You may have heard experts talking about the power of email and wondered, does anyone even read their emails anymore? We don’t blame you; we used to think that way a while ago. Over-eager marketers have turned many email inboxes into a cause of overwhelm that is best avoided. But email is still an essential tool in a coaching business.
Misconceptions About Emails
The biggest misconception is that nobody reads emails anymore. It is easy to think that we have seen many inboxes packed with unread emails. But even in the messiest inboxes, there are still some emails marked as read. Think of it a little bit like call screening. They’ll look at the subject lines and senders and only open the emails they want to read. As long as you provide consistent value in your emails and write interesting subject lines, you’ll make the cut.
Another misconception is that emails are difficult to use. They are perhaps one of the simplest ways to interact with your ideal coaching clients. You can add labels to various email subscribers so you can send emails to particular groups of email subscribers. For example, you can send an email to current coaching clients, former coaching clients, or email subscribers who are not yet coaching clients. An email marketing software can help you manage everything. You can even schedule your emails in advance.
The Benefits of Emails
Email is a convenient method of communication. You can write an email at a time convenient to you and send it at the optimum time. The recipient can also read and respond to the email at a time convenient to them. Both parties can also take their time to think about their response rather than being put on the spot. This is particularly valuable for introverts.
Another convenience of email communication is that it acts as a record of your conversation that all parties can review to ensure they are on the same page. You can also easily link to additional information and send calendar scheduling.
Email offers you more control over the method of communication. You don’t have to worry too much about your emails being buried by ever-changing algorithms. The emails can look however you want, and they can serve your coaching business in whatever way you want.
What Types of Emails to Use in Your Coaching Business
We’ll walk you through the different types of emails that coaches use to stay connected with their email list and clients. Every coaching business is different, so you may not need all of these types of emails for your business.
Nurture Emails
Nurture emails build a relationship between you and your email list. These emails act as regular content that adds value and engages your coaching clients. It also keeps your email list looking forward to your emails.
Sales Emails
Sales emails sell your coaching programs and other products to your email list. The average ROI for email is approximately $36 for every $1 spent because your email list is basically a list of warm leads. They are people who were interested in your lead magnet or perhaps just opted in to hear from you. Make sure you are regularly selling to your email list in some way so you can convert as many as possible to coaching clients.
Cold Emails
Cold emails are where you reach out to ideal coaching clients or potential affiliates that you don’t already have a relationship with. There is a fine art to writing cold emails that don’t put you in the same category as spammy LinkedIn messages. If done correctly, cold emails are a great way to expand your network and client list.
Onboarding Emails
An onboarding process should be a mixture of calls and emails. Clients will expect a conversation so they can ask their questions and get to know you a little bit, but the majority of your onboarding process is better for being done by email. For you, it is more efficient. You can create templates for most of these emails to make it a really effortless process.
For your client, this gives them a chance to get the key information in writing and mull it over before making a decision. Not everyone is willing to agree on the spot, some like time to look through the fine print before committing.
Process Emails
Process emails refer to emails that keep things moving in your business. Emails in your onboarding or offboarding process are examples of process emails. Every coaching business has different processes, but handling as much of these as possible via email will make all of these processes more efficient. Use your judgement and a little bit of experimentation to determine the ideal split between emails and other forms of communication.
Between Session Emails
An email check-in between coaching sessions can help remind coaching clients of anything they need to bring to the next coaching session and exercises they need to be implementing. The number and frequency of these between coaching session emails will depend on the frequency and subject matter of your coaching. Find the best balance to support your coaching clients.
Offboarding Emails
Some coaches prefer to do offboarding via call; some prefer to do it via email. There is no right or wrong answer. At the very least, you should send one email during your offboarding process to thank your coaching client, send them a link to a feedback questionnaire, and let them know of any resources and products that will help them to continue their journey. If you have a referral package, you can use this opportunity to send them that too.