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email marketing strategy
10 Things To Implement For Successful List Building
10 Things To Implement For Successful List Building
If you have been marketing online for any length of time, you will know the importance of building your own email list.
You own your list, whereas you don’t own the social media platforms you may use to build an audience, and it can be taken away from you, and where would that leave your online business?
So, if you haven’t started already, start building your list and learn some email marketing strategies.
This article will cover 10 of the things that you can implement to grow your business with an active email list, and are a key to effective email marketing.
OK, let’s dive in…
Personalize Your Emails
It goes without saying that first impressions matter, and this is triple important for emails. Quick question: What would you do if you subscribed to a company’s email newsletter only to find out that their emails are kind of boring? Simple fonts, no backgrounds, no signatures, and so on.
What will happen is that you will ignore them, and eventually they’ll automatically end up in your spam folder. This is exactly what would happen to your emails if you don’t pay special attention to your email’s presentation.
Of course, you need to be careful and limit personalization to the subject line and the first line of the message, or your email may seem forced or fake. Also, don’t overshoot its design, just use something related to what you do as a business or professional.
Use Blogging And Landing Pages
Your mailing list will go as far as the means you use to market will take it. This means that you can’t just use a corner of your website to show a sign up form and call it a day. What you really want is to get traffic, and put your mailing list out there.
You can do that by having a blog dedicated to content outside your website, with carefully structured information that can be used to get traffic from wherever you can and then insert a landing page with a call to action to join your mailing list.
Make Good Use Of Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are teasers or incentives that you offer in a call to action to motivate your prospects to join your mailing list. The trick behind a lead magnet is giving away something that can only be obtained by joining your mailing list.
For example, giving away a free eBook, tips, or pieces of content that is not going to be published on the website and is exclusive, can be wonderful lead magnets.
Even if your prospects only sign up for the promise of a one-time free piece of content, they will be on your mailing list. From then on, it’s up to you to keep them engaged.
Use 100% Effort When Creating Your Email Content
If a personalization is the appetizer, then quality content is the full meal. You already sent emails, but what you really want is for your customer to read them and make use of its contents.
Creating quality content for your emails guarantees that your customers will be waiting for the upcoming email. Build up anticipation by creating special content from time to time, hosting contests, sending gifts to random customers, anything to keep them on edge!
Allow Guest Posting
Guest posting is a great way to make your prospects and repeated customers perceive you as a reliable source of information. By allowing guest posting and announcing it on your newsletter, you can have people wanting to read something from a different perspective.
It will also generate traffic by means of word of mouth. If somebody on your mailing list sees a guest post from somebody that knows someone is going to enjoy, they will forward that email to that person, so you’ll probably add someone to your mailing list!
Use Paid List Building Services If You Can Afford Them
While it is true that you can use some free services to manage your mailing list, it is also true that their usefulness will get limited as your mailing list grows. Not only will you be limited to a low number of subscribers, but your options to refine your list will be limited, as well.
That’s why we recommend using paid services to manage your mailing lists and to assist you in expanding it. In any case, you have to remember that the costs of email marketing are the lowest among marketing methods, and it also offers the biggest return of investment!
Give Away Stuff To Your Subscribers So They Reciprocate
There’s a simple yet all too often overlooked rule for email marketing, and it is simply about not offering something for your customer to buy during their first week on your mailing list. Instead, give them something like a gift card, or a free eBook.
By giving them something that they don’t have to pay for, you are in fact building up loyalty. This way, you’re teaching customers that you trust them by giving them a gift, and at the same time you’ll be teaching them to trust you back.
Study Your Customers So You Can Properly Target Them
You can use multiple ways to study your customer base and prospects. You can do it by using metrics, by visiting the kind of websites they visit, or by the kind of products and services that they buy, but you have to do it.
This will be helpful, because if you know your customers, you don’t have to offer them everything you sell. You only have to target them and give them what you know they want. Email each of your customer segments with what they’re looking for, and they’ll stick with you.
Work On Follow-Up Emails
You need to have a follow up email ready to be sent once somebody signs up for your mailing list. It is as simple as sending out an email welcoming a new subscriber and taking them to a start page with instructions and information about what he or she can do now that they’re signed in!
