Why one famous jeweller relies on her email list for sales more than any other channel

I met with a very well known British fine jewellery designer last week at the Goldsmiths’ Fair in London. We discussed all things jewellery business as usual, and she mentioned how tough she was finding Instagram engagement, despite having around 100k followers. The eyes just weren’t on her content - content that she had spent precious time creating and posting - and engagement was low as a result.

It’s undeniable that Instagram cannot be solely relied upon as a sales channel, with the constantly changing algorithm slipping beyond our control, so which channels should we be pouring our time and resources into if we want to increase sales as independent jewellery designers?

What is the best sales channel for independent jewellers?

With brands facing the increasing lack of visibility on Instagram, more independent jewellers - an any stage of their business - are leaning in a resource they have more control overt: email lists.

Cultivating and nurturing your email list is one of the best ways to ensure your content is being seen by the right people. Anyone who has signed up to a mailing list is already a ‘warm lead’ - someone who is interested in your business and has proved that interest by signing up.

Carefully craft your content

Your email list should therefore be treated with utmost care and attention, with time spent on thoughtfully crafted content delivered on a reliably regular basis, whether that’s twice a week or twice a month.

Your email subscribers should feel like VIPs - receiving pre-sale notifications, exclusive access to limited edition designs, invites to private views and discount codes. This is where the connections can be made.

With a cleverly crafted email campaign, you can encourage and nurture loyalty and fandom in your jewellery brand, with regular, considered reminders of your presence in the oversaturated market.

How often should I be emailing my subscriber list?

As long as your content is thoughtfully created, with relevant, on-brand and interesting content, you can email your list once or even twice a week. Emails can feature anything from selected edits or focuses on one particular piece of jewellery, new product launches, or birthstone edits.

What should my emails look like?

Keep emails short and well-designed, unless you’re creating a long-form newsletter.

Remember to link back to your website (double check the links!) and add contact buttons and social media links.

Make your email as useful as possible to the reader, think about what they want to see, what they might be thinking about or needing at that particular time. Do they want a gift edit under £500? Do they need ideas on how to remodel their existing jewellery?

In the over saturated market filled with over stimulated minds, people need gentle reminders of what’s out there, and landing in someone’s inbox with a beautiful ideas and inspiration won’t be an annoyance if you put time and effort into your content.

To build your email list, understand what kind of content connects to customers, and learn about optimising your email flows, join our next Masterclass on the Power of Email Marketing for Jewellery Designers, click here to join the Membership.