I spent part of today talking about social media, outbound marketing, Google author rank, and daily blogging. As you can guess, I was meeting with our marketing department as they work to support four different businesses that Emphasys Software runs in four different markets.
While we worked on strategy, I saw the following tweet appear on my phone.
Anyone have a tutorial for creating an email course using @MailChimp? Meaning in-order emails spaced @ regular intervals per subscriber. #fb
— David Bressler 🐘 💵 (@djbressler) February 26, 2013
I don't know if you know, but two months ago I created a free 5-week email course that helps people learn more effectively.
So I replied to David that I'd get him some info. And tonight I started pulling together all the material for him when I realized that you might like the information as well – given how easy it is to create a simple email course using MailChimp.
But how would I start the guide? Likely by giving you four reasons why email still works in a social media world. So here they are.
Four Reasons Why Email Marketing Still Works
Right off the bat, you might disagree that an email course is marketing, but I use the term generically because what you're doing, if you've authored the material yourself, is positioning, and that's part of marketing. I can't wait for whatever David will create.
1. Your email doesn't automatically disappear.
Unless you have 4 Facebook or Twitter friends, their comments or posts are going to disappear. They're going to be replaced by other content. Your email will stay right there in their inbox. So create a great title, because “E-Course Week 2” won't get opened and it may get trashed.
2. You can still track email details
Who saw your tweet? Who looked at your Google+ post? With Facebook Insights, you know a bit more. But nothing like with email. I can see sign-ups, open rates, click rates and unsubscribe rates from MailChimp in a few seconds and without almost any clicks.
3. Email is still from you
When you're delivering a course via email, you know people will still get busy and skip your lesson for that week. But here's the thing, they'll keep your email because it's from you. And that means they'll open it up later and read it. Every now and then I see people tweeting about their week 2 or week 3 insight, even if I know they've long since stopped getting any emails from me. It's the power of their inbox and the trust we've developed. The “From” still has my name on it.
4. Email can be passed along
I'd love to spout off tons of great data, but I don't know it. Fortunately, Eloqua does. Check out this marketing insights graph on email.
Ready to Create an Email Course using MailChimp?
Initially I thought of creating a written guide, but in the end, it's easier to see how easy it is, if you just watch a video. So here's a video tutorial on MailChimp's AutoResponder feature.