Episode 166: How To Use Email Marketing In Your Pet Sitting Business

Email marketing is something that a lot of business owners have an adverse reaction to. They think they're bothering people, no one opens them, and they don’t know what to say. Despite being able to batch them and schedule emails, not many choose this path. But why? In a world where Rover is killing it in the inbox by sending emails to the people on their list at least once a week, why can’t professional pet sitters who can surely be even more effective, intimate, and relevant do this? Today, I want to break it down to show you how I use email marketing and how you can, too. Biggest Takeaway You Don’t Want To Miss Email marketing is a great way to keep your audience up to date with what's going on in your business and humanize your business. Send weekly updates and use the P.S. section to ask them to respond, opening up the line of communication. Your emails don't need to belong and drawn out, they should simply add value to your reader's life. With each email, you're able to show a bit of your personality, this is what people connect with, so be as personal as you can. Specifically, videos are a great way to show your personality and personalize your emails. And remember, on social media, you don’t own your audience, But with your email list, you do! If you're still not sure what to write or really don't have the time to focus on email marketing, I get it. That is why we provide you with two short and fun emails to send to your clients each month in the Better Marketing with Bella program. Show Highlights How can you recap your week in an email? [3:20] What should you put in the P.S. section? [4:30] How do you segment your audience for better email marketing? [5:35] How can you add value? [6:30] What can you do to build a bond with your audience? [7:00] What's one of the best ways to share current sales you have? [7:40] How can you personalize your email marketing with videos? [8:05] What does it mean to "own" your audience? [8:30] Links Read the blog: jumpconsulting.net/email-marketing/ Better Marketing With Bella: /waitlist Share The Show Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’ Transcript: This is episode 166 of Bella in Your Business. Does creating graphics and videos for your business just make you want to bang your head against the wall? Or maybe you actually really like doing it, but by the end of the day you have no more creative juices in your brain or just seem to always be running out of time. Well, I've got a solution for you today. For a very select few of my clients, every month I give them Instagram stories, graphics that come with captions, square videos to post on their social media, cover videos every month for their Facebook page, video outlines so they know what to say or what to write in a blog, two emails to send to their clients, a content calendar showing them exactly when to post it all, and group and private coaching sessions. This program is called Better Marketing with Bella and has been proven to help so many pet businesses. Fill out an application at jumpconsulting.net/bella-marketing. That’s jumpconsulting.net/bella-marketing. Hope to see you there. Hi there, I'm Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting. You might know me from CBS, NBC, Fox, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, or maybe you've seen me speak on stage or read my book, The Four Dogs That Every Business Owner Needs. In any case, get ready because you're about to get your hashtag Bella Butt Kickin' in this next episode of Bella in Your Business. So what do you say? Let's get ready and jump! Email marketing is something that a lot of business owners have an adverse reaction to. I hear a lot of the time that they think they're bothering people, no one opens them, and they don’t know what to say. Despite being able to batch and schedule emails, not many choose this path. But why? In a world where Rover is killing it in the inbox by sending emails to people on their list at least once a week, why can’t professional pet sitters—who surely can be even more effective, intimate, and relevant—do this? One thing that I don't see acknowledged is how much email marketing is one of the only social platforms that you can still control. Although there are still algorithms involved, it is one of the best producing ways you can spend your marketing time. Some people even feel like email is interrupting their day or that it's just always spam. That, my friend, is stinking thinking. If you make them interesting, people are going to want to read. Today, I want to break it down and show you how I use email marketing and how you can too. Here are the eight ways that I use email marketing in my business: Give a recap in a weekly email. Talk directly to my readers. Segment my audience. Deliver value. Help my audience get to know me. Deliver sales. Send videos. Own, not rent. Number one, give a recap in a weekly email. There's no way that everyone can possibly see or keep up to date on everything you do. Even if you're lucky, only 15 or 25% will open your emails—however, that’s more than you would normally have, which is a good sign. At Jump Consulting, I publish a blog every other week, a podcast every week, and sometimes do a Facebook Live. I also always have something cooking on the back burner too, and the weekly email is how I can do this. Pet sitters and dog walkers can do this too by telling people about the situations they were able to help with that week—for example, helping a cat sitting client whose grandmother passed away, walking a puppy with too much energy, or caring for a dog during the schedule changes of a divorce. All of these examples help to humanize your business and show people how you’re able to help your clients. If you have any great Facebook or Instagram posts that got a lot of interaction or a local event coming up, these are all great to include in the newsletter too. Number two, talk directly to my readers with a PS section. At the end of the email, you might have seen me insert PS sections. I do this when I ask questions. It’s always interesting to see the replies I get. I often call the reader to action by asking them to hit reply and tell me something. For example, I might say, “When you post on social media, what do you normally post about?” We all tend to default to one of these seven ideas—reply back to me and let me know. Because of this, I’m able to open up a line of communication and start chatting. The PS can be powerful because sometimes when we’re scanning emails on our phones, we’re not reading word for word—but where does the eye end? On the PS. Another fun way to use the PS section is to have a short message in the body and a longer PS. For some reason, people are more willing to read the PS than the body. Number three, segment my audience. You may have seen me ask you a few times in emails, “Are you a starter, builder, or scaler?” This question has buttons attached where I ask you to press the one that matches. My email marketing system then tags these people so I know just where they are in their business. It helps so I can send specific messages that speak directly to their problems. Pet sitting or dog walking companies can do this too by asking, “Do you have dogs, cats, or both?” Then you can send dog-specific or cat-specific emails. After all, a cat client doesn’t want to hear about how you’re looking for two more dogs to walk Monday through Friday. Number four, deliver value. Emails are a great way to break the mold and send quick messages that are out of the ordinary. For example, “Meet me at the Fall Festival this Saturday at 2 p.m. Bring Fido! Let me know if you’ll be there.” Or something short and sweet like, “Wondering where to get your Santa Paws pictures this December? Check out the list we’ve made. Tail wags, [Company Name].” It doesn’t have to be long, drawn out, or boring. It shouldn’t talk all about how great you are—it should add value to their life. Number five, have your audience get to know you. Emails are a great way to communicate your personality to your current and prospective pet sitting clients. You may have certain traits or live your life in a certain way that identifies with certain people—maybe it’s your religion, ethnicity, favorite sports team, or favorite dog breed. The more you build a relationship with your audience, the stronger your bond will be. The key is to be as personal as you can—that’s what people identify with. Number six, deliver sales. Email is one of the best ways to communicate with your audience about sales. Maybe you’re running a holiday discount or offering a deal for first-time clients. You can do that with email, and your delivery rate will be much higher than social media can provide. More business owners cite an email list as the reason they’re successful because the sales come from there. Number seven, send videos. Videos are a great way to interact with your audience. I even have an introduction video in my email signature that explains who I am and why I’m in someone’s inbox. Videos can be a great personalized touch for welcoming clients or thanking them during the holidays. The videos don’t need to be perfect—just show your personality and people will appreciate it. Number eight, own, not rent. On social media, you don’t own your audience. If Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram decided to shut down, you wouldn’t be able to retain any of that traffic or exposure. But with your email list, you own them. You can continue to market to them regardless of what happens. That’s the power of an email list—it’s why you want to own your audience, not rent them. To quickly recap,