Follow Up Messages That Get Results
If you have been in internet marketing for any amount of time then it is safe to say that you have been or are still working hard to develop your list. You did all your research and know what your target market needs, You have created an autoresponder series to give them the information you want them to have. The question is are you giving them the information THEY want, something that will stay in their mind and keep them wanting more? That’s what your follow up messages are all about, making them want to open your emails to see what you have to say.
A good series of follow up messages will help you to develop a deeper, more meaningful relationship with your readers. It is withing these messages that you will prove and give everything (and more) that you promised when they signed up. Below you will find a few tips to help you develop meaningful messages that will keep your readers looking for your next message.
Make Your Subscribers Want To Read Your Messages
Stop and think back to when you opened your inbox for the first time today. Which emails did you open first? More than likely it was the emails from people you are familiar with, those you know, like and trust. Next were the “Hmm That sounds kind of interesting. I’ll open and have a glance, maybe for once there’s something good from Jane’s blog.” After that it probably went something like this: “Don’t know that person…delete”, “Nope don’t want to buy that eBook from her, already went through my good buddy Joe’s affiliate link and snatched up his awesome bonuses.” …delete, “Not another forward again.”… delete.
Sound familiar?
In order to reach the goal(s) of your list you have to help your subscribers feel connected to you. They want to “know” you on a more personal level. Once that first message goes out in your series, it becomes your responsibility to get closer to the top of their “I always open their emails” list.
This will ensure that they stick around and will make them more receptive to what you are teaching or offering. Too many marketers make the mistake of sending cold, robot like emails. There is no faster way to get your readers and possible buyers disinterested than by being cold to them.
People sign up to newsletters and lists that interest them. If they see you as someone who doesn’t care in the emails you send and if they feel you are only in it for the money you get when they click your link or buy your product, you’ll be the next “Geez, I really need to unsubscribe from this list”…delete!
Sure, you might get your email opened, but only so your readers can scan to the bottom and find that nasty little unsub link.
That’s why you need to be real with your list. Share personal anecdotes, offer tips and tricks they can actually use, etc. The more they get to like, know, and trust you, the easier time you’re going to have selling your products to them.
Give Them Valuable Content
People signed up for your list for a reason, whether it is prior interest in your niche or a desire to learn more, and you should take that seriously. If after a few follow up messages they feel they are not receiving the information they are seeking, they will ultimately unsubscribe. To prevent this from happening, your follow up messages should be arranged so that people receive the value they expected and more.
One suggestion on how to give them value is to point them to great articles you’ve found online, interesting websites, your own tips and advice, etc. In fact, pointing them to helpful blog posts or website articles you have written is an excellent way to develop even more loyalty, retention and trust with your followers. Not to mention, it can increase sales too.
Two places where you can find great content that you can customize with your affiliate link are:
www.BrandableStuff.com and www.FreeAffiliateArticles.com – grab content from both and use it to offer value to your readers and earn money in the process.
Create a Schedule
Your main concern is to develop strong, focused, interesting follow up messages but there is something that is just as important that many list owners don’t think about. These follow up messages must be sent on a regular basis, not chaotically.
One of the best ways to have your readers forget you is to send your first message on a Monday morning and wait to send the next weeks or months later. The goal is to stay on the reader’s mind.
Especially in the beginning, your readers anxiously await your next message to see what you have to share. Consider how disappointed they will be if they wait and wait and don’t receive the info they hoped for. Think about how you feel when you’re waiting for something and it doesn’t show up when expected. Don’t do that to your subscribers or they’ll find the information from someone else.
The key is to keep your readers happy without overwhelming them with information. You can do that by creating and sticking to a schedule. One of the best ways to keep yourself in your reader’s mind without overly intruding on their inbox is to let them know how often you’ll be in contact. You can tell them before they sign up or, at the latest, in your very first message.
If you have a monthly newsletter let them know up front they’ll be receiving your bulletins once a month. If you’re creating a short 5 or 7-day ecourse, tell them and set your follow up messages to go out accordingly. If you have a membership site where you send members only information on a specific day of the month, tell them and stick to your word.
Also, be sure to let them know if you plan to send them extra information every once in awhile in addition to your regularly scheduled emails. Some examples of this would be members-only specials or sales, freebies you come upon from other sites, etc.
Don’t Be Afraid to Sell To Your List
After you’ve given your list some interesting “lead in” content it’s time to get serious about making money. This of course does not mean your first, or even second, message should be an in depth sales letter. Remember you have to preserve the relationship you’re building.
Make yourself the expert in your niche and proceed carefully, but don’t be afraid to ask for a sale either.
It is completely fine, to gently point your readers to a product you know will help or interest them. You might have reviewed something on your blog you can point them to, or simply include a link directly to the product’s website. However, don’t blatantly pitch them in every single email or create an email that reads like nothing more than a sales page. Be helpful and give them quality information that is of interest to them.
Another thing to keep in mind when selling to your list is that repeated exposure produces more sales. Studies show the more times people see a certain sales message the more likely they are to purchase.
A good rule of thumb is for every link you give your reader in an email, give them plenty of quality content they can use even if they choose not to click the link.
Creating follow up messages is an excellent, hands-off, way to develop a relationship, build trust and generate more sales. Your follow up messages are going to work as your 24 hour sales person, so craft them carefully. Make them work for you rather than against you.
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Thanks for the post suggestion. Infusion seems to offer a steady stream of new features about once a quarter, which gives users time to implement as needed. There is a lot to the application, and in my experience they do a very good job supporting it.
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Another tip to add to this very useful list is: keep your promises. If you said you would send 2 messages a month, do it. Too often you subscribe to a list and end up receiving far too many emails from them… or only once in a while. This is the easiest road to unsubscribe.
This is a great list but I think the trick is to make the subject of the email as short and snappy as possible and try and arouse their interest. That’s the first point of contact and if you have got their attention, they are more likely to open your message and read it. You can’t over promise or undeliver though or they will unsuscribe quicker than you can say ‘read me’!