How and when to write a follow-up email after receiving no response

 When a client doesn’t respond it can lead to delays, doubts and awkward conversations.

When a client doesn’t respond, it can feel awkward and lead to endless doubts and questions on your part. By following up with them, you can figure out exactly what’s happened and help get things back on track. But how do you follow up respectfully?

Below, we explore how and when to send a follow-up email and give you a number of potential templates to use in a variety of different circumstances.

We will be covering:

• Why clients might not be responding and how you can turn this around
• Why you should send a follow-up email and how this can improve your response rates
• What to consider before following up with a client
• When to send follow-up emails and how often you should send these
• How to write a follow-up email and what to include
• Example follow-up emails to help you get started

Let’s dive in!

Why don’t clients respond?

Not receiving a response from a new client is unnerving to say the least, especially when you’re a customer-centric organization. Remember that no matter how excited a client is to work with you, they’ve also probably got 1,001 other things going on and for many of us it is a constant struggle to reach ‘inbox zero’.

In fact, marketing report shows that 40 percent of consumers have at least 50 unread emails in their inbox at any given time – yikes! There is every chance that your email has been lost in their inbox among the seemingly endless sea of unread emails.

It could also be that they’ve discussed your impending projects with their colleagues and have identified a couple of potential roadblocks. Maybe they’re awaiting sign-off from their manager. Maybe their accounts team has told them that if they’re going to proceed with you, then they need to come up with cost-savings in other areas.

There are all sorts of reasons why a client might not respond in a timely manner. Try not to let your imagination run wild – just touch base with them so you can get the ball rolling.

Why should you send a follow-up email?

According to research sending just one follow-up email could increase your response rate by 22 percent. It was also shown that the first follow-up email is the most effective with a 40 percent higher response rate than the initial email which sits at around a six percent response rate.

There are a number of instances where a follow-up email might be appropriate, and a few where a follow-up is warranted and even expected. Depending on the industry you work in there may be a number of factors that dictate when and how often you need to follow-up with clients. For example, if you are working in an industry where compliance plays a significant role you may be required to follow-up with clients – and there may be consequences for failing to do so.

Sending a follow-up email is generally considered a good practice, if not to remain compliant and check a box from your side it also shows you are engaged in the client’s journey and helps to set and reinforce expectations.

4 Things to consider before sending a follow-up email

There are 4 golden rules to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to send a follow-up email.

1. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone

Email is the fallback that many service professionals use to communicate with clients. Emails are great. After all, they allow clients to respond when it’s convenient for them, they can take their time composing the appropriate response, and it provides an irrefutable log of all back-and-forth communication.

However, it’s a lot easier for your email to get lost in a client’s inbox (or to be read but promptly forgotten about) than it is for a client to ignore a phone call. If your emails seem to continually go unanswered, then it might be time to pick up the phone.

If you have sent your proposal to a client you can give them a quick call to let them know they should have received a proposal from you. This also gives you the opportunity to confirm they have received it and answer any questions they may have that could have delayed their acceptance of the proposal.

2. Automate when you can

Clients aren’t the only ones who are busy – and you can improve your efficiency and save time by automating your follow-up email process. Following up on multiple emails to different clients can become a time consuming process. Automating parts of this process will help with the heavy lifting. Depending on the platforms you use there are many different ways to automate some or all of the follow-up process.

For example, Ignition’s proposal reminders feature allows you to send reminders to clients who are still yet to accept your proposal. You can choose how many days to wait before sending a reminder and select the total number of reminders to send out until they accept your proposal.

3. Always give the client a call-to-action

CTAs or calls-to-action help to remind a client of what you need from them – whether it’s key information, an answer to your question, sign-off on a project, or payment.

Giving the client clear instructions helps them to action things from their end as quickly as possible. We recommend making the call-to-action as direct as possible so that you can avoid any potential confusion.

CTA examples:

• Include a ‘schedule a meeting’ link if you are following up to confirm a time to meet with them
• Ask a clear question, for example, asking for a time to meet with them
• Position your questions at the beginning and the end of the email if you are chasing information
• Provide a direct link for your client to pay an overdue invoice

4. Make sure you actually need to follow-up

Cover yourself first and check that you haven’t already received a reply from the client. It might have disappeared in your email, or they may have contacted someone else in the team.

Follow-ups can be awkward enough as it is – let alone if you make a mistake and actually did receive a reply from them. So before you send a curt ‘As per my previous message…’ email, double check that you haven’t already received their response (and check those spam and trash folders just in case!).

How long should you wait for a response before following up?

It can be hard to know exactly when you should follow-up if you haven’t heard from a client. On the one hand, you want to keep on top of things and make sure they don’t lose interest. On the other hand, you don’t want to seem too pushy.

It is generally considered good practice to wait at least two to three days between your follow-ups. Clients, like anyone else, are often busy which may mean it takes a few follow-up touchpoints to prompt a response. It is easy to forget that you’re not always going to be your client’s top priority and sending a follow-up email too quickly can make you appear rude or even annoying in some cases. We recommend sending a gentle reminder a couple of days after your initial email to get back in touch whenever they’re ready to proceed.

Here are some basic guidelines:

• Assess the urgency. If a client hasn’t responded about a project that’s due to be completed by the end of the week, then perhaps send a follow-up a day or two after your original message. However, if they haven’t got back to you about your availability for a project in a month’s time, then consider waiting a week or so.
• Rely on context. Small talk at the beginning of a meeting can provide you with invaluable information. Perhaps a client apologizes for joining the call late and explains they’ve been in back-to-back meetings, or perhaps they casually mention that they’re preparing for a big company-wide initiative that’s about to launch. If this is the case, leave more time between follow-ups. Not only will this make your email less likely to get lost in the ether, but it’ll also ensure that you don’t end up annoying them during a really busy time.
• Don’t let your proposal go cold. In general, wait no longer than a week without following-up on a proposal that you’ve sent over. Provided they had not already given you an expected timeframe for their response. Proposals may require sign-off from different stakeholders, or you may want to make sure that the proposal has been thoroughly read. Sending a follow-up email may also surface any final questions the client has before they are ready to sign off on the proposal.

How often should you send a follow-up email and how many should you send?

There is no one-size-fits-all rule for the number of follow-up emails you need send to a client – that is dependent on the circumstance. What we do know is that sending two to three follow-up emails is considered to be the optimal amount – with the first follow-up email being the most effective. With data also showing that sending an excessive number of emails is generally not the answer either.

Avoid taking up too much of a client’s time by constantly chasing responses, limit it to three follow-ups if you can – the effectiveness of follow-ups is shown to drop off after the fourth email. Try to get the small details sorted out via client intake forms, text, phone, or a messaging platform such as Slack – try communicating with your client in the format that is easiest for them if you are after a quick response.

What to include in a follow-up email

1. A short but compelling subject line – try to include part or all of your request if possible. E.g. Reminder: Overdue invoice requiring payment or Following up on business expense report.
2. A warm and friendly greeting or an appropriate greeting based on your rapport with the client.
3. In the body of your email make sure to include the objective in simple language. This has been shown to improve the likelihood of receiving a response and your request being fulfilled.
4. Provide context where necessary, forward the original email or provide any necessary links of documentation to avoid the client having to search for it and potentially delaying their response.
5. Sign off with a tl;dr or summary of your request and provide a clear call to action to prompt a response or the desired action from your client.

How to Send Marketing Emails

 If all goes well, you’ll have built a robust list of subscribers and leads waiting to hear from you. But you can’t start emailing just yet unless you want to end up in a spam folder, or worse, a blocked list.

Here are a few important things to remember before you start emailing your list.

