If you’re thinking about starting an email list to collect website visitors and have a way to speak to future coaching clients, there’s likely one question that popped up right away:
“Which email marketing service should I use?”
That probably led to you spending a few hours (or days, or weeks) looking at the options.
Stop!
You don’t need to worry about that (yet). It’s actually the last piece of the puzzle, and getting caught up in which service to use could cause you to get stuck.
Instead, start with planning how you’ll use email marketing so it doesn’t become a marketing tool you largely ignore.
(For the record, I speak from experience. My first email list sat for more than two years without me ever sending an email — other than the welcome email.)
How To Create An Email Marketing Plan for Your Coaching Business
Before you even start thinking about tools, ask yourself this question:
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“How will I use this email list to serve my audience?”
No matter who your coaching clients are (biz owners, new moms, people with a certain medical condition, or people who want to get organized), they need help that only you can give them. It’s up to you to figure out what they need, and once you do, you’ll be able to jump-start your list building plan in two important ways:
- What incentive or free download will be a no-brainer for your dream client to opt-in to your list?
- How can you use your mailing list to give the best value possible to those who join your list?
Now, remember, you’re still planning, so you’re free to brainstorm and write down all the ideas that come to you. Don’t overthink it, though.
Opt-in incentives work best as short, easily consumable downloads like checklists, quick videos, or individual worksheets. You don’t have to go crazy trying to create dozens of downloads and 100-page ebooks.
In fact, those long ebooks? They’re more likely to overwhelm your dream client than help them.
As for how you’ll provide value to the people on your list, keep three things in mind:
- You have to be consistent in your communications.
- You have to teach or inspire them more than you sell to them.
- You shouldn’t abuse your right to be in their inbox by trying to push something that’s not in line with what they signed up for.
“What do I want my email list to accomplish for me?”
Consider how you’ll use your email list and what you want your subscribers to do for your business.
- Do you want people to book consultation or discovery calls with you directly?
- Do you want people to purchase your paid ebooks and products on your site?
- Do you want people to come back to your blog for each new post?
Each of these goals requires a different sort of email content strategy and dictates how frequently you’ll reach out to them.
“How will I communicate with my email list?”
There are different ways to run an email list, and it all depends on how committed you are to it, and what you want your list to accomplish for you. Will you:
- Send a weekly or monthly newsletter?
- Set up an autoresponder series that delivers content automatically when people sign up?
- Promote your services directly in your emails?
- Share affiliate links that allow you to make passive income?
All of these questions and considerations will help determine the email service you decide to go with, and also how frequently you’ll send emails, what will be in them, and what calls-to-action you’ll use for readers to take action.
Only once you’ve got your email marketing plan ironed out should you start looking at the pros and cons of the different email tools. And when you’re ready for that, we’ve already compared the top 4 email marketing platforms and what they have to offer. All the research, done for you.
About The Author
Hey! I’m Cass, a brand coach and the Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer at Lovely Impact, a website template shop for coaches. I help coaches elevate their businesses with beautiful branding and websites. Here on our blog, my content focuses on branding, web design, and storytelling.
Hey! I’m Tee, a brand and marketing coach and the Co-Founder & CMO at Lovely Impact, a website template shop for coaches. I help coaches grow their coaching businesses digitally. Here on our blog, my content focuses on web design, marketing, business, and social media strategy.
