Over the course of my career, I’ve helped many clients grow their businesses with email marketing.
Today, I’m sharing my top seven tips with you, so you can build your own business as a B2B copywriter with email marketing.
1. Start an E-newsletter Today!
I’ve talked about different aspects of the e-newsletter business in article after article. There are many reasons why an e-newsletter is my favorite business model.
Here are just a few benefits to starting your own newsletter: maintaining client relationships, connecting with people in your industry, improving your writing skills, developing new skills, and so on. Seriously, the benefits are many.
Remember, retaining current clients is more profitable than acquiring new clients. Clients who have had a positive experience cost less to serve than acquiring new clients. Existing clients spend more, buy more often, and are less sensitive to price.
A newsletter is the perfect mechanism to follow up, deliver value, and stay top of mind with your current clients.
Plus, not many things cultivate relationships with prospects and subscribers like a newsletter.
Most importantly, a newsletter provides unlimited growth opportunities for developing other copywriting skills you can offer clients or use to build your business.
2. Be Consistent
Today, reaching people is easier than ever, but building and establishing trust has never been more competitive. Sending a newsletter consistently each week builds trust.
One newsletter or email may not make much of an impact, but if you send one consistently, week after week, it will make a difference. If you deliver value in each newsletter, subscribers will get to know you and start looking forward to your newsletter.
Here’s an example… Dan Miller sent his newsletter every week for more than 20 years. He never missed a week until December 2023, when he learned he only had a short time to live. Because he sent his weekly newsletter, he had a huge following who trusted him.
Today, after Dan’s passing, his daughter still sends the weekly newsletter to his list. Subscribers and customers still respond favorably and purchase his books, products, and affiliate offers based on the relationship equity Dan built. His daughter continues to build on what Dan started, following the same formula Dan did.
3. Collaborate! Collaborate! Collaborate!
Throughout my entire career, I have found ways to collaborate with others. It is one of my absolute favorite business strategies.
Collaborating can unlock many opportunities. Think of collaborating as developing a one-to-many relationship. One relationship can open many possibilities.
I think of collaborating as hinges that can open big doors. And a newsletter creates opportunities to connect and collaborate.
Here’s how to make this strategy work for you…
Think — who else is trying to access the same audience you want to reach?
What if you reached out to direct or indirect competitors to feature them in your newsletter? Maybe you can feature one of their articles in your newsletter. Perhaps you can promote their product or service in the same newsletter.
How can you collaborate in other ways?
Once people you are collaborating with get to know you and learn about your copywriting skills, it can lead to writing email campaigns, sales letters, and other projects for them and others they know.
I like to create a variety of ways to collaborate with people. This way, when I meet new people, I have multiple ways to interact, engage, and be of service.
Also, it is fun when people reach out to you about collaborating.
There is a world of possibilities to connect, be of service, and create win-win opportunities.
4. Build Your Email List
In direct marketing, a business’s most valuable asset is the customer list — the all-important buyers.
The second most valuable asset is an engaged email list of people who look forward to your emails.
Here are two of my favorite stats about email marketing…
- ExactTarget reports for every $1 invested in email marketing, the average Return on Investment is $44.25.
- Companies using email to nurture leads generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost, according to Marketo.
Email works — it’s the marketing channel with the highest ROI.
What is different about email than any other online channel is the ability to follow up and nurture relationships.
With all other online channels, the business must rely on the prospect or customer to see the post or consume the content. This can be relying on a social media algorithm, waiting for someone to read a blog post, listening to a podcast episode, etc.
Email is permission-based marketing where people sign up for your list to receive your emails. Most people on your list will receive the email when you send it.
Combine the email stats I shared with The Loyalty Effect in direct marketing. The Loyalty Effect states that for every 5% customer retention, a business experiences 100% growth and 25% profits.
Think about this stat. If a business retains five out of 100 customers, it yields 100% growth and 25% profits. Every business should be able to maintain five out of 100 customers easily. But what if the company could achieve 20, 30, or 40% retention? How would this impact the business?
Two main components to developing long-term customers are delivering on your promises and following up.
Email allows you to follow up with customers and prospects. It helps you cultivate stronger relationships that can lead to more revenue and profit.
Finally, my favorite aspect of why B2B copywriters should be building their list is that it leverages your time like only a few things can.
Writing a newsletter or email doesn’t require any more time, whether the list is 100, 1,000, or 100,000 subscribers. But, as the list grows, the impact on your business and the revenue can be significant.
With a list, you can promote your copywriting services, other products you create based on your knowledge and skills, affiliate products, and paid sponsorships.