Run Periodic Maintenance Checks On Your Mailing List
You need to run a periodic maintenance check on your mailing list to know where your resources are going. It is just not worth it to have users getting your emails in their spam folders, or have dead addresses on your list. Make sure you do this clean up from time to time.
If you want to know more about nurturing you list, check out the featured resource below for a free Simple List Building report; download, read it and take action 😊
Why You Need To Start Building Your List Today
Why You Need To Start Building Your List Today
List Building is an amazing tool that can help your business stay in touch.
Below, are some amazing benefits, as well as some shocking facts that will help you get the most out of List Building on behalf of your business.
You Own Your List
One of the very best benefits of creating and building a mailing list is the freedom that it grants you to manage it.
It might happen that you manage communications with your clientele pretty well through social media sites, but what if one of those social media sites goes out of fashion?
Social media platforms come and go, but email is prevalent. You have to also consider that while not everybody is on Facebook or Instagram, everybody using the internet has an email address, so it will always be good to capitalize on it.
What’s the first thing people check in the morning? Email!
Email Is Simple To Use
One of the greatest advantages of using email to communicate with your customers is its straightforward nature. Just make sure you have great content to send, and you’re done.
As for your clients, they might not know what a “hashtag” is, why they should comment on a picture, or maybe they’re just not that interested in “liking” something on Facebook and will ignore your posts, but they sure do know how to click on an interesting piece of content that you just sent to them.
You also have the advantage of getting their focus. On blogs or social media sites, users can get distracted and lost among the amount of information that they are bombarded with… even stuff that is related to yours, which may even come from a competitor!
With email, they can read from top to bottom without turning their finger in another direction. They’ll get your information in a condensed format that will only take them to where you want them to go!
It Grants You Exclusivity
When you think about what kind of content you want in your email inbox, or when you think about what individuals or companies you give your email address to, you don’t think about it as a free for all, right?
You think about it as something sacred, since years and years of receiving email junk has taught you to not expose it willingly. You have to think that your customers think about their email inboxes exactly the same way.
It Is Great For Making Announcements And Selling Products
Mailing lists are very good for sending out information that you don’t want to be buried under lots and lots of other trivial pieces of content.
People check their emails daily, and you can reach them much more easily this way.
Reminders for events, offers, announcements, contests and miscellaneous news, like items back in stock, are best sent through email.
Chances are you’ll get an immediate response, especially if you get your customers used to looking for your emails!
It Is Cost Effective
Building and maintaining a mailing list is one of the cheapest ways to market across the board.
You can use a regular service and even keep it free, or you can use a paid mailing list service and make use of better and more advanced features for keeping up with your customers.
If you are serious, you need to invest in a good autoresponder service such as Active Campaign or Aweber
This, of course, will depend on how you are planning to reach your customers, and to make sure they get the most out of the service.
It’s Private And Can Be Targeted
One of the best things about a mailing list, and more specifically about using email, is the privacy aspect, which people care about a lot. It works both ways, because you can directly address somebody and he or she can do the same with you.
People prefer it this way, because they can ask you something or complain to you without it needing to be on a public wall or post. You can also create a channel that can be exclusively dedicated for this kind of communications, which customers will be thankful for!
You can also target emails to certain people or groups of people, hence knowing their preferences and habits will be crucial. This will enhance how you communicate with them, and in turn will also change how they perceive you.
Finding The Right Balance Between Delivering Value And Selling In Your Emails
Every email marketer has to find the right balance between delivering value and promoting products. That’s the only way to ensure the longevity of your list and the loyalty of your subscribers.
If you keep mailing out for offer after offer without giving any value, you’ll appear ‘spammy’ and many of your subscribers will get annoyed and leave.
If you keep providing value and giving out freebies, you’ll condition your list to only expect free gifts and they’ll not be inclined to purchase anything from you.
So, finding the right balance is of paramount importance to keeping you in the green. Most subscribers innately know that you’re running a business and will have to promote offers every now and then to cover your business costs and generate profits.
