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Permission Based Marketing – Are You In or Out?

Permission based marketing is more than just asking someone permission to send them stuff or call them whenever you feel like it. Permission based marketing, or what some refer to as opt-in marketing, is the way that we get through all the clutter and noise to our target market. It’s the simple process of asking, communicating and then delivering on what we promised. And if you really want to make an impact you need to over deliver and add value whenever and wherever you possibly can.

Permission Based Marketing by Clickandmortarblog.com
Did you get permission or did you add your latest prospect to your email list and then hit SEND?

During a connection/outreach campaign for a client I had one of the most interesting things happen to me. I was sending a regular personalized email message to a very small group of people who made up the advisory board for my client.

What happened next was quite the shocker as I received a promotional email from one of the receipients of my message. This was kind of odd considering the fact that the individual didn’t even subscribe to my client’s advisory board list, but instead subscribed me to their email auto-responder!

This is just not right and needless to say got my attention. Not only does this tarnish their reputation, but this is a no no and goes against email best practices. It not only got me a little upset but it cost the credibility and future of working with this other company.

You know it’s one thing if you receive a message from someone and don’t want to opt-in to their list or the recommended list, but to take that person’s email and put it into another email auto-responder by hand is asking for trouble. Further more, if you are still manually entering your prospects email, it’s probably time you made a simple change and have them OPT-IN!

Like I mentioned earlier, Permission Based Marketing is more than just asking someone if you can send and/or contact them whenever you feel like it. No matter if you are utilizing email, direct mail or direct sales methods, it’s like this…

Think as the consumer. Consumers don’t want more junk mail and email. They want what interests them, not what interests you.

Here’s an example:

If you and your family really enjoy water sports and boating then you probably enjoy reading and researching topics and areas of interest pertaining to this sport. So you are more than open to receive and review information as long as it is relevant to your interests.

As soon as this information hits the fringe or goes beyond your water sports and boating, then you start to put up barriers and will stop being open to receiving and reviewing information.

It’s kind of like when you receive a boating magazine that is totally dialed into what your interest is. But then some other publisher rents the list and starts sending you magazine info about fishing and hunting. Fishing is a distant cousin to your boating world and maybe you have interest but it’s really a shot in the dark. Hunting isn’t even on your charts and gets tossed in the round filing cabinet.

A Permission Based Marketing Campaign

What needs to happen is a permission based marketing campaign that says, “Hey, are you interested in information about other topics related to water sports and boating? And would you like to be informed about these topics?” If so, consider getting in touch with the Team at SBM and they’ll make it happen!

Pretty simple concept, yet so many businesses and organizations miss this and just roll on with the old, antiquated attitude of ‘we’re getting the industry standard response’ (which is usually only a couple of percentage points), so why change?

Well, I’m here to say to you today…

That’s a bunch of hogwash and you can do better if you use permission based marketing.

Ask your prospects and customers what they want to learn, know and have interest in. Get to know your prospects, subscribers and clients. Then deliver the best, most targeted information to them. Plus always ask their permission before you add on or increase the volume of information.

Permission Based Marketing – your way to developing a loyal group of subscribers, clients or customers.

Make ee sense my loyal reader?

I sure hope so. If not, let me know and we can discuss it further.

To your success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher
Clickandmortarblog.com

 PS – This article, as is every article here on Clickandmortarblog.com, is Copyrighted by the publisher as listed above and you DO NOT have permission to copy or disassemble this article without express permission from the publisher. 

 

The Land of Email Marketing Strategies & Tactics

When it comes to email marketing strategies and tactics for small business, maybe it’s time we shed some light on the subject for those of you who are in the land of small business.

Ever seen an email message that landed in your inbox and you just knew it was going to be another advertisement with Sale! Sale! Sale! written all over it?

We all have and that’s why today’s topic is kicking off a series about email marketing and its direct correlation to direct response marketing. Now there’s more than enough articles and info products out there on the web about these two subjects, and even I have plenty of meat and potatoes right here at clickandmortarblog.com should you need some.

My point is this…

If you, the small business owner or manager is going to utilize email marketing in your business to build your customer base, then why don’t you test, use best practices and work towards connecting with your subscribers?

I know this takes time, effort, and planning and good copywriting. Yes – good copywriting is part of the equation when it comes to developing emails that get opened, read and clicked. Decent copywriting and creative can be the difference of an unopened email and one that gets thoroughly read and clicked.

More and more I see small business owners using email to ‘blast’ the people who have signed up or not signed up to their list. And the blasts they send are sale focused, not connection focused. 

