We’ve all received emails from various brands and businesses. Sometimes we get special offers, or news about the latest happenings. Other times, it’s just regular newsletters and article updates.
Irrespective of what the content of the email is, if we’re really interested in the brand, we tend to click a link on the email and land on their website.
Now imagine thousands of such emails going out and people clicking on the links inside… That’s the number of potential website visitors you can get in a matter of hours with just a singe email!
While it might take some time to build traction with email marketing, the actual process is quite straightforward. Here are three simple steps you can follow to drive more traffic to your website with email marketing.
Step 1: Build Email List Using Lead Magnets
Your email list is pure gold. The more number of email addresses you possess, the more people you’ll be able to reach. But how do you get the email IDs of people who are interested in your business?
The answer is freebie marketing using lead magnets!
A lead magnet is basically a free resource that your audience would be eager to download, in exchange for their email addresses. If you have a great resource, people will not hesitate to enter their email IDs and download it.
Here are the key tasks you need to perform while building your email list.
1. Create Your Freebie
You will first have to decide on a freebie you can offer your audience as a lead magnet. The next step is to actually create the resource.
Check out these freebie creation tutorials for ideas:
- How to Create a Printable Using Microsoft PowerPoint
- How to Write an eBook using Microsoft Word
- How to Record an MP3 Audio using Audacity
2. Set up an Email Service
Once your freebie is ready, you will have to select an email service provider such as MailChimp, MadMimi, AWeber, etc.
You can follow these simple tutorials to set up subscriber freebies for each of these providers:
- How to Set Up a Subscriber Freebie Using MailChimp
- How to Set Up a Subscriber Freebie Using Mad Mimi
- How to Set Up a Subscriber Freebie Using AWeber
The setting up process will include embedding sign up forms in landing pages on your website, where visitors can enter their details and receive access to your freebie.
3. Promote the Freebie
After the freebie set up is done and the sign up forms are live on your site, it’s time to spread the word about your fabulous free resource!
You can take to social media to share the word, and also submit it on various deal sites. You could also reach out to friends and known associates, requesting them to share your resource in their social circles.
You can check out this post on 60+ Places to Promote Your Freebie Online for more ideas on how to spread the word about your freebie.
I also highly recommend you check out this article I published earlier in the series for more information on how to create, set up, and promote your freebie.
Step 2: Set Up Email Sequence
Once you’ve published your freebie and promoted it, the email addresses will start pouring in. Your email service provider will capture these email IDs for you, along with other personal information you’d requested, such as, first name, last name, phone number, company, address, etc.
It’s now time for you to get the people on your email list to visit your site. The best way to do that is by setting up an automated sequence of emails.
Most email providers offer this as a paid service. You can send a sequence of emails to every person who signs up at a set interval.
- Email 1, sent immediately: The free resource they requested.
- Email 2, sent the next day: Welcome email with links to your website and social media channels.
- Email 3, sent two days later: Links to related articles on the website.
- Email 4, sent a week later: Discount coupons for a product/service you offer.
The idea is to keep emailing new subscribers soon after they’ve signed up, giving them a glimpse of what your business can do for them. However, care must be taken not to spam them with too many emails, or they’ll simply unsubscribe.
Here are a few ideas you can use for your email sequence:
- Introduce yourself and your business, along with website and social media links.
- Share a list of popular articles on your blog.
- Lead them to other free resources you offer on your site.
- Provide a case study of the impact your business has made.
- Send coupons and ssk them to check out selected products on your website.
Step 3: Stay on Top of their Minds
Once you’ve set up your email sequence, you can be assured new subscribers are taken care of. But your email marketing responsibilities don’t end there.
You need to remain in touch with your email tribe by mailing them at regular intervals. You can send them email updates on a weekly, bi-monthly or monthly basis.
Personally I prefer sending email newsletters every week, as I like to keep my audience in the loop about what is happening on the blog. By emailing them often, you make sure your business remains at the top of their minds.
Here’s one of the weekly emails I sent some time back:
Here are a few tips on sending effective email updates:
- Make your subject line catchy so the receiver is more likely to open it.
- Occasionally share exclusive content/resources that are not found on the website.
- Include personal anecdotes so people can relate with you.
- Sprinkle links to posts/pages on your site within your email.
- Add specific call to action text/buttons with active verbs like, “Click Here”, “Download Now”, etc.
While it might take some time to create the lead magnet and set up the email sequence, it will be well worth the effort. Apart from the initial work, there’s very little effort required to maintain your email list and use it to keep people coming back to your website.
We hope this tutorial has shed some light on how you can build your own email list and use it to boost your site traffic.
Click on the image below to access all the posts in this series!
Leave A Comment