This episode is another preview of content that will be included in my upcoming book.
Two episodes ago I requested that you rethink your social media marketing with the role of user-generated content in mind.
This episode I want you to rethink the role that email marketing can have in developing communication pathways and ultimately relationships of business value.
Ever thought about the untapped power of email marketing? Buckle up, because in this episode, we're blowing the lid off the incredible potency that rests in your inbox. That's right, email marketing isn't just alive and kicking; it's a heavy hitter, 40 times more potent in snagging you new customers than social media.
We're not just talking about mere promotional tools. We're diving into relationship-building resources. How, you ask? By focusing on consistent communication, lead magnets, content creation, and the art of nurturing the customer journey. The cherry on top? An overview of welcome emails and lead nurture sequences that will leave you awestruck: a whopping 80% open rate and 320% more revenue! But we don't just wow you with figures; we provide you with the hands-on tools to conjure up the perfect welcome email and lead nurture sequences.
But the episode doesn't stop there. We also delve into promotional emails - not just as a sales tool, but as a powerful relationship builder. From boosting brand awareness to generating demand and showcasing your products or services, we cover it all. We also discuss the role of time-bound discount and event emails, and how they can up your customer interaction game. Finally, we reveal how you can make each email experience unique for your customers by leveraging special occasions. So, gear up for a ride that takes email marketing to a whole new level. Let's hit it!
Learn More:
This episode is another preview of content that will be included in my upcoming book.
Two episodes ago I requested that you rethink your social media marketing with the role of user-generated content in mind.
This episode I want you to rethink the role that email marketing can have in developing communication pathways and ultimately relationships of business value.
Ever thought about the untapped power of email marketing? Buckle up, because in this episode, we're blowing the lid off the incredible potency that rests in your inbox. That's right, email marketing isn't just alive and kicking; it's a heavy hitter, 40 times more potent in snagging you new customers than social media.
We're not just talking about mere promotional tools. We're diving into relationship-building resources. How, you ask? By focusing on consistent communication, lead magnets, content creation, and the art of nurturing the customer journey. The cherry on top? An overview of welcome emails and lead nurture sequences that will leave you awestruck: a whopping 80% open rate and 320% more revenue! But we don't just wow you with figures; we provide you with the hands-on tools to conjure up the perfect welcome email and lead nurture sequences.
But the episode doesn't stop there. We also delve into promotional emails - not just as a sales tool, but as a powerful relationship builder. From boosting brand awareness to generating demand and showcasing your products or services, we cover it all. We also discuss the role of time-bound discount and event emails, and how they can up your customer interaction game. Finally, we reveal how you can make each email experience unique for your customers by leveraging special occasions. So, gear up for a ride that takes email marketing to a whole new level. Let's hit it!
Learn More:
Email is nearly 40 times more effective in obtaining new customers than social media. But there's a lot that goes into email, not only building up your list, but once you have a list, how on earth do you go about communicating with your list on a regular basis? What are the different communication paths that you can build between you and your target audience? What is going to be the subject of this next episode of the Digital Marketing Coach Podcast?
Speaker 2:Hey everybody.
Speaker 1:this is Neil Schaefer, your Digital Marketing Coach, and welcome to my podcast, if you're new here.
