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Email Marketing A to Z

After reading countless articles and success stories from people with opt-in lists, you finally decide that you need one of your own.

Using the information, you’ve gleaned from all those sources, you might try to create your own opt-in list with only that information.

You sit back and wait.

Nothing happens.

What went wrong?

A number of things, but the most common one is jumping straight in without performing some groundwork first.

Even if you have a list of your own and you’re still not seeing results, there’s still hope you can revive it.

I’ll discuss how below.

For those who’ve already started a list, try these three things first:

Earn their trust

You can’t just start putting products out for sale and expecting them to immediately buy.

Your customers need to trust you first.

You can establish this trust by providing them with free valuable information in the form of articles, eBooks, webinars, etc.

You might also consider joining some related forums for your niche, Facebook Groups, or answering questions on Quora.

Once in there, you can start offering advice and tidbits.

As you continue to offer solid and valuable advice, you’ll establish your reputation as an authority on the subject– which is exactly what you want.

Don’t forget to mention your website (check the rules first) whenever you can, but don’t spam everyone with your website URL.

If they’re already on your list, make sure to give them an opportunity to unsubscribe from your emails.

It might sound counterproductive, but if they feel trapped- they won’t stick around, and your emails will end up in the junk folder anyways.

That’s not what you want.

Make sure you’re offering a product or service that they absolutely need.

This is where market research comes into play.

I’ve touched on that here.

Get Acquainted with Other Opt-in List Users

If you can get acquainted with people in your market who offer similar products, it might help to pick their brains on what to do or how they do what they do.

They may even be able to tell you what to avoid.

Click here if you want to learn basic internet marketing for FREE…

4 Things You Should Do When Building Your Own List

Perhaps the best way of making sure that you spread the word about your business in a cost-effective way is to via opt-in email marketing.

Otherwise known as permission marketing.

Permission marketing sounds exactly as it sounds.

Opt-in marketing requires the permission of a willing customer to subscribe to your marketing materials, whether it be via email, physical mail, etc.

Of course, in order to be effective, you need a list of willing subscribers if you choose to use this method.

But the people who’ve subscribed to your list are pretty much warmed up and could become a customer since they’ve willingly subscribed to your list after seeing your site and/or your promotions.

If you don’t already have a list, a quick Google search might overwhelm you with all the different ways that people suggest building a list.

It doesn’t need to be that complicated though.

Using these 4 steps, you can get a head start over those who still haven’t taken action because of analysis paralysis (over thinking things).

• Make it easy for your readers or followers to subscribe to your content and new updates by placing an email signup form immediately following the end of your content.

You can further encourage their signup by using it as a call to action.

Simply asking your reader to subscribe to your email list via a form below the content can do wonders.

• Make sure your entire site is up to snuff.It constantly amazes me that people expect their visitors to sign up to their email list, but the website is poorly made, or the information isn’t value packed.Your website should be clean and professionally designed.This doesn’t mean you have to run out and pay an expensive web designer to build you an amazing site; just make sure everything is easy to find and that there are no distractions like a bunch of ads or flashing graphics.Make things easy to with organized menus- that sort of thing.
• Make sure your products or service do the talking for you.If you’re not offering a high-quality product or service, it will show in your customer retention rates.There’s no faking satisfied customers.They’ll be all too happy to recommend you, but only if your products/services are high quality and worth the money spent.This goes hand in hand with building a list because as the number of your customers grows, so does your list.
• Keep your list clean.Never promote shady deals or something that could potentially ruin your good reputation.A good quality list can be easy but time consuming to build.You can ruin all of your hard work just by promoting a shady deal or by spamming them constantly.

 

4 Things You Can Do Right Now to Earn Your Subscribers Trust Almost Immediately

While the majority of people are quick to send an email to their junk folder, if you’ve offered nothing but high-quality products and services- these same people can be persuaded to join your email list with these 4 tips.

1. Build trust by building your authority.
   
   People trust people who are authorities or experts in their subject area.In other words: know what you’re talking about.
   
   Even if you’re knowledgeable in your field, make sure you never stop picking up new materials on your subject and staying up to date on the latest information.Why does this work?Because people don’t typically become experts on a subject they’re not passionate about or at least interested in.
2. Offer some of your knowledge for free.
   
