If there’s one thing we all need more of, it’s time.
Between handling our current business and trying to expand it at the same time, it seems like the end of the day sneaks up on us sooner than we ever expect.
This makes it hard for anyone to complete every item on their to-do list. Sure, you can become more productive by waking up earlier and clocking in more hours, but you’re still going to be limited in how much you can physically do.
One area in business that’s often pushed aside during these busy periods is prospecting.
You’ve probably experienced this for yourself in your business.
Your business starts to take off with a record-breaking month, so you focus your attention on managing the work instead of finding more customers. Before you know it, the month’s over.
While you had a profitable month, you didn’t add as many new customers as you should have.
This a problem that most businesses face, especially early on. But that doesn’t mean it has to be this way forever or even right now.
What if I told you that there was a way to be in two places at once?
We’re not talking magic tricks and mirrors here. I’m referring to using email courses to convert prospects while you’re busy running your business.
Potential customers will have your expertise and guidance as if you were standing right in front of them explaining things, but for you, it’s a set it and let it run on autopilot type of strategy.
I know it sounds too good to be true—especially since these conversions can happen even when you’re not working—but it’s not. We’ll show you just how to take advantage of the effective power of email courses today.
Email Courses are a Must-have
Put simply, email courses create warm leads for your business.
Customers can view the information at any time and on any device they prefer. So even if your business is closed, potential customers can still learn more about it in an engaging way.
All you have to do is put in the time initially to create the course and the customer does the rest from there. They’ll sign up for your course, sit back, and read it at their leisure.
This is perfect for customers who are not ready to buy, and even better for those on the fence. Customers will have everything they need to make an informed decision without you needing to be right in front of them.
Essentially, your email course will do the work to sell for you.
Email Course Basics
Now, to reap these awesome benefits, there are a few things to keep in mind before you begin.
Your email course must have a conversational, not sales-y tone. Your reader should never feel as if you’re trying to sell them something.
Instead you need to show your potential customer that you’re offering your help (i.e. your expertise) because you want to help them succeed.
When your reader sees how much you’ve helped them (for free!), they’ll have trust and confidence in you to help them overcome their other obstacles.
To do this, the language of your emails should be easy-to-understand and simple. Ideally, you’ll use the exact words they use to make the message resonate even more (read: leave out the technical jargon).
Finally, give your readers an idea of what they can expect to learn from your course with a course introduction email and an explanation on your website’s landing page. Outline the basics and include a short, one sentence description of what’s in store for each lesson.
By being transparent with your outline, you’ll naturally weed out prospects who may not be a good fit and you’ll move the qualified leads further into your sales funnel.
How to Create an Email Course that Converts
Now that we have the basics down, let’s talk about creating the course itself.
Step 1: Identify the Problem
Your course needs to be focused on the customer at all times.
Put yourself in your target customer’s shoes and think about a specific problem that they’re facing. Did you also experience this issue?
Your email course should provide the solution to this particular obstacle affecting your customer. You should already know how to solve the problem because you’ve done so in the past.
Essentially, you’ll be writing about the same things that you help customers with in person.
Action step: Identify a problem that most of your customers are facing. Choose one that you can teach your readers how to overcome using your advice.
Handling this type of problem should be at the core of your business and something that you help with on a regular basis.
Step 2: Create a Step-by-Step Guide to Solving the Problem
A successful email course starts with a map of talking points you need to cover to give your reader a solution.
Create a step-by-step outline of how you’ll help your readers with each email of your course.
Once your outline is squared away, you can move on to actually writing your emails.
Thanks to selecting a topic that you’re familiar with (what we mentioned in step 1), this shouldn’t take long.
Your emails should be less than 800 words. If you go overboard and overload your reader with a bunch of dense information all at once, they may feel overwhelmed, or worse, experience analysis paralysis. When customers have too much information to process and absorb, they freeze up and don’t take any action as a result.
Avoid getting your readers to that point by giving them short bites of information within each email.
Don’t hold any insider tips back. Many businesses feel that they’re giving away the house, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. When you give your readers an insider’s look at what you know, they’ll realize how much they need your help and expertise.
However, if you’re not transparent, you’re not going to build that trust and rapport that turns a cold lead into a warm one—which is the whole point here.
Step 3: Offer Your Assistance
Lastly, as you write your email course, I want you to keep in mind that you’re offering your help first and selling second.
I know that may seem counterintuitive, but I promise it’s a recipe for success.
See, if you continue to promote your offerings early on or during every email, your customer is going to tune out your message. Think about it: how many times do you skip past an ad on TV or on your phone because you’ve seen it a dozen times?
Instead, by offering your help first, you’ll capture their attention and the sale will naturally follow. Let your expertise sell itself.
You can add a short, one sentence CTA link in your first email of the course, but after that, you’ll want to space it out and add it toward the end of your series. Ideally, your first CTA will be tucked away in the P.S. of the first email, while your second one can be weaved into the body of the last email of the course.
You can also add a few subtle links throughout the email series (not everywhere!) that aren’t as CTA focused. These could be links to your testimonials, FAQs, or landing pages that have additional details. These links should live within your copy and shouldn’t be sales-focused like we mentioned earlier. They should be considered as supporting links.
Now, I know that creating an email course may seem like just another time committment to add to your already growing to-do list, but it’s one task that will definitely pay off.
Once you have your first email course, you’ll be right in front of your customers at all times, even when your business is not “working”.
Plus, your hard work will be rewarded in the form of increased conversions and loyal customers for life. Who wouldn’t like the sound of that?
