Create An Email Journey
Creating a series of automated emails for your customers is a great way to nurture your new friends with messages that resonate with their needs.
Plan An Email Workflow
A workflow is a sequence of emails that is triggered from a specific action users take on your site. The most obvious site actions are opting in to a newsletter or to receive helpful information related to what your customers need to nurture credibility and trust.
They can be very effective at doing just that. One wonderful thing about these workflows (or journeys) is you set them up once and let them run in sequential order.
The customer journey is the touch points people experience with your brand as they learn about you, experience your offerings and hopefully buy your products or services. Of course the email journey is one aspect of the total customer experience that can be very effective since your readers want your content in their inboxes.
Provide Value – Not Hype
Once you’ve got your foot in the door (see our previous article on list building strategies) you want to continue the awareness phase of nurturing your readers instead of hitting them over the head with a “buy now” call to action. Your initial email journey is where you continue the brand awareness phase of your customer’s relationship with your company. This is where problem solving and educational information can be king. Help people out and you become the expert.
While you set these emails up in advance and let them run, you don’t want to ignore the data regarding user behavior with your emails so you can refine them over time. Remember, in the first journey your goal is open rates so people read your content.
That’s why clever and unique subject lines are important to grab attention in that always over-filled inbox. Don’t use over-the-top or outrageous subject lines. That’s an easy path to opt-outs for your readers. Make it interesting, but provide value and make sure the body of your email lives up to the promise in the subject line.
How many emails should be in your initial email journey? If you are new to creating workflows, start simple to get your feet wet. Try three emails intended to build trust and engagement. Fewer emails that people actually read is better than many that don’t get read!
As mentioned earlier don’t forget to continue to monitor your emails for opens and clicks. If you find an email that is not getting many opens try adjusting the subject line or replacing the email altogether.
The important thing is to jump in and get your email journey working 24/7 to engage your readers, build trust and help them become loyal customers. Good luck!
