Charlie Page is the owner of the Directory of Ezines and here he shows how to get more clicks and higher open rates from your marketing emails.
Whether your sending emails directly, buying solo ads, or you’re doing some sort of a joint venture partnership, you want the highest number of clicks and opens possible from the emails you send out.
So lets’s take a look at how ‘Master Marketers’ get that done.
Focus on Short Powerful Subject Lines
Subject lines are headlines. That’s how you have to think of your emails subject lines.
You have to think about it as writing a headline. Lets’ take a look at some good and some bad.
First the bad. Here’s some examples of an email subject lines from Walgreens (Charlie feels that he can pick on Walgreens as his father worked for them for 50 years):
‘Your frequent customer number was selected for a Courtesy $50 Walgreens charge card’
This is a great subject line in the content part of it—$50 for free. But, if they had shortened it down to: ‘Free $50 Walgreens Card', it would have been better.
Lets looks at another bad example:
‘Complimentary Test Drive With a Used SUV In Your Town (Choose Two of Three Local Offers)’
How confusing is this subject line? They are making 3 different points here.
A ‘complimentary test drive’, a ‘used car’, it’s ‘in your town’ and now you have to choose ’two or three local offers’.
It’s too confusing and never going to work.
Now here’s the good. Top online marketers like Charles Kirkland and Justin Brooke are people who really know online marketing.
Here’s some examples of their subject lines:
‘Want my help?’
‘100 years or 24 hours to live’
These subject lines are examples of a curiosity approach.
‘Facebook Ads Are Not Working’. This is an example of a ‘fear of loss approach’.
‘$26,650+ in native ad coupons’. This is a ‘promise of gain’ approach. Look how sort these are.
Here’s an example of a longer one: ‘For coaches, consultants and service professionals’. This is targeting specific groups.
When you find something that works STICK WITH IT!
One of the most common problems when people write emails for solo ads or email marketing is that they’ll try something and it will work a little bit. They then think they can make it better and completely change it. Bad move!
Chris Luck is a genius marketer hen it comes to marketing online. He’s also very consistent.
He’ll regularly send out emails with the following subject lines over a period of about a month:
‘5 Tips to Sell Your Products on Instagram’ ‘5 Simple Steps to Make Sales With LinkedIn’ ‘7 Twitter Contests That Will Boost Your Marketing Power’ ‘5 Steps to Stealing Your Competitors Customers’ ‘5 Strategies to Getting Started on Social Media’ ‘5 Ways Facebook Instant Articles Will Change Everything’
The above subject lines shows just how consistent he is. This is consistent, repeatable, scalable marketing.
That’s what you and I need in our business. Do the same thing the same way, over and over again.
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Your first 50 words matter most in the email body copy. The first thing to do is to shorten your subject lines and make them more powerful.
Next, pay really close attention to the first 50 words you write in the email itself. Those words matter most because they show up in email inboxes before emails have been opened.
This email is an example from another great marketer Todd Brown who is an expert in online funnels: ’The One Weekly Appointment I Never Miss’.
This is a great subject line because it creates curiosity. But what will also show up in the email inbox are the first words of the email itself.
In the case of Todd Brown’s email the following email text is shown: ‘This is my Google calendar marked in red’.
This is because an email provider like Gmail will not only display your subject line, but also the first line of the text of your email message. That’s why the first 50 words of your message really matter most.
I’m curious about what’s in his Google calendar. Are you? That’s why that subject line works so well and is super smart.
Use Action Words
Use action words. Don’t use passive words. You definitely want to have life and excitement in your subject lines and in your emails.
Use Their Name
Use the name of your subscribers where you can. But don’t put their email address in the subject line. This will make you look like a spammer.
I get lots of spam. Hundreds and hundreds a day and many of them will have my email address in the subject line.
For example: ‘Dear john@123.com you’ve just won $10 million dollars’. This just indicates that the sender does not know me at all. They’ve just harvested my email address from somewhere and are just spamming me.
Use their name if you have it, but do not use their email address in the subject line or the body of the email.
Ask A Question
Ask a question. There’s just something in human nature that likes to answer a question. If you ask a compelling question people will often pay much more attention to the email.
