Email marketing is essential for authors, especially those who want to turn their book into a business. You want to be able to keep in touch with your readers to continue sharing your wisdom both through free and paid content.
If they have chosen to say yes to joining your list then they have an interest in what you can offer them. Don’t waste this opportunity by not following through with emails they will enjoy reading.
While there are many different types of emails you can send, the following ten types of emails will engage your audience and have them looking forward to your emails!
Email #1: An Unexpected Welcome Email
When it comes to email marketing in particular, you have to tread carefully with your audience because you are being trusted with their contact information to deliver content they will appreciate.
If you deliver an onslaught of endless spam, or disappear for long periods of time, only to pop up when you want to profit from them, you will betray their trust and find your subscriber list dwindling.
The first thing you want to do when strategizing an effective email marketing campaign is to craft a welcome email that not only sets their mind at ease, but impresses them in the process.
You want them to feel relief that they have made the right decision in trusting you with their name and email address. You also want them to look forward to receiving future communications from you, so this first impression is important.
It should be sent out immediately after the subscriber is added to your list. If you have promised a free gift, also known as a lead magnet, in exchange for their contact information, you want to include the link to that in this email.
This is where most authorprenuers fail to overdeliver. They believe that as long as they have completed the transaction and given what was promised, the subscriber will be satisfied.
But keep in mind that this is the beginning of a rapport you will be building between yourself and the person who is reading your email communication. Your ultimate goal is for them to look forward to receiving your emails and feel as if you are speaking directly to them as opposed to sending out a mass communication with others.
Your communication with them in the welcome email should be warm and inviting. Instead of just telling them how often you will send emails or what you will be sending them, you want to let them know that at any time, they can reach out to you as well.
Making this a two way communication is important because it shows that as a niche leader, you are willing to step up and serve their needs if they should encounter confusion or an obstacle they need help with.
One thing that goes over well with a good welcome email is when you include an unexpected gift. It doesn’t have to be enormous, but as long as it is something relevant and useful, it will show that you are a very giving leader.
Email #2: A Transparent Email with Your Struggles
When you get into most niches as a leader, not only do you need to provide valuable information to your target audience, but you need to let them know the struggles that you have overcome to succeed in that area, too.
Sometimes, this can be an emotional struggle that you’ve had to deal with, and other times it’s something physical or even technical in nature that will help them see that you understand where they are coming from.
Sending a heartfelt email that really identifies the obstacles and effort you’ve put into succeeding with a goal in this niche and overcoming setbacks helps your subscribers feel more comfortable in reaching out to you.
They will also feel as if you are more of an authority figure because you have been where they are as opposed to someone who simply tapped into the niche because it held massive profit potential.
A good example of this can be found in the weight loss niche. Someone who feels overwhelmed at the thought of having to lose 100 pounds would trust the word of someone who has been through that process before over someone who has been thin their entire life and has never struggled with weight loss.
Some authors fear that by admitting their struggles or detailing their setbacks, it will make them look like less of an expert. However, this is a transparency that is necessary in the world of online marketing.
There are many scammers online who will take advantage of people, and even do it anonymously so that they can take their money without getting caught. Being upfront with what you have been through will tug at the heartstrings of your readers and make them feel an instant bond with you.
This is true even if it’s not an emotionally-charged niche topic. For example, if you are in the golf niche, you might simply talk about how frustrating it is to be able to drive a ball straight down the fairway, only to botch your entire score due to your short game.
All golfers would immediately identify with those feelings, so the advice and product recommendations you deliver at that point would be taken more seriously than they would from someone who couldn’t share the same struggles.
When you sit down to write your transparent emails, you can talk about the emotions involved, the technical confusion you may have experienced, the physical impact and more.
Email #3: A Promotional Email That Guides Their Spending Decisions
Promotional emails are often vilified by those teaching marketing. It’s done in an effort to combat the rampant spam that takes place and paints everyone in a negative light. However, there’s nothing wrong with a promotional email that’s done correctly.
Believe it or not, your subscribers appreciate receiving emails where you are guiding their spending decisions. You are not only helping them find the products that are best suited to their needs, but you are also helping them avoid a situation where they have wasted money on the wrong things.
There are many different types of promotional emails that can be sent out to your subscribers. Many marketers use a brief teaser, where they say something like, “Want to see how I built a list of 10,000 people in two days? Click here…”
Those types of emails are thin and ineffective unless the marketer has already built a reputation as a substantial figure in the niche who has proven his or her success. But if a random marketer with no track record tried to use that strategy, it would fall flat with readers.
