The most SHOCKING discovery I ever made in email marketing!!

by 52 replies
68
You've worked hard to build a list.

And you'd like to make more money from it. Am I right so far?
Great! Just wanted to make certain that I'm not losing my touch.

See, I do things differently when it comes to email marketing and what I'm gonna say now may ruffle a few feathers.

One of the most shocking discoveries that I ever made in my work with email marketing is this:

If you don't send promotional mailings regularly, your response rates will go down dramatically.

Trust me. I've tested it.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about sending out promotional mailings five times a day.

That's a shortcut to failure there.

But, at the same time, sending out promotional mailings at a very infrequent, sporadic pace is a shortcut to failure as well.

Either way, you ain't gettin' paid.

They key is balance.

Test for yourself. Your list may be different.

Regardless of the frequency you decide upon,it absolutely needs to be REGULAR.


What are you thoughts on this matter?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #discovery #email #list #marketing #shocking
  • How about sending content on a continued basis that helps open their minds to the promotional message you'll be sending in the future? All promotional messages might cause 'list blindness.' That's definitely something I want to avoid.
  • Could you attach all your figures please so we could see the difference between the two? You know, open rate, click throughs etc...
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • How about sending valuable content in an email and just sticking a link to a product you are selling in the P.S of the email. You don't hardsell and you don't even need to be blatant about it.

      You think that would work?

      See, when it comes to email marketing, there's no right or wrong method.
      But one thing is certain: The more emails you send, the more money you make.

      It's all about setting 'Expectations'.

      If you're gonna just send content emails, your list is going to expect the same. So, when you send a promotional email sometime, it's going to make your subscribers a bit angry because that's not what they expect of you.

      If you're gonna send a promotional email at the end of every week and you let your subscribers know that, your list will eventually expect the same.

      Get the point?
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
      • [2] replies
    • Banned
      If this is "shocking"
      someone really needs to get out more.




      I notice the OP chose to ignore this request.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • What I found in doing email marketing if you send free offers to your list you will get more response for paid items and you end up bunch of money in hand ☺ my personal view
  • Sending offers 1-3 times weekly is enough. Do not overdo it. Don't forget to send useful tips to your audience also.
  • It takes around 5 emails to build a relationship/trust with your customer. The 6 and 7 day is when you promote a product.

    Its about the value in the emails leading up to the point for the promotional emails. Having educational emails show higher results for me.

    Dax is right on having a cycle in your weekly updates. Being consistent from educational to promotional works pretty well for me.
    • [1] reply
    • Sending consistent emails (daily or so) is a must but your offers must be much more spaced out. Sending out offers and promotions in every email will kill your list.
  • Balance is the key

    You can also softsell in your emails on promotions but it just means you would generally have
    to promote more soft sells in order to make what you would on 1 hard sell

    I always include some type of little story in my promotions and that has always worked really well

    If you personalize your emails you will get a far better response rather than just

    "hey check this out {firstname} it's the best thing since slice bread" etc

    Paul
    • [1] reply
    • This makes a lot of sense. It's all about OPENING THEIR MINDS to a concept then selling. You're always selling... it's just a question of how hard.
  • Banned
    There are certain niches which is for only one time email so you can't send them periodically.

    So it depends on what you promote.

    I agree building relationship would help in good conversion but it depends.
    • [1] reply
    • There is no right or wrong way.. each list is different and each subscriber has different expectations from the different lists they are on.

      If I buy a WSO I expect to get hammered with offers for the first few days..

      (I am always pleasantly surprised when i get good content and a proper relationship building AR sequence.)

      If i signup for a report on how to build a boat I don't expect to get offers everyday
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • I don't think it matters.
    Unless you are a big time marketer who is interesting people will unsubscribe.
    Email marketing is a hit and miss way of making a living online
  • You train your list to be the way they are. Keep sending them free shit and they will expect free shit... only answer complaints, and you'll only receive complaints...

    Great post Dax. I remember when I first started list building. I was scared to promote. I even made it a rule to only promote twice per month. Well, when I threw that out the window and starting doing at least 1-2 promos a week, my income flew through the roof and my list become much more into what I was saying.

    Your list wants your help and it's okay to suggest helpful tools they can buy to do that. As long as it helps get them to point B, they will be thankful.

    Travis
    • [ 5 ] Thanks
  • Instead of pure promotional emails, provide useful content or tips first then at the bottom promote your offer, This strategy really works for me.




    • [1] reply
    • It's a different medium, but you can learn a lot of lessons from studying the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). Between their five hours per week on cable/satellite TV, their hour on Ion's broadcast network, their website, YouTube channel, and on and on, they put out tons of free content every week. You can suck up all the testosterone-and-spandex soap opera you you can handle without paying them a dime.

      But make no mistake, every bit of that free content is there for one reason.

      It gives them something on which to hang their promos for their merchandise and their next PPV event.

      Does it work?

      Vince McMahon took his father's regional promotion, staged in rented ballrooms and auditoriums, and turned it into a billion dollar venture. Laugh if you want, but their flagship event, Wrestlemania, typically sells out a major stadium in a few hours every year.

      You have to give people what they want. In this case, like much email marketing, they want free content and the chance to buy even more content and products. Only give them either half, and you're cheating both them and yourself.
      • [ 7 ] Thanks
  • OP, you are a genius!

