073: Is an email funnel right for your business? Kyrsten Sherwood from Copper Kettle Co.
Email funnels aren't all salesy
Email funnels get a bad rep for being too salesy or just clogging up the inbox. But the truth is they are necessary for any business that wants to grow. You just need to know how to simplify them and do them correctly.
In this episode, Kyrsten Sherwood breaks down the scary email funnel and gives you tips for becoming consistent with your email marketing. She believes your email marketing should take priority over your Instagram game and we agree!
Find and connect with Kyrsten: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Resources
Show Notes
After starting a jewelry business in 2012, Kyrsten and her husband Kelly knew this entrepreneur thing was for them. She loved learning all she could about online marketing and eventually they launched their branding and web design business, Copper Kettle Co. They grew so much in two years, they had clients willing to pay $10,000 for their services. Now, Kyrsten and Kelly are beginning to focus on the Launch Brand Grow Community to help other entrepreneurs grow their businesses just as they have.
Hosting summits
As she’s grown over the years along with her business, Kyrsten realized how much she loves marketing. She loved learning how to take a small Etsy jewelry business and get it into the world. This is when she she learned the most about branding as well and began to teach it to others. In the last year or so, they were able to host several online summits to help teaching branding and business to other entrepreneurs. She wants the attendees to walk away with steps they can and will actually take to grow their businesses.
Let’s talk email marketing
Email marketing allows you to continue the conversation with your followers. Social media is a public way to engage with people, but dealing with the algorithm changes and how many people see your posts can be tricky. You can comment back and forth on an image and the conversation stops there. Emails allow them to know more about you and gives you a place to make sure you’re getting in front of them more than on Instagram.
It doesn’t have to be all about sales
Your emails don’t have to be all salesy; they should be a tool to build a relationship with your readers which will lead to sales down the road. You should begin to think about your emails as a conversation with one person regardless of the number in your list count. Kyrsten considers it a type of social media platform that is way undervalued. You should be treating it as consistently as your other platforms.
What’s a funnel?
Because there is a stigma of ‘salesiness’ around email marketing, Kyrsten likes to call it an evergreen email conversation. Your funnel starts out in the large part with a freebie (check out last week’s episode). As your funnel gets smaller, you will lose people, but you’ll also be building your true tribe. The further down the funnel they get, the more they get to know you and become willing to purchase. You can use tagging features to send them to different nurture sequences based on the opt-in they chose or answer they clicked. Your nurture sequences should start off as educational content before you begin the sales sequence. Once they know the benefit of what you’re teaching or giving them for free, they’ll be ready to purchase and receive your weekly newsletter.
You will have people who unsubscribe as soon as they get your freebie, but that is okay. The ones who stick around become your people. There may also be a tagged group (possibly in your same industry) who you don’t actually want to sale to right away, and they can go straight to your newsletter.
Why you should use a funnel
Writing the funnel (and tweaking it) takes time. But once you have it there, its a sales funnel that works for you all of the time. As mentioned before, your social media isn’t seen by everyone, but your email will definitely hit everyone’s inbox. Kyrsten recommends having 5-6 core blog posts, but then focusing a lot of your marketing effort on your emails (funnels and newsletters). If you took the time you spent agonizing over your IG comments and put that towards your email marketing, you’ll be surprised at the results!
Your newsletters don't have to be a full blog post. One great option is to use your newsletter as a weekly blog round-up of valuable and educational content for your audience. It doesn’t always be original. You can also recycle your topics for other platforms. Your audience needs to see the same topic of content multiple times for it to stick. And then your other platforms can relate to your main content.
Three (or four) things to get started with emails
Email Hosting: MailChimp, MailerLite, or Convertkit
An Opt-in: free content you give them for their email (hot tip: videos are the way of 2018)
A place on your website (a form or landing page) to capture their email for your opt-in
Welcome Series: introduce yourself to those who sign up and funneling into your first sale
Email Etiquette
Depending on your audience, sending weekly emails is the sweet spot for not seeming spammy or salesly. If you’re launching something specific it is common to send more than one per week. You can get your audience trained to know when you send your emails if you pick a consistent time and day each week. Again, it goes back to building that relationship. Kyrsten also advises not to go quiet after the sales funnel is over. That’s why she recommends moving them from the funnel to the weekly newsletter after the funnel is complete.
Dealing with unsubscribers
Most of the email platforms charge you per subscribers, so having people unsubscribe can be a good thing! This will also impact your open percentage which determines if you end up in their spam folder instead of their main inbox. It also helps you not to spend time working on a one-sided relationship. You’re building your tribe of people!
Final thoughts
Everyone can benefit from having an email list. It is a way to show up for your tribe, build and nurture relationships with them. Kyrsten suggests spending less time on Instagram and more time working on your emails!
Links Mentioned
A free month of the Launch Brand Grow Community! (use code First30)
Workation Retreat w/ Kyrsten
Copper Kettle Co.
Past Summits
Resources
Vanessa Ryan
About Kyrsten
Kyrsten is the co-owner of Copper Kettle Co alongside her husband, Kelly. Together, they help creative entrepreneurs to start and scale their small businesses, taking them from deciding on a profitable business idea, all the way to hiring a team. Their Launch Brand Grow Community is where the majority of the magic happens, with guest speakers, monthly workshops, challenges, masterminds, 1:1 mentoring, a book club and more. Enjoying Copper Kettle Co's incredible community and tribe is Kyrsten's favorite part of running her own business and it's what gives her the motivation and joy to help others to fuel their own passions!
Find and connect with Kyrsten: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Resources
