Want to grow your business faster?…without paying crazy amounts on paid advertising?

Organic marketing is the answer. (Keep reading for my secrets).  

My name is Connor Gillivan. I’ve been an Entrepreneur for 12+ years scaling multiple businesses to 6, 7, and 8 figures w/ an exit in 2019. Today, I run marketing for my portfolio of 4 businesses. 

The majority of my success in business has been through organic marketing. 

In this article, I’ll share my top 7 organic marketing strategies.

1. SEO
2. Partnerships
3. Podcast interviews
4. Social media
5. Content marketing
6. CRO
7. Email marketing

By the end, you’ll have a headful of ideas to execute for growing your business. 

Let’s dive into it! 

My 7 Organic Marketing Strategies

In this section, I’ll define the 7 organic marketing strategies that I mentioned and give examples of each so that you can fully understand how they can help grow your business. 

1. SEO

SEO is the act of creating content on your website (pages & blog articles) that rank for specific keywords your ideal customer is searching for on Google and other search engines. 

For example, let’s say that you run an eCommerce business selling baby clothes. Your baby clothes are organic, custom-made, sourced from the US, and fashionable. 

With SEO, you’d want to rank for keywords like: 

• “Organic baby clothing”
• “Baby clothes made in the US”
• “Fashionable baby clothing” 

By investing in SEO, you can optimize your website, pages, and content with the goal of ranking on the 1st page of search results. 

This will drive traffic to your website where you can convert users into email subscribers and customers. 

2. Partnerships

Partnerships is a marketing strategy where you team up with other companies in your industry where you’re not competing with one another, but you’re targeting the same ideal customer profile (ICP). 

For example, one of my companies is AccountsBalance, a monthly bookkeeping service for agencies, service providers, & SAAS companies. 

We have a Partner Program where we partner with 100s of other digital service providers, softwares, tools, and influencers. 

To start, we add each other to our Partner pages (exchanging backlinks), we feature each other in our newsletters (brand awareness & lead generation), then we find other ways to send leads both ways on a quarterly basis.  

Relationship building turns into brand awareness, visitors to your website, referrals, leads, & customers. 

3. Podcast Interviews

Most people know podcasts for listening to them, but there’s another side to it that is extremely beneficial for organic marketing. 

When I say “podcast interviews”, I’m referring to the marketing practice of getting interviewed on podcasts within your industry where you can share your expertise, establish yourself as a thought leader, and attract new customers to your business. 

For example, my business partner, Nathan Hirsch, has been interviewed on 500+ podcasts in the past 5 years. We have a system where we research top podcasts in our niches where our ideal customers are reading then we reach out and pitch them to interview Nathan. He goes on the podcast & drives leads to our businesses. 

When you do this consistently for months, you create a lot of “buzz” around you and your business. 

That “buzz” turns into new website traffic, leads, and customers. 

4. Social Media

Yes, we all know what social media is, but there’s a specific way to do it for organic marketing that can drive lots of interested customers to your business. 

I encourage you to look at social media as a platform where you can establish yourself as a subject matter expert (SME), build a following, and turn followers into paying customers. 

Here’s an example. I own and run marketing for 4 businesses and I use LinkedIn as a social media channel to establish myself as an SEO expert & entrepreneur, which drives customers to our companies. 

My ideal customer spends time on LinkedIn. I build trust with them through my daily posts & teaching them the SEO & marketing methods that are working best for me. 

It takes time, consistency, a good process, and dedication, but social media is an amazing place to reach your ideal customer.

5. Content Marketing

Content marketing is the organic marketing practice of creating high value content that speaks directly to your ideal customer and pulls them into your email list so that you can continue “talking” to them. 

Here’s some examples of content marketing: 

• Infographics
• Ebooks
• Checklists
• White papers
• Webinars
• Free trainings

Content marketing helps to “pull” your ideal customer into your business so they know you’re an option as they look to solve different problems they have. 

6. CRO

CRO stands for conversion rate optimization.

CRO is the act of optimizing your website and all of its pages for converting as many website visitors as possible into email subscribers or paying customers. 

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Let’s look at an example. You figure out the first 5 organic marketing channels and you start driving 1,000s of visitors to your website every month. Congrats on that first of all! But does it really matter if none of those people convert into email subscribers or customers? 

That’s where CRO comes in. You dive into the design, content, and performance of each page on your website to see how you can convert more visitors into subscribers and customers. 

7. Email Marketing

Last, but certainly not least is email marketing. Email marketing is building an owned email list of people that are interested in your business, you, and the products/services that you offer. Then regularly communicating with those people through a newsletter and automated email campaigns to convert them into paying customers. 

It’s great to get people to sign up for your email list or newsletter, but if you’re not communicating with them, it’s worthless. You need an email marketing strategy where you’re communicating with them, getting to know them better, answering their questions, and building trust with them. 

