The Thriving Christian Artist
The Thriving Christian Artist
10 Ideas for What to Send to Your Email List
Struggling with what to write in your next email to your art followers? Worry no more! Join me, Matt Tommey, on the Thriving Christian Artist podcast, as we dive into the transformative realm of email marketing for artists. Say goodbye to the outdated newsletter and hello to a world of engaging content that resonates with your subscribers. From unveiling your latest creation to sharing intimate behind-the-scenes glimpses, I provide practical advice on crafting emails that not only capture attention but also foster a deeper connection with your audience.
This jam-packed episode goes beyond the canvas to show you how to treat your loyal fans to exclusive previews and turn your events into can't-miss happenings. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just beginning to explore email marketing, the insights shared here will help you tap into the heart of your community and grow your list with content that truly shines. There's something for every creative soul looking to flourish in God's kingdom through art, so tune in for the ten golden content ideas waiting to take your email strategy to the next level!
Need help with your email marketing? We can help. Visit http://www.matttommeymentoring.com/artmentor and join the Created to Thrive Artist Mentoring program today, starting at just $14.
Welcome to the Thriving Christian Artist, the podcast, where we hope you connect with God to bus through the roadblocks that have held you back for years, create the work you love and really live the life you know. God created you to live as an artist in His kingdom. I'm Matt Tomah, your host. Let's get started. Well, hey, my friend, it's Matt. Welcome to another edition of the Thriving Christian Artist. Super glad that you are here.
Speaker 1:Listen, one of the big questions I always get inside of our mentoring program is Matt, I know I need to email people, but I just don't know where to get started, and thankfully we've got lots of lessons about email marketing and lots of marketing ideas in the program. But one of the things that people are asking a lot when they're learning to start email marketing and learning to set up MailChimp or ConvertKit or MailerLite or whatever it is that they're using, they're like what do I say? What do I send? What ideas should I be using to give me content? The first thing I would say is this you should at least be emailing your list once a month hopefully more than that, but once a month at a very minimum and ditch the idea, the old school idea, of a newsletter. Nobody used the word newsletter since 1983 and so don't be thinking about that, about one email to tell everybody everything that you're doing. Think about smaller emails that are more interesting, that are more to the point, about specific topics that will be of interest to the folks that are subscribing to you. Hopefully, one of those emails is your lead magnet that you set up in order to get people to opt in. That's one of the things I love helping people do inside of Creative to Thrive, because it's really the gateway to beginning to build your list. But then, once they're on your list, what do you send? Well, I want to give you 10 ideas today, and these are 10 of hundreds of ideas, but they're 10 ideas. That are great places to start if you don't know what in the world you should be sending to people on your email list.
Speaker 1:The first thing kind of a no brainer would be new artwork announcements. You created a new piece, whether it's a new painting, a new sculpture, a new book, a new whatever, a new course, whatever it is. Let people know about that new piece and that's sort of a no brainer, whether it's a collection or a single piece. Maybe give a brief story behind it, some great images of your work finished in the studio. It's just a great excuse to send an email. Secondly, then, I would say, in line with that, behind the scenes content so if you've been creating that new piece of artwork and you've got process pictures or you've got time-lapse videos or sketches or stories about your creative process, you've got a more personal insight into your work then definitely share that as well. Thirdly, then, would be exclusive previews right If you've got email subscribers that are, you know, maybe they follow you on social media or it shows and then they come on to your email list. Reward them by giving them a sense of exclusivity and appreciation, you know, for following you and being your most dedicated followers. Let them see work and let them see classes and let them see opportunities before it goes to the public. So using that sort of exclusive preview option is really really a great way to build a lot of great, you know relationship with the folks that are following you.
Speaker 1:Fourthly, then and this is where a lot of people kind of default but don't only do emails like this, but art shows and event invitations. You know if you've got upcoming exhibitions or art fairs or any kind of event that you're doing where you're going to be featured. Make sure that you give people the dates, the locations, any you know special things that are planned or their preview parties. Can you get them in free? You know, sometimes when I used to do shows, they would give us a certain amount of tickets for free for our best clients, and so maybe you've got something like that and you can release that to your clients just as a special thank you. Fifthly, you know I don't know how many times I can say Lee with these numbers fifthly, sixthly, seventhly, eighthly, but we'll just keep going.