There’s a better way to craft a promotional email that will satisfy the curiosity of your subscribers and get the click through you are aiming for. Start by honing in on the pain points the product will solve or assist them with.
Once they see that it’s relevant to their needs, they will continue reading the next section, which is where you will present the product and explain the benefits and features that come with it.
This can be a product that you have created related to your book or it may be a product from another leader in your niche. It can even be a physical product. For example, if you are in the ati0aging niche you may know a leader in the niche who is launching a great online course that you know your audience would love. You could become an affiliate of this program and earn a commission for anyone who signs up through your link.
You may have recently a new anti-aging product and saw great results. You can recommend this product to your audience. If the company has an affiliate program , you could also earn a commission (juts be sure you are letting them know that you will be earning a commission).
Be honest with your audience and them know you have vetted whatever product you are promoting – either by review copy or personal use so you can attest to the quality.
This will help you secure trust with your readers and lend more credibility to your review. You can also add to this promotional email a teaser that informs them of upcoming emails you will be sending where you share more insight, tips and advice about how to make the most of their purchase.
This can either be something you do publicly or as part of a private session reserved just for those who buy the product through your link. Anytime you send out a promotion, try to add value to the email in some way, shape, or form – but don’t be hesitant about using your affiliate link because subscribers are looking to you for that kind of buying advice.
Email #4: A Sneak Peek Email
Being part of someone’s list is kind of like being part of a community. Keep in mind that when you are a leader in a niche, people who are following you will often look up to you and see you as somewhat of a celebrity figure in many cases.
That may not mean they would want your autograph, but they do feel special when they are able to connect with someone who is in that position of authority to guide others and help them achieve their goals.
One thing you can do to make your readers feel special about being on your list is to let them in on secrets. For example, you might have something in the hopper coming up that hasn’t been announced to the general public yet.
That may be a certain type of product, a new show that you are going to be recording for a podcast or YouTube channel, or a joint venture with another marketer that will be something unique in the marketplace.
Or maybe there is some type of insider tip about your industry that you can tell them about. If its really important, take it one step further and tell them you will do a Facebook Live or record some type of training that will explain it in more detail and how it will impact them.
People like to have an inside edge about what’s happening in a niche that they are familiar with and passionate about. Not only does this appeal to their sense of curiosity, but it also serves them well in other ways.
If you have a product coming out, or something that they will be paying for such as coaching or a membership program, they may need time to set aside money and budget for the purchase.
This is especially true if you will have a short, discounted launch period such as a week or less. If they don’t have advanced knowledge of the upcoming launch, they may not have the funds to purchase it at the time of release, and will have to pay full price at a later date, if it’s even available at that time.
Another reason it helps to have advance notice, even if it’s not a product but an event such as an online webinar or other live stream show is that it allows your subscribers to set aside time in their day to be on hand whenever the event takes place.
With purchases, it can be beneficial to let your subscribers know about opportunities in advance because they may be considering another purchase at that very moment. For example, if they have a pressing need for a good search engine optimization course, and you don’t currently have one, they may spend their money with someone else without realizing you are about to release one in the near future.
Email #5: An In-Depth Case Study Email
Nothing is more satisfying about being on someone’s email marketing list than when they allow you to watch over their shoulder as they implement a task or project that you, yourself hope to complete.
One way to ensure your audience is hanging on every word you send them is to create a single or series of case studies that are emailed to their inbox for them to follow along with.
A case study can be conducted based on many different things. For example, if you are going to be promoting a JV partner’s course and you have an advanced review copy, you can create a case study of your results after implementing the course.
Not only will you cover things like your thoughts about the information you received, but you will also let them know about any gaps you noticed or any tips you have for implementing it with better results.
You can conduct a case study outside of a product, too. For example, maybe there are different ways of doing something strategic. You can apply all of the different methods and allow your subscribers to see exactly what you did and the results that each method achieved.
Instead of your subscribers having to go through the process, they can see that you are actively involved in guiding them and helping them shortcut their path to success with certain tasks.
For example, let’s say that you are in the law of attraction/manifesting niche and you decided to test out a LOA concept to see if you can manifest your desire. You can choose a time e.g., 21-Day Manifestation Experiment.
You can either email them multiple times during the experiment with updates on how it’s going, what you are doing, the synchronicities that are popping up (or not) and how you are course correcting. Or you can let them know you are conducting the experiment and at the end of the time period, you will send a series of emails that analyzes the experiment. Either way can work.
