HOW TO MAKE MONEY WITH EMAIL MARKETING

R. Scott Corbett

 

Press Send, Make Money. Is It Really That Easy?

Before I show you how to use email to reach more prospects, retain more customers, and make your cash register ring, we need to get a few things out in the open.

I have a love-hate relationship with email, and I bet your customers do, too. We love the convenience of email but hate the way it consumes our day. Email has become as much a part of the hurried-up fabric of our everyday lives as fast food and cell phones, and many of us, me included, compulsively check email on our smartphones in the morning before breakfast and at night in bed right before lights-out.

Email is with us all day long. We sit at our computers at work, ostensibly being productive, but instead we spend hours filtering, writing, reading, and replying to email messages from colleagues, co-workers, friends, family, and businesses.

Heck, we may even be addicted to email. It’s no surprise that time management books these days almost always have a chapter on the potentially time-sucking and output-killing effects of email.

In short, we are a nation of fanatical emailers, and we have come to depend on email to function at work and in our personal lives. While it may not be as trendy as Twitter, email is the messaging workhorse of the 21st century.

Who Wants to Add 10-20% to Their Bottom Line in the Next 3 Months...for Less Than $20 a Month?

As you start using email marketing as an integral part of your business strategy, be aware that you’re walking into a minefield of deeply ingrained user habits and even some level of hostility and distrust toward the very medium itself, due to the prevalence of spam. (Spam is defined loosely as unwanted email. The legal definition is more specific, so make sure to read our guidelines later on how to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States.)

The good news, however, is that marketing with email works. Plus, email can be incredibly powerful and cost-effective, and it needn’t take much infrastructure and staff to set up and maintain.

If you are using email already, look out for that one little trick (such as, increasing your open rate with an effective subject line) that just might double your email-driven revenue. Or, you may finally realize why you still don’t see good results from your current email campaigns.

Good email marketing isn’t hard, but it does require that you understand the quirks of the medium. So, read on to find out how to:

• Promote your brand and transform customers into fans who wouldn’t dream of shopping with anyone but you.

• Turn prospects into customers using automated “systems.

• Increase revenue and stabilize your cash flow.

• Slash your marketing spend by starting your first email campaign for less than $20 a month.

First, the Good News...Email Marketing Works—and You Can Do It Yourself

You must believe that other businesses use email profitably or you wouldn’t be reading this. Well, you’re right. Email works very well, when done correctly. In fact, it sometimes even works when done badly—and even if your competitors seem way ahead of you right now, it’s not too late to catch up. Just follow the action steps in this book, and commit to getting started. How? First, get started building your list and crafting your first few messages, and soon you’ll be ahead of nearly everyone else. You’ll naturally get better over time as you learn and adapt to the needs and interests of your customers, and there’s nothing more motivating than seeing results from your first few campaigns and realizing, “Wow, this email stuff really works!” Read Pauli’s story if you need a little inspiration.

How About $23,525 Cash in 4 Days from a Small Restaurant List?

How would you like to be able to hold a simple sale, promote it to your list, and have over $23,000 deposited into your business checking account in a matter of days? A restaurant owner from Alabama did just that.

Pauli had a list, not a huge one but pretty respectable, with a little over 6,000 subscribers that he had already been emailing on a regular basis, offering customers discounted “dining certificates” if they printed his email and brought it into the restaurant. He’d had great success with this tactic, but wanted to take it to the next level.

What he decided to do was offer a time-limited sale on his dining certificates (for example, a $100 voucher for $50), but to also allow people to pay for them directly through a simple PayPal link on his restaurant’s website. So he sent a series of emails to his subscribers over the course of his 4-day sale. What happened would put a spring back into the step of any business owner.

In the first 7 ½ hours after he sent the initial email announcing the sale, customers had paid him upfront, through that simple PayPal link, over $5,900 cash. Once everything was said and done, and several more reminder emails were sent and the sale was over, this one promotion had brought in $23,525 for his business.¹

What would an extra $23,000 do for your business?

Remember, you must be familiar with the sort of discounts you can offer in your business while still coming out ahead to do this sort of promotion. You want a great offer, but not one that’s actually going to cost you more money than you make in the end. Pauli knew that customers in the past had only redeemed around 80% to 90% of these types of certificates, and that in any case, he still made plenty after handling all the extra business.