1. Implement email segmentation.

Once you’ve added people to your list, you must break them down into different segments.

That way, instead of having a monolithic email list of everybody, you’ll have easier-to-manage subcategories that pertain to your subscribers’ unique characteristics, interests, and preferences.

Our subscribers are humans, after all, and we should do our best to treat them as such. That means not sending generic email blasts.

Why should you segment your email list?

Each person who signs up to receive your emails is at a different level of readiness to convert into a customer (which is the ultimate goal of all this).

If you send a discount coupon for your product to subscribers that don’t even know how to diagnose their problem, you’ll probably lose them. That’s because you’re skipping the part where you build trust and develop the relationship.

Every email you send should treat your subscribers like humans you want to connect with, as opposed to a herd of leads you’re trying to corral into a one-size-fits-all box.

The more you segment your list, the more trust you build with your leads, and the easier it’ll be to convert them later.

How to Segment Email Lists

The first step in segmentation is creating separate lead magnets and opt-in forms for each part of the buyer’s journey. That way, your contacts are automatically divided into separate lists.

Beyond that, email marketing platforms allow you to segment your email list by contact data and behavior to help you send the right emails to the right people.

Here are some ways you could break up your list:

Geographical location.

Lifecycle stage.

Awareness, consideration, and decision stage.

Industry.

Previous engagement with your brand.

Language.

Job Title.

In reality, you can segment your list any way that you want. Just make sure to be as exclusive as possible when sending emails to each subgroup.

2. A/B test your marketing emails.

Not all email lists are created equal. Some audiences prefer personalization, and others will think it’s spammy. Some audiences will like bright, eye-catching CTA buttons. Others will prefer a more subtle call-to-action.

You’ll never know what type of people make up your email list until you test the variables. That’s where A/B testing comes in handy.

A/B testing, or split testing, is a way to see what type of email performs best with your audience by analyzing the results of email A against email B. This can be especially helpful when working with templates.

“Since emails often have the same template, A/B testing is smart because you can usually control variables outside of the test and get a solid signal on what performs better,” 

Here’s the step-by-step process for A/B testing your emails:

Select one variable to test at a time, e.g., subject line, CTA, images.

Create two versions of the email: one with and one without the variable.

Allow your emails to be sent out simultaneously for a period of time.

Analyze your results and keep only the version that performed better.

Test a new variable and repeat the process.

When conducting an A/B test, consider these tips:

Test one element at a time.

“For example, try the same email with a different subject line. Or the same email and same subject line with a different CTA,” 

“It might be tempting to make several changes at once, but that makes it harder to pinpoint the true cause of your wins or losses,” 

Don’t try to “eyeball” an A/B test.

A/B test should be run with intention. Making quick changes and approaching results unscientifically can lead to incorrect conclusions.

“You might be tempted to run an informal A/B test by making a change and then casually paying attention to the responses that you get. This unscientific method can easily be skewed by factors outside your control (like seasonality or deliverability),” . “It also leaves out a ton of valuable data, like open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, or sharing/forwarding rate.”

3. Analyze your email marketing performance.

Once you’ve got your first few campaigns, it’s time to see how they’re performing.

By diving into your email marketing analytics, you‘ll be able to make better decisions that will help your business’s bottom line, resonate with your subscribers, readers, and customers, and justify your work to the rest of your company.

Here are the best ways to analyze the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

4. Set email marketing KPIs.

There are four key metrics to pay attention to when evaluating the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign.

Deliverability measures the rate at which emails reach your intended subscribers’ inboxes.

Open rate is the percentage of people that open your email once it reaches their inbox.

Clickthrough rate (CTR) is the percentage of people that click on your CTAs.

Unsubscribes measures the number of people who opt out of your email list once they receive your email.

5. Adjust email components to improve results.

Many factors impact your KPIs, and it will take some experimentation and guesswork to figure out which tweaks to your emails will yield the biggest significance.

If you aren’t getting the desired numbers, try playing with these variables to improve your email results.

Deliverability

Ensure that you’re following best practices regarding spam filters.

Remove inactive people from your email list to keep only engaged subscribers.

Check which emails have bounced and remove those email addresses from your list.

Open Rate

Play with the language in your subject line to entice people to click on your email.

Adjust the time and day that you send your email to see what works best.

Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

Evaluate your offer to ensure that it provides value to your segmented list.

Rewrite your copy to make sure that it’s clear what you want the reader to do.

Try different CTAs, e.g., graphic versus Inline copy, bold versus subtle.

Unsubscribes

First, consider if this is a blessing in disguise, as uninterested parties are removing themselves from your list.

Regularly send an email to inactive subscribers on your list asking if they still want to be a part of it

Evaluate whether the email you sent is aligned with your brand.

Ensure you haven’t performed a bait-and-switch by promising one thing and delivering another.

Make sure your emails are providing value to your audience before trying to upsell.

6. Use an email marketing report template.

Once you’ve got some campaigns under your belt, it’s time to look at how they performed. Your data does no good if you can’t report it in an organized fashion.

An email marketing report is a spreadsheet where you can record your results in one place to help you make inferences from your KPIs and take action to improve them.

Here’s how you should organize your report.

Metrics

Total number of emails sent

Number of emails delivered

Deliverability Rate

Bounce Rate

Open Rate

Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

Click-to-open Rate (CTOR)

Unsubscribe Rate

Data

Subject line

Length of the email body

Offer

CTA (inline or graphic)

List segment(s)

Questions To Ask:

Was your deliverability rate high in comparison to previous periods?

How did your CTR compare to your open rate?

Were your unsubscribe numbers consistent with other emails?

Did a certain subject line perform better than others?

Does the length of the email make a difference in CTR?

Could another style of CTA perform better?

Was the offer appropriate for the list segment?

Email Regulations You Should Know

Email regulations are important to follow as they regulate and protect consumers’ desires to know how and why their information is being used.

If there’s anything we care about, it’s complying with what our customers—or potential customers—want.

There are a few key ones that you should understand:

1. CAN-SPAM Compliance

Technically, CAN-SPAM is an acronym for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (because sometimes the two go together).

In practice, it’s a way to protect your subscribers’ right to only receive emails that they’ve requested.

The law was passed in 2003 and applies to any commercial emails used for business purposes.

Here are the ways to ensure that your emails are CAN-SPAM compliant:

Include your company name and address in every email.

Place visible unsubscribe links within your emails.

Use real email addresses in the “From” and “Reply to” fields.

Write subject lines that indicate the contents of the email.

Please note: This is not to be confused with legal advice. See the FTC’s site for more specific legal information regarding CAN-SPAM laws.

2. GDPR Compliance

While some may view these newly implemented email regulations as burdensome and unnecessary, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) moves us closer to building long-lasting, trusting customer relationships.

GDPR is about giving your customers the right to choose. They choose your emails. They decide to hear from you. They choose your products. And that is exactly what inbound marketing is about.

It is important to note that GDPR only applies to businesses operating in the European Union and businesses that market to EU citizens.

Noncompliance will result in significant fees that aren’t worth the risk, so make sure to read the GDPR guidelines entirely.

Here’s an overview of how you can comply with GDPR laws:

Use precise language when requesting consent to store personal information.

Only collect contact data that is necessary for and relevant to your business.

Store contact data securely and only use it for the agreed-upon purpose.

Retain data for justifiable business purposes only.

Delete contact data on request.

Make it easy for contacts to unsubscribe from your list or update their preferences.

Comply promptly with a contact’s request for access to their data.

Keep company records to prove GDPR compliance.

These regulations will be taken seriously (as they should), so it’s a good idea to create a GDPR strategy for your business before sending emails.

