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Hi there,
Speaker:It's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk
Speaker:Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions
Speaker:and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small
Speaker:business. If you'd like to submit a topic DME over on
Speaker:Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped,
Speaker:gosh, this year I've rolled out a number of new opportunities
Speaker:for you.
Speaker:Here there are the bashes where you have a chance to
Speaker:showcase your business to this entire listening audience.
Speaker:There's the new Owl app.
Speaker:When you have a quick question where you'd like my input
Speaker:and now I'm excited to bring you Gift Biz boosts,
Speaker:think of these as free strategy sessions,
Speaker:leaving you with a clear action plan to boost you forward.
Speaker:Whether you're at the beginning of your business journey and need
Speaker:concrete steps on how to start,
Speaker:or you've been doing this for a while and could use
Speaker:a fresh approach,
Speaker:these boosts are for you.
Speaker:You'll know a podcast is a boost.
Speaker:If you see that word in the title,
Speaker:want to get your own free boost,
Speaker:I'm taking these on a first come first serve basis.
Speaker:Head over to gift biz unwrapped.com/boost
Speaker:and sign up for your session today.
Speaker:As I worked on last week's tips and talk episode covering
Speaker:how to find topics for your blog articles,
Speaker:it brought up the thought that finding topics for email is
Speaker:another challenging area,
Speaker:so that's what's on tap for today.
Speaker:Since content for your blog and content for your emails are
Speaker:different, let's do a quick review.
Speaker:Blog articles reside on your website and you use social media
Speaker:and email teasers to prompt people to click over to read
Speaker:the complete piece.
Speaker:Never should you put your entire article up as an email
Speaker:and leave it at that.
Speaker:An email is a one and done communication,
Speaker:right? All the hard work of writing that article will be
Speaker:lost almost immediately when you put it on your website.
Speaker:In a space dedicated as your blog,
Speaker:you'll get the advantages of seo,
Speaker:the ability to educate your customers and added credibility that all
Speaker:builds on itself long into the future.
Speaker:Your website is the online headquarters of your business,
Speaker:and all avenues should point there whether you're linking to a
Speaker:specific product,
Speaker:talking about a blog article,
Speaker:introducing a new product line.
Speaker:All of these things,
Speaker:even when you're on the local news or are written about
Speaker:in the local paper or on a podcast,
Speaker:these should all be in a in the news page on
Speaker:your website.
Speaker:The only time I'd send someone to a different site is
Speaker:if you're attending a show or speaking at an event and
Speaker:you wanna direct people there for the details and to register
Speaker:to attend.
Speaker:Email plays a different role in your business.
Speaker:It's to keep you top of mind with your customers,
Speaker:and so you can stay in contact with those who run
Speaker:into you online or meet you in person and want to
Speaker:stay in touch for a future first purchase.
Speaker:Today we're gonna cover what to say in regularly scheduled emails,
Speaker:not how to get and build an email list.
Speaker:We also aren't going to talk about the very first emails
Speaker:to send when someone joins your list.
Speaker:This is often referred to as a welcome series.
Speaker:Let me know if these are things you want me to
Speaker:cover in the future.
Speaker:Okay, so with an eye to content for regularly scheduled email
Speaker:marketing programs,
Speaker:this is something that you can start right now,
Speaker:whether you have an email list of seven or 7,000
Speaker:people don't delay getting this up and running.
Speaker:It begins with deciding how often you'll send out an email,
Speaker:even though I don't recommend it.
Speaker:You can do as few as 12 emails a year,
Speaker:so a monthly program,
Speaker:and if that's all you can do,
Speaker:start with that and build up from there.
Speaker:Ideally, you should send weekly emails,
Speaker:but I'll give you a pass for biweekly two,
Speaker:and you'll see as we continue on here,
Speaker:it doesn't have to be that hard or even overwhelming if
Speaker:it feels like that to you right now because you are
Speaker:going to have a plan.
Speaker:These emails also don't have to be works of art as
Speaker:your blog articles are.
Speaker:SEO doesn't matter here.
Speaker:Most of what you'll include,
Speaker:you already have at your fingertips too.
Speaker:Some of your emails can be just a few paragraphs and
Speaker:some don't even need photos at all.
Speaker:The most important thing is that they're interesting enough to get
Speaker:your customers to open and read them with that.
Speaker:Here are some ideas of things to include in your emails.
Speaker:First off,
Speaker:the obvious product,
Speaker:promotions and sales.
Speaker:Nobody can take advantage of your special offers if they don't
Speaker:know about them,
Speaker:right? So when you have special sales,
Speaker:feel free to dedicate an email entirely to that.
Speaker:Include pictures of the products,
Speaker:the benefit the product gives,
Speaker:the buyer the details of the purchase,
Speaker:so things like price,
Speaker:the percentage discount,
Speaker:limited quantity,
Speaker:if that applies,
Speaker:deadlines on the offer,
Speaker:all of those things.
