We all want to increase the open rates in our email campaigns. But how do we do it? How do you make your subscribers drop what they're doing to go and read your email and yours only? If only, right? Well, it's possible. And today we find out how to amplify email campaigns – Clate Mask style.

So, are you ready to have your mind completely blown by what Clate, CEO and co-founder of the amazing software company Keap has to share with us?

Then listen on or read on (whatever takes your fancy)!

SOME EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: 
(2:45) Is there really another Clate Mask at Keap?
(4:57) Why omnichannel marketing works.
(7:26) Can solopreneurs embrace omnichannel marketing?
(8:50) How to use a specific channel to amplify your email campaigns.
(11:19) How a simple text message can prompt your subscribers to check your emails.
(12:03) How creating an 'environment of zero competition' increases your open rates.
(15:30) The powerful pshychology behind sending a text message to your subscribers. 
(17:45) How to get your subscribers' mobile number. 
(20:57) Subject line of the week with Clate Mask. 
(23:36) Bonus! Why Infusionsoft is now called Keap.

Why omnichannel marketing works

It's been called ‘integrated marketing' or ‘multi-channel marketing'. Today we're referring to it as ‘omnichannel marketing', and it's something that Clate Mask's company Keap has been a pioneer of. But whatever you want to call it, it's this idea of having multiple touchpoints with your audience – to surround people with your messages.

Back when Clate Mask started Keap (then called Infusionsoft), the mediums were email, phone call, direct mail, and even fax – would you believe it?! Keap is what enables businesses across the world to communicate with customers in multiple ways.

And you know what happens to businesses that choose this omnichannel approach to get in touch with their customers? Their open rates increase. Multi-channel marketing is simply more effective, but as a business owner, you have to be disciplined. In Clate's words, “you can't be lazy”. You've got to be serious about it and keen to orchestrate your messages and your campaigns.

As we always say, just because someone is on your email list, it doesn't mean they see everything you send out – people are busy, and inboxes are cluttered. But the good news is that (as long as you're active there) they also see your business on social media, they might listen to your podcast if you have one, or interact with you in your Facebook group. If you embrace the approach of surrounding your customers in the market and then apply it to structured email campaigns with specific goals of moving prospects to customers and existing customers to repeat customers, this method becomes really powerful.

Does omnichannel marketing work for solopreneurs? 

The short answer is YES!

It's easy to think that if you want to message your customers in many different ways, you need a big machine. And only big businesses have big operations, right? Well, not quite. Because Clate has seen a lot of marketers use omnichannel marketing to their advantage as one-person companies or solopreneurs. So the good news is that you can, too!

But what you do need to have, Clate says, is an understanding of how effective this approach can be. Otherwise, you'll fall into the trap of thinking the work is repetitive and just a duplication of what you've already been doing.

The most common mistake we make as business owners is to think that we've told our subscribers something once, and everybody got the message. It just doesn't work that way. And savvy marketers know otherwise. Of course, bigger companies have bigger resources and are more likely to adopt a multi-channel approach for their marketing, but nothing stops you from embracing this if you're a solopreneur.

How to use a particular channel to amplify email campaigns (Clate Mask style)

So let's say you have a new offer. Or you're launching a course or a membership. You've got something to promote, and you've decided to put some real effort behind your next email marketing campaign. How do you go about it?

Here's the simple answer. Combine text and emails.

Keap has recently introduced text messaging (both in broadcast form or by one-to-one), and they've seen how effective it is to use text messages as a separate step in email marketing campaigns. Know how? By following up one of your emails with a quick text message that says, “Hey, just wanted to let you know that I dropped an email in your inbox with some really important stuff. You want to make sure you get that, so check it out right away.” The key is to keep it short and use a personal, conversational tone because that's what people are used to and expect when we receive text messages, right?

How a simple text message can prompt your subscribers to check your emails

The simple step of following your email with a text message amplifies and heightens the importance of the email you just sent. Because, Clate explains, it's not about using the text message as a repetition of the content that's in your email. That's actually a common mistake that marketers make.