In fact, if you do your email marketing well, your list will be supportive of your business and will purchase your products or the products you recommend. Email marketing is all about having a relationship with your list… and just like every relationship, there must be give and take.
In this section, we’ll look at 3 methods that you can employ to strike the right balance between providing value and making money through promotions.
Provide Tools And Tips
Your subscribers are on your list to learn from you. They’re looking for information that can help them with whatever their goals are.
If you have a weight loss list, your subscribers will want to know tips and tricks to lose weight. If they’re on a gardening list, they’ll want to know the latest methods to grow healthier vegetables or have a better garden.
Your job as an email marketer is to share pertinent, useful and applicable information to them on a regular basis. It’s imperative that your knowledge be shared so that they can learn something from you.
Share with them what works for you. This will keep them hooked to your emails and they’ll be less likely to leave.
Giving Gifts Or Bonuses
If you’re an affiliate marketer, you may need to give attractive bonuses to woo your list so that they buy through your link. This is especially true if you’re in the make money online niche and the product launches are highly competitive. Potential buyers will look around for the best bonuses before they make a purchase.
So, you’ll want to set up a good bonus as and when you can. That said, you do not need to provide a bonus every single time. If you’ve been providing enough value, your subscribers should purchase from you just because they like you.
It is a delicate balancing act here to get the list to purchase without always expecting a bonus… but it can be done.
If you’re in other niches, you could give out gifts like free reports or discount coupons or get special deals for your list that isn’t available elsewhere.
Offer Help When You Can
One of the best ways to increase engagement in your list is to be contactable. If you’re a successful marketer, you may hire a virtual assistant to help out here. Ask your list to contact you if they have questions or need help… and when they do, help them out.
If you recommend a product, you can always help them with any issues they may face using it. Be proactive and do what you can to make your subscriber achieve their goals.
Finding the right balance is all about showing that you care. Overdeliver and help whenever you can… and when you have something to sell, your list will support you and not unsubscribe because they think that you’re only looking out for number one.
“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar
If you want to know more about nurturing you list, check out the featured resource below for a free Simple List Building report; download, read it and take action 😊
Discover How Using Honesty Will Boost Your Email Open Rates
Discover How Using Honesty Will Boost Your Email Open Rates
You may have heard marketers say, “Email marketing is dead” … or email deliverability rates are low these days. The list of complaints is many and by all appearances, it seems like email marketing is getting tougher now because more and more subscribers are wary and jaded.
Marketing emails are viewed skeptically, and subscribers are much more discerning now. This is why some marketers have started using platforms like Facebook Messenger or bot services such as ManyChat or MobileMonkey because engagement is generally higher, but that doesn’t always convert into leads or sales.
Yet, there are a handful of marketers who excel at email marketing. They have high open rates, high click through rates and their emails get them a ton of sales and commissions.
So, how do they do it?
The answer is simple. They have a good relationship with their list, and they have a good sized list. The best way to build your list fast will be to retain your current subscribers as you add more to the list. If each email you send gets many unsubscribes, it will be an uphill task.
Ultimately, you need to be an honest and transparent marketer who is unique enough to stand above the noise. This is crucial to building trust and getting you noticed by your subscriber.
Don’t think of your email list as simply a cash cow to promote your (or affiliate) products or services, but rather think of them as your tribe.
Once you can achieve these 2 goals, getting people to open your emails and buy your products or the products you recommend will be a breeze.
You must treat them well and make them realise that you are simply trying to help them. The fact that you may make money by them buying your products or services is simply a byproduct of your helping them to succeed. Of course, this need to be a genuine desire to help them; you will NOT be able to fake this, so don’t even try!
Use the 5 pointers below to boost your open rates by winning your list over with your personality
Promote Only What You Believe In
This is a HUGE factor when it comes to building trust with your list. You should always promote or sell products that are of high-quality and will get the buyer their money’s worth.
Too many marketers these days tend to promote every product under the sun just so that they can get commissions.
In the short run, this may work… but over time, their list will stop trusting them and the sales will dry up faster than a wet towel in the Sahara desert.