Remember, other than a customer list, an engaged email list is the most valuable business asset.
5. Develop Multiple Revenue Streams
As a B2B copywriter, you can create residual and linear revenue streams.
Linear revenue streams are when you use your skills to write copy for companies. You may earn a high wage, but essentially, you are trading time for money.
Residual income is when you use your skills to do the work once, and then you get paid repeatedly. These can be a monthly retainer plus a percentage of revenue, a straight percentage of revenue, equity in the company, or ownership plus partnership deals.
Develop both linear and residual income streams you can rely on. As a B2B copywriter, this provides more income stability than relying on only one source of income.
By thinking this way, you can create a mighty river. If one stream dries up, then you will have other streams producing revenue until you develop another stream.
6. Create Assets and Residual Income
Robert Kiyosaki often asks, ‘Do you want a 1964 half-dollar or a ten-dollar bill?’…
Most people choose the ten-dollar bill. But what they may not realize is that in 1965, the government switched from making coins out of silver to copper. So, a 1964 half-dollar is made of silver — an asset which will continue to appreciate at the rate of silver. On the other hand, a ten-dollar bill will lose value due to inflation. Today, the 1964 half-dollar is worth more than ten dollars because of silver’s appreciation.
The point is, as a B2B copywriter, think about creating assets.
Your copywriting skills are an asset. Copywriting is a skill you can rely on to earn money throughout your entire life. So, invest in developing your copywriting skills.
If you create a course that teaches a skill, you essentially do the work once, and then you can be paid in perpetuity. This is an asset.
Think about this: often, real estate investors purchase properties to rent. Each property is an asset that can produce monthly revenue for as long as the investor owns the property.
As a copywriter, suppose you create an e-book, course, coaching program, mastermind group, workshop, keynote or breakout session, etc. Essentially, each becomes an asset that can yield revenue, much like a real estate investor. One idea you develop can lead to multiple revenue opportunities.
The core content of each asset you create can be similar to the content in your e-book. The differences are the customer’s experience, access to you, and the speed of results. Someone can read an e-book and apply what they read and get results. A course can provide video tutorials, guides, and worksheets to help the person achieve faster results. If you are coaching the person, it can be to help them apply the content in the book or course and achieve results even faster.
Each asset you create can provide a different user experience and help the person achieve the desired results.
Continue to Develop Your Ideas
What if you could develop multiple ideas that led to creating several assets based on each idea? Or what if you could develop an entire product line around your ideas? How could this impact your revenue? How would this affect your life as a B2B copywriter?
By leveraging your copywriting skills, you can create multiple assets that earn money in perpetuity. Often, these assets can pay you month after month, especially when you combine these assets with building your list and a newsletter.
In addition to promoting your ideas to your list, contact the people you have been collaborating with. Maybe they will reciprocate and promote your e-book or course to their list.
Finally, invest in developing your copywriting skills to offer more services, and then think creatively to create more assets to earn more money.
Today, Robert Kiyosaki buys gold and silver mines instead of individual coins. This exemplifies how one idea can lead to exponential growth and revenue.
7. Have Fun, Grow, and Evolve!
One key to success in life is fun. If you are having fun, you will be excited about each day and the new opportunities. This will lead to more growth, developing your skills, and evolving.
Fun is a critical part of everything I do — keeping it front and center keeps me excited about each day, the projects I’m working on, my endless desire to learn and develop my skills, and with thinking of new ways to earn money. The fun keeps me focused.
Remember, life is about the journey and our overall experience. So, celebrate each win and every milestone, no matter how big or small.
Keep it fun, and find joy in everything you do.
Remember, Relationships Are the Key to Life and Business
Every single tip has one thing in common, and that is relationships. Relationships are the key to life and business.
Whether you are cultivating relationships with clients that lead to more copywriting opportunities, nurturing subscribers on your email list, or collaborating with direct and indirect competitors, life and business are about relationships.
As a B2B copywriter, you have skills designed to nurture relationships and convert prospects to customers. Your skills can be applied to a one-on-one setting, like working with clients individually. You can also use your skills to work with one-to-many opportunities, like writing sales letters, email campaigns, and other forms of copy. So, think of ways to apply your skills to both opportunities and earn more money.
Copywriting is a high-level skill, so think creatively about how you want to earn money with your skills. Develop both linear and residual income streams and create assets.
Cultivate relationships and create that mighty river of income possibilities. If one stream dries up, you will have many revenue streams to rely on.
Finally, earning money with your skills is a mindset. The more aware you are of how to leverage your skills, the more creative you will be in forming new opportunities.
I wish you continued joy and prosperity along your copywriting journey.
