I have 2 questions for you:

1. Do you use email as part of your marketing strategy?
2. Does it work?

If the answer to either of those questions is NO, this article is for you.

From my experience writing for health and wellness professionals, I’ve seen that many of you don’t have a solid strategy for email marketing. Maybe your strategy is “blast the list when I want to run a promotion.” Or (more often) “send a bunch of recipes and hope that somebody will notice how awesome my services are.”

The problem with both of these approaches is that they are incomplete. If you only send emails when you want to sell something, you’re missing a big opportunity to earn the trust and adoration of your subscribers. If you only send health tips or recipes, your subscribers may never actually understand what you sell.

A smart email strategy strikes the perfect balance between valuable content and promotions.

But how? (you might be asking)....

I’ve sent email campaigns for health professionals that have generated tens of thousands of dollars in a single week and consistent sales through the long months of the pandemic.

I’ve also worked with clients who send emails and get no response.

What I’ve discovered through these experiences is that there are 3 key requirements for email marketing to be effective. If you want to be smart (not sleazy or salesy) about your email marketing, make sure you have these 3 requirements in place:

Frequency | Value | Offers.

Here’s how....

Requirement #1: Frequency

Emails are a tool to build relationships.

Relationships are built on frequency.

Think about when you first met one of your closest friends or life partner. You didn’t grow close to that person without spending time with them (and calling and texting etc.). You grew close because of frequent interaction and communication.

Even at this very moment, I’d bet that the people you feel most connected with and trust the most are those whom you communicate with most often.

Guess what? Your email subscribers are people too. They are real live human beings with thoughts and feelings like you. Their relationships, like yours, depend on frequency. Plus, here are some more ways that frequently sending emails works in your favor:

• The more emails you send, the more opportunities you have to share your expertise and unique approach to health.
• More frequent emails give you the chance to balance value with promotions (more on these in a minute).
• Even if people don’t always open and read your emails, at least they see your name and are reminded of who you are.
• Nobody reads every email they receive. If a subscriber happens to be busy when you send an email this week, at least they might catch the one that drops next week.

What could happen if you don’t send emails frequently? Well—people will forget you. They’ll start reading your competitor’s emails and sign up for your competitor’s services. When you finally decide to send an email 6 months down the road, your subscribers may not even recognize your name and just click “unsubscribe.”

Trust me on this one. Email marketing without frequent emails is not email marketing.

(Just one quick note before moving on. There are marketers who promote the Daily Email. They argue that emailing every day is the best way to win the hearts of your subscribers and keep consistent sales rolling in. I think the Daily Email is overkill. If you’re providing a service, like chiropractic care or naturopathic medicine, a Weekly Email is a much more reasonable approach. It’s frequent enough to stay top of mind without overwhelming YOU or your subscribers.)

Requirement #2: Value

The reason that the “blast my list with promotions” strategy doesn’t work is that it ignores the need to earn your subscriber’s trust. You need to EARN it, and the way you do that is by providing valuable and helpful content.

You solve the problems that your subscribers have.

If there is one principle of marketing that I stand by more than any, it’s this: The best way to convince people you can help them is to actually help them. 

That’s what you need to do in every single email you send. Give away information or news or recommendations that solve one tiny problem that your subscribers are struggling with.

Just make sure they are tiny problems. If you try to be too helpful in your emails, you run the risk of overwhelming people with information and chasing them away because of the overload. Plus, solving the big problems should really be reserved for your paid services.

Which brings us to offers...

Requirement #3: Offers

Here’s where your emails turn into money. As long as you are sending frequent emails that provide value and solve your subscriber’s problems, you have permission to promote your services.

It is not salesy.

It is not sleazy.

It is helping people on a deeper level.

Offering your services or paid programs in your emails is a way to invite your subscribers to take the next step in their journey with you. Maybe they got a quick win from one of the health tips you shared in your email, and they want to know more.

They will never even know what you offer or how you can help them unless you tell them.

That’s why even your value-based emails should contain invitations to your paid offers.

Those invitations can be as simple as a P.S. (P.S. I’m booking clients for February. Get details here). They can be as subtle as a footer (Break the cycle of pills and pain. Visit www.yourwebsite.com). Or they can be as direct as an entire email or email sequence explaining your services.

Sharing your offers in the context of valuable emails is not a sales trick. It’s providing a solution to people’s problems that they may not be able to find anywhere else.

Get Smart with Email Marketing

We live in a world of noise. We only have small opportunities to capture the attention (and the hearts) of the people we serve. Emails are one of those rare opportune moments.

Emails are direct and personal. They are a way to connect and build relationships. When done correctly, emails could become your most reliable way to acquire new clients and make more sales.