Creating Your First Email Sequence: The Autoresponder
I started my career in sales. So, I spent a lot of my early career doing two things:
1. Trying to find new business
2. Maintaining client relationships for repeat business and referrals
Can I tell you a secret? I hate looking for new business. It's just not who I am. I'd rather nurture existing relationships and build on them. Maybe that's why I like email marketing so much.
Email campaigns are the perfect way to:
Introduce your services to new customers
Remain connected to past customers to capture repeat business
Stay top of mind for referrals
Introduce new products or services
Drive demand during need periods
It all begins with warming up new leads who have just joined your email list. This is your chance to introduce new subscribers to your brand while demonstrating your expertise and authority. As the old saying goes – you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so what you say in those first emails matters!
Where Should You Begin?
With an autoresponder sequence.
What's the objective? Convert cold leads to warm leads and introduce them to your brand & services.
Once someone has signed up for your email list, you send your welcome email. It's the first in a series of emails, also known as an email sequence, where you are warming up cold leads.
TIP - You should always send a minimum of five emails because that's the number of touches needed for someone to take action.
The goal is to get them to act by the last email. If you're a service-based business, this is likely scheduling a call to learn more about your services.
What Should You Say?
We know many businesses don't have emails set up because they don't know what to say! I LOVE this topic framework created by the amazing StoryBrand team.
Let's break it down by each email:
Email #1 – Welcome & Deliver Your Lead Magnet
Make sure this email is sent IMMEDIATELY.
If someone gives their email address in exchange for information, you want to ensure they get it quickly. After all, it's your brand's reputation and first impressions matter.
Make the email short and to the point.
Provide them with a link to access the lead magnet (most email service providers won't let you send an attachment).
This is a great time to establish your brand voice and begin to build your connection.
Email #2 – Their Problem | Your Solution
Remember, every good story focuses on your ideal client's problem, so it's no surprise the second email is about them and their biggest problem.
Once you clearly demonstrate that you understand their problem, you can talk about your product or service as the solution.
Again, don't make this email long. All your emails should be around 200 words in length. Make sure you write in lines of information rather than lengthy paragraphs. You want your email to be easy to scan, as most people only read parts of it.
Email #3 – Testimonial
When did you last buy something new on Amazon without looking at past customer reviews?! Social proofing is an essential part of the buying journey, so make sure you give new leads past customer testimonials early on so they can understand how much you or your services help people.
Testimonials can be done either as a quote:
But our past customers say it best: "QUOTE"
Or done as a success story/case study.
Any time you can add performance numbers – even better!
"Took customer from A to B in X amount of time."
Email #4 – Overcome An Objection
Regardless of what you're selling, you've likely heard some objections. This is your opportunity to address the most common objection and then overcome it.
For example, my ideal client may think it's more effective to invest in SEO to find new customers than to email past customers.
That’s their objection.
Here’s how I overcome it: The average cost to acquire a new customer is $600.
Compare this to engaging with past customers to turn into repeat customers, which costs almost nothing except the time to write an email each week and has an ROI of 3600%!
Email #5 – Paradigm Shift
This is your opportunity to help new subscribers understand why your services differ from those they may have tried. If you're like most small businesses, you have several competitors going after the same customer. You need to clearly understand what you do differently making you the ideal choice.
Please note—this isn't done disparagingly. Every business has something it does differently from its competitors and has become known for—these are your unique value propositions (UVPs).
This email is your chance to highlight what makes your services unique and valuable. Focus on the one or two UVPs customers gravitate towards and align with the problem highlighted in Email #2.
For example, suppose my ideal customer struggles with creating website copy that engages site visitors. In that case, I want to make the topic of Email #5 directly related to the website copy I create, not about email campaigns or lead magnets, which I also do but isn't their biggest problem (yet!).
Email # 6 – Ask For the Biz
This email has one purpose—to ask for the sale or the meeting. It's simple and to the point, with a clear call to action. Don't forget to mention if your offering is available for a limited time. You don't want to be needlessly dramatic, but scarcity does initiate action.
Email is the perfect way to stay in touch, whether your list is large or slowly growing. It all begins with a well-curated autoresponder sequence that helps new subscribers learn more about you and your services.