The takeaway here is: Don’t be afraid to think big when it comes to what email can do for your bottom line and your cash flow.

Still Not Sure Email Is Worth the Investment? You Can’t Argue with Cold, Hard Data

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the marketing options out there? Not sure where to start? Ever regretted dropping a big chunk of change on an advertising campaign that didn’t end up making you much or (gulp) any money? If that’s you, then chew on a few of these numbers for a minute:

In a recent survey of businesses by Econsultancy, 75% of responding companies rated email marketing as “excellent” or “good” for return on investment and only 4% say email is “poor.” This survey also pointed out that the rise of social media has not diminished the importance of email as a marketing medium at all.²

The rise of social media giants like Facebook and Twitter is undeniable, of course, but email is still used more regularly than social networking for personal communication. In another survey, Econsultancy found that 79% of respondents use email as their primary mode of communication, while only 10% use social networks.³

Another recent survey conducted by Epsilon, a global marketing agency, found that “consumers state the preferred channel to receive information was email.”⁴

Think about that for a moment: 79% of typical consumers use email as their primary mode of communication—and they prefer email as a marketing channel. That’s huge. The bottom line is that you need to be where your customers are, communicating via their preferred channel, and that means you need to be using email.

In fact, Direct magazine has found that companies it surveyed enjoy an average return of $45 for every dollar they invest in email marketing.⁵

Who else wants to trade $1 for $45? Or $100 for $4,500? Or $1,000 for...? I think you get the idea here. When clients come to me asking where to go next with their marketing, I always ask if they’re using email, and if not, how soon are they ready to start.

Of all the choices out there in the marketing universe, email is the easiest, quickest, cheapest, most effective and profitable way to get the word out about your business and turn the heat up on your profits. Email simply gives you an unbeatable bang for your marketing buck.

The Money’s in the List

Business changes when you have an email list. There is no overestimating the power of being able to write a quick email, send it to your list, and have customers show up to buy your products or services like clockwork.

Having a list at your disposal (and treating it right) can bring you the business and personal financial stability you’ve been looking for. It will become your biggest asset. If you manage it right, you can always count on your list in an unpredictable world. You don’t have to depend on advertising rates staying stable or Google liking your website.

You don’t have to just hope and pray that people remember your business and choose you over your competitor when they’re ready to buy. You won’t have to worry so much if the city decides to detour traffic away from your business and 80% of your foot or drive-by traffic goes up in smoke.

Your business could even burn to the ground tomorrow, and if you have a list stored in a safe deposit box or backed up on Carbonite, you’ll be able to stay in touch with your customers while you rebuild. What’s more, you’ll have a pretty good chance that they’ll be there when you’re ready to open up the doors again.

What Do You Need to Know About the CAN-SPAM Act? The $16,000 Question

A lot of people new to email marketing and even seasoned pros get a little nervous wondering if they are complying with the U.S. government’s CAN-SPAM Act, which was designed to crack down on spammers and pornographers sending those pesky, annoying emails that we all hate. While the act had little effect on the truly criminal spammers, it has served to help clean up most business’ email practices over the years since it was passed. Of course, I am not an attorney, so make sure to get your own professional advice on this matter (there is a $16,000 per violation penalty after all), but here are’ the basics you need to know to comply with CAN-SPAM:

• Don’t pretend to be anyone but you or your business. Use your real business domain name in the body of your email. The “sender” and “reply-to” addresses must reflect your actual personal or business identity. This is self-explanatory, but just be honest here. Use your business name or your name: [email protected], or Ask John, or The Florist’s Gazette, for example.

• Be honest in the subject line. This can be a somewhat gray area, but basically, you want to deliver what you promise in the subject line. If you use the subject line “90% off everything” then there had better be some way in that email for your customer to get a 90% discount. It’s crucial to have a click-worthy subject line, but don’t go overboard here and offer “free 10-day Caribbean cruise with every purchase” unless you’re prepared to back up that promise.

• Tell them this is an advertisement. Duh, right? Just be clear in the body of the email that this is a business communication, as opposed to a humanitarian message from the Pope. This should be clear when you comply with the next requirement.

