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How to Build Your Email List Fast With An Irresistible Free OfferRead Build Your Email List Fast With An Irresistible Free Offer
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Build Your Email List Fast With An Irresistible Free Offer

January 10, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

While brands and businesses are all but racing to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat and Instagram, they still are only reaching a small amount of the market. The irresistible email opt-in offer can change that.

The cornerstone of any successful business, online or offline, is its coveted marketing list — the list of customers, clients, prospects and other interested folks who have given you permission to market to them.

Email lists are critical to the success of your business because while not everyone uses social media (it’s crazy, but true), everyone has an email address.

  • Want to sign up for a social media site? Go ahead. They’ll require and email address.
  • Want to buy a product? Sure. They’ll need your email address.
  • Want to subscribe to a publication? No problem. Give them your email address.
  • Want to become a member? Great. They’ll also ask for your email.

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Double Opt In StrategyRead A Brilliant Double Opt-In Email Marketing Strategy Example
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A Brilliant Double Opt-In Email Marketing Strategy Example

March 25, 2015 Jennifer Bourn

Even with the best providers, email list management is dreadful. It’s like walking a tightrope. Wobble too far in one direction and you’re toast. You don’t want to email your list too much and risk bloating their inbox and driving them to unsubscribe. But if you don’t email them enough, they’ll forget about you, or forget they subscribed and report your next email as spam.

You want a quality, responsive email list, but you also want to grow a big email list, and teeter between single opt-in and double opt-in. You’ve been doing email marketing a long time and have a big list, but your open rates are low and you’re not sure people are even paying attention.

And don’t even get me started on the poor souls who at some point need to switch email marketing providers, move their lists, and get people to re-opt-in on a new system.

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Email Marketing Copywriting TipsRead Simple But Effective Copywriting Tips For Email Marketing
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Simple But Effective Copywriting Tips For Email Marketing

March 28, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

Like the email subject line, the copywriting in your email is also an important part of the your email marketing success — and the approach needs to be personal.

When you’re writing for email (and most types of marketing for that matter), you’re not writing to a general audience, to a big group, to just anyone — you’re writing to one person, to one subscriber that has a connection to you. You must think of your email marketing copywriting as the art of creating a conversation between you and a single subscriber.

You want them to read your email and feel like you are speaking right to them. Like they matter. Like they know you and you know them.

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Strategies to Spice Up Boring Email MarketingRead Bored Of Email Marketing? Get 8 Ways to Spice It Up
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Bored Of Email Marketing? Get 8 Ways to Spice It Up

March 19, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

After a while, sending an email newsletter, week after week, month after month, year after year, gets boring — really boring.

Some business owners give up because they haven’t been testing their email newsletters or tracking their email marketing results — As a result, they have no idea if it is working or not, and they just stop. Other business owners keep at it, doing the same old thing, sending the same old newsletter, over and over because they were told they should by someone they follow, hired, or believe is successful — because even if the results are tiny, it is still producing results.

There is a fundamental problem with this email marketing approach. If you are bored of email marketing and of sending your email newsletter, imagine how your subscribers must feel?!

Yikes! If that made you cringe, it may be time to shake things up a bit and add some spice, some taste, and some interest to your email marketing.

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Retain Email SubscribersRead Retain Email Subscribers and Create Loyal Readers & Raving Fans
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Retain Email Subscribers and Create Loyal Readers & Raving Fans

March 15, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

Getting consumers on your email list is only the first step. Your opt-in box, free gift or ethical bribe, list building efforts, website traffic generation — it’s all focused on getting people onto your email list so you can stay in touch with them and continue to market to them by email with permission.

But what happens after the conversion from consumer to subscriber? What happens AFTER they join your list and become a subscriber and member of your community?

  • Once you have gained a subscriber, your goals shift from acquiring to retaining.
  • Your main focus once a consumer joins your list to keep them on your list and keep them engaged with your business and brand.
  • You captured their attention and gained their trust once already when they were compelled to opt-in, and now you need to keep it up — keep them interested, keep them engaged, keep them wanting and even looking forward to hearing from you.