If you follow the advice given in this post your subject lines will get better, your email marketing will be better and you will get more opens and more clicks. That’s what you really want, right?
That’s what we all want because we pay money to send emails out. Let’s make it work the best we can.
If you want more tips like this and you find this to be good actionable content you can get an entire course (Traffic and Conversions with Ezine Marketing) for FREE.
Inside the ‘Traffic and Conversions with Ezine Marketing’ course Charlie Page teaches you what he knows. You can get the FREE Course Right Here!
Charlie Page is the owner of the Directory of Ezines and has been around the block when it comes to Ezine Marketing. He teaches how to drive targeted traffic and build your lists with Ezine advertising, solo ads, article marketing, joint ventures and more!
Learn how to grow your email list in less than 4 hours with step-by-step, expert guidance in six short and simple lessons.
If you’re not using email in your business… You are leaving LOTS of potential profit on the table!
What's so special about email?
To me, the answer is obvious… 2.5 billion people use email, that’s nearly a third of the world’s population. 85% of US retailers consider email marketing one of the most effective customer acquisition tactics.
So it works. But to take advantage of email marketing for your business, you have to have a list of subscribers and customers to communicate with.
In this comprehensive and easy to understand article, Aaron Orendorff shows the most effective way to build a list using 11 sign-up strategies.
Read the article and use the strategies detailed by Aaron to build a responsive list of subscribers and customers that you can market your products and services to… again and again.
Enjoy!
Next to Buy Now, what is the most profitable click your business can target?
Subscribe.
As Joe Pulizzi of Content Marketing Institute explains:
While larger enterprises are fighting silo battles, politics, and tearing each other apart focusing on (sometimes) meaningless metrics, small players with patience and passion are building audiences and winning.
Once you build an audience (of email subscribers), anything is possible.
The truth is that building an engaged and sizable email list is hands-down the most long-term, profit-generating investment you can make.
In fact, a McKinsey study reveals that email is a whopping 40 times more powerful at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter combined. On top of that, the average email-based order’s dollar value is 17% higher than social media channels.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is … getting your visitors to sign up is a struggle – one that many online marketers never overcome.
That’s why I’m going to share 11 proven strategies you can start today to build your email list like crazy.
Eleven strategies might sound like a lot to implement, but Buffer’s success in doubling its email sign-ups in 30 days required at least eight strategies.
Because these strategies work best together, this post is lengthy. Don’t be intimidated. There are tons of actionable content and real-world examples all along the way.
Here’s what’s covered:
Carrot content
Landing pages
“Happy” buttons
Two-step opt-ins
Entry pop-ups
Exit pop-ups
“Painful” buttons
End-of-post forms
In-line forms
Sidebar forms
Contact forms
1. Carrot content
Most of this checklist focuses on the details: What types of forms, where to use them, and how to optimize each one. But all the forms in the world won’t do you a bit of good if your content isn’t compelling.
That’s where “carrot content” comes in.
Carrot content – also known as lead magnets or bribe-to-subscribe offers – provide immediate value to your subscriber. This free content could be how-to guides, reports, webinars, white papers, e-courses, or even discounts and coupons. The goal of your opt-in content is to improve your subscriber’s life by solving a problem.
In other words, focus on the payoff for your subscriber.
Of course, testing the click-worthiness of your content is the only way to find out if your carrot is enticing. That’s why using Google Analytics’ goals to set up easy-to-understand funnels is a necessity.
Another fantastic tool that goes one step beyond Google Analytic’s on-site data is Cyfe, an all-in-one analytics dashboard that measures everything from marketing efforts to web analytics to offsite sales and more. When it comes to building your email list, Cyfe can help in two ways:
It identifies the highest converting traffic sources for each piece of content.
It also tracks conversions over time to learn about their continued engagement and if they buy.
No post about building an email list would be complete without exploring the fundamental importance of landing pages. To keep this short, here are some landing-page best practices from the pros:
Make your call to action big and post above the fold.
Use A/B testing.
Try videos, which have shown to notably improve conversion.
Keep it clear, simple, and focused.
Use only one CTA.
Craft compelling copy to tell a story instead of stating facts or just selling.
