All About Flodesk: Our Favorite Email Marketing Platform!
One of our most valuable marketing tools is our weekly email newsletter. We make sure to send a beautiful email every week to communicate our specials and provide great content, and Flodesk is the best email marketing platform that we have found to create these emails.
Flodesk is not only the best email marketing platform to create beautiful emails, it is also the most cost effective!
As it gets harder and harder to really connect with the right people on social media and convert followers to customers by breaking through all the noise of reels, tiktok, and videos, email marketing has never worked better. People still like the simplicity of a very clear message delivered in their inbox that they can click on while they are in working mode - when people are on social media, it’s hard to stop their scrolling to get them to click through to your product.
People get emails when they are at their computer. If they’re excited about what you’re sharing in your email, it’s so easy for them to click and buy.
We don’t see any place that has better conversion.
Far and away, I think the most valuable tool you can use for your business today is your email marketing newsletter, and the best email marketing platform is Flodesk.
use this link for 50% off your first year with Flodesk!
When you have an email address for a customer, you own that email address and that relationship with that customer. They can always unsubscribe, but it’s your job to keep providing really great content so they don’t unsubscribe. Unlike social media, nothing can happen that will make you all of a sudden lose the emails on your email list. Your account on social media platforms can fall apart - hacks can come in and steal your account, your account can be disabled, or you can be shadow-banned. These platforms and algorithms control our content more than ever, especially for all of us in the agriculture industry.
When you have an email address, you are in control of when you send emails and what content you send - you’re not trying to beat an algorithm. If you’re creating great content that people are excited about, they will be opening your emails and future emails will go into their inbox instead of a spam or promotions folders. Read on for tips and tricks to make sure you’re getting your Flodesk emails to your audience members and customers!
When Flodesk came out, I thought, “Wow, finally an email marketing platform that’s allowing us to make emails look good! Flodesk is finally doing this right.” A lot of the other email marketing platforms are very code-friendly or web-safe, so you get a lot of boring designs and fonts that just don’t look pretty. The best part of Flodesk is all their features that make it really easy to create beautiful emails, but they are also a very cost-effective email marketing platform compared to other platforms since they don’t charge based on the size of your audience - no matter how many emails you are sending, you are paying the same price.
There are lots of different platforms out there for email marketing:
Klayvio has advanced analytics and talks to your Shopify account - but it's expensive and complicated
MailChimp is great for analytics - but it charges you more as you grow and the templates are not very pretty
ConvertKit makes great funnels and segments but it's also complicated and not as easy/pretty
Flodesk is by far the least expensive, easiest to use, has the prettiest templates, allows you to easily incorporate your branding and makes everything EASY and beautiful! Its analytics for segmenting are fairly basic... but it's the one I use because I think the pros outweigh the lack of advanced analytics.
And you can use this link for 50% off your first year with Flodesk!
LET'S CREATE YOUR FIRST flodesk EMAIL!
Email campaigns take awhile to create to end up with a well branded, informative, clickable, value-added email for your customers! Don't worry :) It will get easier and faster.... but you will get more out of it if you put time into making a really great email!
When you open your Flodesk account, you'll see two tabs at the top left - you can put emails in the FOLDERS tab or just create as you go. You only need folders to archive or organize past set or future emails - we don't use this so don't worry about it if you don't want to :) You can always use the search button to find an old email.
On the top right you'll see the "+ New email " black button. Click it!
You'll find a page that gives you lots of templates you can start with - they are all totally customizable! But it's nice to start with one you like.
The MAKE MONEY template tab is a good place to start! Pick a template and let's go make your first email.
Click on any one for a preview of what the whole email looks like (remember it's just a starting point.. you can change/add/delete all of it!)
HIT CUSTOMIZE!
If you already configured your branding page - your company logo should automatically pop up on top of the email! The rest you click on to change the fonts, colors, add photos, etc.
CLICK ON THE BLANK PHOTO IMAGE
Use the boxes on the right side to upload an image.
*PRO TIP - this is more applicable for websites than emails BUT as a general rule to get used to.... if you are going to upload an image, try to RENAME that image with descriptive words before you upload it. These image titles are where SEO (search engines) pull data from so a photo named "Five Marys steak dry aged porterhouse ranch raised premium beef" will benefit you a lot more than "screen-shot-image-4468gsh3idid"!
