1. Here’s the one thing you should always include in your welcome email to generate sales: a call to action.
A lot of people send out lists of benefits. They send out links. But they don’t put calls to action next to those links, which can really dampen conversions. Use a strong call to action where you tell people what to do and why. E.G., “Click here to activate a 50% off coupon!”
2. The most effective way to use a postscript in your email is to insert a major selling point, overcome objections, or even offer proof.
For example:
· List a new benefit not mentioned elsewhere.
· Reiterate a strong benefit.
· Offer social proof, like a testimonial.
· Offer other proof, such as a link to a video.
· Provide an incentive to click, such as a discount coupon or bonus offer.
· Offer a price justification.
In all cases, be sure to also add a call to action and a link inside your P.S.
3. Here’s a good way to boost sales: add an offer button image at the bottom of your email to indirectly promote an offer.
Maybe you’re sending out a content email, such as a “how to” article. Your goal is to teach your subscribers something, build relationships with these subscribers, and train them to open your emails.
In other words, this isn’t a hard sell email. But that doesn’t mean you can’t slip a soft-sell in at the end. One way to do it is to mention a product or service within the email (plant a seed), and then put an offer button at the end of the email where people can snag a great deal on this product or service.
4. Need the perfect 3 emails per week sequence? Take a look:
Imagine you have one offer each week to promote. Here’s a three-email sequence you can send to promote that offer. For this example we’ll imagine you’re selling a dieting course.
Email 1: Plant a seed. Talk about the problem. Offer tips to solve that problem. Mention the offer at the end. E.G., “Seven Tips for Shedding 10 Pounds…”
Email 2: Offer part of a solution. Now this time provide more information… but only part of a solution. For example, give them in-depth information on how to solve part of their problem. E.G., “How to Raise Your Metabolism By Eating The Right Foods…”
Then pitch the offer at the end as the solution to the rest of their problem.
Email 3: Directly sell the rest of the solution. In the final email you can send out a direct promo with a bulleted benefit list, social proof and a strong call to action. E.G., “Who else wants to lose 25 pounds?”
5. Question of the day: What’s the best way to cross post your mailings to social media?
The very easiest way to do this is to use an email service provider that integrates with your preferred social media platforms. For example, Aweber integrates with sites such as Twitter and Facebook, so you can cross post your content without doing it manually.
6. Tip: Start creating a swipe file of high-response subject lines.
The idea here is to join other peoples’ lists to discover the subject lines that work best. These newsletters don’t even need to be in your niche. Then use these eye-catching subject lines as inspiration for creating your own high-response subject lines.
For example, you swipe this: Who else wants to triple their conversion rates? Then you re-create it like this for your niche: Who else wants to fit into size 4 jeans?
7. Question: When should you send a long email, and when should you send a short email?
Answer: Every email you create should be short enough to hold attention, yet long enough to meet your goal for that email (such as preselling a product).
So for example:
· You want to build top of mind awareness? Drop a short email with a tip just to get your name in front of prospects.
· Looking to build relationships? Send a very useful and in-depth explanation of how they can achieve a desired goal.
· Do you want to presell a product? Send a medium-length email… one that holds attention while explaining the benefits.
8. TIP: You can increase response with a “but first, check this out” format.
The idea here is to create an email where you give away something very valuable, such as a free report or app. But right before you drop the link to this freemium, you share a related promo.
For example, “In just a moment you’ll find out how to get this weight-loss app for free. But first, you’ll want to get your hands on a proven diet that can produce real results for you…” Then go on to explain the main benefits of the product and provide a link and call to action.
9. Here’s an amazingly effective way to boost your response rate: use countdown timers.
You see, it’s one thing to tell people that the expiration date for an offer is rapidly approaching. It’s another thing entirely to show them a countdown timer that’s ticking down the hours, minutes and seconds.
This visual representation of scarcity trips a psychological trigger and creates a powerful sense of urgency. In turn, this gives your conversion rate an amazing boost!
