Every Internet Marketer dreams of having a huge responsive list. This is the reason that there are so many list building strategies out there. But what happens after the list is built? What can we do to nurture the list and prevent people from opting out? How do we make it responsive? After all, having a huge list is pointless if it is not responsive and does nothing. The key and answer to all these questions lie in communication with your list. And when it comes to communication with your list, email is king!
Everyone assumes they know how to write emails…and that is a fair assumption because writing emails is in fact very easy. But chances are that when it really comes down to it, people just don’t know what to write. They just freeze! Some people may be able to start writing a few emails in the beginning but after a while, they hit a road block, get tired and stop. Maintaining and nurturing a list is a continuous effort. It doesn't stop with just 1 or 2 emails but needs to go on and on as long as you want the list to grow and be responsive.
Many fresh marketers make the mistake of writing emails to their list only to sell. This may work in the beginning but after a while who doesn't get bored of receiving offers after offers after offers? The secret in writing to your list lies in what your perceived relationship is with your list. If your list is nothing more than a group of customers to you, then naturally all you will do is (you guessed it) write offers after offers after offers to them. It can then be expected that the response from the list will just diminish or be mediocre at best.
To nurture your list, you need to treat it like a ‘buddy’. Write to them as if you are writing to your buddies – once in a while checking in on how they are doing or giving them updates on what’s going on with yourself. Better yet, you can even treat this whole thing as a radio or TV talk show! You’re the host and the list is your audience. At the end of the day, they are going to give you ratings so it’s your job to keep them entertained with some good stuff.
From your point of view (the host), you can do 1 of a few things. Telling stories is a good idea because in general people just like to hear interesting stories especially if there is something to learn from it that benefits them. Another way is to do it in a questions and answers format. This is especially useful if you want to know what your list is thinking about. When you provide answers to questions that they may have you also further establish your status as the ‘go to’ person or the ‘expert’ and this is great for creating trust.
Alternatively you can also teach the audience something new by providing a set of “How to….” Instructions. Similar to the Q & A method, teaching also supports the perception of your status as a ‘guru’. It will train the list to always come back to you for new information. One more useful method is the “mistakes to avoid” approach. Not only does this emphasize your level of experience, it also shows the audience that you are willing to share and help them. On top of that it builds a connection between you and the list as you are portraying with the mistakes made that you are only human just like them.
All of the above methods can then be presented with a touch of character or personality that suits the individuals in the audience. This will increase the receptiveness of the audience to your emails as it identifies with their own personality. The common types of audience personality are
‘Happy’– people who like harmony and are easy going.
‘Leaders’ – these are those who have a strong character and tend to set trends for others to follow.
‘Analytic’ – this personality type prefers to go into the details with a lot of facts and figures.
‘Party’ – Not much need to be said about this group as all they care about is having fun!
By adapting to the different personality types, you can reach out to each personality groups on different occasions. Coupled with the various methods discussed earlier, your emails can be very engaging. This is the key to creating a long and lasting relationship with your list, nurturing it and ultimately helping it to be responsive.
How to Sell Anything - Creating an Irresistible Offer
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