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Hi there,

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It's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk

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Day. These are bite sized topics that I pull from community

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questions and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade

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small business.

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If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DME over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.

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Before we get started,

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I'm gonna share a secret with you.

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One of my superpowers is the ability to get an enormous

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number of tasks and projects done each and every week.

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I easily meet deadlines,

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rarely forget to do something,

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and know at the start of each day what needs priority,

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attention and action type A personality.

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Yes, and a follow through on the Kobe assessment,

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which should have given me the clue,

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but it wasn't until people started commenting to me that I

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realized not everyone naturally knows how to do this.

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It's the biggest single contributor to the growth I always see

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in my businesses without spending hours and hours working either.

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It's about focus and doing the right things efficiently.

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Prompted by all the questions on how I do this,

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I went about finding a way to help you perform at

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a higher level too.

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I analyzed my methods and formalized my process,

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which is one many of my coaching clients.

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Now, also follow.

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You can use it too.

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It's all part of a tool called the Inspired Daily Planner,

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made specifically for gifters,

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bakers, crafters,

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and makers.

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Make no mistake,

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this is not your ordinary planner.

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First off,

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it comes with a video explaining my productivity strategy and the

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physical planner isn't dated,

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so you can start using it the second it arrives at

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your doorstep,

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and that's not all included for each day is a motivational

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or business building tip and plenty of space to capture and

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book in time for to-dos scheduled appointments and all those ideas

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that are now getting lost.

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You can watch the video for free and then get your

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inspired daily planner@giftbizunwrapped.com

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slash inspired.

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There's more to this email thing than just sending them out

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regularly, you know,

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although that is the first step,

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meaning actually working your list,

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collecting emails wherever you can,

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committing to a consistent schedule than writing and sending them out.

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If this is where you're at High five,

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because you are already ahead of 90% of people who are

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still thinking about doing this or dabbling in and out on

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the email sidelines,

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if you haven't gotten started with email already,

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seriously, what are you waiting for?

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You're leaving money on the table,

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struggling with what to say in your emails.

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I've got you covered here,

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so this can no longer be an excuse,

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wink, wink.

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Just jump over to my tips and talk episode number 83

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today. Let's take email marketing up a notch.

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I'm going beyond the basics to help you put even more

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power into your email efforts towards that end.

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Here are six ways to up level your email game to

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start. Give your list a name.

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Let's be honest.

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Who wants to sign up for yet?

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One more newsletter that you already know is gonna be cluttering

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your inbox.

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Simple newsletter requests worked years ago,

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but people are way more savvy now.

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Instead of this old approach and term,

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give your email list a name that makes those who join.

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Feel like they've entered a special and exclusive group.

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Explain what they'll get in return for sharing their email with

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you, something that's meaningful to them.

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Things like exclusive deals.

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The first look at new lines or special messages reserved only

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for that select group,

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this kind of thing.

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It's way more tantalizing and you'll get more people to join

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than just adding them to your email list.

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Then point to,

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here's a deliverability tip.

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Once someone joins your list,

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send them an automated welcome email,

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and in that email,

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explain to them how often they'll receive communication from you.

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Reiterate why they'll want to watch for it.

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In other words,

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what's in it for them?

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And then here's the big thing.

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Ask them to reply to that welcome email and answer a

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very easy question.

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Ask a question like,

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Help me out with a little research here.

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What's your favorite candle sent?

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Something that doesn't require a lot of thought.

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Just a press on the reply button and their quick response.

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What happens when people reply to your emails is it alerts

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your email service provider that this person is interested in receiving

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the emails that you send in Gmail,

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it helps prevent your emails landing in the promotion folder,

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and for all other providers from you hitting the spam box,

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bottom line,

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your deliverability goes up because if people don't see your email,

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they don't even have a chance to open three deliverability is

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one thing.

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Getting people to actually open your emails is another.

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It's unrealistic that every single person you send your message to

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will open your emails.

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This number of opens is something you can monitor in the

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analytics of your email service provider.

