Creative Business 101 – Email Marketing Frequency

by Linda | Aug 18, 2011 | my creative journal

I have to admit that I usually fall into the category of not emailing my list enough. I am plagued by feelings of not having something new to feature and as I’m focusing my efforts behind the scenes on art licensing collections…it’s really something I’m not supposed to share or show off. However, there are other little things going on, here and there and it makes me wonder about email marketing frequency and communicating more with my audience.

I think of my fans and supporters as friends and not communicating with them for a long time seems like a bad thing. I want interaction and I have to keep reminding myself…they signed up, so they want interaction too. However, the number one reason that people unsubscribe from emails is the complaint of too many emails. Did they mean too many from that one person or too many in general? When businesses have a strong following though, supporters actually think it’s okay to receive more messages. Hmm…seems like a toss up!

Would it be better to email regularly and frequently with little bits of information or try to consolidate into a monthly newsletter? Or just fire something off when it applies? On one hand, I think your supporters will be flexible…after all…they like you already! As long as you are sending pertinent information, they will accept it with open arms. But are you losing out by not reminding your fans a few more times about your products and services?

Many of the up and coming indie businesses and influencers today actually email weekly. I’ve also received multiple emails about new product launches. Even when I’m not interested, I just delete, I don’t unsubscribe. Because I still want to stay updated, even though that particular message doesn’t apply. Even when I’m annoyed at getting an email that is simply a repeated blog post – completely redundant since I follow their RSS feed – I don’t unsubscribe because I value the contact and information they will be sending over in the future. Talk about tolerance, eh?

It’s definitely difficult to decide on what makes sense. Suffice to say that you won’t be satisfying everyone – as with everything in life. In fact, you might be whittling your list down as you start implementing certain strategies, because only your true fans and supporters will stick around. In the marketing world it is also stressed that you need to repeat yourself at times. We all need to be reminded several times, before acting. How many times have you heard the famous line…”…oh I totally missed that…”

So back to my dilemma…I think a bit of testing is required. Increasing your email frequency should drive up interaction and hopefully sales, if that is your call to action. At some point you will reach a limit though, when lots of people will start unsubscribing. Basically, the increase will be offset by the unsubscribes – even though unsubscribes are normal for everyone. A general rule says at least once a month, but no more than once a week. Using that as a guideline, I’ve decided that a bit of experimentation is needed to find the right balance. What works for you, your schedule and your audience. Here are some ideas I plan to try out:

• increasing the frequency during product launches or holiday/shopping seasons
• sending occasional specific specials/offers
• sending information – benefits to the readers that ask nothing in return
• repeat emails that are reminders
• creating a new list or sublist for specific efforts, so your audience can opt-in (like daily painting, weekly tips, monthly sales, etc)

Ultimately, I think if you are providing content that your audience wants…it will work out! If suddenly there’s filler content or writing seems forced…then you’ve got a problem. What do you think? Have some tips to contribute? Please comment below and thanks for joining me on this creative business journey!

Creative Business 101 – Email Newsletter Subject Lines

by Linda | Aug 11, 2011 | my creative journal

When reading about email marketing, you often come across tips and tricks for creating catchy subject lines. Although I understand the importance of attracting readers…I also feel a bit odd using these so called “tricks.” Seems a bit too car saleman-like…and goes back to the issue of how creatives doing their own marketing feel a bit too shy. I’ve found that at times, I must remove myself from my normal role and think like a marketer would think – it’s their job to get folks to open the emails. We are all bombarded by messages daily and although we usually read those sent by people we love and businesses we have opted in for…there are still times when I just delete because I can’t take it all in.

So take a look at the email newsletters that you like to read and try to identify why. Besides wanting to get the information, is there something about the format? Is there something about the text size or organization? Do the subject lines capture you? I think there is a nice medium to creating catching subject lines and being authentic at the same time. The whole point of subject lines is to tell the reader a bit about what they are going to get inside. So I think it’s important to be truthful. However, you can also use some copywriting tips to make it sound nicer, to pique curiosity and grab people’s attention to take the action – click and read!

