Are you looking to build your email list and bring in more quality leads, but you’re not a marketing expert? Good news, it’s easy to generate new leads and grow your email list with email funnels and an automated email sequence that nurtures and actually converts prospects.
Sales funnels that use lead magnets are one of the #1 ways to build your email list. Even better, you can put them on auto-pilot too.
How to grow your email list (fast and free).
In 7 Steps to Creating a Killer Sales Funnel, we shared the benefits of sales funnels and lead magnets. Having a well-designed sales email funnel can grow your email list and provide you with free leads, improved audience engagement, and increased sales conversions.
First you need to create your sales funnel system. Sound overwhelming? We’ve got you covered. Follow our 7-Step Sales Funnel Template first. And then revisit this article where I will teach you, in detail, how to create the 5-email sequence that will be a key part of your sales funnel system.
Don’t worry, we all tend to get caught up in writing the copy for the email drip campaigns that are sent out once a lead submits their email to download the lead magnet.
In this blog we will expand on the 5-email sequence and describe each email in more detail to help simplify the process for you. I will also provide a template and real-life examples of each email.
Why create an automated email campaign?
Email marketing offers a great opportunity for companies to reach their ideal audience. They cost less than other types of advertisements and have a high open rate. Email marketing campaigns are one of the easiest and quickest ways to generate revenue.
For email funnels, the key is that when the leads submit their email, your email drip needs to take them all the way through the buying journey (awareness, interest, desire, and finally action). A lot of our clients, most of whom aren’t marketing experts, tell us that this is where they get overwhelmed.
How to setup an automated email sequence
We are re-visiting the topic to break down the email drip. Here is the 5-email process for creating your first automated email sequence.
- Email #1: This first email is both your “thank you” and delivery of the free resource (lead magnet). A great time to briefly re-introduce yourself and explain the next steps to use the free resource (limit to 1-3 steps). Walk the reader through how to add your emails to the safe senders’ list so none of your important messages slip through the cracks. Give them a reason to want to make sure they get your emails, like another freebie coming up soon and adding a “stay tuned”.
- Email #2: Here, you focus on “problem and solution”. Address one of your buyer persona’s pain points (related to the free resource you sent). Identify with them the pain point and then describe one of your products or services that solves it. Share another free bonus resource and end with an inviting CTA (check out our list of lead magnet ideas to come up with your free bonus resource offering).
- Email #3: Social proof builds credibility. You can do this by sharing a testimonial story, detailing the before and after, so the buyer can visualize the service you offered in Email #2 solving their problem.
- Email #4: Squash an objection. At this point, you have people interested in your product, but they may be sitting on the fence. Do some research to identify a buyer’s key objection/concern about buying your product and use this email to raise the concern and crush it.
- Email #5: This is the sales email. With Emails 1-4, you have created the awareness, interest, and desire for your product. In this email you need to include these 4 parts:
- Review of the pain point.
- How your service solves their problem.
- What their life looks like after their problem is solved.
- The important CTA that invites them to buy.
Expert tips on automated email sequences:
Like the rest of your emails, it is important to have a clear and strong email subject line to ensure a high open rate. The offer you are making in the body of your email must be irresistible.
Even if you have a few different things to offer, only include a single CTA in your email. Don’t ask them to sign up for a newsletter AND give you a call. Don’t ask them to register for an event AND buy your new product. Focus all your copy on getting your recipient to do that one thing.
Create your marketing automation triggers
Next, you need to create a trigger that upon completion of the email sequence adds the lead to the next drip campaign or newsletter list.
This trigger can be anything from a personal event, such as a birthday message including a discount code or promotional item, to a ‘real-time’ email relating to anything currently going on around your lead, such as weather and events.
Selecting an affordable, yet intuitive and robust, email marketing tool to setup triggers and automate your email marketing sequences is a key part of the email marketing equation. There are many options on the market, however, we suggest ActiveCampaign. It’s affordable in comparison to other options, scalable and integrates with many other tools (like your WordPress website!).
A great example of this is how Patagonia used lead demographics for their weather-based recommendations campaign.
Measure the effectiveness of your email marketing strategy
Finally, you launch, analyze the results, and tweak.
By measuring things like your CTR (clickthrough rate), clicks per link, bounce, and conversion rates, you know if your messaging is working. If it’s not, any good conversion rate optimization consultant would advise that there are things you can do to try and improve each specific metric to get you on your way to increasing your conversions.
Don’t stop there!
Repeat by creating an inquiry sequence, post-purchase sequence, and a subscriber sales sequence, check out our post of 44+ email templates to get you started.
It’s simple, really. Email funnels are an easy, inexpensive, and measurable tool to create leads, nurture them, and convert them to customers.
Our 5 Email Nurture Sequence Template is the perfect guide to get you started.
Need even more? Contact us for more information on our 12-month digital marketing strategy service.