This is not engaging, does not build credibility and is frankly very annoying.

The last thing a consumer or businessperson wants is another advertisement landing in his or her email inbox that screams sale! They already receive enough of these as it is and your pitch and shove doesn’t make them any happier or more eager to buy.

Soooo…. 

You, my small business friend, must look at the emails you create and send as more than just a digital version of a newspaper or magazine ad. These messages that are sent through cyberspace to the people whom have entrusted you with their email, are more than just advertisements.

These messages are relationship and bridge builders or at least the majority of them should be. Yes, you read that correctly. The majority of your email messages should be bridge builders and setups for a demolition crew!

The vast majority of the messages you send to your subscriber lists should be to build relationships, bridges, connections and if done properly – sales and long-term streams of revenue.

And with time-tested proven direct response tactics & strategies, you can make this happen in your email campaigns and even in your offline marketing. It makes no difference what business you are in; you can save yourself a lot of headaches and lost revenue by embracing direct response email marketing strategies and tactics that will work over the long haul.

So rest assured my small business friend, you too could attract, capture, connect and convert without screaming sale in every single email.

Look for more about how you can do this, right here at Clickandmortarblog.com (series to be continued) and through our friends at Smallbiz Mechanix.

Dave Krygier
Publisher 

Email Marketing Strategies for Small Business

Even with all the new social media sites, text marketing, video marketing, blog marketing and every other kind of marketing, email marketing is still one of the best ways to communicate and connect with your prospects, subscribers and customers.

But why is it that the emails sent by retailers and service businesses seem to be the same ole’ broadcast with a drab layout and too much information.

This hasn’t changed much since the late 1990’s. In most cases all you will see is sell, sell, sell, sell – blah, blah, blah… It’s a tragedy that I see all the time. From big corporations to the smallest of small businesses, the list is long.

Now you can avoid this if you are going to build your subscriber and customer list by using email marketing.

When it comes to Email Marketing Strategies for small business, here is one you might consider:

With this strategy the idea is to Captivate the Subscriber(who may also be a customer) so he or she really looks forward to receiving your emails. Below are three different examples of how you can do this.

1. Write a Story Board just like you would if you were creating a mini-series for Television. Not that you have to be a screenwriter, but you need to tell the story over a period of time, breaking it down into little gems and nuggets to keep the subscriber’s attention.

2. Write Often and Daily if possible. The more often you write the better you’ll get at it. This method basically goes like this: write an email every day and insert it into your follow- up sequence. The goal is to eventually have an email arrive in your prospect’s or customer’s inbox every day. With this method you effectively polarize the reader, capture their attention and if your content is interesting, they will stay subscribed and purchase your products, services or information.

3. Write in Blocks as this creates continuity. So if you are going to write about indoor organic gardening, then write a series of 10 to 20 messages that covers the topic from A to Z or tells the story. Simply create an outline about the topic and then translate this outline into the individual emails. This method works well with number two from above and you might find that your blocks will fit with certain emails, if they are within the same niche or business category.

No matter what email strategy you use(mine, your own or some other marketer’s), I recommend that you utilize an email auto-responder versus your own email program like Outlook or Gmail. There are lots of reasons for this, but primarily the email software allows you to keep your database up to date, track and sequence your messages and provide a vehicle for permission based marketing.

With all this said I hope you take your email marketing seriously and develop relationships with your prospects, subscribers and customers.

To your email success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher

Best Email Software – Review

For any marketer who is building a list of subscribers or for the offline enterprise that is looking to attract new online leads and communicate with existing customers, email software is a critical component to the equation.

If you are new to the world of email marketing you might want to read through my post – What is an email auto-responder and also review a few of the other articles I’ve written about the topic of list building and email marketing.

Back in early 2010 I initially tested one other email auto-responder service and it was way to complicated even for my brother-in-law the computer expert, although I believe he could have dug in and figured it out.

I have also had experience with a few clients using one of the most popular email software programs which in itself is a pretty good program but doesn’t have all the bells and whistles.

So when it comes to the best email software I’m a little biased towards one company as I like simplicity, customer service and quick reference tutorials. In my expereince the best email software for the newbie and small business has been Aweber.

Aweber is a pretty robust, solid platform that has lots of features and is pretty simple to navigate. This along with their knowledge base and excellent customer service has made me a fan.

There’s also email software by Get Response. In my opinion their platform is a little more complex but still delivers and many top marketers continue to use their services.

There are other email software programs like Constant Contact, Mailchimp, Infusionsoft and iContact. Each one has it’s own features and benefits, but when it comes down to a robust auto-responder and lead capture solution, I believe Aweber takes the cake.

