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Reasons to Have a Mailing List as an Artist
Mailing Lists are the number one marketing strategy to make a living as an artist.
It seems that most artists think Instagram is the way to make a living. It can be for some people – especially if it is a platform you absolutely love and are happy to keep changing up and producing content.
But what if you are time-poor and you don’t love being ‘a content creator’? That’s just one reason why building an email list is your best marketing tool. In fact, email lists have been working for artists for longer than social media has existed and effective mailing lists work better than social media.
While social media definitely has its place, email marketing can be less draining and more effective. And you can use email marking in conjunction with your social media.
In this post, I share just five of the reasons and some stats that should convince you it’s time to do more than stick a static sign-up form on your website.
Direct Communication with People Who Want
You to Succeed and Want to Hear From You
They give you an email address so you can contact them because they are interested. You can whip up a communication that’s relevant and meaningful at any time at all.
The beauty of an email is they don’t have to open it right away, but they can.
People can also save your email, and visit your email and your links when they have time to engage. And they can come back to it repeatedly.
57% of email subscribers spend 10-60 minutes browsing marketing emails during the week. – ChoozOn
Income Potential
Email has higher conversion rates than any other marketing channel.
Email is almost 40 times better at acquiring new customers than Facebook
Email Marketing has better open rates, click rates and direct conversions than social media marketing. In a recent study by McKinsey & Co email generated 174% more total conversions than social media.
For every $1 spent, email marketing generates $44 in ROI. – Campaign Monitor
For those of you with an online store – 81% of online shoppers who receive emails based on previous shopping habits were at least somewhat likely to purchase as a result of targeted email. -eMarketer
People who have bought from you before are more likely to buy from you again than people who have never bought from you.
You can use your list to promote all sorts of events, exhibitions, offers and news.
Your Mailing List Bypasses Algorithm Changes on Social Media
90% of emails get delivered to the intended recipient’s inbox, whereas only 2% of your Facebook fans see your posts in their News Feed. – Forrester Research
You don’t have to worry about ‘the algo’ or being booted off the platform or locked out of your account, or the platform going down, or changes to features.
Everyone Has Email (or just about)
With all the talk about social media, it may surprise you to know that many of the people who are interested in your art may not be on your preferred social media platform.
While Facebook has 1.4 billion daily active users, every internet user has at least one email account. Recent research conducted by Radicati found that there 3.8 billion active email accounts.
92% of online adults use email, with 61% using it on an average day. – Pew Research
Build a Loyal and Committed Audience with your Mailing List
💎 Valuable Tip: Personalise your email content to create a deeper connection with your audience.💎
Selling your art is all about relationships. When you build an email list and you engage in a relevant way, some (not all) of your subscribers will buy at some point.
Your subscribers will include buyers and collectors, as well as people who will talk about you to other people.
Building your list for the long haul is a sure fire way to build repeatable ongoing income.
Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Not emailing your subscribers regularly
❌ Thinking about yourself and not about your audience (especially when your fears prevent you from sharing with people who signed up for your news )
❌ Sticking a subscribe form somewhere on your website – maybe hidden away on a contact form far from your home page and hoping that will get people into your list.
❌ Not enabling responsive emails. About 53% of emails are opened on mobile devices. – Campaign Monitor
So What Do You Think?
Are you ready to improve your email marketing?
Course - The Art of Profitable Email
Email Marketing for Artists
Want to improve your email marketing?
NEW The Art of Profitable Email An online course with resources covering everything artists need for email marketing. Includes
📨 On-demand video lessons covering everything you need
📨 110 proven Subject Lines for artists
📨 56 Calls to Action
📨 Email Welcome and Nurture Swipe Files
📨 Extensive Trello Board with a whole year of prompts and guidance to help you plan and organise your email content (you can use this for all your marketing planning)
Plus a community so you aren’t on your own
and more…
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