Clients tell us all the time about the blogs + articles they read online encouraging them to focus their efforts on growing their email list. While we agree that increasing your audience is super important, having an extensive list of subscribers does little good if you aren’t sending out emails—or if no one is opening them.
When it comes to email marketing, there is a fine line to walk. You want to drive sales without being pushy + be consistent without being annoying. Creating email content takes time, so you need to be able to justify it with engagement and inquiries.
You might wonder if it’s worth it at all, especially in an industry increasingly driven by social media. Our take: it’s worth it. In our own business, we’ve seen a direct correlation between newsletters and sales/inquiries. The first step to successful email marketing is having a plan in place. Just as we recommend having an editorial calendar for Instagram, we encourage the same for newsletters.
Interior Design: Nicole Davis Interiors | Photography: Candice Brooke
The key to newsletter content and sending emails that actually get opened is value. Your recipients want the exclusivity of getting first dibs and fresh previews of products and projects. They want to learn about something new or get a glimpse behind the scenes. Here are some content ideas to throw into the mix:
Interior Design and Photography: The Grit and Polish
Interior Design: Jenn Feldman Designs | Photography: Amy Bartlam
Now that we’ve covered what should go in your emails, let’s talk about how and when:
As for software, we highly recommend Flodesk. We have tried so many newsletter platforms, and Flodesk is the best for layouts you actually want to use. It’s super well-designed and easy to navigate.
As content goes, we encourage three educational emails for every hard-sell email. When we say “educational,” we mean emails like the ones we referenced above that are strictly for inspiration, tips, and news.
If you feel overwhelmed by the constant need for content, remember that it can be simple. Not every email strategy has to be elaborate with tons of links and photos and custom graphics. Open rates often prefer emails with fewer images and mostly text (plus, fewer images keeps you out of the spam folder!).
Interior Design and Photography: Chris Loves Julia
A good example is Chris Loves Julia’s weekly love letter. Once a week, they send out a little lifestyle roundup of links to things they’re using, reading, and cooking. There’s usually one single image at the top and a paragraph. It’s one of our favorite emails we receive and their huge following suggests we aren’t alone.
For most people, the big question is “when?” It can seem difficult to walk the line between staying relevant and overdoing it. If you’re just starting out, aim for one email a month to start with, and work your way up to one a week. If you’re selling products, you can even increase to sending two per week.
The important thing to remember is that the people on your email list signed up to receive your emails because they resonate with something about you and your brand. They value your expertise and want to see your work. Don’t overthink it. Share what you know and do and watch the growth happen organically.
For more tips for elevating your interior design business, check out these posts:
IDCO Studio is a full-service creative studio for interior designers and boutique lifestyle brands. Offering bespoke branding, web design and social media content creation, we help brands built around beautiful living elevate their digital presence to represent the physical spaces they design. Our recently launched limited-release website templates are the perfect way for interior designers to get a luxury website on a budget. These templates allow designers to maintain control of their content. Want to work together? Shoot us an inquiry here.
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