For example, one of my companies, Outsource School, is focused on teaching business owners how to hire and scale their business with virtual assistants and freelancers from the Philippines. We run a weekly newsletter that provides free advice and strategies on outsourcing to 5,000+ potential customers. We build additional trust with them each week and over time many of them become members. 

How to Get Started (w/ Each) 

Now that you know the 7 organic marketing strategies that you can use to grow your business faster, let’s talk about some simple, actionable steps you can take to get them started. 

1. SEO

Ideas to get started: 

• Build a Blog page on your website. 
• Commit to writing & publishing 1 new blog each week. 
• Target 1 keyword with each blog. 
• Make your keywords what your ideal customer would search to find you. 
• Make all of your content high quality & value for your customer. 

2. Partnerships

Ideas to get started: 

• Open a new Google Sheet or Trello board.
• Make a Partner 100. Your top 100 ideal partners. 
• Find contact information for all 100. (Or have a VA do it) 
• Reach out to them on social media & email. 
• Work to build a relationship with them.
• Run content exchanges together. 

3. Podcast Interviews

Ideas to get started: 

• Similar to the Partner 100, make a Podcast 100. 
• Research 100 top podcasts where your ideal customer is listening. 
• List out your areas of expertise & value you could add to the podcast. 
• Reach out and pitch hosts to interview you. 
• Record the interview with the host. 
• Improve your interviewing skills as you practice. 

4. Social Media

Ideas to get started: 

• Choose 1 channel to start with. 
• If looking for B2B customers, use Twitter or LinkedIn. 
• If for B2C customers, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. 
• Post 1x per day
• Reply to comments that people leave. 
• Build a personal brand around your expertise. 

5. Content Marketing

Ideas to get started: 

• Brainstorm a list of 5 lead magnets your ideal customer would like. 
• Over 6-12 months, make the 5 lead magnets.
• Feature them on your site. 
• Post about them on your social media. 
• Ask your partners to share them.

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6. CRO

Ideas to get started: 

• Once you have website traffic, set up tracking with Google Analytics. 
• Measure how many visitors you’re converting to email subscribers. 
• Once you have a baseline, make a list of improvements you could make. 
• Implement them and repeat this every quarter. 

7. Email Marketing

Ideas to get started: 

• Choose an email marketing software to use: Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, etc. 
• Start a weekly newsletter that you send out. Same day, same time each week. 
• Build a content calendar and get ahead of the schedule. 
• Schedule newsletters and get feedback from your subscribers. 

Take Action

Organic marketing is a valid and proven way to drive potential customers to your website that you can then work to convert into paying customers. 

I’ve been using organic marketing strategies for scaling my businesses for the past 10 years and I continue to be a huge proponent of them today. 

You don’t need huge marketing budgets to grow your business. All you need is proven processes, consistency, and the drive to keep at it for months on end. 

TL;DR:

1. SEO

2. Partnerships

3. Podcast Interviews

4. Social Media

5. Content Marketing

6. CRO

7. Email Marketing

Sit down and plan out how you’ll get these started for your business.

Take 1 at a time, perfect a process for it, delegate, and then move onto adding another. 

By the end of 1-2 years, you’ll have a fully running organic marketing machine that is driving 1,000s of leads to your business every single month. 
Have question? Follow me on LinkedIn and DM me with questions!

The post 7 Organic Marketing Strategies to Scale Faster in 2023 appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

The marketing and advertising landscape is constantly evolving. With the continuous emergence of new technologies and changes in consumer behavior, it’s super important to stay ahead of the curve by staying on top of the latest digital marketing trends.

But, as digital marketers or business owners, it can get a little challenging to catch up with everything happening so fast.

So, to help you get a head start and stay ahead of your competition, we, at Mongoose Media, created a comprehensive list of the top trends in digital advertising that any company should watch out for in 2023.

From advances in AI to leveraging content marketing and influencer collaborations, these strategies have the potential to amp up your marketing efforts and build a winning digital marketing strategy for your business.

So let’s take a deep dive into each one of them and help you become more strategic about how best to capitalize on modern technologies!

12 Top Digital Marketing Trends

Here is a list of the top digital marketing trends with  detailed insights you need to pay attention to in 2023:

1. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

The use of AI and machine learning is probably the most popular trend, which is gaining traction in digital marketing at the moment.

With algorithms controlling what social media posts you engage with, which search results surface, and even determining the ads that appear before your eyes, AI-driven marketing ensures a tailored experience for customers everywhere.

This amazing technology can help organizations optimize their marketing campaigns with predictive analytics and advanced data insights.

Plus, AI can also be used to automate mundane tasks such as content curation, customer segmentation, & personalization to facilitate better engagement with customers.

AI content creation tools such as Jasper, ChatGPT, and Midjourney are already revolutionizing how digital marketers create written content and images at 10x speed.

This is definitely going to be one of the hottest trends in advertising in the coming years.

2. Immersive Experiences

Immersive experiences are becoming an increasingly important part of digital marketing these days as they enable customers to interact with a brand on a more personal level.