Lastly, be sure to optimize your landing pages for mobile viewing. This example from GetResponse illustrates mobile optimization perfectly.
Notice how the second button completes the “I-want-to” phrase with “end my scheduling hassles.” It identifies a problem and offers a specific, desire-based solution.
4. Two-step opt-ins
Single opt-ins are easy to find. Here’s one directly from the Content Marketing Institute:
The two-step or double opt-in, however, is a decisively craftier creature.
Just like the name implies, a double opt-in requires a user to take two actions to subscribe. For example, instead of asking for the email address first, a double opt-in starts with a single click. Take Smart Insights’ email marketing strategy template sign-up, for instance. Here’s what its sidebar CTA looks like:
If you’d like to see a few live examples, Clay Collins of LeadPages recently did three experiments with two-step opt-ins that increased his sign-up rate by almost 60%.
Remember that there can be hazards associated with going from a single opt-in method to using double opt-ins. Most notably, adding steps can discourage some people from completing the CTA.
However, the key benefit of double opt-ins is that they create far more qualified and engaged subscribers. As GetResponse estimates, as many as 90% of single opt-in subscribers provide false names and emails. Moreover, the average click-through rate for emails sent to double opt-in subscribers is twice that of their single opt-in counterparts.
5. Entry pop-ups
The entry pop-up is exactly what it sounds like: A pop-up form is activated when a visitor first enters your site. Often these forms block the view of the majority of the screen, forcing engagement.
Just remember, visitors will do one of the following:
Comply and supply information
Close the pop-up and ignore the CTA
Get annoyed and leave
The first lesson here is about timeliness. App Sumo demonstrates the “sweet spot” for email gathering based on time on page:
To increase your chances of capturing an email using a pop-up, aim to wait five seconds beforethe pop-up is shown.
The second lesson, best said by Mauro D’Andrea of Blog Growth, is about page views. It’s obvious: If a person reads more pages on your blog, she is more likely to subscribe. Don’t be afraid to show the same pop-up to the same visitor when she sticks around.
6. Exit pop-ups
The exit pop-up is the exact opposite of the entry pop-up. These opt-ins automatically generate when your visitor’s mouse moves toward the “back” or “close” buttons.
Exit pop-ups are last-ditch efforts to engage a potential subscriber and prevent a good lead lost. The Internet is teeming with Billy Mays memes that personify the exit pop-up:
This example from ConversionXL is perfect. My interest in conversion optimization was targeted as soon as I moved the mouse to leave. Even better, ConversionXL also employed the “painful” button copy if I declined: “No, I prefer to suck at optimization.”
Pop-ups – both entry and exit – can be awkward and sometimes annoying. But they work.CrazyEgg compiled data from four sites and found staggering results:
Nikki McGonigal’s pop-up drove 1,375% more sign-ups than her sidebar alternative.
Darren Rowse’s light-box earned 400 new subscribers a day.
Ask-Leo.com increased its email conversions by 1,000%.
Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen saw sign-ups 10 times greater than the pre-pop-up, opt-in rate.
When creating exit pop-ups, be honest and conversational in your copy. Level with your visitor and admit that the exit pop-up is exactly that … an exit pop-up. Here are some good categorical examples:
Social triggers: “Going so soon? Here’s why 1,500 visitors stick around each day.”
Specific added value: “Before you leave, grab the [free carrot offer].”
Damage control: “Didn’t find what you need? Let us help …”
Negative option: “Yes, I want help” or “No, I’ll take my chances”
That last example brings us to our next sign-up strategy: Your “painful” button.
7. ‘Painful’ buttons
Now that we’ve covered pop-ups, let’s take a look at what I like to call “painful” button copy. This concept can be implemented for both entry and exit pop-ups.
The key is to create an opt-out button (basically a close-the-pop-up button) that hurts.
Why would you purposefully create painful buttons?
Joanna Weibe explains, “When a visitor is presented with an opt-in form, it’s so often the case that said opt-in form has just one button, and that button is there to be clicked if you choose to opt in. If you choose not to opt in, you do not have to click a button to state your preference; you simply X out, click out, or otherwise ignore the opt-in button.
“Most of our opt-ins are active and opt-outs are passive.”
