Email marketing is alive and well which I know is hard to believe in our social media world. I am one of those people who loves email marketing more than social media. I have built more personal relationships with my readers and clients through email than I have social media. It allows me to have a one-to-one conversation instead of a one-to-many conversation. Finally whenever I send out a new blog post or launch a product my email subscribers show up for me in a big way! My email subscribers are the most loyal people on the planet. I am blessed!

Is it possible for bloggers to build an email list? Is it worth it? The answer is yes and absolutely you should build an email list! As a blogger you want to build a loyal following and email marketing does this. You can develop deeper relationships with your readers through email marketing. When you need to survey your audience you can reach out to your email subscribers. When you want to launch your own product your email subscribers will be the first ones to purchase it. As an added bonus email marketing is a pretty inexpensive marketing option for you to pursue.

Does the thought of starting an email marketing campaign overwhelm you? There is so much to do and you want to make it a success. Here are six steps to create the perfect email marketing campaign that will get your emails opened and read!

1. Create topics

The first thing you will want to do when creating an email marketing campaign is decide on what to include in the newsletter. You will want to do something that is related to your niche of course. For example if you write about blogging, personal finance and being a stay at home mom you could make each of these a topic in your email newsletter. Create a list of three to five topics that you can include in your email newsletter.

2. Brainstorm content

Once you have the topics it is time to create the content. Brainstorm at least five content ideas for each topic. Doing this will give you five newsletters that are ready to send out! Keep in mind you can reuse old posts or tips from old posts. You don’t need to create entire articles for your email newsletter. Small bite sized tips work just fine too.

Then once a month go through this process and create a new list of articles for your topics. Once it becomes habit you will start to have consistency with your email marketing. That is when you will start to reap the rewards!

3. Establish a plan

Once you have a list of topics you will need to set up a plan to create your email newsletter. You will want to outline a calendar of when your emails are going to go out. This will help you know when you need to write your content for the newsletter.

For example I would outline the plan like this:

1. Determine sending schedule (weekly, monthly quarterly)

2. What day and time are you going to send the newsletter? (Tuesday-Thursday best day. 2pm-3pm best time)

3. Do you need time to research your content?

4. How many days do you need to write content?

5. How much time do you need to find images?

6. How long will it take you to input everything into the email newsletter?

From there I would schedule the days you need to develop your email newsletter. Put these dates on your calendar as recurring tasks every month. Then commit the time to doing these tasks.  By scheduling time to make it happen your newsletter will actually get done!

4. Choose email provider

Next you will want to choose an email service provider to send out your emails. Gone are the days where you can send out the newsletter from your personal email. Definitely gone are the days you can do this using the BCC function. The spam filters will catch that in an instant and you clients will never see your email newsletter. Plus it is just not personal to do it that way.

Instead choose an email service provider that you can create your email in. You can either have your own HTML newsletter created or use one of their templates. This is much more professional approach for your email newsletter. You can also track who is opening your emails, what they are clicking on and who they are forwarding your email to. It’s great for tracking your ROI!

The email templates look good and entice your clients to read them. The images show up and don’t have little red x’s in the box. You can also brand yourself and include your image, logo and contact information. You can also personalize it by using code to address each email subscriber by name.

My favorite email providers in order are:

1. AWeber ($1 free trial, $19.99 a month up to 500 subscribers)

2. MailChimp (Free with limited features)

3. GetResponse (14 day free trial, $14.99 a month up to 1,000 subscribers)

AWeber is the most expensive of the three but I will say you get what you pay for with email marketing. I have tried all three and my delivery rates are the best with AWeber. This means that more people are getting my emails delivered to their inbox with AWeber than any other email service provider.

I wouldn’t waver too much over this decision. Pick an email service provider that fits your needs and start using the program. You will be happy with the result!

5. Contact current readers

Once you have everything in place reach out to your current readers and past clients. If you haven’t done a good job of staying in touch with them let them know that’s about to change. Ask them for their permission to send them emails. The chance that someone will tell you no is rare.

In this case it is better to ask for permission than beg for forgiveness later. You could upload your clients’ email addresses without getting permission. But when you send out that first email you will get complaints and people who unsubscribe. This will sting. It’s better to do the leg work up front and get permission.

If you have done a great job of staying in touch with your readers then a simple introductory email will work. Let them know what you are going to be sending them and how often. This way they know what to expect and won’t unsubscribe from your list.

6. Create a landing page

Finally I recommend that you create a landing page on your website to get new email addresses for your newsletter. Create a landing page targeted at a single niche and give them an opt-in offer with value. Let them know you going to send them emails and what they can expect from you. Work on building your email list organically to generate your own leads from your website. This is my favorite way to cultivate new business!

Email marketing is a rewarding way to stay in touch with your readers and build a loyal tribe. You are providing your email subscribers with valuable information. You are acting as their resource. By creating a plan for content and a plan for sending your email newsletter you will reap the rewards. You will build a loyal base of followers that think of you any time your niche is mentioned. The best thing about this is it is very inexpensive to do! Email marketing is still a powerful marketing tool and one that most bloggres overlook. Be different than your competition and generate leads through your own email marketing!

What has been your experience with email marketing? Have you tried it and had success? Is it something you have always wanted to try? Please share your thoughts with me in the comment section below this post. Thank you!

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