(Without Launching Or Building A Funnel And No Matter Your List Size Or Niche)
Hello everyone, c’mon in! Welcome over :). I am so glad to hang out with you on the blog; thank you for clicking from wherever you came from to read this post.
Today, I want to share an email marketing strategy that has been working incredibly well for me and my copywriting clients.
This strategy has resulted in me selling a handful of new spots into my membership (Email Insiders) this week alone through email.
I also give it much credit for helping two email copywriting clients celebrate massive wins this month, including …
🔥A fully booked group offer priced at $2500 (for a coaching business).
🔥13 new members signed up for a semi-monthly subscription box (for a product-based business). Our goal was 12 new members, and 13 signed up within an hour of the email with this strategy I’m about to share with you being sent!
Quick side note: Most of the copywriting projects I work on are one-time projects like sales pages, launches, funnels, and websites, but I do usually have two or three ‘retainer’ clients whom I write emails for on a monthly basis. I keep that number small so I can do an excellent job for these clients who trust me in this capacity, and it requires me to really integrate myself, almost like an employee, into their businesses (which has been honestly SO fun!!!). You can click HERE to learn more about my done-for-you copy services.
Anyway! The email marketing strategy that has been working so well is what I call the ‘Demonstrate Your Expertise’ strategy.
(I’m not great at naming things, so if anyone has a more clever spin on this, please share!!)
Essentially, instead of telling your future clients how you can help them, you DEMONSTRATE it.
The way you do this ‘demonstrating’ of your expertise depends on your unique business, niche, and personal preferences.
I’ll give you a few examples of how this strategy can work in various niches and explain the key factors you need to consider to make this demonstrating strategy successful.
Examples of the Demonstrate Your Expertise Email Marketing Strategy in Action
1 – Offer your email list a limited number of a free service that leads to your paid offer(s).
For example, as a copywriter, every quarter or so, I will give away a limited number of free sales page audits done on Loom, 15-minute email marketing strategy calls, and free website copy audits.
I am upfront that I will pitch them to work with me if I think it’s a good fit and my paid copywriting services can really help them after the audit, but that they are in no way obligated to work with me and that the audit will be so good they’ll have everything they need to implement the changes and see success on their own.
Being upfront that a pitch is coming is KEY. Overdelivering in the audit or free service is also super important here. Maybe they won’t hire you – but they *will* remember you, pass your name on to others, refer you, etc.
This way, I am not just telling my email list: “Hi, I’m a good copywriter; I can help you!”
Instead, I’m demonstrating that I know what I’m doing and that I can help them increase conversions to their sales page or website by giving them a free audit and showing them HOW I’d do the things I say I can.
I cannot tell you how many copywriting projects I’ve booked after giving away free audits, edits, and strategy sessions. It is my favorite way to find new clients, and we start our partnership out on the best level of mutual trust and understanding.
Here’s another example for you. Around launch time, my client, who sold out her group coaching offer, gives away free marketing and client attraction audits. Her paid offer is a program that teaches business owners how to get visible and find leads without social media. So, she’ll do the free audits on their current system, give them a ton of free value and ideas they can easily take and run with and see success from on their own, and also invite them to her paid program should they want an option for additional support.
It works like a charm, and it is so serving – whether the prospect works with you or not, they’ll see how you are here to help (not just sell).
I’ve also heard of business owners giving away free offer or pricing audits, marketing planning calls, brand strategy sessions, etc.
The key to making this strategy work are four things …
#1 – Be upfront that a pitch is included. Your new lead will feel better, and so will you, if you’re honest from day one.
#2 – Make your free service as good as your paid stuff. You really want to wow people here. Overdeliver. Go above and beyond with it as if you were getting paid.
#3 – Hold boundaries and set limits so you don’t get overwhelmed. Set the free call times for 20 minutes. Only do 5-10 audits (or however many you can handle), etc.
#4 – Follow up. Always follow-up with someone you provide a free audit or service to. See if they have any questions, if they’d like to work with you further, or if they know 1-2 people who might be interested in what you do and who they could refer you to.
2 – Offer a low-ticket service that leads to your signature service.
This example of demonstrating your expertise is exactly like the first one I gave, where you give away something free. The only difference here is that you’re offering something super low-ticket.
One of my past copywriting clients is a brand photographer. In a genius marketing move, she offered SUPER low-ticket branding minis and headshots once or twice a year (usually during her slower months).
In this way, she could get in front of clients who might be interested in a larger session later on, and it gave her a really comfortable position to pitch herself to clients she wanted to work with.
Because it’s easier to say, “I have this $300 mini session, and I’d love to work with you. Would you be interested?” than, “I have this $4k branding package … would you be interested?”
3 – Show people what’s inside your offer.
This might seem obvious, but have you ever tried just sending a video to your email list literally SHOWING them what’s inside your offer?
This method of demonstrating your expertise is especially effective if you sell products, digital products, courses, or memberships.
My subscription box client exceeded her sales goal by SHOWING her email list what’s inside the upcoming box.
I sell memberships into Email Insiders (my email template membership) every week by SHOWING people exactly what my templates look like, what’s inside, how to customize them, etc. with videos that walk them through everything.
I signed on with my current coach because she SHOWED me, in a free, in-person training, how she would help me increase my income. She walked me through all the sheets, steps, and frameworks, and I was hooked; I knew I wanted to learn from her because she showed me she could really help me.
The takeaway here is to give free previews, trials, and demonstrations of your offer anytime it makes sense.
You can also do low-ticket trials!
I have a client who offers a $7 7-day Trial to her membership, which works like magic to get people in the door and have them wanting to stay.
So, my challenge for you this week is this: What can you offer as a DEMONSTRATION to your email list to find clients, fill your current offer, and serve your people extremely well? Whether that’s a free audit, a low-ticket service, a video showing them what’s inside your membership, etc.
If this post was helpful to you, I invite you to download my FREE email marketing strategy and template collection.
Inside, you get six free email templates and a calendar showing exactly how and when to use each.
You’ll walk away with a relationship-based email marketing strategy that you can repeat every month to start conversations and make sales, as well as the templates to help you do it quickly and easily.
Click HERE for the FREE Email Marketing Strategy & Email Template Collection.