A painful button eliminates the passivity of opting out by giving the viewer a clear choice.
Here’s a fabulous example from her Copy Hackers site:
Unlike pop-up forms, end-of-post forms uniquely cater to your actual readers.
Why? Because by the time visitors have consumed your content in its entirety, they’re invested. Moreover, they should be looking for more.
That’s why, in addition to suggesting social shares, using an end-of-post opt-in to gather email information strikes while the lead is hot. Here’s a general one that can be used at the end of almost any post.
On my own site, I love using end-of-post opt-ins especially for series.
For example, a few months ago I put together a string of posts based on Eugene Schwartz’sBreakthrough Advertising. At the end of the first post, I included a summary of the upcomingThe 3 Unbreakable Laws of Breakthrough Copywriting and this simple opt-in:
In addition to opt-ins at the end of posts, you’ll often see “for further reading” options. While not explicitly about building your list, this is another great way to keep your leads hot. Think of these as your safety CTA. Creating your own links to similar or popular content is great, but an even better solution is using data to automate your end-of-post next step.
9. In-line forms
In-line opt-ins are the simplest of all opt-in forms. They’re the impulse buy of opt-ins.
Because of this, in-line opt-in forms work best within blog articles or other long-form content of at least 1,000 words as part of the natural flow of the text itself.
They integrate within the page so once you’ve provided value on the page, the in-line opt-in functions as a means to “act now.”
Think of in-line forms like a conversational aside, “Oh, by the way, if you like what you’re reading now … then you’ll love the other stuff we do. And to get our ‘other stuff,’ just sign up here.”
The benefit of in-line opt-ins is that they provide your users with a chance to respond to your content on the spot. As long as you’re providing value, they’ll act.
10. Sidebar forms
Sidebar forms are ubiquitous. Often, this form is built into web templates themselves so they’re incredibly easy to implement. Just be sure that your sidebar form collects data and doesn’t distract from more useful forms.
There are basically two kinds of sidebar forms:
Anchored sidebar forms are static – they stay in place:
Ask good questions. Instead of simply leaving the “message” field blank, spur the response by crafting engaging questions that relate directly to the kind of product or service you offer.
However, if less is more when it comes to getting sign-ups, how are you supposed to gather information on your subscribers to help with segmentation, especially if you’re in the B2B space?
One solution is to partner with a lead-generation database. Unomy, for example, enables you to not only research your prospect’s parent companies using the individual email address provided, it also allows you to research related companies and their competitors:
It’s like Joe Pulizzi says, “Once you build an audience (of email subscribers), anything is possible.”
Follow the 11 sign-up strategies in this guide.
Test them out for yourself.
And start building today.
Want to learn more about how building a subscriber base can build a business too? Get a copy of Joe Pulizzi’s latest book, Content Inc., which was released in September 2015.
Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
Please note: All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors, not the CMI editorial team. No one post can provide all relevant tools in the space. Feel free to include additional tools in the comments (from your company or ones that you have used).
By night, Aaron Orendorff is busy “saving the world from bad content” over at iconiContent. By day, he teaches communication and philosophy at the local college. Follow him on Twitter.
Learn how to grow your email list in less than 4 hours with step-by-step, expert guidance in six short and simple lessons.
The main reason someone will buy from you, or will NOT…is whether they like and trust you (or do not.)
Period.
This is salesmanship 101. And regardless of the media you use – video, email, sales letter, phone, TV, or even face to face – if you don’t create LIKE and TRUST, you ain’t gonna make the sale.
Now, unless you’re talking to someone face to face or over the phone, this is a hurdle to overcome.
It’s a heckuva lot easier to do it in person, using your voice and body language, than trying to create a relationship through a monitor.
However, in this post, I’m going to show you how to use emails to get the job done. To create a strong bond. An unshakable trust. And build a solid relationship with your list, so they become addicted to your message, and will eagerly buy your products, service, or join your business.
Before we dive right in, let me tell you how NOT to do it.
Here’s a short list of things that will quickly destroy any chance you have of building trust with an already skeptical and somewhat suspicious crowd.
And just so you know, that describes most people who join your list. Everyone is skeptical and has their “B.S. antenna” up.