Do your research on the product, the product creator, the price, the pros and cons, etc. This will allow you to give an honest review of the product and if it’s something that you wouldn’t buy… do NOT recommend it.
Show Them You’ve Purchased The Product
One of the best ways to inspire your list to buy the product you’re recommending. Even if you received a review copy or a complimentary gift in return for a promotion, go ahead and buy the product if you like it.
Take a screenshot of your purchase and display it in your email to show that you actually forked out money for it.
This will show that you too have skin in the game and you’re truly recommending something that you believe in.
Test Out The Product If You Can
Test the product out and see if it works. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfume or some ‘make money online’ (MMO) eBook that promises profits.
Make sure that you test the product out and see the results for yourself. Do you like it? Does it deliver on its promises? Is it worth the money?
If the answer is yes to all of the above questions, then you can promote it knowing full well that it’s good. Do not blindly pass off the claims on the sales copy as gospel when doing a review.
Don’t Contradict Yourself
This is very common among online marketers who promote products in the MMO niche. On one day they may be praising a particular YouTube video ranking software and saying that it’s the ‘last one you’ll ever need.’
A week later, when a new but similar video ranking software is released, they’ll promote this like it’s the best thing you’ll ever need.
Your subscribers can see through these shenanigans. Do not contradict yourself in your emails. If you’re promoting a software that is really good, then you should get a copy of it yourself and try it out.
You can then share your knowledge and tips with the list and show them the results you got from using the software.
You’re supposed to promote and also help your subscribers learn to use what they buy. You can create tutorial videos, blog posts. etc. to guide them. You are limited by your own imagination as far as delivering value goes. That’s what a wise marketer would do instead of pushing every piece of junk that hits the market.
Finding Your Voice
As a marketer, you’ll need to stand out from the rest. There are many ways to do this. You could use photos of yourself in your emails or have an attractive personality that comes across in your emails.
A sense of humor or brutal honesty or links to videos that you’ve made will help your readers get to know you better.
The key to being unique is to let your personality shine. Do not try to fake it till you make it or act like an authority who is pulling in six figures a month, if you’re not even close. The age old dating advice of just being yourself applies here too.
If you can practice these 5 tips and make them second nature to your email marketing, your open rates will skyrocket, and your subscribers will look forward to your emails.
If you want to know more about nurturing you list, check out the featured resource below for a free Simple List Building report; download, read it and take action 😊
Are You Building An Email List Or A Tribe?
Are You Building An Email List Or A Tribe?
You are using email marketing as part of your business strategy, right? I am sure you are but thought I’d ask because some folks get distracted by the next best thing and tend to neglect using email as part of their marketing strategy and they are seriously missing out.
Let me say this now, email marketing is not going anywhere, and is a simple, effective way to reach and engage your readers, but it must be done correctly to be optimally effective, and hopefully this post will help with the way you approach email marketing and nurturing your list in future.
Now, if you’ve been doing online marketing for any length of time, you’d have heard the line, “The money is in the list” repeated ad nauseam. Yet, it is true. The money is truly in the list, especially if you have a large and responsive one.
But it shouldn’t just be a list of freebie seekers; the real money is in the buyers list, as you know they are much more likely to be serious, take action and see results.
Because of this obsession with list size, thousands of marketers resort to a myriad of methods to grow their list. They focus on the numbers and the size of the list but often fail to realize that quality beats quantity.
It is a fact that there are marketers who have a list of about 10,000 subscribers and are able to generate six figures a month from this list as compared to many other marketers who have 10 times more subscribers but can’t make even half of what those with the smaller list are making.
If You Are Just Building A List And Not A Tribe, You’re Doing It Wrong
The secret to getting the most out of your list is to build a tribe and not a list. You may be wondering, “What’s a tribe… and what’s the difference?”
The difference is that a list is just a group of subscribers who’ve either opted in to get a freebie or they’ve purchased a product of yours and landed on your list. At this stage, the list isn’t too familiar with you, and they don’t really know you well.
If you do not establish a relationship with them and you just keep hitting them with email after email, many will unsubscribe and leave because they do not feel a connection with you. You’re just another marketer to them.