Customers today don’t just want to browse through products. Instead, they look for an emotionally engaging experience that adds to their overall satisfaction.

Some of the best tools to offer immersive experiences are:

Virtual Reality – VR helps customers immerse themselves in a virtual environment and see what it would be like if the product was bought.

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Augmented Reality – AR helps customers to virtually experience the product in their own physical environment.

Using AR and VR, marketers can create interactive video ads and pop-up stores where customers can try and interact with products before buying them.

And this is exactly what happens in the metaverse. It’s a virtual world where people have digital avatars, which they can use to interact with other people and visual projections of products, play games, participate in virtual events, and buy or sell virtual assets.

This might sound unreal, but it’s all happening. As a matter of fact, brands like IKEA, Nike, and Amazon are already using AR to offer such virtual product experiences.

Immersive experiences like these create an interactive, real-world-like environment for customers to explore and gain insights about products/services, enhancing the user experience.

3. Content Marketing

Content is said to be “king” and definitely one of the most powerful digital marketing channels for engaging customers and driving conversions.

However, besides increasing engagement and conversion, content marketing is essential for another strong reason: brand awareness.

Did you know that it takes an average user 5 to 7 instances of interaction before they can remember a brand?

This is why it’s important  to consistently create high-quality content that resonates with the target audience and helps them get to know your business better.

Content marketing should be an integrated part of any digital marketing strategy in order to build brand awareness, generate leads, and increase conversions.

In addition to traditional content such as blog posts, emails, and social media posts, marketers should also consider creating interactive content such as webinars, live product reviews, quizzes, and polls in order to increase engagement.

All of these make for an excellent customer experience and build long-term brand loyalty.

4. Chatbots & Voice Assistants

Chatbots and voice assistants are gaining prominence as they help companies provide a more personalized experience for customers.

Chatbots use AI-driven algorithms to provide personalized customer service with automated responses, while voice assistants interact with customers in a more natural way.

Both chatbots and voice assistants help organizations save time and money by automating mundane customer service tasks while providing a more personalized experience for customers.

Doing so, they help customers pass through the sales funnel in a personalized and immersive way, which ultimately helps drive more conversions.

This is why these two have become essential tools of conversational marketing in the modern digital marketing world.

5. Influencer Collaborations

Every day, you see content creators promoting clothes, accessories, tech gadgets, or any other product. Whether it’s an Instagram post, Facebook story, or a TikTok or YouTube video, you will come across such collaborations.

What does it tell you?

It tells you that influencer marketing is an essential part of digital marketing today.

Influencers can help create buzz around a product or service on different social media platforms, attract more people to your website, and drive conversions.

How?

The explanation is simple; customers today are more likely to trust an influencer than a brand when it comes to recommendations.

This is why many brands and organizations have started leveraging influencer collaborations and making them a vital part of their digital marketing efforts.

Besides more awareness, businesses can also use influencer collaborations to get honest reviews from trusted figures in the industry before they launch their product or service.

6. Live Video/Streaming

Live streaming is yet another powerful form of digital marketing and a hot trend in the digital advertising world.

Streaming live content allows brands to engage with their customers in real time and build a strong connection with them. Plus, it also helps customers get answers to their queries and encourages more conversations around the product/service.

Brands can stream live content on various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This can be in the form of product demonstrations, Q&A sessions, webinars, interviews with industry experts, and more.

But why is it recommended?

Because the algorithm of most social media platforms pushes live content to its news feed and ranks it higher than older content.

This means it will be easier for brands to reach their target customers with live content.

And it’s not just all in theory.

Live commerce is a whole new industry that has gained huge traction in China and is slowly spreading to other regions.

In 2023, the total live commerce market in China is projected to cross $700 billion.

Imagine the impact you can have if ecommerce brands add it to their digital marketing activities.

7. Email Marketing

There may come a hundred new trends in digital advertising, but email marketing is the “never-gonna-die” classic digital strategy.

Even today, in 2023, it remains one of the most effective ways to reach customers and promote products/services.

Why? Because it’s a more direct marketing tool as compared to other tools like Google ads, sponsored posts in social media feeds, or TV ads.

Emails are highly targeted and personalized messages.

This is why businesses (especially ecommerce businesses) use email campaigns to build relationships with customers, announce new product launches and upcoming sales, offer content upgrades, and send other personalized messages.

It is a cost-effective way to reach out to existing and potential customers, build long-term relationships, and drive more sales.

8. Omni-present Social Media Marketing

No doubt, social media has become an integral part of digital marketing.

However, just a few years ago, only Facebook was the key platform for brands.

But now, many businesses are focusing on developing an omnipresent social media marketing strategy.

This means they now try to be present on every social media platform. From Instagram to Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and even Pinterest, businesses have started creating their presence on all these platforms.

This omnipresence helps brands ensure that their content reaches a wider audience and is visible in multiple places. This increases brand awareness, encourages more customer engagement, and helps increase conversion rates.