Just make sure that if you’re conducting a case study, you project what you think will happen. Even if it turns out that you’re wrong, or surprised by the results, it will be appreciated by your audience.
If you’re conducting a product review case study, you can go over the results and compare them to the claims the vendor made on the sales page to see if the product lived up to the hype.
With case studies, your goal is not to email them a quick mention of what happened, but instead a detailed analysis of the process so they can see it all unfold. You can use multimedia in your emails, mixing text, images and even videos to let them get a better look at the concept.
If the case study is too long, make it a series that spans across days or even weeks. But if it’s short enough to cover in one sitting, go ahead and provide them with a soup to nuts approach.
Email #6: A Call to Action or Challenge Email
While many subscribers appreciate just gathering information from top leaders in their niche, others would like to see more from you. One way you can enhance your leadership skills is to periodically deliver a call to action or challenge for your subscribers.
Instead of being isolated in trying to achieve a goal on their own, when you challenge someone to do something along with the rest of your list, they feel as if they are part of a group situation and will have increased support.
In fact, you can even create a private group on Facebook or password protected blog posts that your subscribers can visit to share their journey with one another. Think of where their biggest pain points or obstacles are.
For example, if you are in the weight loss niche, people may find it hard to give up sweets or soft drinks. You might issue a challenge or call to action for your subscribers to commit to a 30 day event where they replace sweets and soft drinks with healthy food instead.
When you come up with some sort of challenge for your people to participate in, the first thing you want to do is identify the problem so that they can see if it is relevant in their lives.
If so, they will want to know why addressing this issue is so important and how you suggest they go about fixing things. This is a fantastic time for you to highlight your expertise by giving your readers tips and additional insight into how to achieve their goal and stick to the challenge.
In fact, you may also want to have something for those who mess up along the way so that they can get back on track and head towards the finish line. Try not to create a challenge that would require participants to purchase a course or tool.
You want everyone on your list to be able to join in. If there’s no way around it, try to share a work around with those who may not own the tool or course in question. This gives all of your subscribers the ability to challenge themselves to achieve the same goal.
A challenge email can either start with an email campaign and end in a group setting on social media or your blog – or, you can simply keep everything on your email list and check in with your participants via email on a regular basis until the challenge is complete.
Usually, subscribers will appreciate the opportunity to join in on something that they would otherwise have neglected to do on their own.
Email #7: An Email That Delivers Something Exclusive
Sometimes, it helps to give your subscribers access to something that the general public doesn’t have. Previously, we discussed how a sneak peek can serve as a benefit in this manner.
But there are also other things you can arrange for your subscribers that go above and beyond just being informed ahead of time. For example, you might be able to create or secure a coupon code or discount for your readers that the general public does not have.
If you have a course or other information product, you might give them a major discount code that lasts 72 hours, but is only for subscribers on your list. Even if you launch something brand new, you might give your list some sort of financial perk that the rest of the buyers don’t get to enjoy.
It doesn’t have to be anything mind-blowing. It might even be just a couple of extra dollars off the cost of a new product that you are launching. And it doesn’t always have to be a financial exclusive arrangement, either.
Sometimes, you need to create content, lessons, and courses that are reserved for those who are on your list and no one else. While you might initially balk at the thought of giving your entire list a course for free, what you’re doing will help you develop goodwill with your subscribers who will stay loyal to you, buy your future products, and purchase from other vendors through your affiliate link.
You can create small bonuses whenever you promote someone else’s product that are only available for those who are currently on your list. The exclusivity angle helps solidify their decision that it was smart to get on your list rather than simply bookmark your blog and revisit it from time to time.
This is what I did in my product business. Whenever a JV partner or affiliate was launching a product, I would create a huge bonus package for anyone on my list who purchased through my affiliate link. I had more than one subscriber tell me that my bonuses were more valuable than most paid products they purchased. This built a solid level of trust and loyalty with my subscribers.
Another good way to create exclusive items for your list is to listen to their needs. Sometimes, you can tell by the volume of what they purchased from you or others where they need the most guidance.
Then, you can take that concept and create a short tutorial that you password protect on your blog. Instead of simply emailing out the lesson, give them the password so that they can access the tutorial and see that it is a closed lesson reserved only for them.
You can even use time as a factor in exclusivity. For example, if you are launching a product, you might give your list advanced availability and access to it over the general public.
Email #8: An Email Requesting Their Opinion or Feedback
Over the course of the coming days, weeks, months and years, you will be delivering a lot of information to your subscribers via email. But from time to time, you want to take the pulse of your list to see if you are meeting their needs or if you need to change direction in any way, shape, or form.
