How To Start Email Marketing Business: A Step-By-Step Guide

Do you want to start an email marketing business but don't know where to begin?

I love email marketing due to its high return on investment ($36 for $1) and complete ownership.

In this article, I show you the 7 simple steps to start a profitable email marketing business quickly.

Moreover, in step 3, I reveal a done-for-you system for building your email list in 24 hours.

Let's get started...

The first step in starting an email marketing business is choosing a profitable niche market.

Let me tell you what a niche is...

A niche is a specific segment of a big market that has its own market demands for specialized products and services.

For example, finance is a big market and includes different segments such as real estate investing, stock investing, cryptocurrency, tax planning, and personal finance.

Here each segment of finance is called a niche.

because each segment has its own needs and wants that you should fulfill as a marketer.

The best way to find a profitable niche for email marketing is to start a step-by-step market research.

Here are 4 important platforms to do market research:

1. Google

2. YouTube

3. Udemy

4. Facebook

Now I show you step by step to find a profitable email marketing business niche using these 4 platforms.

I recommend you validate your niche on all of these platforms to make sure you have chosen a lucrative niche market.

Google Trends is a free marketing tool by Google that allows you to discover the popularity of top search queries worldwide and in specific regions and languages.

For example, you want to start an email marketing business around "weight loss for women," and you're not sure if it's a profitable niche in the United States or not.

In this case, type "weight loss for women" in the Google Trends search bar and explore its popularity by a graph.

Moreover, you can compare two or more topics at the same time to discover the most popular one.

For example, you can compare "weight loss for women" against "weight loss for men."

According to Google Trends, weight loss for women is more popular in the United States, and women want to lose weight and get fit.

So if you choose "weight loss for women" as your niche, you can make money because overweight women come to Google every day to find solutions to lose weight.

You can use YouTube to find a profitable niche market for your email marketing business.

Step 1: Type your favorite topic in the YouTube search bar and press enter.

Step 2: Click on "Filters" on the right corner above.

Step 3: Choose the "This Year." option from the search filters.

Step 4: Look for 10-20 related videos with at least 50,000 views each. The more, the better.

If those 10-20 videos have 50,000 views each, it indicates that your topic is popular and interesting, and you can choose it as your email marketing niche.

I use market research on YouTube to find profitable niche markets and get topic ideas for my email newsletters.

Udemy is the largest online course platform on the internet, and people come to Udemy to learn something.

If there are popular courses for a niche (topic), it’s an indication that people want to learn and spend money in that niche.

Step 1: Go to Udemy.com and browse the categories.

You can select more general niches or specific niches (which are called topics).

For example, in the marketing category, paid advertising is a niche. Within paid advertising are more specific niches, such as Facebook ads, as you see in the image below.

Step 2: Choose 5-10 related courses.

Step 4: Look for the number of students and reviews for each course.

If the number of students and views is more than 5,00 for each course, it's good to go with that niche.

You can find different topics and niches on Udemy. Just follow the step-by-step market research that I showed you.

Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with 2.9 billion active users.

People follow Facebook pages and groups to look for exclusive information or solve a specific problem.

Here's how to find a niche on Facebook.

Step 1: Go to the Facebook search bar and type your favorite topic.

Step 2: Look for 10-20 Facebook groups with at least 5,000 or more members.

Step 3: Select pages and look for 5-10 Facebook pages with at least 5,000-10,000 followers.

Facebook pages and groups with more than 5,000–10,000 followers and members indicate the popularity of a niche.

However, some niches include more than 100,000 or millions of active members and followers.

What is an email marketing platform?

An email marketing platform is cloud-based software that manages your email list and creates campaigns.

There are many email marketing software programs out there, like Aweber, GetResponse, Clickfunnels, etc., but some of them are expensive and have limited free plan usage, which is not beginner-friendly.

Therefore, I recommend Systeme.io for beginners because it allows you to manage 2,000 email contacts and send unlimited emails for free.

Here are 5 basic things that an email marketing platform does for your email marketing business.

What is a landing page? A landing page is a simple webpage that helps you collect people's email addresses automatically.