9. Short Form Video Content

It’s no surprise that video content has become one of the most popular forms of digital marketing.

But what’s different today is the type of videos being created. Users no longer want to watch long videos and instead wish to consume content in short bursts.

This is why TikTok rose to fame and became the most popular app in 2019 and 2020.

TikTok’s popularity moved businesses towards creating short, eye-catching videos for social media marketing. These videos range from product/service demonstrations to funny skits and even customer testimonials.

However, what happened afterward is even more interesting.

After the meteoric rise of TikTok, Facebook and Instagram introduced “Reels,” and YouTube launched “Shorts.”

Why?

Simply because short videos are effective; they are great for grabbing the attention of viewers, quickly conveying a message, and engaging customers in an interactive way.

So, short video content is a hot digital marketing trend, which is here to stay!

10. LinkedIn

This might come as a surprise, but LinkedIn is now one of the most important platforms for marketing teams.

It is no longer a site for job hunting, business to business collaborations, or data collection. In fact, it has become a hub for individuals and businesses to share digital content in the form of short posts, blog posts, images, and videos.

Entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and business profiles can use the platform to post relevant content and reach out to their target audience, build relationships with potential customers, and generate leads.

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Plus, you can direct all of your followers to your website and get free organic traffic.

So, if you have not yet started using LinkedIn for digital marketing purposes, now is the time to do it.

It’s definitely going to be one of the top trends in advertising in the near future.

11. Voice Search

With voice search becoming increasingly popular, digital marketers need to factor this in while creating their marketing strategies.

Voice search is, essentially, the process of using voice commands to search for something on the internet.

For example, if you wanted to know about a local restaurant, you would say something like, “Find me a good restaurant near me,” and the voice assistant would display the best results based on your query.

This has now become one of the most popular ways to search, and businesses must create strategies that include voice search optimization.

This means optimizing your content, website, and other marketing materials for voice search. This will help you appear higher in the results when someone uses voice search to look for something that your business offers.

12. Inclusive Marketing

Finally, there is the concept of inclusive marketing, which is becoming increasingly important for businesses.

Inclusive marketing refers to creating content and campaigns that are sensitive to people of all backgrounds and cultures, regardless of gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, age, or race.

This is important because it allows businesses to create content that resonates with a wider audience and reach out to customers who may have felt excluded in the past.

Furthermore, it helps create an environment where everyone can feel included and accepted, which can be beneficial for businesses in the long run.

So, these are some of the most promising 2023 trends in digital advertising that businesses should look out for.

Remember, these trends will not be the same for all businesses. You should take the time to analyze your own business and create strategies that are tailored to its needs and goals.

Not sure what your business really needs? This social media certificate can help bring clarity.

Or, work with an expert and experienced digital marketing team to help make the right decisions for your business.

Either way, make sure to stay up-to-date with the latest digital marketing trends and capitalize on them while they’re still hot.

The post Top 12 Digital Marketing Trends in 2023 You Should Know appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Do businesses email their customers too often? According to a recent article on Business Insider, the answer is yes. But not for the reason you may think.

It’s not because customers loathe getting emails from companies. Or because frequent emails are considered spam. It’s actually because most brands nowadays email like this:

They use discounts as their main strategy to persuade customers to buy. But what happens when your customer’s whole inbox looks like the picture above? The inevitable: they stop paying attention to your emails.

Because here’s the thing.

Why would they open your emails if they can already predict the content inside? Why would they buy now when they can clearly see you’ve got discounts all the time? And, most importantly, why would they pick your brand over your competitors?

If you want to stand out in someone’s crowded inbox, you need to do the one thing that everybody else avoids doing: building strong relationships with your email subscribers. Here’s how:

How Storytelling Helps Your Brand Shine Bright in a Crowded Inbox

Storytelling is the most effective way to communicate. That’s not me saying it. It’s the countless studies (such as this one, this one, and this one) that prove it, time and time again. Why?

Because storytelling helps you form positive emotional associations with you and your brand. The emotions you evoke with your stories go a long way in defining how people perceive you, creating a stronger connection in your audience’s mind between you and the problem you solve for them. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. 

The truth is, writing story-based emails makes you more than just a brand that sells a solution to their pain: it makes you an entertainer, too. And as a marketer, being able to entertain while selling is like having a superpower. People hate being sold to. But they love being entertained (ever binge-watched a Netflix show? I know I have). 

Plus, with story-based emails, you can easily add more variability to your email calendar. As a result, customers will no longer be able to predict what your next email will be about: a fun story? A new product? Maybe even a discount? Curiosity translates to increased engagement. And increased engagement translates to stronger relationships with your customers. 

So by choosing the right stories to tell in your emails (which we’ll discuss in a bit) and by writing them in an engaging way, you’re guaranteed to keep your audience hooked and excited to read your next email. As opposed to adding yet another sales email to their already crowded inbox.