From list management and settings to web form creation and installation – once you learn the software it’s pretty easy to manage and update.

Like any new software, it takes time to learn the ins and outs. Email software is no different.  But know this – if I can do it and learn how to use this software, so can you.

The best email software for small business is software that works and gets the job done with the least amount of headaches and stress.

So when it comes to email marketing campaigns and the ability to execute and manage these you need a simple solution and for small business I believe Aweber is a solid fit.

To your list building success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher

List Building – The Sales Monster Returns

Ok, so if you missed part one(List Building and The Sales Monster) you probably want to check it out first so this post makes more sense. The jist of where I’m going with part two about List Building and The Sales Monster is connecting with your subscribers without losing them along the way.

Because if you are going to build a list of subscribers(online or offline), at some point you’ll need to convert them into customers. And by doing so the conversion plus ROI should equal one happy business owner.

You see just building a list by itself is not going to make you any money. I know, I’m beating a dead horse here but a long list of peeps with no conversion is not gonna help your small business.

So we have to sell and offer our subscribers and clients(if you have any) at intervals and these intervals will depend on your type of business and how many products and services you have to sell.

Maybe the interval is once a week or maybe it’s two times per month?

Maybe you have so many products to offer that it’s twice a week or more?

No matter – just work to achieve a balance between selling and great content.

Because if you don’t, the sales monster might rear his ugly head when you let him loose on your subscribers and clients without properly understanding how to create and manage a sales funnel.

In other words – you throw too many offers on the table all at once or every day and your list gets burned out like water thrown on a fire pit.

Now let’s take a turn and talk briefly about the triggers…

If you want to really connect with ‘the people’ on your list and desire to have them purchase whatever it is you have to offer them…

Then consider implementing the Seven Triggers.

Author Russell Granger refers to Seven Triggers in his book on influencing people’s decisions. These triggers can surely make a difference for you in your business if you study and implement them correctly.

Let’s say you test just one of the triggers in your marketing and it happens to be the Authority Trigger. This trigger is one where you are the expert or maybe someone you work with is the expert and you build on credibility.

This credibility will open up doors to opportunities that otherwise would not be available to you and might increase sales if used legitimately. Of all the triggers this is one that you as a professional or seasoned business owner can use to develop, grow new business and conquer the sales monster.

Remember – if you really connect with subscribers, then they are more likely to purchase and become clients (or customers if you prefer) and clients are more likely to continue working with you over the long-haul.

Repeat Sales = Happy Business Owner = No More Sales Monster

If you want more information about list building tactics and strategies, check out this article about List Building & The Relationship and consider subscribing to the List Building Guide if you want more in depth information on the topic.

Dave Krygier
Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Email Marketing Tips – The Subject You Need to Know

“EMT”

The subject you need to know to know about today is the subject line in your emails that you send to your subscribers and clients. Does the EMT above make sense or did you miss the connection to the post title above?

Ok – onward, upward and to today’s topic….

When it comes to email marketing, one thing that drives me nuts is an off-liner (traditional, brick and mortar business owner) who doesn’t know what to put in the subject lines of their emails. It’s like they guess or just pull a rabbit out of the hat and click control v.

The subject line is what gets us humans to open the message.

The subject line is the headline to your marketing message and the key that opens the door.

Many times the traditional business owner (who I refer to as an off-liner) will just throw what ever onto the subject line along with a one to two page crammed together news blurb or whatever he or she thinks is relevant and/or urgent. They send the usual weekly e-letter with subject lines that don’t tie into a headline or the body copy and usually have so much cut and pasted content that it looks like a supermarket bulletin board!

BORING, BORING, BORING!

What these types need is excitement and enthusiasm or something so interesting that the reader is ready and willing to open the next message.

That something could be an audio or video link in the body of the email that leads to an interview. Or maybe a refreshing article that pertains to your niche and what they are subscribed to.

The nonchalant attitude of just sending info with no links to click on is about as dumb as driving over a snow-covered mountain pass with bald tires. And yours truly is guilty as charged for doing this in the past.  (no links to click that is)

So here are my email marketing tips for you today:

When writing your …

Subject Line (headline)  – Make sure that the words stand out and say, HEY YOU!  Because these words generally determine if the subscriber is going to open the email.

Intro sentence (subheadline) – Use words that keeps the subscriber’s attention so they read through to your message.

Body Copy – Remember to include a link to something else of interest, like an article, video, blog post, or even a sales page.

Close – Use a simple call to action, a thank you, a lead in to the next message, that may or may not include an additional link.

