© StartUp FASHION

So you’re ready to get serious about email marketing. Congratulations. It’s one of the most

important things that you can do for your business. Having an email list for your business makes it

possible to directly communicate with your audience and your community. It can be tempting to

rely solely on social media but that’s dangerous because you don’t own those platforms. You do,

however, own your email list.

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Section 1: Your Business

Your Brand

Before you begin to create any strategy for your business, you need to remind yourself of your

why and your values. If you haven’t gone through the How to Create Your Brand Identity

Collection, then go do that now.

OK, now that you’re done that, let’s review.

Why do you do what you do?

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What’s your business mission?

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What are 5 values your business holds?

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What do you want to be known for?

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Your Customer

You also need to review who your customer is. If you haven’t yet done the How to Create Your

Customer Profile Collection, go check that out now.

Once that’s done, let’s review.

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Who is your customer?

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What are three pain points they have?

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How does your product help them?

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Your Relationship with Your Customer

It’s really important to identify what kind of relationship you want to have with your customer as

well as the experience that you want them to have when they interact with your brand.

As an example, StartUp FASHION’s relationship with our audience is like a best friend. We are

here for you when need us, know your struggles and triumphs, and are totally honest with you; no

bullshitting. That’s what best friends are for, right?

Other relationships could be teacher, favorite aunt, big sister, college buddy, etc. It’s fun to think

about your relationship with your customer this way. You’re able to use that communicate more

effectively in your emails.

What kind of relationship do you want to have with your customer?

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OK, now go look at your answers in the first section about your Why & Values.

For Startup FASHION, our “why” is about encouragement. We do what we do because we know

it’s hard to find someone who’s in your corner cheering you on, reminding you that this is all

possible. Our values focus on the belief that all of you have the potential, talent, and ability to

create businesses in this industry in whatever way you want to. We believe in breaking rules and

we believe in building a life and a career your own way.

So, in reviewing the section above about your Why & Values…

What do you want your customers to feel as a result of being on your list?

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What transformation do you want them to experience once they start to receive your emails?

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Section 2: Your Email Content

Your Frequency

There really aren’t any rules around the frequency at which you send emails. Basically, you want to

remain front of mind without being annoying. The way to do that is to make sure that every single

email that you send provides value.

Below are some options for your email frequency. Choose the one that feels right for you for now.

You can always change this up as you work on developing your strategy.

Weekly

Monthly

Weekly newsletter with monthly promos

Weekly newsletter with weekly promos

Weekly newsletter with quarterly promos

Weekly newsletter with holiday promos

Monthly newsletter with quarterly promos

Monthly newsletter with holiday promos

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Your Content

Your email content is your opportunity to wow your customers. You want to go above and beyond

and really give them something that adds true value to their lives. You want to give them

something that helps them, excites them, teaches them, or makes them feel special, etc.

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Therefore, sending updates about your brand is not the best way to go. Brand updates are about

you, not them.

You have to add value. So every time you sit down to create an email, keep the value you plan to

offer at the top of your mind.

So let’s get started with creating ideas for your content.

List 10 things your customer enjoys doing.

(Again, if you haven’t gone through the How to Create Your Customer Profile Collection, then do

that before trying to answer these questions.)

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Review your customer values and re-write them here.

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Next, review this list of Types of Content

PDF Guides (city, travel tips, care tips)

Recipe cards

Historical stories

Love letters

Pop culture recaps/reflections

Home décor tips

Book recommendations/ book club

Eco/environmental op-eds

Deep dive into inspiration (really deep, make it super eye candy and only do this if you have

access to really beautiful images). This doesn’t work if you just share a few pics of your

inspiration board.

Now, compare your customer interests and values to the various types of content. How do they tie

in? Does one interest/value go well with one type of content in particular? How can you creatively

tie in one or some of your customer’s interests and values with specific types of content?

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Remember, each email needs to have a goal attached and that will determine your call to action.

Some Call to Action ideas are listed below, check off one or two (three tops) that are currently

important goals for your business growth. You can switch up your call to action with each email or

if one goal is really important, you can use that call to action all the time.