You can change the shape of the box to square or rectangle. The template has suggested LAYOUTS for you already. If you click "Layout" you will get a scrolling list of lots of other layout box options for that section of your email. You can choose any you like!
LINK gives you the option to add a URL (web address) if someone clicks the photo. This is always a good idea, especially if the image has a CALL TO ACTION (like "order here!") so if someone clicks the photo... it takes them right there!
BLOCK adjusts the style, colors, number of photos (do two side by side here) etc. You can also add ACCESSIBILITY LANGUAGE here. This is where you can enter descriptive text for that photo/block so that screen readers can easily read the description for those who are visually impaired. This is a big plus for the accessibility in general of your website AND gives you additional SEO.
For TEXT BLOCKS you can click on them to change the actual text (what they say!) and then to adjust fonts, size, color, alignment, spacing, etc, use the toolbox that pops up on the right.
You can delete some of the blocks by clicking on them, and looking for the three circles that pop up immediately to the right (not on the side toolbox). Those three buttons let you adjust settings, duplicate it (helpful for doing a series of blocks after you format one the way you like it!) and deleting.
When you are at the bottom - customize the signature (bottom footer) of your email with your name - use a scripty font so it looks more like a signature! The social icons you connected under your BRANDING tab should automatically show up here too.
Sending an email is one thing...
getting people to OPEN, CLICK, READ, SHOP, and BUY is another!
The M5 Entrepreneurs Email Marketing Workshop gets much more into the nitty-gritty on what you should include, how to grow your list, how to hit in-boxes and avoid spam folders, and much more. There is a lot to email marketing strategies... and in my opinion this is one of the most important aspects of your business!
Your email list is GOLD! Cultivate it, grow it, understand the strategy, and execute!
Your business will grow in profit and size. I promise.
A FEW TIPS ON NEWSLETTERS:
Just like your feed, people want and deserve interesting content!
Have great photos (that aren't too big in file size, they should open quickly)
Use link buttons and make sure all your links work and go to the right place.
Always have a clear CTA (Call to Action) to buy, subscribe, read, or lead them to whatever your goal is by sending the email!
Don’t be sales-y or spammy in emails, try to keep it heartfelt
Make it worth it for them to open that email - PROVIDE VALUE like new product updates, discount offers, free ship codes, specials, recipes or education, downloads, links to learn more, etc
Don't put TOO MUCH in your email! Make it short, sweet and clear. Link to your website or blog for "more" like full recipes, blog posts, etc (a great driver of traffic to your blog too!)
Get creative with "value adds" you can include in your emails
Save exciting news or offers for your email subscribers first - treat them like VIPS
Don't send more than 2-3 a week, but keep it consistent - don't send 2 a year either! Try for 1 per week - maybe 2.
Don't have "click bait" subject lines like "you won't believe this unless you open!"
Just like social media, email campaigns have algorithms and they will send your email to spam or promotional folders if you have too many sales-y words or phrases or it feels like an ad, or if you have too many links
Don't worry about unsubscribes - it happens! But be aware if you are getting too many or getting any spam complaints, you might be doing something wrong
Resend to un-openers after 24 hours to capture the best open rate and click rates - and effectiveness!
Once you have your email done,....
Send a TEST EMAIL!
Check for typos - have a friend read it first
Make sure all links work correctly
Make sure any discount codes or offers are activated
Make sure to compose a strong email subject line - and secondary text! Don't be too spammy here. Always write emails like you are talking to a friend or your best customer for maximum deliverability. Spam filters are smart! :) A short and sweet subject line that peeks their curiosity to open.... and the "preview" text is what will show up as the first line of the email in the person's inbox, so make sure to elaborate a little there to get them to open the email to see what's inside!
You want to optimize to send at the best times to get opens... there is a whole strategy on that too! But for now, send when it works for you. Hit send NOW - (it will ask you again to double check you are sure you are ready to send!) or LATER to schedule it for a day and time in the future. I like to send when it makes sense given the content.... am I marketing a dinner box? Send right BEFORE people are getting ready to cook dinner.... not after or at breakfast time! And remember to consider all time zones.