You can do this by sending an email out that asks for their opinion or feedback on what you are doing for them. There are different ways you can accumulate this information. For example, you can request that they simply reply to your email with their answer.
You may also have some sort of blog post published or a post on social media that you direct them to and ask them to comment with their thoughts or advice on what they want you to discuss in the future.
Another thing you can do is use a free or paid survey tool. Using a tool like SurveyMonkey allows you to set up a series of questions and choices for your list to answer and select.
For example, you might ask them what your next info product course should be about. You can give them a list of potential topics that you are considering or just ask them what they need the most. You can ask if they want a beginners course or something more advanced. You can poll them to see what media format they prefer whenever you do release a course or even content online.
Once you accumulate the information from your target audience, you will want to take that information and prove to them that you are listening to their concerns and needs by implementing something immediately that was requested.
In fact, when you email your list to promote your new product, make sure that they understand it was due to the specific request of one or more of your subscribers. This allows other subscribers to feel more at ease being honest with you about their own needs or concerns.
Many people tend to feel uncomfortable, even when asked, giving advice or asking something of someone they consider more experienced and knowledgeable in what they should be teaching.
Email #9: A Top Tips Email They Can Instantly Implement
While many of your competitors are doing nothing but spamming their subscribers with endless offers, you want to be the kind of email marketer that adds value to each communication you send out.
Whether you send a single tip, or a list of top tips that will help them achieve a goal in their niche, your subscribers will appreciate knowing that when they open your emails, they will find your unique opinion and expertise.
These tips that you send out can serve as helpful reminders to get them on the right track if they have veered off. For example, if you are in the weight loss niche, sending a tip email about how to get more water into your day for hydration that would be something your audience appreciates.
Try to send unique tips that you feel they may not have heard before. Or, maybe they’re the most common and sensible tips that you know are helpful, and you want to offer the reminder and help your audience implement them into their life.
With tip emails you can either craft communications that are entirely based on that advice or add it as part of an email that goes out along with something else, such as a promotion.
When you do this, your readers never have to worry that you are just trying to milk them for all their worth. They know that every time they open an email from you, there will be something they can take away from it that will add to their life can help them achieve their goals.
Over time, you can take the tips that you have accumulated in your email communications and compile them into a lead magnet report or and info product that you sell to the buying public.
Make sure you are looking out for cutting edge information that you can share with your readers. Whether you are giving them tips on something strategically, technical, or even mental, don’t just tell them what the tip is but walk them through it step-by-step.
You can find tips that people share in other publications where you curate the information and give credit to the original author. You can also tune into casual conversations taking place on social media and in forums and watch for tips that you may want to pass on to your list.
Email #10: An Email of Appreciation
Lastly in our series of emails your subscribers crave is the type of communication where you simply show your appreciation. While it may not seem as if much effort is put into being on someone’s list, the recipient does make sacrifices for you.
Most of us can attest to the fact that when we open our email accounts and see a flood of emails we have to go through, it can be a little intimidating or overwhelming – especially if our time is limited and we have many tasks to complete each day.
So first and foremost, you want to appreciate the fact that these individuals have trusted you with their contact information and allow you to make it into their email inbox on a daily basis.
Another thing you want to show appreciation for is the feedback they give you whenever they think you could be doing something better or different and have the courage to reach out and share their thoughts with you.
You also want to remember that these people are the reason you are able to make money online in your niche as a leader. Whether they are purchasing products that you created or buying things through your affiliate link, the trust they have put in you to lead them is something you need to be thankful for.
You don’t want to constantly be sending out appreciation emails because it may come off as phony if you do it too often. However, whenever you have learned something from your communications with them or are seeing great results because of your list, make it a point to either dedicate an entire email to the appreciation of your list or at least a portion of it.
You can even do a little something for your list as a sign of appreciation. For example, you might create a few tools they can use to help them e.g. lose those last ten pounds 10 day meal plan, an EFT script to eliminate their money blocks, a meditation or visualization to help raise their energetic vibration to manifest something fun in the next 10 days, etc.
Be sincere when you show your gratitude to these individuals. Don’t just give a blanket statement, but be specific about how there agreement to be on your list and involvement with your business is helping you achieve greater success and support yourself and your family.
I hope you found this email series helpful! These emails can be applied to any niche with just a little tweaking. Have fun with it – you have everything you need to create an engaging email series that will turn your subscribers into loyal fans who see you as a leader and role model!