platform allows you to add people through a subscribe box on your website or landing page. It also allows you to create e-mail sequences with auto-responders to automate your e-mail marketing. Such a time-saver!

Start with the free or cheapest subscription, you can always upgrade as your list grows.

2- Create an opt-in gift

Nowadays people need a compelling reason to give away their email address. An opt-in gift will appeal to your target audience and will send people right to your e-mail list.

The key to an attractive opt-in gift is to solve a problem for your audience. Give them something of value, such as a guide, a cheat sheet, a free webinar, and the like. The opt-in gift must be easy for you to create, and simple for your audience to consume and apply immediately.

Creating an opt-in gift doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. First, think about your area of expertise and how you can help your audience to solve a problem with information that you are happy to give away for free.

You can write down your content on a word document (no more than 3 pages, quality is better than quantity) and then save it as a PDF. You can also jazz it up using canva, sketchapp or befunky, or send it to a freelancer to design it for you.

3- Include a Subscriber Box on your website

Now you need a Subscribe Box on your website or on a landing page so people can subscribe to receive your gift.

Some websites will have a Subscribe box option that you can include on your website. If your website is managed by a web developer you can just ask him/her to do it for you. Otherwise you can use Leadpages.

Never, ever send email marketing to people who haven’t subscribed to your list, and always include an unsubscribe button at the end of your emails.

4- Grow your e-mail list using facebook advertising

Unless your website already receives a lot of traffic, you will need to find a way to attract people to join your list.

Facebook advertising is a great way to achieve this. Also, make sure you include a sign up button on your facebook page and a banner promoting your opt-in.

If you have a blog, include your opt-in at the end of your blog posts to capture your readers’ emails.

5- Build a relationship with your audience

The whole purpose of e-mail marketing is to build a relationship with your audience, communicate with your clients and prospects, ad value, showcase your expertise, and promote your products and offers, so they choose you when they are ready to buy.

To me, the best way to do this is by creating a content calendar, so you can plan, create and schedule your content ahead of time.

If you are wondering what kind of content you should share with your subscribers, think about what you are trying to achieve, what would be of value to your audience, and start mapping out your content.

Make sure to be consistent and send e-mails regularly (even if only once a month), so your subscribers will be expecting your e-mail and will keep you front of mind.

Ready to kick start your email marketing and bring in leads for your business on auto-pilot?

Schedule a free 30 min chat with me, so we can discuss your goals and a strategy to help you achieve them faster.