If you’ve already been doing some newsletters, definitely check your statistics to see what has worked in the past – or not worked. This is valuable information. And although the content and time of year have a lot to do with open rates, I think you can also get a lot of information by looking at past subject lines you have used. If you want to do some testing, certain service providers also let you split campaigns and try different subjects lines. That would give you even more information abotu your readers based on the same email blast.

I use MailChimp for my email newsletters and they even offer a research subject lines tool, to help you craft a better subject line. Although there is no sure-fire formula to creating a successful subject line, there are some rules to guard against looking like spam…or just being plain rude. I would definitely avoid:

• ALL CAPS
• !!!!!!????!?! Lots of exclamation points and punctuation
• spammy words like amazing, free, sexual terms or bad language
• too long of a subject line just looks a bit crazy and unnecessary and beside the point of summing up your email content

Instead, try to sum up your email content or pick the one thing you want to really highlight. Making some kind of offer, offering a benefit or pertinent information or use your authentic clever voice (you know your fans). Sometimes you can make it a question, so people want to know the answer within. It’s also okay to just write [Company Name] Newsletter. I know it seems boring, but if you have a relationship with your customers and send out emails regularly, it just makes sense.

My hope is to find a happy medium between overworked “businessy” marketing phrases and plain boring flat ones. Since everyone has a different audience, it also has a lot to do with what relationship you have with them. What reflects you authentically, communicates the point and gets attention? What subject lines do you like to use? Let me know what you think or if you have any tips in the comments below. Thanks for following along with this creative business 101 series…as I explore topics on my mind, through my own journey in starting a business.

Creative Business 101 – Email Marketing aka Permission Marketing

by Linda | Aug 4, 2011 | my creative journal

Do you want to share your passions, products and services with potential customers out there? I’ve come across many creatives who do not setup a newsletter or mailing list, because they feel it’s too early. They worry about not having content to send out…or that only a few people will sign up. What?! It is never too early to start and having a few dedicated fans is the beginning of something beautiful!

Email marketing is so powerful, because it is permission based. It gives you direct access to your fans and supporters and gives them an easy way to just reply and make contact with you in return. Your email listees are asking you to keep them updated…that’s why it’s called permission marketing. Realize what a huge opportunity it is for any business, but especially creatives and indie entrepreneurs. In fact, email marketing is considered one of the most important tools to drive sales. You know how often people check email right? 🙂

Sign-Up For An Email Marketing Service
There are many companies out there that do the job of collecting contact info and storing it into lists, keeping everything organized in a database. The service will ensure you abide by laws, have the unsubscribe links as necessary…all the boring stuff. I do recommend doing a bit of research to ensure you choose a service that makes the most sense for your business…because sometimes it can be a pain to transfer all your contacts into a new provider. Just take a look at the options and choose – many companies offer free service up to a certain number of subscribers and messages before pricing kicks in for high volume users. I personally use MailChimp and love it…but there’s also AWeber and Constant Contact to name just a few others. There’s no excuse not to set something up when your email list is so important and there are so many free options out there.

Tell Everyone About It
Once you have a list setup, not only do you have to put a sign-up box on your website and/or blog, but also ask people to sign up! There are so many opportunities to do so, in social media, online profiles, business cards, advertisements and during day to day interactions with customers. For example, I always send my Etsy buyers a post-sale message that provides them with direct links to Etsy feedback and my newsletter sign-up. It’s a natural progression and you need to make it easier for people to follow you and keep updated. They’ve already bought something from you, so chances are…they love your already! Don’t forget to include in email communications or mentioning it every so often. You do have to ask people to sign-up, because some people don’t pay attention to sidebars. There are interested people out there, they just might happen to be busy the first time you told them about it…so make it an option every so often.