A tribe, however, is loyal. It takes time to nurture a list till it becomes a tribe. You’ll need to provide value to your list and help them progress towards their goals. Your emails will need to be entertaining and yet, useful.
You’ll need to be honest in your emails and your personality needs to shine. The products you recommend should be good and you must always look out for your tribe because in a sense, since it’s your tribe, you’re the leader. Your vibe attracts your tribe.
Just like any leader knows his tribe well, you’ll need to understand the needs of your list. Create a subscriber avatar. For example, if you’re in the weight loss niche, you must know who your target subscriber is.
It may be a middle-aged woman who could be juggling her career and her family and trying to get her body in shape. Or it could be a busy mom who has had no time to exercise and she’s trying to get rid of a few pounds.
Or it could be an overweight man who wants to get in shape so that he can gain confidence and ladies will start looking at him in a whole new way.
As you can see, all these are different types of people with different needs. You cannot help all of them. You need to pick one specific group or niche and address the needs of these people.
Trying to be everything to everybody is a surefire recipe for failure. Speak in a language that your subscriber can identify with. If your list is mostly comprised of women trying to lose weight on their tummy but you’re talking about getting ripped and muscular, you will not form a bond with your list.
You need to be on the same page as them and know what their needs, goals and dreams are. Now you can help them and provide them the value they need. Once they see that you have their best interests at heart, they’ll trust you and anticipate your emails. You now have a tribe of people who look up to you and want your emails.
It is inevitable that you will get unsubscribes along the way. Do not take this personally or lose sleep over it. To become a navy seal, one needs to go through a series of rigorous of tests and must make the final cut. Many start out but only a select few get through. However, these few are highly trained and have a bond like no other.
In the same way, the people who do not ‘get you’… are better off on someone else’s list. You can’t please everyone. You should be glad to see them go because not only will your autoresponder fees be lower but you’ll also have a list that’s ‘tight’ and a bunch of subscribers who hang on to your every word.
That is definitely a good place to be. Keep building your list and while you’re doing that, always establish a relationship with your subscribers so that you have a growing list that becomes a tribe.
Many marketers, especially affiliate marketers, simply pound their list with offer after offer and provide absolutely no value. This inevitably results in a high unsubscribe rate, so they must be constantly trying to build their list to replace all those that are leaving.
Just thinking about that makes me feel exhausted! Wouldn’t it be easier to nurture your list, look after them and offer them products and services that will genuinely help them, instead of thinking purely selfishly about your next commission payment?
Take time to grow your list, nurture them, look after them and always have their best interests at heart and they will reward you and your business.
If you want to know more about nurturing you list, check out the featured resource below for a free Simple List Building report; download, read it and take action 😊
Simple Email Marketing Tips
Simple Email Marketing Tips
Email marketing is an effective form of online marketing, but there are ways to get the most out of it. Creating an email message to use in an email marketing campaign is not very hard, but convincing people to open email marketing messages is, because online scammers also use email to spread their junk mail around the internet.
By using these tips for good email marketing, you can let people know that you are a legitimate company at just a glance, and they will therefore feel safer about opening your messages.
Giving your autoresponder service provider a heads up on your intention to use their platform for any type of affiliate marketing campaign is the first of the marketing secrets that you should think of and remember to do before sending out that first message.
Many autoresponder services frown upon affiliate marketing as it can come across as spammy but if the main purpose of the message is to educate or entertain and then offer them something related to help them it should be fine. If in doubt, ask them before you start sending anything.
Be respectful enough of those who will be receiving your email messages to use their names to greet them in your message. This secret to email marketing does add some work to creating a marketing campaign, but it will get you further than an impersonal and unprofessional, “hey you.”
Send your email messages in HTML and PLAIN formats so that those receiving them can choose to view your marketing message in the format they prefer. Yet another of the secrets to email marketing that is very effective in getting more people to at least open and look at your message.
Never use dollar signs anywhere in your messages. Not the subject line, and not in the message body. People have come to associate the presence of dollar signs in the subject or message body with SCAM emails and will delete them instead of opening and reading them. Many ISPs also have filters that will block emails containing dollar signs in the subject line of the message.