Speaker 1:I am a digital content influencer, social media marketing, fractional CMO marketing, coach, author, speaker, educator. I do all that, and this podcast is really my icky guy my love to share what I've learned with all of you. Now, half of these episodes are solo episodes, like the one today, and half of them I also interview experts, authors, people that I am inspired by and I want to learn from, and therefore I know that you'll want to as well. If you are a dedicated subscriber, I welcome you back Now this podcast because it covers a broad range of content. That is, digital marketing. You can understand that there are certain topics that I tend to talk more about and some less about. Now, email marketing is one of these critical, critical things that we need to do in digital marketing, and it's something that often isn't given a lot of love, isn't really talked about, maybe as much as it should be. It seems intuitive, but I think it's actually a lot deeper than that. So, in the history of this podcast in fact, if you were to go to podcastneilschaefercom, you can actually sample and search for all of the 336 episodes, including this one today, including in 2013, but I've really only covered email only 5 times Episode number 269, which was last year, with my interview with Bobby Clink, author of a book on email marketing, and then, before that, episode number 250, the why and how of email marketing. And then we have to go back to 2020, right after the coronavirus pandemic started the hidden power of email marketing to scale your digital influence and then man back to 2014 and 2013. So today is an update, but also today is part of my own process of writing my next book and developing and fleshing out more content. Now, today is really this concept of building paths to communicate with our audience through email messaging. We are creating content, sending it through emails, and we're building upon the trust that people gave in us when they became our customer or when they signed up to our list, through the strategic use of lead magnets, and that is actually something that is covered in the book. I don't have a separate podcast episode for you but hopefully that will entice. You. Don't want to read the book, but beginning with the lead magnet and you should all have lead magnets If you go to leadmagnetcom you'll see my lead magnet, very popular in B2B companies. Even B2C companies will give you 10% off your first order to get your email address. But the problem is that the lead magnet is only the beginning, and just as developing relationships is critical to being successful in other areas of marketing, so it is in email communication as well.
Speaker 1:If, according to a famous McKinsey study, email is nearly 40 times more effective in obtaining new customers than social media, then the secret lies in the follow-up Not just the fact that they're on your list. But, to put it simply, unless you communicate with your subscribers, you lose out on the opportunity to further develop those relationships. People forget why they subscribe to your newsletter. They change jobs and less email addresses. They forget about you. Over time, the email algorithms see your emails not get opened and soon you're in the promotions tab, if not the spam folder, of your recipient's email client. This is why many experts in the field recommend that you need to communicate with people on your list on at least a weekly basis in order to keep them quote unquote warm, while some advocate believe it or not for as frequent as daily communication. Now you need to keep the conversation going, but you also need to have a reason to reach out to those people that showed interest in your lead magnets. You need a system, a process and lots of ideas on how to build paths of communication that will lead people on your list to ultimately becoming your customers and repeat customers.
Speaker 1:The aim of this podcast episode as it is the chapter that I'm writing for my book is to do exactly that by showing you the seven main different communication paths we can have with our list. But before we do that, let's first remind ourselves of the importance of relationships when it comes to email marketing, something we often forget. Now we know that building a successful business is all about fostering relationships, right. So how do we cultivate and strengthen those connections? The answer is simple consistent communication, particularly with those who have shown an interest in our offerings. And we can broaden our horizons beyond just emails. Social media interactions, old fashioned snail mail or face-to-face meetings can also obviously be effective. The goal for any of these is to keep our brand, our company, our business, front and center in the minds of our potential and current clients.
Speaker 1:Now re-imagine viewing email not just as a communication tool, but as a relationship builder and a way to secure your brand's place in the market. Over time, this approach will boost your sales, drawing in new prospects and keeping existing customers coming back for more, and it's not just about the immediate sales. Consistent communication enhances customer loyalty and promotes advocacy. Think about it. Aren't products easier to sell when customers return again and again? And doesn't a positive experience with one product encourage customers to try others? In a world where top-notch customer service seems to be becoming a rarity, satisfied customers become invaluable advocates recommending your brand to friends, family and colleagues. So let's reframe our perspective on email. It's more than a marketing tool. It is a powerful resource for building relationships with those who are starting to engage with your brand. Now. By visualizing email marketing as a funnel, you'll better understand the diverse communication paths you can take, tailored to where your prospects are on their unique journeys, your call to action or leveraging email as a relationship builder. Today. So you've built that robust email list Congratulations.
Speaker 1:Now what the real work begins in transforming those leads into loyal customers and advocates to fuel your sales engine. The secret weapon, a meticulously crafted email marketing funnel, the digital thread of the funnel applied to your email communication, is a fantastic way to begin the work of creating a variety of communication pathways between you and your customers and prospects. Now, you've probably heard this before, but they say it takes anywhere from 5 on the low end to 20 on the high end touches to convert a prospect. What is the best way in a digital first world to get those touches? Well, you know the answer, hands down it is email. No social media or search engine algorithms stand in our way, and our list is truly a brand asset that we own and have control over. But you have to have something to say and it has to have value to the recipient. Now an interesting stat to share with you before I go any further is that email as a communication path becomes more effective when you follow up. In fact, data suggests that sending a three email sequence and I'm going to cover what a sequence is in a moment rather than a single email, we're earn 90% more sales on welcome emails, 75% more on reactivation emails and boast a 63% improvement over singular abandoned cart emails.
