(AMA) Ask Me Anything About Email Marketing!

[thecalmpickle]

A lot of people work hard to get subscribers, but they have no friggin' clue what to do AFTER they opt-in.

So ask me anything about email marketing.

And let's see how I can help you make money.

Some social proof:





Disclaimer: I'm not a god or guru, but it's likely that I can help you make more sales with email marketing.

If you want me to shut up, take your money, and do it for you - that works for me too.

Ask away.

 

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[Danio]

Should I send them straight to an affiliate offer right after they opt in

 

[thecalmpickle]

Should I send them straight to an affiliate offer right after they opt in

Depends.

How high do you want your conversion rate to be?

You could go the hard squeeze page that redirects to a sales page immediately after they opt-in...

But, I've typically seen higher conversion rates when there's a structured autoresponder series that's been added to solve the lead's biggest problem over the course of a few days.

Usually you'll add a link to the offer in the first email for people that want to buy now.

So this approach is kind of like the best of both worlds.

 

[Danio]

So what kind of stuff are you promoting with email?

what is it you do? just emailing people affiliate offers or?

 

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[thecalmpickle]

So what kind of stuff are you promoting with email?

what is it you do? just emailing people affiliate offers or?

Personally, I've promoted my own information products and affiliate offers via email.

But I've seen software, supplements, and nearly everything being sold with the help of email marketing.

It's just another medium to get your marketing message across.

 

[JonZoolander]

Hi,

Are there any good courses that you recommend for learning how to effectively email market? There's a ton of hyped up and flat out junk internet marketing stuff out there -- it's hard to tell which ones are worth it and which ones aren't.


Also, I've heard that a "good" marketing can expect to earn $1 for every subscriber to his/her list --- has this been your experience?

 

[biophase]

I run ecommerce stores and I have a decent size list. My problem is that I don't know what content to send them on emails. I don't want to send spammy emails about products in my store. I just like to keep in touch every week or so. I don't have a landing page in my emails as the links just to go my storefronts. Can you give me some examples of email subjects that you would send that aren't sales directed?

 

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[Thriftypreneur]

I'm planning on launching a email marketing project in the future which is delivered entirely through an auto-responder series.

Like, the squeeze page will be "Subscribe below to learn how to XYZ in order to boost your ZYX!! Complete email course!"

Then, deliver content like this:

Welcome Email = Course intro/chapter 1
Auto-email 1 = Chapter 2
Auto-email 2 = Chapter 3

and so on.

I think this will bring some interesting results, as it should (in theory) keep open rates extremely high and greatly increase the amount of times I can mail this list without them getting annoyed.

Have you ever used an auto-responder in this way? What were your results?

 

[thecalmpickle]

Hi,

Are there any good courses that you recommend for learning how to effectively email market? There's a ton of hyped up and flat out junk internet marketing stuff out there -- it's hard to tell which ones are worth it and which ones aren't.

Andre Chaperon's Autoresponder Madness is damn good.

Also, I've heard that a "good" marketing can expect to earn $1 for every subscriber to his/her list --- has this been your experience?

Think bigger. The big dogs are always increasing their lifetime customer value.

 

[thecalmpickle]

I run ecommerce stores and I have a decent size list. My problem is that I don't know what content to send them on emails. I don't want to send spammy emails about products in my store. I just like to keep in touch every week or so. I don't have a landing page in my emails as the links just to go my storefronts. Can you give me some examples of email subjects that you would send that aren't sales directed?

I don't know what exactly you're selling, but if you just want to touch base I'd do something like this...

EXAMPLE:
Your ecommerce store sells snow-skis... (not sure why I thought of this)

Subject:
these skis are dangerous

Body Copy:
A friend just sent me this video:
http://youtube.com/snow-ski-crash

If you want to end up like that guy
then buy those skis.

If not, I don't have to tell you where
to look.

Stay safe,
You
www.safeskis.com (your ecommerce site)

-------
This is totally under the radar.

Even better, you could go further and include a story about some new skis you got, it's benefits, and then tie them into a 1-week only sale you have for a specific ski product.

You'd still be touching base and still be selling in a non-douchey way.

 

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[thecalmpickle]

I'm planning on launching a email marketing project in the future which is delivered entirely through an auto-responder series.

Like, the squeeze page will be "Subscribe below to learn how to XYZ in order to boost your ZYX!! Complete email course!"

Then, deliver content like this:

Welcome Email = Course intro/chapter 1
Auto-email 1 = Chapter 2
Auto-email 2 = Chapter 3

and so on.

I think this will bring some interesting results, as it should (in theory) keep open rates extremely high and greatly increase the amount of times I can mail this list without them getting annoyed.

