Whether you’re interested in establishing new partnerships, gaining sponsors, or finding influencers to collaborate with, you want to reach out in a way that cuts through the noise.
We’ve had success with direct email marketing, and with practice, we’ve fine-tuned our outreach system so we see results every time. When done right, direct email marketing is a great way to build relationships and create opportunities for referrals (and who doesn’t want that?).
Here are some best practices for direct email marketing for small business owners looking to establish new connections and build meaningful relationships.
There is money in your list
If you put effort into building a good outreach list you’re guaranteed to find a return on your investment.
What makes a stellar outreach list?
Well, first you should set a goal to guide your email marketing. What do you hope to get out of your list? Maybe you want to attract new customers, or you want to invite guests onto your show. Maybe you’re hoping to strike up a partnership with a sponsor or influencer. You want to have a solid idea of what you’re hoping to accomplish, then shape your approach to get there.
The other half of the puzzle is knowing who your audience is. When you have so many exciting ideas and a wide range of possible target audiences, it’s easy to want to include everyone and their mother in your email list. Don’t do this! Be intentional about your ideal customer so your message can come across clear.
Research potential partners or influencers who offer different products and services, but who have the same target audience. Then, add them to your list! Try to find personal emails rather than info@ addresses, and likewise, send emails from your direct email address as well.
You want a big enough sample size to track and measure your results, but small enough so you can pivot your strategy if you come to find it wasn’t a great fit. We recommend you start with 50.
How to write a good marketing email
Now comes our favourite part – writing the actual email! This is probably the most difficult part of email marketing. You can have a solid list and a million-dollar business idea, but without a well-written email that hits the key points, your efforts will flop.
Make it easier on yourself and create an email template that allows you to swap out specific information like names and businesses.
Your email should have messaging that is emotional, engaging, and reflects your brand. Say a lot, but in as few words as possible. Use short, to the point sentences. Make it conversational, but professional. And the obvious, take a second (and third) look for typos, correct links, and that your email is specific to the person you’re writing to, including their name and business details.
Let’s say you’re a real estate agent who is looking for some new guests for your podcast. It might be easy to throw together an email that looks something like this:
Hi there,
I have a podcast and am looking for guests. Would you be interested?
My podcast is all about sharing expert real estate tips.
If this is something you think you be interested in, please email me back.
-Jane
See the problem with this email? There’s no personal touch. It lacks emotion and it’s not engaging. And, psst. Did you catch the typo? This template has zero personalization, and it doesn’t capture the podcaster’s brand. Plus it’s missing a link to the podcast so how does the reader even know what to do next?
Here’s how to turn it into an award-winning marketing email:
Hi Joe,
My name is Jane and I’m a real estate agent looking for guests for my podcast, Real Estate 101.
I came across your Instagram profile and I really love the content you’re posting about the real estate market. My podcast is all about sharing expert real estate tips, and guiding my listeners on what to look out for when first buying a home. I would love to share this type of information with my podcast listeners, and I think they could benefit from your insights.
You can find more information about me and my podcast at www.realestate101podcast.com.
If being a guest on my podcast is something you think you’d be interested in, please email me back and let me know when a good time to chat might be.
I look forward to hearing from you!
-Jane
How to manage your outreach
While you might be tempted to send a mass email to your entire list, doing so may end up with your email going straight to the junk folder. Avoid the spam filter by emailing each person individually. Space out your correspondence so that you’re sending a manageable number of emails each day.
After you hit that send button, the hard part is over. If you receive responses, great! You can start a dialogue and begin building that relationship. If you don’t geta response, wait about two weeks, then send a simple follow up email to make sure they got your message.
Track and measure your results as you go. If you received a good number of responses, take note of what they responded to – was it a specific type of ask? Specific type of content? Take what you’ve learned, and continue list building with your new knowledge.
If you didn’t get many responses, take a closer look and try to identify gaps. Maybe you need to shorten the email, or make it more personal. Maybe someone you had on your list isn’t a great fit after all. Go back to your initial research and make tweaks as needed.
Email marketing is all about the connection
At the end of the day, direct email marketing is about being outgoing and authentic, knowing your audience, and taking action to connect with them.
Still not sure where to start? We can help! Get in touch at info@sambawebstudio.website.
About Fesyk Marketing
We’re a boutique agency that believes great relationships are the key to having a successful and sustainable business. And we see opportunities for connection and collaboration everywhere!
Our amazing team specializes in creating content and leveraging social media to help our clients strengthen relationships, increase referral rates and attract new business. As a vision based company we create bespoke marketing plans with the end goal in mind and then work right alongside you to make it happen.
One of our favourite mantras is, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” and have proven time and time again that authentic, meaningful content is the foundation for building a community of loyal customers.
Does this sound interesting to you? Send us an e-mail to connect and learn more about how relationship marketing can help your business.