Don't depend on social media algorithms, send an email

Write to your list. They're your people, they subscribed on your website and asked to hear from you and you only.

When they subscribe, tell them exactly what they’ll get. Do you:

• write your thoughts every day?
• post a deep dive article once a month and send a summary?
• send one course a week for 8 weeks?

Those are all good newsletters.

Then, go talk and connect with them.

It’s your space. They are your people.

You can publish content on other platforms, like Facebook. But they can change the rule of the game in one day. And you will have to submit to them.

When you write to your list, you fix the rules.

Before -- Prepare your email

1. Goal

Why do you want to send emails?

Do you want to:

• Inform
• Share your passion
• Sell your product
• Something else?

Choose one. The rest will depend on it.

2. Tools

Many tools allow you to send a few emails for free to your list. Then, when your list becomes big, you can buy the paid version.

Some of those leaders are:

• Mailchimp

• MailerLite

• Sendinblue

Check how intuitive they feel to you and how their help articles and community are. Then, choose the one you like.

3. Double opt-in

You check your inbox and you see that one email. What is it again? Did I ever ask to receive this kind of thing? Don’t spam me! To the bin.

That’s what might happen to your carefully crafted email if you don’t use double opt-in. I don’t even know why anyone wouldn’t use it...

Double opt-in is asking twice your subscribers if they want to subscribe to your emails.

You have one form on your website. Once they send the form, they’ll receive an email asking them again if they’d like to subscribe. They have to actually click on that email link to subscribe.

In all, they have to do 2 things:

1. Fill in and send the form
2. Click on the email link

Then and only then, they’ll be your subscribers.

Double opt-in has always been a best practice, is now legally mandatory most of the time and included in most tools. Per default, double opt-in should be turned on.

You can customise some parts, like the email that’s sent to the subscribers. Always check it’s done right.

4. Form

The form is where your subscribers subscribe to your emails.

Explain to them what they’ll get. Show them the value.

When will they receive it?

What will they hear about?

What’s in it for them?

You can even have one whole page on your website dedicated to your emails and what your audience can get from it.

All tools have templates that you can use right ahead. They include:

1. Captcha – it verifies that your subscriber is an actual human being (and not some bots)
2. Double opt-in

During - Send your email

5. Types

You don’t have to double opt-in all emails you receive. So which emails are or are not a newsletter (and don’t need any opt-in)?

When you buy online, there are a few emails that you will receive, subscribed to the newsletter or not. They confirm:

1. You created an account on their website
2. You ordered
3. Your order is being delivered
4. Your order was delivered
5. New legal regulations

Apart from those, you can only receive or send emails with consent. So explain well what those emails are on your form or page.

#1 Welcome

They just subscribed to your newsletter. Then, you:

• welcome them
• introduce yourself
• and/or explain your project

It can be one welcome email or a series. You can send them daily or weekly.

Be aware of the email fatigue! Each one of them must bring value.

One welcome email is always nice :)

#2 Mood

What is your mood today?

You can write about:

• your day
• what you think
• or observe what’s happening around you

You can send those emails daily, weekly, monthly or even once in a while.

#3 Event

Ecommerces usually send them. They can be:

• Sales
• New collection
• Birthday
• Holidays

#4 Blog

If you write a blog, your readers can receive the latest post right in their inbox. You can also send them a summary of this week best articles.

Ask your readers what they’d like to get ideas!

#5 Course

I do that one.

If you have an online course, then your student can check each lesson when they’d like to. Or receive the lesson right in their inbox.

It can also work as a reminder. Your students are then sure to keep up the pace.

#6 Survey

You don’t know what to send your list?

Wanna make sure your subscribers are happy?

Send them regularly a survey. It can simply be once a year to check the temperature and keep on having fun with your newsletter.

6. Frequency

How many times should you send your newsletters?

Every day, every week, every month, once in a while?

It depends on your goal and the type. For example, you can send a:

• welcome email only once when they subscribe
• survey once a year to check how they feel about your newsletter
• your mood of the day every day

7. Copy

It’s like when writing for your website, write like you talk. Keep your tone of voice across your social media, website and emails.

Check how to do that for your website here

8. Design

There are basically 2 types of newsletter design:

1. the letter
2. the design

The letter is simple.

You open your inbox, click on “New Message” and write. There is no specific design. You can include an image or gif. That’s all.

It’s like a letter you write to your friend. Like when we used emails years ago to keep in touch with our family and friends. It’s more intimate.

The design newsletter is the most used.

Email marketing tools have templates for that. Test them out. Keep on using the one you and your audience like. (Send a survey to know if they like it :) )

After -- Review your email

9. KPI’s

There are a few numbers you can check after sending your emails:

1. Subscribers – People who subscribed
2. Delivery – Emails that were actually sent
3. Bounces – Emails that were meant to but actually didn’t get sent
4. Hard bounces – Emails not sent mostly because the email address was wrong
5. Soft bounces – Emails not sent because of another technical issue?!*
6. Opens – People who opened your email
7. Clicks – People who clicked on a link in your email
8. Unsubscribers – People who unsubscribed to your emails

*If you have too many (soft) bounces too often, then you have a technical issue and must discuss it asap with your email marketing and/or website host provider(s). Your emails might not get to your subscribers at all and they won’t receive what they were promised on the form. Betrayal!

The exact name might change from tool to tool but, fear not, they’re similar.

Check them one day after sending your email, then most people’ll have seen it. Before, most people might not have checked their inbox yet. After one day, only a few more people’ll still check theirs.

It’s normal to have a few bounces or unsubscribers times to times.

If you have too many unsubscribers, it means what you promised in your form and what people get in your emails is too different. Review your goal and what you really mean to achieve with your emails. It’s back to the beginning of this Step.

______________________________________

This article is part of a series about digital marketing for remote freelancers.

In total, they are 7 articles, 7 steps. Each step is one digital marketing tactic. They have an order. The earlier, the more basic and necessary. They build on each other. You need the earlier steps before starting the later ones.

You can read the other articles here:

Step 1 Your Ideal Client Avatar -- 4 ways and 13 questions to work with only the best clients

Step 2 Your Ideal Client Journey -- They learn about you. They buy from you. And they buy again.

Step 3 Comment on Social Media -- You can get your next client on social media, you're 5 steps away from it

Step 4 Document on Social Media -- Too busy to post on social media? I got something for you.

Step 5 Contact Influencers -- I'm not a big brand, how do I start influencer marketing?

Step 6 Build your Website -- But isn't building your website too much for a freelancer?

Those articles are part of a project called "the Remote Freelancer Digital Marketing Jungle", or the RFDM Jungle.

You can check the Steps on the RFDM Jungle website.

You can subscribe to the Jungle Letters and receive all the Steps right in your inbox.

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