Email Marketing Automation: Convert New Leads Into Sales (On Autopilot)

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What is email marketing automation and how does it work?

In episode 24, we’re putting the robots to work.

Let’s go.

Let me make one thing clear. When someone signs up for your newsletter, they’re giving you access to a very personal space.

The last thing you want to do is “insta-pitch” them and sever a budding relationship. More on that in the second step.

Invading their inbox with offers, discounts, and pleas to get them through your doors is the wrong way to approach email marketing.

The best thing you can do for your business or brand is to create a series of automated emails that teaches, shows off your value and then shows them why they need your products and services.

We’re going to cover 3 things today that will automate your success so you can focus on the things that matter in your business.

• The first is intention.
• The second is setting up the right sales funnels.
• The third is analyzing and optimizing your funnels.

If you don’t understand intent, you can’t sell.

Intent begins with these questions:

• Why did they sign up for my mailing list?
• Was it because they love the stuff I blog about?
• Was it a free offer like an eBook, report, or checklist?

In most cases, it’s because they want something you have and think it’s valuable enough to exchange their email address for it.

Next question.

What were you offering?

For example, in episode 9, I shared how you can increase email open rates to 70%. A big part of that lesson was optimizing your subject line.

So I offered access to a massive list of the best email subject lines ever written.

Here’s what this tells me about the people who opt-in for that offer:

1. You’re using an email marketing service.
2. Your open rates suck.
3. You want to improve your email marketing.

Hypothetically speaking, if my goal is to get new sign ups to join my paid email marketing workshop, then I have a couple choices.

I can say something like:

“Hey [Name],

Thanks for signing up. Just so you know, I have a private email marketing workshop that costs $xxx.xx that will help you sell more to your list.

[Link]

Oh ya. BTW, here’s the 149 subject lines you signed up for.

Cheers,

Sam”

Don’t do that.

When someone signs up for a free offer, they’re not looking to be pitched immediately. They’re saying nothing more than:

“This sounds cool. Let me check it out.”

At this point, you need to nurture that lead. The way to do that is to give exceptional value that’s relevant to the offer they signed up for.

And this is where the email automation comes in play.

Create a strategic sales funnel

You need to create a funnel or drip campaign of some sort.

In most email marketing tools, they’re called sequences, series, or auto responders.

With sequences, you create a series of emails that will send to new subscribers on various days.

For example, after they sign up, your first automated email might go out the next day.

Then the second will go out 2 days after the first email was sent.

And finally, your third email might go out 1 day after the second email was sent.

Naturally, in life, things are going to come up. Laziness, unexpected appointments, fatigue, and even tragedy.

Knock on wood.

Email automation eliminates the natural fickleness of us imperfect humans.

When creating your sales funnel, there isn’t a precise number of emails you should send before you pitch. Some industries may use seven. Others might only use one.

For our sake, let’s use the number 3.

Why?

Because it was the first number that came to my head.

That’s how arbitrary it can be.

Email Automation Examples:

Now let’s paint out a scenario.

Let’s say you’re a real estate lawyer and you’ve created a blog post on 7 things you don’t need to pay a real estate lawyer to do.

As an added bonus, you create a checklist that people can opt-in for.

It might sound counter-intuitive, but regarding the intent, we know that the person is looking to buy or sell a home and may be interested in hiring a real estate lawyer.

On to the sales funnel.

Your opt-in confirmation will be the first email that’s sent.

Keep it simple. Something like.

Hey [Name],

Here’s the checklist you signed up for. Hope you’re able to save money on your legal fees.

Cheers,
Sam – Attorney of the web.

P.S. Whether you’re buying or selling, congratulations 🙂

This email is helpful, harmless and warm.

Onto email number two. I call this the “Whoops, I forgot email.”

It might look something like this:

Hey [Name],

I feel kind of silly, but I forgot to mention a few additional resources that I think you’ll find helpful.

[Link] – Free tool to calculate closing costs.
[Link] – How to lower your real estate agent’s commission fees.
[Link] – Case study: How Gerald Saved $1,000 On Real Estate Attorney Fees in 15 minutes.