Speaker 1:Now I'm going to go into each of these types of emails in this or a follow up chapter on email automation. That is also going to become an integral part of my next book. But let's first start with the funnel and then I will introduce you the specific pathways and where they make sense inside the funnel, regardless of what stage your customers are in their buying journey. Now we can break the email marketing funnel, as you can imagine, down to a few integral stages. I'm going to go with awareness, interest, conversion, loyalty and advocacy. Now awareness is the top of the funnel, where potential customers become leads when they acquire your lead magnet. But guess what? Yours is not the only lead magnet they are downloading, and in a world inundated with marketing messages, how can you make yours stand out? Well, the answer really lies in brand awareness. Your first mission is to introduce your brand, articulate your values and highlight your offerings by overcoming initial skepticism or unfamiliarity. You've already made significant progress. Now. The best way to do this is through a welcome email or sequence. A note on those shortly.
Speaker 1:Next, we move to interest. It's the funnel's midsection, where leads are nurtured. Capturing attention is just the beginning. Many will question is this relevant to me or my business? Particularly in fiercely competitive markets, moving beyond the stage is no small feat. That is where lead nurturing comes into play. As you consistently communicate, your audience gains a deeper understanding of your brand, which can and will influence their purchasing decisions. This is achieved through the pathway of a lead nurturing sequence More on this to come shortly as well.
Speaker 1:We then move into conversion. It's the lower end of the funnel where your leads become customers. So now the time has come to shift from nurturing to action oriented selling. While we value customer relationships on both personal and professional levels, the ultimate goal obviously here is to drive sales. The conversion stage aims to inspire spending by ensuring customers see the value in your offerings and feel confident about their purchase decisions, and this can come around through a variety of communication pathways that I'm going to go through, but it really comes down to repeating for all of you again ensuring customers see the value in your offerings and feeling confident about their purchasing decisions, and these are things that we need to entice throughout all of our communication.
Speaker 1:The next we have loyalty. It's the cycle of the funnel that retains customers. As the popular saying goes, retaining customers is more cost effective than acquiring new ones. Your email marketing funnel should therefore include strategies for fostering customer loyalty. This could include tailoring offers based on previous purchases or exclusive customer loyalty sales. It's all about customization and exclusivity. Some of this can be done through marketing automation, which is going to be a follow up challenge, which is going to be a follow up chapter to this one, or a follow up podcast episode, or through various promotional messages.
Speaker 1:And then we get to the final stage in the email marketing funnel, the stage of advocacy. It is the activation of a loyal customer into hopefully becoming an influencer promoting your brand. So the final stage focuses on promoting advocacy. Encourage customers to leave reviews or spread the word about your fantastic products. Remember, personal referrals are a timeless form of influencer marketing. Now, if you remember my podcast episode of just two weeks ago episode number 334, re-imagine your social media with user-generated content. If you remember my passionate plea because I think you're all going to be more successful to publish more user-generated content, your messaging here in the advocacy stage can also help that become a reality. Better yet, invite them to become a brand ambassador for your company, something I will discuss in a dedicated chapter in my upcoming book as well.
Speaker 1:So understanding the importance of relationships and re-envisioning our email communication through the funnel lens is crucial. However, including storytelling at every stage can completely transform this process. This would be a really good time to actually pause. I know you're in the middle of the episode, but pause and take a moment to listen to my podcast interview with Bobby Klink, episode number 269, entitled how Email Marketing Generates Sales Once you Get it All right. Well, whether you listen to it or not, I don't know, I highly recommend you do, whether you do it now or after this episode, if you want to dig deeper before my book comes out. But at the end of the day, what message do you want to convey to those that have an interest in working with you? If marketing is storytelling, email gives you the opportunity to tell your story over and over, in a variety of perspectives and dimensions. Email allows you and your company to become a friend and trusted advisor through a variety of communication pathways. Let's start to dig deeper into them as I introduce you to what I believe are the seven primary methods to communicate on a regular basis with your list.