Even if your email marketing message containing dollars signs were to make it past an ISP filter and someone were to open it up, this is insulting and not necessary to provoke interest in your website. People understand what money is without pictures or symbols of it.
As another strategy, it is best to avoid sending your marketing messages during the holidays. This secret is in sharp contrast to the suggested techniques of other styles of internet marketing, but during the holidays people are more apt to be online for shorter amounts of time and many stay away from their inboxes because they feel an obligation towards messages from family and friends, and we all know that at this time of year people just don’t have the extra time to invest financially or even just investing their time, in other people’s ventures.
Use double opt in for cold traffic. Many people will give a fake email address jut to get a freebie, but if you force them to confirm their email address before they get the freebie, you can avoid this and remove any email addresses that don’t confirm their address.
This also helps those who may have simply typed in their email address incorrectly; they can try again and confirm their details to get their gift.
Another secret to is to provide a concise path for those receiving and interested in your offer to follow in order to complete desired purchases or receipt of offered materials.
Your email marketing message should have a link to where these purchases, downloads, subscriptions, or whatever it is that you are offering can be completed or a way for these to be completed directly from your email.
Most of these secrets to email marketing are simple yes, but they are very effective when used in email marketing.
How To Market Effectively Without Becoming Spam
The best way to effectively carry out marketing without becoming a spammer is through Email-marketing. Email marketing is a very popular practice and technique that can be used to advertise your business to prospective customers.
Apart from using email for marketing, you can also use it to engage customers by making your emails as personal as you can. If you use this strategy correctly, you will develop a good relationship with your customers and get their interests.
In this section we have outlined the various ways on how to market effectively without ending up in spam.
Send Emails to people who know you and your products.
Sending emails to people who know you and your products is the first effective way on how to market effectively without becoming spam.
Anyone who is aware of the reason he or she decided to join your email list will not receive your email as spam.
Therefore it is vital to only mail people who are familiar with your products because those who are not familiar with your product will receive it as spam and delete it and this will be a waste of your time and resources.
Avoid overwhelming your customers with Marketing Emails.
Sending out hordes of marketing emails to your customers can be boring, therefore focus more on one topic per email.
The topics should be followed by a short copy which can entice your customers to click on it and read through and this way your customers will be happy because they wouldn’t be overwhelmed by too much information.
And don’t be all marketing; don’t be afraid to reveal stuff about you as this will help to create a bond between you and your readers.
Do not bug your customers with ‘Buy now!’ Emails.
Your email subscribers are already aware that you want to make sales therefore do not annoy them with abhorrent ‘Buy Now’ messages but instead try building a steady relationship with them and present yourself in a professional manner.
This has proved to be one of the best ways one can use to market effectively without becoming a spammer.
Always focus on what your reader wants, and if you have something that can help them, then feel free to mention it as a soft offer, rather than ramming it down their throats so you can make a quick buck.
Do not use too many images in your emails.
Most people who use emails usually block the graphics thus sending them emails with many images will only hinder them from getting the information you are trying to pass to them.
Apart from missing out on the major information, too many images activate junk mail filter which becomes present in email programs, preventing your messages from ever been seen.
They can also slow down email loading, just as they do with a website, and we all know that attention spans are at an all-time low!
Give your customers the choice of accepting a certain number of mails per day.
This is another effective way one can use to market effectively without becoming spam because giving your customers more choices will improve your marketing and make it more rewarding.
Allow your subscribers to choose the number of emails they will be receiving together with the intervals at which the emails are sent.
For anyone who is looking for suitable ways on how to market effectively without becoming known as a spammer, the above-mentioned methods will be ideal for their marketing strategy.
However, when using this email marketing strategy, do not forget to include an Unsubscribe link in your emails because your goal is for customers to choose whether they want to keep receiving your mails or not.
And, if you want to know more about email marketing, check out the featured resource below where you can get a free report about simple list building to expand your knowledge further. If you do download it, please read it and take action and good luck 😊