The whole point of growing your email list is to send emails to your subscribers, right?
Most business owners start out with the best of intentions once they see those new leads rolling in, but when they sit down to write those weekly nurture emails and they’re faced with a blank page…. Well…
Maybe this whole email nurture thing isn’t as cool an idea as they originally thought…
Writing nurture campaigns can be scary.
You have to figure out what to say…. Every. Single. Week!
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be. Here are 7 simple tips to help you write those weekly nurture campaigns quickly and easily, so you can get them loaded into your ESP and out to your subscribers, where they’ll do their job to bring in more sales.
Tip #1: Schedule Time On Your Calendar to Write Your Email Nurture Campaign Every Week
I am completely serious about this. As silly as it sounds, if you don’t make time to do it, it doesn’t get done.
Personally, if it’s not on my calendar, it doesn’t happen. So, I block out time every week to write the two nurture campaign emails I send to my subscribers. That way, I know they’ll get done.
Putting it on your calendar also helps you prepare your brain to write. If you see that appointment coming up, you’ll start thinking about what you’re going to say in advance. It’s a great way to get those creative juices flowing, so you’re not staring at that blank page when it’s time to write.
Tip #2: Keep a Running List of Ideas for Your Email Campaigns
If it pops into your brain, write it down. Even if it seems like a ridiculous idea, it’s worth capturing. You may not write about that particular thing, but it may spark another, better idea when you look at your list.
When I say, “write it down,” I mean it. Our brains are way too overloaded with information to hold onto everything that flashes across their synapses every day. Record your ideas in some consistent fashion. This can include:
- Writing it down in a notebook. (Just remember where you put your notebook.)
- Keeping a file on your computer.
- Keeping a file on your phone.
- Recording voice memos.
- Sending yourself emails.
I use OneNote for this purpose. It lets me separate ideas onto pages or just keep a running list, depending on what I want to record. I can also add audio files directly to the app if I can’t write something down easily. And it syncs between my phone and my computer, so I can find everything, regardless of when or where I added it to my list.
There are plenty of similar apps out there. Choose one that works best for you.
I’m going to be completely honest with you. When people tell me “I never know what to say,” they’re really saying, “I don’t have a place to start.”
You’re a smart person and you’re passionate about what you do. If I asked you about any aspect of your business, you could probably ramble on for hours.
Keeping a list gives you that prompt you need to start your rambling.
When it’s time to write your nurture campaign each week, open that list, pick an idea, and let the rambling begin!
Seriously. Let the words flow. Don’t hold back.
Once you’ve got it all on the page, then you can go back and edit it, so it sounds coherent.
You may cut half of what you’ve written, but you may also save that half as the beginning of another email.
Tip #3: Answer Common Questions Your Subscribers and Customers Ask About Your Product or Service in Your Nurture Campaigns
As you’re writing your list of ideas, think about questions you get asked about your product or service on a regular basis.
You’ve probably got standard answers you give to individuals every time you get one of these questions.
Hey, guess what? That standard answer is a great nurturing email! And because it’s a commonly asked question, your subscribers will consider it valuable content.
If one person asks you a question, there are at least 10 others who have the same question. If it’s a question you get regularly, people are asking it because it’s part of their buyer’s journey. Their overall decision-making process.
Adding this answer to your general lead nurturing campaign will help everyone on your email list as they move forward with their buying process. You’re giving them the engaging content they want and guiding them toward a purchasing decision. All by answering their questions. Go you!
Tip #4: Think About Where Your Subscribers Are In Their Customer Journey
The Customer Journey, also referred to as the Buyer’s Journey, is the process people go through as they make their decision to buy.
For some, their journey is nearly complete when they find your product or service. Those are the ones who buy right away. For others, it takes more time. They’re still in the consideration stage and need more information before they turn over their hard-earned cash.
As you’re writing your nurture campaigns, think about the stages of the customer journey and how you can deliver email content that helps them make their final decision. Again, refer to that list of questions people ask you, as well as your list of ideas. You’ll quickly see which questions and ideas correspond to different parts of that customer journey.
The more aware you are of the path someone takes to get from “I just learned about this thing” to “I want to buy this thing” the more potential customers you’ll be able to convert to paying customers over time.
The whole point of nurturing emails is to guide people along this journey. Which is why you really do need to send them regularly. Ideally every week. You can get away with less frequently, depending on what you do. You can definitely write more, and should, based on how quickly you want your subscribers to become customers.
