Email marketing really is the most effective marketing channel you’ll have as a life coach, beating out social media, SEO, and blogging for reach, impact and monetization.
Why is that? With all the fuss over new channels, why is such old technology still one of the most effective marketing strategies?
Despite the rise of social, people use email more than other platforms. Data shows that most people are on email—and the number increases every year.
And even though many complain about it, you’ll still find them there.
And if they’re still there, then you need to be too if you want to reach and motivate your audience.
And let’s face it, without one, you don’t have an audience where you actually own the connections.
That means if there is an algorithm or platform change, you don’t lose your reach.
That’s why building a successful email marketing campaign is more important than ever.
But there’s a problem—most people don’t know how to get email marketing right. (In fact, a quick scan of your inbox can probably show you plenty of examples of this.)
But in this episode, you’ll learn exactly how to get started using email marketing as a life coach.
I also want to remind you that you need an email service provider! Gmail isn’t going to cut it anymore…
I believe the best option is for email is Active Campaign, with good automation and segmentation, which is what you’ll need when your list grows, but do your own research and find the best option that works for you.
Now, let’s talk about how to build your email marketing strategy from scratch.
Build Your List
Before you can start sending emails, you need people to send emails to.
So, how do you get started building your list? Start by adding a banner or form to your website simply asking people to subscribe. Then, follow these tips.
Offer a Reward
It’s important to understand that people are wary about giving away their email address, and they don’t give away their email address freely.
And that’s why you need to offer a good reason for them to do so.
Think of email addresses as a currency — you wouldn’t give money away for free, right? Offering a reward is the simplest way to collect an email address.
You also get the chance to target your best potential coaching clients with the right incentive.
This is often referred to as an opt-in bribe because you’re offering something of value in exchange for their email address, but it is an ethical bribe and a fair exchange.
There are many ways you can do this, of course. And the more value you pack into your bribe, the more subscribers it will attract.
So go beyond, “subscribe to my newsletter” and create a little giveaway that gives your people mini-dopamine hits from their very first contact with you.
Brooke Castillo offers a mini-movie series to build her email list, but you don’t have to be that extra just yet.
Great ways to get started include creating a mini-guide, checklists, downloads or even quizzes.
It should have a high perceived value from your target audience, relate to the problem they need solving and promise an outcome or solution in relation to that problem.
One of my best performing opt-in bribes has been my Pricing Guide and I have recently updated this to make it specific to Life Coaches. In fact, 67% of people who see this offer give me their email address.
You can also offer a checklist, ebook, white paper, or another downloadable asset. Contests and giveaways are another great way to convince people to share their email addresses.
Great options for life coaches are free guides, which you can easily record and get transcribed and create your PDF with a shareable link in a program like Canva.
Remember, it’s important to have a clear purpose when asking for an email address to give yourself the best chance of getting them to sign up.
Try and keep it simple, easy to understand and with a strong call to action.
Establish your credibility, explain what the emails are for, and get people interested in receiving them.
Simply posting “enter your email for updates” isn’t going to get anyone excited. Instead, share specifics.
Provide Great Value
Email marketing is all about consistency.
So many coaches start their email list and no matter what size, they neglect to provide value and consistently show up for them.
If your call to action is strong, and your follow-up is consistent, then you can count on good results from your email marketing.
However, if you let weeks or months go by without emailing and you only show up when you’re promoting something, then you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Send Out A Confirmation Email
After they have handed over their email, make sure you set up a confirmation email that sends automatically to confirm their smart move in raising their hand to hear from you.
This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself and start the relationship off on the right foot.
Use it as a chance to let them know what to expect from you in their inbox, what you stand for and how you help people.
This can also be a good opportunity to send them to another freebie, webinar or call invitation.
How to Write a Great Email Newsletter
Make sure everyone remembers you—the best way to do this is not to let your emails lapse for too long. Try to send at least once a week if you can.
I find the most compelling newsletters are those that do a great job of mixing messaging and updates.
As a life coach, you want to make it seem as personal as possible. Where you can, add room for their first name in the salutation using merge features that come with most programs.
This is also why you should collect First Name in your Opt-In Bribe (but forget the last name as this can really impact your conversions).
Use your newsletter as a way to further your relationship with your subscribers with valuable updates, personal insights, case studies, strategies and tips.
I’m not against you making offers in your emails, but make sure they make sense when not actively launching.
A good way to make an offer every email is to use the Super Signature, this is where you give them 3 ways they can get more value and help from you.
One may be a link to your blog or website, another may be to book a call and another may be to subscribe to your favourite social media channel.
Keeping this as a PS at the end of every email allows you to always weave in an invitation, even if you are just giving them a weekly update.
Another super-easy way to create content for your weekly email is to create a short weekly blog post or Facebook Live and then email the link to it with a short summary as to why you created it and what it can do for you.
This also gives extra traffic to your website and socials which helps either get seen.
And if you have plans to create a podcast or already do, then just mail that each week.
The power of email automation.
The secret to personalizing your email marketing and making it work for you in a hands-free way is to tap into the automation opportunities.
It automatically sends out emails that you schedule in advance.
By scheduling a set of emails to send in advance, you can prevent “going dark” for any length of time.
Oftentimes, companies plan out a series of emails—ranging from a few days to a few months—that automatically deliver, warming up anyone who signs up for your list.
That way, when you do need to announce your coaching offer, you can count on the fact that they are paying attention.
Since you’ve built up a relationship over several weeks or months, you’re much less likely to get them unsubscribing.
And on that topic, I want you to know that unsubscribes are totally normal each and every time you send an email, so relax and let go of this marketing fact (I also suggest that you aren’t notified when you get one, because it’s hard not to take it personally!).
List Segmentation
Now that you understand the basics behind an effective email campaign, let’s talk about how to take things to the next level.
Specifically, using segmentation can uplevel your results even more than a basic campaign.
If you’re not familiar with the term, email segmentation is the practice of splitting up your email list into more targeted groups.
Here are a few ways to segment a larger list (once you start adding more subscribers)
- General Subscribers (as opposed to those who haven’t yet bought)
- Call Applicants
- Coaching Clients
- Opt-Ins
- Waitlist
Just like targeting in paid ads, dividing your list gives you the ability to send more targeted communications.
This can be helpful as you begin to nurture your subscribers as your list grows.
How Much is Your Email List Worth?
Your email list is one of your most valuable resources, and if you learn how to treat it right, it will pay for itself many times over.
Over time, you can start tracking how much money people on your list spend on average. This will tell you how much your list is worth.
It’s wise to start tracking your list growth and set objectives as this will definitely have an effect on your revenue.
The first milestone is 1000 subscribers, but when you click over 5000 email subscribers and you have the right offer you will likely have a six-figure coaching business.
This is why email marketing is one of the fastest ways you can grow and continue to grow your life coaching business.
It can be supported by social media and paid advertising, but I have known many great coaches who have grown their list organically and reaped the rewards – people like Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte had never run Facebook
Ads when I started running some for them about a decade ago and they were already reaping the rewards of multi six-figure coaching businesses.
So, it’s time to start embracing email marketing because it delivers huge returns for life coaches willing to learn how to do it right.
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