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Testing Email Marketing ResultsRead Testing: One Email Marketing Strategy That Will Make or Break Your Success
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Testing: One Email Marketing Strategy That Will Make or Break Your Success

March 13, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

As a business owner engaging in email marketing, you must test everything — your opt-in, your purchase links, your Thank You pages, and your follow up sequences, and every piece of email marketing you send out, including every email newsletter you send out to your list.

Most business owners remember to test their newsletter before they send it out — but some don’t. I’ve been guilty of hitting “Send” by accident instead of hitting “Send Test” and the feeling is immediate dread because you know the trolls will come out from hiding and get nasty.

If you don’t test your email newsletter or email marketing blast first, be sure that you do! Sending out a weekly newsletter or an important sales solo blast with broken links, typos, and other errors can tarnish your brand and frustrate recipients.

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Make Opting In a No-BrainerRead Make Opting-In A No Brainer For Ideal Clients and Prospects
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Make Opting-In A No Brainer For Ideal Clients and Prospects

March 11, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

Building an email list isn’t easy. The idea that just throwing an opt-in up on your website with a free gift — any old free gift — will create a giant list of ready-to-buy email subscribers IS A MYTH. Putting in a little effort for a few hours and then raking in 6-figures based on set-it and forget-it sales pitch isn’t going to work.

Successful Email Marketing Requires You To Build A Strong Marketing List. Successful email marketing comes from constant effort, hard work, and providing amazing value — such amazing value that you think you really should be charging for what you’re giving people, and even consider turning this into a paid offer and using something else as your opt-in free gift.

Here are 10 ethical (and highly effective) tips on how to build a great email marketing list:

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Setting A Email Newsletter Publishing ScheduleRead Setting An Email Newsletter Publishing Schedule That You Can Stick With
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Setting An Email Newsletter Publishing Schedule That You Can Stick With

March 4, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

So you’ve decided to publish an email newsletter and capitalize on the number one electronic marketing tool available to you today other than your website and blog, email marketing. Now you need to decide how often you are going to publish your newsletter.

Your email newsletter is an integral part of your overall marketing calendar or marketing schedule. It is used for follow up, continuity, education, positioning, sales, branding, and more. Not only does it need to stand on it’s own, but it also needs to support all of your other marketing efforts too.

Plus, an email newsletter is a great place to include announcements, opportunities, and reminders for your subscribers to sign up, opt-in, register, click, or buy your teleclasses, webinars, events, products, programs, and more. These quick announcements and reminders provide support for your overall marketing and launch strategy.

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Write Effective Email Subject LinesRead How to Write Effective Email Subject Lines That Get Subscribers to Open Your Emails
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How to Write Effective Email Subject Lines That Get Subscribers to Open Your Emails

March 1, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

As a business owner and marketer, you have a lot to say and a lot to share with your audience, prospects, and clients — and it is easy to get so focused on the content of your email newsletter or email marketing message, conversion goals, and click-through rates, that you lose sight of something as simple as the email subject line. But…

Your email subject line is one of the most important parts of your email. The absolute best email subject lines are short, to the point, descriptive, and enticing. They have one purpose — to get you to open the email.

If your subject line stinks, is boring, or seems irrelevant, or worse, seems like spam — no one will open your email, and it won’t matter how much time you spent creating the killer content inside, because no one will ever read it. That’s why your email subject line needs to be interesting and relevant to the recipient. And while it’s job is to be so awesome that it gets them to open your email, you also need to avoid getting caught in spam filters.

So, do you write a killer email subject line that is practically guaranteed to get people to open your email, but may get caught in a lot of spam filters? Or do you play it safe and go with a slightly safer subject line that may not get as many opens, but avoid the spam filters?

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Follow Up Sequences Build Email ListsRead Follow Up Sequences Build Successful, Responsive Email Lists
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Follow Up Sequences Build Successful, Responsive Email Lists

February 27, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

A follow up sequence or auto responder is a series of pre-written emails that are set up in advance and sent to subscribers or consumers automatically after they opt-in, sign up, subscribe, register, purchase, etc. They are a way to continue to provide value, build relationships, and stay top of mind.

Business owners love follow up sequences because it allows them to leverage software to automate tasks and create stronger, better brand experiences with their clients, customers, and subscribers. With a follow up sequence, you can do the work once to create it, then you put it on autopilot and let is do it magic over and over again automagically — yes, automagically — saving you time energy, and money.

