Last Updated on July 16, 2023 by Monica Snyder
I am tired of hearing the same regurgitated email marketing tips over and over and over. Things like how you get your first 100 or 1000 subscribers, make sure your emails look good on mobile devices, which email service provider is best, or how to write better subject lines.
How about you?
I want to make sure you're getting the freshest information available, so I'm going to share some new and unusual email marketing tips for you today.
Especially if you're a course creator looking to boost sales because it's not gonna be just as easy as saying, clean your email list or ask people to subscribe. You've heard that.
So I wanna go a little bit deeper and give you some more things that you can focus on to improve your email marketing.
And with that, let's jump into these unusual email marketing tips so you can start making successful email marketing campaigns!
#1 - Create a Lead Magnet that Grows Your List & Sells Your Course
The first thing I wanna talk about is making a lead magnet that has people opting in and buying your product.
I see this mistake all the time.
People want to create these lead magnets that are like 800 page ebooks. And let me just share with you. No one wants to read that. Okay?
We are all super duper busy and we need to be able to get in, get out and do something quickly and get a quick win with your opt-in.
Something like a tool or a template, something that gives your reader a quick win.
I don't know why people don't do this more. It works so well because as soon as you've helped them solve one problem, there's gonna be another problem that they need solving. And if you're right there with the solution, guess what? They're gonna buy.
How to Create a Lead Magnet that Sells
To create a lead magnet that sells, take the product you want to sell and find the biggest problem your ideal customer thinks they have.
Now, I just wanna expand on that a little bit because many people have all kinds of problems that you don't think of anymore. After all, you are too deep into your subject. You have the curse of knowledge.
So think about what they think their problem is and create something that will help them solve it in about 30 minutes.
Then present to them the next thing that you wanna sell them. About 2% of people will take you up on that.
And I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but if you don't offer, you can't help those 2%. And 2% ads up as you get more people to get your lead magnet.
Create an Opt-In Gift People Would Pay For
Another tip I have for you is to create a lead magnet that people would actually pay money for.
For example, this one here is my Canva templates lead magnet. And it's a little meta because it's a lead magnet about a lead magnet template, but it works so well to set people up to buy my email marketing things because guess what? The first thing you have to do in email marketing is get somebody on your list.
Now, if you want to know more about this, I have a whole other blog post. Click here to go deeper into this subject about making lead magnets that sell.
#2 - Grow Your Email List Using Social Media Profiles
The second tip I have for you is to grow your email list using your social profiles.
Now, before you think, oh, I've heard that before. There is a very specific way I wanna show you to do this to maximize your marketing efforts.
It's got three parts:
Set up your profiles so that it's crystal clear who you can help, and also include a link to your lead magnet or even a low ticket offer.
Make sure that you find where your people are hanging out.
Go be helpful to them.
And they will come look at your profile, click through your link, sign up, and buy.
The Key to Maximizing this Email Marketing Strategy
The key to making this work and getting the most email signups is to know where your people are hanging out.
One of my favorite places to do this strategy is Facebook groups. The reason is because people there are talking in threads so you can easily find topics to contribute to in a meaningful way.
Also, when you become really well-known in a Facebook group, people will start to tag you for answers to the questions that other people ask.
I get tagged all the time in Facebook groups about email marketing, because people know that I have answers for that.
So when you get into a group and you start contributing and being helpful and all those good things, then people will start tagging you. And then the people who see that will go over to your profile to check it out and they'll see your opt-in link.
They will come and they will get on your email list. And then you can sell your courses to them.
I like to do this for 30 to 60 minutes a day, so it doesn't have to take all day. And usually it's like, while I'm waiting to do something else, like picking my kids up from school or something like that.
Try it and see how it works for you to get more subscribers.
#3 - Use $5-10 a Day as Leverage to Grow Your Email List
Look, I know we are all about organic marketing campaigns, but hear me out because your time is worth way more than $5-10 an hour, right?