It's not even about the idea of sending two messages instead of one. When it comes to multi-channel marketing, there's no such thing as one plus one equals two, Clate says. It's one plus one equals three if ever there was that! (Powerful, right??!) Because by adding another medium, you amplify the message of your primary communication.

And of course, your subscribers know you didn't personally send the message – they know it's probably part of an automation. But their conditioned response as human beings after receiving your text is to go and check their inbox. And not for any email. They're going to check their inbox and look for your email.

How creating an ‘environment of zero competition' increases your open rates

And as if by magic, you have successfully created what we loviongly call the ‘environment of zero competition'. Your email is not competing for attention in someone's inbox anymore. You're asking your subscriber to look for your name in their inbox. And the effect of that is huge! It dramatically increase open rates.

Smart communicators and marketers realise that being able to send a text message isn't about repeating the content of the email you just sent. It's about either prompting them to go and open that email. Clever, right? 

The powerful psychology behind sending a text message to your subscribers

If you've been following us at all, you know we're all about the psychology of email. And getting a text from someone to say, “Hey, check out my email” triggers an unconscious response to go and do just that. But there's also something else at play here. You're asking your subscriber to take action, and you're getting an extra level of commitment when they do.

This is clever because you're not bombarding your audience. You're asking your subscribers to do something for you. They're now in what we call ‘an active state' – they're no longer just scrolling through emails to decide what to delete. They're looking for one in particular – yours. And that's a really important psychological factor.

So the thing to remember here is that text message isn't about selling.  In fact, you shouldn't sell in that text message at all! Because people are used to a very personal, very short piece of content that's asking them to take some sort of action. Most people don't want to receive long text messages. And that's what you should be aiming for too.

So you put all your meaty content into your email and make the text message reminder just that – personal, short, and direct. Get out of their lives quickly because that's what they expect from that medium. And it will still beautifully serve the purpose to elevate the importance of your message and amplify email campaigns (Clate Mask promises!)

How to get your subscribers' mobile numbers 

So how do we get our subscribers' mobile numbers? How easy is it to do?

Clate's tip is to create a two-step opt-in. Design your email capture forms by asking for the email address on the first screen and then get additional information in the second one, including first name, last name, and their mobile number. The proven psychology behind it is that it's much easier to input the phone number once they've already shared their email address, rather than having to do it all at once. It's a bit like saying, “Ok, we need your email address. But if you want, you can also give us this…”

Hope you all wrote that down. We certainly did!

Subject line of the week with Clate Mask 

Clate's subject line is just genius, and it's this: “Help my kids see Shamu”.

The idea behind this is that Clate's company had big quarterly sales goals they wanted to hit, and Clate had promised his family that if the company hit their goal, he'd take his kids to SeaWorld in San Diego. Of course, the children were rooting and cheering for Dad's company. But with a few days to go, they were still a bit short. 

So Clate sent this email out. He wrote a very open and transparent email about his kids, their ages, and what he'd hope to accomplish in his family vacation. He explained the trip would only happen if the company hit its sales targets. And then he flipped things around to explain why this was important to his audience, too – because he was now making this crazy sepcial offer at the end of the quarter in order to hit their sales goals. And it was a smash hit! Not only they blew away their goals in the last few days, but they also had lots of people reply and ask about their vacation and taking a personal interest in his family.

Why did it work so well? Because it was a personal and transparent email. It was about something that mattered to Clate and his family. And when you connect to people on a personal level you get to establish real connections with your audience.

Super cool, right??

Useful Episode Resources

About Clate

If you want to connect with Clate Mask, check out Keap.com.

Related episodes

Subscriber-Centric Email Marketing with Kath Pay, author of Holistic Email Marketing.

The Big Question – Should You Sell In Every Email?

How To Use Email In Your Content Marketing Strategy.

FREE list of the top 10 books to improve your email marketing

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