5 types of email sequences service-based solopreneurs need.

As we all know by now, email marketing is the most lucrative form of digital marketing that's available to us right now. For every £1 you spend, you can expect around £36 in return, with a properly configured system that's been optimised for your particular audience.

In order to automate your email marketing system, you must employ email sequences that are triggered automatically, whenever a predefined event occurs; for example, someone subscribes to your email list.

Here is a structure that I use in my own system, and you can swipe it for your own if you want.

1. Lead magnet sequence

This is a series of emails that are drip-fed to every subscriber who requests a particular lead magnet from you. For example, if they download a free checklist that you may offer on your website.

With a lead magnet sequence, you should send 4-6 emails that complement and support the original lead magnet; for example, if the lead magnet was "Free Email Marketing Checklist" then the follow-up email sequence should add even more value (e.g. deeper detail) to the outcome for the subscriber - after all, that's what they raised their hand to show an interest in.

2. Welcome sequence

Now that your subscriber has joined your list, and probably consumed one of your lead magnets, now it's time to share a bit about you and your business. If you do this too soon, there's a chance you'll make your subscribers reach for that 'unsubscribe' link.

Again, this could be 3-5 emails that shares content about how you got into [ blank ] (whatever you do), a bit about your values (not necessarily explicit declarations, more subtle likes/dislikes), and what it is you do for your clients. By the end of the sequence, all your subscribers will have a baseline knowledge of who you are and what you do.

3. Evergreen sequence

Once your subscribers have completed your welcome sequence, it's time to move them into your 'evergreen' content. An 'evergreen' sequence contains a long list of emails that have been crafted to share value with the reader, whilst not becoming dated over time.

A good cadence to adopt with evergreen content is one email per week, and have an objective to craft in excess of 50 emails. This will give you a long period of time where your subscribers get great content, and you don't need to do anything because you've already done it before they reach that point in the sequence.

4. Sales sequence

When your subscribers are ready for it (and not before!), it's time to drip-feed them with a sales sequence that offers something of real value to them, and attracts revenue into your business (after all, that's why we're here, right?).

A typical sales sequence will start by laying out what the proposition is and how it will benefit them. Over a period of time (e.g. a week) you drip-feed the content (4-10 emails), with each email delivering more information and value to the reader. The emails in a sales sequence must be effective, otherwise they become redundant sequences.

5. Post Purchase sequence

This is a sequence that many email marketers omit, and they do at their peril. The one thing you really want to drive home when someone has purchased something from you is that they made the right decision in doing so. This helps to eliminate buyer's remorse and helps them to better see the value in what they have just bought.

A post purchase sequence would normally contain 4-6 emails that helps explain more about what they bought; e.g. how to use it; how to build it; how to engage with it; how to get the most from it...etc.

All five of these sequences can be (and should be) automated so that your business runs on autopilot wherever possible. It's a much better experience for your prospects and clients, and your life becomes immeasurably easier.

These sequences can all be easily created, and automated, using an email marketing platform, like ConvertKit

💡Tip: For sequence numbers 1, 4, and 5 - create multiple sequences (one for each element). You only need one 'Welcome' sequence, as it's the same no matter how your leads arrive. Also your 'evergreen' sequence can contain any number of emails, as they'll be drip-fed weekly to your list.

Hi, my name's Reader and I'm a content creator.

If you're in the 'service' sector; in other words, selling services rather than physical products, then you MUST accept that you have to be (or become) a good content creator. We now live in a time when there's more content available than at any other time in history.

Just looking at the huge range of social and content platforms in existence today, it's apparent that it's growing at an exponential rate and it's not stopping any time soon!

So, if you haven't accepted it yet, it's time to do it now! You ARE a content creator! 😊

To become proficient at creating content on a regular basis, you need a process to attract leads into your email list.

Here's the process that I use; you might find it helpful in your business too.

Ask yourself these 4 questions:

1. What will I create content about?

State your main content focus (e.g. to help service-based solopreneurs grow their businesses).
Choose 3 content sub-categories to focus on (e.g. 'Email marketing', 'Content marketing', 'Biz strategies').

2. Where will I share my content?

Select your preferred platform(s) on which to share your content (e.g. LinkedIn, Substack, YouTube, Twitter etc.)

3. Which content formats will I create?

For example;
- Text posts on LinkedIn
- Videos on YouTube
- Blog posts on my website
- Newsletter editions on LinkedIn

4. With which frequency will I share my content?

For example;
- Daily posts on LinkedIn
- Weekly video on YouTube
- Weekly blog post on my website
- Monthly Newsletter edition on LinkedIn

Create a content schedule

Once you've answered the 4 questions, you now need to create a schedule for doing the actual content creation. The process of creating content can often take longer than you first think, so don't underestimate the time required.

My advice is to figure out slots for focusing only on content creation and to batch process your planned content. By "batch process", I mean if you're going to create LinkedIn posts, then batch create perhaps a week's worth at a time - this will greatly improve your efficiencies because you can stay focused and not bounce around from one thing to another.

When it comes to scheduling your content, there are a number of options available to you (most have a free plan) - personally, I use one called Publer.

💡Tip: Create scheduled slots for creating your content and book time into your calendar so that it gets done - no compromise! I personally use Google calendar and work on my content between 7:00am - 8:30am each morning.

A self-made billionaire who started with a blank Canva[s]!

This is a story of a young female entrepreneur who transformed the graphics and design software landscape.

Born in 1987, to an Australian mother and a Malaysian father, Melanie Perkins is the founder of Canva, the design platform that is widely used to create social media graphics and presentations.

Perkins had a dream of building a graphic design platform that was easy to use, even with limited design skills.

In 2007, she was teaching design classes in Perth, Australia. One day, she realised that her students were struggling with the complex software tools that were available at the time.

Melanie believed that everyone should have access to design tools that were easy to use, so she set out to create a solution.

She teamed up with her boyfriend at the time, Cliff Obrecht, and they started a company called Fusion Books.

Fusion Books allowed high school students to create their own yearbooks online, using simple drag-and-drop tools. The company was a success, but Melanie and Cliff quickly realised that their software could be used for more than just yearbooks.

Canva quickly gained traction, with users around the world signing up for the platform. The company raised millions of dollars in funding and hired top talent from companies like Google and Facebook. Today, Canva is one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, with more than 60 million users in over 190 countries.

Melanie Perkins has become one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in the world. She has been named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People and has been recognised by Forbes as one of the most powerful women in technology.

To date, Canva;

Has been valued at $40 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in the world.
Generates revenue of around $1 billion per annum.
Produced a net worth for the company's founders, Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, estimated to be around $16.5 billion, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires List.

A point worth noting - this phenomenal success has been created by, essentially, selling software as a service (SaaS) for a low-cost subscription of around $15/month. So, just know that you don't need to have high-ticket pricing to produce extraordinary income.

Cheers,
John

If we're not already connected on LinkedIn, then let's fix that now!

If you're new around here, let me give you a brief intro to who I am and what I do;

👋 Hi, I'm John, a freelancer with 30+ years of experience in software development, business start-up and growth strategies, and digital marketing, specialising in email marketing.

I help service-based freelancers grow their businesses by showing them how to effectively implement an email marketing system that'll bring them leads, prospects, and new clients, complemented with proven success strategies for solopreneur-type businesses.