Shop the collection

Read more blogs

Follow us on Instagram

Join our Facebook Group

Attend our Meetup

Reply with questions

OK, now you have some content ideas and some calls to action to go along with them. Sweet!

So the next part is your subject lines. These are an important part of getting people to open your

emails. You want your subject lines to be specific and honest. Don’t say something that you think

will get them to open the email if it isn’t a true representation of what they will get when they open

it.

The goal is to tell the receiver how the email will be useful and beneficial to them, that way they’ll

want to open it.

Subject Line tips: Avoid using 465 emoji, multiple exclamation points, words like FREE, and all

caps. All this stuff tends to look spammy.

Now, review everything you wrote in the sections above and start getting specific ideas down on

paper.

Create 12 ideas in the chart on the next page. (If you decide to send monthly emails, you’ll have A

YEAR’S worth of email content ideas created!)

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“Newsletter” Emails

Customer

Activity/Value

Content Idea

Call to Action

Subject Line

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Promotional Emails

Reason for Promo

Content Idea Value it Provides Call to Action Subject Line

Remember nothing is set in stone, pay attention to your open rate and click through rate for each

email and make adjustments for future emails if/when you learn something.

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A few notes on the “Meat” of the Email

When writing the email itself, remember that they don’t necessarily have to be long and detailed;

it depends on what you want to say, your goals, and your objectives.

Remember to stick to your brand’s voice and tone when writing your emails. Write and then read,

and re-read, to make sure that your language is reflective of your brand and not corporate stuffy

talk.

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Picking Your Provider

There are several popular email marketing providers out there. Here are some of the most

popular…

Mailchimp A.Weber Constant Contact

Convert Kit Infusionsoft

Free up to 2,000 subscribers

30 day free trial 60 day free trial No free trial No free trial

$25/month for 2,001 subscribers incremental price increases based on number of subscribers

$19/month up to 500 subscribers Incremental price increases based on number of subscribers

$20/month up to 500 subscribers Incremental price increases based on number of subscribers

$29/month up to 1,000 subscribers Incremental price increases based on number of subscribers

$199/month up to 2500 subscribers Incremental price increases based on number of subscribers

Easy to create templates API for many other programs

Once you hit 5,000 subscribers, this provider is cheaper than mailchimp

$45/ month minimum plan is the only one that allows for custom templates

All emails need to be coded

Expensive An entire CRM, not just email management

Creating Your First Template

Once you have decided on your provider, you’re going to have to set up your first email template.

Depending on the strategy you created in Part 1, you will decide on what your email template will

look like.

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Heavily designed template

A heavily designed template tends to be best if you’re sending more of a “newsletter” style email.

This email will be full of information like behind the scenes, event announcements, upcoming sales,

and other info-focused content. The design will include sections in which to organize this content

in a visually appealing way.

Does a heavily designed template work with your email marketing content strategy? If so, do a

quick sketch of how you see this content being laid out in the email template:

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Simple Template

The simple template is best if your strategy is more personal. This is the angle that StartUp

FASHION takes. We write weekly love letters to our audience that are heartfelt and though out. I

personally write every email and I sign my name to the bottom.

If you’re planning a more close-knit strategy of sharing things like design process, the challenges of

being an entrepreneur, or an inside look at your work/life, the simple template works best.

One important thing to remember is that just because the template is simple and the content is

intimate, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a strong call to action. At the bottom of the email

you should have a graphic or text link that calls the reader to do something.

If the simple template sounds good to you, answer some basics about the layout/format.

Will this be in letter-form?

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How will you address your audience?

(by name, by group -- i.e. Hey designers!, by term of endearment – i.e. Hey lovelies!)

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Will you sign your name to the bottom?

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Do you have a font chosen to use for your signature?

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Creating Your Sign Up Page

Even though you will most likely have a quick sign up option on your website (meaning you won’t

link to another page), you still want to create a sign up page so that when you promote your email

sign up on social media, you’re sending them to a specific page they can sign up on, not just to your

website home page.

On this page you should have:

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Your logo

What they can expect when signing up

A request for both their email and their name

Here’s a look at our mailing list sign up page.

