Did you know that over half the world’s population uses email? Although it may seem a bit outdated in the age of social media, email is still going strong. In fact, the number of emails sent every day is expected to keep growing through 2023 and there is a way to make money sending emails.
If you’re wondering how you can build your online business and make money, you should consider email marketing.
Can you really make money sending emails though? With this guide, you most definitely can. Here’s how.
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Step One is Building a List
The first thing you need to do if you want to make money sending emails is to build a list. Think about your blog or website.
Do you ask people to sign up for a newsletter? If so, you’re already well on your way to building an email list that you could turn into more sales and profit.
Of course, asking people to sign up for a newsletter is the obvious way to start building an email list. You might also ask people to exchange their contact details for a free offer, such as an eBook or a discount when they make an account on your site.
People who purchase something or contact you with a question may also be added to your email list.
Pay Attention to Opt-Out Rules
A word of caution is advised when you begin building an email list. New laws and rules like the GDPR in the EU and California’s recent law mean you have to keep people informed.
That means customers need to be presented with an opt-out button on the transaction page. Not everyone wants to receive news about sales or newsletters when they buy something from you.
Your emails should also include a clear way to opt-out of receiving the emails.
The good news is that opt-out options actually help you build a better email list. The people who opt-in actually want to receive your newsletters and updates. This, in turn, can lead to better click-through rates and more conversions.
If you don’t provide an opt-out button, you may be signing up people who will never open your emails. They just send them straight to spam or delete them.
It’s much better to have a smaller, more refined list of people who are excited to read your latest email than an enormous list of people who don’t care.
Use the Right Tools to Help Grow a List
Another key to building and growing an email list is using the right tools. You’ll probably want to invest in a tool that can help you build and monitor campaigns.
These tools can make signing up new subscribers easy, as well as help you ensure people who want to opt-out are able to do so. With them, you can also build better newsletters. Once you hit send, you’ll also be able to track metrics like click-through rate and conversions.
This data can tell you what’s working and what’s not. With this information in hand, you can manage your list and your campaigns the right way.
Ways to Make Money Sending Emails
Building a list is clearly important if you want to make money sending emails. After all, you can’t really make any money if you don’t have anyone to send the email campaign to.
Now for the nitty-gritty details. How do you make money with emails?
There are a few different methods you can try. They include:
- Selling a product or service
- Affiliate marketing
- Upselling
- Cross-selling
- Retargeting
- Referrals
Each method targets a slightly different audience with a slightly different goal. Think about who you’re trying to reach and why they’d buy from you when you’re determining which kind of money-making email you want to send.
Selling Your Own Products
This kind of email is probably the one you’re most familiar with. If you have a product or service you want to sell, you can promote it to your email list by sending a note.
In this type of email, you might introduce a new product or service. If what you’re selling has been around for a while, you might talk about the lesser-known benefits of it. You may also announce a sale or discounted price to entice people to buy.
If the product hasn’t released yet, you may send emails to tell people about when it will be available. You may try to get them excited to buy, or even pre-order.
Affiliate Marketing Works in Email
Many people associate affiliate marketing with bloggers and their websites, but it can work through email too. In fact, email may be even more effective.
Why is that? Simply put, someone has signed up for your email newsletter because they want to hear from you. They want your insights or opinions.
You may give them product or service recommendations. Since these recommendations are coming from a trusted source, they’re more likely to follow through.
Why does affiliate marketing work so well in email? The people receiving your newsletter are motivated. They want to know about your recommendations, so they’re more likely to follow up.
That’s a little different than someone who arrives on your blog through a Google search. They don’t necessarily trust your opinion, and they may not click your links.
If you want to be successful with affiliate marketing, then email is a great method to add to your strategy.
Cross-Selling and Upselling
These emails work on past customers and prospects. They try to get you additional sales by offering someone an upgraded service, an exclusive product, or something complementary to what they’ve just bought.
You can think of these emails as “added-value” for your customers. They may not have been aware of an upgraded version of what they just bought, so they may want to exchange their purchase.
A cross-selling email shows them products they may also be interested in, which they may not have realized they wanted or needed. In essence, these emails make it easier for people to see and buy other items or services they want.
