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[361] 15 post ideas for your Facebook group 0

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The post [362] How to grow your Instagram following to 27k - fast appeared first on Janet Murray.

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Aug 22, 2019

Do you ever feel all out of ideas for your Facebook group?

Or maybe you’re just tired of posting the same old stuff and/or looking for ideas to boost engagement in your group.

This list of go-to posts will you keep you going...even when you’re feeling at your most uninspired.

{Click on the player above to listen to the podcast episode and/or read on for a detailed overview. Scroll down to the bottom to read the show notes including all the links mentioned in this episode}

1. Opinions please

Got a new product/service to launch? Ask your members to help you decide on the name/title, which logo design you should use and/or which colour you should stock it in.

2. Win of the week

Ask your members to share their biggest ‘win’ of the week. Great for a Friday morning post.

3. The big promotion

Invite your members to share something they want to shout about. This could be anything from a new product or service they’re launching to an achievement they are proud of. To avoid people spamming your group with sales pitches, this is best restricted to a specific day/date.

4. Your week in emojis

Ask your members to describe their day/week in three emojis.

5. Shout out

‘Shout out’ member successes. For best results, shout out several members at a time and tag them into your post.

6. Honesty time

Invite your members to share one thing they are struggling with right now - something they might feel awkward about sharing outside of the group.

7. In the news

Is there a news story everyone is talking about right now? Ask your members what they think about it. Bonus tip: don’t share a link to an article someone else has written about it - explain it in your own words (or on video).

8. Emoji review

Invite your members to review your latest blog post, podcast episode, Youtube video - or your latest Facebook Live video in the group - using just three emojis.

9. The winning shot

Just had a new set of headshots taken for your business? Share your favourites and ask your followers to vote on their winning shot. You can do the same with product photography.

10. Home sweet home

Ask your members to post the name of the town/city where they live (or a photo/video).

11. My favourite place

Invite your members to share a photo or video of their favourite spot in their home/office.

12. Sneak peek

Give a sneak peek of a new product/service you’re working on.

13. Quick tutorial

Shoot a quick ‘how to’ video tutorial showing for your members on a specific topic e.g. how to light their smartphone videos (without any fancy equipment), how to wrap an awkward shaped gift or how to knock up a nativity costume for your child in 30 mins.

14. Oops I did it again

Share the outtakes from your latest social media video or podcast recording. Or share the pictures that didn’t make it to your feed (e.g. the cat walking across your Instagram flatlay).

15. Can you guess what it is?

Share a tool/resource you use in your work and get your members to guess what you use it for.

Want more? Head over and download the full 31 ideas here.

Want to go more indepth then head over to my Facebook group engagement Masterclass that you can buy here.

If you are struggling to get engagement on social media then you can buy my social media engagement playbook here.

Podcast shownotes

How to sell and create a buzz in your group by asking for feedback on your products (01:44)
How to celebrate your group members’ successes and create engagement (3:27)
Why you should give members a specific day to promote their own business (04:17)
How emojis can be used to get everyone talking (05:28)
How to inspire other members by doing a member shout out and share success (5:40)
How encouraging honesty amongst members can support members and create engagement (07:15)
How to use a current news story that divides opinion in your Facebook group (and why you should tell it in your own words) (08:28)
How to use recent business photos to create engagement (10:34)
How you can create engagement just from asking about places (11:51)
Why you should get people to share their behind the scenes (12:57)
Why you need to have one clear call to action on your Facebook group post (13:25)
How to create content in your Facebook group by being helpful (14:00)
How to get your Facebook group engaged by sharing the bits that go wrong in your business (15:11)
Why you need to keep an eye on your content and change it if it’s not working (16:17)
How the Facebook algorithm favours content in groups with comments (17:40)

Resources

Record your screen with Loom
Edit photos with Snapseed
How to do an iTunes review

[192] How to get more engagement on your Facebook page (podcast)[318] How to write compelling email copy (podcast)[320] How to host a Christmas sale on Facebook Live (podcast)[329] What's working on Facebook right now with Liz Melville (podcast)[335] How to create a high converting lead magnet (podcast)[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast)[357] How to transform your Facebook page from ghost town to garden party (podcast)

[358] 13 Ideas for engaging social media posts (for when you’re all out of ideas) (podcast)

How to add closed captions to your videos using Rev and Kapwing (blog post)

Buy your ticket to my 2020 Content Planning Masterclass #2020Sorted

How to create a high converting lead magnet course

How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass)

[360] How to get people to open your emails 0

Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

The post [361] 15 post ideas for your Facebook group appeared first on Janet Murray.