   Don’t keep all that information to yourself.
   
   Be willing to share tidbits and tips to help them with whatever you’re selling.Even if you’re a plumbing company, you can still offer help or tips by placing some well written articles on your site or in your email list about things the common household owner could do to prevent plumbing issues.
3. Don’t hype your products or services up if you can’t stand behind the hype.
   
   Some businesses (mostly new ones) are guilty of doing this.They’ll build all this hype and fuzz about their new products or services but when it comes to delivering on that hype, they fizzle out.This is the quickest way to establish dis-trust and that’s not what you want.Especially since word travels fast.
4. Never make them feel like they’re trapped.
   
   Your loyal customers and potential customers should feel like they can “jump ship” immediately if they ever wanted to.Whether it’s unsubscribing to your email list or being removed from your call list; make it easy for them to leave if they want.In fact, being greedy and making it difficult to leave can have the opposite effect and make it so they DO want to leave.

How to Fill Your List with Subscribers Who Want to Read Your Emails

When building your list, it’s important to keep in mind that your list is composed of two kinds of people:

1. People who’ve already purchased your products or services.

2. People who are interested in your products or services but haven’t yet purchased but want to receive the latest updates and keep an eye out for promotions.

With these two types of people in mind, it can be difficult to keep them enticed enough to open all of your emails.

These tips will keep your list happy and looking forward to your emails:

1. Make your promotion materials exciting and interesting.

Don’t get too crazy with it but keep things light and interesting by building around what your product or service is about.

Grocery stores do it all the time by showcasing new products they’ve started stocking in their grocery flyers.

You don’t have to be a grocery store to take advantage of this tip though.

If you’re an auto dealership, you might consider showing off a new shipment of cars or trucks that just hit the lot.

Be creative with it.

2. Keep in touch with the latest trends.

Always try to have the pulse on the latest trends that pertain to your customers or loyal followers.

Maybe even a few steps ahead so you can be the go-to source for the newest information.

This will also establish you as a trusted authority figure that they’ll come to rely on whenever they have questions or just want to stay in touch with what’s going on.

3. Consider writing info-packed articles that are full of information but make for some light reading too.

Not only will they learn a thing or two from your articles, but they’ll be impressed with your knowledge and authority on the subject which may be just enough to persuade them to finally purchase your products or services.

Make sure that if you use this method that you mix up the type of articles you produce.

You might publish a funny article that pertains to your subject and then one that is still fun to read but also informational.

Not sure if writing is for you?

Hire it out or outsource it to someone who enjoys writing and is either well versed in your subject or is willing to do the research to know what they’re talking about.

4. Consider writing an eBook if you feel comfortable about writing about your subject in depth.

Offer the eBook for free in exchange for their email address (if you haven’t already).

What should you include in this eBook?

Anything your reader/customer might find useful related to your business subject.

For example: if you’re a fish tackle and bait shop, you might produce an eBook on your best fishing tips or the best times to go fishing in your local area.

Don’t miss the opportunity to place links throughout the eBook that could lead back to your site.

Example: You might mention the best kind of lures to use and then link back to some products on your site that you recommend.

5. Offer special discounts or e-coupons in your newsletters.

People love to spend money, but they love bargains and coupons more.

Make sure to offer special discounts or coupons to a select number of people and/or for a limited time.

This will create urgency which is always a good thing.

Click here if you want to learn basic internet marketing for FREE…

How to Nail Your Subject Line for Your Marketing Emails

The ability to throw up a new website or send an email in seconds has made it difficult to keep and retain the attention span of online users.

Just think…

While you’re busy crafting your next promotional email, ten or more people may decide to build a website just to promote their own business.

How are you supposed to compete with so many sites and distractions?

The answer is getting their attention with a well thought out subject line.

This text field in the email doesn’t get nearly enough attention like it should.

Many people make the mistake of just putting whatever comes to mind in the subject field and wonder why their emails don’t get opened.

But the sad fact is, if your subject line isn’t interesting, your email isn’t going to be opened and you’re probably wasting your time even crafting the email.