So if you spent an hour doing that last email marketing strategy I told you, then people get on your list sporadically, but you could also be getting them on your list all day, every day, using a lead funnel plus paid traffic.
A lead funnel sends a steady stream more traffic to your landing pages than using organic marketing messages on social media platforms. And, since you're paying for the ads, you can put your promotional messages in front of your target audience even if they aren't following you.
Email Marketing Tips Work Better When They Are Implemented...
Learn how to build this funnel in my course, Automated Audience.
The key to this working well is to make a lead magnet that is visually compelling and makes people want to opt-in. Your ideal subscriber shouldn't have to think about what your lead magnet is. They should instantly want it!
For example, I redid this Flirt Alert landing page to be more visually compelling, instantly understandable, and desirable. It worked, bringing in new email subscribers for an average of $0.74 each.
BEFORE
after
Pro Tip: Make sure your landing pages look amazing on mobile devices for the highest conversion rates!
And remember these templates from the first thing? They brought me new email subscribers for an average of $0.58 cents each. That is huge when you're trying to grow your email list!
And once you have those new subscribers on your email list, it's super exciting because you get to follow up with effective email marketing campaigns that convert them to buyers.
The first of those email marketing campaigns is what I call the New Subscriber Promo. It has 12 emails that work together to build a relationship with your new email subscriber.
It is sent after the welcome email (the one that delivers the opt-in) and, when done well, converts at 1-3%, earning you back most, if not all, of the ad dollars you spent!
12 Emails in the New Subscriber Promo Email Marketing Campaign
This email marketing campaign uses a mix of amazing subject lines, marketing messages, and email marketing best practices to bring your subscriber on their first journey of how you can help them.
To begin, you need to know what your new subscribers want. You're going to take them on a journey from where they are now to giving them help with your course or coaching.
Here's how it breaks down…
Email 1 - The Elephant in the Email
Use the subject line, “The Elephant in the Email” to invoke curiosity to get the reader to open. Then, talk about how you know they don't know or trust you yet, so you will be in their inbox the next few days with a few things they don't know.
Give them a quick teaching – a slight mind shift or a new perspective works well here.
Then, in the PS, tease email 2 by telling them to look out for the subject line “_____________” where the blank is the exact email 2 subject line you'll use.
Email 2 - The First Thing
Include in this email what you would say is the “first thing” they must do to get what they want. Back this way up and simplify it. Remember, you're an expert, so their “first thing” is probably something you haven't thought of in a while!
End it by piquing curiosity for tomorrow's email by telling them the subject line and that you're going to tell them the truth about something the industry is lying about.
Email 3 - Break Their "Truth"
This email aims to grow the relationship with your reader by breaking a false belief they have.
To write this email, talk about something you disagree with that is being talked about by the people in your industry. Explain what the real truth is and why it is the truth.
Then, tease email 4 by telling them the exact subject line for email 4 and that you're going to share a better way to do things.
Email 4 - "Step-By-Step" Training
Now that you've opened your reader's mind, it's time to give them a step-by-step way of doing things that works – aka the high-level solution of how your course/coaching is different and helps them get what they want.
Keep this high-level but specific enough to show your differences from others in your market. (If you need an example, I'm doing it right now with this email series list!)
Tease Email 5 by letting them know there’s more to this but you didn’t have time for all of it in today’s email.
Email 5 - Dealing with Doubt
At this point in this email campaign, your subscriber is really starting to trust you so now it is time to deal with the doubts that they are too scared to say out loud.
Take the blame off them by letting them know that most people get stuck because of the “questions in their head.”
List those questions, and then tease email 6 by letting them know you’ll be answering one of those questions. And, of course, you can always let them know the subject line to look for in their inbox.
Email 6 - Answering a Doubt
This email is setting up your reader to want to buy your product by answering one of the questions from email 5.
This works best if you choose to answer the question that has the most interesting answer and/or best proof/story to back up the answer. This helps you write email marketing copy that draws your reader in even more.
