So you finally got around to building a mailing list. Maybe you even have it set up to send an autoresponder series for you. [You can see an example of this by entering your email under the video to the right where it says Small Business Success.]
But what happens when the series is done? If you’re like me, maybe nothing is happening. This is a mistake. What we need to do is to reach out to the people on our lists personally.
What to Do With Your List
Send them a personal email asking if there is anything you can do for them. If you are generating leads, go the extra mile first. Research your subscribers.
For example, I could look at the people on my list. Even if all I have is a first name and email address, I may be able to determine who they are if they have an online presence.
If they use their domain as their email address, I can look at their site before contacting them. If they use a gmail address I may be able to find their Google Plus or YouTube accounts. Those accounts could have bios, additional information, or links to their site or social networks.
Even though I have two mailing lists that are continually growing, the odds of making a personal connection to them is increased if I reach out to them personally instead of counting on them to contact me.
If you don’t have an email list yet, you can try it out for free. Mailigen offers a 30 day free trial that doesn’t require a credit card. That gives you 30 days to figure out how email works and decide how to implement it for your site.
Segment Your List
Many email providers have built in methods to segment your lists automatically. Here’s an example:
- Your visitor subscribes to your autoresponder series.
- They click on a link in one of the emails and purchase your how-to course.
- The email solution moves them from that autoresponder series to another list for people who have purchased from you. This ensures they don’t keep seeing a call to action to buy that same how-to course.
- The new list they are on will send different messages that offer other products instead of that one.
Email Blasts
Most email solutions also allow you to send a one-time message to any or all of the people on a list. Marketers call these “email blasts”, but you don’t want to call your message that when writing.
These are typically used to offer a special deal. Maybe you just published your latest ebook. Before you roll it out publicly, you could give your list members a special price and ask for reviews. This would be one in an email blast.
Ecommerce sites might send out tips on how to choose gifts for an upcoming holiday or offer discounts on particular products or coupons for a percentage off.
Many of the small businesses I buy for send regular email offers. Some I wish didn’t send so many as it gets confusing. Personally, I believe it is better and more effective to send a few well-timed emails during a month rather than an email every day.
Joint Venture Offers
Another reason to use an email blast is to offer a product or service created by someone else. When you come across something you feel your readers would be interested in, you could contact the creator and negotiate a special deal for your mailing list.
As a blogger, you may write a post or solicit a guest post about something your readers may want. If you have a list that sends new posts to your subscribers, this post will automatically go out to them.
For example, when Julie offered DIY Video Marketing through this site, everyone who subscribed to my post list received the information, but those who were on my other autoresponder list did not.
If you have more than one list, you need to keep track of which lists have received which offers. I should set up the last autoresponder message to suggest subscribing to either all the posts published on GrowMap or all the posts written by myself or both.
Solo Ads
A solo ad is a one-time email blast to your list where the creator of the product or service pays you to send it to your list. This is similar to a Joint Venture Offer.
Solo ads are typically paid for in money, while a joint venture offer might be an exchange in kind. You might agree to email their offer to your list if they email your offer to theirs.
Other Kinds of Lists
While you can build a mailing list on Facebook or use Skysponder for Skype list building, having your own mailing list you control is imperative. Even if you do use these other types of lists, use them in addition to your email list. Do not use them to replace your email list.
How to Set Up Your List and Autoresponder
You have probably heard “the money is in the list”. Every site and business really needs to have mailing lists. They are one of the easiest ways to increase income on demand. If you don’t know how to do it, I recommend you hire someone to do it for you. That is what I eventually did.
Imagine how many more subscribers I would have if I had done it years before? Don’t make that mistake yourself. Either figure it out yourself or get assistance so you can get it done right away.
