Thoughts on email marketing?

[awkwardgenius]

I just sent out my first email blast this morning, directly to business owners using a targeted list. Now, mind you, I'm starting relatively small, only 400 recipients...so this is sort of a trial balloon. But I'm curious as to experiences other folks have had...particularly on a cold introduction.

I've been considering direct mail, but it's expensive, and I'd like to not only test my sales copy, but also hopefully get a client or two to fund such campaigns.

My target audience is small business owners...what would you guys suggest for reaching them? Anyone have any experience reaching people on LinkedIn?

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Is this a list you bought? Or a list you built?

Email marketing via a list YOU built vs bought are two entirely different things.

 

[awkwardgenius]

Is this a list you bought? Or a list you built?

Email marketing via a list YOU built vs bought are two entirely different things.

It is one I bought. Well, I didn't buy the list, I went through InfoUSA. I'm not expecting anywhere near the response that I'd get from a carefully cultivated list of interested readers. I'm mainly just curious about the experience of others, and tips and tricks.

I actually haven't gotten a single response so far. Kind of discouraging. :-/

 

[MJ DeMarco]

It is one I bought.

So you sent unsolicited email to people? This is usually called spam.

What kind of response were you expecting?

Email marketing on a list you built is very effective. If I emailed my list right now and offered a new book for sale, I'd probably have a double-digit conversion rate ... the key here is, I built the list: Double-Opt In ... what you are doing is not.

Curious ... was this method recommended by someone?

 

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[Likwid24]

MJ - What are your thoughts on getting a list from someone in my industry that is targeted at painting business owners and mom & pop retailers? It would be spammy, but an opt-out would be included.

Right now, my own list is relatively small, an I'm trying to get the word out to people who don't know about the product yet. I will be sending an email with discount codes on the list that I have built.

My reason on doing an email blast is because my thinking is that if I received an email on a new painting product, being a painting business owner, I would probably open it and check it out. It wouldn't be considered spam to me. I know many people think different than I do, so there's a chance a % can mark it as spam. But, I know I wouldn't mind receiving an email like that.


I can tell what you will say by the above statement, but do you think there are any exceptions?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

What are your thoughts on getting a list from someone in my industry that is targeted at painting business owners and mom & pop retailers?

If they sold you the list, and their terms specified to their users that such was OK, that would be fine. Most users, don't know however, if their names/emails are being sold.

For example, when people download my book chapters, it specifies that I do NOT sell the list. Therefore, I cannot sell the list (unless I want to violate my own terms and lie to users)... I can, however, email the list and say "I just read this great book and you all should read it."

Buying a list and mailing (the old way) is perfectly fine because the expense is born by you.

Buying an email list and emailing unsolicited, IMO, is playing with fire. Effective? I don't have the experience to say.

 

[petethepeddler]

MJ - What are your thoughts on getting a list from someone in my industry that is targeted at painting business owners and mom & pop retailers? It would be spammy, but an opt-out would be included.

Right now, my own list is relatively small, an I'm trying to get the word out to people who don't know about the product yet. I will be sending an email with discount codes on the list that I have built.

My reason on doing an email blast is because my thinking is that if I received an email on a new painting product, being a painting business owner, I would probably open it and check it out. It wouldn't be considered spam to me. I know many people think different than I do, so there's a chance a % can mark it as spam. But, I know I wouldn't mind receiving an email like that.


I can tell what you will say by the above statement, but do you think there are any exceptions?

Likwid - I know you addressed the quote to MJ, but figured I give you my thoughts

If the person with the list actively emails them it would be better to have your message come from him. What you would do is give him the email to send out, and he would send it to his list. Something like "hey check out what my friend is selling". (sometimes called a solo-ad)

Since the email is coming from someone they trust and have already built up a reppor with, it is much more likely to get a positive response. It also becomes more of a recommendation from a friend then just plain old spam.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

So you used the InfoUSA email service where they let you really drill down and segment a targeted list of small business owners? I believe they actually send out the email for you, right? In other words, you're not emailing them from your own server or software. You never actually get or see the emails you're renting.

I actually had a friend do this exact thing and was very successful at it. The email he created was for a freebie offer that directed them to a landing page that required them to provide their name and email to claim the freebie. This way he was creating a double opt-in email list of people that were interested in what he had to offer right from the rented list. Then he had a 7 email autoresponder sequence that provided additional value and built up his main paid offering.

