Creating a blog is one of the most efficient ways to reach a large
audience and promote yourself or your business.
However, if you want to build a strong and personal relationship with your readers, you have to find an easy way to engage them with your content. In this case, email marketing is exactly what you’ve been looking for!
Email marketing for bloggers can be one of the most powerful ways to promote your content. As such, building an effective strategy can grow your audience and keep them coming back for more.
In this post, I’ll offer a straightforward guide to email marketing for bloggers. I’ll discuss why email marketing is important for bloggers, and offer some key tips to help you utilize email marketing on your blog. Let’s get started!
Why is email marketing important for bloggers?
The majority of bloggers typically share their content on social media, and although this could be a fine strategy, there are some disadvantages. The problem in social media is that most of the time your customers must be online to actually see your post.
Take Facebook for example: only 2% of your audience see your posts, and even if you promote them using paid ads, it isn’t guaranteed that it will reach them. Email marketing, on the other hand, does not have this problem
As a blogger, Email marketing can be an extremely powerful way to connect with your audience, you can keep your captive subscriber list up to date on your latest posts or other relevant events. In turn, this encourages return visits and, over time, builds a sense of community.
Moreover, email has some of the highest ROI of any digital marketing channel, driving $44 for every $1 spent. Social media may make the headlines, but email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter.
Here are some more benefits of email marketing:
Targeted audience
your email list is filled with contacts that want to hear from you.Use that to your advantage by sending the most compelling content.
Its trackable
using email marketing you can track your results like open rates, click-through rates, etc. So, you can find out how your blog posts are performing, if the subject lines worked, if your audience prefers images or textual content in newsletters, etc.
It can be automated
Not only can email campaigns be written and scheduled in advance, they can be triggered by all kinds of user behaviors to give your audience the right message at the right time.
How to do email marketing for bloggers (4 key steps)
In order to be successful with your blog email marketing (in terms of driving traffic and monetizing your content), you’ll need a clear strategy
Here’s all you need to know about blogger email marketing, from choosing a good email tool to monetizing your list!
1. Choose A Blogger-Friendly Email marketing platform
Email service providers (ESP), also called email marketing services, are companies that offer bulk emailing services. They are critical partners in your email marketing campaigns.
Finding the perfect email marketing tool is tough. There are so many parts to consider. How easy it is to use, features, and of course price.
Based on these factors here are my top 3 picks
Pick#1: GetResponse
GetResponse offers all the essential features you’d expect from an email marketing platform, templates, autoresponders, analytics, and so forth. However, it has recently been expanding its feature set to the point where it has transformed into an all-in-one marketing solution.
What makes it a great email marketing tool for bloggers is the ease of use and the advanced functionality that requires no coding skills. More specifically, you can craft regular emails or RSS campaigns through the drag-n-drop email builder, or set up drip campaigns with the email automation editor.
Pricing: GetResponse offers one month of completely free unlimited plans and after one month, if you are satisfied with their performance and effectiveness, you can opt for any paid subscription. Here is GetResponse pricing chart, which increases with the number of subscribers you get.
Note: The prices below are for 1000 subscribers
Pick#2: Aweber
Aweber is another email marketing service you can use to promote your blog content. The tool sports an easy-to-use newsletter designer to create email campaigns in a few minutes. Also, you can create automated email marketing funnels to streamline your work and save valuable time.
Moreover, you can use the form builder to create simple opt-in forms. However, to customize them further, you’ll need an online form builder. Lastly, when it comes to marketing automation, Aweber has autoresponder sequences to trigger your campaigns at specific time intervals.
Pricing: Aweber has a free plan but only for 500 subscribers. For more features, you need to get a paid subscription starting at $12.50/month for up to 500 subscribers.
Pick#3: Convert kit
Last but not least, we have convert kit , a newsletter software solution that lets you create and schedule your email campaigns, and build landing pages. The platform is great for beginners who want a simple email tool to get the job done.
Convert Kit has an online form builder to craft simple popups to capture your audience’s email addresses. When it comes to reporting, the platform gives you subscriber graphs to monitor your campaign performance. You can also use the A/B Testing feature to find which elements convert better and then target your audience with the winning email copy.
Pricing: The email software has a free plan but only for 1000 subscribers. The paid subscription starts at $29/month for up to 1000 subscribers.
2. Start building your subscriber list
Your next step will be to build your email list. Arguably, this can be the most challenging part of email marketing. Of course, if you don’t have subscribers, your amazing content will go without engagement.
Building your list involves collecting the email addresses of people who have shown an interest in your blog and are interested in hearing from you. There are a variety of ways to build your email list, including offering a lead magnet, using opt-in forms on your website, and encouraging followers to sign up for your emails.
The easiest way to collect email addresses is to craft a converting newsletter signup form and embed it on your blog. This way, you will build a list with subscribers who are already engaged with your content!
As you proceed, you can use various online forms to capture your visitors, such as the classic popup that appears after a specific time, inline forms embedded in your blog content, or full-page forms that cover the entire page.
Having a strong email list is crucial because it gives you a direct line of communication with your audience. It allows you to send targeted and personalized messages to people who have shown an interest in your content, and it’s an effective way to drive traffic, grow your blog, and build relationships with your subscribers.
3. Provide your subscribers with latest content
Now, with a subscriber list in place, you can focus on your emails. Ideally, your email content should lead back to your website in some way. This lets you boost engagement on your blog and keep your audience hooked with valuable content to boot.
Moreover, when crafting your emails, think about what your audience wants to know or what problems they need help with. Offer tips, advice, and insights that are unique to your blog and relevant to their interests. You can also provide exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes looks, early access to new products or features, or special offers that are only available to subscribers.
Remember that providing valuable content to your subscribers will help you build a loyal and engaged audience, increase trust in your brand, and ultimately, drive growth for your blog. So, make sure to put thought and effort into the content of your emails and always strive to provide the best possible experience for your subscribers.
In a nutshell, pay attention to your emails and adjust them depending on the goal of your campaign. And remember, a good email needs to offer some kind of value to your email subscribers!
4. Monetize your email list
Email marketing is a great way to inform and entertain your audience, as well as build relationships and nurture leads.
Even listening to your readers’ comments might provide you with ideas for great new blog posts.
But at the end of the day, you’re going to need to monetize your list by offering paid products or services.
Affiliate marketing is another method you can use to monetize your list, and it can be easily integrated into your email marketing efforts. It’s a technique to market a company’s products or services in exchange for a commission on converted sales. Usually, this is in the form of an image or link to a product page.
To successfully monetize your email list, you need to build a strong relationship with your subscribers by delivering real value.
Pushing offers too hard or too soon will only irritate your readers and shrink your subscriber list.
Email marketing for bloggers: Final words
Using email marketing will help you increase your engagement and make your blog thrive. And to succeed, you only need to follow a few simple steps!
They complement each other and can help significantly amplify your results from blogging.
A solid email marketing strategy will help you grow your blog and form real relationships with your readers — just ask these blogging pros who all agree.
So start building your email list today, commit to writing incredible content, and see just how powerful email marketing can be.