Here’s How to Supercharge Your Email Strategy with Stories That Sell:

1. Pick the Right Story 

The storytelling approach will give you little to no results if the stories you’re telling are flat to begin with. No matter how engaging your writing is. 

So the first thing you need to do is to make sure you select story ideas with potential. Okay, but where do you find these ideas? And what does a good story idea look like?

If you’re anything like me, your life isn’t that exciting or eventful. And yet, you may still have a funny conversation with your next-door neighbor. Or your team may geek out about wild adaptogen mushrooms at a team-building event. Or your spouse may accidentally spill coffee on your laptop (true story!). 

Any of these can be turned into fun story-based emails that tell your audience a little bit more about who you (or your team) are as a person. Most business owners assume their customers don’t want to know what goes on in their personal and business life. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

In fact, customers want to know there are real people behind brand names. According to this report from Sprout Social, 70% of consumers report feeling more connected to a brand when its CEO is active on social media. 

And depending on how much you’re willing to share about your life, you can then select the types of personal stories to write about. When in doubt, think about what you’d want to tell your friends/family at the dinner table. More often than not, that’d make a great story for your email list too.

Related Articles

• “Undercover” Case Studies: Why the Future of Marketing Is Proving Yourself in the Field

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• How Marketing Science Yields Success for Agencies

2. Write a Strong Hook

Let’s face it. 

Nowadays, attention spans are short. And no matter how good your story is, if how you write it isn’t engaging enough, your email subscribers aren’t going to read it. 

So the very first thing you want to do is to make sure the first three sentences of your story hook the reader into the action. Once someone reads that much into a story, it’s incredibly difficult for them to stop. 

So how do you do it? Any of these hooks have proven to work again and again whenever I write stories for myself or my clients:

• Start in the middle of the action (and explain the context later). For example:

“RUN!”, the police officer yelled at me.

“Okay, thank you!”, I yelled back, running out of Paddington Station and trying to find a cab.

Except, it was 4 in the morning. And I had no idea where to look for one.”

• Start with ‘x time ago’. Recalling a past event hooks people instantly into your story. For example:

“A few months ago, Joanna Wiebe (the original conversion copywriter) slid into my DMs on Slack completely out of nowhere…”

3. Segue to Your Sales Pitch Seamlessly

By the time you get to this part, your readers are entertained and primed to purchase your solution to their problems. Your brand is no longer just another brand in their busy inbox. It’s someone they now know, trust, and like. And so, buying from you feels just right.

But you can’t just end your story abruptly so you can sell your products/services. That’d feel intrusive. In the same way that, when you’re engaged in a YouTube video, an annoying ad interrupts your stream.

So you must find a way to tie your story to your product or service so seamlessly that your readers won’t even notice they’re now reading a sales pitch. Sounds difficult. But you’ll see how easy it actually is. In fact, what most people get wrong about this part is that they try to find the moral of the story and tie that to their sales pitch. 

For example, let’s say your story is about how your team went to a team-building event and someone accidentally broke a bunch of glasses. And if you’re selling a service, you might be able to spin that incident into saying something like: when you hire our software developers, your app stops breaking.

But that’s a predictable way to transition from your story to your sales pitch. Plus, not all stories will end with a moral. Most stories will be fragments of conversations you have with someone or something ridiculous that happened throughout the day (like forgetting your keys at the office). There’s no moral in that and there’s no need for one.

What you can do instead is to look back at your entire story and find one or a few phrases/words that could help you build that segway. Here’s an example of a full story-based email. Pay special attention to the part where the story ends and the sale begins.

Example of a Full Story-Based Email

“SUBJ: Hacker threatens to destroy my reputation in 72 hours straight

This morning, I was at my laptop reading my emails when suddenly, I came across an unread email from… 

Me.

What in the world…?

Out of confusion, I open it without reading the subject line. 

And once I go past the first sentence, it becomes pretty clear:

I’m being hacked.

“You may have noticed we are using your company’s servers to send you this email: we have hacked into your website, kaleidocopy[dot]com.”

Oh.

Okay… They did send this email from my email address. 

Still, I can’t help but wonder… could this be a hoax?

“This is not a hoax.”

Ah! Well, that settles it then.

“We are willing to forget about destroying the reputation of your site and company for a small fee. The current fee is at $2500 in bitcoin.”

I mean… at least they are nice about it, you know? Their willingness to forgive and forget says a lot about a person’s character.

In the following lines, they take me through exactly what they’re going to do to ruin my company and reputation, step by step.

Then they teach me how to buy Bitcoin (I already know how, but I appreciate their thoughtfulness!).

And finally, they assure me that my Bitcoin payment will be anonymous and that no one will know that I complied with their master plan.

Mmmmkay. 

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Now that is a bit suspicious, Mr. Hackerman (or Ms. Hackerwoman — it’s 2022, what the heck.)

I’m willing to bet the $2500 on the fact that I’m not the only person they sent this to.

So if the payment is anonymous, how will they know it was ME who sent it? It just doesn’t make sense, y’know? 

