Should you start an email list for your online shop?
Are you ready to elevate your digital product business to new heights? If you've been solely relying on one-off transactions with buyers at the point of sale, you're missing out on a game-changing tool: email marketing. Let's dive in and take a look into the transformative potential of building an email list, driving ongoing communication, supercharging sales, and expanding your reach far beyond the boundaries of platforms like Etsy.
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Understanding the Basics of Email Marketing
What is Email Marketing?
Email marketing isn't just about sending occasional promotional emails. It's about fostering continuous communication with interested customers, nurturing engagement, and fostering loyalty that extends beyond a single purchase.
You May Also Like: A Beginners Guide to Selling Digital Products on Etsy
Building Your Email List
The core pillar of email marketing is list building, which is the art of offering incentives to visitors in exchange for their email addresses. This is your golden ticket to establishing direct lines of communication with potential customers who have already shown interest in your products.
Types of Incentives
You might be wondering what type of incentives you can offer people in exchange for their email addresses. Just consider for a moment when is the last time you willingly entered your email address into a form. What was it the creator or business promised to give you?
When it comes to your digital shop a few incentives you might consider for your audience are:
- Special discount codes
- Free templates (you can set up a whole library of freebies using a password-protected page or private customer hub on Teachery)
- Exclusive content or training
These incentives not only encourage sign-ups but also lay the foundation for long-term relationships with your audience.
Grab this free workbook on how to monetize your freebies.
The Power of Consistent Outreach
Once you have people on your email list you want to maintain regular outreach and communication with your audience. You can share:
Product Launches: Email marketing empowers you to unveil your latest creations to your audience, generating excitement and anticipation with every new product launch.
Exclusive Deals: Offering exclusive discounts and savings to your email subscribers can make them feel like valued insiders. Which helps to foster loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.
Gentle Reminders: Send emails that gently nudge your subscribers with reminders about popular products they may have overlooked. This not only boosts sales but also keeps your brand top of mind.
You don't have to spend hours developing your marketing action plan. Grab this tool to help you get focused on key tasks that help move the needle in your business.
Many small business owners struggle with what to say in their emails. However, resources like Passive Income Power Income can help guide you in creating a nurturing and engaging automated email sequence that your new subscribers will rave about and add dollars to your bank account.
Tailoring Email Marketing to Your Niche
Whether you're selling AI prompt guides, digital planners, courses, or rebrandable templates, email marketing can play a vital role in your business. However, oftentimes business owners struggle with what to write in their emails. Your goal is to share engaging content that nurtures a growing relationship with your audience and drives opens and clicks.
Resources like the Email Marketing Membership, Email Practice Club, and Inbox Insiders can help you gain confidence in communicating with your audience and some of them even offer done-for-you email templates that you can customize. And don't forget AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini can be useful in helping you craft meaningful emails. You can even take advantage of custom GPTs like Email King.
Get the scoop on how to use ChatGPT to craft emails while maintaining your authentic voice.
Tips for Using Email Templates
When using email templates, you want to be mindful to add your unique voice and tailor your content to your ideal audience. Don't simply copy and paste but rather use the templates as inspiration or recipes for crafting engaging emails that your readers can't wait to open and click. The better you know and understand your audience, the greater the potential to increase your sales.
Here's a handy guide to getting started with email marketing.
Practical Steps to Get Started
Choosing an Email Marketing Platform
An essential tool for email marketing is your email marketing platform. You can't simply bulk email your customers from Gmail. Need you to choose an email marketing platform. And, there are several options available. With many email marketing platforms, you can get started building your email list for free.
When choosing your platform, you will want to choose one that gives you ample room to grow. As changing email service providers can be quite a hassle; however, you can do it. So do a little research and pick the best option for your budget and growth plan.
Get started building your email list at no cost with Kit with up to 10,000 subscribers.
Decide on Your Incentive
Take some time to consider what your initial opt-in incentive will be for joining your list. The easiest to do is offer a discount. However, you're not limited to just discounts. Here are 50+ more opt-in incentive ideas.
Implement Automation
Consider setting up automated email sequences for welcome messages, product launches, evergreen sales funnels, and follow-ups. By setting up automated workflows, every subscriber will receive the same information regardless of when they join your list. This allows you to nurture leads, drive sales, and grow your business while you focus on other aspects of your side hustle.
Tip: Consider segmenting your list to offer your audience content relevant to their unique interests.
Ready to Get Started With Email Marketing
With the right strategies in place, email marketing has the power to propel your digital product business to new heights of success. By building an email list and nurturing relationships with your subscribers, you unlock endless opportunities for growth and expansion.
So, why wait? Start implementing these tips today and watch your business soar beyond the confines of platforms like Etsy.
Additional Resources You May Find Helpful
Grab this no-cost guide on How to Finally Write Your Welcome Email
Tips for Supercharging Your Email Open Rates