Retargeting Emails Entice People Back
Another popular type of email marketing is the retargeting campaign. These come in a few different forms:
- The abandoned shopping cart email
- The “come back to us” discount
- The re-order email
- The “are you still interested?” email
These messages are all designed to get prospects and past customers to come back to your site. Shopping cart abandonment is high, so emails reminding people about their carts or asking if they’re still interested in certain products can get people to complete the transaction.
Emails that offer discounts or remind people that it’s time to re-order focus on people who have already made a purchase from you. You may remind someone that’s it almost time to refill their contact lens prescription. If someone made a purchase six months ago, you might offer them a discount to buy again.
If you’re using your email marketing for affiliate marketing, you may think a bit differently about retargeting emails. You may remind someone about an article they were reading or offer them an exclusive discount code if they order a product through your affiliate links.
Referrals Help you Grow
Finally, there’s the referral email. You’ve probably seen a version of this. Usually, the email asks you to share with your friend or refer them to get some kind of reward.
The reward may be a discount, points, or even a free gift.
This usually means the referrer will buy through you again. It also means you gain new customers. In turn, you can grow both your email list and your profits.
Creating a Campaign
All right, now you have an email list and an idea of the kinds of emails you can make money with.
It’s time to create an email campaign to make money.
The first thing you need to do is choose your target audience. If you have an email list that has 50,000 addresses on it, you may think you want to send your email out to all 50,000 addresses.
Good email marketing usually segments this list a little more. People want to receive personalized offers and emails, so carefully selecting who will receive which email message is important. The right tools will help you segment your list.
An easy example is sending out a loyal customer discount. Some of the 50,000 people on your list may never have bought anything through your website. Do you really count them as “loyal customers”?
The answer is probably no. Instead, you refine your target list to just those people who have made a purchase from you in the past.
You can refine this even further, selecting only those people who have made two or more purchases. You might choose to reward those who have bought from you two or three times in the last six months. This way, you know your offer is going to the right people.
Similarly, it would be silly to send introductory pricing to a customer who has been buying from you for years. They might even get upset to know that you’re offering new people a “great deal.”
Craft Some Compelling Copy
Once you’ve decided on the type of campaign you’re running and who you’ll send it to, it’s time to actually sit down and write your email.
The success of email marketing hinges on compelling copy. If your emails are poorly written, boring, or too long-winded, people aren’t going to read them. They might not even open them.
Basic spelling and grammar are key. You’ll also want to keep it short and sweet. Your email readers value your opinion, but they’re also busy people.
A great email copy is also compelling. It tugs on your readers’ emotions, and it asks them to do something.
An email campaign for a new product should get them excited about the product. If you’re rewarding people for their loyalty, your note should make them feel happy or even proud that they choose to shop with you.
Your copy should also be clear. What do you want the customer to do? A compelling call to action will improve your click-through and conversion rates.
Write a Great Subject Line
Writing the body of the email can be challenging enough. Before people read that, though, they’ll read the subject line and the email preview.
Condensing what you need to say and enticing people to open an email is an art. Great subject lines are crucial, though, because they’re what get people to click your email over the hundreds of others in their inbox.
A great subject line creates intrigue and excitement. It gives people a reason to click on the email. An example helps:
- March Update 2020
- Exciting Updates for March 2020!
Which email do you want to read more? More people will click on the second headline. Try to inject some creativity into your subject lines, and people will be more likely to click on them.
Don’t Forget About Design
Another key factor of a successful email marketing campaign is good design. You can write the greatest copy and subject line ever, but it won’t matter if the layout of your email is unappealing.
There are plenty of templates to help you here. Pick a tried and true email newsletter template to ensure your message displays across devices. Remember that headings, graphics, and more increase the appeal of your email.
When the email is well-designed, people are more likely to read it. Good design can also help them take the next step, which makes you more money.
Hit “Send” Now
With this guide, you can make money sending emails in no time. Great email marketing is just one pillar of a successful online business, though.
If you’re looking for more avenues to help build an online business or create a better digital marketing strategy, you’re in the right place. Discover more great opportunities and use the latest tips and tricks to get growing now.
With the right tools in hand, you’ll be on your way to online success.