PS – This is your final chance to catch the reader’s attention. Use it wisely.

Now there are alot of different ways to develop and write email campaigns and you might have a solid strategy that works and is driving new subscribers your way.

If this is not the case, then subscribe to The List Building Guide and get on the right track.

Dave Krygier
Publisher

How to Develop a List Online

How does one develop a list of subscribers online and make it a business? In this post I will share with you three simple steps that will hopefully get you pointed in the right direction.

First we need to ask a few questions…

Why build a list? Why develop an email list of subscribers and clients when you can do other kinds of businesses online?

When it comes to online opportunities, there is certainly no shortage.

Here’s a partial list of ways you could make an income online:

  • Sell physical products through ecommerce.
  • Sell digital informational products.
  • Offer content and then make a commission on the ads displayed on your site.
  • Make a commission on products through Amazon.com or other ecommerce sites.
  • Make a commission on the actions that people take (CPA marketing).

And the list goes on and on…

This leads us back to developing a list online.

Every business has its quirks, positives and negatives. List building is no different. It just takes consistent work on the list builder’s part as do other online businesses.

The thing that separates building a list from other ventures is that the list can become an asset of sorts, if you monetize it. And the way you monetize it is by treating people right and having products or services that they are in need of.

That’s right, you need to treat the people on your list like you want to be treated. The better you treat them and the better you communicate, the more likely they are to buy from you. This is what I call building relationships.

Now one of the things about list building is that you have to continually add new subscribers and then convert a percentage of those subscribers to buyers through the products or services you offer to them.

Here’s the Simple 3-Step Explanation about How to Develop a List Online:

1. Drive Targeted Traffic (searchers) to a Squeeze or Landing Page that has a form for the searcher to subscribe to your list. This page should be focused on capturing the searcher and bringing them into your world. Not telling your entire story and giving away tons of information.

2. Offer Quality Content, Products and/or Services that are produced by you or someone else. Once the searcher has been converted to a subscriber, these products or services should be setup in a sequenced sales funnel along with quality content that keeps the subscriber’s attention.

3. Convert a percentage of your Subscribers into Buyers and you have sales and revenue coming your way. Conversion is the key and you will hear all kinds of formulas and ideas on the best ways to do this. What’s important is that you have a system for converting your subscribers to buyers. Not someone else’s system – but your own. Your conversion rate is your conversion rate and this might be higher or lower than what you see other marketers are saying should be ideal or sufficient.

Simple, right? But know that there are other things that need to be done or what I refer to as the details in between the lines.

So if list building is something you are really looking to pursue or if your list building efforts have not produced much, then go get yourself a copy of The List Building Guide and also check out this page about how to build a list of subscribers.

To your online success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher

Local Internet Marketing – Connecting the Dots

When it comes to local Internet marketing you really need to connect the dots if you are going to be visible and gain exposure in your local community.

Over the years I’ve seen so many businesses guess with their marketing like they are throwing darts at a dart board. I don’t want to seem like I’m beating a dead horse but guessing with your marketing in this day and age of the Internet is like traveling across a country without a map.

Local Internet Marketing for a small business has expanded and grown so much in the last  five years that the possibilities for visibility and connection are extremely high, if you take the time to do the work and put the puzzle together.

When it comes to local Internet marketing you as a small business owner have more online tools available to you today than ever before. Tools like local directories, maps, links to phone numbers, google places, email marketing, social media and the good ole’ search engine organic listings.

If you happen to live close or in my neck of the woods, Eastern Washington or Northern Idaho, then you already know that small business is a big part of the many local communities that comprise this region. But one thing to consider is that local web-based marketing in a town like Spokane, Washington might be a bit different than say Sandpoint, Idaho.

This leads me to how you can connect the dots and develop a local Internet marketing strategy for your small business.

Basically what you need to do is come up with a plan that works specifically for your small business, not some cookie cutter formula that is mass produced like fast food.

Your strategy for local Internet marketing should be designed and customized to fit your business needs. Why – because all that matters is your business and ROI.

Remember, it’s all about keeping it simple, clear and concise, not complicated and confusing.

The Three Main Components (or pillars if you prefer) to local Internet marketing include local search optimization, email marketing and social media, but not all three are a fit for every small business. So what you need to carefully consider is which one of the three will be the most important and bring you the most ROI as soon as possible.

Then once you have determined this you can move onto the next most important component and then finally tackle the third one. This way you don’t get overwhelmed and  inundated with too much information and not enough results.

With certain strategies all three work well together. In other cases you might only use one or two.

