21 different types of emails you can use to build relationships and convert your ideal clients

If you're wanting to use email marketing to help grow your business, there are heaps of different ways that you can frame an email to attract your ideal clients. Email marketing is all about building a relationship and building trust so that people are ready to buy from you after they have built enough trust in who you are and your brand. So there are a few things that we need to do to get there. 

Email marketing is not about spamming. They need to have opted in to receive your emails either from purchasing from you in the past or signing up to an email list. You can't just bunch a whole bunch of emails together and send something out. That spam. 

The other thing you need to consider is what your target market needs. We've put 21 ideas here, some of them are for e-commerce, some of them for B2B, some are for a range of different types of businesses and you need to make sure that the one you choose fits your target market needs and also fits your businesses needs. Most of the ideas here can be added in automation and adapted to meet different segment needs along the way.

We do not advocate having a generic email list and sending out an email to them all every month/whenever you remember them. We advocate segmenting the audience, customising the experience as much as possible (often using marketing automation to do so)

I recommend that you do a mix of different types of emails in your nurture sequences and segmented emails to mix it up and attract different people along the journey. The ones at the beginning are a bit more general and a bit more trust mode building and the ones further down in the list are ones that are more overt and selling so you want to have a mix of both.

You don't just want to have relationship building and you don't just want to have the selling ones you need to have a mix of them together. So, with that in mind, how about you try some of these formats?

Try some of these formats

1. It’s all about you

Tell the story about you and business, get personal with people. People love hearing about the person behind the brand. If your brand is beyond you, talk about your team. Talk about your philosophy. Talk about your business. It makes people understand who you are and trust you more.

2. It’s about what we did

Give them a story, a case study that shows them how working with you has made a difference. Layout the desired outcomes and how you delivered them..

3. It’s about whom we helped

Share social proof of testimonials from other people whom you've also worked within a similar way. This is a bit less detailed than a case study and is often just a quote that you put a little bit of information in behind to help people interact and hear from other people's voices about what you do. You could do this with a video or you can do this with text. Either way is good.

4. It’s about what we do

You can talk a little bit about what you do for your business. Explain what your product or service does and exactly what makes it different from everybody else's.

5. It’s what makes us stand apart

Finding out the differences between you and a competitor is really important. So, talk about that, without derailing a competitor and putting a competitor down. Talk about what makes you different. What makes you stand out from everybody else.

6. It’s why we’re right for you

Go through and think about all the common objections that people might have to purchase your product or service and get rid of them in an email. Talk about the things that you solve for them so they don't have to worry about those things.

7. It’s what we know

Teach them something really useful that you and your business knows (that they need to know). Teach them something that you can show them and help them with that gives them information that helps them build trust with you.

8. It’s what you need today

Give them something that they have to take today for a limited time. Send them something that if they don't act on it today, they'll miss out. Or help them feel like they need to take it today and take action. This is our first one that's kinda a direct place to sell and it really gives them that sense of urgency that some people respond really well to. Not everyone does, so you need to consider that when you're talking through it.

9. It’s something a bit extra

Give them a treat they haven't asked for, a special gift, a bit of extra resource, or something that shows them you appreciate them, and thank them for being part of your list.

10. It’s the best time

Tell them why today is the best time for them to buy. Give them a reason. It might be because there's an event coming up. It might be because it's the beginning of the year or the end of the year. It might be just because today is the best time for them because if they miss out today they'll really be missing out forever. Whatever it is, give them a time-related reason to buy from you or choose or make a decision. 

11. It’s what we think

Get them to understand what you do because of what you know. Show them your expertise. Show them what you can do that shows them that you are the best person to help them.

12. It’s your's free 

Give them a free gift. Make it something they want. No crap giving here!

13. It’s yours if you meet the criteria

See if they qualify. Make what you've got to offer special enough that they can only have it if they meet certain criteria. Because then they'll want to meet the criteria.

14. It’s our desire to help you

Find out if you can offer help to them. Ask some questions about how you might be able help them, and help them identify a need that you can fill. Give them some information and then ask 'do you need help with this? Can we help you with this?' Volunteer yourself -even if you're making them pay for it.

15. It’s a promise we can deliver

Tell them what results they can expect when working with you, either through a guarantee or a range fo expected outcomes. Focus on why they should give their money and what it will give them in return. Look at the BENEFITS, not the FEATURES of what you offer.

16. It’s a SALE

Tell them what's currently on sale. Now, sales are very powerful. You do not need to use them all the time if you're a retailer. People can get stuck into just doing sale emails but you can briefly reduce something or give people a special offer to make them act today.

17. It’s something that’s cheaper

Instead of offering them the normal solution, give them an option that is less expensivet (this is a downsell.) Something that is a lower level product/ smaller scale solution than what you would normally supply them. Give them something that is cheaper that they can act on today that might lead them to go to something a bit more expensive later on.

18. It’s something more expensive

You could upsell them. You might have been offering a particular solution and now today you could give them something that's way more expensive, but has a lot more depth and information to it or is a higher value product.

19. It’s something because you are special

Give them something that they get because they have been acting in the right way with you. Maybe they've been opening all the emails or because they've been ordering from you. Some people do when people have spent a certain amount of money with them or because they've become a favourite client. Give them something that shows them that they are special and important.

20. It’s something we recommend

Maybe instead of sharing with them something that you're doing, share something that one of your joint venture people have done. Someone that you have worked with in the past and say 'hey this is a cool thing that we recommend'. You're not spending any money with us but we recommend this tool - free or paid.

21. It’s something you’ll want to share

Is there anything that you can get them to share with people outside your network who might be interested in that so that they can pass on your information and grow your list.

That's 21 different types of emails you can use to build relationships and convert your ideal clients.

Rachel Klaver is the marketing strategist for Identify Marketing, an agency specialising in strategy, training, digital sales funnels, marketing automation and CRM. Identify are Active Campaign Consultants and Zoho Partners and love helping business owners become confident in showing up for their brand and business online