How to Get Started With Email Marketing as a Freelancer
Marketing is crucial for all businesses; from massive corporations to freelance businesses. One of the most effective marketing strategies is email marketing, especially for a B2B business. With 77% of B2B buyers preferring to be contacted through email – more than double any other channel – freelancers can take advantage of email marketing for lead generation and client acquisition.
In this article, we will look at the different ways that email marketing can benefit freelancers, why it’s crucial for lead nurturing and client acquisition, as well as how to use email marketing as a freelancer.
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Understanding the Value of Email Marketing as a Freelancer
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to generate leads, nurture prospects, and acquire new clients for your freelance business. Some of the value that this strategy can bring include:
High ROI: On average, email marketing generates an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent, giving it a 3600% return on investment. Email marketing is also cost-effective to implement, meaning that any small business owner can reap the benefits.
Lead Nurturing: Staying in regular contact with leads and providing them with consistent value without asking for anything in return is an excellent way to nurture leads and increase conversions.
Client Retention: By sending regular updates, newsletters, or exclusive offers to existing clients, freelancers can stay on top of clients’ minds and maintain ongoing relationships. This can lead to repeat business and referrals, ensuring a stable client base.
Showcasing Your Value: Email marketing is an effective way to showcase the value that you can bring to your potential clients, by including client testimonials, case studies, and examples of your past work.
Targeted Audiences: With email marketing, you can segment your email lists based on various factors such as client preferences, industry, or location. This enables you to tailor your messages and offers to specific groups, increasing the relevance and effectiveness of their communications.
Measurable Results: Email marketing platforms often provide analytics and tracking features, allowing you to measure the success of your campaigns. You can monitor metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and unsubscribes, providing valuable insights for future improvements and optimizations.
The Different Types of Email Campaigns
Welcome Emails
When a lead signs up for your mailing list, it signifies a high level of interest in your business. You can take advantage of this by emailing them right away. Create a welcome email template, and set it to automatically send when someone signs up to your mailing list. It is important to personalize your welcome emails and address the prospect specifically; 88% of users say that they are more likely to respond to an email if it looks like it’s been created explicitly for them.
Newsletters
Email newsletters are usually sent on a regular basis, such as once a week or every month, helping you to stay in touch with your customers. Newsletters are a great way to share blog content, specials, or your lead magnets, such as a free resource or discount coupon specific to your subscribers. You can also use it to inform your audience about new services or projects and any other important events.
Special Announcements
If you have a special announcement to share, such as a temporary sale or an important change in your business model, you can send announcement emails to inform your leads. However, take care not to do this too often, as it can make you seem untrustworthy or increase your chances of being marked as spam.
Building an Effective Email Marketing Strategy
When creating an email marketing strategy, it is essential to optimize it fully before sending any emails.
Below are some steps to follow to build an effective email marketing strategy as a freelancer.
✅ Set Goals
Before starting your campaign, think about what you want it to accomplish for your business and your KPIs. Do you want more leads? Are you looking to retain past clients? Knowing what you want to achieve from your campaigns will help you to set it up with your goals in mind. Also, ensure that your emails are sent from a professional email address.
✅ Create a Sign-Up Form
Create a sign-up form to put on your website in order to collect the contact information of your leads. You can use form-builders like those in our resource library and ask your leads for details such as their name, email address, and any other relevant information.
✅ Segment Your Audiences
Divide your email list into segments based on relevant criteria such as buyer personas, client type, industry, or geographic location. This allows you to send more targeted and personalized emails that resonate with each segment, increasing the chances of engagement and conversions.
✅ Build an Email List
Focus on growing a quality email list of engaged subscribers who are genuinely interested in your services. Offer lead magnets such as incentives or valuable content to encourage sign-ups. Ensure that your subscribers have given you permission to email them and comply with data protection regulations, such as the GDPR.
✅ Choose an Email Marketing Software
Email marketing software can help you to automate your email workflow, by sending emails automatically as new leads sign up to your mailing list, or to send one email to multiple addresses. Many of these tools offer free services, such as HubSpot’s generous free plan and Brevo’s Discover Brevo plan.
✅ Create Compelling Content
Craft high-quality, engaging content that provides value to your subscribers. This can include informative newsletters, industry insights, helpful tips, case studies, or exclusive offers. Write compelling subject lines to encourage email opens, and use a mix of text, images, and calls to action to drive engagement.
✅ Design Mobile-Friendly Emails
With the increasing use of smartphones, ensure your emails are optimized for mobile devices. Use responsive email templates that adapt to different screen sizes, and keep your emails visually appealing, concise, and easy to read on mobile.
✅ Test & Optimize
Email marketing requires constant optimization to increase conversions and open rates. Use A/B testing to experiment with different subject lines, content formats, layouts, and call-to-action buttons. This can help you compare different versions of an email to identify what works best.
✅ Monitor & Analyze Results
Use email marketing analytics to track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and unsubscribe rates. Analyze the data to gain insights into what works and what doesn’t, and make data-driven decisions to refine your strategy and improve future campaigns.
Growing & Nurturing Your Subscriber List
Once you have set up your emails and acquired your first subscribers, it is time to grow and nurture your email list. There are a few ways to do this, for example:
✅ Optimize Sign-Up Forms
Make it easy for website visitors to subscribe to your email list by placing prominent sign-up forms on your website. Keep the form simple and ask for minimal information (usually name and email address). Consider offering incentives such as exclusive content, discounts, or free resources to encourage sign-ups.
✅ Create Valuable Lead Magnets
Develop valuable lead magnets to attract more subscribers, such as e-books, guides, templates, or any other content that your target audience would find appealing. Offer these resources in exchange for email addresses, effectively growing your subscriber list with interested prospects.
✅ Leverage Social Media
Promote your email newsletter and lead magnets on your social media channels. Direct your followers to your sign-up forms or landing pages where they can subscribe to your mailing list. Engage with your audience and encourage them to join your email community for exclusive offers and content.
✅ Encourage Sharing & Referrals
Include social sharing buttons in your emails and encourage your subscribers to share your content with their friends and family. Offer referral incentives, such as exclusive content or discounts, to existing subscribers who refer others to join your list. Word-of-mouth marketing can be powerful for growing your subscriber base.
✅ Optimize Your Website for Conversions
Ensure that your website is optimized for conversions by strategically placing sign-up forms or call-to-action buttons on relevant pages. Use compelling copy and visuals to entice visitors to subscribe to your email list. Furthermore, your website should be easy to navigate, provide a good user experience, and be visually appealing.
✅ Use Call-to-Actions
It is paramount that you use CTAs in all of your email marketing campaigns. This encourages the reader to take action after viewing your email, and can increase shares and conversions. You can use CTAs such as ‘View My Services’, ‘Follow Me On LinkedIn’, or ‘See More’.
Conclusion
It can be incredibly beneficial to utilize email marketing as a freelancer, both for increasing sales and for retaining existing clients. In this article, we discussed how freelancers can set up their email marketing campaigns, how to grow and nurture their mailing lists, and how to monitor and optimize results.
By setting relevant and achievable goals, offering consistent value to your audience, and optimizing your emails to improve the user experience, you can successfully gain subscribers and increase conversions. Remember to include CTAs, encourage sharing and referrals, and optimize your website to provide the best possible experience for your potential clients.
