Business growth via email
The goal of every business (Web-based, home-based or otherwise) is to deliver great enough service that provides satisfaction among its customer base, with the primary objective being that, as each and every customer expresses satisfaction with products purchased or service delivered by the business, there is a greater chance that s/he will be transformed from just a casual customer to a returning customer and make more purchases. Better yet, they will recommend the business to other people that could generate even more sales – now and into the future – for that business and its representative website.
It is already a foregone conclusion that as more traffic is driven and attracted to your website the chances of enticing many of them to subscribe to your mailing list or opt-in list grows; and such a list will be comprised, essentially, of website visitors who agree to receive emails from you that include promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and other such content designed to keep them updated about your site and/or the topic or niche upon which that site is based. These promotional materials are sent via email to members of the list at different time intervals.
The low-cost marketing tool
When using email as the medium by which to broadcast your marketing and advertisement agenda, you accomplish two goals. First you eliminate the need for high costs associated with this activity, because email is free. And second, if you can manage to make your own promotional ads and content you can save a bundle there also, especially with opt-in subscribers whom you are pretty sure will be interested in what you are sending and therefore will receive it, open it and read it, instead of simply relegating it to the trash folder. All this is made possible because these subscribers have signed up for the service and have consented to receive your emails.
This means that you (your business/company) can deliver constant reminders to subscribers about all your existing products, any new products you create and your great service, as well as any promotions and special deals you are planning to introduce. There is also the chance that your emails can be forwarded to other potential customers as current customers/subscribers tell their friends and families about your business and website.
Of course, it is important to keep in mind that subscribers do have the right – by law – to unsubscribe, and may do just that when they feel that they are not getting what they signed up for or expected. This is the one aspect of list-building and email marketing that you must pay special attention to by making sure that they are satisfied with your opt-in marketing approach and overall strategy, thereby keeping them excited and eager to receive your newsletters and catalogs.
Begin the list-build process
The following paragraphs provide a few tips designed to help you build a list of eager subscribers.
Begin with the premise that most people are turned off by dull, uninteresting content – even if it is materially factual – that will put them to sleep; but by setting such a premise then you’ll find that will write in a way that makes your promotional materials interesting and fun to read. At the same time you might try to be a little creative without being too artsy; and when the extra work generates positive results and feedback you will probably agree that it’s worth putting in the time and energy to get it done. It is important, however, to build around your product or service and what your business is all about.
Building around your product(s) and service(s) should not be too difficult since you probably know more about what you do on a daily basis than something you do occasionally; so for example, if you sell refrigerators and other kitchen appliances, put some pictures of what is new in the world of appliances, like a new stainless steel unit with automatic ice maker; or a new dish washer that actually wash, dry and places dishes back into the dish rack (dish washers don’t perform all these functions…yet, but you get the idea). In other words, give your readers everything they need in order to be as informed as they can be.
Another important aspect of your email marketing should certainly be honesty and credibility; so while you’re trying to keep your content interesting and fun, make sure to do good (adequate?) enough research about what people are actually looking for in an attempt to stay one step ahead of them all the time, and by making this extra effort you will be their bearer of great new information that is both interesting and credible. Make a habit of doing these two things and your subscribers will be eager to receive what you are sending to them and they might also get in the habit of knowing that you always have fresh and new information and ideas to share with them.
Well written content pays
Keep this little tidbit in mind: Sloppy written articles can turn off readers as quickly as dull, uninteresting, dishonest content; so make sure to write good articles and never cut corners on the quality of your writing. Naturally, if your subscribers enjoy the articles you send them they will go to your website by clicking the links you include so they can read some more of what you write. You can provide articles that will connect to many people, but be diverse in your approach by inserting a little humor and then placing some informational eye-openers in the articles when possible.
Look, I understand that everybody is not fond of writing, and therefore may not be too eager to write even a paragraph of content; and if you are among this group of marketers, don’t worry too much because there are many professional and experienced article writers that can do the job for you at minimal rates. They know what they are doing and can fill the email marketing void that may otherwise exist in your marketing strategy. They can provide the content you need for your newsletters, and the money that you pay for your articles will probably be one of the best investment you make as measured by the many sign-ups and potential profit from sales will result.
The digital book
One of the many promotional tools that get overlooked by Web marketers is the ebook (what I like refer to as digital book) which can increase your exposure and boost your brand in ways that other tools cannot; so whether you write the digital book or pay to have it written, you should create and send a digital book to your customers about anything that is related to your business or website. For its contents you should rely heavily on your knowledge and expertise in the field you have chosen to help other people with and those who are similarly interested.
Offer this digital book for free, because you can write about anything informational and helpful to your subscribers, including how-to manuals and guides in so many different areas. Keep in mind that if you do a good enough job creating the digital book it may very well be used as a reference guide by many of your subscribers, as well as their family and friends. Share this digital book with everyone, even other sites; but make sure they don’t change the links you placed in the book that are designed to lead people to your website.
If you want, you can always get one of the professionals mentioned earlier to write it for you just as with your articles. Your investment once again will be covered by the great marketing this will generate; and when coupled with ecoupons in your digital newsletters that help them take advantage of special discounts, subscribers will be delighted to receive your marketing emails, recommend them to others and come back for more. If your subscribers can derive benefits from your marketing emails and inclusions, they will be very eager to receive them as long as you don’t flood your mailing list with emails and annoy those subscribers.
