How Can TPTers Write ‘Good’ Emails?
What is a "good" TPT email? Is it an email that makes customers laugh? Is it an email that makes customers read more? Or click more? Is it an email that makes customers buy?
Well, it depends on what you think a good email is. What is the goal of the your email? If you get your readers to meet the goal (read the email, click the button, buy the product), it’s a good email.
One email isn’t going to make you rich. The underlying strategy is what is going to earn you 20 -30% more. Earning more money is a good email, right?
If you are taking the time to write emails, don’t you want them to bring in money be "good"?
So here are 3 things you can do to write emails that regularly earn you more money.
Good TpT Emails Aren't Sleezy, Salesy, or Dopey (or any other dwarf)
Start by being helpful to your email list.
What does that look like?
A new teacher joins your list and you send her helpful articles that get her through her first week at school. Three weeks in you know her lesson plans are dwindling. So you send her a freebie on a topic that she’s likely to teach.
You are constantly thinking about what she’s going through and helping her. Parent teacher conferences, sub plans, overcoming issues with admin, etc.
But that doesn’t mean always giving her freebies. You can offer her worksheets just in time for her to teach them. You aren’t hard selling your stuff. You are providing mentorship, support, and an easier way to teach.
What do those helpful emails look like?
Good emails are Like a Magic Mirror
(A lot going on inside there, but you don’t care as long as it works.)
Knowing when to write an email with a helpful tip (TpT site wide sale) or when to pitch a whole product line (at the beginning of the year when teachers want to buy bundles) can be hard.
First, decide the goal of the email. Are you helping your teachers with a strategy? Are you selling a product? Are you showing them where your content is located? Do you want them to go look at an Instagram or blog post?
Once you have the goal in mind, you decide on the structure. Is it an email that teaches? Is it an email that uses story to illustrate a point? Does it use a common teaching problem to showcase your helpful product?
Next comes your word choice. (And we’re not talking about when to say I versus we.) What’s your tone? Are you the ‘get your butt in gear’ teacher coach? Are you more like a teacher mom with encouragement and advice? Often your tone comes through without even trying. It’s who you are.
All of these things work together to make a good money making email.
But there is another thing a good email does.
Good Emails Build Relationships Tighter than the 7 Dwarfs
How do you build relationships through email?
You email every week or month or whatever you’ve decided. You answer questions when they come up. You go above and beyond when someone takes the time to email you back. Send them links to helpful articles, or freebies. Make sure you say their name. Make a comment about where they are teaching.
Basically, you genuinely care about them.
Make sure the topics you email about are centered around your audience.
Which sounds easy. But so many times when we use an example or send an email about a new product, we don’t realize when it falls flat (or sounds self serving…). Let me show you:
Y’all I’m so excited to show you this new product I worked on for 20 hours this month. And that’s while my kids were sick too. UGH! But it is going to be amazing for your class.
Versus
Have you ever had a class of students stare at you blankly after you explained cations and anions. You never forget the silence of the clock ticking at that moment, do you?
After one of those experiences, I decided to change my strategy. Here’s a new way you might enjoy teaching cations and anions.
The first one sounds like a humble brag. The second one focuses on the customer and improving their teaching experience.
So write your emails consistently. But try to do it in advance so you can edit the email to make sure it focuses on your audience.
Writing ‘Good’ Emails Takes Practice, Strategy, and a Little Magic
Good emails take learning, practice, and time. Focus on learning one aspect of an email at a time. Maybe start with emailing consistently. Then focus on having a goal for each email. Then work on your tone and making sure it is customer centered.
Once you get that down, move to understanding and practicing the structure that is going to help you earn more money.