Almost every business owner using a shopping cart or email marketing service provider in their business has the ability to use auto responders and follow up sequences. But they don’t.

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Remind Subscribers Why and When They SubscribedRead Help Subscribers Recognize Your Brand, Remember Why They Subscribed
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Help Subscribers Recognize Your Brand, Remember Why They Subscribed

February 19, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

Do you subscribe to a lot of email newsletters? I do! I get them from other business owners I respect and follow, from my favorite stores, from my clients, from mentors and coaches, from companies I have purchased items from, and unfortunately from random businesses who are sending me spam I never asked for.

My inbox is often full, as I am sure yours is, and one of my favorite ezine features is super simple to implement — it’s just a reminder of why I am receiving the email.

It’s important to remind subscribers why they are receiving email from you. Many of your email marketing list members probably also subscribe to a lot of different email newsletters, which means their inbox is full too! And they may not remember ever opt-ing in even if you use a . So do them a favor when sending your email marketing broadcasts or your email newsletter — remind them why you are emailing them — and, if you really want to be helpful, remind them how or why they signed up in the first place.

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Choose Right Email Marketing ProviderRead How to Choose The Right Email Marketing Service Provider
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How to Choose The Right Email Marketing Service Provider

February 11, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

If you try to send email marketing messages or bulk email from your personal email account, you’ll risk getting flagged as a spammer by your own email service provider (ESP), your internet service provider (ISP), and recipient’s email service providers like Yahoo and Gmail. If your personal email address gets flagged as a spam address, you risk having every email you send — not just your email newsletter — get blocked as spam.

So, if you want your email marketing message to reach your subscribers, you must sign up with an email marketing service provider (EMSP), follow the rules, and follow email marketing best practices. Not using a professional email marketing service provider sends a message to consumers about your business — and it’s not a good one! By skirting the law, you’re showing them that you’re either:

  • Too cheap to spend money and invest in your own business, (so why would they ever invest with you)
  • Not confident in your ability to succeed and make money to pay for the service, (so why would they ever feel confident investing with you)
  • Out of touch with current laws and regulations about email communications and marketing, (which will make them question what else you’re not up to speed on)
  • Not successful, or at least not as successful as you say you are, (if you ca’t even afford to communicate professionally, I probably should invest somewhere else)

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Permission Based MarketingRead Permission Trumps Everything in Email Marketing
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Permission Trumps Everything in Email Marketing

February 6, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

If your inbox is even half as full as mine, you know how much time email eats up every day in your business — time away from the truly important tasks at hand like serving your clients and customers! And, I’ll bet you’re always looking for smart ways to reduce the amount of email you get and make email more efficient. So, I can also bet that you CAN’T STAND IT when random businesses market you by email without your permission! Or when other business owners add you to their list without permission.

Permission based email marketing operates on the principle that you obtain email addresses through legitimate means only.

This means you always gain permission first, through a sign up form or opt-in box (single or double opt-in) of some kind — as long as you clearly communicate they will be receiving emails from you up front — or by registering for something for making a purchase.

Without Gaining Permission, Adding People To Your Email List Makes You A Spammer (ICK!)

If a person doesn’t opt-in on your website, sign up, or specifically ask to be added to your list, you may not add them and market to them by email — it’s against the law! Email marketing is a permission-based marketing strategy. I understand that building your list is very important. In fact, it is the primary focus for many online entrepreneurs and marketers… But you cannot engage in list building practices that are disrespectful to your audience.

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Ask For The UnsubscribeRead Ask For The Unsubscribe: Why You Must Make Opting-Out Easy
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Ask For The Unsubscribe: Why You Must Make Opting-Out Easy

January 21, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

Publishing a quality email newsletter regularly is a lot of work, and ideally we would love for each person who opts-in to stay forever and open all of our emails, but that is simply not reality. It is inevitable that at some point a subscriber is going to want to leave your list and unsubscribe. At this point the question becomes, “How will you handle it?”

Will you make it easy for email subscribers who no longer want to receive your emails to opt-out or unsubscribe? Or will you make it difficult and uncomfortable, forcing them to hunt and work to remove their name from your email marketing list — while they get frustrated and irritated, and more likely to just hit delete or mark it as spam? (Please don’t choose the latter!)