Here we go:
Using too much hype, and relying solely on hype to make the sale
Being fake and inauthentic
Blatantly selling in every email
Not creating any interest, just assuming they’re interested in your product because they are on your list
Not emailing your list frequently enough, or only emailing when you want to sell something
Sounding exactly like everyone else in their inbox.
I can keep going, but in my opinion these are the biggest blunders that will make your email marketing results less than stellar.
Make no mistake about this – people are skeptical because they’ve already heard it all. And they are NOT looking for another sales pitch just so they can part with their money.
The way you break through this resistance is by being different. And when I say different, I mean REAL. People want to do business with a REAL person. Someone they like, trust, and relate to. That’s what creates belief. And without belief, there’s no sale.
How to Write Emails So You Sound Real
First, let me say that it’s not rocket science. It is actually very simple once you understand one little fact. Your email (or sales letter, video, blog post, etc…) is nothing more than a conversation.
A conversation between YOU and YOUR PROSPECT. You’re not sending an email to your list. You are talking to ONE individual person. The person reading your email needs to feel as if you’re talking to them and only them…just like in a regular conversation.
This one thing alone can make you a much better writer, head and shoulders above the rest, and will make your emails stand out in stark contrast to all of the other junk in your prospect’s overcrowded inbox.
But we’re not going to stop here. There’s much more you can do to beef up your sales messages and create a strong emotional connection with your prospects.
One of key things to do is reveal things about yourself and your life.
What? Do you mean I have to talk about myself in my emails?
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.
Have you noticed the explosion of reality TV shows over the past few years? They are so popular because, as one famous marketer once said, people are voyeurs. In other words, people like to see what’s going on in other people’s lives.
And if you think that is NOT the case with your market, you’re making a big mistake. Yes, people are nosy and curious by nature. (Even if they’ll never admit to it.)
So when you talk about your kids, your family, or the other stuff in your life, people are interested.
Now, I’m not saying to tell your whole life story. Most people could care less. But what I am saying is to give your readers a small glimpse into your life.
Why?
Because the more they know about you, the more they feel they know you. And the more they know you, the more rapport you have with them. And THAT is how you develop trust.
You know, instead of me rambling on, let me give you an example I used in the Ultimate Email Profit Machine training. (BTW, if you want learn how to write kick-ass emails, I highly encourage you study this course. Learn more here.)
Here’s what happened…
A couple of years ago, my daughter was playing outside, and our dog was running around.
I went through the garage to call her when it was time to come home, and noticed the door of the refrigerator we have in the garage was slightly opened.
I then saw a carton of eggs on the top shelf, open, and the yolk was dripping. There were a couple of cracked eggshells on the floor. And bite marks in the paper-wrapped 3 pounds of salmon I had just brought from the store.
Ok, so what does this story have to do with anything?
Nothing, except for the fact that the moment I began telling you about this little incident, I had your undivided attention for a minute.
Your “ears” perked up – which is one of your first goals for every single email.
Get their attention.
So, the day after this happened, I wrote an email with this subject line:
Eggs and salmon all over my garage…
The email offered a little slice of my life, and then transitioned into the product I was promoting that week: a copywriting program.
Now let me ask you, which would you be more interested in clicking on?
Eggs and salmon all over my garage…
OR…
How to create emotional copy that sells… (which is a pure benefit-driven subject line)
There’s nothing wrong with the second subject line. But if EVERY single email you write talks primarily about a product, you will start losing readership fast.
If you’re busy (most people are) and you see a subject line like this, even if it interests you, it won’t make you drop what you’re doing and click it NOW.
But when you see that first one, it’s kinda hard to ignore and your curious human nature says – I want to know what happened!
So telling stories from your life not only helps you create a bond with your audience, it also helps boost your open rates, and actually get the email read. Because unless they’ll read your email, it’s highly unlikely they’ll click on a link to buy the product.
What can you talk about in your emails?
How about…
Family
Kids
Relationships
Pets
Work
Something from your past
Your neighbors
Your relatives
Stuff that happens to you (like the dog getting into the fridge)
And so on.
There’s NO SHORTAGE of ideas for your emails. You can easily turn ideas into short stories. And those stories can help you capture your prospect’s attention and build a relationship.
