How to plan your monthly email marketing

Your email subscribers are precious

I often preach about how important your email subscribers are! Never forget it! They have given you a vital piece of personal information and given you permission to contact them directly – you have been given entry to their email inbox. So, make sure you make use of it wisely and regularly. Importantly, in return, offer useful and interesting information.

I understand that coming up with ideas of things to send consistently can seem difficult. So, I am here to offer some recommendations for different types of emails that you can send throughout the month, say 1 per week. Or, if you prefer, choose one type that suits your business best and do that well each week or, perhaps just once each month.

Remember – it’s all about what your subscribers want and need, in addition to what is right for your business.

Planning a month of emails

I recommend sending a weekly email – unless you really feel you can get away with more – I think that’s enough for a small business. It is a nice frequency that reminds people about your business without becoming too intrusive. However, I also believe once a month or once a quarter is completely acceptable. You simply have to consider your own business and marketing goals, as well as what you feel you can share that will be valuable and interesting.

Once you’ve decided on the frequency (and committed to it!), the next decision to make is about the actual content. There are lots of different styles of email and I have listed four types below that can work in a complementary way sending a different type each week. Or, you can pick just one or two and mix them up depending on what you have to offer.

I do believe that consistency is important. However, if you are only just starting to send regular mailing, you may also have to play around with different styles to see what works best. You also have the option to ‘combine themes’ too and the actual layout can also be experimented with, to ensure you are getting people to engage or act upon your calls to action and/or clicking on links.

Don’t forget the analytics available to you in most email marketing systems – they can be offer a really invaluable insight.

1 – Newsletter style emails

If you are only going to send one email a month or quarter, then this type of content can work really well. The idea is that you offer a full round up of the month (or quarter) based on what has been happening in your business and the news you have to share. This style is great for reminders if you run regular workshops or classes. It is also a great way to share what you have been up to if you attend regular conferences, markets or events.

You can also create a ‘newsletter’ by picking a certain topic to focus on and offer lots of information related to it. For example, Father’s Day. If you have related products you could share these, as well as a related blog post and perhaps a special announcement or discount.

2 – Sales style emails

These are your classic Gap emails! If you have a product-based business then these definitely need to be in your arsenal! However, if you have a service-based business don’t forget to remind your subscribers of your different services too.

Sending similar style emails about different services or categories of products can be really useful for gathering information about what your audience is interested in too.

You can advertise special offers, sales and discounts, as well as new product lines.

3 – Marketing content focussed emails

Do you write a regular blog posts or create videos? Then, make sure you are sharing them to your email list. They deserve to get as many views as possible so advertise them.

You can focus on just one in an email or you can share a collection.

4 – Thought leader / Advice email

I love this style of email! Written well they are just a lovely addition to my inbox. I particularly like it when they are written like a standard email. It feels more personal, like the business owner has taken the time to sit and write me an email. Do you know what I mean? There may be a link to a blog or a website page within the body of the copy but the main content is simply sharing useful information, their thoughts or good advice. It can really show how that business actually cares about helping.

They often have a familiar structure or format and may be long enough to include a heading or two in bold.

The purpose, however, is about sharing expertise and the ‘sales’ element is often more subtle.

Writing regular email content

The best way to start sending out regular emails is to make a plan – commit to a certain frequency and create templates or a structure that will help you. I often use templates available in email management systems, such as Mailchimp or Mailerlite, to make their creation easy. As I said at the start, it’s fine to mix and match and discover what works best for you too.

So go on…give your subscribers something to look forward to with great regular emails that show off everything your business has to offer.

If you need any further help with your email marketing, let me know – kate@thecontentconsultancy.com