Email Marketing for Business | Getting Subscribers

Photo Courtesy of Salvatore Vuono and freedigitalphotos.net

Email marketing in your business is a good idea in your overall marketing strategy. In fact, if you are not using email as a marketing strategy you are missing out on an an untold and untapped fortune! It’s so powerful that email marketing should be among the top stategies of your list of priorities in developing your sales strategy. Used alone, an email campaign targeted directly to your permission based customers can increase your bottom line by 10%! Used in conjunction with other marketing efforts there would be an even greater result in that percentage.

So why isn’t everyone doing it? That is an excellent question! Quite honestly, I think it’s just like lots of things in business, business owners just don’t know how and feel that they don’t have the time it takes to learn how to do it effectively.

The top objections (excuses) I hear from my clients as to why they haven’t gotten started yet are…

#1. I don’t have the time or the staff it takes to implement a list marketing campaign.

For those small business owners who simply don’t have the time or the staff to implement such a program, we are here to help. We offer both direct mail and direct email marketing services at affordable prices.

#2. I don’t have anyone to mail to. I haven’t started collecting email addresses.

Today, collecting email addresses from your customers is widely accepted and is as common as asking for their telephone number. If you haven’t yet started doing it, there is no time like NOW to get started.

#3. My customers don’t want to receive a bunch of SPAM!

I’m not talking about SPAM. I’m talking about permission based messages sent out using an autoresponder to add value to what your customer has already asked about or purchased from you. The idea is not just to “sell” something to your customers, but too offer something of value to them. For example, if you sell red widgets, and you know someone is looking for a new red widget or just purchased a new red widget, offer them reviews of different red widgets, offer them information on how to care for their red widget. Send them reminders for an annual check up for their red widget, or offer them something else they might like that would compliment with their red widget.

By using a double opt in confirmation from your customers, they have the option of whether they want to receive mail from you. The can “opt out” anytime they want to stop receiving your emails. For me, this only serves to motivate me to provide good content and value to my customers.

5 Tips for Getting More Subscribers

Remember, as your subscriber list grows you’ll begin to see how powerful these techniques can be. Be patient, it takes time to get a large list of subscribers. It won’t happen overnight but if you commit to using these ideas for just 30 minutes every day, you will be amazed at at your results.

That’s why these 5 tips for getting more subscribers are almost as good as money in the bank…

1. Include a call to action at the end of your blog posts or other posts you place on the internet.

Let your visitors know that if they like your posts, they’ll love your newsletter content. Tell them you’ve saved some of your best tips and tricks for subscribers. Invite them to subscribe to your newsletter.

To get more subscribers, include a link to something you have on your site or other page at the bottom of your posts, along with a reason to click on the link.

Example: Discover 10 ways to get the most from your red widget. Free tips! Click here.

2. Encourage a viral effect.

You can get more subscribers simply by including a note at the bottom of every newsletter where you encourage your existing subscribers to forward your email to their friends, family and co-workers who might benefit from the information.

Example: “Do you know someone else who could benefit from these red widget tips? Please forward this email to them, they will thank you for it.”

3. Use your forum signatures file to get new subscribers.

If you’re visiting forums, include an ad and a call to action in your forum signature.

Example: “Free report. Red Widgets and what you need to know before you buy one! Click here to clain your copy now…”

4. Point your Twitter followers to a free report.

You can use Twitter.com as well as other social media sites like FaceBook.com to grow your list. Simply point your fans and followers toward your squeeze page to pick up a free report. Include this link on your profile page as well as in some of your posts, and tweets.

5. Embed your links in your products.

If you have digital products for sale, sometimes people share your digital products with their friends. Other times they give away or sell pirated copies of your product. In either case, you can benefit from this if you include links to your squeeze page in your paid products.

You can use each of these five methods to get dozens, hundreds or even thousands of new subscribers. The important thing is to choose one method and do it over and over again. Then, move on to the next technique. This will help you make each of these methods a habit. Just imagine how big your list will be once you apply all of the methods to everything you do online!

Remember, when using these techniques, always keep your reader in mind. Don’t send email for the sake of sending email. You will have a high rate of unsubscribers if you do that. Think of your emails from your own perspective. Would you appreciate getting the information you are about to send? Also, make sure that your campaign is targeted to your customers. Those with red widgets won’t be interested in learning how to care for a blue widget and vise-versa.

If you need help with getting an email marketing program started or if you’d like to learn more contact us and we’ll be glad to help. We offer training for you and your staff as well as full service management of your email marketing campaigns.

Happy email Marketing!