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I’m sure you’ve heard many times that you should probably have an email list. The only problem is you have tons of unanswered questions...
Where do I start?
Is this really worth my time?
How will this grow my business?
All very valid concerns, my friend. Having an email list can be such an impactful power move if done correctly. To begin with, it can be rather easy to implement with the right tools (
I myself use one tool that basically does the hard work for you). And secondly, your email list can bring you multiple sales over and over again.
Yup.
I get giddy every time I talk about the world of email marketing. For that reason, I want to share with you what it looks like when you have an email list and what it can do for your Etsy business.
1 | Turns one-time customers into repeat buyers
Etsy is a great platform for self-starters and established businesses alike. And as much as I adore the marketplace, it becomes increasingly easy to get lost amongst the crowd. Which is why it is extremely important to stand out from the rest –
can you say branding?
Because let’s face it after a shopper makes a purchase they can leave and never return. And not because they didn’t love your products or that your customer service sucks. But, time gets in the way and people get busy. You aren’t on their radar and so they move on. Eekkk!
And because they no longer hear from you after they have received their shipment, you risk losing a repeat buyer. But much of this can be avoided with regular communication. And not just salesy, spammy communication that involves you shoving your products down their throats ALL the time. But useful and valuable communication that reminds your customers that you still exist.
Can’t I accomplish this with social media? Sure, you can! But email allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. You can also share more information that won’t get lost on a social platform feed.
2 | Nurture your customers into raving fans
Once customers are added to your email list, you have the freedom to shower them with love. That means you send them valuable content. Content that solves a problem. Content that customers can’t wait to read each week. You can also show love through deals, discounts, and freebies. Doing this promotes sales and builds customer experiences without having to invest a large budget for marketing.
3 | Curates word-of-mouth
The more you communicate with your subscribers, over time they begin to look forward to hearing from you. This anticipation is a biggie because you are developing raving fans. In turn, your brand will grow and lead to word-of-mouth recommendations which are GOLDEN. It’s nothing like good ole’ word-of-mouth...their friends will tell their friends which leads to an outpouring of love by way of multiple sales.
4 | Builds brand recognition
I’ve talked about how important brand recognition is for your Etsy shop,
you can read all about it here. Simply put, customers want to be apart of your journey. They want to know the details of how your brand got started and what keeps it going.
The more you share with your customers, the more they want to support you and your vision. And they will grow with you and like you more. You can set up autoresponders which are a sequence of emails that are sent out automatically when a customer joins your list or following a purchase. I utilize the autoresponder feature within
AWeber for my welcome series that I send to new subscribers.
5 | Attract other audiences
Use the power of your writing skills to employ collaborations. You can share with your customers fellow Etsy shops and their owners through interviews and features. In return, they will share your collaboration with their readers. And there you have it...more subscribers. In addition, you are able to build solid relationships with other creatives.
Keep in mind, you want to collaborate with shops that aren’t your direct competition. Doing so, causes your audience to decide to go left or right instead of choosing both. If you sell kids clothing, collaborate with a shop that sells kids shoes or accessories. Your customers can enjoy both shops.
Email marketing is one of the best ways to guarantee that your audience gets direct access to you. Unlike social media, which certainly doesn’t ensure exposure. But email marketing puts you right in front of your audience, in their inboxes EVERY single time.
A simple way to get started is to first sign up with an email service provider. I use
AWeber to help me collect emails, manage my list, and create newsletters with their easy-to-use templates. The one thing I love
most about AWeber is that it connects with my Etsy shop and automatically invites customers to subscribe to my email list following a purchase. SUH-WEET!
You can test drive
AWeber with a 30-day free trial to kick off building your email list. Once signed up, you can connect your Etsy shop with AWeber to ensure automatic integration.
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on connecting your shop with AWeber.
And there you have it...get those emails out.
In the comments below, let me know what are some ways you use emails to help grow your Etsy business.
