5 Steps to Successful Email Marketing in 2023

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Have you been hearing all the buzz about email marketing and wanting to get in on the action?

Sometimes, it’s all about knowing where to start. 

After working with many creators, bloggers, and small businesses, I have seen successful email marketing journeys.

While everyone will approach their “email game plan” a little different, there are five common steps in any successful email marketing journey. 


5 Steps to Successful Email Marketing

Step # 1: Grow Your List

Our game plan starts here. Because without any subscribers, we’ve got no game at all!

I’ve found time and time again that email actually becomes exciting when you have a growing, thriving list. An engaged audience that opens your emails and reads your stuff? It’s the BEST. 

So, how to grow your list? 

The best strategies to capture more email addresses starts with this secret: 

Your incoming traffic is your #1 source for list growth. 

So, ask yourself… what can you offer your current visitor that is relevant and solves her NEXT problem?

That could be an ebook or free download, a bonus piece of content related to your article, or my personal favorite for content creators…a Quick Start Guide.

You can learn my favorite techniques for growing a list FAST in my course Email on Autopilot.


Step # 2: Create a Real, One-to-One Connection

Just capturing an email isn’t enough.

The first emails you send are crucial. 

Your goal with your first emails is to confirm to your reader that you are a great resource to them, a subject matter expert, and what she can expect from you going forward. 

This can be accomplished via a welcome series, thank you for subscribing pages, and even asking a question such as “what is your greatest struggle with ____?” to get a dialogue going.  


Step #3: Deliver Great Email Content

Okay, this is what you do best. Deliver GREAT content! 

Continue engaging building your relationships with your subscribers by sending them great content on a regular basis.

Be consistent in:

  • When you send 
  • Sending your best stuff

Consider this question when sending emails to your list:

“What problem does this solve for my reader?”

If you can solve a real problem in each email, you’re delivering on your promise to be a subject matter expert. You’re fulfilling your reader’s expectations and reaffirming again and again that opening your emails is a dang good idea. 


Step 4: Turn Subscribers into Brand Ambassadors

This is a natural extension of Step 3. As you send great content, you’ll take regular steps toward converting an email subscriber into a “superfan.”

My favorite way to build deeper relationships is to do better segmentation

What is segmentation?

It is identifying the particular needs & wants of groups of your email list, and then using smart organization and automation strategies to send them the content that is BEST for them. 

Within every email list, there are incredible opportunities for segmentation. 

Smart segmentation leads to: 

  • Better opens & clicks
  • Higher RPMs when they click back to your site
  • And..many monetization opportunities 

Best of all, when you build a deeper relationship with your subscribers, they become your personal ambassadors, sharing with friends, family and on through their social channels.


Step 5: Make Money with Your List

By the time you get to step 5, you have a base of “superfans.”

These loyal subscribers are ready to share, buy, and consume all your stuff. 

In fact, the first/easiest way make more money with your list for bloggers that show ads on their sites is to simply drive interested readers to higher-RPM content.  

Brilliant!

Now, ad revenue is a huge blessing and we love it. 
But who doesn’t want to diversify their revenue streams? 

With an engaged, growing, thriving email list, you can monetize in many ways:

  • Sell a course, subscription service, digital or physical product
  • Partner with a brand to create win-win sponsorships or affiliate relationships.  
  • Create a paid newsletter for premium content
  • Build out a Patreon for your most passionate supporters

These are just ideas that scratch the surface of your email money-making potential.

What products, services, or sponsorships can you share with your segmented, ready-to-open audience?


Conclusion: What These 5 Steps Will Do For You

When you master these five steps, you will be on your way to a thriving, growing, vibrant email marketing strategy.

  • Your list will be full of engaged subscribers ready to consume your content and buy your stuff.
  • You will no longer be dependent upon algorithms or social media for your traffic and sales.

So…tell me…

Which step are you crushing right now?
And which step is the hardest for you?

>>
Would you like a system that makes these five steps easy?

Knowing these what the 5 steps are is one thing. Knowing how to make each step happen is the hard part!

That’s why I created Email on Autopilot, my signature course that walks you through each of these five steps and gives you a step-by-step playbook for growing your list, knowing what to send that will get opened & clicked, and how to use email marketing automation to build loyal superfans.

Hope you find it helpful!