Speaker 1:Number five limited edition sales. If you've got a collection of work, for example, maybe limited edition prints or a certain small run of merchandise that you've done, and you can launch that to your email list and give your list the first opportunity to subscribe, that's awesome. Again, it's increasing that special factor in the lives of the folks that are following you. It's letting them know that they're special to you, that you're giving them special opportunities. They're not getting anywhere else. It's heightening that exclusivity as a win-win all around.
Speaker 1:Number six can be fine artwork, giveaways and contests. Maybe host a giveaway or a contest exclusively for your email subscribers. Maybe they want a piece of art. Maybe they want a class or a discount on a class or a piece of art, or free shipping, or you'll come out to their house and discuss a commission or whatever it might be. Anything like that can really really drive sales because, again, it seems like an exclusive opportunity that you're only giving to those folks. We love to run contests on our email list. We run contests for our members and created to thrive as well, and it's always a great way to get people excited.
Speaker 1:Number seven, then, would be art related blog posts or articles or things like that. Maybe you see something that is a shareable piece of content that you just want to share with your audience that you think would be beneficial to them. Or maybe it's just entertaining. Maybe something in the art field, maybe a piece of art that just sold for a good $10 and you're like can you believe it? Or maybe it's an article that you've written, or art tips, or maybe explaining techniques that you're using, or something from art history. It gives anything that's in your world that you think might be interesting to your clientele. That's a great excuse to be able to send that kind of email.
Speaker 1:Now I love number eight, which I would call client spotlights. In fact, most of my blogs over the years at mattaumicom have been client spotlights. They've been features where I've done commissions and then I've gone to people's homes and installed it and I kind of tell the story about the commission and I show the home and how the clients have displayed and used that artwork in their spaces and that gives not only your clients but potential clients a real insight into how they can be using your work and how appropriate your work could be for their home. So I love, love, love, love, love doing that, because perception is everything in selling art, and client spotlights, both narrative and pictorially, allow you to do that in such a beautiful, beautiful way. All right.
Speaker 1:Number nine, then personal updates and stories. I love doing these as well. Just, you know, milestones, challenges, inspirations, things that are you may want to just be able to share with your audience, to let them know that you're a real person, you got a real life and you want to share that with them. That really, really helps to build that connection over time. And then number 10, I would say, surveys and feedback requests.
Speaker 1:Again, this is not something you want to do all the time, but maybe quarterly or maybe a couple of times a year. It's a great opportunity to ask your clients, especially if you're teaching classes. It's a great opportunity to find out what they like, what they need, how you can help them, more feedback on new pieces of art and new collections, why or why they didn't buy a piece. What they're wanting to learn Next from you is an art teacher again, invaluable information that you can get. And it's another great opportunity to send an email. So you know, if I'm you, I want to sit down and look at my emails that I'm sending on a quarterly basis, kind of get a plan of what you want to send and then begin to write those out in your own language in a personal way, so that you can begin to really allow your heart to be able to connect with the folks that are buying from you.
Speaker 1:And listen, if you just got a bunch of ideas and you're just not sure where to start, or if you want to get some ideas, listen, a great tool is maybe using something like from OpenAI, using chat, gpt and allowing it to help you construct some really great emails that you can take and edit and make your own in order to build connection with your audience. Listen, my friend, email is a powerful, powerful way to maintain connection with your audience. It's really the only way nowadays that you have the opportunity to get directly into somebody's email box without having to worry about the social media algorithm, and it is always the number one marketing strategy that I want artists to be building. Social media is wonderful, but it never, ever ever will take the place of email marketing, and that's why we focus on it so much inside of Creative Thrive. Listen, if all this is a little bit overwhelming and even the tech side of it like I'm just not even sure how to start setting up a platform to send to send emails join us inside of Creative Thrive. We talk about it every week. We've got step by step lessons. We've got expert hours where you can ask me, as well as my team of experts, all the questions that you have around these issues, and we would love, love, love to help you get started in email marketing and building that list so that you can build connections and, ultimately, clients with the folks that are starting to follow you.
Speaker 1:Listen, friend, thanks so much for being on today. I hope this has been a big encouragement to you. Join me again and, like I said, join us inside Creative, the Thrive, you can click the link that's in the show notes and get started today for just $14. I love you, friend. I'll see you soon. Bye, hey. Thanks so much for spending a few minutes with me today on the podcast Listen. I hope it's been a huge encouragement to you on your journey as an artist. Hey, also, before you leave, make sure to hit the subscribe button so you don't miss any of the other episodes of the Thriving Christian Artist podcast, and also be sure to connect with me on Facebook, instagram or at my website, which is matttommymentoringcom. Until next time, remember, you were created to thrive. Bye, bye.