Episode 62 Secrets of Email Marketing pt2
Welcome to the Vermillion podcast, a free audio library of business strategies,
creative inspiration, and industry knowledge for actors, filmmakers, writers,
and anyone looking to activate their creative potential. I'm Misha Calvair, a writer
-director who helps artists build the careers that they dream of. I really hope that
this podcast inspires you in some way. Thanks for tuning in.
Part two of email marketing secrets. Your subject line.
You have identified your goal. You have identified your target market. You created a
spreadsheet with the contact info of your target market. You found their emails and
you've crafted your pitch. Now, now you are ready to create the subject line. If
you don't have a good subject line, your email will not get opened. Your open rate
and your engagement rate will be very low. And if someone doesn't even open your
email, well, if a tree falls in the woods and no one's around to hear it, doesn't
make a noise. Your email is not gonna get read, so make sure that subject line is
good.
If you were your own target market, what would it take to make you open that
email? Put yourself in their shoes. Really have empathy for, okay, I get, let's say,
if I'm an agent, I might get 2 ,000 emails a day. What would it take for me to
open one of those emails from somebody that I don't know?
Raises the bar pretty high because that subject line shouldn't be about you, the
sender. It should be about solving a problem or peeking the interest of the reader.
You can iterate on this as you go. You know, I'll often start a huge email
campaign with one version of something that gets better as I go and I'm willing to
let it change. I'm willing to pay attention as I'm writing or sending and sending
and sending. And if something doesn't feel right after the 100th time I send it I
change it and so I'm just really open and curious for what feels Like the best
draft of this thing that I'm sending out and I let it change even if I've already
sent like 80 % of my list if I stumble on the perfect subject line then I'm gonna
send that for that last 20 because My goal is to get a result.
I want to get a response from these people. So Of course, I'm happy to change and
improve as I go. You can also A /B test. You start with one subject line.
You're like, OK, I'm going to send 50 % of this first batch with this subject line
and 50 % with a second subject line. So you're A and you're B. And you see which
one performs better. If A performs better, that second half, you go with A. And the
one that was less effective well, only 25 % of people got it. So you're still
winning, right? Some examples of subject line genres that work is something funny,
something around a sale, like discount good for three more days or one spot left,
auditions this weekend, you know, that kind of thing. Anything novel, anything that's
time bound, also anything that is clickbaity like Ryan Gosling did this and then
book Barbie or has to do with either celebrity or this one thing will change your
self -tapes forever. These actually work. They may feel cringe, but if it's boring,
you're not going to open it. So that subject line better be good. Step seven.
You got to send the emails. You got to. It's essential to an effective campaign,
you actually have to send them. You can do this in a number of ways.
If you're using Gmail to send your emails, you can actually add the boomerang plugin
which tracks your emails. I like this because I want a response to my emails when
I send them. And I usually try to send my emails within 6 a .m. to 6 p .m.
I never send on Fridays. People are usually busy or checked out for the weekend. So
they're very likely wrapping out their week instead of opening new doors or trying
to close doors. So I try to do Monday through Thursday 6 a .m. to 6 p .m. And I
recommend doing your email campaign in two days maximum. Why? Because longer than
that and what you're talking about might not be relevant after a certain amount of
days have passed, but also it puts the pressure on you to just get it done.
Sending emails by hand is the most effective and the least likely to send them to
spam. If you're doing that from your Gmail, you can use boom ring as a tracking
plug -in, but you can see if they open it and you can see if they click it. Mail
merge is what creates this really long text based emails where it's like no
pictures, maybe some emojis, but it's like, whoa, did that person really write this
because it says Dear Misha. So that email was probably made with a mail merge. So
yet another mail merge is good for that, feels intimate, it lets you write a lot.
If you're a writer, it's probably going to be a format that feels good to you. I
think it's 60 bucks a year and very effective. People often open those. You can
also use a CRM chimp or flow desk. You have to pay for them, but they allow you
access to really great designs and images that are going to elevate the look of
your emails. So it's usually a few hundred bucks a year and I think it's well
worth the investment if you're trying to run a real business. Step number eight,
after you've sent your emails, sit back and relax.