Next, you let them know why the answer is important but it is only part of an entire plan. The entire plan is your course or your coaching program.
Tease email 7 by letting them know you have the solution.
Email 7 - Product Announcement
It's time to ask them to buy!
Open this email with how excited you are to offer a solution to the problems you know they face.
Tell them about your paid solution (your course or program). List out some of the over-arching ways your solution helps solve their problems. And finally, add a link to the sales page or order page.
In the PS, ask if they have any questions. Give them a way to ask. I like to ask them to reply. This is important for setting up a starting point for a future email.
Email 8 - A Look Inside
In this email, you're going to go deeper into each feature of your paid solution. Detail the features and the benefits of each part of your course or program.
Use a bulleted list to make it easy to read.
“A Look Inside ____________________” where the blank is the name of your course or program is a perfect subject line for this email.
Email 9 - The Stories
Share the success stories and testimonials you've collected! Pull out the ones that are the juiciest or overcome the most objections. Use details so the message sounds as real as possible.
If you don't have testimonials, use your own story if you got what your reader wants for yourself. If that isn't your situation, find some proof that you can use as a story.
Let your reader know you want them to have results like these and that's why you created the course/program.
Link to the product sales page or order page.
Add a PS with your guarantee.
Email 10 - The Questions
This email is designed to answer any question or objection your reader might still have. If they are still opening this far into this email campaign, they are on the fence. They want to buy, but there is something holding them back.
Answer any questions you are frequently asked. Use questions you get from your help desk or those sent to you from previous emails.
Take your reader's objections and turn them into questions.
If you have a questions section on your sales page, it's fine to repeat those questions and answers in this email.
Turn your guarantee into a question.
Link to the product sales page or order page.
Tell them to reply if you missed a question. This starts meaningful conversations that give you more sales and information to add to this email in the future.
Email 11 - Don't Miss Out
This is a pretty short email where you're sharing how you'd like to be helping them get the thing they want. Make it interesting by adding a new way of thinking about a feature of your program.
This is the last email you'll send with the link to the sales page.
Email 12 - Was It Something I Said?
The goal of this email is to gather feedback on why they didn't buy.
You'll write something like, “You've been hearing about {{course/program}} but you didn't take me up on the offer.”
Let them know that’s ok, but you’d like to know why they didn’t buy.
Ask, very clearly, why didn’t you purchase?
Thank them in advance for replying.
Add a PS repeating the question, “why didn’t you buy?”
I learned this “Was It Something I Said?” email strategy, along with many other email marketing strategies, from Ryan Levesque, creator of The ASK Method, and I add this email at the end of all my email marketing campaigns that sell something.
And I get responses like this, which are full of things for me to use to improve my email subject lines and other marketing messages to boost sales. I've also started meaningful conversations from this email that helped me understand my target audience better.
And, you'll see I use the subject line, “Was it something I said? 🙊”
Why Writing the New Subscriber Promo Series is Worth It
This new subscriber promo series is one of my longer email marketing campaigns. But, I use it because within 7-12 days, I've recouped some (usually all) of my ad spend.
Now, I don't want you to go thinking, by the way, the first time that you do this, that you're gonna get results like this. I am a seasoned pro, I have helped my clients do this, and I have years of expertise.
Give yourself the grace and the time to figure it out. Because once you do have this marketing automation up and running, it is magical.
And, if you need help with this, this exact email marketing campaign template is included in my course, Relationship & Revenue.
And I don't know why more people aren't talking about this in these things.
Organic marketing is great, but I'm all about systems that work while you are not.
What do you think you'd choose between email marketing tips 2 and 3? Would you rather grow organically like in email marketing tip number two, or would you rather use a system like in email marketing tip number three? Let me know in the comments.
Get the Templates & Subject Lines for 8 Different Email Marketing Campaigns
Relationship & Revenue™ is the 3-Part Foundation for Your Email Subscribers to Feel Welcomed, Trust You Quickly, & Be Ready to Buy Your Offers.
