The Marketing Strategies that Get the Best Results for the Least Cost
How to save on marketing costs by using email marketing and social media marketing.
If you’re a business owner, you know that marketing is essential for growth. For those kicking off their new venture without deep pockets or marketing experience — fear not.
We’ve all heard a variation of the phrase, “a penny saved is a penny earned.” If there’s a way to spend less and earn more, why not go that route? If you don’t have much to spend on marketing, you’re not alone.
The “Great Resignation” is in full swing. It seems this pandemic has lifted a weighted veil from society, revealing that it’s actually possible to chase our dreams. The desire for a more fulfilling life has captivated us all, and mindsets are beginning to shift.
New businesses are on the rise as entrepreneurs embrace their true callings. In the past 5 years alone, the US has seen a steady increase in formations of businesses, with quite a spike in 2021:
As new companies continue to emerge, I know one major concern they have: How do I go about marketing my business?
Marketing and advertising can be an intimidating process for new business owners. Of course, word of mouth is always a major player, but having a clear marketing plan in place will set you up for success.
Get your feet wet with two of the most cost-effective marketing strategies. Email marketing and social media marketing.
Email Marketing
Many recognize email marketing as one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available.
Tech wise, you need is an email provider that allows for the public to sign up to your email list. Scheduling capabilities are another key component. This allows you to keep subscribers up to date with useful tips, updates, and campaigns.
First, let’s dive into the benefits of executing an email marketing plan. Knowing why it works will help justify the energy it takes to apply your plan.
Benefits of email marketing:
According to Litmus, the average email generates $42 dollars for every dollar spent. That’s a whopping 4,200% ROI (return on investment).
· Passive income for the win! Yes, you’ll have to write a series of short emails (or hire a copywriter to write them for you), but then you can relax as it does the selling for you. It’s your star employee who is always working overtime!
· Emails have a great shelf life. Your subscribers can reference them time and time again.
· When you provide useful, snackable content for your readers, you will have a higher open rate. They will even look forward to receiving your emails.
· When you weave helpful resources and tips into your campaign, you can pepper in soft sales. These sales will have a much higher ROI than traditional advertising.
· Email marketing will boost brand awareness and keep your product top-of-mind.
Now that we’ve highlighted some of the benefits of using email marketing, let’s take a look at how to get it going.
Steps to setting up your email marketing plan:
1) Have a welcome email drafted and ready to go for when people subscribe to your list.
2) Have 3–5 nurturing emails ready to go and scheduled to send after the initial welcome email. Space them out a few days apart.
3) Create your lead magnet — or special offer (details on this to follow).
4) Once a prospect subscribes, immediately deliver your magnet if you offered one.
5) Once all the essentials are set up, you can send a monthly newsletter or run email marketing campaigns.
Welcome email auto-responder
Whenever you sign up for a newsletter or opt-in for an email list, you receive an automatic a welcome email. It is the first opportunity to build a lasting relationship with your new lead via email.
When you draft your welcome email, share your story about how you got started with your business. Divulge a little about who you are. We tend spend with businesses that we trust and are familiar with.
This initial step is a perfect time for subscribers to learn about who you are and what your business is all about.
Nurturing email auto-responders
After the welcome email, it’s important to have 3–5 nurturing emails set up and ready to go. This keeps your audience engaged with your product or service. It’s even more important to keep them spaced out so you don’t inundate your new lead with too many emails — no one likes that.
How often should you email your list? The general rule of thumb is to pace them at least 6 days apart, but within 40–50 days. You don’t want to bombard your subscribers, but you also want to keep your brand top-of-mind.
Here are some ideas on what your nurturing emails can entail:
· Quick tip
Offer subscribers a quick tip that they can put into play right away. When you give them a “quick win” they’ll associate your emails with a positive experience. This will help your prospects actually look forward to your emails.
· Ask a question
Engage with your audience by asking them a question, and encourage them to reply. This is a great way to humanize yourself. It is also an avenue to get some valuable feedback on the kind of content your audience is craving. Questions like, “What is a task you know is important, but don’t have any time to tackle?” or, “What is an area your business could use some helpful guidance with?” Be sure to reply. This builds relationships and you gain invaluable insight on your audience’s needs.