Let’s look at the options you have available to you and your business:

1. Local Search Marketing includes organic and pay per click, directories, maps, places, phone links, videos and anything to do with the search engine. Remember visibility is key, so make sure to cover all the bases.

2. Email Marketing includes capturing leads and cultivating relationships with subscribers and existing clients. This is done through links and forms on your website pages, on your blog, in advertisements, articles and social media sites.

3. Social Media Marketing is currently one of the easiest and best ways to become visible to your local market but you’ll need to research and determine which channel is best for your business. Because not all social media sites are the same, you might find some that can help you achieve better rankings and faster ROI than others.

Ok – so that ends today’s commentary on local internet marketing. Stay tuned for part two in this series where I’ll dig further into email and combo marketing and how you can take advantage of the two together.

Dave Krygier
Publisher

Secrets of the Tiny Store

 


How to Increase Email Subscriptions

This article is really directed towards the business that is struggling with ways to capture leads on their website.

Maybe you already have a customer list but haven’t been able to figure out how to further monetize it using email and web-based applications?

Maybe you have yet to develop an online customer list but cannot seem to figure out how to put all the pieces together?

I think many small businesses find themselves at a crossroads where the offline marketing is coming up against the online marketing and they need to figure out how to make the two mesh.

Over the years I’ve seen businesses cheap out on their email lists but invest tens of thousands of dollars on their physical mailing lists because they didn’t have a clue about marketing online.

Oh they might have a Facebook page and Twitter account, so they think they are up on the current online trends, but in reality they haven’t a clue.

Here they have their existing customer both in an offline and online database yet don’t know what to send him or her except sales and promotional mailers and emails.

They miss the boat, week after week, month after month and year after year.

And continue to scratch their heads as to why they can’t seem to figure out how the Internet really works.

If this is you and you are ready to make the change and capitalize on the fact that you have people who are visiting your sites regularly, then here’s what you need to do to increase email subscriptions:

  1. Put a subscribe link (opt in box or form) on every page of your site. This way you are giving the visitor an opportunity to join your list.
  2. Add a free gift (information, trial offer, service, etc…) to entice the visitor to subscribe. People are inundated with offers so make it special.
  3. Put the subscribe form on your blog and post a link on any social media sites that you currently use. This way your opt-in forms are getting maximum exposure and your subscribe rates should increase over time.
  4. Write and send an offer to your existing subscribers that they can share with other people they know. To redeem the offer the new visitor will need to subscribe to your list.

Need more subscribers to opt-in to your email list – subscribe here – and find out how to do this.

Dave Krygier
Publisher

List Building & The Sales Monster

“List Building Tales Part I”

Ok so I decided to step out with the whole ‘monster’ title. I was thinking about ‘Cookie’ but that’s been overused and since my post is about sales and list building and how they work together, I kept the ‘Monster’ intact.

This is actually part one of a two part series, so look for the second half down the road. It will be worth it.

Here we go…

Let’s get the facts straight:

#1 – List building is work. Albeit a different kind of work. If anyone tells you any different – turn and run.

#2 – List building is a business – unless you are a non-profit.

#3 – List building by itself will not make you any money until you have a product or service to sell the subscribers on the list. This product or service can be your own or someone else’s. And then…you must CONVERT the subscriber to a client in order to make a SALE, which should ultimately make you a profit.

Make ee sense?

I sure hope so.

To make list building profitable you need to sell and sell you must. But selling can be done in a way that is the opposite of the ‘hot tub and car sales way’…Yes it can be done and the monster doesn’t need to come out of the closet and jump all over your subscriber!

Sales is the what’s on the other side of the door and conversion is the key that unlocks the door. Yeh, I know – ‘Dave speak’ once again comes onto the page and interrupts the normally scheduled blog post. So just bare with me for a little longer and I’ll be wrapped up.

“A sale is a very fragile thing. And it needs to be treated as such…”

So why is it that so many people are afraid to sell?

For some reason people get online and just think they can make money hand over fist with little or no work put into the equation. It’s the preconceived notion that in the online world you can make a bundle by doing little to nothing and especially not selling.

The reality is that sales comes into the equation in just about every online business. Now there are a few exceptions like with sites that are monetized by AdSense or some other advertising platform that provides the website owner advertisers in exchange for a percentage of the click.

Sooooo…..

Learn what I refer to as ‘the art and science of persuasion’ and connecting with people. It makes selling a whole lot easier and much more fun.

Until next time,

Dave Krygier

PS- Still stuck on list building? Check out the The List Building Guide and get unstuck.