If you are an Etsy seller or have your own online store, figuring out what to send in your emails can be a real problem if you don't have any great ideas! Here are some tips and ideas to get you started!
I wrote a post about my thoughts on Email marketing over on Medium the other day and a gal reached out to me to ask the following question…
I make jewelry for my Etsy site. I send one or 2 emails a month through Square marketing. So far no sales from it. I do not know how to engage my customers to ask what they would like, can you address that please?? Either as a freebie or what they would like to know about or how to present it.
Lynn of Lvandenbergjewelry
I think this is reference to the fact that I said email marketers had to:
- Have a great giveaway
- Write about what they want to read
- Ask their subscribers what they want
So here is a quick breakdown to these questions…
What kind of giveaway should you use to get people on your list as an ecommerce seller?
So first off, the easiest thing is to give away a discount coupon. It can be 10% or 15% like most people give, but what if you gave a 50% off coupon to your most popular item with high margins for a couple of days a month.
You would for sure get signups, have a “buyers list” and would probably generate word of mouth buzz!
You might have to take a wee hit on your profits, but in this day and age people are spending big money on ads just to get a click to your store. This would mean way more than just a click, it would be a buyer on your email list!
Another thing you could give away is a lower version of what you sell. For example, I recommended that my marketing besty give away a free printable copy of the poster she had for sale.
Let's say it was a women's empowerment poster that is one of her bestsellers. (I can't give away ALL of her secrets!)
She would already know that there is interest for that item because she has sold some of them AND giving it away as a printable will give her a list of people who are interested in women's empowerment who might want to buy some of the products she offers in the future.
Once you have a big email list, many things that seem hard right now become easier!
Your first goal has to be to grow your list!
What Do Ecommerce Buyers Want To Read?
So first off, they won't know what they want until you try different things to send them!
For example, I took a couple of hours to record videos about how to do Pinterest for my marketing list and wah, wah, wah, I got like 15 clicks total to the videos. So I know now that is NOT what they want!
You are going to have to try all different things to see what they want to hear from you…
And don't forget, you don't have to do it all yourself!
For Lynn our jewelry seller, she could send them info about which stars are wearing what types of jewelry that match what she sells. OR she could link to fun TikTok videos that talk about jewelry in a cool way!
If you start with what will make your people happy and don't just focus on what will give you sales, they will trust you when you do send a message about your cool new collection to buy!
Asking Your Email List What They Do Want!
Here is a super hard one if you still have a little list! I know I used to be super frustrated that I would ask a question in my PS and get one or two answers, BUT those one or two answers will grow as you start loving on your list and they know you will answer them back and care about what they have to say!
The last thing I asked my marketing list was… do you want links at the top of the email to free things or do you want a blatant ad once in the middle of the email.
Come to find out they HATE when I put the links on the top of my messages even though they are all to free things… I don't get that, but they would rather have one real ad than free links so it is hard to know before you ask them!
I have one “clicky” list that clicks at about an 8% rate and one “non-clicky” list that will only click if give it to them in ad form.
Only you will know what kind of list you have and then your job is to figure out how to make that list work for your business!
Ask Chat For Help!
Okay, now that you are up to speed on all the email talk, here is a fun way to find out what kinds of things you can send to your list! I did this for jewelry sellers, but you can use this prompt in chat to brainstorm ideas for your own niche!
Here is the chat prompt I typed in to Google Gemini…
what are some good ideas for a jewelry seller to send in emails, please include both just content and then also sales ideas
… chat is so smart! Here is what she said!
Content-Focused Emails
- Style Guides: Create themed emails showcasing different jewelry looks for various occasions (work, date night, special events). Include tips on pairing pieces or matching with clothing styles.
- Birthstone Spotlights: Send out monthly emails featuring the current month's birthstone. Educate readers on its history and symbolism, and highlight relevant pieces in your collection.
- Behind-the-Scenes: Share stories about the design process, craftsmanship, or the inspiration behind certain collections.
- Jewelry Care Tips: Offer valuable advice on how to clean and store different types of jewelry to retain their beauty and longevity.
- Customer Spotlights: Feature happy customer photos and testimonials wearing your jewelry, creating social proof and a sense of community.
Sales-Focused Emails
- New Collection Launches: Build excitement with sneak peeks and pre-order opportunities before a new collection officially drops.
- Early Access/ VIP Sales: Reward subscribers with exclusive discounts or first dibs on new items or limited editions.
- Flash Sales: Create urgency with time-sensitive offers (e.g., 24-hour sale, weekend discounts).
- Abandoned Cart Reminders: Send gentle reminders about items left in a customer's cart with a potential discount code to encourage purchase completion.
- Gift Guides: Curate selections for different holidays (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.) or recipient types (“gifts for him”, “gifts under $50”) to aid gift-giving decisions.
The cool thing about chat is that if you found one that you liked you could ask her to write most of the email for you, including your own anecdotes and ideas to make it more personal!
Here is a prompt you could use to get the email info for October's birthstone…
please write me a short email about October's birthstone. If there are two tell me that. Include some cool things about them that would be interesting for my readers!
And this is what she said… I found it interesting and would give you two different stones you could offer on sale!
Here's a short email about October's birthstones:
Subject: October babies, your birthstones are AMAZING! ✨
Hey [Customer Name],
Did you know October has not one, but TWO dazzling birthstones? That's right, you get double the gem magic!
Meet the captivating opal – it shimmers with rainbow-like flashes as light dances across it. Ancients thought opals held good luck and were the result of lightning striking the earth.
Then there's tourmaline, the chameleon gem! Tourmaline comes in a mind-blowing range of colors, from vibrant reds and pinks to cool blues and greens.
Which October birthstone speaks to you? Click to explore our collection!
[Shop October Birthstone Jewelry]
Now, chat tends to be super excitable and adjective-y (kinda like me!) so you might change it a wee bit but, for 30 seconds of typing I didn't have to wrack my brains about what to write in an email!
Email Newsletters For Ecommerce Sellers Wrapup
I hope this helps you figure out how to grow and talk to an amazing email list! I KNOW it sounds super easy when I say this but I have been doing it for 20 years so remember that it is going to take a little time to get in the groove with your list… cut yourself some slack!
The one thing to remember if you tried this in past and it was super hard is that chat is here now to help us do everything!
She is like having a really smart and kind assistant, always there to help with your email marketing!