Maybe go outside, get away from your computer, go to the gym, do something nice for
yourself. Something nice that doesn't have to do with looking at your computer and
watching the results. It can really drive you crazy and it could be hurtful,
especially when you see who unsubscribes. It's customary to get with a cold email
campaign up to 20 % unsubscribed, right, immediately. So don't worry about them.
Don't even look at them. I don't even want to look at them. I just want to send
the email and then go away and not think about it. Step number nine, respond to
all responses. Not just the ones that are nice, not just the good news.
Respond to everything even if they're neutral or like no thanks. This is the process
of building relationships and building goodwill. You might not have something that
interests this and now, but maybe you will in the future.
If someone comes back with a yes, you want to schedule a clear next step and
calendar it. Give them a date and time when you're going to follow up next, or
date and time for that meeting. Don't put the ball in their court. Make the offer
and make it clear so that they can either say yes or say no. If anyone responds
with hostility, if that does happen-- And it happens to me like once a year,
by the way. First you have to stop, read what you sent and ask yourself genuinely,
was anything in this offensive?
If so,
just change the pitch. You just didn't hit the mark, that's all. You were tone deaf
or you missed
You know, you didn't think about something, take the feedback, change the pitch and
move on. However, the likelihood is that your email was fine. Why?
Because there's a lot of folks out there who now more than ever,
unfortunately, they're not mentally well. There's a lot of really intense emotions,
a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety. So God bless anyone who responds with hostility
to a simple professional email introduction is mentally unwell.
Hey, this is America. You're entitled to send emails advertising your business.
That's what literally what email is for. I usually block and blacklist those people.
I never respond to them. Don't worry about that. Chances are it's them and not you.
Just stay the course. Step number 10 is working through your blocks.
This is before, during, and after your email campaign and this is the final step.
Take a pen and paper and if you can write down these questions and answer them.
What did this email campaign bring up for you?
What was the hardest step of this email process?
What are the fears that came up specifically?
What we're trying to do is take full responsibility for the parts where you are
getting in your own way.
Because as we've ascertained, there is nothing wrong with running an email campaign
if you're running a business. So then what's left? Well, it's your fears and your
blocks. Ask yourself, what is the worst case scenario here? What's the worst case
for this email campaign?
What's your plan for that worst case scenario? What's the best case scenario for
this marketing campaign? And what's your plan for that best case scenario? Let's say
it goes really, really well. What's your plan then? I've seen this with people who
got into their first huge festival with a project and won that festival and they
didn't have a plan and they didn't even have an email list. Well that's almost as
bad as getting no response at all because then you've just wasted an opportunity.
Are you prepared for that because you're going to kick yourself if you're not?
Finally, who can you talk to to get support around this email marketing? Do you
have some colleagues who can look at your drafts or look at your subject line? Or
if it goes wrong, do you have people that you can come to to tell you, "Hey, it's
okay. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about those unsubscribes." You want emotional
support, especially if you're new to email marketing, 'cause it can feel very scary
and very exposing. So make sure that you have people around you that can help you
to get through this and to feel like you're not alone. Email campaigns have changed
my life, and once I got over my fear, I became a better, more confident version of
myself, who was also a better communicator. These are the unexpected positive outcomes
of embracing email marketing. I've really enjoyed this conversation. Thank you for
joining me for parts one and two of the secrets of cold emails, because I have a
feeling that you're gonna really like email marketing. I have a feeling it's going
to change your life. And if it does, I would like to hear from you.
I wanna know and I can't wait to see you next week. - The Vermillion podcast is
sponsored by Vermillion a home for artists. We offer classes coaching and community
for creatives and innovators in the arts. If you're ready to find your voice and
build the life of your dreams we're here to support you every step of the way.
Check out clubvermillion .com and schedule a free call today.
