Email marketing is one of the most effective and least expensive forms of marketing available for any business. As a small business owner you can really make this profitable. To do this you must first build a list of subscribers.
Building a list of targeted prospects and customers is the biggest part of the equation. The next part is to convince them to buy your product or service. Having a BIG list of subscribers is not as important as having a
Keeping your email list up-to-date and using list segregation, is important to reduce the number of people unsubscribing, plus it will increase the ROI of all your email marketing efforts. This is done by simply knowing the narrow niche or topic of interest your leads had when they signed up for your list.
For example; If you are a personal trainer and were giving away a 7 day diet plan in exchange for your prospects email, you know they are probably dieting or interested in losing weight. To get a closer idea to
If your lead generating product is specific, your leads will self-identify their interest so you can give them what they want. The primary goal is to build a profitable and responsive list.
Smart Email Marketing Strategies
The more ways you can offer a person to opt in to your mailing list, the better the chance you have to get their email. Some of the more common list building methods include offering a free report, exit popup on your site, contests on social media, save a percentage for first time email, or whatever you think they will want enough to give you their email for it.
Combination Email Targeting
Once you have a persons email it’s good to remember they are people. If they signed up for something informative or useful then put together a series of emails to help them use with they signed up for. For example; if your business is lawncare and garden then try offering something like “How to Grow Tomatoes in a Vertical Garden DIY – Specifically for [your area here]”. When a person signe up and gets your little ebook you can followup with a few days of emails.
This email series can be pre-written and installed in an autoresponder. Now your prospect will get helpful advice on building their tomato garden and getting to know you. In the emails you can include introductory services like lawn mowing, fertilizing, even offer to a “done for you” service to get theri tomato garden started.
If all your emails are helpful, informative, and entertaining, they will stay on your list and the next time they need your service – they will probably call you before they call the other guy. Staying in touch with your prospects makes it easier for them to make a decision about who they can depend on.
AutoResponders and Email Marketing
The value of a reliable autoresponder service can’t be overstated. Trying to manually manage any size list is difficult at best and can be cumbersome and confusing. For a couple dollars a month and just pennies a subscriber, it’s well worth the investment. Another good investment is the time and study on managing and optimizing a well planned autoresponder marketing campaign. Customers and leads cost too much to acquire just to let them sit in the database.
You have more than enough to do just focusing on building your list. Let the autoresponder service do the technical heavy lifting. The good autoresponder services offer list management, tracking, optin-forms, good deliverability, and comply with Anti-Spam laws.