3. Avoid Spam Filters

You spend time creating the perfect email and adhering to regulations, so the last thing you want is to end up in a spam folder.

You’ll want to avoid the spam folder because:

It hurts your deliverability rates across the board.

Your contacts will likely miss all of your emails.

You won’t be able to measure your email marketing effectiveness accurately.

Your analytics will be skewed.

You can avoid being deduced to spam with the following.

Get whitelisted.

A whitelist is a list of approved senders that can reach the subscriber’s inbox. The easiest way to accomplish this is to have your new subscriber add your email address to their address book.

Include directions on how to do this in your welcome email.

Mind your copy.

Avoid using all caps and multiple exclamation points, as well as spam trigger words, like “opt-in,” “click below,” and “order,” that are easily detected and marked down by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Use a reliable email service provider.

Your email service provider’s reputation affects your deliverability, so stick to established, well-known companies.

Implement a double opt-in.

Once someone opts in to your email list, send an email asking them to confirm. This ensures that your new subscriber is genuinely interested in your emails and will likely be more engaged.

(Check out more ways you can avoid the spam filter.)

And last but certainly not least, you need to consistently measure the success of your email marketing efforts. There are a number of options you can choose from when it comes to your business’s email marketing analytics.

Email Marketing Tips

While you probably don’t think twice about the formatting or subject line of an email you send to a friend, email marketing requires a lot more consideration.

Everything from the time you send your email to the devices on which your email could be opened matters.

Your goal with every email is to generate more leads, which makes crafting a marketing email a more involved process than other emails you’ve written.

Let’s touch on the components of a successful marketing email:

Copy: The copy in the body of your email should be consistent with your voice and stick to only one topic.

Images: Choose images that are optimized for all devices, eye-catching, and relevant.

CTA: Your call-to-action should lead to a relevant offer and stand out from the rest of the email.

Timing: Based on a study that observed response rates of 20 million emails, Tuesday at 11 AM ET is the best day and time to send your email.

Responsiveness: 55% of emails are opened on mobile. Your email should, therefore, be optimized for this as well as all other devices.

Personalization: Write every email like you’re sending it to a friend. Be personable and address your reader in a familiar tone.

Subject Line: Use clear, actionable, enticing language that is personalized and aligned with the body of the email.

Featured Resource

100 Email Subject Lines We Actually Clicked

Pro tip: Leverage AI for email marketing. By using tools like our AI Email Writer, you can generate copy that suits your goals, saving time along the way.

Personalize your email marketing.

“Personalization isn’t just about adding a contact’s name to the subject line anymore but is all about creating personalized experiences that demonstrate you understand them and have insider knowledge about how they can use your products to succeed,” 

Now that you know who you’re emailing and what’s important to them, sending emails with personalized touches will be much easier.

Sure, you’re speaking to 100+ people at one time, but your leads don’t need to know it.

Personalized emails have higher open rates. In addition, 83% of customers are willing to share their data to create a more personalized experience.

You’ve gathered all this unique data. Your email marketing software allows for personalization tokens. You have no excuse for sending generic emails that don’t make your leads feel special.

“It’s more impactful to base email personalization on two or three factors instead of just what a contact is engaging with on your side,” 

 “Consider personalizing emails based on what you know about your contact, such as their location, industry, employee size, etc., alongside how they engage with your content.”

Here are a few ways to personalize your emails:

Add a first name field in your subject line and/or greeting.

Include region-specific information when appropriate.

Send content that is relevant to your lead’s lifecycle stage.

Only send emails that pertain to the last engagement a lead has had with your brand.

Write about relevant and/or personal events, like region-specific holidays or birthdays.

End your emails with a personal signature from a human (not your company).

Use a relevant call-to-action to an offer that the reader will find useful.

Beginning Email Marketing

While there are many rules to sending a marketing email, the most important is this: Treat the reader on the other end like you’re writing to a friend.

Trust me, you can achieve all of your email marketing goals if you keep this golden rule top of mind in every autoresponder, lead magnet, and subject line.

And remember, the more you help your subscribers, the more they will want to hear from you and look forward to opening emails that you send.

Email Marketing

I know a thing or two about email marketing.

Done correctly, email marketing can be as powerful as any other marketing tactic today. But notice the key phrase: done correctly.

Fortunately, you‘ve get this handy dandy guide you’re reading that will set you up for success in your email marketing strategy.

Without further ado, let’s review the best ways to leverage email marketing. I’ll also cover benefits and statistics that show the importance of email.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is a form of digital marketing that involves sending promotional messages or newsletters to a list of subscribers via email.

The goal is building customer relationships, promoting products or services, increasing brand awareness, and ultimately driving sales.

In my experience, email marketing allows me to reach my target audience directly with personalized and relevant content. It’s also cost-effective, easy to track, and provides valuable data for analyzing campaign success.

Email has been one of the most highly used marketing channels ever since.

This is because email is a flexible yet cost-effective way to reach many people relatively quickly. I can also personalize my message to target specific audiences and generate leads.

Email marketing can take many different forms. These campaigns can include a single email announcing new content, an ongoing newsletter delivered regularly, or contacting customers about product updates.

Email isn’t as shiny as newer channels, like messaging and social. However, email is an effective way to build an audience that gets results.

“Access to someone‘s inbox is sacred, and for a person to welcome you in, there’s already a certain level of trust that you just can’t achieve with other platforms,” he says.

When to Use Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful tactic to:

Build relationships. Build connections through personalized engagement.

Boost brand awareness. Keep your company and your services top-of-mind for the moment when your prospects are ready to engage.

Promote your content. Use email to share relevant blog content or valuable assets with your prospects.

Generate leads. Entice subscribers to provide their personal information in exchange for an asset that they’d find valuable.

Market your products. Promote your products and services.

Nurture leads. Delight your customers with content that can help them succeed in their goals.

Email Marketing Benefits

87% of marketers say that email marketing is critical to business success.

Email is the third most popular owned media platform B2B marketers used to distribute content in the past 12 months.

There are over 4.3 billion email users worldwide, so if you’re looking for a way to reach your customers, email is the perfect place to find them.

The number of global email users is set to grow to 4.48 billion users by 2024.

As of 2022, email generates $36 for every dollar spent.

51% of marketers say email marketing is the most effective marketing channel, according to our Marketing Trends survey.

53% of marketers are continuing to invest in email marketing in 2023.

33% are increasing their investment in email marketing in 2023.

33% of marketers send weekly emails, and 26% send emails multiple times monthly.

Beyond just the statistics, perhaps the best reason to use email marketing is that you own the channel. Outside of compliance regulations, no external entity can impact how, when, or why you reach out to your subscribers.

Time and time again, email proves to be an unsung hero in marketing.

Email Marketing Stats by Industry

Email marketing rules change based on your industry and who you’re marketing to. Below are some email marketing trends for B2B, B2C, e-commerce, and real estate companies that can inform your email marketing strategy.

Email Marketing Stats for B2B

Email is the third-highest owned-media platform B2B marketers used to distribute content in the last 12 months.

44% of B2B marketers say email marketing is the most effective marketing channel.

B2B marketers say email engagement is the fourth most insightful metric when evaluating performance over the past year, more than social media, search rankings, and lead quality.

Email Marketing Stats for B2C

50% of B2C marketers say growing their email list is one of the biggest challenges in their role.

37% of B2C marketers send daily marketing emails to their subscribers.

Email Marketing Stats for Ecommerce

57.2% of marketers say the e-commerce brands they manage have 1,000 to 10,000 contacts on their email lists.

85.7% of e-commerce marketers say the primary business objective of their email strategy is increasing brand awareness.