Set Up Your First Message
It’s important to set up a template for your email communications, so that your messages look professional. Some businesses go for the minimal all-text messages, whereas visual artists usually opt for something more designed to show off their work as part of the email. Thankfully, there are many ready-to-go templates that can be selected once you sign up for a service. These days, it’s pretty darn easy to create newsletters with the tools available online.

Test, Manage and Plan
Remember to always send test messages, so you can check out how it looks and check all the links before sending it out. A no-brainer, but mistakes happen all the time and it can be quite annoying to find a broken link or typos here and there. Once you get the hang of it, sending our emails will be a snap and you can manage your statistics as well as plan out a schedule that works with your business within the service provider you have chosen. In my opinion, you don’t need to send messages all the time, but I would say at least every quarter at the least. You can to keep things fresh and alive in the mind of customers…but you must have something worth it to send at the same time. That’s why I don’t like having a forced schedule – although it really depends on your business. Here are some ideas and it’s probably not that difficult to come up with pertinent news to share once you get into it:

• New work! Your fans will definitely want to know about new products and services being offered.
• Offer a discount, sale or limited time offer…maybe for the holidays or a certain celebration.
• In the press – have you been published or interviewed somewhere?
• Show openings, marketplaces and such events to announce?
• Tutorial, tips, fabulous links to share to your audience?
• Class schedules, traveling/show plans?
• Offering your products in other shops? Licensed artwork? In a shop?
• Announcing something newsworthy?

Remember the Ultimate Goal
In the end, never forget that you are communicating with your fans. You should be providing them with something useful – something they would like to see in their inboxes. So don’t forget your audience and the ultimate goal of your email list. It’s a service you are providing to your fans, because they want to stay updated on you and your work. You never want to be forced to just go through the motions though… we are all busy people and no one wants to receive a robot message.

So are you ready? I hope you are inspired to go set up your email list right now. And if you already have one, I hope there’s some good information here for your email marketing effort in general. In the coming weeks, I’ll be delving into specific topics about getting the most out of your email marketing. Please let me know what you think and if you have any other tips to share below in the comments – ciao ciao!

Creative Business 101 – Business Cards and Printed Material

by Linda | Jul 28, 2011 | my creative journal

Do you have business cards ready to hand out to interested parties? Do you have other printed promotional materials to help spread the word about your work, especially if you are a visual artist or have an opportunity to really show off your work through photography? Although it may seem old fashioned, traditional printed material is still amazingly effective as a way of marketing your brand and products.

Business Cards
Although the digital age may seem to have pushed print to the waysides in many arenas, the business card is still alive and thriving. In fact, printing business have reported a surge and demand for printed business cards. Huh, imagine that! I get a lot of my printed materials from Vistaprint and they happen to print business cards more than other other one of their products. Although there are many ways to exchange contact information, especially for online businesses…the traditional business card is much more intimate and immediate. Dating from the Victorian times, “calling cards” were the thing to leave for any respectable gentlewoman/man – and I do have a thing for the Victorian days. Did you know it’s also become “a thing” to order dating cards? Yes, your contact information on a printed card to hand out at bars and social events for singles. 🙂

The point is that the business card is here to stay. They are cheap to print and best in small quanities, so you can change the look and update as often as you like. In fact, it keeps things fresh. It’s like leaving a little part of your brand in prospective customers’ hands. I know there are folks who go all digital…but I think you are missing out. In fact, with the overload of digital these days…print has become the all too missed element in real-life interactions. Let’s just say if you are already super famous…then yeah, you probably don’t need or want to be passing out business cards. But I don’t think that applies to most of us creatives…because we want and need to get ourselves out there and known.