It has over 32 email templates to help you slash your email writing time by 87%!
#4 - Send a Trifecta Email Message
Now the fourth email marketing tip is for after somebody gets on your email list. I want you to send them what I call a trifecta email.
It's an email sent 30-90 minutes after the welcome email that delivers their free opt-in gift.
This email says: “Hey, did you get my last email? I wanna make sure I sent it to the right spot. And if you would, please let me know what your biggest problem is with _________________”
The blank is whatever topic that you sent them a lead magnet on. So for my example, it would be email marketing.
Why is it a Trifecta?
This email is designed to conquer 3 critical tasks with one simple email…
It will let the person who just signed up to your email list know you’re a real person… they aren’t expecting this email.
When they respond to you, the email services of the world think “oh, this is a real conversation” and your deliverability to that person’s inbox will be solidified. It also improves deliverability to other people’s emails with that provider (such as Gmail).
It gives you a treasure trove of information to use to create new copy. Review all the responses to this to see people’s struggles, objections, and much more. You will be surprised at what people say to you! Be sure to use it to improve your business and your copy.
But, Monica, Won't People Hate Me?
The biggest objection I get to this is normally like, “oh, Monica, are you sure? Won't people unsubscribe in droves if I do this?”
Here's the truth. I've found people love it because no one else does this. They think it's cool that you follow up with them.
Many people don't even realize that it's marketing automation, they think that you're taking the time to reach out personally.
When they respond to you, is a great way to create conversations that lead to sales.
And I know you might be thinking that is not super scalable, but if you have a team member, you can have them respond. It doesn't matter. Just have a back and forth with somebody and your sales will skyrocket because that person will know, like, and trust you that much more.
#5 - Stay Consistent with a Monetized Newsletter
Being consistent in your reader's inboxes is important to build trust over time.
They'll buy from you when they know that you're going to keep showing up and helping them solve their problems.
People buy for the first time two, three, sometimes five years after they first got on your list.
But to keep in their inbox, it's a little tedious if you don't have stuff to sell all the time, or you're like, what do I send? And I'm not making money from this directly. So do I keep doing it?
The way to solve that problem is with a monetized newsletter.
What is a Monetized Newsletter?
A monetized newsletter is selling your programs/services or affiliate offers in the email itself, but it's not behind a paywall. Somebody's not paying you $5 a month to get your newsletter.
A paid (paywall) newsletter is a whole different beast. I'm not gonna get into that here, but I want you to focus on sending monetized newsletters that you are motivated to stay in their inbox.
Because every time you mail, you're gonna make money.
I do this every week. I have a newsletter called the 2×2 Thingamabob Tuesday. And it is just four things I think that my readers will love.
It covers a ton of stuff in digital marketing, mindset, book recommendations, like all this fun stuff, and people absolutely love it. And it gives me a reason to get into their inbox every week.
To get started doing this, all you need to do is decide on a structure. And before you think nobody will wanna read that, yes, they do.
Huge businesses are built on this model. the Skimm, The Hustle, & Morning Brew are a few. These are all monetized newsletters that make millions, and you could do that too on a smaller scale.
Pick something to talk about, put a structure around it and start sending.
#6 - Become a Hook & Angle Master
Out of all the email marketing tips I've seen, I've never seen this one. And I don't know why.
If you've got one product to sell over and over again, you need to become a master of hooks, angles, and stories.
You're gonna have to learn how to talk about your same product over and over and over again in different ways that draw different people in.
Luckily, that's pretty easy to do if you have a digital course, but most people don't realize it.
How to Start Becoming a Master...
Grab a piece of paper and go through each part of your course and act as if you had to sell that piece on its own.
Think of the different hooks and angles and things that might help people and the benefits they would get if they just did that one part of your course.
For example, if you had a six-part course on how to do a handstand and yes, those courses do exist, then you could go through each part.
