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Hidden Strengths To Build an Empire

OK, personal development junkies. I’ve got one for ya.

Your biggest strength is often your most silent one.

My childhood left me feeling like the oddball out. (An unconventional upbringing plus frequent moves will do that to you.)

Fast forward to adult me and I’m running my business, learning about business (WHO AM I?), and helping my clients look like email rockstars.

I’ve spent over a decade trying to come to terms with what made me feel like I never fit in. (Thank you to every mental health professional out there doing hard work).

As an adult, I get access to tools and resources to help me dig into what’s not working and why.

I get to discover a me that I dreamt of as a kid, was trampled on as an adolescent, and now being let free with hard, therapeutic work.

What I thought were the things that held me back are now reframed as survival skills that I used to protect myself.

In other words, they’re strengths.

Have you ever had that moment when something nailed your personality so well that your eyes practically bulged out of your head and you were screaming “YES” in your head over and over?

That’s what happened when I took the Gallup Strengths Assessment (again) and reaffirmed my biggest strength is Context.

It’s described as, “People exceptionally talented in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.”

History. Context. Backstory.

If you don’t know where you came from, how do you expect to move forward?

It’s why one of my favorite subjects in school was always history. I loved to learn the stories that built our world and culture.

It’s also why one of my first offers in my new business was an audit. It’s where I start with almost every client.

I audit their current email marketing program, document it, and then tell them where they need to go from here.

Makes sense, right? Look at what you have going on currently. And then, identify what you need to do next to get where you want to go.

How can you understand your processes or strategy if you don’t know what led to this moment?

What lead you to this moment won’t get you to where you want to go, but it will sure help you see what you don’t want to repeat.

Anyone who knows me, knows I’m into Harry Potter.

Who doesn’t squee with nerd love when it comes to fantasy fiction?

Not you? Oh. Cool. Me neither. (But yes, me.)

On my quest to learn more about my personality, someone recommended trying the Harry Potter House Sorting Hat Quiz. 

Sadly, I am not Gryffindor. But I am a RAVENCLAW. I am shocked. SHOCKED.

Here’s what that means according to the quiz: Your personality shows a high degree of work ethic and humility, which are valued among members of Ravenclaw House. 

OK. That makes more sense. 

If you’re feeling it, take a look at the quiz and tell me which house you were sorted into!

Which House Do You Belong In?

Email Inspiration: New Customer Education

Your leads need help and so do your new customers.

Just because they placed an order or signed a contract doesn’t mean you get to just drop them in the middle of your offering.

I mean you could (I mean, I’m not gonna tell you what to do… or AM I???), but it’s a little disorienting.

I spend all day every day in my business. When I worked in-house for brands in their marketing departments, it was the same thing.

I know my world inside and out just as much as you know your business inside and out.

But does your new customer?

Do they know what comes next after they hit submit? Do they know if and what they should prepare for their new order or service?

They need you to hold their hand through their first steps of becoming a customer.

But what does that look like?

Lucky for you, I know some incredible humans who have given me the green light to show you an AMAZING example.

Their names are Laura Garfield and Sharon Gottula of Idea Decanter.

They provide a service called Idea Kit that allows them to tell your stories through remote video production.

They are extremely talented and amazing people. I’m so lucky to know them.

Their challenge:

Their clients are video newbies. They are inexperienced with the process, in front of the camera, and the tech that goes along with it.

When they begin a recording session, they need to catch their clients up to speed on how to make a video ASAP.

Their solution:

They created a 5-day mini-course to teach their new clients HOW to be the best they can be on video.

It makes sense, right? If their clients don’t know how to record a video and they don’t like the results, what’s the chance of them reaching out to Idea Decanter again?

The emails are just plain good content, but they’re highly targeted to their new customers who need them NOW.

Take a look at their series and get inspired to help your new customers.

 

Email campaign to delight your new customers

You when you get a new customer: “Alriiiiiiight!”

What your customer sees in their inbox when they become a new customer: “Confirmation of transaction…”

When we talk about building a business with email, we often talk about how to use it to get new customers.

But what happens when you finally land that customer?

How are you using email to nurture that brand new relationship?

Is it purely transactional?

Or are you using it as one more opportunity to continue to build brand loyalty?

What would that even look like?

On a very basic level, it’s sending an email with what your customer really really wants to know.

Such as:

  • What happens next?
  • Are they going to be getting more information on their new order?
  • What do they need to do in order to prepare for the product or service they just ordered?
  • When can they expect to receive their next communication?


And I bet you know where this is going, but lemme tell ya anyway.

This info can be turned into a series that is triggered based on time, behavior, or order update.

It’s one more way to serve your customers the content they want/need the most that builds. brand. loyalty.

Relationship nurturing doesn’t stop with the sale. It’s always a priority at every stage of the customer journey.

