You're Crazy To Market Without A Mailing List by Philip Lim
The whole reason email marketing is done: to drive clients to your web site,
where you can sell your products and services to them. But in order to bring
them to your site, you need to have addresses to mail those exciting messages
to.
You can always buy or rent email lists, but this isn't always the best
strategy. It's expensive, and there's no guarantee that the company you choose
got their addresses legitimately. Opt-in email lists (people who ask you to
send them information) are always a better method for marketing purposes, and
you have a guaranteed target audience.
Increasing your opt-in list of targeted email clients is the most important
email marketing strategy you can use. Your email list is actually a group of
potential "sales leads" and you should treat expanding your email list in the
same manner you would your leads offline: develop it, and develop it
aggressively.
The more effort you put into developing it, the more potential customers you
will have. Conversely, if you fail to collect email addresses, your online
business growth will halt. It's that simple.
Tip #1: Offer Them Content
People don't just like to give out their email addresses online (and with good
reason nowadays!) But if you offer them something in return, such as an
informative newsletter, a free ebook, or free software, they will be much more
likely to give you their email address when subscribing.
Offering subscriptions, whether to a newsletter, ezine, ebook, software, or
online course, is the number one legitimate method of increasing your email
list (and is used by all of the largest and most successful sites online).
People have indicated that they go online for a major, basic reason: to learn.
Are you meeting this need? You will be, if you offer them high-quality
information through one of the above methods.
Don't just send them ads (unless they have specifically requested news on
current specials); spice it up with information that they can use. They will
remember you, will pass your newsletters around to their friends, and your name
and company will get known.
Tip #2: Make It Easy For Them
It's amazing the number of sites that have subscription forms tucked away deep
within their site hierarchy, or don't even have interactive subscription forms
for signing up. Don't just rely on the customer taking the initiative of
sending you an email asking to subscribe to your content; have a web designer
create an easy-to-use form that they can fill in and subscribe to.
Place your subscription box in a prominent area. Normally, the left top side of
a web site is the area that a visitor looks at first. This is a natural area to
place a small box that says, "Subscribe to our informative newsletter" or
"download our free software" to increase your email list. Alternatively, you
could create a pop-under that appears before they leave, asking if they would
like to subscribe to your quality content. Don't let them leave your site
without offering them the chance, with an attractive ad, to sign up - and give
you their email address.
Be sure to have a link on each and every web page on your site, offering
visitors the chance to subscribe. Otherwise, they may go to your site, click
around, and by page four, forget that they meant to sign up for your newsletter
or ebook. Remind them frequently with a tasteful link or box on each page, and
watch your subscriptions rise.
Tip #3: Assure Their Privacy
When a person visits a web site online, they often hesitate to give out their
email address. Since they don't know you, they often fear the worst: that you
could be an unscrupulous email harvester, who will turn around and sell their
information to sleazy porn sites or lending companies charging high interest
rates.
Of course, you don't do this, and one way to overcome this natural hesitation
is to place a prominent privacy notice near your subscription form that states:
"Your privacy is important to us. We will never sell or disclose the
information that you provide us with." You have just overcome the number one
reason that people don't give out their email address, and increased greatly
the chances that your opt-in list will grow.
Tip #4: Don't Use Force, and Don't Ask for Too Much Information
Nowadays, some sites have become quite aggressive in their techniques for
getting email addresses, to the point that they won't allow you to enter their
site without giving it. Most people will click away from sites that use
techniques that don't offer choices. Instead, make subscription their choice,
and never, ever force the issue.
When asking for subscriptions, don't ask them their age, phone number, and
other demographic information, or you will frighten them away. Your
subscription box is not meant to be marketing research and shouldn't be used
this way. At this point, you are creating an initial contact with potential
clients. Simply ask for their email address, and nothing more, and you'll see
more subscribers.
Down the road, when they know you better, you can always send out surveys to
find out more.
Tip #5: Give Them a Gift
Ever since we were small children, opening Christmas presents underneath the
tree, we have all found free gifts irresistible. You can offer your site
visitors extra incentive for subscribing to your newsletter or email
communications: let them know that they will get a free gift when they sign up.
This free gift could be a white paper, a free ebook, or software that they can
use. Or, you can give them access to information areas on your web site, that
they couldn't get to otherwise, when they sign up and register.
If you use this technique, you should see response rates to your subscription
requests go up tremendously. Don't know how to write an ebook? This isn't a
problem. There are plenty of sites that offer free content, reports, and ebooks
that you can download, and offer to site visitors (example: just try typing in
"free content" into Google, and you will be deluged with links from sites
begging you to give away their content).
Tip #6: Ask Them to 'Pass It Along' (Viral Emailing)
In the lingo of online marketing, 'Viral emarketing' doesn't describe teenaged
hackers bent over their computer screens, sending viruses to unsuspecting
recipients. Instead, it's a highly accepted and used method of increasing email
lists. Basically, you are asking those who receive your newsletter to share it
with their friends who might enjoy reading the great information in it. Chances
are, if they like it enough, they will click on the "subscribe" link (you do
have one, don't you, at the bottom of your newsletters and/or ezines?), and you
will have a new address for your list.
If you really want to get the information passed along, offer your readers a
good incentive for sharing it with others. Some sites offer product discounts,
a free ebook, or points for sharing it with others. The Internet is all about
sharing information, and we love to let others know about good places to learn
at.
Tip #7: Give Them More Choices
People have different needs when going online, and if you design your site and
subscriptions to meet those needs, your response rates will climb. Offer your
site visitors different options: some may want to subscribe to a newsletter,
others may want to read your white paper, while yet others only want to hear
about special product updates. Create your subscription box to offer different
choices, then deliver them what they asked for.
This is called 'market segmentation': you are meeting the needs of different
sectors of your market, and is good, sound sales practice that will cause your
email list to expand.
Tip #8: Develop a Relationship With Your Clients
Who would you rather interact with and trust, someone you have never heard of,
or someone you have had a positive experience with before? This same principle
is doubly true online. You should be emailing all of your current customers in
response to their questions, to confirm product orders, and other business
communications in a polite, friendly manner. They will be more likely to sign
up, subscribe, and ask for product updates if they've heard from you before,
and if you are professional in all of your communications.
If your firm is active offline, be sure to give you customers cards with your
web address and email address printed on them, and ask if they would like to be
added to your email list for product updates. Chances are good that they will
say "yes" and you will have a quickly growing email list.
By following the above tips and advice, you should see your email list growing,
with highly targeted customers who want to hear from you.
About the Author
Philip Lim is the editor of www.Catasult.com which provides valuable tips and
advice on web promotion and internet marketing from linking strategies to
search engine industry news, internet marketing articles and more.
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