Maybe the first part of your course talks about the proper hand position and what you've gotta do to prepare, to be able to do a handstand. So hook or angle for you might be how to position your hands the right way to do a handstand.
Maybe your second module is all about core strength. So you talk about the six core strength exercises that make your handstands easier and that you could hold them longer.
I'm not gonna go on. Cause I think you can get the point, but go through each course module and think, “Hey, if somebody were to just buy this by itself, how could I sell it?”
And then what you do is transition to your entire course by saying something like, “Hey, this is in module two of the course, but I have a whole six-part course that will get you standing on your hands for 30 seconds or longer in six weeks”.
The Secret to Great Hooks, Angles, & Stories
The secret to making this work is to give your readers those aha moments or shift their thinking a little bit. Give 'em a little turn in the way that they think.
When you do that, they're more likely to want to see what else you have that will help them think differently. Then they'll buy your digital course.
Doing this consistently through your emails and your social media will have you selling more. I promise.
And we've arrived at our last thing, which is to…
#7 - Send a Post-Sales Email Campaign that Helps Them Succeed and Gets You Testimonials
This sequence is not after they sign up for your list but after they buy your product.
It helps turn them into raving fans and gets you referrals and testimonials.
I recommend at least five emails.
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Email 1 - Set Expectations
The first email should welcome them into your course and set some expectations.
Let them know how long their first module will take, how long they should set aside to learn it, and how long they will need to do the work. Those are two different time blocks.
I have found if I tell people this for my courses, they love it because they can set expectations.
And when you're able to set expectations, you're managing the relationship, which helps build that know, like, and trust factor so that they buy more and more from you.
Email 2 - Help Them Get Unstuck
The second email you wanna send is to help them get unstuck. Now, what do I mean by this?
Anytime somebody signs up for your digital course, there's gonna be some sticking points. And this email will tell them, “Hey, most people get stuck here, and I suggest you do this to get through that stuck point”.
Email 3 - Check In & Ask for Testimonial
The third email is a check-in we wanna say, “Hey, how's it going?”
And I want you to add this, “I know this is an automatic email, but reply to me. I read every reply and would love to know”.
You're gonna get replies back and here's how to handle them.
If they're stuck somewhere, help them.
If they are not stuck, you get to ask for a testimonial!
So you say, “Hey, that's so great. Can I use your story to inspire others?”
Now, those are the magical words, “use your story to inspire others.” This is the best way to get testimonials or get somebody to say yes to a testimonial.
And I just think that that is such a fun thing to do, especially for you, because sometimes in this entrepreneur journey, you're gonna feel a little sad, and testimonials will always pick you back up.
Email 4 - Encourage them to Keep Going
The fourth email is a reminder to keep going.
By this point, the new & shiny has worn off of your course and they probably left it behind because most people don't really like to do the work that goes along with the course.
So in this email, I want you to encourage them!
You know those testimonials, you just got? I want you to put them in there so that they can see that other people are succeeding and that they can have the results too if they just keep going.
You really wanna encourage people to make it all the way through your course because that's how they're gonna get the best results.
Email 5 - Congratulate Them
And the fifth email is to congratulate them.
They've done all this work. And even if they haven't completed your course, they have still done a lot and taken many steps.
So congratulate them, celebrate that with them and be excited about it! In this email, I have a ton of emojis because I just really want people to feel the energy that I am truly excited for them.
This is also the email where you can ask for them to become an affiliate or to refer you.
So this is really great to get more people into your program through word of mouth.
Putting these emails into place will help you get more sales because people will wanna help you if you help them. That's just human nature.
And That's The End of these 7 Unusual Email Marketing Tips!
All right. That was a lot of email marketing tips!
Thanks for sticking with me through it. I hope you got at least one new fresh idea to grow your list, build relationships with your readers, and make more money from your emailing efforts!
I would love to know what your favorite tip is, let me know in the comments!