Promotional Printed Materials
The same idea applies for other types of promotional printed materials. Notecards, postcards, magnets, calendars…products galore! It might seem real estate agent cheesy, but you seriously stuck that magnet or calendar on your fridge, right? Didn’t you keep that pad of paper to use it for note writing? With the flood of digital and online marketing these days, again we have print looking a bit special. Snail mail coming back strong and honestly…bring back a sense of real human interaction from business to customer. I love getting postcards and notecards from my favorite illustrators and Etsy shops…it reminds me about their work and gets me to go to their shop for sure.

Also, I find printed materials a great way to spread the love and art…again…email blasting an image to your list is different than actually printing postcards and sending it out. You know the difference and I think you’ve felt it as a consumer yourself. I know that there are hardcore digital folks who say they don’t need the old ways of doing things. I on the other end of the spectrum because I love printed materials myself, think that it’s cheap enough these days to actually be more worth the effort and money spent.

What do you think? Do you have a business card and printed materials to help with marketing? Let me know in the comments below!

Creative Business 101 – Schedule Follow Up Emails

by Linda | Jul 21, 2011 | my creative journal

Google Chrome, Boomerang and Gmail… yes they go together like magic! I’ve made a cool discovery and definitely wanted to share with all creative entrepreneurs out there. One thing about the handmade business and really, business in general these days…is the connection and relationships we form with our customers. It’s so important to be available, to get feedback and keep updated with how our lovely customers are feeling.

So I’ve been brushing up my Etsy shop process, formulating a checklist for processing orders and revamping every little detail. Have you put some thought into your buyer’s message for example, the email that everyone gets when placing an order? No matter what shop you have, there’s always an order confirmation email. I decided to add some spice to mine, just for kicks. I know not everyone reads them, but when they do – I’m sure they will be amused and hopefully smile a bit! I also thought about follow-up emails to ensure that my customer received the package after shipping. Since I’m located in Italy, packages might take a while to arrive, so it’s really important for me to be able to schedule emails while processing the order…rather than to have a running list of emails to write at a later date. That can get really confusing and time consuming.

Enter Boomerang. It’s a plug-in for Gmail that lets you schedule emails – eureka! Talk about cool. After using it a few times to schedule future emails (and I tested it on myself, pretty sweet!) I realized there’s more functionality as well. You can set it to remind you of emails you have sent out where the person hasn’t responded after x amoutn of days, as well as move messages back to your inbox after a certain amount of time…to keep your emails tidy but functional. No one likes the overflowing inbox! Pretty techy cool, eh? I just love tools that help me get things done more efficiently.

I feel as if now I’ve opened up a new way of communicating with customers directly, opening up the gates for more feedback so that I can improve things moving forward. It’s also a nice way to get you back onto the customer’s mind a few weeks after they’ve purchased a product. I have to admit, I always find those messages a nice surprise and reminder when I receive them! Whether you choose to use this nifty plugin or do it old school, remember the importance of follow-up emails. People are busy and you do need to remind them of things in a non-spammy fashion every now and again. Try it! Hope you’ve enjoyed this marketing tip this week…now back to work 🙂

Notes To Myself – Celebrate

by Linda | Jul 20, 2011 | my creative journal

If you would like to learn about the Notes to Myself project from the beginning, check out the introduction post here.

I believe that oftentimes we don’t celebrate enough. I don’t just mean big parties for certain milestone events though…I mean all the little things too. A little success here, a lovely family dinner together. Why not break out the wine? As a family, we often break out a nice bottle of wine or special beer and just make it an occasion. Sometimes we experiment and cook a special dish for a Sunday lunch…to have some fun and just celebrate a lovely time together.

Everyone gets really busy and we often feel pressured to throw those big parties for birthdays and big events. But it doesn’t have to be so complicated. You can celebrate with a nice dessert one night or a little something different to make it a special day. We need to celebrate the life we live…all the time. I have had to learn over time that it’s okay to indulge.

