Email Marketing Is Like Your Website’s BFF - Here’s Why
Today, consumers rely on the Internet when making purchasing decisions, so establishing your online presence as a business owner is more important than ever. While your social media presence should be a major part of your business strategy, you do not own or control your social media channels, which makes it an unpredictable and unreliable way of growing your business.
The summer before I entered my senior year of high school, my parents bought me a new-to-me car. If you pushed the pedal all the way to the floor, that silver Ford Focus topped out at 90 on the highway, and that baby was shaking as if you were taking off into space, like the slowest spaceship of all time. 🚀🐌
Fast or slow, it didn’t matter, I loved that car because it represented freedom.
Freedom from relying on my parents or my friends’ parents to get me around town. I was so excited to take myself to work and softball practice, drive my friends around, and park at school.
But we all know it wasn’t really freedom. As most parents of teenagers do, they made sure to remind me regularly that it was THEIR car and I could have it taken away at a moment's notice.
The same goes for your social media accounts.
The good news? There is a way for you to establish and grow a large online presence without relying on social media.
Enter your website and email marketing.
You own both your domain and your email list and they are direct ways to communicate with your audience. Let’s take a look at how they each play a vital role in the growth of your business individually and together.
The Power of a Website
“Credibility is a leader’s currency. With it, he or she is solvent; without it, he or she is bankrupt.”
We’ve all been to websites that don’t function well, have an aesthetic that turns you off, or look like they came straight out of ‘05. And you likely exited out of them faster than you arrived. This is because having a functional, well-designed, and updated website matters to end users.
4 ways your website builds credibility for your business:
✨ It legitimizes your business
✨ Testimonials help build trust
✨ Thought leadership pieces show you’re an industry leader
✨ It showcases your products and services
Outside of building credibility, your website also has the power to convert leads to sales. It allows for an easy way to get to know you and understand your product or service and a convenient, easy way to take the next step.
The bottom line: Whether you don’t have a website or don’t prioritize its importance, you are hindering the growth of your business.
Benefits of Email Marketing
As a long-time marketer, I’ve seen firsthand the power of email marketing. So, when I began my business, I knew I needed an email list and fast. This is why the first course I ever invested in was from Emily at The Creative Bodega called Start + Grow Your Email List. In the first year of my business, I sent 42 weekly newsletters alone.
Sending emails to your list gives you a direct line of communication with your audience. This allows you to build a community of followers that is interested in what you have to say and what you are selling.
With your email list, you can expect an open rate of 17-28%. This is in contrast to social media, where a maximum of 10% of your followers will see your content. The 7+ percent of eyes on your business make all the difference.
Emails specifically for service providers tend to be conversational; you write them as if you are talking to one specific person, compared to the masses on social media. This helps build a relationship and trust with your audience, making them more likely to reply or click a link you provided because you’ve made it feel personal.
Whether you choose a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly newsletter, the key to email marketing is being consistent. Your audience should know exactly what they can expect from you and when they can expect it.
Again, building trust and credibility with your community.
Integration: How They Work Together
As previously mentioned, email marketing and website are both ways to communicate directly with your audience, allowing you to convert leads into sales. This is why, when you are building out your email marketing and website strategies, they should complement each other and potentially even be linked.
Let’s look at some examples:
As you can see, there are many ways that these two marketing strategies work well together. When you see how easily they work together, it seems hard to have one without the other. To get your wheels spinning on how you can implement these into your growth strategy, here are some specific examples of how to use both to your advantage.
Form types to incorporate into your website that will grow your email list:
✨ Pop-up forms
✨ Embedded forms - newsletter sign-up forms placed throughout your website
✨ Gated asset forms - these are your freebie download forms
✨ Contact form
Email campaigns to leverage that will get users to your website:
✨ Launch email campaigns
✨ Welcome sequence
✨ Newsletters
Tips for Effective Integration
If you want to integrate your email marketing strategy effectively with your website strategy, you must start with planning. Get out your calendar and look at your year's launches, blog content, and new freebies, then start planning them in conjunction with one another.
Keep in mind that not everyone who sees your social media content sees your website regularly or is subscribed to your email list (if they do see all your content their either your partner, mom or they are a lead that should already be a client). So, don’t worry about repeating a similar message across multiple channels.
Here is an example of how I personally link the two in my growth strategy:
⌨️ I plan to publish a new blog post every other week. That week’s newsletter will be a relatable story that leads to them reading the blog as the CTA. Most other weeks, I will promote my services or simply connect with my audience.
🚀 I plan to launch a new service in Q3, so in Q2, I will start promoting that service via email in preparation for the launch. Following the launch, I will send a launch email campaign to get people excited and give them a way to book with me on my website.
Frankly, this makes creating content easier for me since I am writing the blog posts, and I have content to use for my weekly emails.
Are you seeing how you can integrate the two into your business strategy?
Website Design + Email Marketing Add-on Services
Now that you understand the importance of both your website and your email marketing strategies and how they work so well together. It’s time to start thinking about how you can apply this to your business.
When you book the Full Website Design package with me, you can add on my email marketing service. I will create branded templates in Flodesk to match your brand-new website so that upon launch, you can start sending emails right away.
This service is perfect if you are new to email marketing or if you have a list that has been neglected and needs to be revived.
If you are looking to update your website and begin implementing an email marketing strategy, click the link below to chat with me about how I can help you.
Want to get started with email marketing today?
Enjoy 50% off your first year of Flodesk!
