You should be in love with your autoresponder. If you’re not, something isn’t working the way it should.
The ultimate goal is to have everyone on your email list rush to their inbox and go into a state of total bliss as they read any email that comes from you.
Generally, it doesn’t start at that point. In fact, it’s impossible to please everyone on your email list.
If you follow the guidance below, you’ll begin transforming the people on your list who instantly delete every email you send into a group of raving fans that look forward to hearing from you.
Domain Reputation
The first step to building an email list is to ensure your emails land in the inbox of your subscribers. It’s not as simple as hitting send and hoping for the best.
You have to treat email as something serious. If you don’t, you won’t be landing in inboxes for long.
You need to setup SPF and DKIM records.
This link tells you more about what they are. This link shows how to setup the SPF and DKIM records.
You want to set these up to identify yourself as a legitimate email sender.
Next, you’ll want to make sure your domain isn’t already on a blacklist. You can do that here.
Finally, don’t send spammy emails.
Seriously, don’t tell your prospects you’re going to make them rich in 10 seconds with no work. Every Email Service Provider (ESP) has spam tracking that will stop them from ever getting an email like that.
Plus, you know that’s impossible…
Focus on getting the reader to do what you want. Use curiosity to your advantage. Be creative. Be fun. If you do it right, your emails will perform better.
Find A Voice
Show them who you are. Be you.
Your competitors are probably fairly boring. If that’s the case, you can stand out by being loud. Be funny. Be amusing.
Talk about things that matter to you. Tell them why you do what you do.
Tell them a story. Most importantly, tell them YOUR story.
Curse. Or don’t.
Yell. Or don’t.
Sing. Or don’t.
Whatever you do, don’t be lame. We all already get plenty of lame emails. Be better than that and your subscribers will appreciate you for it.
Always Be Testing
Try long emails. Short emails. Emails with a clickable photo. Emails with no html code. Emails with a bunch of html code.
Got a unique idea that you’ve never seen anyone use before? Try it out.
Even if it doesn’t work, at least you know what you shouldn’t do next time.
Pretty Doesn’t Always Mean Better
An email doesn’t have to look like a website. In fact, simple text emails out perform emails with a lot of formatting and tons of graphics in most tests.
Don’t just take my word for it, try out one of the html based templates you get from your autoresponder service and compare the numbers.
Did you get more clicks?
Which drove more sales?
How much did each email make you?
No matter how good my advice is, your audience will always give you their answer by taking action (or not).
Email Sequences
The best part about using an autoresponder is that it will send a sequence of emails in the order you tell it to. With the right email sequence, your autoresponder can do all of the heavy lifting once you get your sequences built and put into place.
While it takes work to write emails, it’s a one-time thing if you set it up within your autoresponder.
Here are a few important email sequences to use:
Consumption
A consumption sequence is necessary to get your readers to use whatever you give them. Whether it’s a video series, a PDF report, or a series of web pages, you want to ensure that your subscribers use what you give them.
The likelihood of them buying from you goes way up if they consume the freebie you gave them to join your email list.
The odds of them signing up for your higher end products and services increase dramatically if they use that inexpensive offer you put in front of them to get them to buy.
Send 2 – 3 emails talking about how amazing the “thing” is. Talk about specifics. Give page numbers and timelines so they have something to look for.
Promotion
The end goal of a promotion is to drive in sales. However, there is no basic blueprint that you have to follow to make that happen.
While a single email can drive sales, you’ll get more sales if you send a few emails over a period of time.
You can also send a pre-promotion email or two to get your subscribers excited for what’s to come.
I generally prefer to avoid sending more than one email in a day unless there’s a very good reason. The end of a promotion is a good reason.
If you know a product launch is coming, write all of your emails at once and take your prospects through the process of introduction, familiarity (details), and making a decision. Don’t over-inform them in your emails. Your end goal is to get them to click to go to the sales copy that is supposed to convince them to buy. Let it do it’s job.
Value
Value can be provided inside of a promotion if you’re good.
There is nothing wrong with sending some emails without the end goal of driving in a sale. In fact, if you do it right your subscribers will consume what value you send, eager for the opportunity to buy something.
Whether you choose to dazzle your readers with your awesomeness while trying to sell something or in-between promotions, make sure you dazzle them.
The single best thing you can do in any value driven email sequence is to teach your audience how to consume your products. You don’t necessarily need to give away your secrets, just push them a little closer to being ready to buy from you.
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