Speaker 1:All right, number one the welcome email, or emails. We all know that first impressions matter in life. In a similar vein, have you ever thought about the power of the first interaction you have with your customers? Welcome emails, my friend or friends, are that crucial first handshake in the digital world. Did you know that welcome emails actually boast an incredible open rate of over 80%? That is significantly higher than any other traditional email campaign. In fact, it is said that more than 70% of consumers actually expect to receive a welcome email after signing up or making a purchase. Taking the importance of these emails one step further, sending out welcome emails is also highly profitable, because data suggests that they bring in the most revenue on a per email basis than the ones which follow. In fact, each welcome email earns an average of 320% more revenue than other marketing emails.
Speaker 1:As a business owner, you know the importance of saying thank you, but in the realm of e-commerce, specifically, expressing gratitude and welcome emails goes beyond just words. It's about offering real value to your customers by providing enticing discounts or attractive sign up incentives which you might have offered as your lead magnet. The result is you not only foster engagement, but you also lay a strong foundation for future communication. Most more, these emails often incentivize larger purchases. But remember, your welcome emails are more than just a thank you note or a discount coupon. They are your brand's introduction to the customer. In an era where face to face interactions are becoming rare, it's essential to make your customers feel welcome and provide them with all the information they need about your company, products, subscriptions and policies.
Speaker 1:So how do you create a perfect welcome email? You keep it simple, short, relevant content is key. Make your subject line inviting and easy to understand. Highlight the benefits of joining your community. Showcase some of your future products and sprinkle in some glowing customer reviews. Add a clear call to action at the end and don't forget to include contact details, website links and social media pages for easy access. In essence, your welcome emails should be the beginning of a beautiful relationship with your customers. So are you ready to make a lasting first impression?
Speaker 1:This is where we get to the second pathway of email communication, which are lead nurture sequences, which are also called drip campaigns. And what it comes down to is have you ever thought about what happens after that crucial first welcome email? This is where a nurturing sequence comes into play. That's the inception of email marketing. These campaigns have been a marketers powerful weapon. Picture a series of emails starting with a warm welcome message, designed with one goal in mind to build trust and foster deep connections with your audience.
Speaker 1:Now let me first explain some terminology for those not familiar with the term email sequence. An email sequence sounds complex, but it merely indicates a series of emails that are preplanned and sent one after another. They are usually time, to be sent out on a frequency of every X days and dispatched to your entire audience or a chosen subset, irrespective of their actions. Note that some call these drip campaigns, as the messages are regularly dripped out over a period of time. Now, most email software solutions have this functionality built in, making it easy for you to develop these. The email software that I use, convertkit, has actually a menu item called sequences, which makes it easy for you to create these. If you've ever downloaded one of my freebies, you have probably gone through one of my sequences. You can understand the way that I do. My sequences are I generally communicate on a weekly basis.
Speaker 1:A nurturing sequence simply allows you to tell your story over multiple emails and develop a deeper relationship with your potential clients or current customers, one email at a time. By nurturing your relationship with them. This is where they truly get to know your brand, its values and the relationship they are stepping into. By providing valuable content in a consistent message, you're not just communicating. You are cultivating customer loyalty and driving conversions. But the question remains how do you create an effective nurturing sequence? The answer lies in understanding three key elements who is your brand, who is your audience and what value do you offer them? How you create. You're sharing your stories and mixing those elements with every single one of these emails as part of your nurturing sequence. This is going to be art. You're going to have to be creative. Everybody listening is going to have a different way of doing it, but I really want you to brainstorm. What are the best stories, what are the best ways in which you can become a better friend with everybody on your list and deepen that relationship?
