The Ultimate Guide to Follow Up Marketing

Stop everything you\’re doing and read this article. followEmailing newsletters is a first-class ticket to monetizing your internet marketing campaign, and so many blogs tell you how to make a connection with customers to get their attention and loyalty. However, once you have their notice, what\’s next? If you haven\’t mastered follow up marketing, you might lose those precious leads. Even the most experienced, charismatic online marketers can have difficulty maintaining that interest from customers and prospects. Below are the ingredients to creating a follow up marketing process that will generate more sales using minimal effort.

Did you know…

The Association of Sales Executives found that 81% of all sales occur on or after the fifth contact. This only means one thing: if you\’re sending out only one or two follow ups, consider your prospects gone, especially if yours is a small business. Don\’t be disheartened, though. There\’s always rooms for improvement, even if 90% of business owners don\’t follow up (yes, that\’s a fact; startling, I know).

Guidelines to Remember

  1. Speed is essential. Act fast.

    sendingIn fact, you should send the first follow up email now. People give their contact details to receive newsletters because they\’re interested. Don\’t let that high interest level dwindle down; don\’t let so much time pass.
  2. Email frequently initially.

    Again, when people have just given their emails, chances are they\’re so looking forward to what you say next. This means they don\’t mind and actually get excited if you email them once a day for the next three to five days. This is a great opportunity to market and create value for your products or services.
  3. Go easy on sending emails later on.

    The biggest problem with sending too many emails is annoying your recipients. Sure, they may have been interested at first, but, again, that interest may ebb away. Besides, bombarding someone with emails is spammy or rude. They may delete every email even without opening them, or worse unsubscribe. Also, if your emails get reported as spam, you might lose contact with other leads in your list. After the first few days of frequent emails, never send more than once a week. Even if they don\’t buy yet, keep them in your list because, sometimes, it takes years to get newsletter recipients to buy.
  4. Give valuable information in the first follow up email.

    You want to send something actionable first. Explain information they can immediately apply. For instance, if you provide HVAC repair and services, send information on how often their air conditioner needs cleaning — ask them when was the last time they had the filters cleaned.
  5. Create a connection in the next emails.

    The second email is where you get emotional. This is the key to drawing curiosity and emotional responses from your prospects. It will also pave the way to forming a strong relationship with them. Your next couple of emails will focus on content, and maybe you can ask suggestions for topics to write about. This will allow you to zero in on their specific issues. Once you have their needs, send them a link that will help them out, and if you still don\’t have what they want or if they\’re concerns haven\’t been answered, create a video or a blog post on relevant topics in your niche. The idea is to show them how much they influence your services, business or products.

5 Ways to Follow Up on Your Prospects

followForming and nurturing a strong relationship with your subscribers require creating a healthy and responsive connection. Considering that most people regard their email accounts as a personal piece of property, your emails will have no place in their inboxes if you haven\’t developed a relationship with them. As sales pitch-sounding marketing emails are, you can\’t disregard the human factor of emails. Below are different types of emails you can send with content that will encourage customer interaction, develop a relationship and even convert to sales. On a side note, you can get additional powerful email marketing tips from this ultimate guide we posted a few months ago about writing subliminally persuasive emails to generate more sales: www.cervad.com/email-marketing-dave-dees-guide-to-writing-subliminally-persuasive-emails
  1. Reminders

    This is one of the reasons why automated follow up systems were invented. You could remind them about upcoming events or holidays where your products or services can be used, or send reminders about the limited time of your special offers.
  2. Linked-up Special Events

    Special events, whether big or small, are opportune times to direct your subscribers to great deals and turn them into sales. With some creativity, it\’s easy to tie in, say, Valentine\’s Day or even Talk Like A Pirate Day to your marketing efforts in a way that you\’ll present your products, services or discounts in celebration of the event or occasion. To generate the attention you\’re after, the technique here is to use your imagination and just have fun.
  3. Tips

    The best thing about tips is that they can be directly tied to your product, niche or target demographic. They can also brighten someone\’s day. Send a guide on how to make a car more fuel efficient, how to decorate a flight of stairs or how to make the world’s best blueberry pancakes. If the connection between the product or service how-to/tips guide is as strong as a blazing WiFi network, your emails will make your brand the go-to place.
  4. Projects

    With some creativity on hand, suggest activities or challenges that will allow your subscribers to participate in your own projects. For instance, you can send them a link to a YouTube video explaining industry-related tips, and then have them send video responses. Also, try challenging your subscribers to support a charity through a fund raising drive. The idea is to promote awareness of your brand through fun, productive things.

