In this week’s edition of Things I Wish I Knew, New York lawyer Joleena Louis shares her experience using email marketing, and discusses the different types of emails you can use to market your firm.
Email marketing is one of the newest techniques I have started to incorporate into my firm’s marketing strategy this year.
Having an email list is a great tool for building and maintaining relationships with prospective clients and referral sources. But it only works if you actually use it.
When done right, email can become one of the most effective digital marketing tactics at your disposal.
But a marketing email is not the same as your standard emails to clients and colleagues. So, what should you send the people on your email list?
Here are the six types of marketing emails I send to my email lists that have seen the best results:
1. The Welcome Email
The welcome email should be sent to any new contact after they have filled out any form on your website.
Your welcome email should thank the new subscriber for signing up for your email list and reaffirm their decision to sign up.
In addition, take this time to let them know how often they will receive emails and what kind of content to expect. The welcome email works as a relationship builder, which will help improve the success of future emails down the road.
2. The Tools or Resources Email
In a tools or resources email, you should link to, or insert, helpful information for your contacts. This could be something as simple as tips on being a new client, to free tools such as eBooks or links to free workshops.
This type of email works very well for segmented lists.
For example, I have an email I send to new clients with tips and information for working with me. This includes my office hours and policies, how to keep costs down, and links to my blog and social media.
Sending emails with free advice and other tools increases the value of my firm to my clients.
3. The Asking Email
Use the asking email to reach out to your list and ask for their input. The responses can help improve your practice and build stronger relationships with your clients.
For example, I previously wrote an email to clients asking for referrals, urging them to keep me and my firm in mind should they know of anyone who could benefit from my services. The results were highly successful in helping me find and close new business.
It’s also good to ask your clients what topics they want to learn more about. I use the responses from these emails to get ideas for blog content, as well as information on what to send them in future tools or resources emails.
Pay close attention to how they describe the challenge so you can use the same language in your content. Your blog will sound more authentic and real to people who are searching for answers online.
4. The Content Email
One of the most obvious ways to use email is to share a blog post.
For my firm, the open rate for these emails tends to be over 50%. This is because the contacts that receive these emails are either clients or people who have subscribed to my blog.
I send automated email campaigns with the email marketing tool MailChimp, to send blog posts to my subscribers based on whatever frequency they want.
You can also use a content email to send exclusive content such as blog posts, tips, checklists, or videos exclusively to email subscribers.
5. The Curated Email
In this email, you should share valuable and relevant content from trusted outside sources.
I do this about once a month with my Modern Solo email list and it usually gets the highest open rates. By providing valuable content outside of your own, you become even more of a resource to your audience.
Also, by sharing others content you can potentially build an even larger audience. Creating stronger relationships with colleagues increases the odds that they might share some of your content with their contacts.
6. The Newsletter Email
The newsletter email is typically a monthly, or bi-monthly email used to share updates about your firm. You can include information on special deals or promotions, media updates, new policies or employees and/or upcoming events.
Mostly, I use this email to stay top of mind not only with prospective and current clients but with my referral sources as well.
Email marketing isn’t an exact science and it varies from practice to practice. To find what works best for your firm takes time and you will need to test different email types and strategies, but hopefully, gaining insight on these six types of emails will help.
Since building lists and regularly sending email campaigns, I’ve seen an increase in referrals, turned warm leads into consultations, and received great feedback from my clients. I am constantly changing how I use email marketing for my practice, but it is definitely something I will continue to use going forward.
How do you use email to market your firm? Let me know in the comments below.