Creating Your “Thank You” and “Welcome” Page

Your Thank You/ Welcome page is the page that they see immediately after confirming their email

to sign up for your list. It’s an important page because it’s their first communication from you and

your business.

Most providers will have a default Thank You/Welcome page that is on the provider’s website.

Don’t use this. Instead, set up a thank you/welcome page on your own website.

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Since each provider is different, contact your provider’s customer service/tech support to walk

you through the process of linking the “thank you/welcome” page to your own website.

When writing your thank you/welcome page, write with sincerity. Include things like:

Any freebie that you had promised for signing up (coupon, guide, etc)

What they can expect from your emails and when they’ll receive them

Invite them to give feedback on your products

Ask them about themselves (link to a short survey or tell them to “reply”)

Invite them to a private group

If you have an event going on, add an invite (just remember to remove it once the event is

over)

Invite them to connect on a social media platform

Here’s a look at the StartUp FASHION Thanks/Welcome page

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How will you thank and welcome your new subscribers? Start jotting down your script here.

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Creating Your Offer

What will you offer them in order to get them to sign up? What reason do they have for giving you

one of their most coveted pieces of contact information?

No Freebie

The No Freebie approach is one where you highlight things like behind the scenes access, first-to-

know about sales and promos, and weekly inspiration or eye candy. This is certainly fine to do but

I’m telling you right now, it’s not nearly as effective as having a freebie.

If you decide to go the no freebie route, then be sure to phrase the benefits of signing up in a way

that really resonates with them. Meaning, don’t just say “behind the scenes access into the brand”

because bland language like that catches no one’s attention. So get specific.

How will you phrase your offer on your website?

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Freebie

Creating a freebie to give out in exchange for an email address is not as difficult as it sounds. It

doesn’t have to require a financial commitment if you’re able to create the freebie yourself. The

key is to get creative.

Review the email content ideas you created in part 1. Can you pull one of your content ideas and

turn it into a guide or recipe or access to a group or a coupon or a checklist?

What will you offer to get them to sign up?

(example: a travel bag brand may create a city guide highlighting restaurants and hidden gems in a

place that travelers are likely to visit- NYC, LA, Hong Kong, Paris, etc.)

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How will you phrase your offer? Keep it short, simple, and as catchy as possible. But don’t over

think it!

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When will you have this freebie ready?

(Open your calendar and block off time to create this freebie)

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Will you need a graphic designer? If so, where will you look for one?

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Take Action!

Set up your email account and create your first template.

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One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make (and one I made myself!) is to wait until

you have all your stuff ready to start collecting emails. By this I mean, an entire email strategy in

place, all the content created, the calendar filled up.

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If you need to focus on your email strategy (content ideas, freebie creation, etc) next month, that’s

totally fine, but make it a priority to get the sign up form and the welcome email created now. That

way you’re collecting emails all month until you’re able to get things going.

Once you’ve got that going, you need to get the word out. Here is a checklist for ways to promote

your email sign up. You don’t have to do them all right away if it’s too much. Just start with a few to

get things going and then add as you’re able.

Use Social Media

Pinterest: especially great if you have a cool freebie. Use an image to catch attention

and make the link go to your sign up form.

Instagram: create some graphics or images that represent the benefits/offer you have

for them and link to your email sign up/freebie in your Insta bio

Facebook: Same as Instagram

Twitter: Tweet the link to your offer/signup page with strong hashtags

Remember that the social media posts should be about the benefit to them, not your

desire for them to sign up.

Add sign up box to every page of your website

Use Facebook Ads- create a campaign that links to the freebie/signup

Add your offer to your email signature

Add postcards in all of your orders

Add a sign up banner to bottom of every blog post

Add Hello Bar to your website/blog

Run a contest/giveaway and require email address for a chance to win

Add a popup on your website- but be careful! These can be really annoying so set it to not

popup until a person has been on the site for a few seconds rather than immediately (too

soon and the visitor can be turned off)

Take Action!

Did you check at least 3 options above? If so, what will you need to get in place for this?

(graphic designer, stock images, write the copy, research something, install a plugin, etc)

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When will you complete the tasks?

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Use everything you wrote in this workbook to get going on your email marketing! You’re so ready!