If you’ve ever heard the saying – the money is in your list… that’s only HALF true.
The money is NOT just in your list.
The money is in the relationship you have with your list.
So here’s an “Action Item”:
Think about something that happened to you recently…today or within the past 3 days. Pick just ONE thing.
It doesn’t have to be glamorous. It can be as simple as you walking outside and noticing the dog chasing a squirrel…or driving down the road and getting cut off by another car.
Then write an email about it. At the end of your story, plug a product or a service you sell.
It’s that simple.
Don’t put it off. It’s easy to dismiss it. But I’m telling you – DO IT TODAY.
Then, do it for the next 30 days and watch as your sales and income start to climb.
And if you want more proven email marketing secrets to create cash on demand, then check out our free 5 Email Profit Triggers report.
Click Here to get it now and start implementing these very specific email strategies to create rapport, build trust, and develop customers today!
Vitaly Grinblat is lead copywriter at Elite Marketing PRO and also a serial entrepreneur, a husband and a father of 3 girls. Before joining Elite Marketing PRO, he spent over 10 years in direct sales as Top Producer selling Millions of Dollars in financial services products face-to-face, as well as recruiting agents into his business. In 2005 he decided to jump ship and go online.
Since then, he’s created a number of info-products, generated tens of thousands of leads personally and has written sales copy that has produced near 8-figures in sales for himself and a select few clients.
Learn how to grow your email list in less than 4 hours with step-by-step, expert guidance in six short and simple lessons.
I want to talk to you about a topic that’s near and dear to my heart —
Email Marketing!
It’s the fastest way to profits when you know what you’re doing.
Now, some people claim that email marketing is dead. But I don’t think so.
Sure Facebook, Twitter and all that sounds great and sexy, but try opening an account at any social media network without a valid email account.
Or how about making an online payment. Do they send your confirmation to your Facebook timeline?
No, they don’t.
Email has been around for a long time now and it’s here to stay. Thinking it’s going to disappear because of Social Media is like saying that you won’t get any more physical mail in your mailbox because of the Internet.
That’s just ridiculous.
If you’re serious about building a successful Internet business you absolutely must incorporate Email Marketing into your sales process.
And in my humble opinion, it is the glue that holds everything together.
Thus the saying… “The money is in the list.”
Today we’re going to talk about what to do with this list once you start building it.
Some of the questions that we’re going to tackle right now are these:
Do you provide lots of content or sell in your emails?
How often should you email your list?
What should your emails be about?
Let’s get started!
Do You Provide Lots Content or Sell in Your Emails?
Your prospects are overwhelmed with information. They are also inundated with offers promising them the next big thing. So how do you get and keep their attention?
Entertain them. That’s one of the big secrets to success with email marketing. Make your advertising interesting.
Let’s not kid ourselves. The purpose of your emails is to make money. You are in business to make profits, right?
But unless you can engage your prospects in a conversation, you have very little chance of selling anything other than to people who are ready at that moment to buy exactly what you’re offering. That’s a tiny fraction of your list.
Selling blatantly in your emails alienates a lot of potential buyers – but it also leaves gobs of money on the table.
Think about it…
Why do you watch TV (if you do)?
Read books or magazines?
Go to movies?
Theater?
Sports events?
Look at YouTube videos?
Hop on Facebook?
Or whatever you do to chill or give yourself a mental break.
We do it for entertainment. We all have a desperate need to be entertained. You can call it the “Achilles’ Heel” of the mind (heard that from a persuasion master Blair Warren.)
Your mind is always looking for ways to latch on to something.
That is why our ears perk up when we hear some “shocking” or “bizarre” news, or some “secret” you’re not supposed to know.
(Think tabloid magazines at the checkout counter.)
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Here are a couple of headlines from a recent issue of National Enquirer.
Inside Michelle’s White House of Horrors! (with picture of angry Obamas and the White House)
Brad Pitt Caught In A Scandal!
If you weren’t thinking of it before, you do now, and you want to know.
And if you think for a second (no I don’t), I GUARANTEE YOU that your prospects do. It’s human nature. It’s also the reason why tabloids occupy prime real estate in any grocery store – the checkout counter — and are some of the most-read publications.
