Unsure where to start?

 

Too many email marketing platforms to choose from?

 

Then this podcast is for you. This week I’m joined by Chris Davis who is the Educational Director of Content of Active Campaign. We’re going to take a deep dive into what active campaign is doing behind the scenes, how you can go about selecting an email service to provide, and how to get started with email marketing and automation.

 

Where You Were and Where You End Up Might not be so Different

 

It’s important to understand where you came from and why. Chris tell us, “A lot of times you’re doing something and just don’t know how important, or know how what you’re doing now can be impactful, perhaps in another area or industry.”

 

You see, Chris started out as an engineer, studied formally, and worked for 7 years programming microprocessors. The nitty gritty 1’s and 0’s coding in a laboratory with no windows.

 

Before long, he found himself asking, “What am I here for?” That’s when he left to start a web development firm. It was short-lived, but he came to understand that the magic wasn’t in the website but what was behind the website. That’s when Chris was introduced email marketing and soon after email automation.

 

He mentions learning a tool many small businesses were using but struggling with. The goal was to take this difficult and hard to manage tool and make it easier on clients by managing it for them. The tool? InfusionSoft

 

Chris quickly learned that InfusionSoft wasn’t catered for SaaS companies but learned how to use it. It was that knowledge that lead him to dominate the space.

 

It was then that it hit him, “I’ve been in the automation space the whole time, but never connected the two.” When the opportunity came to take on the role of education and building out content came up with Active Campaign, he shares that he jumped on it and hasn’t looked back

 

What Is Marketing Automation?

 

Chris defines marketing automation as the process of employing technology to continually execute your marketing strategy. It’s not new, but it’s new to the small business owner. Technology replacing human beings hadn’t been available to small business to this scale, but big businesses have been using automation a long time.

 

With the advancement of technology, it makes it more accessible to all levels of business ownership. A small business owner can operate as an enterprise and thus dawns a new day for the small business. Instead of hiring staff to do your marketing, employ technology to do it for you.

 

Chris explains that there comes a point where you pay the price for ignorance. How realistic is it that every business owner can respond to every customer inquiry manually within 5 minutes? As business increases, it becomes a near-impossible task. Therefore, Chris counsels that you want to use the platform, a marketing tool like Active campaign, to alleviate some of that.

 

If you want to have an email go out within 5 minutes of someone signing up, it’s as easy as a  checkbox using Active Campaign. That’s how easy it becomes to ensure it happens.

 

Most business owners don’t have that box to check, and they simply don’t know how much money they are leaving on the table.

 

Choosing the Right Marketing Automation Platform

 

Did you know that there is an invisible ceiling with most platforms? Chris explains that there is a point to where you can’t go any further. To where you'll have to adopt a new technology or platform to move forward. If you are just starting out, it’s all synonymous to you.

 

Don’t read reviews, it’s specific to that situation. If you aren’t using it like they do, then it's worthless. Best thing is to try it yourself.

 

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