How to Connect with Clients Through Email
Email marketing is one of the most direct ways to share your expertise and attract new clients to your web design business. It’s a cost-effective approach to building brand awareness and developing client relationships. Whether you're sending new product information, communicating about your rates or services, or using an email series to educate and entertain, email marketing is an efficient and effective way to engage your audience.
Why email marketing?
By reaching your audience in a space they check regularly, email marketing is a powerful tool for promoting your services and generating new leads. It’s also a way to establish yourself as a thought leader and build a deeper connection with your clients.
Here are some of the benefits of email marketing for web design businesses:
Reach a targeted audience
With email marketing, you can reach a specific audience, such as leads who have expressed interest in your services or clients who worked with you in the past.
Build relationships
Email marketing helps you build relationships with current and prospective clients by establishing a connection over time. You can use emails to deliver valuable content, such as business advice, marketing tips and tricks, and industry news.
Generate leads
By sending targeted emails to potential clients, you can generate new leads for your business. Start converting your prospective clients by including calls-to-action in your emails, such as asking readers to sign up for a free consultation or to visit your website.
Increase sales
Email marketing can help you increase sales by promoting your services, offering special deals or discounts, and reminding clients of your business.
Overall, email marketing can be an effective way for web design businesses to reach potential clients, build relationships, and generate leads and sales.
Launching an email newsletter
When implementing an email marketing strategy, it can be beneficial to create a newsletter. Newsletters feature a curated round-up of content that's relevant to your audience, showcasing your expertise and keeping you top of mind for when a potential client needs your services.
Launching a newsletter requires clear intentions and preparation. Do you want to increase sales, promote brand awareness, or provide valuable content to your audience?
Here’s how to launch an email newsletter for your business:
Choose an email marketing platform
Tools like Squarespace Email Campaigns automate the process of sending mass emails and growing your audience. Email Campaigns integrates with your Squarespace website, is customizable to match your branding, and can help you manage clients and subscribers.
Define your target audience
Determine who your target audience is, and tailor your content to their interests. You’ll want to share content that resonates with readers and engages them.
Create a content strategy
Develop a content plan that aligns with your goals and target audience. Decide on the frequency of your newsletters and what topics each message will cover.
Design your newsletter
You can use a template or create a custom design that best reflects your brand. Just ensure your design is mobile-friendly and easy to read for those on the go.
Launching an email newsletter takes time and effort, but it's a valuable way to stay connected with your clients and convert leads.
Creating a content strategy and choosing what to write about
By including relevant and actionable content in your email newsletter, you can establish your web design business as a trusted resource in the industry and build lasting relationships with your subscribers.
Here are some topics you could include in your email newsletter:
Industry news and trends
Keep subscribers up-to-date with the latest news and trends in your industry. This can cover topics such as new technologies, design trends, or industry events.
Case studies and success stories
Share case studies and success stories of past clients and describe how your web design services helped them achieve their goals. This can build credibility and trust with your audience.
Tips and tutorials
Provide tips and tutorials on web design best practices, small business how-tos, and branding advice that is relevant to your audience. By sharing free but useful advice, you can show value to potential clients and encourage them to work with you.
Portfolio showcase
Show off your latest web design projects and provide insights into your design process. This can help demonstrate your expertise and showcase your design skills to potential clients.
Special offers and promotions
Offer exclusive promotions and discounts to your subscribers on web design services. This can incentivize leads to take action and become paying clients.
An efficient and low-effort way to start your newsletter is by repurposing content you've already created. When starting out, look at your existing content and see if you have material that’s already available to share with your audience.
Learn more about developing a content marketing plan.
Best practices for creating and sending email newsletters
When creating and sending newsletters, keep the following in mind:
Keep your content relevant and valuable
Your subscribers should find your content interesting, informative, and useful. Avoid coming across as too focused on making a sale.
Be clear and concise
Your subject line should clearly indicate what the email is about and entice the recipient to open it. Many readers skim emails on the go, so brevity is key throughout your entire message.
Use a clean and visually appealing design
Your email newsletter should be easy to read and visually appealing. Use a clean layout and include high-quality images and graphics that will resonate with readers.
Optimize for mobile
Many people check their email on mobile devices, so it's important to ensure your newsletter is optimized for smaller screens.
Include a clear call-to-action
Your email should include a clear call-to-action (CTA) that tells the recipient what action they should take next. This could be to visit your website, sign up for a service, or make a purchase.
There's not a single solution to guarantee email success. When you're starting out, be open to experimenting, showcase your personality, and keep things simple. Work your way up to a regular cadence that’s informed by analytics and a content production schedule.
Growing your audience
Some tried-and-true methods of marketing your newsletter and growing your audience include:
Newsletter sign-up blocks
Include a newsletter block on your website that makes it straightforward for visitors to sign up for your mailing list by typing their email address into a form.
A separate newsletter sign-up page
Some businesses opt to create a landing page on their website specifically to collect newsletter sign-ups and archive newsletter content. If you go this route, ensure the user journey is clear by making the page easily discoverable.
Promotional pop-ups
Promotional pop-ups ask for a visitor’s email address when they’ve been browsing a website for a certain length of time or when they reach a certain part of a page. Pop-ups are a great way to garner attention from visitors who are already engaging with your content.
Incentive offers
Many businesses offer clients an incentive in exchange for a newsletter sign-up. Incentives include a discount on a purchase, early access to a sale, or an exclusive downloadable guide.
Using Squarespace Email Campaigns
Squarespace Email Campaigns offers a dynamic, all-in-one solution for growing and communicating with your audience. The tool empowers you to use professionally designed templates, create unique discounts within emails, and manage your email marketing.
Email Campaigns also make it possible to:
Email more efficiently
Update your site and send campaigns right from the Squarespace dashboard. Pull content like your site logo and blog posts directly into your emails.
Enhance your brand
Craft marketing email campaigns that are a seamless extension of your site and brand.
View more analytics
Integrated analytics give you a holistic understanding of your subscribers and visitors so you can iterate on your approach.
Learn more about mastering Squarespace Email Campaigns.
Pro tip: Squarespace Circle—the partner program for designers, developers, and creators—offers members 20% off new annual Squarespace Email Campaigns subscriptions. Check out the full list of Circle benefits.
As you dive into the world of email marketing, remember that beyond gaining new business and growing your network, you are connecting with clients. In doing so, you have an opportunity to establish your value, build trust, and become a go-to resource for your clients’ design needs.
Want more?
Check out Squarespace Circle, Squarespace’s program for professional web designers, developers, digital entrepreneurs, and creatives. Along with exclusive content, discounts, and other perks, Circle brings professionals together from all across the globe to exchange advice while connecting with new clients and collaborators.