    Wow, all these years I was looking for the gurus of all gurus and now with this post I have finally found you!

    Yes yes yes! Send promotional emails regularly! It's so easy yet so profound.

    I await your next game-changing post with much anticipation. Hopefully it will be something about adding value or developing a relationship that will add value. Those are the keys to internet marketing according to a blog I'm reading by a guy who has made millions from the internetwebz.

    Please to be looking forward to your next post my very smart friend.
  • Subscribers are not human like the rest of us. We have to treat them differently - and so it becomes increasingly difficult to build relationships with them. I decided (all by myself) that I'm going to go in the opposite direction and communicate with my subscribers as if they were real live human beings.

    By God i think i've cracked it.
  • I fully agree with this. Subscribers become trained to whatever
    you offer--why do you think they stick around. And if you send
    out all valuable information and not ask for a sale you will get
    a negative backlash when you do ask for a sale.

    I've been part of list where every email is selling something and
    I've stayed with them for years. It's a MYTH that you can
    sell too much.

    -Ray Edwards
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • The relationship building process is definitely the key. Takes time but pays of in the long term.

    I joined a list from a guy once and he sent me 2 emails a day, every day since day 1, promoting pretty much exactly the same thing in re-written emails.

    At first it was annoying, but now I just find it amusing the desperation this guy goes to! I have stayed on his list purely to remind me each day on how not to do things!
  • Email marketing in a nutshell.

    Treat subscribers like human beings.
  • I think the frequency of sending email is a very subjective thing. It is depends on what niche you are in too.
  • I agree with you Dax. Its all about building a relationship and trust with your list. Providing you are promoting products that your subscribers actually need and want then it does work. But you have to work on continually building that relationship and trust.
  • The emails need to be pure content for at least 2 emails and then 1 email pitching.That ratio is very effective to increase the quality of the list.
  • I never send out just a promotional email, I always give some sort of valuable content before I make an offer.

    You do want to mail regularly, but always with great content before making an offer, I routinely get 50-80% open rates and convert offers at over 20% all the time and my unsubscribes are virtually non- existant, just becasue I always give first, this business is all about helping other first.

    The more people you help, and the more often the better off you'll be
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • I've noticed that most people are giving what they think is best or what they read they think is best without talking about their market or niche. Mark touched on it above...all of this depends completely on your market and niche.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Your right about having the right balance. I've been subscribed to a well known Marketer whom I admired for some time but lately he keeps pitching every day. Being bombarded with products I don't even like is upsetting. I'm simply deleting those emails and he's now lost a valuable subscriber.

    The problem is that they don't respect the fact that we are experienced marketers too and know all the tricks of the trade. I wouldn't treat my list that way as I have more respect for my subscribers and want to deliver a huge amount of content and less pitching.
  • If your emails are worthwhile and provide value other than just plain promotions, then frequency wouldn't matter. People would look forward to receiving emails from you.
  • I totally agree. If you don't send emails regularly, your subscribers will forget who you are or why they subscribed to your e-mail list. Then most likely they will unsubscribe.
  • The best thing you can do to keep your trust and open rates high is to ALWAYS fullfill your promises.

    Do not tell them that you will send "cool free email course" and except you send promo after promo.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I wouldn't be too hard on the OP...Sometimes the most insightful and enjoyable conversations start with something seemingly (to you at least) very basic and often-heard such as: "Nice weather we're having..."

    As for the topic at hand, any good relationship needs to be nutured, but that can be done in many subtle ways. Consider how you do that in your relationships with family and loved ones and that can help inspire. It's not always a conversation (about a sale)...sometimes it's a look or a touch which (yes I'm going to say it!) means so much.

    Regards,
    Jim
  • Good OP!

    In the past in a different niche I would do a monthly newsletter to around 5K people a month. I could see the sales drop a bit when I didn't send out the newsletter and slacked off for months at a time. When a newsletter went out the phones were busier and website traffic was way off.

    There was a correlation.

    Manny
  • Very interesting, OP. I still need to build up e-mail lists!
    • [1] reply
    • Here is my weakest part in the niche that I'm currently in. Building a list of individuals wanting to make money in a home based business.

      One thing that I would like to do is offer a free e-book in exchange for their name/number/email but my hiccup is that I use a corporate/team website and cannot edit to offer anything like that.

      Manny
  • Interesting thoughts James. With one list for example in this niche, what I have setup now is about 20 emails on AR spread out over 10 weeks with info emails and promo's mixed in for my own products. And then I send out broadcasts once a week with an affiliate promo. I'm going to test your technique with one of the lists.

    One more question for you if you don't mind. Do you do all of this on broadcasts or have you setup all of this on AR?

    Bill
    • [1] reply
    • AR for it all with the exception of the launches of in-house products. Even then I sometimes drop in a launch sequence in the AR for a perpetual launch effect.

      Hope this helps.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Very good topic, I will experiment with it to see how this works.
    thank you
  • Also remember that the dedicated people who sub to your list *want* to spend money for their solution.

    Not selling enough is like being bombarded with free meat samples when your customers want the full burger.

    I would also highly encourage list builders to start using OTO (one time offers) after they've opted in and gotten their freebie so you can weed out the dedicated buyers from the freebie seekers. There's an old saying that goes "I'd rather have 10 responsive buyers than 100 freebie seekers".
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