Have you ever used an auto-responder in this way? What were your results?

Yeah, this can work out great.

I usually set up autoresponders that follow some blueprint towards some end goal the subscriber wants.

Usually, when you add an autoresponder like this on top of a funnel that already works conversion rates get boosted.

...or it can be totally boring, people stop reading half-way through, and no one buys.

To keep open-rates high - end emails on a cliffhanger that hint at the next steps.

And if you haven't validated whether your product sells... do that before adding an autoresponder.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Thanks for doing this!

 

[thecalmpickle]

Thanks for doing this!

Thank you for writing TMF !

 

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[rocksolid]

I have a BBQ accessory product and I would like to know what you think is the most cost effective ( free ) way of getting an email in front of people who might be interested in buying it?

 

[FreeMan]

I sell a couple of info products (ebook and video program) and have a list of customers who have opted-in to receive updates. I have only ever sent 3-6 follow up messages (not affiliate offers) to these customers and some were added to these lists a number of years ago. These info products are a number of years old with declining sales and are not actively worked on or marketed.

I recently discovered a new info product in this niche and am planning to email the list an affiliate offer.

How would you suggest I approach this list with this affiliate offer given that I haven't been in touch with some of them in over 3-4 years? So a large proportion of this list is pretty 'cold'.

 

[Darius]

I don't know what exactly you're selling, but if you just want to touch base I'd do something like this...

That sample email just opened my mind up to so many possibilities involving interesting emails and not being "spammy-like". Thank you. Epic thread.

 

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[Genium]

Great thread I love these AMA's. One can learn quite a lot, reading through others experiences, knowledge, and questions.

Onto my a little background..

-I am in eCommerce, and I own a brand of ceramic cutlery. As of now, I have product available for pre-order, and my goal is to sell $400 worth of pre-orders in less than 10 days so I can afford to place my first order with the manufacturer.
-I have a list of over 900 people that I know at least a little bit, and I am going to be emailing them all tomorrow. I will be using mail-chimp for this, but I could use gmail too.
-I wrote up an email, but after seeing the example you wrote above, I don't think it would be effective, so I am trying to find my approach..

My question/s:
- Should the email be pretty short and to-the-point? (The email I wrote was 2 pages lol)
- Since these people somewhat know me, should I get more personal with them? (e.g. "I am starting a brand, and I am close to launching the company, can you help...) OR should I stick to "selling" the product?
- Should I put anything in the email about them helping me hit an important goal of mine?
- Should I focus on making one really good email, or send a follow-up as well a couple days later?

Since the average cost of my products is around $30, I would have to land about 14 people out of the 900. I am confident I can land that many with a decent email, but if it really kicks a$$, then hopefully I could see about 40 people converting instead, and maybe for the knife sets!!

I would appreciate any feedback. I am going to wait, until I hear back to re-do the email and send it.

 

[TK1]

I am not the threadstarter, but I had the same problem a while ago.

What really worked out very well for me for getting sales via email marketing (after trying dozens of "tactics"):

Writing very personal emails and asking people questions.

I couldn't catch many sales using so many email marketing templates by IM gurus etc., but just asking questions and engaging a personal discussion worked very, very good (and it's probably the most honest and fun way if people realize you are easy going, sincere and not about the quick profit).

I run ecommerce stores and I have a decent size list. My problem is that I don't know what content to send them on emails. I don't want to send spammy emails about products in my store. I just like to keep in touch every week or so. I don't have a landing page in my emails as the links just to go my storefronts. Can you give me some examples of email subjects that you would send that aren't sales directed?

 

[thecalmpickle]

I have a BBQ accessory product and I would like to know what you think is the most cost effective ( free ) way of getting an email in front of people who might be interested in buying it?

Here's some ideas you can act on...

Use other people's list.

Surely you know someone in the BBQ world with their own customer/lead list that would benefit from sending an email about your product.

Usually, you'd give them commission on sales they help make for you, but I saw your product is only $4.99. I'm sure you could find another way to make that deal happen - or maybe you've got a great relationship with them that they'd do it for free.

If you don't have a relationship like this send 'em your product and say something like:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Subject:
thought you could use this

Body:
I didn't want you to burn your hands.

So I'm sending you {your product}.

Just check in the mail in {estimated time of arrival}.

You won't ever get burned from now on.

Your name
Safe to handle | safety handle for BBQ grill

--------------------------------------------------------------

...it won't be "free" but it's a smart investment that could result in them telling others about your product.

The following isn't free, but if you don't have your own list...

You could always find people that RENT out their list to other people.

...usually you'll see they offer SOLO ADS (an email that only promotes your message).

