How Coffee Brands Can Start Email Marketing (The Easy Way)

You can’t really afford not to.

Email marketing is undeniably one of the most effective marketing channels in the world, but most coffee companies completely ignore the opportunity.

And it’s a BIG opportunity.

Your customers are desperate for meaningful connection, and email can be a powerful way to send messages that brighten their day – and they’ll be more likely to buy from you too.

• Email is great for announcing new products
• Email is amazing for securing recurring subscription sales
• Email is perfect for keeping hyper-loyal fans connected
  

Here’s why you should start today if you haven’t already, along with a few suggestions on how to make it quick and simple.

Also Download: The 7 Ecommerce Emails that Sell Coffee on Autopilot

Less than 10% of Instagram followers see your social posts.

Visibility on social media is very low. Most people don’t see your content. Instagram and Facebook stories have helped, but those mediums will also experience a decline in visibility as more brands use them.

With email, you can be confident that 100% of your customers on your list will have your message in their inbox.

And the list of email marketing benefits just goes on and on.

• Email recipients spend 138% more than non-recipients
• 91% of people check their email daily
• You own that connection and don’t have to worry about Facebook reducing your visibility

I’d go on, but the research is clear: if you want regular access to your customers’ attention, email is the way to go. That goes for ecommerce stores and physical cafes.

What “list building” looks like.

Your goal is to get your customers (and potential customers) on a “list”. But people are protective of their inboxes, so the best way to get them in your ecosystem is to make them an offer.

• A coupon (20% off)
• A special offer (buy one, get one 50% off)
• A helpful resource (coffee ratios cheat sheet)
• First access to new products

My friends at Alternative Brewing in Australia do this with a simple $5 OFF coupon popup on their website. It comes up automatically after ~30 seconds on the site (something that’s really easy to automate).

Another option is to offer a helpful guide, insight, or resource.

Bellwether Coffee, the creator of an incredible zero-emissions roaster, demonstrates how simple this can be. They have a basic page on their website with an email form that auto-sends new people a brochure.

No frills, no tricks – just offering customers something they care about.

They post about this page on their instagram story once per week or so get people to the page.

How to set it up quickly.

There are a lot of tools out there. Don’t worry about which one is perfect for you. The important thing is to just get started. You can easily switch email tools in the future if you want.

To get started for free, I suggest Mailerlite or Mailchimp. Both platforms are user-friendly and easily integrate into major website platforms, like WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace.

Create an account, integrate your website (or build a “landing page” using their tools if you don’t have a website yet), and publish your form to your website (or a link to social).

If you’re doing a discount code to get people in, make sure it’s connected to your ecommerce platform so it auto-creates codes (takes less than 10 minutes – look up how using your platform).

What do I send to people, and how often?

Listen, this doesn’t have to be complicated. The point is to build a relationship with your customers over time. Don’t overthink it – be authentic.

Just start off sending an email every 1-2 weeks. It can even be plain text – don’t worry about fancy formatting or images.

Things you can write about include…

• New products or services
  
• How your customers can buy from you (a guide to ordering your coffee using a delivery app, for example)
  
• Updates from the cafe, like how your team is feeling
  
• Encouraging messages from baristas
  
• Tips for making coffee at home
  
• Local happenings related to your business
  

BE PERSONABLE. Your customers will be grateful for real human connection, especially in a time like this.

(And because most coffee brands that do email marketing stick to boring, robotic emails with nothing interesting inside.)

We will talk more about specific email marketing strategies later on. For now, just get started. 

The sooner you start creating your list, the sooner it begins growing, and the sooner BIG revenue opportunities will open up.

Let me know if you have any questions!