Roughly 72% of e-commerce marketers say the biggest challenge they face with email is low open rates.

Getting Started with Email Marketing

I know it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the vast possibilities of email marketing, so let’s break down a few key steps to get you started building a solid email campaign that will delight your customers.

You can think of these steps as creating a successful email marketing strategy.

1. Create an Email Marketing Strategy

You can learn how to build an effective email strategy and send emails that people actually want to read. It just takes a plan (one that can be broken down into a few key steps).

2. Define your audience.

Effective emails, whether a campaign or a one-off, start with understanding your audience.

Like everything else in marketing, start with your buyer persona, understand what pain points they’re dealing with, and tailor your email campaign to your audience’s needs.

3. Establish your goals.

Usually, before I think up campaign goals, I gather some context.

I always want to know the average email stats for my industry and use them as benchmarks for my goals. This should be your process as well.

4. Build your email list.

You need people to email, right? An email list (we’ll cover how to build your email list in the next section) is a group of users who have permitted you to send them relevant content.

To build that list, you need several ways for prospects to opt-in to receive your emails which we’ll cover in another section in just a moment.

Don’t be discouraged if you only have a few people on your list. It can take some time to build. In the meantime, treat every subscriber and lead like gold, and you’ll start seeing your email list grow organically.

5. Choose an email campaign type.

Email campaigns vary, and trying to decide between them can be overwhelming. Do you send a weekly newsletter? Should you send out new product announcements? Which blog posts are worth sharing?

The answer is subjective.

I like to start by learning about the types of email campaigns, then I decide which is best for my audience.

I also set up different lists for different types of emails, so customers and prospects can sign up for only the emails that are relevant to them.

If you need help writing your emails, consider using AI to help.

6. Make a schedule.

Decide how often you plan to contact your list and inform your audience upfront.

This way, they’ll know exactly what to expect ahead of time. Forgetting this can lead to high unsubscribe lists and even get you in their spam.

In addition, once you set a schedule, be consistent. It will build trust and ensure you stay top of mind for your audience.

7. Measure your results.

This should come as no surprise. As marketers, we measure everything. Being meticulous about every key metric will help you make small changes to your emails, yielding large results.

We’re going to touch on the exact KPIs to monitor in a bit (or you can jump ahead).

Now that you understand the steps to creating an email marketing strategy, we‘ll look at what’s involved in building your email list.

8. Choose an email marketing platform.

An email marketing provider (ESP) is an excellent resource if you’re looking for any support while fine-tuning your email marketing efforts. Depending on your needs and types of campaigns, there are several paid and free email marketing platforms including HubSpot, Constant Contact, MailChimp or other Mailchimp alternatives.

9. Build Your Email List

Now to my favorite part: filling the email list with eager prospects excited to hear from you.

There are many creative ways to build your email list (and, no, purchasing emails ain’t one).

Tactically speaking, list building comes down to two key elements that work cohesively to grow your subscriber numbers: lead magnets and opt-in forms.

Featured Resources

The Email Newsletter Lookbook

How to Create Email Newsletters That Don’t Suck

Here’s how I build and grow my email list.

10. Use lead magnets.

Your lead magnet is exactly as it sounds: It attracts prospects to your email list, usually as a free offer.

The offer can take many formats, should be valuable to your prospects, and is given away for free in exchange for an email address.

There’s just one problem: People have become hyper-protective of their personal information. You can’t expect to receive an email address without exchanging it for something valuable.

Think about a lead magnet that is relevant, useful, and makes your prospects’ lives easier.

Here are a few types of lead magnets you could create:

Ebooks.

Whitepapers.

Infographics.

Reports or studies.

Checklists.

Templates.

Webinars or courses.

Tools.

If you’re short on resources, you can even repurpose existing content to create lead magnets.

11. Create an enticing opt-in form.

Your opt-in form is how you get a prospect’s information to add them to your list. It’s the gate between your future leads and the incredible asset you created with them in mind.

Here are some tips for creating an enticing opt-in form:

Create an attractive design and attention-grabbing header.

Your form should be branded, stand out from the page, and entice people to sign up. You want to excite readers with the offer.

Make the copy relevant to the offer.

While your goal is to get people to enter their information, it isn’t to deceive them. Any information on your form should be a truthful representation of the offer.

Keep the form simple.

This could be one of your first interactions with your prospect. Don’t scare them away with a long long-form several fields.

Ask for only the most essential information: first name and email is a good place to start.

Set your opt-in form for double confirmation.

It may seem counterproductive to ask your subscribers to opt into your emails twice, but some research on open rates suggests that customers may prefer a confirmed opt-in (COI) email more than a welcome email.

Ensure that the flow works.

Take yourself through the user experience before you go live. Double-check that the form works as intended, the thank you page is live, and your offer is delivered as promised.

This is one of your first impressions of your new lead — make it a professional and positive one.

Next, let’s take a moment to cover some universally accepted email marketing best practices regarding how to send marketing emails.

20 Types of Email Marketing Subject Titles That Can Improve Your Click Through Rates

Crafting a good email can be stressful, especially when you need to take note of metrics such as opens, unique opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes. However, creating copy that stands out in your subscribers’ inbox does not have to take hours or go through multiple rounds of vetting.

Before we begin, let’s do a quick recap of the best practices for writing a killer subject heading.

Identify Pain Points

It is a cardinal sin to not have your buyer persona done. In the subject line, showing your subscriber that you have a solution will entice them to open up their email.

Write With Your Brand’s Voice

For example, the tone of copy you would employ for a luxury clothing brand’s event invite will be completely different from a boutique’s swimsuit sale advertorial.

Keep Your Subject Heading Succinct

56% of emails are opened on mobile devices. Trim the frills off your headlines to ensure that your subscribers are able to get the gist of the subject heading at first glance.

Using Numbers When Appropriate

Instead of “fifty dollars voucher”, changing it to “$50 voucher” makes it easier to read.

Mind Your Language

Turn off the caps lock and ease up on the exclamation marks. Nobody likes feeling like they’re being yelled at. This also makes the title look spammy. However, this could depend on your branding. If you are a casual lifestyle publication aimed at millennials, then go ahead and be expressive at appropriate times.

Always Segment Your Lists!

Don’t be lazy, because when you’re doing targeting right, your open rates will go up.

Now that we are all caught up, let’s dive in to the email subject lines that can net you a higher click through rate.

Types of Email Subject Lines That Can Improve Your CTRs

1. Subject lines that incite FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

This one is a classic and can be seen in many promotional emails. Having this element implies scarcity and urgency. Don’t forget to include a time limit!

• Zalora: “Ends tomorrow: Buy 2 get 20% off.”
• ShopBack: “[lightning emoji] 2 days only: 17% off your Apple purchases at Epicentre with Shoppe!”
• Digital Marketer: “Your private invitation expires tomorrow night”

2. Subject lines that generate curiosity.

Leave your subject line open by dangling a clickbait that incites curiosity and makes your subscribers itch to find out the answer.

• Grubhub: “Last day to see what this email is all about.”
• “Things to avoid when planning a surprise party”

3. Subject lines that appeal to their sense of vanity

Appealing to your subscribers’ sense of vanity in your subject heading by promising something that would make them look or feel better.

• Levis: “Hey (name), you would look so good in these jeans.”
• Sephora: “Products the celebs are wearing”

4. Subject lines that appeal to their sense of greed

This feels similar to FOMO. However, we emphasize more on the ‘getting a good deal part’ rather than the ‘blink and miss it’ part. If you have done your targeting well, your subscribers will find it hard to pass up a good deal. Many FMCG and retail brands use this tactic.

