If you already have a website, you know that traffic and conversion combined are the most important factors for your online business success. Whether you're using search engine optimization, social media marketing, advertising, or even direct word of mouth, the paradigm is the same. Sales is a process not an event. It takes an average of 5 to 7 exposures to make a sale. But the average web site visitor only stays for an average of 3 seconds before they make that decision to stay or go. And if they go, odds are you'll never see them again.
What this means to you as an online business promoter is both an opportunity and an obligation to turn your web site visitors into qualified leads for your business. That means enticing them onto your mailing list with a juicy free offer, then using a strategic e-mail marketing campaign to court them into your book of business.
For a lot of online marketers this makes perfect sense on the surface. But how do you get them to opt in? Is there a trick? And once they're on your list, what do you actually say to them and how often?
First, you'll need an auto responder account. Notable vendors include Constant Contact, iContact, Aweber, and even FreeAutoBot.com. They offer reliable service, some with more bells and whistles than others. But the most important element of e-mail marketing is to remember that you're building a relationship with your prospective customer. Start by offering them something of real value - a high quality report, or a piece of inside information they truly can't get anywhere else, at least not for free.
Place your e-mail opt-in form in the upper right corner of your website. Your visitors eyes will naturally rest there as they navigate to the site. Make sure there are no broken links and that the download process goes smoothly. Test it out yourself.
Your auto responder account needs to be loaded with a series of carefully written e-mail messages to your prospects. The ideal contact interval is every few days, starting immediately after they opt-in to your mailing list. Be scrupulous with your spelling, grammar and links. There's no room for mistakes. The tone of your e-mail series should be friendly and offer useful information that your prospect can use. It should also be entertaining, building anticipation for your next contact. You might choose to tell a story that leads the reader from one e-mail to the next.
Your e-mail series should be at least ten messages long. You can even load dozens or more than a hundred of emails into your account. But only one e-mail out of every three or four should actually be sales oriented. And whatever you do, make sure that you are contacting the people on your list only with relevant information. For example, if your newsletter is about parenting, it's not OK to solicit products in the make-money-online sector. Likewise, if you have more than one mailing list, it's not OK to cross pollinate unless you're offers are relevant to the interests of the people on that list.
The top online marketers like to say,'the money is in the list.' Once you've built a sizable mailing list, this is both an asset and a tool. Safeguard it and handle it with care, and you'll be richly rewarded every time you send another e-mail.
What this means to you as an online business promoter is both an opportunity and an obligation to turn your web site visitors into qualified leads for your business. That means enticing them onto your mailing list with a juicy free offer, then using a strategic e-mail marketing campaign to court them into your book of business.
For a lot of online marketers this makes perfect sense on the surface. But how do you get them to opt in? Is there a trick? And once they're on your list, what do you actually say to them and how often?
First, you'll need an auto responder account. Notable vendors include Constant Contact, iContact, Aweber, and even FreeAutoBot.com. They offer reliable service, some with more bells and whistles than others. But the most important element of e-mail marketing is to remember that you're building a relationship with your prospective customer. Start by offering them something of real value - a high quality report, or a piece of inside information they truly can't get anywhere else, at least not for free.
Place your e-mail opt-in form in the upper right corner of your website. Your visitors eyes will naturally rest there as they navigate to the site. Make sure there are no broken links and that the download process goes smoothly. Test it out yourself.
Your auto responder account needs to be loaded with a series of carefully written e-mail messages to your prospects. The ideal contact interval is every few days, starting immediately after they opt-in to your mailing list. Be scrupulous with your spelling, grammar and links. There's no room for mistakes. The tone of your e-mail series should be friendly and offer useful information that your prospect can use. It should also be entertaining, building anticipation for your next contact. You might choose to tell a story that leads the reader from one e-mail to the next.
Your e-mail series should be at least ten messages long. You can even load dozens or more than a hundred of emails into your account. But only one e-mail out of every three or four should actually be sales oriented. And whatever you do, make sure that you are contacting the people on your list only with relevant information. For example, if your newsletter is about parenting, it's not OK to solicit products in the make-money-online sector. Likewise, if you have more than one mailing list, it's not OK to cross pollinate unless you're offers are relevant to the interests of the people on that list.
The top online marketers like to say,'the money is in the list.' Once you've built a sizable mailing list, this is both an asset and a tool. Safeguard it and handle it with care, and you'll be richly rewarded every time you send another e-mail.