subject: Email Marketing - The Money Is NOT In The List!! [print this page] You hear it said all over the internet! 'The Money Is In The List'. The majority of people believe that it's true! But the money is not in the list. It isn't, honestly! The money is actually in the relationship that you build with your list!! Just think about it. When you open your email account up, whose emails do you read first? People who you are interested in. People who send you free stuff; valuable free information which you can use to build your business. Things that maybe solve a problem you are having.
If someone constantly sends you only links to products and never anything of value, you will either fail to read their email or unsubscribe. Considering people don't bother opting-out very often, this leaves many unopened emails. I personally delete loads of emails everyday without looking at them. The only thing we really look at is the sender! That is incredible if you think about it. The name of the person who is sending you an email either represents value or not!
So how do you go about building a relationship with your list? There are several things you can do to persuade people to open your emails.
Connect with them on a friendlier level. Send them an email early on just inviting them to connect with you on your blog and on your social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook. On Facebook particularly they can see photos of you, see how you are interacting with others and get more of a personal feel for you. If you do videos, these are very good at getting people to feel that they 'know' you personally.
Don't make any other offer when you send this email, just the connection. Do not do anything other than befriend them.
Try branding your emails more so that they are recognisable every time they arrive in someones email inbox. If you have a custom header on your blog, you could actually use this in your emails.
You could also have a small photo of you against your signature, so your recipient knows exactly who the email is from.
Don't just pitch and sell to them everytime you email them. Everyone wants to receive information which will help them to solve a problem that they have. They will soon stop reading your emails if all you do is pitch. So sometime just offer free information that might help them, or a free ebook or helpful video.
I know of many people who market online who think that you should email your list each day or at least every other day. If you decide to do this, the prospect will certainly recognise your name quickly and know whether they consider you to be of value to them. It will also mean that anyone who is not seriously interested will be fed up of the constant emails and will unsubscribe.
So remember, if you can get a prospect to know. like and trust you, by connecting more personally with them and by giving great value, you will have a customer for life.