Jokes aside, I’ve got to admit: seeing that the email came from my address made me panic a bit. 

But then I checked my Sent folder and the email wasn’t there.

I also checked to see if there were any alerts or logins from different devices on my Google account. There were none.

I also checked with my hosting provider, who reassured me no one has broken into anything. 

Soooo… hoax? Hopefully, lol. 

But if it isn’t, it means you’ve got 72 hours left to get Email Story Alchemy, my mini-course on turning boring day-to-day events from your life into story-based emails that build your fandom and help you stand out. 

After that, my business will supposedly disappear from the face of the Earth. And you’ll no longer be able to buy it. Everrr.”

Conclusion

Story is a structure, not a tale. Which means that you can apply it to anything, including email. And when you do it right, amazing things happen. 

Like building strong relationships with your customers. And turning a casual customer into a die-hard fan who wants to buy from you because they just can’t get enough of your brand.

Sure, discounts work too. But they work when used strategically and in moderation. So if you’re ever unsure about what to email your customers next, consider story-based emails. They’ll make your brand shine bright in anyone’s crowded inbox.

The post Storytelling: The Secret Sauce to Making More Sales With Email Marketing appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

“Email marketing is DEAD!”
“AI is taking over the inbox!”
“Why hire a copywriter when I can just use email templates?!”
“Who needs an email list when I have a large social following?”

Um….. stop right there and listen up, because I’m going to let you in on a little secret…

THREE little secrets to be exact. 

Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of misconceptions floating around the cyberspace when it comes to email marketing. So in this blog, we’re going to talk about the three biggest Email Marketing Myths & Misconceptions… 

AND I’m going to fill you in on the SECRET WEAPON that’ll give you a massive advantage and leg-up over any competition. 

Alright, now let’s get started with myth-busting. 

Myth #1 – Email Marketing Is DEAD

This is a myth that I’ve been hearing ever since I got my start in the online marketing industry… over a decade ago! And guess what?

The rumours were wrong back then and they’re STILL wrong today. 

No matter what you heard at the latest online summit you attended… Email Marketing is STILL alive and well—and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon!

In fact, Email Marketing is the single best way to market your brand or business, increase your revenue, and cash in on more conversions.

That’s right. It’s better than ads, better than social media, and better than organic traffic…

I said it.

In fact, I did my FIRST launch back in 2020 and made almost 6-figures by sending just 8 emails to my list of 2300 subscribers. Yup.

But don’t just take my word for it, here are some stats to prove it. It is estimated that there are 4 BILLION active email users right now (and that number is projected to go up, btw).

Email marketing consistently delivers the highest ROI of all marketing channels – earning on average $42 for every dollar spent… and in case you don’t want to do the math on that…

That’s an ROI of 4200%!! I don’t know of a single brand or business that wouldn’t love to see numbers like that. 

And just in case gaining a massive ROI isn’t enough to convince you… this probably will:

According to MarketingSherpa, email is STILL the most preferred marketing channel that most consumers want businesses to communicate with them through. YES, even Millennials and gen-Z-ers prefer email to social media.

And not only is email your consumer’s favorite way of communicating… it should be your favourite too! And that’s because your list is YOURS. It belongs to YOU. Not Facebook, not Instagram. YOU. 

And when you use Email as your preferred method of communication, ALL you have to do to get your message heard is make sure your emails aren’t landing in the spam folder. You’re not held captive by the algorithm Gods, “platform rules,” or having to keep up with the latest trends to get your content seen.  

When you take just a moment to step back and look at the facts, it’s crystal clear.

While I still love and use other marketing channels…

My girl Email Marketing reigns supreme.

Myth #2 – Templates Work Better

This is another myth I’ve been hearing over and over again lately.

Why hire a copywriter when I can just use email templates?! 

Now for the sake of clarity, in this context, I’m referring to fancy and impersonal emails that are all show and no substance. You know those fancy-looking HTML emails you commonly see from e-commerce sites or big corporate businesses…

Listen – they work for brands like Sephora or Apple, well, because they are Seophora and Apple…

But as a personality-based brand (or as the real PERSON behind the brand), you don’t want to get too fancy in your emails. 

Why? Well, because facts: Extensive A/B testing has shown that the overwhelming majority of consumers prefer simple, text-based emails (you know, just like those emails you send to your friends and family).

Not only do consumers prefer plain jane text-only emails, but templates come with a whole list of other cons to consider.

Downsides of Email Templates

• They take a long time to load, depending on your consumer’s internet connection.
• Customization can be difficult and unreliable. You can spend hours finicking with a template, where your time would be better spent just writing and personal, empathetic email.
• HTML templates often get all funky on mobile if not coded correctly.
• They are WAY more likely to end up in the Spam or Promotions folder because of heavy images and design features
• These kinds of emails focus on imagery, not on brand voice or actually connecting with the audience.

