As promised in my first marketing post I am going to jump right into the number one mistake I see almost everyone in the livestock industry making. It is so common in fact you are not going to believe it when I tell you.

What is the biggest mistake?

Not having an email list!

Think about it; people are visiting your website for a particular reason. They might be interested in your sale. Maybe they saw your genetics win and wanted to know more about what you offer.

They come to your website, catch a glimpse of what you offer and leave your website perhaps never to visit again. You may have just lost a potential customer. Pretty powerful right?

Now let's add one step to this scenario. This same customer sees you have a mailing list where they can sign up to stay up to date and learn about your sales. They signup because they love your livestock! You just earned their trust and more importantly a ticket into their email box and the easiest way to speak directly to them!

Why is an email list the easiest thing you can do?

Adding a mailing list will give you a chance to have a conversation directly with your ideal customer. No middle man, a heart to heart personally with them. Your visit from them may have just turned into a lifelong relationship you can grow with trust and continued outreach.

When sale season is here YOU have the power to reach the people most interested in your offering! Your sale won't be lost in the inbox with the other 25 sales going out that day (and usually ending up in the spam folder).

You won't be relying on the marketing of another company. You won't have to trust that they are doing everything correctly and your email is reaching their inbox. You get to speak to them from your heart and give them value.

So how do you do it?

It's pretty simple. Signup for an email list! There are a few options that are cheap or even free to a point. The most user-friendly and easy to use would probably be FloDesk. When you signup they give you a bunch of ready made templates and signup forms for you to integrate into your own design. 

If you don't manage your website talk to your designer and have them integrate your email form right into your website or just have them add a link to your form.

After you have an email list take the time to sit down and design an editorial calendar. Plan out when you want to send emails and add value to your customer's life with tips or advice for their project. If you have a sale coming send a few sneak peeks and talk about how excited you are. If you had an update done to your website include special congratulations to those winners and link to the page so everyone can see the excitement.

I really can't put enough emphasis on this. If you think it is too hard give it an honest try. It won't cost you anything and it really is the best way to communicate with your ideal customer. If you have any questions please leave them in your comments and I will do my best to answer them!