Here are a few ideas on what you can do to nurture your new relationship:

For Digital Products:

  • Create a step-by-step email sequence that makes sure your new customer knows EXACTLY how to use their shiny new product.
  • That can be video tutorials on how to navigate the new system.
  • Next steps to get them set up and ready to go.
  • Ideas on how to get the most out of their new product.

For Services:

  1. Prepare them for their first appointment. What do they need to know?
  2. Send them all of the info they need to be able to reach the right person when they most need them.
  3. Summarize what they signed up for to create transparency and trust.
  4. Send reminders about their first appointment WITH reminders about what they should have prepared.

For Retail/E-Commerce Business:

  1. Order Confirmation. Include when they can expect their order to ship. Don’t forget to include information about shipment delays if you’re experiencing them right now.
  2. Shipping Confirmation. Include the average delivery window and maybe a coupon for their next purchase if they realized they want something to go along with their order.
  3. Delivery Confirmation. Let them know when their order has arrived. It’s another exciting email to receive about their order. (It’s here!)
  4. Instructions and ideas on how to get the most out of the product they just purchased.
  5. How to best contact customer service in case there is a problem. Be proactive about resolving any product issues. They might prefer to tell a friend about a defective item before approaching you about fixing it.

What does your new customer onboarding communication plan look like right now? Are there any gaps you could fill?

 

 

A Productivity Hack That Only Takes a Minute

I’m interrupting your regularly scheduled email inspiration/tip for some productivity advice.

I know you want to learn from the master over here.

And by “master,” I mean shiny object syndrome expert.

Oooo a new tech tool!?!? Wait. Where did the last 2 hours go?

But seriously, here’s a tool I keep forgetting about and rediscovering. It’s like a tiny treasure I keep from myself and then remember when I get the overwhelms.

AND it only takes a minute to set up.

INBOX PAUSING

Whaaaaaaaaaaat!? I know.

If you’re like me and keep your email inbox up at all times (because everyone will scratch their eyeballs out if you don’t respond to their email in 30 seconds), then you know how distracting it gets.

I installed Boomerang for my Gmail and G suite emails and it comes with INBOX PAUSE.

If you don’t know what Boomerang is, it’s also its own productivity hack. It can send back emails that you sent that the recipient didn’t respond to. It can also schedule emails in your inbox.

SO COOL.

Weirdly, I mainly use it for the Inbox Pause feature.

When I’m trying to focus, I flip on the pause switch which defaults to 2 hours.

I know what you’re thinking. Why not just close out your email?

When I’m trying to dig through my emails for one tiny detail that I cant remember, I end up losing time because OH LOOK ANOTHER NEW EMAIL. It’s NEW! It’s SHINY! Must read it!

You know that song and dance.

And for all of you Outlook users, there’s a similar function. It’s called “Work Offline”.

Seriously, it’s a game-changer.

Check Out Boomerang for Gmail
How to Work Offline in Outlook

Halloween emails don’t have to be scary 👻

OK, calm down.

That joke was hilarious but not *that* hilarious.

I’ll wait for you to stop laughing.

No? Didn’t laugh at all? Fine. I’ll save my best stuff for later.

I hate to break it to you. The holidays are on us.

First, Halloween. Then, Thanksgiving. Then, Christmas. You know the drill.

It’s a comically out-of-control snowball that is about to scoop you up in its demolishing descent.

Some of you may be in businesses that do not sell anything related to holidays.

That’s fine.

But it’s kind of weird *not* to acknowledge a celebratory season, right? (Unless that’s really, really not your thing or your brand).

And even if it’s not your thing, you don’t have to go overboard with the all of the words you can replace a syllable with the word “boo.”

OK, now I have to do it. Ready?

Boo-tiful, a-boo-rable, fa-boo-lus, boo-ty…

OK. I’m out. That didn’t take long.

Back to emails here.

What I’m really trying to say is, that you don’t have to go all out for a holiday email, like Halloween. You can keep it keep it super simple.

A fun color change, a cute little boo pun, an emoji in the subject line.

Find a way to celebrate the ordinary with people who are looking for something to celebrate.

Here’s an incredibly easy, fun, simple example of a Halloween email that’s worth taking note. 

Subject Line from original email: Humongous Halloweekend Sale

Here’s what you should copy from this email: 

1. COLOR

Postable used a bright orange background color with white font and a black CTA button.

The background color immediately brings Halloween to mind.

The bright color also helps contrast against the white font and black CTA button making everything “pop”.

2. SUPER SIMPLE

A marketing email doesn’t have to be five million paragraphs long.

If you have a promotion or simple message you want to get out to your audience, consider a brief, direct email that gets your point across!

3. SUBJECT LINE EMOJI

Seasonal emojis for the win! Emojipedia as collections of seasonal emojis to pull from.

Sprinkle one here and there in your subject lines during the season and feel all of the Halloween goosebumps.

Check it out —-> https://emojipedia.org/halloween/

GOT IT?

Now, what can you do to play with your emails this week?