Email marketing is an inexpensive way to get highly targeted prospects to buy your products and services. You need to use permission based email marketing because all internet service providers use SPAM filters to stop unsolicited commercial email because it tends to use up all of the available bandwidth as well as fill up hard drives.

Let’s face it…you need to develop a relationship with your prospects before they will buy anything from you. Sending them information they did not request and have no interest in will not build a relationship of trust. The following methods will help you get permission to send people email:

  1. Collect the email address of as many people who visit your web site as possible. Offer them something of value free and they will happily give you their email address. Add an opt-in box for them to sign up to get it.
  2. Provide contact information to visitors and respond to all inquires in a reasonable length of time.
  3. Provide clear opt-out information on every email you send to comply with the CAN- SPAM law in the US and other SPAM laws in areas you send email.
  4. Purchase an email scrubber program to minimize the probability that your email will be flagged as SPAM

 

OK, You Got Their Email Address…Now What?

You need to start sending your subscribers interesting emails otherwise they will just delete them and never even consider your products or services or, worse yet, they will opt-out of you mailing list.

Write Good Emails – writing a good email consists of several different steps including:

  1. Write a good headline – according to industry studies you have between 5 and 7 seconds to get the reader curious enough to open your email.
  2. Tell a story - normal human curiosity will cause most people to read a story to see how it turns out even if they know it is a promotion. Take advantage of that fact.
  3. Provide useful information – unless people find the information you send them useful, they will not bother to open your next email and may unsubscribe from your list.
  4. Offer bribes – the most effective bribes are videos, free reports, user guides, free software and how to articles.

Once you have a good email written you will need to decide how often you intend to send something to your subscribers. Anywhere between once a week and once a month is reasonable. Personalized messages work better than impersonal ones.

You can use an auto responder to minimize the work involved in sending periodic emails. Auto responders are software programs that can either be installed on your website or an online service that can be purchased on a monthly basis. These programs let you write a series of emails to be sent to your subscribers at specific intervals. Here are some ways you can use an auto responder:

  • Surveys – people love to have their opinion asked. Surveys are an excellent way to find out what your customers want to know and/or buy.
  • Newsletters – are a great way to provide valuable information as well as keep in touch with your subscribers. If they like your newsletter they will recommend it to their friends and family.
  • Items of interest – if you don’t publish a newsletter, then send your subscribers information you think they might find interesting.
  • Free email courses – provide free training to your subscribers
  • Notices of special sales – do not send a sales letter just inform them of the special sale and provide a link (to your sales letter) to get more information.

Do not send sales copy but make sure you include links to your website or to a product you are promoting.

 

Before Sending Any Email, Consider This

Remember, you are trying to build a relationship of trust with your subscribers so they will be willing to buy something from you. Getting subscribers is not difficult but keeping them can be a challenge.

DO NOT SPAM your list. That will make them angry and they will unsubscribe. They may also report you as a spammer which can get you banned by most ISPs and you might get dropped by your web hosting company.  Believe me…it is not worth the possible consequences.

Lists require maintenance. Most internet marketers eventually subscribe to an online serve such as GetResponse or Aweber because of the list maintenance tools these services offer.

Always make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your list. It serves two purposes: First, it complies with the US CAN SPAM and most other country’s SPAM laws and will avoid you being reported as a spammer. Second, it enhances your reputation as a legitimate business.

 

Using Your List to Sell 

Your ultimate goal is to sell products or services to the people on your email list. All of the items listed above are designed to build a relationship of trust and to keep your name in front of potential customers so they think first of you when they want something you sell. For that to happen, you need to establish credibility with your subscribers.

Try the following things to keep your subscribers begging for more information from you rather than unsubscribing:

  • Be creative – keep the material light, original and creative. The more fun you are the more you will be liked and people buy from people they like…period.
  • Provide value – providing useful information free makes most people more willing to buy from you. 

Once your subscribers trust you, you will be able to sell to them again and again and repeat customers is what every business is striving to attain.

You Might Also Be Interested In Reading:

  1. Avoid 10 Common Email Marketing Mistakes

Filed under: Email Marketing

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