Blog Post: How to Write a Profitable Email

Imagine being stuck with 60 old hens that aren’t laying eggs anymore — they’re just taking up space and eating expensive feed.

You have to buy new chicks, but it’s going to be a big bill and you’d like to have a little cushion before they mature and egg productions gets back up to normal.

So you have them butchered to sell as stewing hens and since your customers have never heard of a stewing hen before, you make a quick little video on your phone showing how you make delicious soup from one hen.

You write an email to your customers showing them the cooking video and wake up the next morning to all 60 of the chickens sold and $1000 in sales. Oh, and that’s without having to drive to farmers markets or make deliveries.  It happened in your sleep even!

That’s exactly what happened to Shawna earlier this year.

Since implementing online marketing strategies (just like you’re learning right here!), Shawna has been growing an email list of people and keeping in touch with them regularly.

Because of that, she has a group of people who know her, trust her, and have a relationship with her. They’re SO excited to buy a stewing hen from Shawna because she’s done her research and knows exactly how this stewing hen will help her customers.

You don’t ‘own’ your list of customers on social media or advertising

I’m sure you’ve been posting to Facebook for years and watched as your ‘reach’ gets smaller and smaller.

Fewer and fewer people see your social media posts today – anywhere from 3-8% of your Facebook followers will even get the chance to see your post.

So you have no way of letting everybody know at once that you have a hog going to the butcher next week, or you have extra milk that needs to be sold.  

People will remember you when you consistently show up in their email inbox

An email marketing system is essential for all of us, but especially for farmers selling seasonal products.

Maybe you have a CSA that only sells for 6 months out of the year, or you only butcher hogs once a year.

What’s stopping people from buying your product one year, then trying out a different farmer the next year?

Nothing! That’s why you’re constantly scrambling to find NEW people to buy your products.

Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could keep those same customers from year to year?

They’d understand your product already, they’d know how it all works, not to mention how much time you save searching for people to buy your stuff.

That’s why emailing them consistently even during the off season, once or twice a month, will make sure you’re top of mind when it comes time to reorder and purchase again.

But what exactly do you email your customers about?

To build a relationship with your customers so they stay loyal and come back again and again, you need to show up in their email inbox at least once a month.

These emails aren’t about selling, though, they’re about giving. Give people free recipes, information, health stats, inspirational stories or pictures from the farm. These types of emails build trust and relationship with your customers so they look forward to hearing from you.

My business thrives because I write about 2 emails to my email list per month and people love hearing from me! You can do this same thing, too, and see your sales grow.

To get a free worksheet + template to write your own profitable email, enter your name & email below and then be sure to join us in The Profitable Farm FB group!

Why You Legally Need to Be Using an Email Marketing System

That’s right — if you’re collecting people’s emails on a paper form and then blind-copying them out of your email account about your products, that’s technically not legal.

People legally have to have the option to unsubscribe and stop receiving your marketing emails if they want to, which is why you need to start using a Email Marketing System.

(Haven’t started using one yet? Make sure to click here to take this free course where we teach you how to set it up!!)

1. Spam laws are getting stricter: Your customer’s email accounts (whether that’s Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc), are extremely savvy and have super smart robots that detect what is potentially spam or not. If you constantly blind copy big lists of emails in your regular email account, your emails will end up in your customer’s spam boxes more frequently.
2. You could get your email account shut down: If you continue to bulk email big lists of people instead of using an email marketing system, you could get your personal email account shut down because it thinks you’re spam.
   
   
3. Your emails will stop going to your customer’s Spam folders:
   You may not even realize how many of your emails are going into your customer’s spam folders. I check my spam folders regularly and have emails from customers or course students that I’ve missed. Switching to an email marketing system will cut down on spam so your customers ACTUALLY get your emails!

Your Next Step

1. 1. 1. 1. If you haven’t set up your own email marketing service yet, then click here to take the free course where I have several technology how-to videos showing you exactly how to get it up and running.
         2. Watch the video below where I’ll share how I get my customers to open my emails in their crowded inboxes plus the 4 Components of a Profitable Email.
         3. Download the worksheet to get the 4 Components of a Profitable Email and write an email to your customers – enter your name & email below to get it!

http://farmgal12.wistia.com/medias/x0fcrurmsh?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=750

Get Feedback

Have you drafted an email to your customers after watching the video and downloading the worksheet?

If not, take a few minutes to write out a sample email – it could just be an idea you have, or maybe you want to share an outline of an email you’re thinking about writing.

Or, brainstorm some subject lines.

Then head over to The Profitable Farm Facebook group and post your ideas so we can all give you feedback!