Jeweller Emily Nixon designs and makes artfully sea-worn, luxurious fine jewellery from her studio in Cornwall. She sells from her studio, from her website, and at events in the UK and abroad.
We’re on her mailing list and are always impressed with what lands in our inbox so we asked her some questions how she uses email marketing for her jewellery business to help other creative businesses too.
How often do you send an email to your mailing list?
“We are very conscious of only sending a newsletter when we have something relevant to say e.g show dates, ticket offers, a new collection.
We think about WHY people subscribe to our mailing list (What do they expect? What would they like to hear about?) and those are the messages we stick to”.
What response do you get from your emails?
“Our newsletters are rarely measurable by actions e.g direct sales. Our message is more broad, brand based. We work on longer-term results and a feeling of belonging – being a part of our story.
However – when we do include a complimentary ticket offer or invite people to specific events we get a very good response – probably because we don’t do it all the time. The information about shows certainly brings people through the door.
Even though our newsletters aren’t targeted to sales (we don’t put prices or ‘click to buy’ actions) we do feature beautiful photographs of pieces of jewellery. On one occasion a follower who had never previously bought responded to a story about redesigning inherited jewellery. She then commissioned a bespoke piece using 30 of her own diamonds. It was a significant commission”.
Which email marketing tools do you use?
“We have our own bespoke template for our newsletters, designed by Nixon Design – the branding agency that also designed Emily’s website. All of our communications – print and digital – are designed by the same Nixon graphics team giving us a consistent brand identity.
It works the same as Mailchimp: emails collected through our website signup get automatically transferred to our email marketing system. And any emails collected at shows are manually added. We categorise our emails into folders for targeted mailing, for instance: wholesale, South East, wedding etc.
How we can present ourselves through our email marketing is fundamental to our ongoing relationships with our clients”.
How do you get more subscribers to your email list?
“Our website has a subscribe box that pops up discreetly in the bottom corner – only once per visit.
We also take email addresses at each show – from people who have shown an interest or have purchased something. At the point of taking an email, we have a conversation about what we share via newsletter. We set an expectation to introduce a feeling of ‘belonging to our community’ and to reduce risk of annoyance/disappointment”.
What are your email marketing tips for creatives?
“1) Tell your story.
2) Be honest and don’t try and copy your competitors. Be original and talk in your newsletters as though you are talking to a client at a show.
3) Think about why they came on board in the first place. What do they like about your brand? And update them with news they will be interested in – not just what you want to say”.
About Emily Nixon
Emily makes organically luxurious, handcrafted fine jewellery inspired by the Cornish coastline. Emily’s distinctive palette of gemstones, combined with sea-worn textures, results in a language of design entirely her own. An extraordinary interpretation of nature in collections that make an artful statement.
If you want to learn about why email marketing is so important, read our blog post with 8 reasons that we hope will convince you of its value.
What did you learn from how Emily uses email marketing for her jewellery business? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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