So, you have a comic, podcast, vlog, blog or whatever and Facebook and Twitter aren’t getting you anywhere… I know. Don’t get me wrong social media can be amazing, if used well, but statistically only 3% of your followers are even seeing your posts, let alone reading it, let alone clicking on a link to read more or download your thing. But what if there was a platform with 90% delivery rate, 20-30% open rate and a  3% click rate, I know what you’re thinking that’s oddly specific. You’re sharp, I like you. But if you couldn’t tell from the title of this post, it’s email.

LISTS ARE KING

Here’s the important part about email though, you need to have a list of people who love what you do. You can’t just send an email to everyone, like, it could be illegal, depending on what your emails are about and what countries your sending to. Generally bad email habits can get you in the SPAM box and that could be detrimental to your sending ability. Gmail in particular is very sophisticated about blocking that kind of stuff.  So to stay safe:

  1.  Get an ESP - Email Service Providers are your friend and should be used if you’re going to be managing any sort of email marketing or newsletter. The usual shoestring go-to is MailChimp.com, other good options are, myEmma.com,  or CampaignMonitor.com. These three are quality and I can talk about choosing an ESP in another post if so desired.
  2.  Opt-Ins - Only send to people who have requested email from you. You can set up a sign-up form on your website, Facebook page, at conventions, etc. Email addresses are nice, but an email address earned is Gold.
  3.  Stay Classy - Only send information that is expected and never send SPAM. These days SPAM is defined by the recipient and is almost used interchangeably as an unsubscribe button.
  4.  Rinse and Repeat - Send regularly, like at least once a month-ish.  If you don’t have that kind of content or reason to be emailing that much… maybe email isn’t for you (or maybe you need to get more creative with your content… that’s really for another post).

MAKE IT CHRISTMAS EVERY TIME

So, lets say you have an email list, awesome, and you have a general idea of what you’re sending, even better! What are some things you can do to make sure people open that email. Well:

  1.  Personalization - people feel special when you use their name or at least their gaze is drawn to it and it can really help your email to stick out from the crowd. Make sure when they sign up they give you at least their first name, then have the subject line say something like, “Hey John! Check out my sweet new blogpost comic!”
  2. Segmentation - If possible it’s nice to be able to only send information to someone if that info applies to them. Most ESPs allow for this as part of their software. An example would be if you’re going to a convention in Kansas, your fans in Canada probably don’t care. So you would send an email about the Kansas convention only to folks you think would be able to make it to Kansas. This obviously required more info than people might be comfortable giving. So, it’s maybe a bit of a toss up depending on the kind of info you’re emailing.
  3.  Moving Pictures - Mentioning video in the subject line helps with opens and GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format - NOT Jraphic Interchange Format) can help click rates a ton. If you have a Vlog you should be making a short gif of the video as something to click. Why not put the video in the email? Because you can’t, very few Email Clients will support that. Besides it’s always best to get people onto the site where the video is embedded anyway. That way they are right where you want them in order to buy your thing or watch more videos. If you don’t have a Video to turn into a gif, I’m sure you can find one on the internet somewhere that fits what you’re selling. However, beware of overuse. I’d say only one per email, generally speaking there should be more copy than images anyway.
  4. Immediacy is key - If there’s any sort of time sensitive thing going on, mention it. Giving a sense of immediacy causes people to react and therefore gains at least a better open rate and possibly more clicks to your site as well. “Dont’ miss out on our blah blah blah.” or “New video out NOW… TIM!” That sort of thing.

TO MUCH OF A GOOD THING IS GREAT, YEAH?

NOPE. The number one reason people unsubscribe from something is that it doesn’t pertain to their interests, for which you can do little, besides a niche market (from my experience) is often best for email, as they are the ones more likely to open and click and be engaged with your product. The second reason people unsubscribe is too many emails. If you have a lot to say, frequency is not necessarily the best option. That being said one email a week could be just right or not enough, same with a monthly thing etc. This will require testing.

LEGAL THINGS

Also, there are some laws with sending mass/marketing emails. I mentioned above stuff about SPAM. Emailing people who didn’t ask for you to email them, especially if you’re selling something, is generally illegal in most countries. You also have a set amount of days to unsubscribe people once they ask (which is why an ESP is important, they automate the whole process). There are also requirements like a physical address and unsubscribe button being obvious in the email (usually in the footer). Generally though the laws are different in each country and are enforced more or less in each as well. But, as long as you only email people who asked, the stuff they asked for, you should be good, but here are some resources if you’re concerned about this: 

        

ALSO, SOME GOOD RESOURCES

Here are a few websites that have great information on email. MailChimp and Campaign Monitor both have been doing a lot of good for advancing email marketing, Emma is just a solid choice for an ESP and they have a great resource center with good info and examples of great emails, and Litmus is just an amazing resource if you’re wanting to really dive into more advanced concepts and coding your own emails.

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