10. Question of the day: what is the best ratio of content to promotion mailings? The answer is it depends on what your subscribers expect.
If you told them they’re signing up for a list where they’ll get a new product review or discount coupon code every week, then you’ll sending promotional mailings every time you hit the “broadcast” button.
On the other hand, if your readers expect to get “how to” information, then at least 75% of the content you deliver should take that form. In other words, for every four emails you send, figure on three content emails and one straight-up promo.
However, this is the key…
Every email you send should include a promo, even if it’s a soft sell. So for example, if you’re teaching people how to set up a WordPress blog, then this “how to” article might include a soft-sell promo and a link to a useful WordPress Plugin. E.G., “Here’s the WP plugin I install on all my sites—you’ll want to use it too…”
11. TIP: Create recap mailings to get your best content in front of your newsletter readers.
The fantasy is that all your subscribers read every email you send, every blog post you publish, and every bit of content you post to social media. But of course that almost never happens. And that’s why you can create a “recap mailing” that shares summaries and links to the content you’ve created over the past few weeks.
For example, you might call it the “In case you missed it” feature. For best results, follow these tips:
· Curate only your best content. You don’t want to send busy people to links with average content.
· Use benefit-driven, curiosity arousing summaries to get people to click on the links. E.G., “Click here to discover a simple trick to get 10,000 targeted visitors for free!”
· Create a list of related content. This content should all focus on helping your prospects solve a singular problem.
12. Do you want to boost your open rates and response rates? Then send out emails when it’s likely your subscribers are online and have the time to read and respond to your newsletter.
Hint: Start by looking at when the bulk of your subscribers actually joined your list. If you have a surge of people joining on Tuesday mornings, then that’s a good time to try sending out an email.
As always, be sure to test to find out what days and times provide the maximum response for your particular list. You may even end up segmenting your lists geographically to better catch ALL your subscribers at a good time of the day in each of their time zones.
13. Here’s a way to quickly boost your response rate: segment your list for maximum response.
Many top autoresponders let you tag and segment subscribers by demographics or even by behaviors. For example:
· Segment by demographics, such as age, gender or location.
· Segment by purchases.
· Segment by lead magnet.
· Segment by whether they click a link or not.
· Segment according to whether they open an email.
Then send ultra-targeted emails to these list segments to boost your conversion rates!
14. Do you know how to use your ESP’S (email service provider’s) built-in tools to increase response?
Check out these ideas:
· Send a follow-up email to everyone who opened your last email but didn’t buy anything.
· Send a follow-up email to everyone who did NOT open your last email.
· Use automated tagging to tag (and segment) subscribers who take some specific action, such as clicking on a link.
· Use automated rules to subscribe or unsubscribe people from your lists according to their behaviors.
Most major ESPs have these sorts of tools available to you along with plenty of documentation about how to use them, so log into your account today to see what tools are available to you!
15. TIP: Create regular newsletter features to give your readers something to look forward to.
For example:
· Freebie Fridays
· Tips Tuesdays
· Infographic Wednesdays
· Special Offer Mondays
These are just examples. Figure out what kind of content your subscribers really respond to well, and then create a regular feature for them to look forward to.
Bonus Tip: For an even better response, be sure to build anticipation for the upcoming feature a couple days before it happens. E.G., “Don’t forget to check your inbox Monday, because you’re going to get a special offer that’s never been available before!”
16. Here’s how to create value for your newsletter: solve a specific problem in every email.
You might do this by providing straight-up content. You might do it with content and an offer. Or you might accomplish this simply by telling your subscribers about the very best way to solve their problem. This could come in the form of a direct promo, a product review or even a product comparison.
But in all cases, you need to focus on ONE problem. And then you need to offer just ONE solution to that problem. If you consistently offer the best solutions, your list will begin to trust you – and you’ll see your conversion rates grow over time.