Add these 7 tips to your email marketing to market and sell your offers without marketing BS
“Am I being pushy?”
“Should I talk about my offer or will I come across as salesy?”
What if I told you it’s possible to sell without shaking up your values? You don’t have to follow the strategies some marketing “gurus” tell you to if they don’t feel right with you. As Talia Wolf from Get Uplift said:
“Blindly following best practices doesn’t work for two main reasons. First, someone genuinely tried the best practice and it worked for them (for a time). But that doesn’t mean it will work for your audience and it certainly won’t work in the long-term.”
Instead read this article to find out how to promote your offers with a customer-first approach, that will strengthen your relationship with your audience, ultimately making selling effortless.
The key to promoting your offers in email marketing with a customer-first approach
To sell efficiently, you have to offer something that your audience wants, and that solves their pain or desires. To put it bluntly, you need to know your audience.
And how do you get to know them? The best practice is to interview or survey your customers about why they bought from you and how they use your product in their life. Understanding why your best customers buy from you will help you attract similar people.
7 tips to say goodbye to “salesy” vibe when you promote your offers in emails.
1. Notify your subscribers about your upcoming promotions
This includes the enrollment period, cost, and any payment plan options available.
It’s as easy as saying that you’ll be opening the doors to enrollment on X day, the cost will be Y, and you will offer payment plans (if you offer them).
You can also create a separate list or tags in your email marketing platform for those interested in your offer. This allows you to reach out directly to people who have shown interest in your course.
Take a look at how Chanti Zak, quiz funnel strategist and growth coach, did this in one of her emails, before launching her “Grow with Quizzes” course.
2. Add the “opt-out of this promotion” option at the top or bottom of your emails.
While your subscribers agree to receive emails from you – which is a privilege – they might not be interested (yet) in what you’re selling.
So if you don’t want to lose them because of the increased amount of emails – add a notice with a link to opt out of the promotion.
Here’s an example of how Laura Belgray, copywriter and founder of Talking Shrimp, does it in her emails:
3. Build trust by being honest
In Edelman’s study from 2019, 67% of respondents agreed that while a good reputation might get them to try a product, what actually makes them buy is trust in the company behind the product.
But how can you build trust?
By being relatable, honest, and showing a genuine interest in your audience. Plus always delivering what you promise.
4. Stop ghosting your email list. Keep in touch with your audience regularly.
5. Harness the Power of Storytelling.
Stories have the ability to entertain, educate, help explain difficult concepts, and create a connection without sounding overly salesy. Use storytelling techniques to convey your message, make your audience feel understood, and help them relate to the problem you’re solving.
6. Effective social proof
In his bestselling book, “Principles of Persuasion,” Dr. Robert Cialdini says that social proof is the most powerful tool you can use to persuade people:
“People are persuaded more by the actions of others than by any proof we can offer.”
Social proof includes testimonials and reviews from your clients, case studies, logos of the brands and companies you’ve worked with.
Most importantly, it must relate to your ideal customer.
Imagine you want to offer an email list-building course for single mums. If your social proof includes people in a totally different situation than your ideal client, no matter how many reviews you have – it won’t resonate.
Why?
Because people want to see if someone like them succeeded with your product.
If I were a single mum building my business with VERY limited time, I would look for reviews from other mums whom you have also helped.
Furthermore, when you use a client testimonial or review in your emails remember to:
- Give context
- Show a full picture
It’s not enough to use the quote: “I increased my revenues by 40%” without context.
Personally, when I see a testimonial like that, I think, “Ok, cool! But where was this person before buying your course?”
7. Make your emails accessible.
- Start using readable fonts and colors,
- Add descriptive alt text in the images,
- Breakup the text into small paragraphs for better readability,
- Before hitting send to your email newsletter use a text-to-speech tool to hear how your copy actually sounds when someone needs to listen to it instead of reading.
Frankly, when you make your emails more accessible, you build more trust and show you care about your audience.
Ultimately, trust and genuine interest in helping your audience are what you need to have a strong relationship with them. With that, when the time comes to market and sell your offers, you will get far greater results than following blindly recommended marketing strategies.
Ewa Gabara is a conversion copywriter and email strategist. She helps online educators and fun brands send better emails (with mucho love) and add spark to their relationship with their audience. Connect with her on LinkedIn or check out her website.
