As an artist and creative, one of the most powerful and effective ways you can sell work is by creating a regular email to your collectors, clients, customers, friends and potential buyers. I know this may seem a little too daunting (how can I come up with enough to say?) but it works.
Not only will consistent and authentically "you" messages get buyers interested in your work, people will feel so much more connected to you. They’ll let you know that they’re part of your virtual and happy support team.
You’ll be building relationships and connecting with people without having to show up at every event in town (I can hear our inner-introverts cheering now).
If you want this to be the year where selling more work is a priority, you can’t afford not to add a genuine and non-schmoozy email newsletter to your mix.
Creating a recurring email message that you send to everyone that’s opted-in to your list is one of the BEST ways to sell more work, and it’s free and easy to figure out.
I know this sounds good but it requires a commitment and ability to take it on. You may have even thought about doing this before but felt like it was too corporate-y or just hard to do.
Perhaps you started an email newsletter in the past but now it’s gathering dust.
No worries. I’ve got the motivation you need to keep you on track with this goal.
Here are five reasons to get your e-newsletter started or to re-commit to it.
1. You don’t need to figure out Facebook, Twitter or Instagram’s secret sauce to get your message seen.
You own your list of contacts. When you send an email to them, there is a 90% chance they’ll get it and actually read it. You don’t need to *hope* that Facebook happens to put your message in their newsfeed.
Most people read and take care of emails first. When readers get enjoyable or helpful emails, it feels like they’ve gotten a little gift. Social media rarely feels that way when you read a post, right?
2. They’ve given you access to their sacred personal space – their inbox.
How often do you want to give someone your email? You have to trust them enough not to spam you and you have to really want to know what they’re doing on a regular basis.
As it turns out, you have a group of people who’ve actually said, “Yes, I want you to send me a regular email.”
Even if you’ve not started your list of subscribers, you can ask your favorite people if it’s okay to be added to your subscribership and in no time, you’ll have a list to start with (yes, list building is a different topic so I promise to cover it in the future.)
These folks may have signed-up through your website, at an event or directly asked you to add them to your list. They made the adult decision to receive the messages that YOU send and by doing that, they actually, really, truly want to hear what you’re up to.
They likely can’t make it to every opening or schedule a studio visit to see what you’re doing. But if you send them an email, they’ll enjoy and look forward to hearing what you’re doing. You’ll create big fans who LOVE what you make.
They’ll be curious and want to see your works-in-progress, behind the scenes, your successes and even your failures. Communicating with people who want to hear from you helps to get them on your team, rooting for your and sharing your work with others who may buy or exhibit your work.
3. It motivates you to keep making.
It keeps you moving forward. A regular email plan becomes that gentle reminder that will motivate you to keep making and showing your work because you need to share something with your followers. -People are expecting to see what you’ve been doing.
4. It’s easier than you think.
It’s free to use a professional email platform like MailChimp and once you send a few emails, it won’t feel like a chore. There are many, many email platforms out there but I always recommend MailChimp because they’re free for the first 2,000 subscribers, have killer templates and they have great video tutorials to help you at every step.
If you want to check out what other email platforms offer, here’s a comparison chart. But, from teaching MailChimp to creatives like you and from using it firsthand, I know it works well.
5. Sales!
You need 7-12 touches before someone decides to make a purchase. That could be grabbing coffee with a friend, doing Facebook ads, running into people at a party, etc. Sounds like a lot of effort, right?
Using an email newsletter makes getting those 7-12 contacts with a potential buyer SO MUCH EASIER. While you’re connecting with them 7-12 times, they’re learning about the materials you use, how much time it actually takes to make that piece and more. They fall in love with what you do and you earn the trust and credibility that gets people to feel good about purchasing from you.
It shows you’re a professional if you’ve got your shit together enough to send a regular email, your reputation for being a serious maker increases hugely.
1-3% will buy when you make an offer if you’re mixing in non-ask messages 80% of the time. This means that you’re sharing what you do the majority of the time without asking someone to make a purchase or show up at your event. This is also key to not feeling pushy or too salesy.
44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email. Have you ever gotten an email that spurred you to make a purchase? I know I have.
Keep these motivating factors in mind every time you think about not sending your newsletter and you’ll feel better about pushing through and doing the work to make it happen.
If you want to sell more of the work you make this year, your e-newsletter is the single best thing you can do to leverage your time and efforts.
Take Action:
If you need to start your newsletter but aren’t sure what mailing platform to use, start with MailChimp. They’re free for up to 2,000 subscribers and offer great tutorials to get you on your way.
If you already have an e-newsletter created, sit down and write a short note to your people. Let them know what you’ve been making or share something that you enjoyed during the last month with them.
A Challenge: What’s your biggest concern in deciding to send emails to your list?
Are you afraid to sound silly or be pushy? Worried you don’t have anything interesting to talk about? ---Leave it in the comments and let’s get the conversation going! Your brave comments and questions will help everyone here.
With gratitude,
Kate