Speaker 1:Now, while not all welcome emails result in immediate purchases or conversions, that doesn't signal the end of your email marketing strategy. On the contrary, it presents more opportunities. You know, sometimes the person on the other end might not have had time to place an order right away. They might have trouble making a selection. Reminding them of your great deals through leading nurturing emails might just provide the push they need to complete that sale. Now this leads us to the third pathway, which is the regular frequency newsletter. Now the welcome email and lead nurture sequence should be the first pathway as a communication that you build with the public.
Speaker 1:However, after your sequence emails end, so does your communication. How do you keep your brand at the forefront of your customers' minds? This is where the workhorse of email marketing, a strategy as old as email itself comes in newsletters. In fact, if you were to opt in to one of my freebies, you would go through a welcome sequence for that particular subject of the freebie that you downloaded and then, once that sequence ends, you are then tagged and merged into receiving my weekly newsletter. Now, whether you opt for a weekly rhythm, a monthly update or another regular cadence, newsletters are your way of saying hey, we're here and we have something interesting to share. But remember, the frequency really depends on how much news you have or any other information you have that is genuinely worth sharing, because losing a subscriber is just one unsubscribe click away.
Speaker 1:So what should you include in these newsletter emails? Well, think of a mix of industry news and developments, trends, blog content, curated pieces that your audience might find useful, interesting FAQs from your customer service department, perhaps some thought leadership material or the latest industry discussions. The goal, irrespective of the content, is to build brand affinity. Remember, people like to feel connected to a brand and I think the younger the generation, the more that is the case, and they tend to spend more when they do. Now, while newsletters are more common among B2B brands and nonprofits. In fact, did you know that a whopping 83% of B2B companies are said to be sending newsletter emails. Don't overlook their potential in e-commerce email marketing, especially for newer companies experiencing rapid changes.
Speaker 1:Keeping your audience informed through newsletters or when you have new products can foster a sense of connection and encourage higher spending. The key is to establish a frequency in format that works for the unique needs of your audience. Now, from my own personal experience, I offer my own subscribers the ability to receive updates of new blog posts the day they are published, combined with weekly newsletters a weekly newsletter on its own or a monthly newsletter on its own. I also have a format for each newsletter, which includes speaking specifically of the weekly and monthly newsletter, which includes my own personal updates, followed by a recent YouTube video, my latest podcast episode and a host of news article summaries and links that transpired over the last week or month to help keep my audience informed and up to date. How you set up your own cadence and content will come down to your unique brand and relationship with your list. It might take time to perfect your rhythm, so make sure you test different things out and read the data in your email analytics that your software solution provides you to find the perfect combination of elements that work the best for your audience. So we've covered the welcome email, the lead, nurture sequence, the newsletter.
Speaker 1:The next type of content I will call educational content, or tutorials and tips. Now, educational content could actually be part of the welcome email, the lead, nurture sequence, or even form the basis of your regular newsletter, or it could be something that is totally separate. Remember this if your brand offers products or services with a creative twist, such as beauty products or art supplies, wouldn't it be beneficial to guide your customers on how best to use these products? Imagine an email series packed with tips, tricks and tutorials delivered straight to your customers inbox right after they receive their welcome email and or finished their nurture sequence. Or what about sending out a handy educational guide whenever you're launching a new product, something that seemed like a practical way to keep your audience engaged and informed. Here's an interesting fact it said that customers respond positively to detailed product information, so why not make the most of this opportunity to connect with them? By doing so, providing them this educational information, you're not just selling a product or service indirectly, you're providing a valuable resource that enhances their user experience. What about a win-win situation for both your brand and your customers?
Speaker 1:In conclusion, talking about educational content, email marketing is more than just promotional. It's about adding value, building relationships and driving customer engagement. Some emails are a prime example of this. Now the fifth type of email might be the most popular type because it is the promotional type, the campaign, the broadcast, the promotional email. And in fact, these types of emails should need no introduction, as I assume you are used to getting a ton of these in your inbox. But to give a brief definition, picture this An email message with a clear, direct call to action that lands right in your customer's inbox and its mission is to introduce and promote a new product or service, or a current product, but ultimately the drive sales. Think about all those enticing special offers you come across. They too are part of this category.