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Aug 16, 2019

If you want to get people to open your marketing emails, you need to write compelling email subject headers.

But what makes a great email subject header? Which words and phrases make people more likely to open your emails? And which ones should you avoid?

That's exactly what I cover in this podcast episode on how to get people to open your emails. It’s packed with tips, tricks and examples you can use to improve your email open rate.

{Click on the player above to listen to the podcast episode and/or read on for a detailed overview. Scroll down to the bottom to read the show notes including all the links mentioned in this episode}

Before you get started, here’s a bit of tough love for you. I wish I could give you one strategy or one blueprint you could follow to get people to open your emails. But as every audience is different, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

What I can do is share the strategies that work really well for me, for my clients, and for others in the industry. But if you want to improve your email open rates, you're going to have to be brave, you're going to have to be courageous, and you're going to have to go and test things out and see what works for you.

1. Make a list of what keeps your ideal client (or newsletter reader) up at night

The first thing you need to understand is that people don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons. So if you want to write effective email subject headers, you need to understand your prospective clients' emotions. That’s why I recommend starting by making a list of your ideal clients’ problems and their worries. For example, my prospective clients often tell me they’re worried their clients are going to dry up, that they struggle to stick to a consistent content publishing/schedule and that they feel overwhelmed by all the marketing options out there. The more I can understand that, the better placed I’ll be to write great email subject headers that will get them to open my emails.

2. Don’t be vanilla

Most of us have overflowing inboxes. We only open things that pique our interest.

So if you want to increase your email open rate - and increase your sales - you've got to be courageous. That means no playing it safe with boring and/or ‘vanilla’ email subject headers.

3. Go through your own inbox and look at what gets your attention (I save mine)

One of the best ways to get ideas for your own email subject headers is to go through your inbox and see which ones caught your attention. Analyse why they caught your attention and what you could use/adapt for your own email subject headers. Save them in a folder and look through them when you need inspiration.

4. Ask Questions

If you want to get people interested in opening your emails you need to arouse peoples’ curiosity. It can be helpful to think of your subject headers a like a ‘teaser’ for email content.

Asking questions often works well. For example: ‘can you answer this question honestly?’ or ‘what kind of results can you expect from working with me?’

This invites the reader to get into a conversation with you, which is what great email marketing is all about.

5. Surprise your subscribers

Introducing an element of surprise works well too. For example: ‘please stop listening to my podcast’, ‘I was wrong about this’ or ‘Facebook hates you. Here’s why.’

Why would I ask people to stop listening to my podcast? What was I wrong about? Why does Facebook hate you?

These statements arouse curiosity and intrigue, which means people are far more likely to open the email.

6. Use genuine scarcity

If you have a genuinely time-sensitive offer, don’t be afraid to use that in your email subject header e.g. “Last chance’ or ‘enrolments close at midnight.’

Although do keep a close eye on spam trigger words i.e. those that are most likely to mean your email ends up in spam. For example words like ‘discount’ ‘bonus’ or ‘buy’. But don’t get caught up on lists like this - track and measure what’s happening in your own email list.

7. Showing vulnerability is also effective

If you send out an email with a missing link, don’t try to cover it up - email your list, apologise for your mistake and turn it into a content opportunity.

One of my best performing email subject headers is ‘Oops! Of course we know your name really’. This was sent after we accidentally emailed my whole list with their location in the field where their name should have been. Showing that you're human makes you seem more relatable, which can be a great way to build a relationship with your subscribers.

7. Use emojis

There is tons of research to show that emojis can increase your email open rates so experiment and see what works for you. Fun fact: we get a much better open rate when we use the 💩 emoji but more unsubscribes. Experimenting with this type of thing is what makes email marketing so much fun (in my opinion).