You may be able to find online BBQ "influencers" with a following that will send out a solo ad for a fixed rate or a rate based on CPM (cost per thousand). *Sometimes people have extremely low fixed rates to send out a mailing because they have no clue of the value of their own list... I've seen people that do mailings for less than $20 to a 6 figure+ list that they have a good relationship with.

People that do this have usually have "Media Kits" or "Advertise with Us" section on their site.

You could even check out the Directory Of Ezines if you don't want to do the grunt work of searching through sites.

Just follow the email guidelines of the list owner or list broker.

 

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[InMotion]

Maybe a newbie question, I am not an IMer, but whats the best method or combination of methods to qualify a list from a broker or to find a quality list broker or provider? Lots of junk out there.

Do you find the good brokers through referrals normally?

 

[thecalmpickle]

I sell a couple of info products (ebook and video program) and have a list of customers who have opted-in to receive updates. I have only ever sent 3-6 follow up messages (not affiliate offers) to these customers and some were added to these lists a number of years ago. These info products are a number of years old with declining sales and are not actively worked on or marketed.

I recently discovered a new info product in this niche and am planning to email the list an affiliate offer.

How would you suggest I approach this list with this affiliate offer given that I haven't been in touch with some of them in over 3-4 years? So a large proportion of this list is pretty 'cold'.

No matter what you do, expect some spam complaints.

But if you open with an apology you could reduce that.

--------------------------------------------
Subject:
sorry...

Body:
I know...

It has been a LONG TIME since I last kept in touch.
And for that I'm sorry.

The reason I haven't been in touch is because
I haven't felt like there was anything noteworthy
to update you about.

But after so many years, I finally have something
I feel is worth mentioning to you.

{then go into how you found a new product, how it'll
help them, and what they have to do now to get it.}

------------------------------------------

Do this and come back with numbers - should make things spicy in this thread.

 

[lovecharm]

Hey calmpickle,

Well, first of all, simply awesome thread and awesome info's..

Now, I am a clothing wholesaler and my targeted customers are either other wholesalers or retailers or ebay sellers.

Here's my site:- Wholesaler - Manufacturer - Importer

So what do you think I can do or implement to get more leads from my site and then what sort of emails can I send them so that they will buy the products later on?

Mind you, I have never done any email marketing, so totally new to this, what sort of email software would you recommend? MailCheat(Chimp), icontact etc.. mind you my e-commerce site is done on bigcommerce..

Thanks.

 

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[thecalmpickle]

My question/s:
- Should the email be pretty short and to-the-point? (The email I wrote was 2 pages lol)

This is a cop-out answer but... IT DEPENDS.

I've written long emails and short ones.

Here's a saying I've always followed when it came to copy-length:

"There's no such thing as long copy, only LONG-WINDED copy."

*Read my answer to your last question; it should help more.

- Since these people somewhat know me, should I get more personal with them? (e.g. "I am starting a brand, and I am close to launching the company, can you help...) OR should I stick to "selling" the product?

I'm not quite clear what you mean by just "selling" the product.

But I'd keep it personal, show personality, AND sell all the time. My definition of selling doesn't mean, "hey - buy this or else." ...It's about appealing to someone's motivations and showing them how to get what they want.

- Should I put anything in the email about them helping me hit an important goal of mine?

No one cares about your goals unless it has a direct correlation with their own goals.

If there's anything in your email that won't appeal to their motivations - delete it.

- Should I focus on making one really good email, or send a follow-up as well a couple days later?

Here's what would probably work best...

Send out one short email about what you're doing to your entire list... BUT only with the goal to get those that are interested in the idea on a SEPARATE EMAIL LIST.

--------------------------------
Subject:
only for people that like {insert your idea}

Body:
If you're not into {a couple words that describe
your idea} then this email will totally ruin your day.

Look...

I plan on {insert your idea} but I don't want to
annoy everyone else that will not be interested.

So if you want the entire scoop make sure you
you're on this new email list {insert link}.

That way we can talk about {your idea} to our
heart's desires.

Love,
Your name <3
---------------------------------

Then, continually follow up with those that have clearly stated (by opting-in the new list) that they are interested.

And yes you can send your longer messages to the people that will actually read and appreciate it (granted it's not long-winded).

 

[thecalmpickle]

Maybe a newbie question, I am not an IMer, but whats the best method or combination of methods to qualify a list from a broker or to find a quality list broker or provider? Lots of junk out there.

Do you find the good brokers through referrals normally?

Best bet is to find them from referrals.

Usually if you run into people with big lists they have some legit exec doing the deals.

Or they have their own software where you can checklist certain criteria like: age, state, zip, etc. and you can choose your test list size according to your budget.