Speaker 1:Promotional emails offer an effective way to engage your audience, showcase your latest offerings and boost your revenue. But remember, crafting an effective promotional email is an art, like everything else I'm talking about. It requires a delicate balance of persuasive language, enticing offers and a compelling call to action, and it can be tempting to always be sending a promotional email, and that's why I waited until now to mention these, because I think they will be all the more effective once you have developed a deeper relationship with your target audience. Also, if you think about it, similar to social media, what happens when every message you receive from a company is about a promotion? You either tune them out or you only purchase when there is a discount. There will be a segment of your subscribers who subscribed to your emails for promotions because they only buy things on sale, and this could work to your advantage. However, to maximize your opportunities in developing relationships with your list, I recommend that you don't limit your messages to only the promotional type. Now that we have that out of the way, let me talk about the different types of promotional emails that exist Sales and discounts.
Speaker 1:The strategic use of promotional emails can dynamically increase awareness about the latest deals on your website. Imagine the scenario you're planning a massive Black Friday sale, offering anything from a flat percentage off your entire website to highlighting your loss leader. The right email blasts can not only inform your customers about these exciting offers, but also significantly boost demand for your sale event. Now, somewhat related to that are time-bound discount emails. So who said discounts are only for holiday seasons? In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, sales and discounts are not limited to special occasions. Many online platforms host regular discount events, always with the enticing tagline for a limited time. But here's the catch If your customers aren't aware of these opportunities, they're likely to miss out. After all, how many of us randomly browse an e-commerce site waiting for a sale? Most people buy when they need something or they wait for a sale notification that can be delivered in a time-bound discount email, and then we have the product launch right.
Speaker 1:Promotional emails, as you can imagine, can be a powerful tool when launching a new product. These emails not only offer a platform to showcase your latest offerings, but they also allow you to provide practical use cases that resonate with your customers. The impact of these promotional emails can be further amplified when combined with other marketing strategies. Consider this scenario You're collaborating with an influencer for product launch. What could be more efficient than augmenting this with an email featuring the influencer's tutorial of your new product? This strategy not only enhances the reach of your influencer marketing, but also persuades your customers through a trusted voice via your email communication. These emails also serve as an excellent opportunity to highlight the benefits of these new products, enticing your customers to try them out. Moreover, these emails, when done right, can direct your subscribers to relevant educational content on your website regarding these products, thereby reinforcing your content marketing efforts.
Speaker 1:We are now at the sixth major type of communication pathway through email that can help us develop relationships with everybody on our list. This is about holidays and seasonal promotions. This is a different type of promotional email because it revolves around holidays and seasons and thus can be prepared really far in advance. These emails are an important category because timeliness in your email marketing strategy can significantly boost your revenue. In fact, research from the National Retail Federation reveals that holiday sales contribute to 20% of total sales. However, it's important to note that time-specific email marketing is not confined to winter holidays or summer festivities. Your company should also focus on commemorating other special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Should you have access to that data, and even if you don't have access to that data, you can still celebrate milestones in the relationship with your company, like the fifth anniversary of being a loyal customer. These personalized emails often outperform their traditional holiday counterparts in terms of revenue generation. By acknowledging your customer's significant milestones, you're not only enhancing customer loyalty, but also creating opportunities for increased sales.
Speaker 1:We now come down to the seventh communication pathway, and this is events. Did you know that event emails are one of the most effective types of email marketing? The reason is simple people love to be part of special events. For instance, is your sales team getting ready for the next big industry expo? Why not let your subscribers in on it? You never know when a potential or existing customer is eagerly waiting to experience your latest product released first hand. Sure, they could reach out to your sales team, but isn't it more exciting to interact with current users at a special event?
Speaker 1:And, of course, the power of event emails extends beyond physical events. Physical events continue to offer a convenient way for people to engage with your products and services or be educated on them from the comfort of their own homes or offices. What's more, virtual events can attract individuals who may not have the resources to attend a physical event. So by sending out event emails, you're giving more people the opportunity to benefit from your brand's offerings, and I'm not just talking about B2B events. If you're an e-commerce company, that livestream that you do together with an influencer might be something your audience wants to tune into. So remember, it's all about informing, engaging and creating opportunities for your audience to experience what your brand has to offer, whether it is physically and or virtually, and that is the power and value of event emails.