An email marketing platform enables you to create eye-catching landing pages to encourage visitors to join your email list and receive your newsletters.

See an example of a landing page below:

What is a thank-you page?

Simply put, the purpose of a thank-you page is to say thank you to new email subscribers who join your email list through your landing page.

In addition to the gratitude, the thank-you page is used to introduce a new offer and make money on the front.

See a sample of a thank-you page below:

An email marketing platform enables you to create text-based or design-based email campaigns.

No matter if you promote digital products or do e-commerce, an email marketing platform gives you access to ready-made email templates to use for your marketing purposes.

What is email marketing automation?

Email marketing automation helps you set up email campaigns, such as email sequences or welcome emails, that can be sent automatically once new subscribers join your list.

Moreover, it also allows you to segment your email list based on interests, behaviors, demographics, or certain actions.

Email marketing platforms offer in-depth reporting on open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and other key metrics, allowing for data-driven adjustments and optimization.

After selecting an email marketing platform, now you can build your email list.

What is an email list?

It's a list of people's email addresses who subscribe legally and ideally via your landing page or opt-in forms to receive your email content, such as newsletters and special offers.

There are two proven ways to build your email list:

1. Free Ways

2. Paid Ways

If you're a complete beginner and you lack the technical skills to build your email list quickly, you can use a done-for-you system like SpeedWealth to build a list of high-quality buyers in 24 hours or less.

You can use your blog, website, and social media such as YouTube and Facebook to build your email list for free.

Create opt-in forms in your blog sidebars, use exit-intent pop-ups, and offer a lead magnet (freebie) on your blog or website to encourage visitors to join your email list.

Follow step one and find 5-10 Facebook pages and groups related to your niche market.

Allocate 1 or 2 hours daily and participate in discussions by offering valuable advice, tips, and insights consistently.

Without spamming, offer your lead magnet in posts or comments when relevant.

For example, if someone asks for advice related to your niche, you can offer your free guide as part of your response.

Create valuable content for your niche-related YouTube channel, and at the beginning or end of each video, offer them your lead magnet.

Moreover, you can make a dedicated YouTube video about the benefits of your freebie to motivate viewers to download it and join your email list.

Secondly, place a link in your video description where viewers can sign up and download the lead magnet.

Do you want to build your email list fast and make money? paid ads would be the choice for you.

Paid advertising allows you to build a big email list quickly without relying on free traffic sources for months.

Here are 5 types of paid ads:

1. Facebook ads

2. YouTube Ads

3. Google ads (search & display ads)

4. TikTok ads

5. Solo Ads (email media)

Running ads is not easy for beginners because it needs some technical, designing and copywriting skills.

For example, copywriting is the science and art of persuading the target audience to take action.

So, if you cannot persuade people to take action on your ads, you will lose money.

Additionally, if you don't create creative ads and target the right audience and demographics, you will lose money as well.

because of these problems...

I recommend you take a proven email marketing course to master running ads effectively.

The easiest and fastest way to build your email list is to use solo ads, which are called email media.

Solo ads are a form of pay-per-click advertising where you buy access to someone else's email list to promote your offer.

The seller, who owns a large email list, sends an email to their subscribers with your message and a link to your opt-in page.

This helps you quickly grow your own email list as interested subscribers sign up for your offer.

Solo ads are popular in niches like making money online, health, and personal development because they target audiences already interested in these topics.

Email subject line is the first thing that subscribers see and decide to open your email.

If your email subject line doesn't spark interest and grab people's attention, no one will open it.

Create a short and sweet subject line, minimum 8 words or less, to see on the mobile phone fully.

Mention the first name of the person in the subject line. Moreover, instead of the words [I and we] use "you or your."

For example:

1. John, Now Lose Your Belly Fat in 2 Weeks.

2. You Can Leave Your 9-5 Job Quickly.

Use specific numbers, statistics, or benefits in your subject line, because specificity cuts through the noise and gets people’s attention.

For example:

1. How John Lost 30 Pounds in 3 Weeks

2. New Study: 55% of Americans Are Diabetic

Avoid using certain words, phrases, and signs that might trigger the spam filter.

