Marketing automation can help you get closer to your customers. “Automating” anything makes it sound like it would be robotic and impersonal, but in fact, it can be more personal. If you do it right, marketing automation can help you speak to different customers differently, depending on their needs and interests.
But of course, like anything, how you do it matters quite a bit. In this week’s episode, I give you a behind-the-scenes tour of a (moderately) complex marketing automation sequence, in practice. The case example comes from the actual marketing campaign from my new online course, CreateBiz – see below for links.
As I always do with my students in class, I try to show things that are actually happening with live projects in the real world. When it’s done right, content strategy works. And wherever possible, I want you to be able to see it in practice so that you can take what you’ve learned back to your own content strategy.
I am going to devote a future series in this podcast to the mechanics of list segmentation and how to set up some simple email automation sequences. If you want me to notify you, just subscribe to this podcast: https://controlmousemedia.com/subscribe.
Listen to Episode 98 here or in your favorite podcast player.
Show Notes
Here’s a guide to the episode, with links to everything I mentioned within it:
Learn by Watching
You can see this case example unfold in real time if you sign up to receive a set of free email lessons. Please note that the launch sequence is a little different now than described in the episode – I’m constantly tweaking it to optimize its effectiveness.
- Landing page: https://controlmousemedia.com/content-marketing-for-creatives (scroll down to see the sign-up form)
- Free eBook: https://controlmousemedia.com/ebook (triggers an email lesson sequence)
Learn from Other Episodes
In this episode, I refer to Unit 1 of my recent series, The New Business Mindset. It’s about the counterintuitive lessons that content strategy has taught me about running a business. Unit 2 continues with The New Marketing & Sales.
In setting up your own email “lesson” sequence, resist the urge to sell, sell, sell. Instead, teach, teach, teach. Content Strategy Is Teaching: http://bit.ly/teaching-your-customers.
Lastly, Respect Your Customer enough to make a purchase decision on her own. She’ll get there, if 1) you provide enough value to her, and 2) if you give her time.
Learn Mailchimp
In this example, I use MailChimp. That’s because MailChimp is the best email marketing software. I use it for my own business, and if I have a say in it, my clients use it too. Chimp Essentials is the best way to learn MailChimp – it’s how I learned to go beyond the basics. I highly recommend it – Paul Jarvis is a great teacher, and extremely clear in his video walk-throughs. Use coupon code CECOUPON to get a $20 discount off Chimp Essentials (not an affiliate link).
Learn the Ask Method
This email sequence and the philosophy behind is based heavily on Ryan Levesque’s “Ask” method. Learn more about it in his book: Ask by Ryan Levesque (affiliate link).
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