Getting Started With Email Marketing for TPT Sellers
Email marketing is easier than you think!
We’re going to talk today about why an email list is so important, HOW to get people to opt-in to your email list, and how to nurture your email list.
Why Email?
An email list is a collection of names and email addresses who have given you permission to send updates and marketing materials through an email service provider (which we’ll talk about later).
You’re basically taking your audience and people who are interested in what you have to offer and sending them information about updates, products and services.
Email lists are a completely different ballgame than Instagram or Facebook, but in a very good way. For one thing, YOU OWN your email list. You do not own Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
With an email list, once you have the list of emails and your subscribers are opted-in (and haven’t unsubscribed), you are free to email them, and they will be more likely to see it.
Another reason why email lists are a great addition to your business is that it is personal. You can reach your target audience directly in their inbox. There’s no algorithm with it, and as long as your email address doesn’t go to their junk mail or promotions tab, it’s going to land in their inbox chronologically.
Your audience can personally reply and ask you questions without it being plastered out on social media. It’s a great way to establish trust and connections with your audience.
Let’s talk about how to get started with email marketing. You can do it in 4 easy steps!
1. Decide on an email service provider.
First you will need an email service provider for businesses, which is basically a platform where you can send bulk emails, keep track of your email list, and view statistics from sending emails so you know which emails did really well and which ones didn’t do so well.
There are plenty of email service providers specifically for marketing out there, but ones I recommend, especially if you are just getting started, are ConvertKit or Flodesk. With Convertkit, you can have a free account for up to 1000 subscribers and with Flodesk, you can have unlimited subscribers for $38 a month.
2. Create a lead magnet.
Once you have decided on an email service provider, you need to have an opt-in, also known as a lead magnet. This is a free resource that a person gets in exchange for their email address. This could be a PDF guide, video training, eBook, mini-course, checklist, email challenge, etc.
The key to a high-converting lead magnet (one where a lot of people will give their email address) is that it is a quick win and it is specific to your target audience’s needs.
If your lead magnet is too broad, you may end up with people on your email list that aren’t really a good fit for the paid products or services you have. If your lead magnet is too much or too daunting, people who do opt-in may not be able to get through it and may not be too keen on anything else you have to offer.
You want your opt-in to be valuable and helpful to who your ideal customer is.
When you design your lead magnet, you must incorporate all those elements of design and branding I always talk about. Make the fonts and color scheme according to your brand, have a cohesive look, appeal to your audience, make it easy to read or skim, and adding a copyright of your store at the bottom.
Just like you would create a TPT product, it needs to reflect your best work. There are really great templates that you can use on Canva or buy off of Etsy.
3. Create a landing page and share your lead magnet to others.
After you have decided on an opt-in and you have created a lead magnet, you would need to create a landing page. This is really easy to do in ConvertKit and Flodesk.
Copy, what you write on the landing page that potential subscribers see, is super important here. You don’t want to just write “Subscribe and get this free lead magnet!” That’s not going to convince just anyone to give up their email address.
Use photos and screenshots of the lead magnet. Add fun and inviting text (in your own brand voice) that would appeal to your audience on what it includes and why it would help them. Add a button that says something like “Yes, I’m SO in!” or “Give me that freebie!” instead of just saying “Subscribe”. Emphasize that it is free. Additionally, share your lead magnet wherever you can and as often as possible.
How do you know if a lead magnet is a hit or a flop? The answer? Time. Give it a couple of months to see how it does. If your conversion rate is really low (less than 5-10%) then it may be time to tweak your lead magnet or try something different.
One of my highest converting lead magnets is my Product Listing Toolkit. I regularly get subscribers who opt-in either through my Instagram link, my Facebook group, or my website.
4. Nurture your email list.
So you have your email lead magnet, and have marketed it out to the world, and now you have a few subscribers! What now? You nurture them!
You can do this with a welcome sequence or with consistent weekly emails. The last thing you want is for them to unsubscribe (but it’s okay if they do, it just means they weren’t a good fit for you).
A welcome sequence is basically a series of automated emails once someone opts in to your list that gives them an idea of who you are, what you do, and what you bring to them. Flodesk has a really great four-email Welcome Sequence template that you can make your own.
After they go through a welcome sequence, they would go on your general email list where you would send them weekly content. This could be new products you have out on TPT, a blog post or podcast, maybe even a social media post, or a sale that you have.
Make it light and fun in your copy. The subject lines should be click-worthy and make subscribers want to see what is in the email, and your actual email should start with a fun anecdote, story, or something relatable before talking about the sale, product, or content that you are offering. Add a GIF or two to make it even more connecting with your subscribers.
This week was a LOT of information on email marketing, and this is all just the tip of the iceberg. Email marketing is so versatile and an amazing asset to your business when done in a friendly and less salesy kind of way.
It’s definitely beneficial to my business and I know it can be the same for you. I wish I knew about email marketing sooner!
Action Tip
Think about where you are in the email list process and take action on the step you are in!
Are you wanting to get started but don’t have a service provider? Your task is to decide on a email service provider.
Do you need to perfect your lead magnet? Your task is to tweak or create it!
Do you need to change up how you structure your emails to your followers? Look at your data and see which email was your highest open-rate or click rate, see what worked, and decide on what you can do to recreate that each week.
Wherever you are in the process, I encourage you this week to get one step closer than where you currently are today. For me, my task is to refine and tweak my welcome sequence for my new subscribers.