Speaker 1:So we've covered the staples of email communication for any type of business. These seven types of communication pathways types of emails should give you a strong foundation to build a deep relationship over time with your email subscribers and hopefully now you will never be at a loss as to what to say to those that have gone out of their way to provide you their email address to keep them in your brand affinity, in your sphere of influence and hopefully convert them to becoming a customer, if not a repeat customer. Now, email marketing is not limited to just these seven communication pathways and is really only limited by your imagination. There are also a whole host of other automated pathways, including transactional emails, things like abandoned card emails, that I'm going to cover in a later chapter or podcast episode. But suffice to say I'm really hoping that this episode of my podcast really gets you started in this concept of relationship building over email, and I know that your company will be all the more successful for that.
Speaker 1:If you are trying to figure out, hey, neil, what email software, what email marketing solution, can help me do all this, most email solutions will help you do this. I will repeat and I'll put these affiliate links in my show notes If you are a solopreneur, small business owner, content creator, convert kit would be the tool that I recommend you use, and it has a lot of the sophisticated functionality. If you are e-commerce or a larger B2B brand, you will probably want to go to Active Campaign. Although Clavio is also very, very popular in the Shopify e-commerce community, I still prefer Active Campaign. Maybe that's another subject for another podcast episode as well. I also have some blog posts that I will put in these show notes as well to help guide you through other email marketing tools, because there are a lot of them out there and there are new ones emerging all the time. And, yes, there are AI email tools as well in terms of writing email messages. That might also help you if you are not a natural email writer. So I'll include all those links in the show notes as a resource, but I hope you really, through this episode, similar to how in episode 334, my mission to help you reimagine your social media with user-generated content. I'm hoping that this help you also reimagine your email marketing as a relationship building tool, not as a way of mass spamming or overly promoting people that may soon lose interest, with you really losing out on that opportunity and really creating a lot of hidden losses for your company. So I'll leave you this week with that message. I'll be back next week with a special guest.
Speaker 1:I want to make sure that if you haven't hit that subscribe button, you did, and if you've already hit that subscribe button, I want to encourage you to leave a review of this podcast on Apple podcasts, formerly known as iTunes. I mentioned this in my last podcast episode. This is episode number 336, and I only have 58 reviews on Apple podcasts. I'm really honored that I have 58 ratings, but my goal is hopefully, in the not so distant future, I can get to 100 ratings. So for every three episodes, I have one rating is sort of how the math would work. If you decide to rate this podcast, make sure that you reach out to me, let me know. I'd love to share it with my audience on this podcast. So the most recent review I want to share with you, it is from Aaron. Your tips on LinkedIn 2023 were practical, well researched and fun to listen to. Well, thank you, aaron. For those of you that might have missed that episode, that episode was episode number 332, linkedin updates for 2023.
Speaker 1:You need to know, I am a co-founder of level up creators, where we help creators build profitable and purpose driven businesses around their areas of expertise. I'm always grateful to run across other leaders in the creator economy. There are so many creators who benefit from your advice. I'm looking forward to diving into more of your episodes in the future. Thanks again for creating such an awesome podcast. Yes, if you were to drop your name in your business, I will read it aloud as well, because I'm so appreciative of these reviews. So, aaron, co-founder of level up creators, I appreciate your reaching out. Who knows, maybe you'll be a guest of mine on a future episode. All right, everybody, let's end there. This signals the end of another hopefully you thought exciting episode. I'm always excited by recording these of the digital marketing coach podcast. This is your digital marketing coach, neil Schaefer, signing off.
Speaker 2:You've been listening to your digital marketing coach. Questions, comments, requests, links. Go to podcastneilschaefercom. Get the show notes to this and 200 plus podcast episodes at neilschaefercom to tap in to the 400 plus blog posts that Neil has published to support your business. While you're there, check out Neil's digital first group coaching membership community If you or your business needs a little helping hand. See you next time on your digital marketing coach.