· Provide resources
Offer your curious readers some valuable resources to get them on the right path to success. Are there online tools or apps that you use that improve your productivity or business? Dish out the ones that you’ve tested or know have a reputable history. Do you have access to job postings or sites that are in line with their interests? Provide a list and links. Have you read a great book that has had a positive impact on your life and that you know can benefit your client? Highlight the strong takeaways. Provide a link to buy it in case they decide they want to check it out themselves. If there’s a strong blog you know will prove useful to your readers, share it. Everyone loves hearing about useful tools or resources from firsthand experience. If it’s something you’ve used that will help them reach their goals, they will want to know about it.
Quick tips on how to structure your emails:
· Stay focused
Aim to address only one subject per email. Going off on tangents will distract from the main objective of that email. Same goes for your CTA (call to action). Determine the action you want your reader to take, and guide them to take that single action.
· Keep it short
No one wants to read an email that drags on and on. Keep your message short n’ sweet! The most effective emails float between 250–500 words. Be ruthless with your word choices. Cut the fluff and you will have a more powerful message that has a higher chance of conversion.
· Be personal and beeee yourself #aladdin
Stay as true to your brand voice as possible, but also be personable. It’s nice to be professional, but readers gravitate toward genuine conversation. When you write your email with a more colloquial tone, it’s easier to read and is better received.
How do I get people to sign up for my email list?
Now that you have some content ready, it’s time to build your email list. If you already have an email list going, bravo!
Your email list builds when someone provides their contact info. They sign up to receive your newsletter or other promotions.
There are many ways to entice people to sign up for your mailing list. For now, I want to discuss a popular one called a lead magnet.
What is a lead magnet? A lead magnet is something of value that your email subscriber receives in exchange for their email or contact information. They are also referred to as freebies or opt-in incentives.
Lead magnets offer a quick win for your prospects. They demonstrate your expertise on a subject. It’s typical to deliver them right away and should only take 5–10 minutes to digest.
Before I dive into some examples of popular lead magnets, I want to explore an emerging train of thought. One that goes a against the grain. Not to offer one.
Why not offer a lead magnet? Didn’t you just say a lead magnet is a good way to get people to sign up for my email list?
Yes — but — making someone sign up for your list in exchange for a tool they can use, may not lead to the results you’re after:
1) They sign up for your list to get your freebie, then unsubscribe. This wastes your time and their time.
2) They sign up for your list to get the freebie, then never open your newsletter or engage. A major purpose of the incentive is to nurture a relationship and one day make a sale, which can be construed as one of those tricky hustle tactics.
3) Why give away a valuable resource for free when you can make some income off of it? The tiny-sale is a growing trend, and could put some more money in your pocket if you price it right. Think: big value, little price, many sales.
An alternative to a lead magnet is to have your resources available on your website, free of charge. If you provide useful content there, genuine leads who want to be on your list will sign up without any opt-in bait.
That said, opt-in-freebies are still a widely-used tactic and can grow your list, no matter how you look at them.
Here are some examples of lead magnets you can use:
· Checklist
A popular choice for a lead magnet is a checklist. When you tailor it to your audience’s needs, it makes it a no-brainer for them to subscribe.
· Ebook
Ebooks provide useful content that will help your prospect reach their goals. They often provide insight on how to overcome certain, commonplace challenges.
Coupon
· Who doesn’t love a discount? Covert prospects to subscribers by offering a BOGO or a percent off their first purchase. Bonus: add a time constraint on your offer so they don’t hesitate. For example, “Sign up today to receive a 10% discount on your first order!”
· Video
A video that walks a prospect through a concept they struggle with can be a powerful magnet. It delivers instant gratification and is easy on the senses. It can appeal to those with varied learning styles and is well received. Here are some more ideas on video lead magnets that will help you convert your visitors into leads.
· Report or Whitepaper
A thorough report that showcases the trials and triumphs of people that overcame similar challenges is a strong option. They tend to work better for those that are further along in the sales journey. These are typically longer than blog posts and ebooks, anywhere from 6–50+ pages, and provide extensive background on a subject. Your subscribers can refer to it whenever they need to tackle a big task. And guess what? Down the road when they need something else, they’ll turn to the guy who provided them that awesome content. Since you’ve already established yourself as an expert in the area, you’ll be that guy they turn to.