• “Score these styles at a fraction of their original costs!”
• La Mer: “A little luxury at a great price”

5. Subject lines that offer them quick and easy fixes.

Everyone wants things done fast, and done well. That’s why fast food and cheat sheets exist. Brands use this tactic mostly to entice people into entering their emails in exchange for an freebie.

• “99 Content Marketing Ideas For Fashion Brands”
• “27 Excel Hacks You Wish You Had Discovered Sooner”
• Salesforce: “How To Grow Your Business Faster in 15 Minutes.”

6. A subject heading that reminds them to complete an action or process.

These are usually sent to subscribers when they fail to complete an action or step in their sales funnel. For example, when they add an item to their wishlist and just leave it there. These emails then serve to stream your subscribers back down the funnel.

• Zalora: “Hi (name), your wishlist items are running out of stock!”
• “Good news! Your shopping bag items are on sale!”

7. Subject lines that feel like a short burst of energy.

When you see an unopened email in your inbox, the subject line is displayed along with a preview of the first line of the email. Try a short statement, and then elaborate further in the preview. This type of subject heading offers a change of pace from the usual longer sentences. However, use this with caution, as the tone of copy has to align with your branding and style.

8. Subjects that have shock value.

Create a subject line that offers a controversial view or refutes common beliefs to grab people’s attention.

• “Everything is Fake News and Journalism is Dead”
• “In defense of vegan evangelists”
• “Your body does not sweat out toxins and other hot yoga myths busted”

9. Subject lines that pare the information down to the bare essentials.

Use this for notification emails, or reminder emails. “Your order is being processed. Check the delivery status here.” is better than “Your order #0270218838 is being processed and will be delivered in 10 days via air shipping.” They can then check the details in the email.

10. Subjects that ask questions.

Asking people compelling questions will cause them to open your email in search of an answer to satisfy their curiosity. For example, you can try the following: “Do you know how to ensure your customer service stays top notch?”, or “Are you making these data mistakes”?

• Kari DePhillips: “Have questions about Digital Marketing? We’ve Got Answers!”
• Zillow: “What can you afford?”
• Chris Badgett (LifterLMS): “Could you do me a solid?”

11. Make your subject lines time-appropriate.

Make your subject lines time-appropriate. Scheduling emails is a great way to save time and have more control over when you reach your audience. For example, if you’re doing marketing for a food delivery company, you could send a coupon code for discounted delivery near midnight to entice the nocturnal ones to order in. Or maybe it’s the day before Father’s Day, and you haven’t had time to go shopping. Suddenly, you receive an email from Amazon with gift suggestions and a discount off next-day delivery. Score!

12. Subject lines with pop culture references.

This would require you to keep a finger on the pulse of the industry and have a keen sense of pop culture. A week ago, I received an email from the Quandoo app with the subject line “Don’t you, forget about us… Here’s 1000 points ($15)!”. First half of the subject line is a reference to the song made popular by the first Pitch Perfect movie. And now I have it stuck in my head. Check out some others.

• DailySkimm: “Are you a Yanny or Laurel?” Referencing an audio clip that divided the internet.
• “TGIF! If you’re happy and you know it…”

13. Subject lines that make it exclusive.

When people feel like they’re part of an insiders’ club, it gives them a sense of belonging and makes them more open to opening your email. Phrasing like “an exclusive offer for you”, or “special invitation to our next menu tasting” works well.

• Jason Zomwork: “Free Business Tips Just For You”
• Zalora: “First Look: All New Arrivals”

14. Subject lines that add a bit of mystery.

Giving readers a taste of intrigue might entice them to bite. But of course, do provide something of value or elaborate well in your body message, because you do not want to be known as the brand that cried wolf.

• “This might surprise you…”
• Hubspot: “We challenge you…”
• “If not you, then who?”

15. Subject lines that say it like it is.

According to Campaign Monitor, the average office worker receives about 121 emails daily. The inbox gets cluttered easily and a clear direction or call to action will be appreciated.

• “New! Guide to Tokyo’s best nightlife spots.”
• “Download your quarterly investors report here”
• SEMRush Academy: “SEO Writing Assistant on Product Hunt- Check it out!”

16. Subject lines that feature social proof.

We rely a lot on social proof to make our decisions. You may be more hesitant going into a empty restaurant because there is no social proof that the food is good to eat. Same goes for our other decisions, before buying a product or going for a movie, we usually trawl the internet for reviews. So take control of your social proof, and show your people what value they can get.

• SEMRush Team: “[SEO Fundamentals Сourse] 15,000 users took it and it’s rated .”
• eFinancialCareers: “117,390 people will sit the CFA in Asia – ‘even feeding them is a challenge’”

17. Subject lines that make people chuckle.

Everybody loves a good laugh and it makes them warm up to you. Throw in the offer of valuable content or a good deal, and watch your open rates go up.

• Natasha from Glints “Want a high flying career? Find out more here – it’s plane simple!”
• The Scoot Team: “Scoot for a tai-rrific time in Taiwan from $88!”
• The Scoot Team: “Feeling all Thai’d up? Scoot to Thailand from $44!”

18. Subject lines that identify pain points.

Seeing a pattern here? Yes, that’s right, content that is relevant to your target audience is valuable, hence the repeated note to always segment your subscriber lists! Check out these sweet examples below.

• Grab: Still craving for local food? Enjoy free delivery with SG53!
• Onnit: “Fix your posture with our top 5 foam roller exercises”

19. One word subject lines.

One word subject lines. It can be quite daunting trying to distill the message you are trying to convey into a single word, but the results may surprise you. Let’s say you are an online publication for travel and lifestyle content. Instead of titling your email “Check out the best beaches in South East Asia”, consider using “Paradise” in the subject heading, and further elaborating in the preview text.

20. Lastly, the “Hail Mary”.

This type of email subject line is exactly what you think it is. It also sometimes goes against what you know about email marketing best practices. Some people use this as a last-ditch attempt after several unanswered sales emails. Usually something provoking/provocative. It’s something that should be used with caution, especially in the age of social media where it is easy to go viral for the wrong reasons. Check out the examples below.

• Ezbuy: “We are sorry for not doing good enough in Oct”
• Money Dashboard: “Please put us out of our misery.”
• “Your rewards points may be in danger.”

And there you have it! There are no absolute hard and fast rules to categorizing email subject headlines. You can actually combine some of the elements together to create a more impactful headline, like this example below.

So get creative! Write many variations, read them out loud, ask a colleague to vet them through. And always do split testing. 

Do you have any favorite or memorable emails received? Sound out in the comments below or if you’re feeling shy, just drop me an email.

12+ Proven Ways: How to Get More Sales on Etsy – The Complete Guide for 2024

 Selling on Etsy is unlike selling on any other marketplace. The specialized nature of the marketplace, combined with increasingly fierce competition, presents a variety of unique challenges for sellers on the platform. Etsy sellers must always be on the lookout for ways to increase their Etsy shop’s visibility, while simultaneously ensuring that they’re always ahead of the curve and a level above the competition.

If you’re wondering how to get more sales on Etsy, we’ve put together a complete guide for Etsy sellers, with proven strategies to increase your shop’s visibility and boost your sales. Keep reading for insider listing tips, expert marketing strategies, and smart SEO methods that will increase your sales on Etsy with minimal effort.

Understanding Etsy and Building Strategies for Getting More Sales

Before we dive into how to get more Etsy sales, we have to look at Etsy as a marketplace and understand what it means to sell on Etsy. As a platform, Etsy functions similarly to many other ecommerce marketplaces – it allows sellers to open up shops and sell goods to buyers on the platform, it works with major payment services such as PayPal and Klarna, and has firmly established itself as a well-known and trusted online marketplace. The thing that makes Etsy unique in comparison to other major ecommerce marketplaces is what is sold on the platform.

