Editor’s note: This post was originally published on 9/6/14 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehension.
Email automation gets results.
If you’re tired of putting too much effort into your business’ email marketing campaigns with little to no return, NOW is the time to make a change.
You can get a greater return with less effort, streamline your efforts and make life easier with the help of email automation.
Let’s find out why you need email marketing, as well as look at the email automation techniques – blog broadcasts, list automation and follow-ups – that will help you to really get results.
Let’s dive in.
I firmly agree with the saying, "People only do business with someone they know, like and trust."
For example, I purchased these products for our business, as a result of email marketing messages I received in my inbox over the past months:
Let me ask you a question:
What would your business look like if you could email 1,000 targeted people in just a few minutes, whenever you wanted?
What about 5,000 people? 10,000?
You get my point.
But with email marketing comes great responsibility.
What if someone signs up to receive an email every time you write a blog post and you blog seven days a week?
What if someone downloads your free ebook and you want to upsell them on a paid product or service?
Or if someone is on your blog post newsletter list and also opts into your free ebook, but you don't want to email them twice?
That's where email automation comes in.
It helps alleviate tedious tasks and opens the doors to making sales while you sleep.
Email automation is the ability to send emails to subscribers at predetermined times with information that is relevant to them. It allows you to be more efficient and build relationships with prospects and clients.
Here are a few email automation techniques to consider using.
Blog broadcasts allow your email marketing service to automatically email your list whenever you publish new content.
(You may even be reading this post as a result of our blog broadcast automation!)
Here's an example of an automated blog announcement email from Enchanted Marketing:
I used to write all the email copy for my broadcasts before they went out, but here's why I like automation better:
List automation helps eliminate any probable duplicate subscribers. For example, someone who opts into your email newsletter, and then opts in again, for two different ebooks.
Without list automation, you could have the same person in your system two, five, or dozens of times and on just as many email lists – depending on how many lists you have.
Not only does this take up space in your CRM account, but worse, these people are probably receiving multiple emails, which will definitely leave them annoyed and cause them to unsubscribe.
This is our favorite email automation technique.
A follow-up email (or autoresponder) is basically an email (or series of emails) that's sent to someone who subscribes to a particular list after a certain period of time.
And it's a fantastic way to automate your sales and building relationships.
For example, let's say you have a free ebook, but want to upsell a 30-minute coaching session three days after they optin to your email list.
After the initial email that describes the benefits of the coaching session, you can send two or three more emails to follow-up with your list.
The emails ensure you stay top-of-mind with your audience and they give them plenty of chances to take advantage of the offer.
If you did all of this manually, it would be a lot of work, right? But with an automated email campaign, it will do the “hard” work for you.
Set-up is easy – especially with good instructions. 😉(Hint: Keep reading.)
Email marketing software is a digital tool you can use to simplify, streamline and automate your email marketing efforts.
This video gives you a step-by-step guide to create an automated email campaign through ActiveCampaign.
Watch it now to get an in-depth look.
Side Note: Other email CRMs will let you automate this type of activity.
Some of the best email marketing tools around include ActiveCampaign, MailChimp, HubSpot, Marketo, Salesfoce, Autopilot, Moosend, and Omnisend.
If you're like me, your time is limited.
Running an effective marketing campaign and wearing all of the different hats your role requires, the last thing you need to do is keep track of email messages
Having proper email automation in place will help you streamline your marketing, build a relationship with your subscribers, and maximize potential sales.
Put blog broadcasts, list automation and follow-ups to work for you, take the pressure off yourself and make sales while you sleep.