So how do we change all that?

Give a few of these tips a try and see how they work for you:

1. Make your subject lines short and concise.

Chances are that the recipient of the email won’t be able to read the entire subject line since most email programs cut off the text after a certain character limit.

Keep this in mind as you craft your next subject line.

You might also consider providing a simple and short summary of what they’ll find when they read your email.

2. Tickle their curiosity.

You can do this by hinting in your subject line that you’re providing tips or some other valuable content within your email.

One possible example is a coupon or discount.

You can also ask questions using your subject line.

Things like, “Have you ever…” or “What would you do if?”.

Using questions to get your recipient to open your emails is effective because they can’t help answering the question mentally.

Using commands in your subject lines can also be effective but be sure you don’t overuse these, or they can actually repulse your readers.

1. Use trends and news within your subject area to get them to open your emails.

If you have the latest pulse on the going-ons in your industry, consider offering a short and sweet version of it within your email.

Your readers are passionate about your subject and they’ll also appreciate you keeping them up to date on things.

 

Simple Tips You Can Use to Make Your Subscribers Want to Open Your Emails

What causes some emails to be opened while others go ignored?

The contents of the email.

Even if your subject lines are eye-catching, your emails need to be worth opening or you could risk losing that subscriber forever.

Ideally, your subject line and the content within your email will work together to keep your subscribers interested in reading everything you produce.

But if you’re still having trouble getting your subscribers to read what you send them, give a couple of these tips a try:

1. Add some color to your emails.

Whether you decide to use an attractive email template with your emails or stick with bland plain text, consider adding some (high quality) pictures within your emails.

2. Make the content of your emails interesting.

Even if you’re not a writer yourself, consider hiring a writer or copywriter to write your emails for you.

With some research, they’ll become an expert on your customers and learn to anticipate what your readers want to read or see.

By using this knowledge, they can craft emails that not only establish trust and build your reputation but will also keep your customers coming back for more and more.

3. Keep your promotional materials clear.

Your customer or reader should be able to determine what you’re offering to them with a quick glance.

Don’t make them have to search all over a long email just to find an ecoupon you promised them in the subject line.

Click here if you want to learn basic internet marketing for FREE…

Are Articles Really the Answer to Building Your List?

Getting customers to your site should always be one of your top priorities.

After all, what’s the point of having a website if no one visits it?

Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.

With hundreds of thousands of websites competing for the attention, trying to find ways to funnel the right people to your website can be tricky- but only if you don’t know what you’re doing.

By far, one of the most credible ways of attracting people to your website is by articles.

But not just any articles.

Well written and engaging articles that offer value of some sort to the reader.

How’s it work?

By publishing high quality articles to your website, you’re providing a sampling of your expertise to your readers.

If they like what they read on your website, chances are they’ll want to stay regularly updated whenever you publish something new.

Hence, your email list.

Another benefit of these articles that you may not have thought of is how powerful they are when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

With well written articles that are information packed, these articles become assets that may help your readers or customers find you easier on Google.

When your readers click and read your article during their searches, they’re giving your website a “thumbs up” which signals to Google that people think your website is important and therefore should be placed higher up in the search engine results.

There’s also the fact that these types of articles are usually pretty in-depth and by offering so much free information in one little space, you establish your credibility which also makes your customers or readers trust you more.

So, coming back to our original question: “Are articles really the answer to building your list?”

The answer is a resounding yes.

But only if done right.

 

Are You Forgetting These 5 Things When You Publish Your Newsletter?

A newsletter is an asset when used the right way.

Not only can it boost traffic to your site, it also has the potential to skyrocket your profits for your business!

And yet it’s so underrated that some business owners neglect creating a newsletter or those that do, don’t use it like they should- leaving money on the table while their competitors are raking in the dough.

Here are 5 tips to help you create a newsletter that will work for you and your business:

1.  Keep your newsletters on subject with your business.

Example: if your business is all about cars, make sure that your newsletters always pertain to cars in some shape or form.

Ideally, it will be information your reader can use or act on.

2. Make sure that your content is informational and well written.

While it’s true a newsletter can boost your profits, that’s only the case if your readers or customers find the information in your newsletters helpful.