Etsy was designed to be the ecommerce equivalent of traditional craft fairs, and its marketplace policies reflect that. Sellers on Etsy are only allowed to sell handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies on the platform. If your items fit the bill but you’re still struggling to get sales, it’s important to ask yourself the two questions to better understand how you can grow your Etsy sales.

Is it Worth Selling on Etsy?

Looking at whether the items you’re selling on Etsy are the right items for the platform is important, and not just from a marketplace policy standpoint. Compliance with marketplace policy given, some items are a better choice for selling on Etsy than others. Digital downloads, for example, are a great way to make money on the platform while requiring no logistics and minimal customer service. Certain handmade items, on the other hand, may be more difficult to profitably sell on the platform. Things like handmade leather goods of your own design, for example, can easily be copied and sold for pennies on the dollar by dropshippers or sellers operating from areas with lower production costs, making it more difficult for sellers who sell their own handmade creations to get noticed among the sea of competition. Whatever you’re selling, you’ll want to be sure that it is indeed a good fit for selling on Etsy.

What Makes Etsy Popular?

As mentioned earlier, Etsy is a marketplace for selling craft supplies, handmade items, and vintage goods, and it has firmly established itself as the marketplace for all things creative, custom, and crafty. This is exactly what makes Etsy so popular with buyers – they are familiar with Etsy’s distinctive artsy vibe, and know to come back to it whenever they’re looking for something that can’t be bought on run-of-the-mill ecommerce retail sites.

‍Tips for Increasing Sales on Etsy

Now that we’ve firmly established what Etsy is and what you should consider when deciding whether an item is a good fit for selling on the platform, we’ll examine a few tried and tested tips on how to get more sales on Etsy. Keep in mind that boosting Etsy sales requires a variety of approaches, but with a little time, effort, patience, and these simple tips, you’ll quickly begin seeing more sales on your Etsy shop.

1. Optimize Your Listings for SEO

When creating a listing for any item in your shop, the first thing you need to consider is how you can best optimize it for SEO. Put simply, you’ll want to ensure that your listing has all the correct components, in the right format and place, so that Etsy knows to match it to potential buyers’ searches. No matter how good your item is, if buyers can’t see it when they browse Etsy, you won’t ever make a sale. Good SEO practices include clear and descriptive item titles, complete use of tags on every listing, and making sure to keep your listings fresh. 

2. Focus on Quality

Like many marketplaces, Etsy has recently become inundated with sellers looking to make a quick buck by selling low quality goods. These can be anything from dropshippers selling mass-produced items as handmade, to dishonest sellers stealing other seller’s designs and selling cheap copies of them. While Etsy has made some effort to tackle these issues, it’s always an uphill battle for honest sellers looking to sell on the platform. For this reason, it is important to focus on offering your buyers quality items that will keep them coming back for more. Return buyers are also more likely to recommend your store to people they know personally, giving you free word-of-mouth advertising!

3. Offer Variety

Your Etsy shop should focus on its unique niche – whether that be jewelry, home décor, leather goods, or anything in between – while offering buyers a rich variety to choose from within that niche. If you started your Etsy shop selling earrings, for example, expand your selection to include other types of jewelry. Make an effort to regularly add new items and designs, and to keep up to date with what buyers are looking for. A store that offers more options will always have a bigger pool of potential clientele, while also enjoying more exposure on a bigger variety of search results.

4. Take Great Photos

The impact of good-quality, well-staged photos cannot be overstated when it comes to selling on Etsy. Buyers come to the platform to purchase things they’ve never seen in person, as opposed to buyers who flock to platforms like Amazon to find better deals on items they’ve likely encountered before. The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is doubly true on Etsy, and that’s because your listing photos are the only way buyers are able to assess the quality of the item you’re selling. Always use good lighting, take high-resolution photos, and ensure that your item photos are cohesively staged across your listings.

5. Offer Discounts and Free Shipping

A significant part of making a purchase attractive to buyers is offering them a good deal. This can be in the form of discounts, such as coupon codes or price drops, or benefits like free shipping. You can increase your sales by offering interested buyers who’ve favorited an item in your shop a discount code, or offer free shipping to buyers with domestic shipping addresses. You can also offer discounts for holidays such as Valentine’s Day and Christmas, or send interested buyers seasonal discount codes to encourage them to complete their purchase.  

6. Promote Your Products

Promoting your products on Etsy is a great way to get more sales and increase your Etsy shop’s visibility. This is easily done with Etsy Ads, Etsy’s simple PPC promoted listings model that gives sellers the option to promote their products in buyer searches.

When looking at how to get more sales on Etsy, it’s important to not get tunnel vision and lose the ability to look outside of Etsy itself, however. Etsy also offers its sellers a program for promoting their products outside of the platform, known as Offsite Ads, in which sellers are automatically enrolled. There is a 12-15% fee on a sale that results from one of these offsite ads, but the benefits of getting your product and store out there far outweigh the steep referral fee.

Strategies for Building Brand Awareness and Increasing Sales on Etsy

In this section, we’ll take a look at how you can build awareness for your brand or shop through a variety of avenues. By increasing visibility of your shop and bringing in buyers from multiple places, you’ll be able to not only get more sales on Etsy, but also build your Etsy shop’s reputation both on- and off-platform.

1. Utilize Email Marketing

Email marketing is a great tool for selling online, but it’s only beneficial when employed correctly. The first mistake many sellers make is sending emails to buyers who never explicitly asked to receive those emails. Never send emails to anyone who hasn’t asked to receive them; the best scenario is that the email gets ignored, and the worst is that it gets reported as spam. Instead, offer buyers who have already purchased something from your store the option of opting into marketing emails, or use other platforms (such as your own website, if you have one) to allow buyers to sign up to receive emails. Don’t forget to make these emails worthwhile – include promotions and discount codes to ensure that people will be happy to receive your marketing emails while also nudging them towards making a purchase.

2. Create an Engaging Blog

Etsy is a marketplace for many creative and artsy types, and many shoppers on the platform have unique hobbies and interest that you can write about in a blog. Your blog should focus on creating articles that are relevant to your store and interesting to potential buyers. If you sell home décor pieces, for example, your blog can talk about interior design, tips for decorating small spaces, ways to incorporate pieces from your shop into different design themes, and more. Your blog doesn’t have to feature a new article every day, but aim for no more than a month between each post to keep your blog engaging without adding unnecessary fluff.

3. Maintain a Strong Presence on Social Media

The importance of a good social media presence cannot be overstated when it comes to selling online, and that goes double for sellers who sell on Etsy. If you already have a social media presence for your business, leverage it to promote your Etsy shop and attract buyers. If you’re just starting out or don’t have established social media accounts, go ahead and open them. Choose your social media channels carefully, and take into consideration where your target audience is more likely to be. If you’re selling vintage Y2K clothes, TikTok is a more suitable platform than Facebook, for example.

4. Participate in Relevant Forums

Similar to the aforementioned social media presence, participating in niche-relevant forums is a great way to increase awareness of your brand and get more sales on Etsy. No matter what you sell – from vintage watches to mid-century style prints, naturally-dyed craft yarn to retro home décor – there is sure to be an online community that’s interested. Keep in mind that you want to be an active member of these forums, not just a seller trying to plug their store. Share your knowledge and tips before you post links to your Etsy shop. Remember that the smaller and more specific your niche, the greater the impact your participation in these forums will have, whether that impact is positive or negative!  