Let me know if you have any questions about the checklist. I’m more than happy to lend a helping hand.

Cheers,

Sam

This email nurtures the audience. You’re giving helpful resources based on what you know about where they are in their buying cycle.

You gave them an effective tool to calculate closing costs.

You’re giving them information on how to save more money by cutting out some of the commissions from their realtor.

Last is a case study on how one of your clients – Gerald in this case – saved $1,000 on real estate attorney fees.

You’re giving value first before asking for anything.

The last sentence is saying, I’m willing to clarify any questions you have about the checklist. You’re starting a conversation now and showing that you’re more than a sales person.

The last email is the case study pitch. It might look something like this:

Hey [Name],

The other day, I was handling a case for a newlywed couple. Let me be honest with you.

This case was a nightmare.

Jimmy and Sally Norwin had read multiple online articles about DIY legal hacks. They followed the guides step-by-step and found their dream home.

Fast forward 7 days and they got a call from their mortgage broker. Here’s what she said:

“Something went wrong when processing your paperwork…[XYZ] wasn’t filled in properly. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to help with your purchase.”

Their hearts sunk. They could have either called it quits or looked for help.

They chose the latter.

When they called me, we found a loophole in [Clause A] which bought us an extra 5 days to fix their fatal mistake. We acted fast and settled it in less than 48 hours.

Sometimes when things don’t go as planned; it can be a scary thing. While you might be able to save a buck or two, is it worth the risk?

Buying a home is the largest purchase the average American will ever make in their lifetime. It’s the greatest monetary asset most of us will ever own. It’s the place where our kids will build their childhood memories.

This was one of the most rewarding cases I’ve dealt with. The Norwins and I are good friends now. In fact, they sent me a picture of them in front of their new home.

[Image]

I framed it on my wall as a constant reminder to always put my best foot forward. To always be thorough. To remember why I became an attorney in the first place. And that’s to help people like the Norwins.

I don’t want you to make the same mistake as Jimmy and Sally.

If you have any questions, give me a call at 444-444-4444.

This is my personal line, which I don’t normally give away.

Whether you decide to do it on your own or seek professional help, I only wish you the best.

Cheers,

Sam

This is the simplest form of email marketing automation. And having different funnels will help you make more sales than sending one-off emails.

Optimize your drip campaigns

The last thing is optimization.

There are a couple things you can look for here. The first is drop-off rates.

If you notice that your second email is getting a 70% open rate, but your third email only gets a 20% open rate, then there’s something wrong in the funnel.

You might give a preview of the next email which can build anticipation to receive it and open it.

Another thing to look for is the click through rate.

You might find that your “Whoops, I forgot email” is getting extremely low click through rates.

Maybe what we thought about the intent was different. Maybe your subscribers aren’t interested in extra free tools.

Try and change the copy around, the subject line or even the links.

Finally, check out the unsubscribe rates.

If you’re finding that tons of people are unsubscribing after the last email, maybe your pitch was too forward. Or maybe it wasn’t clear. Switch it around and see if your results are better on a similar sample size.

When optimizing, it’s important to test these independently of each other and see where the pitfalls are in your funnel.

Setting up a successful email marketing automation sequence takes time and effort. But once you have it set up to convert your new leads into sales, you’ll be banking big time.

Conclusion

And that’s it for episode 24. There’s a lot of information here that can be applied to virtually any business. Whether you’re a lawyer, medical professional, real estate agent or blogger, having the right sequences set up will improve your time and money efficiency.

If you enjoyed today’s extra long video then hit the like button and make sure to subscribe because, in episode 25, I’m going to show you how to find anyone’s email address and explain how you can use this skill to grow your brand.

Now I want to hear from you. Are you using email automation in your marketing? Also, which email marketing service are you using? I’d love to know what’s in your toolkit.

Until the next episode, remember to take action because every minute counts.

Follow or contribute. Either way, I look forward to serving your online marketing needs.
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