SEND AWAY! You did it! Now you get to check your analytics and see how strong your open rates and click rates are. You can even check the CLICK MAP to see which links performed best! (buttons, images, your footer icons.... so you can consider this next time!)
How do people join my email list?
Flodesk Forms are beautiful email newsletter opt-ins!
A FORM is a way for you to collect more emails and add subscribers to your list!
You need an easy way to get people to give you their emails and be automatically added to your list... and to "segment" them so you know where that person came from!
FORMS allow you to do just that.
There are three types of forms you can create...
Let's show you how to create a "freebie" opt-in FORM on Flodesk.
You can use this form to generate a link and share this on social media, on your website, in your email signature and anywhere you can! When someone completes this form, they’ll be subscribed to your email list automatically.
There is a lot of strategy and tactics for getting people to want to give you their email address. It isn't easy and usually a "sign up for the latest updates" call won't drive much traffic. The best way to get someone to give you their email is to offer something of value in return.... so they will gladly "opt in". We talk a lot more about ways you can do this and suggestions for what you can offer in the M5 Entrepreneurs EMAIL MARKETING WORKSHOP!
But let's start with how to easily create a form.....
STEP 1: Choose a Form Type and a Template
Select FORMS at the top of your Flodesk page.
To create a new form, click the “create new” button.
There are three types of forms to choose from
A) POPUP : a form that will pop-up on your website encouraging visitors to enter their email. This one can be more complicated (but very beneficial!) and you'll need to enter the code into your website.
B) INLINE : this style will be placed on your website as an image with a box to submit an email. Also great to have on your website! But does require you enter the code in the right place on whatever platform you use to build your website (more on this in the full workshop!)
C) FULL PAGE : this is going to be the easiest way to create a LINK to a nicely designed full page that will describe what you are offering or why they should sign up and ask for their email. I'd start here as this is the simplest!
4) From there - you can browse the styles of templates and choose one to customize!
In the design phase - you can edit the text size, colors, font and what you want it to say. You can also edit the button (call to action!) style, color and font - as well as what it asks the potential customer to do (ie "sign up now!"). Add a photo and make it pretty. You can toggle between the desktop and mobile icons on the top right to see what it will look like on a big screen versus mobile (often no photo used for mobile)
5) When you are happy with how it looks hit NEXT. Here you will choose "Double Opt-In" or not. Double Opt-In means they have to confirm subscription in an email sent after they sign up. This can be good for your open rates - but to make it as easy as possible for people to sign up, it is recommended that you do not require double opt-in, so hit NO.
6) Click Continue again for the "Do you want to be notified" screen. It's nice to see when new people join your list and helps you get a feel for what marketing tactics are driving new sign ups - so I hit YES!
7) Click Continue again - now you get to decide where to send people after they submit their email! I like to send them back to my website.... but you can also just "display a success message." Choose which you'd like and if it's your website, enter that URL in the box at the bottom.
8) You're done! Once you hit continue you'll see a screen with a link you can copy to share everywhere you'd like! Copy this link and save it somewhere so you can share it on social media (post in your stories!), your email signature, in DM's and anywhere you can. (again - more strategy in the M5 Entrepreneurs Email Marketing Workshop - make sure to sign up for that to learn how to grow your list!)
What is a workflow?!
A WORKFLOW is a series of automated emails designed to make your life easier!
When you get a new potential customer to sign up for your email marketing... you want to make the most of a newcomer.
If they just go into you normal series of emails.... that's ok, but wouldn't you prefer to give them a proper introduction?
Or if you have a new launch or product - you want to let people know the details in a series of emails? This is how SALES are made! Not just one email but a SERIES of campaigns to introduce, validate, give more details and finally a CALL TO ACTION for them to sign up or buy.
WORKFLOWS do these things very well and you just have to set them up well once - then they'll do the work for you!
To start - you want to set up a WELCOME SERIES workflow. When someone new joins your email list you want to introduce them to your business in a series of emails.
These should/can include :
About my company / our story
What we sell and why we produce a great product / what makes us unique
Customer testimonials or "social proof" that other people love this product
A CALL TO ACTION (CTA) to ask them to buy in, now that you've introduced!
FAQs or a follow up / reminder of your CTA
Let's set up your first WORKFLOW!