8. Experiment with fonts and layout

Try to experiment in other ways too. For example, using all lower- case letters. This can make your email seem more informal as if it’s coming from a friend. Or using brackets or a mixture of caps and lower-case letters (although do be careful, as capital letters can come across a bit ‘shouty’.).

9. Check how your email subject header looks on mobile

Test out how your email subject looks on mobile. Can you see the whole header? Or is some of it missing (in which case, try going for a shorter headline). Some of these seemingly small things can have a big impact on whether your email is opened.

10. Don’t take it personally if people unsubscribe

If you are sending emails as part of your email marketing strategy, you will get unsubscribes. This can be upsetting, but it doesn’t mean you are doing anything ‘wrong’. Track your numbers, but please feel reassured that the odd unsubscribe is fine. You only need to worry if you notice a big increase.

Podcast shownotes

About this podcast (12:24)
Why you need to understand your readers' problems rather than their habits (13:50)
Why your email subjects need to be brave and courageous not boring and safe (16:07)
How to research emails that grab your attention (and examples of good subject headers) (16:48)
Why making your email subject header intriguing will increase open rates (20:18)
Examples of my best email subject headers with tips on how you can use them (20:32)
How changing sentence structures can trigger emotional reactions (29:40)
How showing vulnerability can really get your audience on side (34:38)
Why you should create email content out of mistakes you make in your business (and hear a few of mine including that gift email!) (38:22)
Why great email marketing is about starting a two-way conversation (44:51)
Why unsubscribes are not the end of the world and can actually save you money (47:06)
Why you shouldn’t feel bad if someone complains about your emails (49:06)
Things to consider about the layout of your subject headers and using emojis (52:16)
Why you need to test and experiment with your subject headers (54:47)

Resources

Spam trigger words to avoid

[359] How to create an email newsletter people look forward to receiving (podcast)
[300] How to Build an audience and why you need to (podcast)
[318] How to write compelling email copy (podcast)
[325] Three social media posts that will help you generate sales (podcast)
[333] 39 surprisingly easy ways to increase your email subscribers list (podcast)
[335] How to create a high converting lead magnet (podcast)
[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast)
[358] 13 Ideas for engaging social media posts (for when you’re all out of ideas) (podcast)

Buy your ticket to my 2020 Content Planning Masterclass #2020Sorted

How to create a high converting lead magnet course

How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass)

[359] How to create an email newsletter people look forward to receiving 0

Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

The post [360] How to get people to open your emails appeared first on Janet Murray.

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Aug 9, 2019

Are you putting off launching an email newsletter because you don’t know what to put in it?

Or perhaps you started sending an email newsletter...and then hit ‘pause’ because you weren’t sure if the content was right for your audience?

If that sounds familiar, you’ll love this podcast on how to create an email newsletter that people actually look forward to receiving. In it, I cover:

What to include in your email newsletter
How often you should send out your email newsletter
The ideal word count for your email newsletter
The best layout for your email newsletter
How to get people to subscribe to your email newsletter

And a whole host of other useful tips and tactics to create a successful email newsletter

{Click on the player above to listen to the podcast episode and/or read on for a detailed overview. Scroll down to the bottom to read the show notes including all the links mentioned in this episode}

First off, the most important thing you need to know about your email newsletter is that it’s not about you. It’s about your ideal customers/clients. So - unless you have a Kardashian style audience of people who are fascinated by your daily life - your email newsletter shouldn’t be ‘news’ about you and your business. It should focus on your ideal customers/clients problems.

What is an email newsletter?

While this may sound obvious, a lot of people get this wrong. A newsletter is any regular email you send out to your current/prospective clients. It doesn’t have to contain pictures or a fancy layout (although it may). It can just be plain text. The key thing is it must add value and help you nurture the relationship.

What makes a great email newsletter?

Your newsletter is, effectively, a lead magnet i.e. a piece of content you create to attract your ideal customers/clients (or nurture your relationship with existing ones).

A great lead magnet solves a specific type of problem for a specific type of customer/client, offers a transformation, gives a quick win and (crucially) leads your subscribers towards a paid product/service.

Learn how to create an effective lead magnet for your business.