On the other hand…. While copywriters might not be able to design a “pretty-looking email”…

They are specially trained to WRITE WORDS THAT WORK. They understand how to craft powerful subject lines that hook your reader and get them to open your email. They know how to open a loop with engaging content to get your consumers to keep reading…

And they know the psychological triggers that get people to CLICK and BUY your offer…

And when you’re a business that RELIES on having a strong, powerful, and intimate relationship with your consumers… 

These factors are absolutely essential to your Email Marketing success. 

Alright, now onto the last—and most controversial—myth on this list… 

Myth #3 – AI Is Taking Over

Look, we’ve all heard it… AI is replacing copywriters at the speed of light—and especially in the Email Marketing world. 

Because I mean, who needs to shell out a bunch of money for an experienced copywriter when they could just spend a quarter of the money on some fancy automation software that “does just as good”?

Right? NO!!! 

Listen, I know AI software and done-for-you templates are becoming more and more prevalent in the email marketing space – there’s no doubt about that. 

But with that said, there’s a whole lot more to the story than what the internet would have you believe…

I’ve said it before, and I say it again and again until the day I die…

A.I. is a tool, not a takeover. 

And as a TOOL—there are certain things A.I. CAN help us to optimize, streamline and improve…

Things like: research, ideation, email automation, personalization, and segmentation. You know, the left-brain, back-end, logistical stuff. The truth is that A.I. can actually make an Email Marketers job A LOT easier. 

But when it comes to replacing the CREATIVITY & EMPATHY that a human copywriter brings to the table…?

It’s just not going to happen anytime soon.

And while it’s true that there ARE going to be some brands and businesses that will choose to get by with A.I… Their emails will be mediocre, at best.

I mean it’s just like anything else that’s being “replaced” by technology…

If you want mediocre results, then sure – go with a plug-and-play tool. If you want exceptional results, hire an expert. 

Mediocre accountants are being replaced by do-it-yourself software like Freshbooks, Honeybook & Quickbooks… but that doesn’t mean we don’t pay a LEGIT PROFESSIONAL when it comes time to file taxes. 

Mediocre graphic designers are being replaced by tools like Canva… but that doesn’t mean we don’t pay a GREAT DESIGNER to design our websites.

And if you want to optimize your email list, increase your revenue, and cash in on more conversions… then you HIRE A COPYWRITER. 

It’s as simple as that. And it’s never going to change. 

So here’s my advice to the copywriters who are worried about A.I. takeover and the other Myths on this list… 

Don’t be mediocre. Position yourself as an expert. 

Do that, and you’ll be INVALUABLE to any brand or business that wants to optimize their Email Marketing strategies. 

THAT’S your secret weapon. 

THAT’S how you make yourself A.I. proof. 

THAT’S how you position yourself as an expert in the industry and get clients banging down the door for your talents and services. 

But now the question is… HOW?! HOW do you become a damned good copywriter and email marketer? One who understands the audience, knows the power of connection, and has mastered the art of conversion?

Well… you develop the skills, techniques, practical EXPERIENCE, and knowledge needed to make yourself an expert! 

And after months and months of listening to this community ask me question after question about email marketing… I decided it was time to do something about it. 

Now up until recently, I never really thought this was needed. Mostly because I already teach an entire module all about Email Marketing inside my 8-week Copywriting Coaching Program.

But the truth is, not everyone has the time, money, energy, or desire to invest in a two-month coaching course…

And that’s why I created a FREE email guide—to help you cut through the B.S. 

My Ultimate Email Marketing Cheatsheet will help you future-proof your biz from the throes of unpredictable algorithms and the never-ending threat of A.I. takeover by teaching how to master the art of impactful inbox messaging. 

• You’ll discover the 7 must-have emails to build and monetize your list (with real-life examples straight from the Posse’s private vault)…
• Discover the right way to build and monetize your email list, without relying on templates or standardized messaging. 
• Get the secret to sending engaging emails that won’t drive away subscribers or lose you any brand loyalty.

Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!

The post Is Email Marketing Dead? appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

DigitalMarketer has just released a brand new email marketing certification course! 

Our expert line-up of instructors includes:

Richard Lindner, our resident “jack-of-all-trades.” Over the past 12 months he has managed well over a BILLION email sends, created & implemented strategies to overcome major changes in Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail algorithms, tripled email open rates, doubled email clickthrough rates, and generated over $20M in revenue from email marketing alone!

Alex Cattoni, founder of the Copy Posse, and master email marketer. Since 2011, Alex has helped launch several successful brands and has proudly partnered with many of the hottest transformational authors and businesses on the planet, writing high-converting sales copy, scaling multi-million dollar brands, and crafting iconic promotional campaigns.

Dave Albano, a dynamic and dedicated digital marketing expert, business strategist, and inspired speaker and trainer. Founder & CEO of Joza Marketing and creator of his famous 2-day business intensives, Dave’s high impact strategies and done-for-you services get more customers into your business, more productivity from your day, and more excitement into your life!

