Welcome to the topic “Email Marketing For Beginners.”
So how do you start monetizing the leads you’ve been capturing? You do it through email marketing, which is the third critical step in an online lead generation strategy. Email marketing is probably the most powerful way to make money online. The reason it’s so powerful is that the return on investment (ROI) can be up to 1000% over the lifetime of the customer.
This Email Marketing For Beginners section of Affiliate Marketing 101 is where we explain in detail why email marketing is the linchpin of affiliate marketing. We explain step-by-step how email marketing works, and the principles you need to apply to turn it into a powerful ROI machine. If you apply the principles, email marketing will fulfill its promise. It will indeed be your most valuable long-term digital real estate asset.
The Fortune Is In The Follow Up
Don’t assume that you’ll get lots of sales on the front-end, from the Thank You page or the welcome email. Because you won’t. The normal range for front-end sales is 3-5%, 5% if you’re lucky. The fortune is in the follow-up! Roughly 90% of sales happen as a result of follow-up emails. And they typically don’t start until after the first 7 emails have been sent. It simply takes time for most subscribers to get to know you and to warm up from cold to hot buyers.
Autoresponder Follow Up Series
An autoresponder follow-up series should consist of at least 10 emails, sent every other day. The first – your welcome email – is triggered automatically from the Capture page, as discussed earlier. Once your welcome email is sent, the autoresponder will wait a day and then send the next in the series. And so forth, until your follow-up series is complete.
Your Welcome Email: Thanks for Subscribing!
As we all know, first impressions are important in any new relationship. And they are especially important in an email marketing relationship with new leads, new subscribers. This is your opportunity to introduce yourself and your business, and begin to create a long-term relationship.
Share Your Background Story And Invite Them To Share Theirs
A good way to begin creating a long-term relationship with subscribers is by telling them your background story. What did you do in the past? How did that lead to your desire to learn affiliate marketing? How did it lead to your desire to help others succeed in fulfilling their dreams? And finally, invite them to share their background story with you.
Share Your Sales Offer
You’ve shared your story. Now tell them how your sales offer will fulfill their true needs – their dreams for themselves and their families. Which may not match what they thought they wanted and needed. And then provide a link to the sales offer. You can in fact provide two links, but never more than two in any single email.
Make Sure They Know What To Expect Going Forward
Finally, make sure they know what to expect going forward after the initial follow-up series is complete. You need to let them know ahead of time that they will start receiving emails daily, or even more often. So as to set their expectations, and avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Aweber provides a nice template for a “Thanks for Subscribing!” email, which is the template that I use for welcome emails. Other autoresponders provide nice templates as well.
Your Follow Up Series: Deepening The Relationship
After the “Thanks for Subscribing!” email, you send a series of follow-up emails designed to continue deepening the relationship. You shared your story in the welcome Email, and invited them to share their story as well. You are gradually moving them along the path from cold to warm to hot. Once they are a hot prospect, they will start buying. How long that takes will vary, but experience shows that most sales happen after the 7th follow-up. So be patient.
I pattern some of my follow-up series emails after those used by other successful affiliates. I also make use of an email swipe file for the particular offers that I am promoting. You should learn to do the same unless you already have another source for your follow-up series.
Assuming your follow-up series consists of 10 emails, it will take 20 days to complete. You program the autoresponder to wait a day after each email is sent. And to then send the next email automatically, unless a purchase is made. You also program the autoresponder to tag any prospect who makes a purchase. And to then place them in a separate list reserved exclusively for buyers. In short, once a prospect completes the follow-up series, or makes a purchase, they move to the next phase:
Email Segmentation Best Practices
Broadcast Campaign Emails At Least Once A Day
Whenever a subscriber completes their follow-up series without making a purchase, you move them to a new list. You then send broadcast emails to each of the new lists at least once a day, perhaps more often. As already discussed, your welcome email should set their expectations ahead of time, so to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Promote Complementary Offers To Your Buyers List
We Love Repeat Buyers, And So Will You
As already discussed, once a subscriber makes a purchase, you move them to a list reserved exclusively for buyers. You then send broadcast emails to the buyer’s list, promoting offers that complement their previous purchase. With each additional purchase, they learn to trust you and your sales offer more. We love repeat buyers, and so will you.
Proven List Segmentation Best Practices Can Increase ROI
Make the list segmentation as granular as you want, depending on your style and the number of broadcast lists that you’re able to deal with. Learning to apply email automation best practices can make this more manageable than it sounds at first. And the consistent application of best practices can lead to the level of ROI that makes email marketing so powerful.
Also Read: Affiliate Marketing Traffic