For this page, I printed out an array of photos from our little experiments, parties and get togethers. From formal events to just family dinners and lunches…celebrate life! I even kept some of the petal confetti from a recent BBQ we had…my brother-in-law just decided to buy fireworks and confetti poppers. Now that’s the way to have fun 🙂

Are you celebrating life…enough?

Creative Business 101 – Offline Marketing Ideas

by Linda | Jul 14, 2011 | my creative journal

For those of us into social media, blogging and all the latest online marketing buzz…it can sometimes overshadow the importance of offline marketing. In fact, the best way to get quality business leads is through word of mouth. So I think it’s supremely important to cultivate your marketing efforts both online and offline.

Granted, I live in a little rural Italian town. Are they really going to need web design or illustration…a cute drawing of little girls anytime soon?! Turns out even the local meat shop is interested in some design work. When I finally opened up, letting people know what I was capable of…requests starting coming in. “So and so said you do design work…would it be possible…” and so it begins. It really got me started thinking about more offline marketing ideas.

• Do you include your business info on all communications? You know how important it is to have an email signature with your business information…but what about on snail mail? Something to consider because that mail goes through a lot of hands…hence lots of eyes.
• How about working with partner stores, leaving business card sand/or flyers inside the shopping bags of customers perhaps. If you are able to connect with a store that compliments your services or products…it would really be a win-win. Perhaps your service goes hand in hand, so you would be referring clients to each other. You might have to think a bit creatively, but randomly I thought about illustrators and tattoo parlors. A lot of people would like custom tattoo designs… or am I dreaming? Maybe yarn themed illustrations at your local yarn shop – you probably have the same target demographic. Stationery and graphic designers can partner up with bridal salons or wedding planners. The list goes on…
• Are you providing your services and products to family and friends? I know at times it might seem odd, because getting a similar gift every year might not seem so cool for family…(how many journals can I give to a person?) But to a certain extent it really is great advertising. When you offer something as a gift, there’s no pressure for them to do anything about it. But naturally if they like it or someone mentions a need, your info will be shared to other friends, neighbors or colleagues at work in an organic fashion.
• Do you advertise locally and list yourself in business directories? The newsletter or bulletins, community booklets and journals, sport team flyers, local business listings and kids team fundraisers sponsor lists. There are so many options that are FREE or reasonable priced when it boils down to a local area.
• Consider donating your services or products at charity events. It’s a great way to do good and get some advertising at the same time, whether it be family festival raffles or contest drawings.
• Leaving flyers at events that might relate to your business or general information locations, such as career centers, public libraries, post offices or continuing education centers. Of course you have to get permission, but you’ll be surprised how supportive the community is. The secret is finding a good match and giving them a good reason to provide the information. I started thinking about designers hooking up with print shops, where people might want someone to design a photo book or cover to be printed…
• For those targeting the mom demographic, would day care centers be a perfect place to advertise? Everyone takes a look at those bulletin boards or table of flyers. Maybe even the pediatricians office or similar locations. Or at the hospital new born section…new moms have a lot of needs and would be happy to find useful information on services that pertain to them.
• Networking events. I know, sounds super scary and a bit fake to many people. But honesty, they have been created to get business people together and these events have started the careers of many budding entrepreneurs. This is something I want to try for myself…to get to know the business people in the community and get over the fear of putting myself out there.
• How about offering giveaways to local shops in your community? In the online world there is often talk about guest posting and giveaways…why not do them in real life? When this idea popped up in my brainstorming, I started to think about how all the online tactics could be translated into real life marketing tactics… A whole new world, huh?

Do you have ideas to contribute? The idea is to spread the news about you and your work…to the communities and groups of people you have all around you. I’ve been realizing how odd it is that many folks do business remotely with people all over the world…yet not with their own neighborhood! There are cases where it makes sense, but oftentimes we are simply overlooking good opportunities.

Feel free comment below and share your experiences! I will definitely be trying a few of my ideas, but just pick one if you are feeling shy. Let’s see where it takes us!