Tip #5: Share Case Studies
“Case Study” is marketing speak for “customer success story.”
Essentially, you tell the story of your customer before they found your product or service, and after they found your product or service. If there is a particularly good story around how they found your product or service, or an epiphany they had once they realized what it could do for them, that’s always worth including.
Case studies are excellent social proof, showing how your product or service can work well for people in similar situations.
Think about those “before and after” commercials you see for any number of products and services in various industries. Those are all case studies.
You can do the same thing in your nurture campaigns by telling these stories and showing your subscribers how people in the same situations achieved their goals by purchasing your product or service.
Tip #6: Use Personalized Emails as Part of Your Lead Nurturing Process
When most people think of “personalized content” they think of “Hi Tanya” or “Your time is almost up, Greg.”
But personalized emails go well beyond that. These days, email service providers (ESPs) can capture a lot of information about your subscribers as part of your opt-in process. You want to do it gradually, because the more information you ask for, the less likely people are to finish the opt-in process. But if you do it right, you can get people to willingly give you enough information about themselves, so you can deliver relevant content that appeals directly to them.
Your subscribers are much more likely to pay attention to your emails, and purchase from them when you can:
- Offer them the product or service that appeals specifically to their preferences.
- Deliver messages that match where they are in their customer journey.
- Show that you understand who they are and the problems they’re having with personalized content.
All of this may seem a bit creepy, but it’s no different than the “customers who bought X also purchased Y” or “You recently viewed…” messages you see on Amazon and other retail sites.
We give information about ourselves all the time. You may as well take advantage of this to give your potential customers the experience they want.
Tip #7: Always End Your Email Nurture Campaigns with a Call to Action
One of the aims of your nurture emails is to train your subscribers to:
- Open your emails.
- Read your emails.
- Take a specific action you ask them to take.
Adding a call to action in every email trains your subscribers to take that action. That way, when you’re having a sale or launching a new product, your subscribers are already trained to click on the link to your sales page.
And yes, I do mean Every. Single. Email.
If you’re sitting there thinking, “But I don’t have my product ready yet” or “I have no idea what to write! Now you’re making me add a link to something?”
Yes, yes, I am.
And this isn’t as hard as it sounds.
You don’t have to sell in every single nurture campaign. In some cases, you’re better off giving your subscribers another resource, so they get more value and more information about your product or service.
Here are some call to action ideas for you to link to:
- Blog posts.
- Articles written about you or your product or service.
- Podcasts you host.
- Podcasts you’ve been on as a guest.
- New lead magnets or resources.
- Waiting lists for new products and services.
- Affiliate offers or Joint Venture offers.
- Your scheduling app, where they can schedule a free consultation.
- Your webinar.
- Your sales page (of course).
Even if you’re just getting started and you have nothing to send your subscribers to, you can still include a call to action. Just ask them to reply to your email.
Here’s a great example. In my welcome email campaigns, I let my subscribers get to know me by telling them about myself. I figure they should know they’re talking to the right person to help them solve their problems.
In that email, I ask them to tell me a bit about themselves. They can do this by clicking on a link and answering a short survey, or they can just hit reply and write as much or as little as they want.
I’ve gotten some great responses. Doing this also helps me refine my target audience. I learn more about my new leads and I start a direct conversation with them. This can help with retaining customers in the long run, as they’ve actually talked to you.
Hit reply emails are also good for your sender reputation, because they show direct interaction between you and your subscribers. Having a good sender reputation will help your emails get through the spam filters. Which means more of your subscribers will have the chance to read your nurturing campaigns.
“But I’m Still Not Sure What to Write In My Nurture Emails!”
I get it. This can all feel a bit overwhelming.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
This is one of those weird things I discovered after 10+ years of writing email marketing campaigns for my own business, as well as for clients.
Your subscribers have a “Nurture Email Type” they’re most likely to open, read, and buy from.
Once you know this Nurture Email Type, you can use the standard formula this type follows to write engaging email after engaging email, keeping your subscribers waiting with bated breath to click on your next subject line.
It will also help you make more sales and skyrocket your business growth. And it means that sitting down to deal with email nurturing every week isn’t a horrible chore. It’s a quick, fun task that you’ll look forward to because you know you can breeze through it and get great results.
You can discover your subscribers’ Nurture Email Type when you click on the button below and take my free, 60-second quiz.
Once you have the answer, you’ll never be stuck staring at a blank screen thinking, “I have no idea what to say” again.