5. Collaborate with Influencers

If your niche allows it, influencer collaboration is a great way to boost your social media presence to drive more Etsy sales. The benefit of influencers is that they do much of the social media legwork for you – they already have an established following and presence on their social media platforms of choice, and their followers already trust their credibility. Collaborating with an influencer is a great way to get more sales on your Etsy shop, and it can be done in many creative ways. You can offer discount codes specifically for that influencer’s followers, have them promote a product, or even just give your Etsy shop a mention.

6. Take Advantage of Etsy’s Ad Campaigns

We’ve mentioned Etsy’s ad options before, but they’re worth mentioning again from a brand awareness perspective. Aside from driving sales via direct clicks, ads have the added benefit of boosting your brand’s awareness, both on and off the platform. Keep your shop enrolled in Etsy Offline Ads instead of opting out – it’s a great way to get more exposure for your shop and products because it utilizes Etsy’s advanced algorithms and wealth of analytics data to promote your products where they’ll have the biggest impact.  

7. Utilize Social Shopping

Social shopping is the next phase of digital commerce, and has taken a significant bite out of more traditional ecommerce shopping in recent years. Put simply, social shopping is a shopping experience directly through a social media platform, without leaving that platform. May social media platforms now have the option of opening stores in-platform, or linking directly to your store’s website. This poses a problem for Etsy sellers, however, since Etsy does not integrate with any social media platform to offer a true social commerce experience to the end user. To give your buyers the option of social shopping on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, you’ll want to utilize a third-party integration tool that can take your Etsy shop and integrate it with a shop on your social media platform of choice.

‍

Final Thoughts and Important Takeaways

As we’ve seen, increasing your Etsy sales requires a concerted effort on several fronts, including marketing, social media, and listing SEO. The most important thing to remember is that all these strategies work together to drive more sales on your Etsy shop, which is why it is so important to implement them together in order to get the most out of each one. In short, there is no single “how to” for getting more sales on Etsy, but rather a series of good practices and strategies that you can start implementing today for a more successful Etsy selling experience.

‍

FAQs for Increasing Sales on Etsy

Here, we’ll go over a few of the most common questions we receive from sellers who want to get more sales on Etsy. Browse them, and feel free to let us know if you have any questions of your own that you’d like us to address!

Q:  How do I optimize my Etsy listings for SEO?

A: Optimizing your Etsy listings is an important part of getting more sales on Etsy. A well-optimized Etsy listing will have a complete and descriptive title, utilize keywords correctly while avoiding keyword stuffing, take full advantage of tags, and include researched and relevant keywords.

Q:  What tips should I follow when trying to increase sales on Etsy?

A: Important tips for how to get more Etsy sales not only include good SEO practices and taking good quality listing photos of your items, but also encompass product and brand promotion strategies that make use of the marketing and social media avenues at your disposal. Brand awareness and SEO aside, you’ll want to focus on offering a wide selection of quality products to your buyers, and offer them discounts and promotions whenever possible to drive more sales.

Q:  How can I use social media to get more sales on Etsy?

A: Social media is a great tool for both building brand awareness and promoting your products in order to get more Etsy sales. Using social media correctly to increase your Etsy sales includes promoting both your store and your products to your followers, working with influencers to get the word out about new products and sales, and offering buyers a social commerce experience by integrating your Etsy store with various social media platforms.

Q:  How can I build brand awareness for my Etsy store?

A: Building brand awareness for your Etsy store requires a combined marketing and social media effort that promotes your Etsy shop and brand on multiple platforms simultaneously. You’ll want to hold on to past buyers by giving them the option of signing up to receive marketing emails, promote your Etsy shop through participation in niche-relevant forums, and collaborate with influencers to get the word out about new products and promotions. All these can give your brand and shop better credibility in the eyes of potential buyers, and ultimately drive more sales on your Etsy shop.

Q:  How do I make sure my products stand out on Etsy?

A: Creating eye-catching listings – and promoting them – is a surefire way to get buyers interested and engaged. You’ll want to follow good Etsy SEO practices to ensure visibility, and supplement them with high-quality images that attractively showcase your items. High-resolution photographs combined with deliberate staging are a good way to impart a unique brand feel while making your listings stand out from the competition.

How to promote your website for free in 10 effective ways

 So, you create a website you’re proud of—now what? It’s time to share it with the world. After all, what good is your site if no one is around to see it? Website promotion doesn’t have to cost you a ton of money in order to reach your target audience. In fact, it doesn’t have to cost you any money at all.

We’re sure you’ve encountered articles similar to this one that promise to show you “x amount of tips” to do something for free, only to have a big, red price tag at the end. This isn’t one of those posts. All of the following marketing ideas listed will ensure your wallet stays closed.

Read on to discover the 10 best ways to promote your website for free.

1. How to promote your website
2. Solidify your website SEO 
3. Take advantage of email marketing 
4. Start a blog 
5. Try guest blogging 
6. Harness the power of social media 
7. Submit your site to online directories
8. Post on forums 
9. Reach out with outreach marketing 
10. Say it with your signature 
11. Focus on quality 

01. Solidify your website SEO

Leveraging SEO and integrating it into the website creation process is vital. Various studies have shown that organic search is the single greatest provider of traffic to websites.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is one of the most effective ways to promote a website, as it helps improve a site’s ranking on Google and visibility in other search engines. Unlike paid search ads, SEO is totally free –  the competition is open to everyone, based on the quality of the content you publish, the fluidity of the navigation you offer to your visitors, and the number of links you receive from external sources. 

You can achieve strong SEO by placing certain keywords and phrases throughout your website, adding alt text to your images and optimizing your headings so that your website can get found on search engines. 

Because SEO requires time and effort, from your initial keyword research right through to implementation and tracking, so automated SEO tools make the process more efficient. 

02. Take advantage of email marketing

There’s a reason you always see email marketing placed high up on articles that talk about how to drive traffic to your website. Why? Because it’s proven to be effective over and over. In fact, its average rate of return can be as high as 4400%, or $44 for every dollar spent.

Newsletters are a particularly effective form of email marketing, since they are a direct form of communication between you and your potential customers. They also help you get subscribers and can help drive traffic to your site. To create an engaging newsletter, keep your content punchy and direct, and use prominent calls-to-action that encourage readers to click. That will help your content stand out from the sea of other newsletters your subscribers may receive. Don’t forget your UTM links when planning your email marketing, you’ll need these to track the implementation of your KPIs and how well your campaign performs. 

03. Start a blog

When considering how to promote your website, a good practice is to create a free blog to bolster your SEO and increase your site’s rank on search engines. Blogging and content marketing in general makes it easier for people to find your site and discover your business. On top of that, it helps you establish yourself as an authority in your field and can dramatically improve your conversion rate.

Writing blog posts forces you to research your market, and in turn broadens your knowledge and professional skills. It can also help you build an online community who engages with your content and each other, this is particularly impactful if your site targets a niche market. As for the technical side of starting a blog, 

Even if you’re not much of a writer, you can still benefit from including a blog on your site, as it helps generate brand awareness and increase your website traffic. You can also monetize your blog and promote it further with affiliate marketing. 

04. Try guest blogging

Expand your website promotion even further by collaborating with a guest blogger. When another writer in your industry writes a post on your own blog, you expand your reach to their target audience and gain quality leads. In addition, connecting with writers who are already established in their field helps you grow your own network. This can bring you more exposure, traffic and social media shares.

On the flip side, you can also promote your website by becoming a guest blogger yourself. If you choose to go this route, you’ll be writing articles that will be published on sites other than your own. 

