When you run a pet business, (or any business) getting more website traffic is the holy grail to your bottom line. We all want it, and we all need it to gain leads.
But doesn’t it sometimes feel like Google’s hiding the world’s greatest secret, keeping the key players at the top, and leaving the little guys at the bottom? Breaking through that SEO wall seems impossible, no matter how hard you try.
The online world is the biggest battlefield known to man. Businesses are constantly strategising and executing online marketing plans to put themselves ahead of the competition.
But how do you compete…
Well, this is my secret from me to you – email is an almighty traffic driver and selling tool.
It’s not the hours you put in on social media, or your PPC campaigns. It’s not even your blogging or SEO strategy – although they do have a big part to play. (We’ll get to that in a minute.)
According to marketing powerhouse, Hubspot, three quarters of companies agree that email offers a good to excellent ROI.
What’s more, Mckinsey found email is 40 times more effective at acquiring customers than Facebook and Twitter combined.
So what’s the reasoning… Well, people feel compelled to check their messages throughout the day. With an email address, you have direct access to pet owners. You’ve been given permission to sit in their inbox and spread your message.
With 91% of email users checking their messages at least every day, it’s no wonder email marketing is still the preferred method to engage and convert customers.
Email and content marketing
To succeed at building a list of engaged followers that look forward to your emails, you must offer value before you sell.
If someone signs up to your email list for tips and hacks, and you immediately push your products or services, what do you think they’ll do?
They’ll unsubscribe.
You failed to deliver on your promises and no one wants to be duped through a lie. It reflects badly on you and your brand.
When you understand your audience and provide email communications they really need, you build a genuine relationship. One that’s built on trust and loyalty.
You can focus all your energy on gaining high search rankings, but where’s the real value in that if they leave without joining your tribe?
How can you nurture those relationships and sell more if they soon forget about you when they click away?
Growing an email list is your greatest asset. Then if you offer consistent value for free, you’ll keep those subscribers for life.
Whether you send your latest blog post, a monthly newsletter, a podcast, an ebook, a video, or a simple useful tip delivering outstanding email content is still the best way to convert. Compared to social and direct mail, email has the highest conversion rate.
Building an email list
When most people create a piece of content, they tend to think about getting it to the top of Google or making it go viral on social media. Email is usually their last thought.
This may help you bag more Twitter followers and boost your SEO efforts, but your goal is to generate more sales. And as we saw from the stats earlier, you’d be better off putting your efforts into building a list of email subscribers who really get you and want your advice.
Social media and search traffic can be fantastic for directing people back to your website, but compared to email, their relationship with you usually stops there. You need a hook to draw them into your world. A lead magnet that makes them want to subscribe.
This comes from having a deep insight into your reader’s mind. You need to know how and why they’re suffering and offer a solution to fix it.
People will only sign up to your email list if you have information they crave.
In my this post, I explore a few killer tactics to build a list of valuable prospects.
Karly Edwards
Karly Edwards is the go-to Marketing & Productivity Coach for pet business owners who want to create more freedom, impact and income in their lives. She helps pet business owners drop the online marketing overwhelm and the daily busyness, so they can save time, make more money, and be seen as THE pet expert in their industry.