Providing an easy, clear unsubscribe option and a commitment to permission will help build trust with your subscribers. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of articles online about growing your email list and building your database. But only a few actually address WANTING people to unsubscribe.

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How Email Marketing Can Grow Your BusinessRead 10 Ways Email Marketing Can Help Your Business Grow
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10 Ways Email Marketing Can Help Your Business Grow

January 14, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

Email marketing is using email to get your marketing message in front of your audience. It is an essential tool to growing your business in the fast paced world of internet business because it offers open, conversational, and interactive communications.

The most popular form of email marketing is the email newsletter or ezine. Permission-based email marketing also includes special email promotions, daily deals emails, solo blasts, advertising, follow up sequences and auto responders, email courses, and more.

Email marketing is popular because it is relatively easy, quick to get started, and inexpensive. When done right it can also generate quite a bit of profit. The premise behind email marketing is that you as a business owner build a list of clients, customers, prospects, and subscribers who want to hear from you. You then market to them by email regularly to stay top of mind and make more sales.

You may be reading this thinking that email marketing has already hit its peak, that everyone’s doing it, and that maybe you shouldn’t even bother because all people seem to complain about these days is their overcrowded inboxes. But rest assured, email marketing is one strategy you shouldn’t ignore. Email newsletters that deliver real value still get read, saved, shared, and clicked. Plus, email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your audience, increase brand exposure, continue to deliver value, and cement your authority status.

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Single Optin or Double OptinRead Single Opt-In or Double Opt-In, Which Email Marketing Approach Is Right For You
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Single Opt-In or Double Opt-In, Which Email Marketing Approach Is Right For You

December 17, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

Email marketing is permission-based marketing, which means you must have permission to add people to your marketing list, and permission to email them information. Every email newsletter, ezine, or email marketing communication should have a clear, straight-forward unsubscribe or opt-out link, and opt-out or unsubscribe requests should be handled immediately.

Email addresses should be obtained only by legitimate means like through opt-in boxes or subscribe boxes on your website, or by specific request. This is why email marketing lists are often called opt-in lists. Valid contact information should be included in every piece of email marketing and a privacy policy should be provided.

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Get Subscribers to UnsubscribeRead 5 Fast Ways to Get Readers to Unsubscribe
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5 Fast Ways to Get Readers to Unsubscribe

November 7, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

Building a responsive list of engaged subscribers that have given you permission to market to them is a common goal for many business owners. But often there is so much focus on building the list, that the most important part — nurturing subscribers after they have signed up — is forgotten.

Retaining subscribers once they have joined your list and continuing to build your relationship with them is the key to growing a responsive, engaged list. Unfortunately, some simple mistakes can sabotage your list building efforts and get your subscribers to unsubscribe and leave your list in droves.

Here Are Five Marketing Mistakes That Cause Readers to Unsubscribe:

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Get More Sales With Auto RespondersRead 4 Steps To Get More Sales Using Your Autoresponder System
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4 Steps To Get More Sales Using Your Autoresponder System

October 15, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

This is a guest post from my friend and brilliant business coach, Sue Painter. Sue is one of Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid Coaches, a coach for Ali Brown’s Elevate program, and a successful entrepreneur. I always appreciate Sue’s perspective on business and marketing. We use follow up sequences (autoresponders) heavily in our business and when we were creating several new ones earlier this year, Sue reviewed and provided feedback on almost every one, ensuring what we create is easy to understand and easy to use!

In this guest post, Sue shares 4 steps on how you can use autoresponders to get more sales and more clients — Enjoy!

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Irresistible Free OfferRead Clients & Customers Can’t Resist … And You Build Your List The Benefits of Making an Irresistible Free Offer
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Clients & Customers Can’t Resist … And You Build Your List The Benefits of Making an Irresistible Free Offer

August 23, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

I know many entrepreneurs and small business owners, especially when we’re first starting out, dream of building really big lists of prospects and clients — lists with the names and email addresses of people in our target market, who may someday spend their money with us.

At first, it seems to make perfect sense that you’d want a big list — that the more people you can communicate with in your email marketing campaigns, the more likely you will be to find a customer who will take the next step with you.

