Beyond the Sale: Why Email Marketing Should be an Evergreen Strategy

The subject line will help to get your emails opened, but the actual content of the email will determine whether or not you will secure a sale. The average person’s inbox will have loads of different emails, and many of them will either sit unopened, be discarded, or get marked as spam. In 2014, sending out an email blast and automatically expecting results is folly. Your prospects and customers have been bombarded with emails from an assortment of different companies, marketers, and media outlets. You could be selling something totally unique and valuable and be ignored by your subscribers.

You are tasked with the challenge of sparking and maintaining your readers’ interest, to the point where you can dependably expect sales from your email blasts. So what do you do?

You Need to Build Rapport  

One of the worst mistakes that you can make is to never build a relationship with your email subscribers. When someone gives you their email address, they aren’t necessarily giving you permission to blast them 3 times a day with your product offer. It may get you a few sales in the beginning but, in the long run, you are only guaranteeing their dissatisfaction in the future.

A better way to go about this is to simply build rapport with your email subscribers. When you do this you are engaging in trust-based marketing. This is a more sustainable email marketing model that you should adhere to.

You can only build rapport by giving value. And the best way to give value is to provide your subscribers the things they want to see.

Write emails that your subscriber will want to read

Using what you know about your customers and prospects, produce attention-grabbing content that deals with their needs and interests. Compile as much data as you can about your marketplace, your competitors, and your customers. You can then send out emails in a newsletter format or you can link to posts on your website.

Offer freebies, incentives, and discounts

One of the best ways to build trust is to offer valuable things to your list, often at a reduced price or free of charge. When you offer these loss leaders, you are planting seeds for the future. Subscribers that may have been on the fence may be swayed by your valuable freebie or discount. And even if they don’t buy your products immediately, there is a good chance that they will do so in the future.

Ask your subscribers for their input

Don’t be oblivious to the needs and concerns of your subscribers. Constantly ask for their input on how to make your company, products, and customer service better. And if some of the input makes logical sense, don’t be afraid to adopt and use it for your company. This shows that you actually listen to your subscribers. More importantly, it shows that you care about them.

Building rapport with your readers is a constant process. Trust-based marketing doesn’t require you to stop selling your offers in lieu of building rapport—you can still sell your products from the first day someone signs up to your email list. But it is all about achieving balance. Along with your sales offers, you need to build a relationship with your subscribers, otherwise your email open rates will plummet, and you will carry the image of a company that spams its email lists. That’s a stigma that you don’t want to have.

Have an email series

Send your emails in sequential order. Make sure they are thematically consistent. What makes more sense—blindly sending random emails, or sending a series of emails that tie into one another? It is simply more enticing for the subscriber, as he will be anticipating the next email in the series. Each email will build upon the last one. This will help you build rapport and make more sales.

Instead of sending emails every once in a while, send them on a schedule. This will allow you more chances to sell your product, and it will keep your company in the minds of your subscribers.

Send out different types of emails

Here’s a list of the different types of emails that you can send:

• Newsletter emails. This is great because it allows you to entertain and educate your list. Sending out authoritative content will build your brand by sparking a relationship.
• Online surveys. Send out emails that ask your subscribers to give relevant information about themselves. Explain to your subscribers the reason for doing so: to deliver content, products, and services that are specifically tailored to them.
• Testimonial emails. Constantly ask for testimonials. Compile these testimonials into a series of emails. A testimonial is a major influence for a customer that is still on the fence.

Email marketing as an evergreen strategy

Everything we talked about in this blog post can really set you apart from your competitors. Instead of thinking about acquiring a sale today, plant the seeds for the future. You can only do this by building rapport and sending out a variety of different emails to keep your subscribers interested.

There will always be subscribers that will never buy from your company. You shouldn’t even worry about that. You need to focus on the people who have not yet bought from you, and how you can sway them into eventually becoming loyal customers.

The average email marketing campaign will run its list into the dirt. This, however, is all about longevity and getting the most out of your subscribers.