The Real Truth About Email Marketing
There is so much talk these days about whether email marketing is as effective today as it was in the past so we’re going to uncover some facts and give you the real truth about email marketing and why you should be incorporating it into your business…. even if you believe all that nonsense that email marketing is dead.
Far from it!
But more than that email marketing is the ONE strategy over which you have 100% control and we’ll explain why that’s so important in just a moment.
The Real Truth About Email Marketing – The Facts
Let’s put it in perspective to begin ….
Facebook has something like 1.59 billion users and Twitter has 332 million users yet 144.8 million emails are sent every day (there are 4.6 billion email addresses!) – Source: The Radicati Group. That’s 20 emails sent every day for every person in the world. That’s the ONE reason email is absolutely essential marketing tool you have in your business.
What’s more, email allows you to be in complete control of your business unlike any other marketing method. Like most business owners we have tried multiple ways of generating traffic and sales but nothing is as effective as email in the longer term. You’ve probably heard the expression “the money is in your list” and whilst that is true it’s actually the relationship you build with your list through email marketing that is the money. More on that later.
When we started out online back in 2010 our principle lead generation was Google Adwords and once we mastered the strategy we began to do very well with our online education affiliate marketing business until 31st December 2011 when they shut our account overnight with no notice. We were away on a skiing holiday at the time and it was a BIG shock. We realised right there and then that we could never let anyone else have control over our income and that our own email list would be our priority. It would also be our safest because we could continually grow and nurture it and that in turn would lead to engagement, sales and income.
Our email list was to become our most valuable business asset and it should be for you too.
The real truth about email marketing is that building a list will become the core of your business and give you the ability to have a six figure or multiple six figure business.
If you see anyone who appears to have “instant success” promoting anything it’s because they have an email list!
The Real Truth About Email Marketing – How It Works
We want you to be excited an motivated about email marketing and it’s potential but it is not a path to guaranteed wealth and it’s not a get rich quick plan. Email marketing requires effort and dedication to work for you and that’s the truth.
Let’s cover step by step now your build that all important email list
Step # 1 Traffic : There is no shortage of traffic – you can get traffic from multiple sources and we covered that in The Real Truth About Traffic it can be free traffic (like social media) or paid traffic – whatever you choose it will either take time or money.
Step #2 One Page Website : It’s called a “one page website” for a reason. It’s ONE page and it’s sole purpose is to collect an email (or name and email as we prefer to do). It’s called an opt-in page, or sometimes known as a lead capture page or a squeeze page. This one page would have a headline, a few bullet points, an image of something you are giving away for free (maybe a PDF, a video training series etc) and the most important, a simple box to collect your prospect’s email addresses (or names and email addresses). This powerful one page website is what turns the Traffic (Step #1) into quality leads. Then it is those leads that turn into sales and income for you and your business. These days (unlike what we had to do when we got started online) there are numerous tools you can use to create these one page websites like Lead Pages and ClickFunnels and with people on Fiverr you can easily hire someone to do anything “technical” you are unable or don’t want to do yourself.
The key elements are
- An optin box that stands out on your webpage and has clear instructions on how and where to leave their email and/or name
- A prominent and clear headline stating the value of what your lead will be getting in exchange for giving their name and/or email address
- Image of your free gift – show them what they are getting in exchange for their email
Step #3 Building A Database : Collecting emails (or names and emails) is all about creating a database – a database that is stored safely and which you can communicate with. This database is known as an autoresponder. Simply put, an autoresponder service collects email addresses (or names and email addresses). That means you can send ONE email to hundreds and thousands of people at one time. These people click on the links in your emails and some will choose to buy. The best known autoresponder services and which we use and recommend are Aweber and GetResponse. There are lots of others and really it’s a matter of choice but always look at reviews as it is deliverability that is key in email marketing.
Step # 4 Email : Email is how you market, connect with your subscribers (the people who gave you their name and/or email) and how you ultimately make sales!
There are two types of emails you can send known as autoresponders and broadcasts.
Autoresponders are emails that you set up in advance and will send our messages in a sequence. You can set up unlimited autoresponder messages spanning weeks and months and it’s all automated once you have written them (more on that in a moment)
Broadcasts are send out “manually” by which we mean by the autoresponder but created one at a time for a more personalised approach
But like anything, it’s one step at a time from getting your very first lead and sending your first autoresponder message or broadcast to sending emails to hundreds and thousands of subscribers.