A welcome series is a great place to start - but you can set up a workflow for anything.
First, you want to design 2-5 really great emails with your branding, fonts, photos and links. Decide what message you want to convey in each email. Succinct and clear is better than too much information in one email.
Our WELCOME SERIES has four emails that cover
Welcome to Five Marys
What We Do
Why Buy Five Marys
More About Our Offerings
Your welcome series can be similar or you might choose to focus on anything you feel is important to convey to a first time customer coming to your business.
Customer Testimonials / Social Proof
Features that make your product offerings unique
Answering FAQs
Strategic Incentives
Your brand story, mission, and values
Employee spotlights
Providing a solution to a common customer problem
Highlighting a special offering you have like a subscription service
anything!
You'll design each of these emails in your WORKFLOW (they can't be sent as an individual one-time email later - emails must be designed in either EMAILS or WORKFLOW so make sure you are designing in the right place!) with a delay in between like 1-7 days.
When you are done - add your TRIGGER at the top which tells FloDesk to send this workflow whenever someone triggers it. A TRIGGER means someone signed up for one of your forms - and has been added to that specific audience segment to fire the trigger and start sending them the WORKFLOW email series!
We discuss a lot more about what CONTENT you should have in your emails in the M5 Entrepreneurs Email Marketing Workshop - providing valuable content is going to be key for your campaigns!
How do I upload my current email list to Flodesk?
Let's upload your first set of emails - your AUDIENCE!
Your audience page on Flodesk will show you tabs for All Subscribers, Customers and Segments. You can use these to search for specific customers or to create or manage your segments or groups of customers (this is great to track where you collected them from and how you might continue the relationship with them!
So now - I want you to collect ALL the email addresses you have! Customers, friends, family - any contacts you want to announce your new business or new launch - or the start of your email newsletter to!
*technically you need to make sure someone has "opt-ed in" or chosen to be on your email list. You can use your judgement for friends and family and contacts when you start.... most people will be happy to hear about your new business and you can offer an opt-in within your first email to make sure those people want to continue getting your emails. But make sure you aren't spamming old lists you might have or those rare "forgot to blind cc everyone" emails!
Make sure to gather up any emails you collected from events (always take a sign up clipboard or use a fishbowl for a giveaway at in-person events!) and previous customers if they have chosen to get emails from you.
Collect that list in a spreadsheet, ideally with first name, last name and email address.
Once you have collected as many as you have in one long list like the format above, download the list as a ".csv" file (*that means separated by comma in the code)
Click the "+ Add Subscriber" button on the top right and choose UPLOAD CSV (later you can add one at a time on "Add an Individual")
Upload the file and then make sure the right categories are named for first name, last name and email. Don't worry about any others if they show up (leave them blank)
Hit upload and wait a few minutes (sometimes 15-30) for the file to be read and analyzed and added to your customer audience!
Refresh your audience tab (you'll get an email when upload is complete too) and see your audience grow. Make sure to SEGMENT a new group every time you add an audience from a new place/event to keep them organized... it comes in handy later!
How do I grow my email list??
Now how to you grow that list?! As I mentioned, EMAIL MARKETING is the number one way to grow a solid audience for your business and to convert to more sales and profit. It WORKS. And you own your email list unlike social media platforms.
You should focus on list building and growing as a vital part of your business - it pays off in dividends!
There are lots of ways to grow your list....
A pop-up on your website
Social media links
Giveaways (don't host them on social media - drive to your website to collect emails!)
Freebies
Value added, but easy to fulfill products like digitals
Recipes
Top 10 Lists
Printables
Coloring Pages
First chance at an exciting new release
Your email signature
Direct Messages
Workshops, courses and classes
so many ways!
In the M5 Entrepreneurs EMAIL MARKETING Workshop - we go in depth to learn more about
Why You NEED to Start & Grow your Email Subscriber List
Email Marketing Deep Dive with Mary
Setting Goals to Grow Your List
Email Subscriber Kick-Start Guide
The Best Subject Lines to Get Opens
The Most Valuable Content to Include
How to Land in an Inbox and Avoid Spam Filters
How Often and When to Send Your Campaigns
Creating an Email Opt-In That Converts!
Website Platforms and Connecting Your Email List
Advanced : Email Funnels and more Workflows!
