We look at a direct email marketing tool and how it can rocket your business ahead capturing new sales and increased profit automatically
What is a direct marketing tool?
Generally called an autoresponder or programmed marketing tools they are used by both big and small businesses across the world.
- They send out emails automatically
- They check performance rates
- Link to a buy button
- Increase your contact with customers.
They are both very efficient and highly successful if used correctly
The challenge is for you to adopt this advanced method and make it work for your business without costing a bunch of time.
What are the downsides of automated marketing?
There are several items necessary to understand before moving forward with this.
- Establish your identity to increase the open rate
- Segment your list
- Use a unique and creative headline
- introduce yourself and your product before trying to sell
- write compelling material
- provide a buy now option button
- Pictures work well
- Don’t be upset with opt-outs
- review your results and act on them
- Bank the money
What to use for automatically emailing.
There is several tools to use for your automation.
I use Constant Contact and Aweber, I have used Mail Chimp and others in the past but have settled on these two because of the relative ease in which to construct a working profile.
Pricing varies on the number of clients you have in your base and not generally the number of emails sent.
Inbound is easy to set up
I say this because your log-in form takes them directly to your message centre.
In the message center you will have prewritten messages ready to be activated. Messages that are written to achieve a result over a selected period.
We will cover that a bit further down the page.
Outbound automated messages
Here we need to be a bit different because we need to choose our targets.
You will set up separate lists that are product related so the email will go to selected persons in that list. Off course, you can combine lists, cut members or make changes to suit your desires or needs.
The next thing is to set up a group of messages that will go to your list.
Now for the fun stuff
The rules are that people buy from businesses they know,
like and trust.
You develop this in a process that starts with an introduction.
It’s like your first meeting so let’s not go for the close but establish a relationship that will last the journey. Remember they are in charge and can unsubscribe at any time.
How to introduce yourself in an email
- Give your name and contact details
- Provide a current photo
- cover your company values
- push your image
- Tell them what to expect next email
When you open your emails the ones that get opened are the ones that interest you. Names you know and like.
what are the best email headlines?
This needs to jump off the page with excitement. Give them a reason to open the mail or it will be just another deleted item.
- Gain. Did you miss this?
- Logic. This is your next step
- Fear. Are you missing out?
This also applies to the footer, your last words should be what to expect next, again some ingredient of anticipation so your next mail will have great results.
How best to write an email
Your email has just one job. It is to sell the click.
You should always write for the readers’ benefit. What is in it for them?
- Every page has a buying link to a page or funnel
- Then use the critical keys of
- Curiosity
- Direct benefit
- Scarcity
It is also important to maintain your brand or how people see your mail. Each should be the same and as well as where you link to. Consistency is essential because the visual appeal supports the know and like of your business
How to monitor your emails
This is an essential part of the process and should be done regularly to see what results you are getting and what return you can expect.
My challenge is always to increase my stats so that I understand that my progress is positive.
- How big is your base and is it growing?
- What is your open rate v your industry
- similar to your click rate
- Follow up on those that click
- Those that Optout as a percentage
- Monitor those that bounce
- Any that reports spam. ( there will always be some)
- What are the best subjects you have sent?
Never fret about those that disconnect, there are many reasons that we will never comprehend so instead think of them as list cleansing.
What is business marketing?
I wrote about business marketing in a recent blog and I shall give one more piece of advice in ” The Rule of Seven”
The rule of seven is an old marketing term that dictates a customer needs to be touched 7 times before they will buy. It may be three or even five but time has proven seven to be the average.
It happens on TV and radio where advertisements are repeated regularly until they are lodged in your brain only to return when a buying time is near.
That is why we send out a stream of emails to help with the touch cycle.
However, there are other ways as well.
Best ways to promote your business
I also wrote about this recently on my blog business promotion but let’s look at a few ideas here.
Your front end to attract visitors is:
- Your website with great SEO and a capture box
- Regular blogging on your website
- Social media that should include
Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram as basics - Local directories if a fixed business
- Your current customer list
- Newsletters
All of these are there to push people to a selling site, your webpage, or a funnel of one on one.
How to finish an email series
They finish when a customer leaves you because your content is no longer of interest. Those that remain will go into a Newsletter series using your direct email marketing tool programmed to regularly send out interesting correspondence.
Newsletters are not generally designed to sell. Rather they are there to inform channel customers to a buying site.
However, when someone clicks on a product of interest you may consider putting them in a new series based on that interest.
I believe Newsletters are one of the more important products in your playbook. They don’t take a lot of time or cost to do but deliver very long-term results. I use Constant Contact as my preferred supplier but there are many out there.
Direct email marketing tool by Peter Hanley
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