If you run into some questionable broker, test small. Never roll out to the whole list first.

If you get a good result on the first small test, trust but verify. Don't roll out to the entire list yet. Do tests by states if possible. It's a tip I learned from Gary Halbert to help avoid any bias you get when dealing with a dishonest list broker.

 

[thecalmpickle]

Hey calmpickle,

Well, first of all, simply awesome thread and awesome info's..

Now, I am a clothing wholesaler and my targeted customers are either other wholesalers or retailers or ebay sellers.

Here's my site:- Wholesaler - Manufacturer - Importer

So what do you think I can do or implement to get more leads from my site and then what sort of emails can I send them so that they will buy the products later on?

Mind you, I have never done any email marketing, so totally new to this, what sort of email software would you recommend? MailCheat(Chimp), icontact etc.. mind you my e-commerce site is done on bigcommerce..

Thanks.

You know who your targeted customers ARE... so then WHERE do they hang out? Grab their attention there.

There's some other ideas I've posted as replies after you've already posted, so check those out too.

For emails to send out to an ecommerce list check out this previous reply.

For software, I prefer AWeber. But I've worked with people that have used all the others. It really depends on what YOU need it to do. Some have features that others don't... I always wondered why they just never compiled all their features together.

 

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[InMotion]

Best bet is to find them from referrals.

Usually if you run into people with big lists they have some legit exec doing the deals.

Or they have their own software where you can checklist certain criteria like: age, state, zip, etc. and you can choose your test list size according to your budget.

If you run into some questionable broker, test small. Never roll out to the whole list first.

If you get a good result on the first small test, trust but verify. Don't roll out to the entire list yet. Do tests by states if possible. It's a tip I learned from Gary Halbert to help avoid any bias you get when dealing with a dishonest list broker.

Thanks...I just found the article of Gary's that talks about this. I am not in this field per se, looking to do some direct mail campaigns at some point, but I have been learning copy so I was aware of Gary. Glad to see his articles stand the test of time.

Thanks for the help.

 

[bane]

Hello thecalmpickle,

Thank you very much for doing this.

I've got an ebook to sell in a niche. Here's my quick action plan to see if I can make any money off this book in this niche before I scale it up & invest a tonne of time, please provide any feedback (positive or negative I dont care - profit is the only thing that counts haha).

1. Split test some squeeze pages offering the following as a "free gift" for their email:
a) X Day Video Course b) X Day Email Course c) XYZ Niche Related Free Report
[I like to send at least 100 clicks to a squeeze before I make decisions]
What Length "course" do you suggest?

2. Whichever squeeze gets the most conversions I will create that Free gift and stick with that

3. I would like to be able to get at least SOME conversions within one week in order to know if I should pursue this niche or not. How do you recommend attempting this?

examples:

a) 3 emails every 2 days all with valuable info and soft sells and then on the 3rd email do a harder sell?
b) 3 emails over 3 days, then a 4th email 2 days later with a hard sell?
c) whatever suggestion you have

Thank you very much for any help at all.

 

[Chris_Willow]

Love your samples, they're really good. Two questions to keep this going:

1. Any tips for converting more software trials through email?
2. What's your take on sender names (company name vs employee name vs firstname and company name)?

Thanks!

 

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[TedM]

Hey, I have another question - about URGENCY & AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER

Bill Glazer pushes for Urgency - to get them to move and do something (in my case, come to my site and optin so i can follow up with them), and he combines that with needing an Irresistible Offer.

I'm starting a unique monthly coffee delivery service, built around "Europe's Finest Coffee - delivered" - offering the same coffee served in Michelin Star restaurants in Europe - delivered directly from Europe to the subscriber's door, in the US.

I'm feeling at a loss as to how to create Urgency and the irresistible offer in my two pronged marketing:

1. Direct snail mail: i'm sending out a series of 3 clever postcards - each one reenforcing the previous and pushing for them to go to my site and download the "Secrets & recipes of Europe's Master Coffee Roasters" (and sign up for a coffee subscription if they want, but that's not the immediate goal.

2. Affiliate: Engaging with complementary small companies (like those that sell high end espresso, or other luxury coffee related (or not) items) and getting them to sign up as an affiliate and contact their customer list, with an offer of $100 for each customer who stays for a month.
=> I'll give a template of an email for them to use with their customers, but it also needs the Urgency and Irresistible Offer.

I thought of "Subscribe by [date] and get a Free pair of handmade Espresso cups" - but I really don't know if that's a good idea (yeah - i know, "test" - but i think it needs to feel right first...).

=> Any suggestions or ideas for me?

Thanks!

 

[JasonR]

One quick question - where are the best places to buy a list?