My big four steps of email marketing are:
- Get the Software
- Set it up
- Get an Audience
- Start Sending
But people get caught up on step 2 cause they just want to get to step 4. I get it.
You’ve signed up to a platform. You’ve logged in once. Maybe you even set some things up. And then… nothing.
It sits there as yet another thing on your to-do list and no emails ever get sent.
The Big Myth
Signing up to email marketing software does not equal having a functional, trustworthy, deliverable system that looks and sounds like you.
When you decide to give email marketing a go, you spend so long trying to work out which platform is the best option for you that often by the time you actually sign up to one, you can’t be bothered doing anything else.
And, you know what, that’s fair enough. You made the first step and that is huge. Give yourself a congrats and pat yourself on the back.
But then… get back into it and make it work.
What a REAL Setup Includes
Domain Authentication
The first thing I do when setting up email marketing for a client is get their domain authentication sorted out.
This step alone can be the difference between emails landing in inboxes or never being seen at all.
You have probably heard all the noise about authentication, DMARC records, SPF and DKIM and a whole bunch of other tech lingo. But what does it all mean?
Basically, your audience’s inbox will mark your email marketing as spam unless you have a unique domain name. They need to verify that your domain name is actually yours. Which means you need to add some records into your domain name host. Sounds simple, right?!
But so many of my clients can get hung up on this. First of all, don’t stress. Most platforms can now do this automatically for you. And if not, they will tell you how. Just go to the settings in your email marketing platform and find domains. It will tell you what to do from there.
Branding & sender details
The next thing I tend to do is go through all the branding and sending settings I can. This ensures that your emails will look consistent, building recognition and trust with your audience. Add your logo, your brand colours, your fonts (if you can) and make sure the sending email is always the same.
Bonus Tip: Look at what automatically goes into your footers and change anything you need to there as well
Subscriber List
You need a way to actually grow your list.
You might be starting with a small list. You might already have a signup form on your website. If you do, please make sure it actually works. (You’d be surprised how often this is the missing piece.)
If you don’t have a form yet, create one. There’s no point having your email marketing platform perfectly set up if no one can subscribe to it.
Your goal here is simple: make it easy for the right people to get onto your list.
Bonus Tip: Create a lead magnet to give people a reason to sign up. Add a form to your website or create a simple landing page, promote it on socials, and let your list grow in the background while you focus on your business.
segmentation
Sort out your lists and segments now. I know it feels like it would be so much easier to do later, but trust me, future you will thank you for doing it now. If you’re not sure, start with a simple ‘Newsletter’ segment, add segments for any lead magnets you have (or are planning on having) and figure out if you want to segment based on any demographics.
For example: I have a nutritionist client that deals with pre and post-natal women. Obviously, you don’t always want breastfeeding advice when you are in the early stages of pregnancy, just like you don’t need tips on morning sickness when you bub is 4 months old. So, we segment based on the stage of pregnancy/Mum life.
Templates
Templates are such a great tool to make sending emails a breeze. I see so many people reinvent the wheel every time they send an email, templates remove that friction. Set one or two up now, then when you want to send an email, you have a starting line.
Bonus Tip: Add a great email signature to your template so you don’t have to write the same name, P.S and enter your social links every time.
Automations
And this one is my absolute favourite to do. Set up your automations. A Welcome email should be the bare minimum. And yet, it’s the most commonly missed automation I see. A Welcome Series would be great. Any additional sequences are gold.
Set up your automations to introduce yourself, deliver a lead magnet if you have one and let your audience know what you can do for them.
What Happens When You Skip the Setup
Skip these steps and not only will your emails land in spam folders instead of inboxes. You will end up with inconsistent branding, no welcome experience for your audience, you’ll be manually sending everything. And worst of all, you will end up feeling terrible about email marketing. It WILL end up in the too-hard basket yet again.
Do I really have to do all this?
Ok, I get it, this seems like a lot.
And it is.
But I’m not going to leave you on your own.
Prefer to do it yourself (with a plan)?
If you’re thinking “I could probably do this… I just don’t want to stuff it up”, start with my No-Fuss Guide to Setting Up Your Email Marketing.
It breaks the entire setup process into clear, manageable steps and includes a checklist so you can tick things off as you go. Without second-guessing yourself.
Want it done properly (and done for you)?
And if you’re reading this thinking “I don’t want another thing on my plate”, that’s exactly what my done-for-you setup is for. I’ll take care of the tech, the settings, and the structure so you can simply show up and send.