Hamoon Green, the CEO & chief strategist of Quick Boost Marketing. He helps 7-8 figure ecommerce brands generate 30%-40% of their total revenue through email marketing and marketing consultation. Hamoon is a whiz at helping 7-figure brands easily add 30%-50% in revenue through email marketing. 

What will you learn from Alex in the new Email Marketing Mastery online certification course:

• How to utilize and monetize your email list–the right way–to turn signups into sales…
• The 3 biggest mistakes in email marketing (and how to avoid them)…
• The power of email and why it’s the lowest hanging fruit in any business…
• A 3-part framework for building authority and anticipation before pitching an offer to your list…
• The 6 email framework you can use as the base of every single email marketing campaign you write.

In this video:

The Single Most Important Skillset You Can Learn to Grow Your Business 2:28 – 2:40

Why The Industry Definition of Email Marketing is LAME 4:23 – 4:33

What is email marketing and why does it matter?

The official definition from MailChimp says:

“The use of email within your marketing efforts to promote a business’s products and services, as well as incentivize customer loyalty. Email marketing is a form of marketing that can make the customers on your email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services.”

Alex’s laser-focused, customer-centric definition goes like this:

“The regular and reliable use of email to communicate with a list of subscribers. Used to provide real value–in the form of education, inspiration, or entertainment–and build trust that will allow you to ultimately monetize a loyal base of customers, followers, and fans.”

Become a Master of Email Marketing https://www.digitalmarketer.com/certifications/email-marketing-mastery/

WORKSHOP: Email Follow-up Machine https://www.digitalmarketer.com/workshop/the-new-email-follow-up-machine/

FREE DOWNLOAD: The Ultimate Email Subject Line Swipe File https://www.digitalmarketer.com/lp/ultimate-email-subject-line-swipe-file/

The post Why Email Marketing Matters for Monetization with Alex Cattoni [VIDEO] appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Here are five examples of graphics that you SHOULD NOT include in any of your email marketing campaigns. Trust us, we’ve made plenty of email marketing mistakes. We found this out the hard way so that you don’t have to.

Avoid Using Graphics That Don’t Fit Your Brand Colors

It may sometimes be a little tempting to use just any eye-catching image. While it may catch an eye (or two), it won’t keep the subscriber engaged long-term. It won’t catch an eye for your brand. Graphics are a GREAT way to portray your brand and message. This is definitely something you don’t want to miss out on when sending emails!

Using your brand’s color scheme within a graphic is a great way to spark brand recognition, which is very important in this day and age. Doing this (in every campaign) keeps an ongoing connection between your emails and the minds of your viewers. Using any old run of the mill stock image/graphic may catch an eye for a second. But if you don’t jazz up your email template with branded, professionally executed images, viewers may lose interest and you may lose that ongoing connection with them.

Customers Can Spot Boring Stock Photos a Mile Away

In the world of digital marketing, you need to avoid being or becoming boring. And that means that using boring stock photos is a no-no. Using low quality images is not the best look either. There are two main ways to avoid this.

1. Take your own original images.
2. Invest in purchasing higher quality images.

At the end of the day, both of these options will end up being an investment in the overall quality of your email newsletter. And like most investments, this one will definitely pay off. Whatever you may choose, just remember that high quality images are crucial to email marketing graphics.

If you don’t have the capacity to take your own images quite yet, here’s a short list of high quality image sites we recommend checking out.

• Unsplash
• Deposit Photos
• Pixabay

Graphics That Never Feature Animations Don’t Stop the Scroll

While there’s not much wrong with standard email graphics (besides these five points to avoid), there can be faults in lack of variety. One way to add variety to your email content is to add animation every once in a while. Animation can be used to catch the viewer’s attention. And on top of that, they can be used to direct viewers to email elements such as a CTA button.

Graphics That Never Feature a CTA Don’t Earn Clicks

As your overall/main goal should always be at the forefront of your mind, it should also be at the forefront of your email design. If you want to include a call to action in your email, don’t just add it in the footer. Create a CTA button (whether that be a link to your shop or course, etc.), and add it into the graphic in some shape or form.

If you don’t have a call to action, how will your subscriber know what action to take? By not using a CTA, you are missing out on the chance to direct your viewers to viewing more of your content as a brand.

Graphics That Don’t Convert to Mobile Platforms Well Make Your Newsletter Look Amateur

Creating marketing email graphics that convert to mobile platforms well is important. Avoid sending emails with graphics that don’t convert. Half of all email opens come from mobile devices. Make sure your graphics convert well. Otherwise, half of your viewers could potentially lose interest or be unable to view your graphic at all.

It is essential to always preview your email marketing campaign on a mobile device before clicking that send button. Your subscribers will view your email newsletters from a variety of devices. Make sure your graphics are adaptable to all devices equally.

Avoiding these five email design mistakes will ensure that your road to success in email marketing is a smoother one. It will save you a heck of a lot of time and money down the road.

The post The Worst Types of Graphics to Use in Email Campaigns appeared first on DigitalMarketer.