Speaker:And then don't forget a buy button or a link that
Speaker:connects back to your website so that they can order.
Speaker:Another thing that you can include in your emails are the
Speaker:in-person events you're attending.
Speaker:If you're doing a weekly farmer's market all summer long,
Speaker:bingo, that's part of your weekly email.
Speaker:Include a picture of you and a customer from the prior
Speaker:week or some fun interaction that you've had with another vendor
Speaker:or how you managed the rain last week and how the
Speaker:forecast for this Wednesday looks great.
Speaker:Add your personality to these messages.
Speaker:This makes it so much easier.
Speaker:Just write like you're talking to a friend.
Speaker:Number three,
Speaker:email list only specials.
Speaker:Treat those who have offered up their email address and are
Speaker:now on your list as a special group.
Speaker:Maybe they get the first look at your new product line
Speaker:or special offers only for them.
Speaker:Send the message that being on your email list is valuable
Speaker:because they are the one and only ones who get to
Speaker:be in the know and can take advantage of certain things.
Speaker:Number four,
Speaker:blog teasers.
Speaker:Here's the place to give some information about your latest blog
Speaker:article. Tell them what they'll get out of reading your article,
Speaker:and then link over to the full version that you got.
Speaker:It has a home on your website.
Speaker:Depending on the topic,
Speaker:you can recirculate your blog articles too.
Speaker:Pull from topics that you talked about even eight months ago
Speaker:if it still serves your customers.
Speaker:That's the value of evergreen blog topics like the 10 Health
Speaker:Benefits of chocolate,
Speaker:or cleaning directions for your leather accessories,
Speaker:or three ways to store your jewelry using things you already
Speaker:have in your house.
Speaker:I'm making these up of course,
Speaker:but you get the idea.
Speaker:And finally,
Speaker:my fifth category of ideas of topics that you can use
Speaker:in your blog articles are behind the scene stories.
Speaker:Don't discount the interest your customers have in these types of
Speaker:things. Unboxing videos continue to be popular.
Speaker:Ask those on your email list to vote on the next
Speaker:flavor for your new seasonal popcorn or share a mishap that
Speaker:happened in your production area that's entertaining and funny.
Speaker:What you wanna do is train people that opening emails from
Speaker:you is worth it.
Speaker:If all you do is show a product and a price,
Speaker:meaning selling in every single email,
Speaker:people won't open it if they aren't in the purchasing stage
Speaker:for what you sell,
Speaker:but if you show them that there are other things in
Speaker:your emails that will serve them,
Speaker:your open rates will be higher,
Speaker:and when you have higher open rates,
Speaker:your emails are more likely to stay out of spam and
Speaker:the promotion folders where they're never seen or even have a
Speaker:chance for more ideas.
Speaker:Look at the emails you receive,
Speaker:what subject lines catch your eye?
Speaker:What do they include that makes you want to open each
Speaker:and every one to make this email strategy something you'll actually
Speaker:do. Set a plan.
Speaker:Let's say you've decided to send out emails weekly.
Speaker:Create a couple of different models of emails,
Speaker:templates, if you will.
Speaker:Some weeks you do to the point promotion product price.
Speaker:Buy some weeks,
Speaker:you create a longer email that includes a behind the scenes
Speaker:story with a photo and then perhaps a small blurb about
Speaker:your upcoming subscription box theme with a stay tuned teaser.
Speaker:Another template could be linking to national theme days,
Speaker:just like you see on Social National Best Friend Day.
Speaker:How about treating your bestie to our latest tea and cookie
Speaker:combo to show that you're thinking of her or national Apple
Speaker:Day? We don't grow apples,
Speaker:but our apple red scarves certainly put you in the mood.
Speaker:Be playful and creative.
Speaker:Make opening your emails.
Speaker:Fun. That's the point.
Speaker:And guess what?
Speaker:Are you aware of the connected social media planner that goes
Speaker:with my Content for Makers program?
Speaker:I've heard that some of you are using these to plan
Speaker:out your emails too.
Speaker:What a good idea.
Speaker:I didn't even think of that when I created this product,
Speaker:and I use mine now also for planning social posts,
Speaker:blog articles,
Speaker:and email topics all in one organized spot.
Speaker:If you wanna take a look,
Speaker:go over to give biz unwrapped.com/connected
Speaker:and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Speaker:The term the money is in the list is really true.
Speaker:Collecting emails and then actually communicating to those people will bring
Speaker:you in new and repeat sales.
Speaker:That's what this is all about today.
Speaker:Now's the time for you to put it into action.
Speaker:Decide on an email frequency,
Speaker:set up a template plan,
Speaker:add in your unique details and press send.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl,
Speaker:and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn.
Speaker:Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them,
Speaker:and they bring us both.