Broadcast Emails – Dos and Don’ts

broadcastBroadcast emails are those emails sent to all your subscribers at one time; they’re not prewritten emails that sound like a sales pitch from a car salesman. They may contain news, latest happenings, announcements or trends, and you can also include related links. If you’re selling through broadcast emails, remember two things:
  • Avoid selling too much unless your recipients are expecting it.
  • If they expect that you’re selling, they expect you to have discounts. That’s one of the reasons why people subscribe or shop online – they want more value for their money.

Elements of a Follow Up Email

  • Subject line

An email\’s subject line will instantly tell your subscribers what your email is all about. They will either spark curiosity or turn off your prospects. They\’re likes news headlines that tell readers what the content is about in a single glance. That being said, write subject lines in a way that they\’ll pique people\’s interest. In Dave Dee\’s email marketing guide, your best weapon for writing subject lines is using subliminal language patterns. Basically, you have to use words that, when combined, stir emotion in the readers, compelling them to read what you have to say. spam Would you feel compelled to read any of these emails? Here are examples I have gathered and created myself:
  1. The Fastest Way to ______ (lose weight, earn money on the Internet, get rid of a cold)
  2. 10 _____ Warning Signs (stroke, diabetes, cancer)
  3. Read This ONLY If You\’re Ready to _____ (monetize your website, expand your business, buy a house)
  4. Do You Know How to Go from 0 to $110,000 in 1 Hour?
  5. The Shortcut to Success/How to Speed Up Your Journey to Success
If you see the pattern, you\’ll realize that they key to an effective subject line is to not make it sound like a call to action. Just imagine seeing the words, \”Only a few left: order now before they\’re gone!\” or \”Win an iPad, 100% free!\” Doesn\’t that make you want to chuck out these emails and unsubscribe? There are thousands of keywords that can ignite emotion, but one thing most of them have in common is they target people\’s need to achieve results fast. People want to lose weight quick, arrive at their destination in a matter of minutes, and get rich over night. Content that targets this human need will get your emails, articles and blog posts perused and applied.
  • The body

email SmartLead\’s infographic about email marketing One mistake that some marketers still do is send out emails containing thousands of words, telling stories about themselves or detailing facts and figures. You\’re more likely to succeed if you keep it short and personal, and at the same time, sell to the subscriber. More specifically, give them information that will point them towards a positive direction. Write emails as if you were talking to a close friend or your own mother. It\’s when you insert your personality that people will identify with you and feel you\’re human, not a corporate drone out to rob them of their money.
  • The body\’s width

The message\’s width is just as important as its content. A shorter column of text is less boring as it gives the notion that you can read faster, just like with magazine and newspaper articles — they\’re arranged in columns to make it look like you can spend just a few seconds or minutes reading them. Likewise, make sure there\’s just a few lines within one paragraph. Long paragraphs are tedious, so break the article into multiple sections if you have a lot to say.
  • Links

Links can work as visual cues that tell your subscribers more information is available elsewhere. They can also make an article look less bland (what with that bright blue font color). However, never ever overdo inserting links. Include just one link, and mention it twice across the email. Inserting links in every email is a good practice because then your subscribers will get used to the idea of clicking links in your emails.

Maintaining Relationships

Successful email marketing is all about relationship maintenance. Just like with any relationship, to make it last, you have to be there at least once in a while. Even just a warm smile or a simple “how are you?” can keep relationships healthy. Email marketing is a crucial element for your online business, so keep these guidelines in mind. You will not regret applying a relationship-driven follow up marketing strategy as your efforts will not go to waste.

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