If you’re a blogger, your readers’ attention is divided.
The noise about social media marketing is too much; you can’t stake the future of your business on it. What about search engine optimization?
Yes, it can be a source of free traffic, but you can’t rely on it. At least, not in this era of rigorous Panda and (Lion) updates. Lol!
You need a much better system, which can give you peace of mind. Email can, social media and SEO can’t!
Email marketing has been the best way to communicate with target audience and build a strong relationship.
It’s quite unfortunate how 75% of bloggers focus their marketing activities on Twitter, Facebook and the latest Pinterest, neglecting what is sustainable.
I’m seriously making plans to write a blog post that compares social media and email marketing.
But understand this: email marketing has no rival. Right from the inception of the internet, communicating via emails has made for deeper connection.
And the popular mantra, “the money is in the list†can’t apply to your business, except you start building an email list today.
So, how do you start capturing email leads and bringing value to the table? Let’s consider 7 simple steps:
1.   Think Long term     
This initial stage of email marketing, to me is the most important.
I see a lot of people make the mistake of assuming that building a list is for a short while.
Yes, you can build a list to promote a hot product, but you’ve to make plans to convert leads into an asset.
That is, from short term to long term subscribers.
You need to understand that every lead is worth $40 according to Getresponse analytics.
And over the years, I’ve seen the potential in a single subscriber.
Even if they don’t buy your product or visit your blog more often, subscribers can mention you to others – word of mouth marketing. They can give you ideas for your next product creation.
After all, they’ve needs and you’ve to satisfy them, ultimately.
Set standards for your email list. You’re building a business around your blog. It’s not for 2 months, or 2 years. It’s going to be for decades. What next?
2.   Get a reliable autoresponder
The reason why you need to think long term and project your email marketing goal for the future is so that you can use a reliable autoresponder.
I still regret using free email tools. When I realized that a businessman or woman without a list is literally wasting time, I tried migrating to a premium service, but couldn’t.
Guess what happened? I started from scratch all over again. I started collecting email leads again. And driving targeted traffic is hard. But what else can I do – I was encouraged to do it again and again until I succeed.
The two best autoresponder services I recommend are Aweber and Getresponse. I also heard that Mail Chimp is good, but I’m yet to use it. Find out if it’s right for you.
3.   Start a blog or landing page
A landing page can build your email list faster. Although, modern blogging is centered on lead capture, so using a blog can add extra flavor. For instance, when you visit my blog, the first thing you’d see on the header is optin box. Check it out.
Why? Because I want my readers and first time visitors to join my email list. To me, getting people to join your inner circle is what matters. It’s not about writing and publishing daily. It has to be more than that. So, build a landing page or properly place the optin box at the right spots on your blog.
4.   Write your follow up emails
Before you get people on your list, write your follow up emails and queue them up. This way, you can concentrate on driving traffic to your landing page. You can focus on market research and maybe launching an affiliate program to further skyrocket your email list.
Ideally, write follow up emails that can be sent to your subscribers in the first 30 days. This way, you can communicate your personality & brand. Remember, no selling whatsoever – just getting your feet wet.
5.   Obey the 7-rule principle
The last time I spoke to a group of aspiring entrepreneurs, I shared the concept of 7-rule and how it applies to every marketing system.
Did you still remember the popular mantra, “People buy from who they know, trust and like?†And this holds true for email marketing.
Once you convince someone to subscribe to your email list, for the first 7 days, don’t be tempted to send any paid offer. No matter how effective the offer seems, don’t take chances. Use the first 7 days to dazzle your fan.
Yes, every subscriber has automatically become a fan. You either satisfy a fan or they’d move on with their lives. You can apply the 7-rule principle to blogging, email marketing, social media and even to your brick and mortar business. It works. Yes, it does!
6.   Educate your email subscribers
There you’ve it again: “Educate your subscribers.â€
I can’t stress the importance of education. You see, people who say the money is in the list actually missed something very important.
Truth be told, the money is not in the list. Yes, you got me right. You don’t make money by simply having thousands of people on your list.
You can only make money when you educate and help subscribers become better in their businesses. And this should be your guiding factor.
Education goes beyond sending the latest blog post. Also, Create exclusive videos, white papers, premium themes, plugins, e-books and so on, and send to your subscribers.
Be concerned about their business. Take yourself out of the equation and truly help people develop that interest to stick with you for as long as you live. Educate in a lively way. Add personality to the mix and you’ll see the impact it can create. Show me the money…
7.   Profit, Profit, Profit
I know you’ve been anticipating for this – hmm, you’ve it now. You can make make money with email marketing.
Let me tell you something shocking about life. It’s a bit about psychology. Here is what I mean: people can feel obliged and convinced to reciprocate the love you’ve shown them. If you’re married, you should understand what I’m talking about.
Every person, whom you’ve assisted, helped, informed and entertained, is secretly looking for ways to compensate you. It may not be in cash. The keyword is “reciprocity.â€
See, the last time I sent a product to my subscribers, 54 people bought instantly. I was able to generate $2243.87 in 3 days – thanks to email marketing. But I didn’t achieve this feat overnight. It took months of bringing value to my list. And now, the investment is paying off heavily. I’m so happy.
Email marketing hack
It doesn’t matter what business model you’re into, the worst thing you can do is attract traffic to a page that has no email marketing system.
Think long term, create a landing page or blog, drive traffic and educate subscribers. That’s the secret of making money with email marketing. Want more? See email marketing 101.
Are you building your list already? If yes, what’s your experience so far? Leave a comment below – let’s talk about it. See you there!
