Just watched this video and wanted to recommend it here. I get asked this question a lot.
Email marketing takes TIME. You need customized emails for those at all stages of the shopping experience: people with items sitting in their cart, people who signed up for your discount coupon and never used it, people who bought something six months ago but never returned to your website. You need emails that convince others that they need your products or service. You need emails that nurture your audience and build relationships with them. SO MANY EMAILS. (Btw, this is why I don't offer email marketing strategy ⬆️)
You could probably write those emails - IF you wanted to carve like 15-20 hours out of your work week to create them. (Hmm, I think I’ll pass 🤣.) It saves me so much time and energy to hire a great writer. As you know, I am a designer, not a writer. In fact, I didn't even write the post you are reading. I hired Katie to write it, I just edit it :). I'm sure she cringes when she see's my changes lol. 👋🏽 Hi Katie :)
Hire a freelancer
Freelancers are usually the quickest solution if you need help with email marketing. The downside is that since you’re hiring one person, you’re depending on that one person. Life happens, and sometimes your freelancer might get sick or have an emergency. You could end up having to wait a little longer than you planned on those emails. The majority of the time, though, things go smoothly, and you’ll find a freelancer who works their tail off to make sure you’re happy with the final product.
If you’re interested in hiring a freelancer, you can use Upwork in one of two ways. You can post a job describing your requirements, and allow freelancers to apply. You can also search through the freelancer profiles and see which ones seem like a good fit.
(Btw- if you’re looking for freelance designers, I know a girl. And a guy. Lots of them, actually. I am always available to help you recruit a freelance designer for your current needs. Just contact me here!)
Hire an agency
If you’d prefer a team approach to your email marketing, your best option is an agency. You’d better be ready to fork out a little more money: agencies can be expensive. But if you want real results, this is where it's at. Agencies can be selective in the writers they hire, so you’ll get the benefit of more skills and experience. You’ve also got backup if one writer is unavailable. All of the people working at an agency work like a little checks and balances system, so they’ll hold each other accountable to make sure you get work you’re satisfied with. This is why I often recommend Flowium to clients because their copywriters are AMAZING.
There are a ton of ways you can find an agency to work with. Lemme give you a fast overview of FIVE (forreal, so many options!).
- Clutch- Clutch has a huge network of agencies that you can search through to find one for your email marketing.
- Upwork- Just like with freelancers, you can search for agencies on Upwork.
- Linkedin- Browse through the agency profiles on Linkedin to see if any are a good fit. They should have some posts and comments from others on their profile that’ll help you gauge your work compatibility.
- Youtube- Weird one, right? But have you ever watched a video from someone and thought, “We could be friends!”? There are plenty of agencies that produce videos, and those videos are a pretty clear reflection of what working with them would be like.
- Partner directory- Your email service provider might have a partner directory where you can find agencies they recommend. Mailchimp has an entire page listing partner freelancers and agencies they work with.
- DesignRush- This is a newer website that works similarly to Clutch, where you can filter through agencies based on cost, experience, reviews, etc.
Hire internally
Sometimes your best bet is to hire someone internally for your business. Indeed may not be the first platform that comes to mind, but it’s a pretty good way to find writers to hire. You can also try LinkedIn, since it’s business focused social media. If you happen upon a writer you LOVE working with that’s currently with an agency, you could possibly hire them onto your team; just be ready to pay a pretty hefty fee to the agency.
PS: My best advice for outsourcing your email marketing? Ask other people. If so-and-so always sends reaaaaally good emails that you can’t resist reading, find out if they hire someone to help write those emails. Don’t pass on an opportunity to hire the same talent for your business.