I met with a relatively new client earlier this week to discuss marketing. Let’s call her June.
When I brought up the subject of email marketing, June responded… “I’ve never done it…mostly because I hate getting those emails all the time. I mean, my inbox is overflowing with nonsense right now!” She punctuated her exclamation jabbing a finger at her open Macbook sitting on the table.
Of course, she’s talking about SPAM. Basically, the junk mail of the email world, SPAM represents all the unsolicited and unwanted offers for sh*t you don’t need cluttering up your inbox.
When I suggested the possibility of a monthly newsletter, she relented a bit… “Yeah, if it was something REALLY useful.”
Now, I can’t tell how many times I’ve heard EXACTLY the same object to just about every form of outbound marketing, especially email.
That’s because we ALL absolutely HATE being inundated with SPAM. And with good reason. SPAM robes you of your time, attention and focus. Not to mention SPAM often carries viruses, phishing scams, and loads of the bad news that should be avoided.
But here’s the counter to June’s universally held objection. Marketing your business to interested parties that constitute ideal candidates for the services you provide is not SPAM.
Even messaging like weekly blog updates distributed via email or monthly newsletters, designed to keep your biz top of mind with clients and prospects, isn’t SPAM — provided it’s relevant to the recipient’s needs.
June hit the proverbial nail on the head with her: “Yeah, if it was something REALLY useful” comment.
Email’s — whether stand-alone or connected to a blog or some other piece of useful marketing content — that are USEFUL to your audience are welcomed and often looked forward to.
So, when it comes to email marketing, the question isn’t really about frequency or volume.
It’s about relevancy.
And to help overcome this internal conflict over marketing iso many business owners struggle with (likely you included?), I’ve devised a Three step Email Marketing Test:

Is It Relevant?

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, cares about content that’s not relevant to their needs.
I recall several years back visiting a website for a financial services business. I notice the had a blog, which was rare in that industry at the time. So, of course I hopped over a took a gander. They only had three posts, two were related to financial planning, and the third was a recipe for Yankee Potroast… WTF!?
I sh*t you not.
Just to quickly review, your prospects, even if ideal candidates for your services, only care about one thing: What’s In It For ME — WIIFM!

Is It Useful?

Email is just about the best marketing tool going to keep your business top of mind among your prospects and clients.
But pumping out emails just for the sake of being in touch or to constantly hype your services drive consumers bonkers.
Another client of mine recently estimated she deletes 500+ emails per week from sources she actually WANTS to hear from. Why? Because the bulk of the messages aren’t useful. They’re just blather. A bunch of noise she is desperate to ignore.

Is It Too Generic or Redundant?

In real estate, a common “friendly reminder” top of mind email is a note about upcoming property tax deadlines. Now, on its face, this a quick, easy and seemingly useful email.
Meanwhile, June, the client I mentioned above scoffed at such fare, proclaiming: “Yeah, I’ve got about a jillion of those emails unopened in my inbox right now!?”
And June makes a GREAT point… If you actually want your emails opened, and you we want prospects and clients to remain subscribed to your list, don’t do what everyone else is doing.
Do something different, something distinctive, something unique that doesn’t parrot everyone else in your space.
Yes, this takes more time, effort, and brain power. But if you want to win new clients and earn repeat business, it’s incumbent upon you to stand out from the crowd.

Take Action

Have you launched an email campaign? If not, that’s the FIRST item to get cracking on!
If you have, do your emails meet the criteria outlined above? Time to refine your approach is the answer is no.
And get back to me with your results,I’d  love to hear how you make out!