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It's always the goal to get this higher.

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Having said that,

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the general range for our industry is an open rate of

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six to 26%,

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but don't let this discourage you.

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Think of your own email habits.

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You don't always open emails even from businesses that you love.

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I've talked a lot about what to say in emails to

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condition your list to want to open.

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Again, that's all in tips and talk episode number 83,

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But it all starts with,

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and this is tip number four and intriguing subject line direction

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on this has changed over the years.

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Do you remember in the past seeing messages like open before

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it's too late or your life will change after you read

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this? Or emails with lots of emojis,

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exclamation marks,

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and full big capital letters.

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Remember these?

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They were all tactics used at that time to get you

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to open the email.

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In some cases,

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the content didn't even have anything to do with the subject

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line. In today's world,

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these subject lines will automatically find their way to the spam

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folder, so make sure to consciously avoid these things.

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So then what is a good subject line?

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One that relates to what's actually in the email for one,

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and then something that provokes interest and leaves someone wanting to

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know and see more.

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Hence, the open.

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A great way to inspire subject line ideas is to look

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at emails coming to you.

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There are some in your inbox,

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of course,

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from businesses you've interacted with lately or have indicated your interest

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in them in some way,

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but also go into that promotions folder in Gmail.

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There is gold there.

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I actually make it a habit to look about two or

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three times a week in my promotions folder because there are

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emails landing there that I want.

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Even sliding them over to the primary folder doesn't always do

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the trick.

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Oh, so frustrating those email goblins.

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But this is a fabulous way to see what others are

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doing and tweak their ideas to apply to your content and

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to your style.

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We don't always have to reinvent the wheel,

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you know,

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we'll be on to number five.

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As you get more sophisticated in your email marketing,

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it's a great idea to separate your list into different segments.

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An obvious one is customers versus prospects.

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You can also tag a list for in person,

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show attendees,

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small business contacts,

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past holiday purchasers,

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you name it.

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One contact can be tagged for multiple lists too.

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Of course.

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What this allows you to do is speak to these groups

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more directly.

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An email sent out to an e-commerce customer isn't gonna sit

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well if you're talking about seeing them at a live show

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this past year,

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but directing messages and or offers that align with certain groups

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of customers heightens the chance that they'll take you up on

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an offer because it relates specifically to them.

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You could send out an email to all the people who

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purchased over the summer talking about why your fall version is

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just what they need as the cold weather approaches because of

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the seasonal scent or different ingredients based on dry weather and

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perhaps even a special discount code only for that select group,

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of course,

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including a deadline of when they have to purchase to take

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advantage of the offer.

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Always, always add a deadline when you do discounts like this.

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The point is,

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with the list segmenting,

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you can tailor your message to that special group and make

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it so relevant that they easily know you're their choice for

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this purchase.

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And number six addresses varying lengths and topics of your emails.

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You're gonna love this one.

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Your emails don't need to be long.

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In fact,

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I'd recommend you test out varying lengths to see what your

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audience likes the most,

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this place to the point that you aren't conditioning them to

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know what to expect before they open.

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When there are surprises upon opening,

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they're more likely to do so each and every time.

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So some emails can be longer,

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some shorter,

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some direct to the point with selling.

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Some containing a story or a tip.

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If in your business you make candy spice mixes or baked

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goods, offer recipes and emails,

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that's always a hit.

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And one more thing.

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Just because you hear something works for someone else,

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even if they're in your same industry,

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doesn't mean it will necessarily be interesting to your audience.

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You need to check things out for your yourself with your

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unique group of supporters.

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I can't stress enough how important email is to your business.

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Those who give you their address are putting trust in you

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that you'll provide emails that they want,

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and when you do,

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they'll return the goodwill with sales and spreading the word about

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you and your fabulous products.

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Two thumbs up for email.

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That's a wrap.

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I'm a get to the point kind of girl,

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and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn.

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Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them,

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and they bring us both.

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So much happiness.