I’m not even going to talk about Cosmopolitan here. You can go and look up those headlines on your own and see why they’re so “enticing.”
So, how does all this tie into email marketing?
Simple. Your emails need to compel your prospects to want to open and read them.
You do it by using the same tactics that make tabloid magazines so compelling, specifically shocking, bizarre, curiosity-provoking subject lines that make your email almost impossible to ignore.
Here are a few of our recent ones that got pretty good open rates.
My secret fantasy…
Shameless crooks…
Foreplay your customers crave…
Computers and greasy hamburgers…
The big traffic lie…
These headlines are short, punchy, and reveal almost nothing about the content of the email. They hook the reader, making your mind wonder about the story — kind of like opening a loop that you have to close. (That’s playing on curiosity)
And inside the email, you tell a story that’s related to your product.
This makes for an interesting read, and you’re satisfying your prospects’ deep craving to be entertained while presenting your product, service, an affiliate promotion, or a business opportunity.
People dig this much more than just plain “pitching.”
Of course there is a time when you just send a pure sales email — when there’s a special sale or discount. Or the end of a promo. Or 30 minutes before your webinar starts.
But those are few and far between.
So if all you do is “pitch” in your emails, it won’t be long before your list stops reading them. They’ll know it’s just another pitch coming their way. Nothing interesting.
Frankly, I’m shocked at the number of marketers who still send pitchy emails. They’re like “used car salesman” beating their readers over the head with loud and obnoxious sales talk.
Don’t be like them. Not if you want to have a good relationship with your list.
What Should Your Emails Be About?
The good news is there are no hard rules when it comes to email marketing.
It’s kind of like the news. It can be about anything – anything at all.
Now of course when you know your market, and you know what’s on their mind, what they’re thinking about, reading, watching, who they are listening to…it becomes a lot easier.
You can choose any of those and tap into an existing conversation in their head…like
Some hot news topic.
A story circulating around the web.
Gossip in the industry.
A movie, a book or some sports event.
A holiday.
Anything goes. There’s no right or wrong here, as long as you keep it interesting and make a smooth connection to your offer.
How Often Should You Email?
This is an easy one. There’s a saying in our business:
“You should only send emails on days that you want to make money.”
Again there’s no hard rule on this. Just keep in mind that unless your prospects hear from you, they’re not thinking of you or your products.
So if you want your product, service, or whatever you’re selling to be on their mind… you need to remind them about it – OFTEN.
Should you email every day? Sure, why not? You should definitely do it more than once a week.
Some people will read your emails daily, others won’t. As long as you’re there, in their Inbox, you’ll have a much higher chance of getting your emails opened and read.
And most important of all… you’ll make sales and lots of profits!
Do you want to discover 5 Proven Email Marketing Secrets to create profitable emails that are opened and read? Click Here to Learn More!
Vitaly Grinblat is lead copywriter at Elite Marketing PRO and also a serial entrepreneur, a husband and a father of 3 girls. Before joining Elite Marketing PRO, he spent over 10 years in direct sales as Top Producer selling Millions of Dollars in financial services products face-to-face, as well as recruiting agents into his business. In 2005 he decided to jump ship and go online.
Since then, he’s created a number of info-products, generated tens of thousands of leads personally and has written sales copy that has produced near 8-figures in sales for himself and a select few clients.
Learn how to grow your email list in less than 4 hours with step-by-step, expert guidance in six short and simple lessons.
Are you one of the man people interested in learning how to build an email list? Because you are on my blog today, I believe it is safe to say that you are!
A sizeable email list is useful for many things. Not only does it help you get your message across to tons of people quickly and conveniently, but a large email list can also be very profitable.
Let's be honest, most of you are probably here today because you are interested in making some money online. Before I ramble on and take any more of your time, let's take a look at how to build an email list.
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Learning How to Build an Email List?: Do it the RIGHT Way
A consumer's contact information is very valuable. This information, such as physical address or email addresses, allows businesses to promote their product/service to interested parties. This targeted audience makes for a much easier sell. Which brings me to a vital point when discussing how to build an email list.
When accumulating email addresses for your business, it is important that you are targeting people that are interested in what you have to offer. Trying to sell something to someone that is not interested is obnoxious and spammy.
