You can shake a stick at any number of fast-and-loose marketing strategies advertised for startups. But if you want to increase traffic to your website, email marketing is the best approach for a new company. Here are a few insights into the why and how of email marketing to energize your website traffic in the first year of your startup.
Why Email Marketing?
There’s no denying that email marketing is the first and reigning king of marketing. There have been many new and shiny apps and platforms that will take your money, but the returns often don’t measure up.
Best ROI
Good brand messaging and comprehensive marketing strategies on other platforms can work! But it will cost you dearly. Email marketing can generate an average ROI of 4400%. It’s tough to beat 4.4 thousand percent!
Email subscribers are likely to spend 138% more than leads from other sources like social media or paid ads. Once you’re in their inbox, you have attained a higher level of trust that makes them feel comfortable taking action.
You Own the Access to Your Subscriber
The email inbox is free of any algorithms and platform policy changes. It’s unrestricted access directly to your ideal customer.
Even if you have a large Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook following, the truth is you don’t own that positioning. It could all disappear with the click of a button or the latest user agreements. Or worse, it could crash due to technical challenges and you have no idea if or when you’ll get it back.
When you build and leverage your email list, you get to keep it! Those customers are there waiting for you whenever you’re ready to sell to them.
Using Email Marketing to Energize Website Traffic
Effective email marketing strategies take time to map out and plan. Set yourself up for success by thinking through what your goals are and how you want to achieve them.
For example, if you want to drive traffic to your website or app for driver’s test preparation, your emails should talk about related information like how to study local traffic laws and safe driving practices. Point them to your website for “additional resources.”
Grow a Healthy List
You can write the most compelling emails but if you have no one to send them to, it won’t impact your website traffic. You need to grow a list of healthy, engaged subscribers!
People give away their email when they feel it’s worth it or when they get something out of it.
- You have something they want.
- They want to hear what you have to say.
The second option takes time to generate that level of trust, especially as you’re still establishing your place in your industry. But the first option can be solved with a high-quality lead magnet.
A lead magnet is a practical resource, offered for free, that can help your prospect today. You want them to feel they have achieved some sort of progress or gained new knowledge via your free lead magnet. Create a resource they truly need!
Post on all of your available social media channels the great offer of your new free resource. If you don’t have a large following, create a targeted audience for an ad campaign and run the ad for a few days to see how it performs.
You may need to adjust the messaging or graphics of your ad and test again. When you have an ad that performs well and gets decent engagement, set a higher budget and let it run for a week or two.
Send traffic from this ad to a landing page where you ask for their name and email. Make the copy on your landing page count, you may need to remind them why they ended up here in the first place. The call to action should be exciting and inspire action!
- YES! I want my free copy!
- Send me the roadmap to XXX!
- Yes, I want to change my XXX!
Lead magnet resource suggestions:
- Access to your webinar or masterclass
- Checklist or cheat sheet
- An industry-positioning ebook
- Samples or a free trial
- Exclusive discount code
Create Compelling Email Sequences
An email sequence is a group of emails, usually batched or created in advance, that are designed to be sent out slowly over time in a specific order.
An email sequence is how you can warm up your new leads and get them more interested in you, your company, and what you offer. Set aside a few hours of your time every few weeks and create these sequences in advance so you’re not left empty-handed the day something new is supposed to go out.
Draft five to twelve emails that all connect with your target audience. Here is a recommended flow of thought for your first sequence or the sequence new subscribers will receive.
Introduce Yourself And Your Company
Assume new leads have no idea who you are, how you got here, and what you do. This is your chance to share! Don’t try to sell them anything in this first email, just be welcoming.
Resource Sharing
This is one of the most effective ways to drive readers to your website! Share all of your amazing, and already created, resources that they can take advantage of! Show off your expertise in blog articles, podcast interviews, guest posts, social media channels, or tutorials.
Don’t just link your home page, take them directly to the resource and show how they can get to everything else you have. This not only boosts website traffic it also builds credibility and gets your readers thinking “wow, they really know what they’re talking about!”
Educate
As a startup, you need to educate your audience before they’ll be ready to buy. An educated subscriber better understands the value you bring to the table and when they’re ready to buy, they’re more likely to buy again.
In these emails, also known as “value add emails”, you want to give practical, real-life information right inside the email. It must be truly actionable to help them make a difference today.
Remember all those blog articles and website resources? Here is where they can be recycled and you’re not stuck coming up with new content every other day. If you’ve already created content on “five tips for driving through construction zones”, take that and repackage it as a much shorter email.
Anytime you repurpose existing content, you can also point them back to the website for the “whole article.” Another way to energize website traffic is with your email marketing!
Client Success Stories
To further prepare your readers for your offer, share customer testimonials! Highlight how you or your product helped them and the benefits they’ve reaped. Send them to your website for more success stories! Bonus points for video testimonials or customer interviews.
Friendly Engagement
Ask your readers questions about them, their businesses, their lives, their pets even! Encourage them to reply and start a conversation. Connect with them on a personal level.
It’s Time to Sell!
Selling emails should only account for approximately 20% of what you send out. The remaining 80% should be made of the content types listed above.
When you make your offer, make it a good one! Connect with your reader on the pain or struggle they’re currently facing, the obstacle in their way. Highlight how you can help them move beyond their challenges and reach the ultimate goal, whatever it is your target customer wants.
If this all sounds a little intimidating or you don’t enjoy writing, it’s only temporary! You can always hire it out to a virtual assistant or content agency when the funds are available.
Email Marketing Tools
When you get someone’s email address, where does it go? It’s important to have Content Relationship Management (CRM) software before you start giving away lead magnets.
This will help you organize contacts based on interests, how they found you, or what products and services they may want. You’ll also be able to automate and schedule your email sequences so you’re not scrambling on email days!
Most CRMs offer a trial or free membership, here are a few of the most popular options:
- Active Campaign
- MailChimp
- ConvertKit
- HubSpot
- Drip
- Mailerlite
Test one or two and see what fits your needs.
Segmented Audiences
Now that you have a pile of emails, you need to segment them into categories based on the magnet they responded to or what emails they should receive. Don’t want to send someone who’s been on your list for a year an introductory email about your company.
Of course, if you haven’t talked to them in a while, you may need to reintroduce yourself, remind them of all the great resources available on your website, and warm those leads back up.
Suggested audience segments:
- New leads
- Interest-based
- Location
- No offer subscribers
- Most engaged (they open all your emails)
Start Using Email Marketing to Energize Your Website Traffic!
You will learn more as you go along, but you’ll never boost your website traffic if you don’t start!
Author Bio
Over the last 5+ years of my journey of SEO, SEM, SMM, and Google Adwords. I have got great knowledge and experience in Digital marketing. My experience is amazing and I can help you to get great benefits from your business with my Digital Marketing Skills.
