Your email list. For many business owners it is one of their most prized possessions. At conventions business owners can often be heard boasting pridefully about how many subscribers they have.
Reactions can often be heard. “Wow, that’s awesome!” “Damn, how long did it take to build up that list.” “Don’t worry, it takes time to build a list.”
Whatever the reaction, the sentiment is the same.
If you have a solid email list, you must be making money. Right?
WRONG!
Whether or not you make money via email has much less to do with how many people are on your list than how you use the list you have.
How many subscribers you have does not dictate how much money you make!
I’ve worked with 7 figure business owners who have lists of 50K+ and lists of less than 10K.
I’ve also worked with business owners with lists of 50K+ whose income is in the low 6 figures.
The deciding factor really isn’t the number of subscribers. It’s what you do with those subscribers!
If you’re like most marketers you put together your newsletter and you send it out to your list. You probably also send a promo or two when you have a sale, new product launch, or need to generate some cash flow.
You likely spend some time writing your copy, putting together your buy links and sales pages, making sure there are images in your email, and then you broadcast it out to your entire list because, after all, they opted in so they are ready to be marketed to.
BUT, this is the fastest way I know of to do 3 things:
- Burn out your list
- Decrease your open and click rates
- Ensure that your list is only worth about 10% of what it could be worth if it was marketed to properly
If your email list is truly one of your most valuable assets, don’t you think it should be treated as such? Remember, the people on the other end of the line, so to speak, are just people. They are human beings who want to be heard, understood, and listened to.
They want your help, not your pitches.
Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t pitch them. Of course you can. And you should.
The key is to market to them with a purpose. Share relevant information while respecting their time.
And you do that by sending them the right offer at the right time. For them.
This is where email automation comes into play.
"Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches – at scale."
By automating some of your emails you are having the conversation with your clients that they are ready to have. You are meeting them where they are, allowing them to learn about something that may help you, while not selling to them.
You are offering them the chance to get a product or service that will fill a need they have instead of selling them what you want to sell.
By approaching them this way you are redefining your relationship.
You are telling them “Hey, I’m listening to you. I hear what you’re saying and I’m with ya.”
That is going to get a lot more customer loyalty and support than “Hey, I’ve got this bill to pay this month so I’m going to sell you this.”
Because, no matter how good a copywriter you are, your clients can tell which kind of marketer you are.
Your prospects can feel your intention and know when you are just trying to make a buck as opposed to trying to connect with them and solve a problem they may be having.
So, the next question you might have is how can you tell what they want or need…
Well, that gets easier with today’s technology.
Depending on the mail service you use, you likely have much of this information at your fingertips.
By tracking what links your email subscribers are clicking on you can tell what products and services might interest them. Maybe they are downloading a piece of content, or maybe they are clicking to read more of a particular article. Maybe they are clicking to learn more about a product or service you offer.
Whatever the click, there is information in it that can help you with your marketing.
Let’s say you have a financial services agency. And let’s say you send an email out to all of your clients about a new 529 plan, a college savings plan.
Anyone who clicks on that is going to indicate to you that they are interested in saving for college. You may not know if they are saving for their own child, a niece or a nephew, or someone else, but you know that planning for college is top of mind for them.
This would be a great time to follow up with some additional information about college savings plans. Offer them a quick call to talk about their needs, share specifics about various plans and how they can fill their needs…
The key is that you are not selling them a college savings plan at this point.
Quite the opposite. You are simply offering to share some additional information with them. Information that they have already told you they are interested in.
Now, considering most financial planners have clients who may be saving for college, others who have no children, and still others whose children have grown and already graduated…who do you think would be more likely to enjoy information about college savings plans?
Those who already clicked on a link, or every single subscriber on the list?
By segmenting it down and having the follow up emails go out to only those who clicked on the initial link you are talking to the people who want to talk to you.
I think of it this way.
Say you’re at a party, and the room is full of people. Some of whom you know, some of whom you don’t.
Marketers found a 760% increase in email revenue from segmented campaigns (Campaign Monitor, 2019)
Now, sending a broadcast email is like standing in the middle of the room, clinking a spoon on your glass, calling for everyone’s attention, and telling them whatever it is you’re about to tell them.
A targeted email on the other hand is like having conversations with small groups of people, getting to know them and speaking about something relevant to them. A breakout room if you will.
Clearly, by speaking to small groups about what they are interested in, and speaking to the whole room about general, mass appeal topics you are going to maintain their attention longer, make more friends, and have more follow up conversations at the end of the night.
So, with that in mind, how can you shift from a broadcast model to a targeted email model? What emails can you shift from going to everyone on your list to only those that have raised their hands? And, as importantly, how will you shift your broadcast emails to be more well suited for your entire list?
Make sure you are tracking your results as you make these shifts. Nothing is easier to misjudge the impact of than something that is not measured.