Take some time to craft valuable emails that your readers will love.

If you’re not a writer, consider hiring a writer or a copywriter to do it for you.

Not only can they come up with the words for you, but they can make your newsletters irresistible for your readers.

3. Don’t forget to fact check your articles.

Keep in mind that the average reader and customer is naturally inquisitive.

If they ever doubt what you say- even a tiny bit, they usually have no reservations about doing a little fact finding of their own.

For this reason, it’s important to make sure that what you state is the absolute truth.

Otherwise you risk your reputation.

4. Make sure you publish new and interesting articles.

Don’t ever get into the habit of republishing the same old content.

While new subscribers may not yet be able to realize you’re just rehashing the same content, your most loyal readers will recognize it right away and may even unsubscribe.

5. Lastly, never publish something that doesn’t belong to you.

What’s this mean?
It means you should avoid publishing content like articles, videos, or pictures that are not your own.

Or at least, don’t claim them as your own.

IF you must use someone else’s content, make sure you have permission to do so and be sure to give them the appropriate credit.

Otherwise you risk getting sued over copyright infringement and risking your reputation.

 

3 Things You Can Do to Maintain A Clean List

If having an opt-in list was as simple as sending out an email every now and then, everyone would be doing it.

But actually growing and maintaining your list requires some effort on your part if you want to see any kind of positive results.

This is where most businesses go wrong.

They send out promotional newsletters and catalogs, and then wonder why they’re losing subscribers left and right.

Below I’ve included some tips on how to maintain a clean list:

1. Pay attention to bounced emails.

Some people might ignore bounced emails, but bounced emails can actually tell you a lot…

But only if you pay attention.

If you see a few bounced emails, it might mean that the email address of the recipient is either not working temporarily.

But if the same email addresses keep sending the same errors, it’s probably permanent.

If you’re really invested, you can take note of which email recipients aren’t receiving your emails and remove them from your list.

Don’t feel bad about removing unresponsive email addresses from your list.

2. Make sure there’s an unsubscribe feature in your emails.

Your readers should always feel secure in knowing that if they don’t want to continue to receive your emails, they can opt out of future emails from you.

Even if you don’t have the option to unsubscribe, they may mark you as a spammer, which could cause your email address to be blacklisted by internet service providers.

When this happens, you won’t be able to send any more emails from the reported email address.

3. Don’t use your emails as a way to promote your religious or political beliefs.

It should go without saying that your emails should always pertain to your business or subject, and never stray too far away from those two things.

You should also avoid sharing anything that is disturbing or pornographic in nature.

Not only is it unprofessional, but it puts you and your business in bad light.

 

 4 Easy Ways You Can Make Money Using Your List

Every business and website should have a list.

With an opt-in list, you’re able to extend your marketing efforts vastly without too much effort on your own part.

Because subscribers to your opt-in list have already consented to receiving emails from you, you can feel confident in sending them promotions and other great content without worrying about scaring them away.

That doesn’t mean the power of your list should be abused or misused though.

When used correctly, your opt-in list is capable of generating even more money for your business.

Here is just a small handful of ways you might consider using your list to make you money:

1. Use it to promote some ads.

There’s plenty of people or businesses that are willing to partner with you to place their ads in your emails.

Just be sure that if you do decide to go this route, that you make sure you’re only promoting high quality offers, otherwise you could risk your reputation and hard work.

2. Partner up with similar businesses as an affiliate.

Almost like suggestion #1, you could reach out to businesses that are in a similar niche of your own business to help promote them within your list.

For example: If you sell fishing excursions, you might consider becoming an affiliate for some companies that offer fishing gear and rods.

With some discussion and agreements, you might agree to either earn based on each sale generated from clicking on your link, or by referencing your name.

3. Earn commissions based on referrals.

Make a deal with a couple other companies where you earn a commission for each new paying customer you send them.

4. Sell eBooks or information products to your list.

If your subscribers already trust you to deliver quality information and you feel comfortable in providing more in-depth content, consider packaging it into an eBook or information product that you can then sell.

Click here if you want to learn basic internet marketing for FREE…