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The Biggest Mistake That People Make With Email Marketing |
The number one biggest mistake people make with email
marketing is people do not understanding the power, nor use
the full potential of this application as a medium of
communications.
People hate to be sold, but love to buy. Think for a moment.
When you hear the story about someone who was sold
something, is the ending usually favorable or unfavorable?
On the other hand, if you buy something you really like, do
you say “Someone sold this to me.” or do you say with pride
“Look at what I bought”?
Email marketing is one of the simplest forms of dynamic
communication today. Everyone has an email address. Some
people even have email addresses for their pets. The
Internet is a medium that is growing by leap and bounds.
“Gillions” of website and mega gillions of email addresses.
They are everywhere business cards, websites, promotional
products, and even on bus benches.
People love information, especially FREE information. If you
are able to deliver information that has a high
perceived-value, you will find some taker-uppers to your
offers. People will respond, it’s just human nature. If you
build trust and deliver on your promises, people will listen
to you and read your messages. Many, many eNewsletters are
read religiously every day, week or month. When the
newsletter is late or the publisher misses an issue, they
hear about it.
Wait...I see a formula for opportunity, marketing success
and profitability if the numbers are only halfway right.
Let’s look at this picture functionally; you’ve got mega
gillions of email addresses; and zillions of people who
would buy almost any product or service, if it is packaged
correctly. So let me process this. If I can identify a small
loyal percentage of the zillions of people and get their
email address then maybe I can hold [daily (I don’t suggest
it), weekly (you’ve got to have good stuff) or, monthly
(great way to start)] dialogue with my subscribers via an
eNewsletter and drop a little knowledge (value) on them to
promote my business in a very innocent and professional
manner, yet giving them value for their time spent with me.
I like that idea; it works for me!
Over time, some people will tell other people about my
eNewsletter and then people whom I don’t know nor have a
relationship with will want to become a part of my mailing
list because of something they heard about me from someone
else. I’m not dreaming folks. I become the host of my own
fan club. If you are not into viral marketing, you are
missing the proverbial boat. This is powerful stuff! It is
very simple and easy to get email addresses and see your
mailing list grow 10, 20 or even 100 fold. Just ask for them
for it! A little love goes a long way.
The next step is to develop a compelling message with an
appealing/eye-catching user interface for your subscribers
and then sending them out email messages on a regularly
basis, (daily, weekly or monthly). The articles can be long
or short. Short is better in most instances, until you
master the concept. Use common sense for your industry and
market niche. Remember the old sales adage. “Sell to Bob the
way Bob wants to buy.” Don’t make it hard or difficult.
Listen to your customers and give them what they want and
what you promised.
Use your writing skills to position yourself as an expert in
your field or profession. What’s going on? What do people in
your realm of the world or business like to hear, see, do or
have a general interest in? Find a topic or something you
enjoy writing about. The last thing you need is another job.
If you find an area you like or have a passion for, it will
be easier when you sit down and put your pen to paper.
There is help for those who can’t or don’t write very well.
There are many content providers from which you can purchase
content for your eNewsletter. If your kid is a good writer,
hire them. Where there is a will, there will be a way! In
case no one before me told you, you will need to develop a
convincing title that is likely to catch your audience’s
attention or appeal to a need they have. Value, value,
value. Everyone enjoys listening to that same radio station
WIIFM (What’s In It For Me). Speak to your subscribers in a
way that addresses the issues that are important to them and
use testimonials whenever possible.
With the number of people you meet everyday you could
quickly and easily create a database of thousands of names
that could easily grow exponentially into many thousands of
names and email addresses if you put action behind your plan
to get started. A growing list of small and medium sized
firms and civic associations is making huge amounts of money
and collecting liberal donations by putting the power and
potential of email technology to use to build and enhance
their relationship with their members and communities.
Not everyone is your customer! You can do quite well with a
small population of loyal subscribers who like you, trust
you, and respect you. There is software that makes it
possible to quickly and easily create appealing email
messages, build and manage large email lists, send
personalized targeted messages, and track your success.
The potential is to provide high perceived-value in the
customer’s mind to establish TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness).
Ideally every 8 to 14 days you should sent a new message to
your target audience. Remember it may takes 7 or 8 tries
just to get invited on to their safelist. Some people will
read every issue of your eNewsletter strictly from their
junk email folder. People are stingy about letting you into
their life. With so many messages coming from so many
different directions daily, you have to compete to make a
serious impact to get some of their precious time.
Committing to read, review or just look at your email is a
serious act of loyalty on behalf of your customer. Your
opt-in mailing list of people who love you, trust you and
have done business with you before can generate a
substantial consistent income for years to come
Don’t get it twisted; they’re doing you the favor. If they
don’t like what you have to say, or the way you say it, they
will just click delete, quicker than a heartbeat. The real
potential is to be the favored eNewsletter that people look
forward to reading issue after issue, follow recommendations
from, refer to their friends, make your sales swell and
expand the size and scope of your business while allowing
you do the one thing you do best, talk passionately about
your organization or subject of interest.
Speak in your eNewsletter about how you bring value, solve
problems, save money, reduce time and effort, or provide
solutions to problems your customers face. Humor also works.
The question becomes in your customer’s mind; why should I
give you my fat wad of cash for your itty-bitty bag of what
did you say it was? With today’s technology it is really
simple, easy, and affordable to set-up and start a
successful email marketing campaign that requires little
effort on your part. You can also track your results and
manage you email lists as about 37% of all email address
change over any given year.
Something very important, kindly respect people’s privacy.
Be upfront and straight with them as to how you handle their
personal information. Trust is very fragile. If they ask to
be removed from your list, make it easy. Leave the tricks to
unsubscribing them or keeping them on your list to the
magicians. It is bad behavior for a web marketer to refuse
to unsubscribe any user or make it difficult. Don’t waste
your time with people who don’t want to hear from you. Your
reputation and credibility are too important. Frankly, there
are bigger fish to fry and other people who need what you
offer. Stay focused.
Asking permission, keeping it simple and giving value is the
formula for making the power and potential of the Internet
and email marketing deliver results that increase sales to
overflow your barns. It is the hardest easy work you can
ever do.
Ntsikelelo is a seasoned Internet Marketer. He is a pioneer, starting in 1995 with his first professional website. His talents include website design, marketing and SEO. He is the owner and Executive Officer of blasttemplates.com. Since 2002, Ntsikelelo has been helping businesses; marketers, webmasters and everyday Web users understand how search engines work and how to profit from using them. He is also a recognized writer and educator on the Internet, technology and business development.
Also visit: QuickEasyContact.com & NeedANotary.net.
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