3 Reasons You Should Have an Email List for your T&I Business and Some Bonus Tips
Having an email list is essential these days for any type of business. It doesn't matter if you're a freelancer or a small agency. When you are able to show up in people's inboxes on a consistent basis, you have the opportunity to serve your clients more (and more often). Don’t worry if you don’t have an email list yet for your clients. You can create one very easily by using one of the email services available (MailChimp, ConvertKit, Constant Contact, Kartra, etc.) and start showing up for your clients in a way that serves them beyond simply providing them with your services.
Here are three reasons you must have an email list for your translation or interpreting business.
1.You own it!
When you have an email list that you can use to market to and inform your clients about new and exciting things in your business, you have an advantage over other mediums. Now, you might think, “Well, I have a Facebook page already.” or “But what about my Twitter feed?” While social media is all well and good for reaching current and potential clients, there are some key issues to remember about these channels. First, they are rented space. There is no way to know if these social media networks will be around in the next few years. Consider this: If Twitter disappeared tomorrow, how would you market to your clients or share tidbits of information with them frequently? These days, with changing algorithms and news feeds that don’t show your posts to all of your followers, having the ability to show up in someone's inbox means you have a higher chance of your content being seen and read (by those you want to see and read it!).
2. An email list allows you to speak directly to people who care about what you're offering.
By utilizing your email list strategically, you are able to put valuable content in your clients’ hands pretty immediately. You can also tailor the content to fit your clients’ areas of expertise, as they probably match up well with yours. Since you already know them and what they do, their challenges and their goals, you can create and email them content that will serve them. This is the key to using an email list strategically.
Also, if a client is willing to join your email list in the first place, they have already shown an interest in the information you might share with them. Take this very seriously and be grateful for the opportunity to meet them in their inbox. After all, they can always choose to unsubscribe. However, as long as you’re providing content that they find valuable, they will happily continue to receive and read your emails.
3. You can serve clients better and more personably because you're offering them great content that doubles as a networking opportunity!
Not only is the content you provide meant to be valuable, but simply by showing up in your clients’ inboxes on a regular basis, you are networking with them, albeit virtually. Even if one of your email subscribers is not a current client (yet!), your continued commitment to provide them with valuable information that serves them will show that you care about the relationship you have with them. This alone is all the more reason to continue showing up for them.
Hopefully, by now, you’ve determined that having an email list for your business will be a particularly useful and strategic form of marketing to and networking with your clients.
Here are some bonus tips on how to make the most of your email marketing endeavors.
● Write your emails to clients as if you were writing directly to each one of them. Use language you would normally use in your writing. This is your chance to show your "voice" and what it is like to work with you. So, write for your clients, but remain true to you.
● Choose a frequency with which you will send them emails, and stick to it. If you decide to email your clients once a month, make sure you can maintain that frequency. If you choose to write once a week, stick to it. Don’t let long periods of time pass without sending an email to your subscribers. If you become inconsistent with the emails you send your email list, this shows that you might not be that dedicated to your business. And that’s not the perception you want to create.
● Make sure you use great subject lines that have a hook, but be careful of any that would be considered deceiving or spammy. A handy website for creating subject lines that will make your subscribers want to read more is SubjectLine.com. Go ahead and test your subject lines to see how the likelihood of people to opening your email campaigns.
● Make sure that those on your list have agreed to be on it by subscribing or opting in on your website. Be careful not to simply add clients to your email list without asking them. This is particularly annoying to many people, and you will probably see several people unsubscribe. In addition, some countries have regulations on how someone can and should be added to your list (e.g. a double opt-in method, etc.), so do a little research and make sure you market your email list well so that clients are excited to sign up for it.
● Use your email list wisely by paying attention to what subscribers want to know more about. If you provide links or downloads in your emails, check back later to see the reports associated with your emails. This will not only allow you to know more about what your clients find important to know and what interests them, but it will help you to determine what type of content to continue providing and what content they may not find that appealing.
Having and keeping up with an email list is not as daunting as it may seem. In fact, most businesses these days have email lists and use them to let customers know about news, upcoming promotions and information they believe will be valuable for them. Take this as an opportunity to further serve your clients, and start your email list now!
