- When was the last time you forwarded a Newsletter that you really liked to friend?
- How frequently do you unsubscribe from Newsletters?
- Have you been a subscriber to a Newsletter(s) for more than a year?
My wild guess is that most people will respond to question 1 by saying: "Never!"
As for question 2, the common answer will be: "Always!"
Finally, few lucky people will answer "Yes!" to question 3. If you're one of them, kudos to you!
Believe it or not: Email marketing is still HOT! However, with so many spammers and bogus-sellers out there, it is becoming super-hard to earn subscribers trust and MAINTAIN it. Here are some proven tips to help you out.
Be Friendly! Be Friendly! Be Friendly!
Since questions are the answer, I may ask a common-sense question: "Do you enjoy being sold?" If you answered: "Hell no!", please bear in mind that your email subscribers feel the same.
It boggles my mind that even seasoned e-marketers can't seem to set themselves free from the ultra-boring sales pitch!
How to MAINTAIN a Friendly Tone With Your Subscribers?
- When you write your list email, pretend that you are writing it to your best friend
- Share your email with some of your real-life friends and ask them if it sounds friendly enough
- Check some of the letters/emails that you have sent to your friends in the past for some friendly-tone-inspiration
- Mimic other e-marketers that you find friendly. (The lucky few ones who answered yes! to question 3 above may check their favorite Newsletters in order to determine their "stick-with-me" factor)
- Share personal stories from time to time to familiarize subscribers with your "soft side"
- Explicitly ask for subscribers feedback and answer their questions promptly. Feature their questions/feedback in your mass emails to encourage more subscribers' interaction
Shine Like a Pro
You can take the easy route and dump! easy-to-find-elsewhere content onto your list! Do that and I assure you that your list will shrink faster than the speed of the light!
But if you are serious about turning your list members into paying customers, you must CONSISTENTLY deliver QUALITY information.
In the process, you will be shine like a pro and magnify your credibility. If, after sticking with this tip for a while, you offered a product and/or service for sale, I'm certain that you'll be happy with your conversion rate.
Entice Me Please
One of the most intelligent marketing tips I have ever came across is offering your prospects a "taste" of your actual product for free. If it was really good, your prospects will gladly spend money to devour the rest of the pie!
For example, if you are selling an ebook, then offering a free chapter is an excellent sales boosting technique if, and only if, the free chapter is very compelling.
If you are a consultant, announce a free no-obligation consultation for the first 5 subscribers who respond to your offer. Then, announce their names and publish their testimonials in future emails.
And so forth...
Final Thought: Inbound Versus Outbound Marketing
Blogging is an example of inbound (on demand) marketing where prospects find your content willingly. On the other hand, email marketing is an example of outbound marketing since you're the one who is seeking your subscribers' attention through email.
In spite of the clear distinction, every imaginable business blogging success tip you've heard of also applies to email marketing. Starting from choosing compelling titles all the way through offering educational value and content curation.
If you come to think about it, blogging and email marketing are two different forms of content marketing so what works here should work there. Do you agree?
Which of the tips presented here resonated with you the most? What additional tips you may suggest?
Your valuable contribution is much appreciated. Go make it big time!
Image Courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