This is how I would recommend to anyone that rents an email list from companies like InfoUSA. You're not trying to sell them anything. You offer a killer freebie of some kind (report, audit, free mobile site, whitepaper, training webinar, etc.) that is irresistible for a small biz owner. You start an autoresponder series that provides more value and after a few emails you start building up your paid offer with the final email being a direct call to action. You will also have this email list to use in the future.

Now, how is your email structured and what are you offering?

 

[Likwid24]

Buying a list and mailing (the old way) is perfectly fine because the expense is born by you.

I looked into this. It can get Extremely expensive.

Buying an email list and emailing unsolicited, IMO, is playing with fire. Effective? I don't have the experience to say.

I wouldn't actually be buying the list. I was offered a list from the Editor of the biggest magazine my Industry.

I agree that it is playing with fire. Maybe I can test out a very small piece first to see if I get anything from it, good or bad.

 

[awkwardgenius]

So you used the InfoUSA email service where they let you really drill down and segment a targeted list of small business owners? I believe they actually send out the email for you, right? In other words, you're not emailing them from your own server or software. You never actually get or see the emails you're renting.

Yup, exactly correct.

I actually had a friend do this exact thing and was very successful at it. The email he created was for a freebie offer that directed them to a landing page that required them to provide their name and email to claim the freebie. This way he was creating a double opt-in email list of people that were interested in what he had to offer right from the rented list. Then he had a 7 email autoresponder sequence that provided additional value and built up his main paid offering.

Well, that's an interesting way to build a list. Clever thinking. InfoUSA will sell you the actual list, but its significantly more expensive, and this way makes sure you're only paying for the subscribers.

This is how I would recommend to anyone that rents an email list from companies like InfoUSA. You're not trying to sell them anything. You offer a killer freebie of some kind (report, audit, free mobile site, whitepaper, training webinar, etc.) that is irresistible for a small biz owner. You start an autoresponder series that provides more value and after a few emails you start building up your paid offer with the final email being a direct call to action. You will also have this email list to use in the future.

I'll look into this...sounds like it's going to be expensive, but it would be faster than trying to build from scratch. Unfortunately, I'll have to devise a campaign of freebies and think that through some more. I need to get some customers in the door first so I can afford to invest that sort money.

Now, how is your email structured and what are you offering?

It addressed "The 3 most common fears of business owners for 2013"...which were, getting financing, paying taxes, dealing with ObamaCare...and I carefully targeted business owners for whom these would actually be concerns. The call to action was to call or email me to schedule a 30 minute appointment where I can explain how to deal with all of these. I wasn't hoping for an overwhelming response by any stretch...but you'd think out of 400 carefully chosen recipients, at least one or two would be curious enough to at least respond...but I got absolutely ZERO response.

 

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[Kak]

I played with a list of over 1 million about 3 years ago. It didn't turn a profit for us because no one knew who we were. It was pretty much unsolicited. Thankfully no blacklisting or anything. I was naive and lucky.

I mail updates and blog posts to existing customers and people who have opted in now. My list is only about 350 but they are people I either know or have done business with.

I probably close 2 deals per month from referral just from happy customers forwarding it to people they know.

 

[Esquire]

I agree that unsolicited e-mail is a bad way to go. As was mentioned earlier, it is Spam. And it takes all of about 5 seconds to permanently remove you from their inbox.

Plus ... the major mail service providers (google, yahoo, etc.) can easily tell when you are spamming. Same message going out to god only knows how many people.

Plus just think about how many of the end users are going to (affirmatively) report your messages as spam (vs. filter or delete).

So when the time comes to send LEGITIMATE (solicited) mail ... you are going to have a much more serious problem. Your delivery rates of legitimate mail will also plummet.

Unsolicited e-Mail is "popular" because it is cheap (free) ... which is a big reason unsolicited e-mail is grossly ineffective. As MJ noted, in-house lists are obviously ideal ... but if I did not have an in-house list ... I would use ... and I DO use ... targeted PAID ads (Google Adwords; Microsoft AdCenter; Paid Facebook Ads; etc.).

If your message is not worth PAYING MONEY to put out there ... you need a new message ... better copy ... and/or a new product.

Free is for amateurs.