It’s imperative that your magnet or freebie is accessible in a timely manner. When you promise something, you have to deliver in order to maintain credibility. Remember: make your lead magnet easily digestible with useful information that will enhance their journey.
If you decide to forgo a lead magnet, still include a way for visitors to opt-in to your list across your site. A simple pop-up box that says, “Be the first to know about exciting news or promos! Sign up today to receive our monthly newsletter. Promise we don’t spam!” Anything along those lines can work and can produce leads.
Email marketing campaigns and newsletters
You’ve established your email list and are engaging with your prospects through email. Now you can entertain the idea of email campaigns or newsletters.
When you’re starting out on your email marketing journey, I always suggest to start small. A monthly newsletter is good starting point. It’s a non-aggressive way to engage with your audience throughout the year.
Keep in mind: most readers appreciate brevity, so aim to focus on one topic whenever possible.
At this point your subscribers are aware of the value you bring to the table. Now you can feel comfortable presenting a soft sale at the end of the newsletter. If you are offering some sort of promotion, your subscribers will want to know about it! As always, be sure to write a clear CTA (call to action) so they know the next steps to take.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is another budget-friendly tactic to keep in your sales arsenal. When you engage with your audience through social media, you build relationships. Relationships leads to sales.
It’s the perfect avenue to build brand awareness and can grow your brand’s audience in an organic way.
Which social media platform should I use?
To reach as many eyes as possible, I tend to gravitate towards social media platforms that have the largest audience. That said, it’s worth considering the demographics of your target audience. A campaign may perform better on certain platform since social platforms skew differently.
For example: Snapchat tends to lean towards the younger audience. One the other hand, the professional-focused LinkedIn platform favors a more middle-aged crowd.
Here’s a glance at the percentage of Americans that claim to use the major players of social media per a study conducted in February 2021.
It may be worth your time to have a business profile for the top performing social media sites. Maintaining an active profile with these top dogs will help drive traffic to your website, improve SEO, and provide another outlet to connect with your audience.
Here are links to the most popular social platforms:
Focus on these important points when tackling your social media marketing strategy:
· Audience personas
Nailing down your audience personas is a vital step in coming up with your social media strategy. What are their demographics? What are their communication preferences? What are their goals and values? What motivates them? What are some of their pain points that you can help address? Once you figure out your ideal client, you can then design ads and strategies around their values.
· Goals
When you think goals, think SMART! Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Time-based. Using the SMART criteria will help guide you along your goal-setting journey.
· Metrics and KPIs
Once you have an idea about the goal you want to achieve, establish the metrics and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that align with your goal. Are you gunning after reach? Clicks? Engagement? Hashtag performance?
· Content format
Think of brands you follow on social. They tend to have a general theme in their presence, right? They may float between photos, videos, or quotes, but generally embody a familiar structure that reflects their branding. Live streams and videos are big right now, and don’t seem to be going anywhere, so be sure to include those in your strategy.
· All for one, and one for all
Inclusivity and honoring diversity are on the rise — thank goodness! Companies that are able to genuinely include all types of people and personalities will show growth and make deeper connections with their audience. It’s important to note that you don’t want to treat inclusivity like a trend. The importance of current social issues needs empathy and understanding so you are able to interact on social with mindfulness and tactfulness.
When you engage with the public on social media, it will serve your best interest to keep your content memorable. Be transparent about your services, and actually engage! Consumers enjoy actual engagement from the companies they show interest in.
Reply to comments and be accessible for customer service issues. Social proof is a major player in the reputation game nowadays. No one wants lower than 5 stars — but if you happen to get dinged with something subpar, reach out to address the issue! This will show you care, offer great customer service, and are willing to make things right.
Social media management has evolved into a full-time job for some companies. If you’re just starting out, create a content calendar to take the pressure of having to come up with clever posts on a whim. Set aside an hour to figure out what kind of content you want to share each week for the month.
This vital task will alleviate some stress and give you a sense of control over your social footprint.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to social media marketing and email marketing. I hope you’ve gained some valuable insight on how to expand your brand by implementing affordable, yet rewarding, methods.
If you don’t have a huge ad budget, try email marketing and social media marketing. They offer impressive ROI and don’t drain the bank. If you ever hit a wall along your marketing journey, ejcopycreations can lend a hand.