Some examples include "make money," "guarantee," "passive income," "buy now," "act now," "!!!" and "$$$."

I recommend testing your email before hitting send to your entire email list.

Platforms like Systeme.io offer a handy testing feature for this very purpose.

Testing your email lets you see exactly where it ends up—in the inbox, the promotions tab, or worse, the dreaded spam folder.

After building your email list to a certain size, now it's time to send emails and make money with email marketing.

Generally, there are 4 types of emails in email marketing:

1. Informational Email

2. Promotional Email

3. Story Email

4. Hybride Email (promo + Info or promo + story)

Note: According to the CAN-SPAM Act, be sure to use a domain-based email address to send your email campaigns to your list. For instance, Smith@yourdomain.com

Informational email is used to educate your email subscribers something related to your niche.

For example, if your niche is weight loss, you can teach your subscribers best tips, diets, supplements to lose weight.

Promotional email is an email used to promote a product, service, or special offer to your email subscribers.

The best way to write a promotional email is to follow a simple email copywriting formula called PAS.

PAS stands for problem, agitate, and solution.

A story email is an email that uses storytelling to engage and connect with your audience while subtly promoting a product or service.

It’s designed to capture attention through relatable experiences, emotions, or lessons that resonate with your readers.

Hybrid email is a combination of informational plus promotional email, or a mix of story plus promotional email.

What are email marketing metrics?

Open rate, click-through rate, and email deliverability are called the most important metrics in email marketing.

Open rate shows the percentage of email subscribers who opened the email and read it.

What is a healthy open rate?

According to the data, a healthy open rate is between 15 and 25%, but it's different for each industry.

If your open rate is low, it's because your subject line is not catchy or may be your email landed in the spam filter.

The best way to avoid spam folder is to test your email campagin before sending it to your list.

The click-through rate (CTR) indicates the percentage of email subscribers who clicked the links in your email after opening and reading the email.

Here's how to calculate the CTR:

Number of clicks divided by number of opens.

For example, if you get 1,00 email opens and 50 clicks, you have a clickthrough rate of 0.5 or 50%.

If people are not clicking your links, it's because your email copy is not persuasive, or maybe people are not interested in your offer or content.

Email deliverability means whether your email lands in the subscriber's inbox or the spam and junk folders.

Moreover, it also shows if your email is bouncing. If an email is bounced, it means the subscriber did not receive it, either in the inbox or in the spam or junk folders.

There are two types of bounces:

1. Hard bounces

2. Soft bounces

Hard bounces mean your email cannot be delivered for a permanent reason. For example, an email address does not exist anymore or it's a fake email address.

Soft bounces mean your email cannot be delivered for a temporary reason, such as their inbox being full or your message being marked as spam.

If your bounce rate is less than 2%, it's good, but if it's above 2%, I recommend contacting your email marketing platform to solve the problem.

In this step, I show you how to monetize your email list and make money with email marketing business.

There are 2 ways to monetize your email list, and I explain each one of them here.

Promoting and selling affiliate offers is an easy way to make money with your email list.

Affiliate marketing is a monetization method where you promote other people's products through your email list and earn commissions when subscribers purchase a product.

Here are top affiliate marketplaces where you can choose a high-converting affiliate product and start promoting it.

1. Clickbank

2. Digitstore24

3. JVzoo

4. Commission Junction

5. Systeme.io (My Favorite)

Make sure to choose an affiliate product with the highest number of sales because it indicates the popularity and conversion of a product.

You can monetize your email list by selling your own products and services. It can be a course, e-book, templates, software, memberships, subscriptions, etc.

When you promote your products with your email list, mention their key benefits and show them how it can solve their problems.

Avoid focusing on one angel for every email campaign. Try to focus on different angles.

For example, one day share your personal story about the product, and the next day provide social proof or testimonials.

Starting an email marketing business doesn’t have to be complicated.

It all begins with picking a niche that works for you, choosing the right email platform, and building up your email list.

Once you’ve got those basics down, you can start sending the right kinds of emails to your audience and watch your business grow.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on important metrics like open rates and click-through rates to make sure you're on the right track.

Download my free book to learn email marketing step by step.