In email marketing what is a relationship email?

In email marketing my favorite kind of email is the relationship email.

What is it?

Here’s my definition of a relationship email:

This is an email that builds a relationship with your subscriber.

Simple. Easy. Effective.

In order to create relationship emails you really need to shift your thinking from being a “marketer” to being a “friend”. Someone who ACTUALLY cares about your subscriber, not someone who pretends to care.

ACTUALLY care.

This is how you build a relationship.

And when you do email marketing AS a relationship marketing medium, when then the game changes completely.

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How Relationship Email Marketing is a Game Changer

When you look at your email list as a cash cow they know it.

Your subscribers are HUMANS and want to be treated as such.

How would you email a friend?
What would you tell them?
What advice would you give them?

This is the kind of tone your relationship emails should have.

What to Write in Relationship Emails

People think that any time you send an email for “value” or for the “relationship” that it can’t include a promotion.

The idea of promoting your products is considered “anti-relationship”.

But what if it weren’t?

What if telling someone without pressure and with a gentle message of helpfulness were actually more helpful to the relationship than anything else could be?

This is why I send a sales promotion in every email.

My courses and products are of the HIGHEST value I offer and so it’s up to me to invite my subscribers to check that offer out and see if it can have a big impact on their lives.

How to Write Relationship Emails

The formats for relationship emails are endless.

What I like to do is use the first half of the email to offer the “relationship” builder piece. This will be some kind of advice, insight, tip, motivation or story that will help my subscribers with what they’re trying to achieve.

Then, I move into the second half of the email with a highly related product to offer. This is usually at a discount, on sale, but not always.

Relationship Building Email Content

Share a Story – Something useful and relevant. It might be inspiring or educational. Teach something. Make them think. Something of value that is relevant.

Offer Tips or Advice – You can guide your reader through something they need to learn or know to achieve a goal.

Share Content – You could link to a great blog post you’ve written or other content that you know will be helpful. I’ve found that the people on my list love PDF downloads.

Get Social – Invite your subscribers to join you on social media sites for a deeper connection and for them to get to know you outside of business (if you share like that).

What’s the Point of Relationship Email Marketing?

When someone’s asking about how to create relationship emails in email marketing I can’t help but believe what they’re really asking is this:

How do I build a relationship with my subscribers so they trust me and buy my stuff?

The good news is that once you build a relationship with your subscribers, a TRUE relationship, they WILL buy your stuff if it’s right for them.

So keep making offers. Keep being genuine.

When the relationship exists there’s no need for pushy tactics. You won’t feel like a sleezy salesperson. You won’t feel the need to use drastic or unethical tactics.

You’ll just say “hey, here’s something that might be right for you” Or “I think you’ll love this” Or “Oh I have this thing that I think will help you”… and they’ll take a lot and buy if it’s right for them.

That’s the power of doing relationship email marketing right!

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