For example, the Instagram expert Sara Tasker has a monthly newsletter where she shares new and interesting Instagram hashtags that will be useful for her audience. I look forward to receiving it because I know I’m going to get some fab new hashtags to try.

It solves a problem for me because researching hashtags take time - and is not the most enjoyable job (which is why I look forward to receiving it). So Sara is saving me time on something I don’t like doing. She has an online course specifically for Instagram growth, so her email newsletter is perfectly aligned with one of her paid offers.

Entrepreneur Marie Forleo sends out a weekly email about her latest Q & A Tuesday YouTube video - which contains valuable tips on business and marketing. These free videos add value and build trust, so when she launches her online marketing programme B-School, people are queuing up ready to buy.

Remember an email newsletter isn’t just about attracting new customers/clients. It can be about nurturing your relationship with existing ones.

I send an email every Friday morning to update my audience about my latest podcast episode. And anyone who buys my Media Diary - an A4 desk that includes key dates and awareness days you can use to plan out your content for the coming year - also gets a monthly email newsletter. This includes additional awareness dates and news of new films, books and TV shows (things we wouldn’t necessarily have been aware of when creating the diary) to spark content ideas. Because this email newsletter is adding value, subscribers often email back to thank us for sending it.

You Are the Media founder Mark Masters, sends a weekly email (every Thursday at 6am GMT/BST) with news, ideas and inspiration around content marketing and audience growth. Amongst other things, this email helps him nurture his relationship with existing and prospective attendees of his annual You Are The Media live event. I spoke at the event in Bournemouth in June and it was clear this weekly email was instrumental in filling the room at that live event.

Pro tip: Remember that solving a problem for your subscribers doesn’t necessarily have to be offering tips/advice. Solving a problem for your audience could be making them laugh or giving them something beautiful to read during their coffee break (the very reason I subscribe to Alexandra Franzen’s newsletter). Whatever adds value for your audience.

How to find out what you should include in your email newsletter?

If you already have an email list, ask them what they’d like to hear about. Don’t ask them an open question e.g. ‘What would you like me to include in my email newsletter?’ If you do this, you’re asking them to think really hard - which means it’s far less likely they’ll reply.

Instead, give them three or four ideas you have for your email newsletter content and ask them to choose the one that feels like the best fit for them. This way, they have to do less thinking, which means they’re far more likely to reply. Once you’ve got them in a conversation, you can always ask further questions to find out if they have any ideas of their own (some will volunteer anyway).

If you don’t have an email list, follow exactly the same process with five to ten of your ideal clients/customers. And/or ask your social media followers.

Do remember that the only way you will truly know what your audience want to hear about is by putting content out there and seeing how they respond. This can be scary, but it’s the only way to truly find out what kind of content your subscribers really need.

How long does your email newsletter need to be?

The rather unsatisfactory answer is...as long as it needs to be.

I subscribe to some newsletters that are just a few lines long but solve my problems. Others are more in-depth. Make it as a long or short as it needs to be for your audience.

Does an email newsletter have to include pictures/or have a fancy layout?

If you’ve got the resources to do it and you think it would work for your audience, go ahead and do it. But plain text is absolutely fine. In fact, there is a lot of research to show plain text emails actually perform better than those with images.

And remember an email newsletter doesn’t have to be completely text-based. You can share video, audio, infographics, for example.

It all comes back to what your audience needs from you.

How often should you send out your email newsletter?

The rather unsatisfactory answer is: as often as you feel that you need to and probably more often than you think.

The key thing is that you’re adding value and you’re tracking your results and tweaking and adjusting as necessary.

For example, Kennedy teaches entertainers to get booked out with clients. He sends a daily email to his followers and makes a paid offer for his membership/events in pretty much every email. It’s delivering consistently good results for him.

Your email newsletter is only too frequent if it’s not delivering results for you.

Don’t panic if you get a few unsubscribes from your newsletter (or even one or two people who email to say your emails are too frequent for them. What is too frequent for one person is often fine for another). You only need to worry if it’s happening regularly.

Bonus tip: Always try to provide an opportunity for people to ‘talk back’ to you if possible e.g. ‘hit reply and let me know what you think about x or y.’ The more conversation you can generate, the more effective your newsletters will be.

