Emails From 0-1,000 with Michelle Bali
The Fashion Zone had email guru Michelle Bali host a workshop on getting your first 1,000 email subscribers. She covered how to offer valuable content in exchange for new subscribers, gave step-by-step instructions of how to organize a giveaway that will build your email list and how to find valuable subscribers that care about your brand.
Michelle began by answering the question, “is email marketing dead?”. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not! Email marketing is a great tool since you own the data going out to your subscribers. She has also seen email marketing be very successful and generate $3,000 in sales for a start up and $12,000 for an established company off of a single email. In addition, you can use your audience to find look alike audience ads on Facebook.
How to offer valuable content in exchange for new email subscribers
The key to getting email subscribers is to offer content that gives your reader value. You want to give them something they’re looking for or help solve a problem they have. In order to do this, you need to determine what problems your readers are facing. This can be done through doing research. A great tip is to type in problems in Google like “why are my clothes…” and see what the suggested searches are. This is useful since it’s an honest way to see what people are looking for.
Once you’ve identified a problem you have to offer a solution. This can come in many forms such as a blog post on how to solve the problem, a guide, or free trial. After you’ve identified the problem and given a great solution, you want to reach a wider audience. You can drive traffic through SEO, referrals, social media and ads.
Finally, you want to capture their email. If your content is relevant to the reader, they’ll be willing to give you their email in exchange for your content. The key is to offer a bit of content for free, then require them to give their email address for the rest. Michelle gave a psychology tip that If you have people invest a small amount of time before providing the valuable
content, most people will feel like it’s a waste of their time if they don't follow through.
Step by step, how to organize a giveaway to build your e-mail list
Contests can be a great way to grow your following, but you have to be careful to avoid “value shoppers” when giving things away for free.
Step 1
Think about who you want to partner with. Try selecting brands with audiences that are similar to yours, but not your direct competition. You also want to keep in mind the voice of the brand you’re partnering with.
Step 2
Next, you want to send an email proposal. Show you did your research on their brand, be straight to the point, give a very brief explanation on who you are and most importantly, be clear to the host that you will do the legwork.
Step 3
Afterward, you want to organize the logistics with the brands you’re partnering with. Be sure that everyone has a similar email list size, is aligned with the launch and end date and the contest rules. You also want to make sure there’s a similar contribution in prizes and everyone is clear on when and where to post.
Step 4
Once your logistics are sorted out, you should create a landing page where people can sign up. Michelle recommends doing this on Mailchimp or Leadpages.
Step 5
is creating the creative assets for the email and social media. This is everything from photos of what’s being given away, writing copy on how to enter and making sure everything is in a shared drive for everyone to use and access.
Step 6
Finally, it’s time to select a winner! You can do this through a random number generator. From there you let them know they won and get their address to ship them their prize. Afterwards, you want to share all the amalgamated data in a spreadsheet with the partnering brands and keep in touch with them to build a meaningful relationship.
Michelle shared that giveaways are great for low-mid range priced brands but may hurt the image of a luxury brand. A tip for high end brands is to use contests instead of giveaways such as offering an experience.
If you’re looking to learn more about email marketing, Michelle is hosting one-on-one sessions on a “pay what you can basis” where 100% of the payment will be donated to Black Legal Action Centre. You can register for a session here. You can also find Michelle at theonlinebusinessoffashion.com, or through email at mimibcreative@gmail.com.