But what we often forget as we get “big eyes” imagining having a list with over 1000 names and email addresses on it, is that quantity in list building will never be as important, nor have as great an impact on our profits, as quality.

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Opt-In For List BuildingRead Anatomy Of An Opt-In: 8 Parts Of A Successful Website Opt-In Box
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Anatomy Of An Opt-In: 8 Parts Of A Successful Website Opt-In Box

January 12, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

Let’s talk about your website opt-in box visitors will see when they come to your website, and the eight key parts of an opt-in box that ensure maximum success (and conversions).

If you already have a website opt-in box, use this checklist to confirm that you have implemented each item listed and aren’t missing one key component that could increase your conversion rate. If you’re in the process of planning or creating a new website, use this checklist to ensure your designer includes all eight elements in your website opt-in box so you can build your list effectively.

Here are the 8 components of of a successful website opt-in box:

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Email Marketing CritiqueRead Direct Email Marketing Gone Bad: A Critique
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Direct Email Marketing Gone Bad: A Critique

August 11, 2010 Jennifer Bourn

Last week Brian wrote about the worst direct email marketing tactic we’ve seen in a while and on Monday I received probably one of the worst introduction emails I have ever received – if you can even call it an introduction.

I read the email, re-read the email and again and at the end I still wasn’t quite sure what the sender was asking of me! But I think the sender was asking me to either meet him for a sales pitch or provide free coaching. Here’s the problem with “cold calling” using direct email marketing: you can’t hear the tone of voice, you have a hard time reading between the lines, and you can’t clarify and ask questions easily.

In this post, I am going to share the email I received with you, I am going to critique it and share some insights on what a stranger would think reading it, and I am going to provide a rewritten version of the email that I would have liked to have received.

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Email Marketing Is OutdatedRead Email Marketing is Outdated! Just FYI!
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Email Marketing is Outdated! Just FYI!

August 4, 2010 Jennifer Bourn

Ok. I woke up this morning, grabbed my phone to do a quick scan of my email, and check in on Facebook and Twitter. Last night I posted the Infusionsoft’s Biggest Fan article and I shared it on my social networks. When I checked in with Facebook this morning I saw that a friend of mine commented on the post (Don’t go looking to see who posted it, I deleted the comment), and here’s what he said:

“Email Marketing is Outdated! Just FYI!”

I couldn’t believe I was actually reading this statement. I actually laughed at the ridiculousness of this comment. Was he serious? There was no way he could really think that right? I was a bit more than surprised and had to tell Brian what I just read. His response to my question, “Can you believe that statement?” was interesting. He said, “Yes I can.”

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Worst Email Marketing TacticRead Worst Email Marketing Tactic I Have Seen In a While
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Worst Email Marketing Tactic I Have Seen In a While

July 30, 2010 Brian Bourn

I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters, and I know that trading my email address for free products, videos, and reports would subject my inbox to a steady stream of email messages with an intended up-sell… But the email I got the other day really irritated me and inspired this post.

A while ago, I opted in to this person’s website who is a self-proclaimed social media expert (who I will not disclose out of privacy concerns) with my first name and email address and watched the free video, which wasn’t that good and didn’t really provide any value. The free video was just a lame sales pitch.

Over the next several months I received a barrage of emails, at least two a week, of poorly disguised sales pitches and affiliate promotions, with nothing new of “value” since the initial free video. I guess I could have unsubscribed, but this person uses Infusionsoft for email marketing, just like we do, and I thought maybe I will pick up something new I didn’t know with the software.

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End Email Newsletter Writers BlockRead End Email Newsletter Writer’s Block
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End Email Newsletter Writer’s Block

January 25, 2010 Jennifer Bourn

Often I hear stories of my friends, business peers and networking acquaintances sitting in front of their computer with Email Newsletter Writers’ Block. They just can’t seem to think of anything to write, don’t like feeling pressured to write something fabulous, and secretly hate email marketing because they don’t want to be a copywriter.

So, what do they do? They put it off and procrastinate. Soon, it has been weeks, or sometimes even months and nothing has been sent out to their list. No announcements. No marketing. No helpful tips or information. Unfortunately, their list of warm leads is growing colder by the minute!

Here is a quick list of email newsletter topics or content ideas that you can use to help put an end to writers’ block:

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