How do you get people to subscribe to your email newsletter?

The key thing to remember is that no one wants to subscribe to a newsletter. Another piece of junk in their inbox that they probably won’t open. So don’t ask people to subscribe to your newsletter. Instead, sell the value e.g. ‘Sign up for my monthly hashtag newsletter and save yourself tons of time on hashtag research.’ or ‘Register for our monthly Media Diary newsletter to get additional awareness days and key dates you can use to help with your content planning.’

Here’s 39 surprisingly easy ways to get people to join your email list.

What kind of email newsletter can you create if you have a product-based business?

Many product-based business owners think the only email newsletter they can send is one with discounts/offers.

If the only thing you’re doing is offering discounts, you’ll have no trouble getting people to sign up to your email newsletter. But you may struggle to get people to build the kind of loyalty that results in repeat sales.

A more savvy approach can be to think about how people might be using your product. A good example of this is my Media Diary newsletter. Sending a monthly newsletter with additional awareness days and ideas not only adds value, it also reminds people that we exist - so other relevant products go on sale, I’m already top of mind.

So don’t just send information about your products, send information about how people can use your products (or products like yours).

For example, if you sell garden offices, send tips on how to style your garden office, how to keep it warm in winter or cool in summer. This is a practical content for past clients and aspirational content for prospective clients. If people see you as a source of useful information - rather than someone who is trying to sell them stuff all the time - they’re far more likely to want to buy from you.

If sell homeware and gifts like my client Penelope Hope founder Nadia Newton, you can create seasonal content that helps your subscribers - and helps you make sales.

The great thing about a newsletter is that you can make it seasonal. For example, Nadia recently launched a range of beach bags. Creating a summer newsletter than includes a round-up of the most stylish beach accessories of the summer (that includes her beach bags) would be a great way for Nadia to add value and sell more of her beach bags.

She could also do similar round-ups for Mothers’ Day gifts, Teachers’ leaving presents and, of course, Christmas gifts.

Bonus tip: Don’t be afraid to include competitors’ products in your round-ups. While it might sound counter-intuitive, if you position yourself as a helpful person/brand, you’ll build loyalty and trust - making people far more likely to buy from you.

If you have a product-based business position yourself as an expert in the type of products you sell - rather than someone who sells stuff. That is what will keep your customers coming back to you - time and time again.

Should you sell in your email newsletter?

Absolutely yes. If it’s appropriate, do make offers in your newsletter. But make adding value your number one priority.

Podcast shownotes

Why your email newsletter is not about you (2:20)
What is an email newsletter (and why it can just be a simple email) (3:48)
What makes a great email newsletter (and why it’s like a lead magnet) (5:03)
Four things your email newsletter needs to do (6:58)
Examples of some great email newsletters (7:52)
Creating an email newsletter that solves your ideal customer or clients problem (14:28)
How to present your email newsletter and how long should it be? (15:23)
How often should you send out your email newsletter (19:07)
Who should you send your email newsletter to (and GDPR considerations) (23:10)
How to get people to subscribe to your email newsletter (without asking them to subscribe) (25:10)
Tips for creating a product based email newsletter (27:59)
How to add value and sell in your email newsletter (34:12)
What a great email newsletter should look like (35:45)

Resources

Examples of great newsletters mentioned:

Park Run UK
Sara Tasker
Alexandra Franzen
Baby Centre UK
Marie Forleo
You are the media
Penelope Hope

Discounted 2019 Media Diary offer

[245] What you need to know about GDPR with Suzanne Dibble (podcast)

[300] How to Build an audience and why you need to (podcast)

[318] How to write compelling email copy (podcast)

[325] Three social media posts that will help you generate sales (podcast)

[333] 39 surprisingly easy ways to increase your email subscribers list (podcast)

[335] How to create a high converting lead magnet (podcast)

[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast)

[358] 13 Ideas for engaging social media posts (for when you’re all out of ideas) (podcast)

How to write social media posts that sell (online masterclass)

Buy your ticket to my 2020 Content Planning Masterclass #2020Sorted

How to create a high converting lead magnet course