Fellow email marketers, does this ever happen to you when trying to build a mailing list?
Recently I purchased a copy of John Reeses’ ‘Traffic Secrets 1’ course to try and improve the success of my online marketing efforts. There are 2 DVDs in the collection dedicated to email marketing and list building to sell affiliate products. As I watched and listened to the master speak, I was reminded of a line from a Monty Python sketch that goes like this:
“Start her off with a kiss, boy!”
That line is delivered by actor John Cleese as he is admonishing an overly eager sex-ed student to slow down.
Building a relationship with the people who join your email lists has a lot in common with other forms of relationships. You have to take the time to build mutual trust before you can expect people to take risks at your recommendations. And, that is exactly what people do when they buy a product promoted through your list – they risk their time and money.
With that in mind, how can you plan the auto-responder sequences you create for your mailing lists so that they don’t rush in too fast and scare people off?
First, spend all of your first efforts providing value. Give, give, and give some more and ask for nothing in return… yet!
I can’t take credit for that idea, it’s straight from the ‘Traffic Secrets’ course. But, it makes sense. In the early days of a personal relationship you spend a lot of time ‘on your best behavior.’ You give lots of compliments and little gifts. You go out to dinner and a movie. After you build up some trust in the relationship, then you might ask for a favor or ‘pop the question.’
Applying that to email marketing, don’t push for a sale too soon. Spend, five or six days giving one great piece of content after another. Maybe you mention your product, but it’s subtle – just to remind them that you have a product. Then, on day seven, send them a sales message for your product and show why it is the perfect resource to compliment all of the great things you’ve been teaching them.
After the initial sales pitch, mail a little less frequently and mix things up. Send a content heavy email one time and then a pitch heavy email the next. Try pitching some ‘special deals’ – a product bundle or a discounted price.
You will have earned a level of trust with your list members because of the attention you gave them initially. They will be more inclined to follow your recommendations and continue to read your emails because you have given them a good reason to do so.
Don’t worry about giving away your best content right away. If the first things your readers get is impressive, they’ll assume what you haven’t given them is even better.
My next list building project will be taking advantage of this tactic and a few others I’ve learned. I’m looking forward to bigger profits than I have ever seen before!
Andrew Seltz
The Go-To Guy!
P.S. What strategies do you use to build trust with your list and improve the results of your email marketing? Leave a comment and join the conversation!