This is a crucial marketing strategy that yields huge benefits. First, it strengthens your SEO when you include a link to your site in a guest post or author bio. Second, it generates awareness of your brand by encouraging new audiences to click on your site and browse.

05. Harness the power of social media

Social media isn’t just a way for your friends from high school to show off pictures of their children or snap photos of what they ate for lunch. It’s also an effective way to promote a website, as it helps businesses reach a diverse audience and build brand awareness.

Whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn or Instagram, social media marketing is important for engaging followers. Importantly, posting compelling content increases the chances that your audience will share it – which is free promotion for your website. And the more people click on your content, the more chances you’ll have of getting website traffic and improving your conversion rate.

Don’t forget to cross-promote so all of your networks benefit from as much of your content as possible. For instance, you can share your Instagram video to Twitter or your latest blog post on your Facebook page. You can also use a link in bio tool to promote your website from your social channels, or create social bar to your website so that visitors can easily find your social profiles and share your content. Find more advertisement examples here. 

You can also tap into the power of influencer marketing, and have social media celebrities on meta platforms such as Instagram, share your site as well as your products or services to their followers. 

06. Submit your site to online directories

In addition to optimizing your SEO to help people discover your website, you’ll want to submit your site to online directories. Online directories, can act as news aggregators, and make it easy for people to find your URL and navigate to your site. Depending on your industry, there may be a directory for your specific business type.

If you have a brick-and-mortar store, submitting to local directories is even smarter. Free services like Google My Business allow you to claim your business so that when someone searches for your business, a complete set of details – including your website, opening hours, contact details, and a map of your location – appear on the results page. Other locations you should consider placing your website are Angie’s List, Yellow Pages and Yelp. 

07. Post on forums

When deciding how to promote your website to a new crowd, try using forums. One method is to start a thread on a well-known forum like Reddit and let others decide if it’s worthy of getting upvoted. Another option is to engage in an existing conversation thread and refer to your website when relevant.

Whichever approach you choose, be mindful that you should only add your website to these posts when it serves as a genuinely helpful resource to supplement your response. Otherwise, you risk coming across as spammy.

Try to find forums that are specifically about your industry so that you can reach people who are already interested in your niche. 

08. Reach out with outreach marketing

Outreach marketing involves connecting with others in your business niche, such as bloggers, influencers and other professionals, in order to promote your website. Ideally, you’ll be able to build a lasting relationship with these professionals that will help you increase your site’s exposure.

The technique starts with identifying your marketing goals, and then finding people who can help you achieve those objectives. This involves reaching out with a pitch, and following up when necessary. Try sending your pitch over email or via certain social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. 

09. Say it with your signature

Your email signature is an underrated but powerful tool that essentially serves as an online business card. Make sure that your email signature includes your business logo, links to your social accounts and website, plus any other contact information. This puts your brand’s stamp on your emails and promotes your website to your recipients.

10. Focus on quality

When learning how to promote your website, your focus should be on publishing expert, informative content. This is true regardless of which promotional strategies you choose, whether that’s posting on social media, writing blog articles or partnering with influencers. Though you may be eager to get the word out right away, prioritize quality over quantity, as this helps build trust among your audience and drive them through the marketing funnel. This is one of the best things you can do for your business in the long run.

Why website promotion is important

Website promotion is crucial for businesses of all sizes to establish an online presence, reach their target audience and achieve their marketing goals. Here are some compelling reasons why website promotion is essential for success in the digital landscape:

Increased brand awareness: Website promotion helps businesses showcase their brand, products or services to a wider audience through search engines, social media and other online channels. By enhancing visibility, businesses can attract new visitors, generate interest and establish a strong brand identity.

Improved search engine ranking: Effective website promotion strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO), help websites rank higher in search results when users search for relevant keywords. This improved visibility leads to increased organic traffic, driving more potential customers to your website.

Enhanced user engagement and conversion rates: Well-promoted websites attract more visitors and keep them engaged with compelling content, clear navigation and a seamless user experience. This increased engagement can lead to higher conversion rates, whether it’s newsletter signups, product purchases or other desired actions.

Effective lead generation: Website promotion plays a vital role in capturing leads and converting visitors into customers. By implementing calls-to-action, contact forms and other lead generation strategies, businesses can gather valuable contact information and nurture relationships with potential customers.

Cost-effective marketing channel: Compared to traditional marketing methods like print ads or television commercials, website promotion offers a more cost-effective way to reach a large audience. With targeted online advertising, social media marketing and SEO strategies, businesses can maximize their return on investment.

Measurable results: Website promotion enables businesses to track their progress and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns using analytics tools. By analyzing website traffic, visitor behavior and conversion rates, businesses can identify areas for improvement and optimize their strategies accordingly.

Competitive advantage: In today’s competitive online landscape, businesses that actively promote their websites gain a significant advantage. By staying ahead of industry trends, adapting to changing algorithms and continuously refining their strategies, businesses can attract more customers, generate more leads and achieve their overall marketing objectives.

What to Work on When You Have Little to No Clients

 You’ve hit a slow period and you are very tempted to lay on the couch and Netflix it up but then you realize that’s probably not the best idea.

So, what do you work on? Below are some ideas to keep your productivity levels up and your business thriving.

Clean up the back end of your business. I don’t know about you but I’m always behind on cleaning up my books. So I like to take some time each month to clean up my books and upload any invoices or receipts that I have. I also keep a budget spreadsheet so that I can keep track of my goals. I’ll take that time to update that as well.

Update your website. It’s good practice to keep your website updated regularly. You could be rereading your copy to make sure that it still makes sense for your ideal client. You could be updating your client testimonials section. You could be updating your portfolio page.

Work on blog posts. Blog posts are important for gaining traffic to your website. I love to crank out a handful of blog posts in a couple of hours and create all of the graphics so that they are ready to go!

Work on a new freebie for your ideal clients. Freebies have been the number one way that I have been able to grow my mailing list. Freebies are something that you create for your ideal clients, usually a PDF, that gives them free knowledge. For example, I have a free welcome packet template and a free branding checklist that people can receive once signing. If you need help with coming up with an idea, ask your audience on social media.

Brainstorm new offerings. Being an entrepreneur means that new ideas are probably flowing through your head on a daily basis. Take this slow time to build off of those ideas and maybe create a plan of action.

Work on social media posts. When I’m busy with clients, posting to social media is the last thing on my mind. So during slow periods, I like to plan out my content. Sometimes I get ambitious and plan out a whole month’s worth of content. Along with planning out my Instagram feed, I also plan out what I’m going to talk about on Insta stories, Insta lives and in my free Facebook group. You can easily write a month’s worth of content in two-three hours!

Work on your email marketing. Work on a couple of emails and schedule them out. Work on any email automations that your email system offers. I.e. workflows when someone opts into your freebie. 

Work on automations. There’s possibly some other automations that you could be setting up in your spare time to make your life easier. For example, I have automations set up when I on-board a client so that my system automatically sends them the invoice, contract and welcome packet. Check out with your CRM system has to offer so that you can spend less time in your email.

Clean up your email. This one may seem obvious but I didn’t start implementing a folder system for a long time and now that I have one, I feel way less stressed and overwhelmed when I open my email. As soon as I have an email resolved, I move it to its appropriate folder location.

Clean up your desktop/folders. I am always in such a rush when I’m working in design files and then exporting them, that my folders can get super messy and I end up having too much storage on my laptop. When I have free time, I’ll move useless or older documents to a separate hard drives and maybe delete any redundant files.

My biggest tip for you is to not get down on yourself when you have little to no clients. Everyone goes through slow periods in their businesses, even the people who you look up to and seem so wildly successful. Take this period and try to make the best out of it and in no time, you’ll be booked up again!