I mention this because tons of internet marketers offer to sell you email addresses. This is only effective if this list consists of people interested in the niche of product/service you are offering.
If you'd like to learn how to build an email list effectively, you need to attract potential consumers directly to you. But how do you do so?
How to Build an Email List by Blogging
As I mentioned before, an effective email list is built by attracting people to you. Generally this is done by offering something in return. In most cases, this offering is as simple as some information regarding your niche. Blogging is definitely one of the most effective ways to execute attraction marketing.
Let's say you are a network marketer that is trying to recruit new members for his/her downline. By blogging about home business opportunities, network marketing, and your specific MLM company, you can attract like minded people to help you build a business.
Once these interested people read your blog post or watch an associated video, this is when you give them the option to share their contact information.
How to Build an Email List Using Capture Pages
If you're going to learn how to build an email list by blogging, you're going to need some calls to action and capture pages. As I mentioned before, creating web content is an effective strategy.
This allows interested people to find your website by using popular search engines. Every time you post something, you should expect that it will receive traffic.
Therefore, you need to create capture pages. In a nutshell, this is just a contact form that says something along the lines of, share your email address if you'd like to learn more. By learning to blog effectively, you'd be surprised how large a list you can build quickly.
If you continue to learn more about blogging, you'd be surprised at how quickly you can learn how to build an email list.
Did you like this post and did you get value from it? If so I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment below or like or share it on Facebook!
Learn how to grow your email list in less than 4 hours with step-by-step, expert guidance in six short and simple lessons.
Email list building is one of the most important components to any online marketing campaign or business venture.
There are plenty of databases out there that illustrate the importance of email lists and understanding what components make for a succinct and useful email listing.
Doing it the correct way can make all the difference in the world.
Email List Building: Know Who You Are Targeting
The first thing that any business or individual needs to consider is an internet marketing campaign that is email based is what sort of client is likely to respond to an email solicitation. Understanding the client base is the first step toward building a usable email listing.
Consumers can be broken down in several ways, occupation, area of residence, gender, and most helpfully, age. Age is the biggest deciding factor when it comes to just about any decision that is made.
Using age to help determine what emails to send out and what clients to add to the list can help make all the difference. Say for instance an internet marketer has a company that sells sound systems for cars.
This marketing campaign is likely to do better with consumers under the age of 30 than it is with older consumers upwards of say 50. Understanding customers when you start email list building is the best way to get a listing that will make back the money that was spent.
Sending out emails to older customers may end up being fruitless and would cost more money than it brought in. That is not to say that all older customers would not utilize the service, just that they are less likely than younger individuals.
Email List Building: Who is Most Likely to Use Your Product
While age is a large deciding factor, gender is another great modifier that can help build up a client list. For example, a site or campaign that is advertising women's clothing is going to be much more successful with women than men and it would be far more beneficial to send out emails to women than to men.
Understanding the intended audience of the product or service that is being sold is the first step to building up an email list. Understanding this component of email list building can help marketers entice clients to visit websites and storefronts far better than gender neutral ads.
It is important to understand what customers are going to use the items or services most, who is most likely to answer an email banner ad, and who is going to get the most good out of what is being offered.
Email List Building: Understand the Process
Aside from the criteria that is used when creating an email listing or working on an email list building project, it is also important to understand the technical side of the process. Email lists do not simply spring out of thin air because they are needed, they are created out of necessity and are honed and refined before they are ever fully utilized.
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It's important that companies and campaigns that are using a banner ad or an email marketing campaign either understand the process well or hire a company that specializes in this type of database prior to starting the campaign. Not only should marketers try to find apt and skilled list builders, but should also consider the potential revenue from these campaigns.
Much as an effective traditional email list building campaign would need to be overseen by someone proficient in this form of marketing, it takes time and effort to create an email listing that is usable and responsive. You want your email campaign to reach a large amount of targeted potential customers and that defines the motives and goals of the advertising campaign that is being used to successfully market your products or services.
Did you like this post and did you get value from it? If so I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment below or like or share it on Facebook!
Learn how to grow your email list in less than 4 hours with step-by-step, expert guidance in six short and simple lessons.