Your goal as an email marketer is collecting email addresses and your one page website is the engine that will drive your email marketing as done correctly it has the power to generate quality leads for you (from the traffic you generate) then through your email marketing to turn those leads into sales and of course those sales puts money in your bank account!
The Real Truth About Email Marketing – Emails
Now that you know the step by step basics to creating your campaign and collecting emails we get to the million dollar question – “what to write?”
Before we get into that let’s just first consider ONE very important statistic which will help you to fall in love with writing emails and that is “on average each subscriber on your email list is worth $1 in monthly income to you. Now it can be more or it can be less depending on your niche, your product and price point, your marketing, the relationship you build with your subscribers etc. All important components in calculating that subscriber worth.
The reason you may hear that email marketing is “not working” is because whoever you hear it from rarely sends emails to his or her list and as we said right at the beginning of this article – email marketing requires work!
Autoresponder Emails – these are the ones which as the name implies send emails automatically to your subscribers in sequence. Usually it is a “thank you for signing up” and delivery of your gift followed by emails 2,3,4,5 etc all of which introduce your solution to their problem (remember the one they signed up for on that one page website) These are what we call “set and forget” email but they are important and you should take time to craft them. Many affiliate programs will actually provide you with the email swipe for your autoresponders and its a great way to begin your learning process. You can tweak and amend these as you become more experienced.
Broadcast Emails – these are those personally written emails which you can send out immediately to your database (or segment of your database) These are much more personal and they are the kind of email we love because they really do help you build that all important relationship with your subscriber. Our best emails are those that start out with telling a story or something that has happened in our life or that we have seen or done and then tie that into their problem and show how your solution changed that for you and could do for them. It’s very effective and our best loved strategy as far as email marketing is concerned.
Your job as an email marketer is to provide good value content which informs and educates your subscribers but also make offers to them. After all that’s why they signed up didn’t they?
What to Write In Your Emails
The Case Study Email
How I/We … (Result of XYZ)
We LOVE this email template because it allows you to share stories and testimonials from
your own life AND from others who have achieved success. And there’s nothing people love more than case studies!
Why I/We Don’t Do ‘X’.
There’s nothing more fun than exposing or challenging a common myth within your industry. People love controversy. And we’re all looking for something fun, unique, and different. So shake them up with this subject line!
Comment On Industry News & Gossip.
Every industry has it’s own circle of gossip. Writing about these hot topics is one of the
best ways to increase readership and tap into the conversation that’s ALREADY taking place in the mind of your reader. Social media (particularly Facebook trending topics) is a great source of stories or just search on Google. Talk about it in your next email!
Never forget that part of positioning yourself as an authority is staying ahead of the trends within your industry.
If you can be the first to report on relevant trends that are impacting your industry, then people will literally “tune” into your future communications.
FAQ’s
Common Questions Answered is a real favourite and can be very profitable in pre-selling your products or maybe you have a new product or funnel launching …
This is another one of our favorite email templates. And one of the most profitable.
If you’re selling your own products or even affiliate products online, people are going to have questions! So why not put all those questions into and email and answer them for everyone. It’s the easiest way to answer any objections and help your customer make a buying decision.
Books You’ve Read
Using the authority of the author you can share something specific that will lead your prospect towards a buying decision We once wrote a series of emails using chapters from The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. These were some of our most opened and commented on emails and now we try to include book review often in our emails.
Last but not least don’t always be “hard selling” in your emails. Take your prospect on a journey of discovery by adding value, backing up your products with testimonials and stories and of course never forget to be building that all important list every day!
Recommended Resources
Words That Sell – Richard Bayan
Cashvertising – Drew Eric Whitman
Invisible Selling Machine – Ryan Deiss
DotCom Secrets – Russell Brunson
Thank you for joining us on our blog today ?
Who Are We
We’re former accountants of a certain age (60+) with 5 great kids and 3 grandchildren. We love skiing and traveling the world and have achieved a fabulous life helping others to start and build a successful business online and now speak on international stages following that passion. Our worldwide educational business is centered on online marketing business education and wealth creation and a desire to help you create financial freedom online through entrepreneurship whatever your age or experience.
Authors : The Mindset Shift
Skype : chrisbeesley1 susanbeesley1
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Email : info@chrisandsusanbeesley.com
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