• Include your business name and physical address in every email. That’s right, you have to include your street address or post office box in each email you send. Just put this in the footer of your email template and forget about it (as long as you keep it up to date).

• Provide a simple way to handle unsubscribes. This is just good practice, but you need to make sure you do it to comply with the law in the United States. If you’re getting a lot of spam complaints (you should be able to see this in your email service provider’s (ESP) stats area—if not, get a new ESP), then put a clear “unsubscribe” link at the top and bottom of every email. If you don’t get very many complaints, then simply put it at the bottom. This should be a quick and easy process for your readers, and your ESP should handle it automatically.

If you use a reputable ESP, they will go a long way toward helping you comply with the law, but you still need to understand it. To go straight to the horse’s mouth on this issue, go to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) guidelines for business compliance with CAN-SPAM website.⁶

Other countries have their own version of these regulations, so make sure you’re complying with the law of the land for where you live. And, don’t forget, being legal is just the start here: Send your readers only content they love, and only with their permission.

Oh, and by the way, we all get the occasional spam complaint and opt-out request. Don’t live in fear of this. It’s no big deal unless it becomes a pattern.

Getting Started: Lists and ESPs

You’re probably wondering right now how you can start taking advantage of this opportunity. So let’s talk about the first step of email marketing: Get a list of people to email to. If you already have a list, but you haven’t effectively mailed to them yet, I’ll address what you should to do in the next section.

So, how do you get started growing that list? First, you’re going to need an email service provider (ESP). What you want is a professional, well-known, and trusted company to handle your email service. There are lots of reasons to use a top-notch ESP, but better deliverability and convenience are the main ones. Big ESPs are trusted by internet service providers (ISPs), and that means that the emails they send on your behalf get through to your recipient’s inbox more often. Plus, most big ESPs have helpful templates and webform widgets that make all aspects of email marketing easier.

FOR UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS OF THE BEST EMAIL SERVICE PROVIDERS, VISIT ESPREVIEWS.COM.

The sign-up process at most ESPs should be simple, and you can expect to pay very little to get started. Often you’ll even be able to go with a free trial your first month, then pay $20 to $50 a month until your list starts to get into the thousands of subscribers. It is recommended you go with a provider that allows you to email at least once a week without any additional fees.

Once you’re signed up and you’ve set up your first list in your account, you’ need to create a simple form that you can put in a prominent place. And (this is important) make sure to position it near the top of every page on your website. Most ESPs have simple, easy widgets for doing this. And if you don’t have a site yet, get one! It’s the 21st century after all!

IF YOU DO ACTUALLY NEED A WEBSITE CREATED, GO HERE FOR TIPS AND WHERE TO START: DONEFORME.COM.

Seriously, you do know you need a website, right? If you’re reading this book, we’re sure you know that, but don’t let not having one yet stop you from getting started with email.

How to Get Your First Email List Started

Many of these ideas work even without a site:

• The big one: Create an ethical bribe to encourage people to sign up for your list.

• Place your sign-up sheet at your cash register and train every one of your employees to ask for customers’ and prospects’ emails whenever they interact with a prospect or make a sale.

• Send an email to your own personal network and contact list, and ask your social circle if you can put them on your list. Explain what your list is and why they’d want to be on it.

• Ask your personal network to forward your email to their own personal networks.

• Promote your list at networking events and speaking engagements, basically everywhere you meet people who might possibly be interested in being on your list. Remember to lead with your ethical bribe!

• Do you have a database of customer emailing addresses? Send them a postcard and ask them to join the list. Include a really great offer here.

• Work with complementary (non-competing) businesses and work out a joint promotion. (You could offer their list your ethical bribe, for example.)

• Get some local publicity and work in a mention of your email address.

Feeling like your itty-bitty list isn’t worth the trouble? Well, let’s get this out of the way right now: Bigger is not always better when it comes to the size of a list. The most important quality of an email list is how interested are they in what you have to say? Do they know, like, and trust you? The more they like you and the more they want to hear from you, the more likely they are to stay on your list, open your emails and, yes, eventually spend money with you.

Also, the more you respect your list and give them something of value that holds their interest, the more likely they are to rave about you to their friends, spreading the word about you in the most valuable way possible: through word-of-mouth and forwarding referrals. And remember, no amount of marketing can match the power of a personal referral.

Even though everyone is very busy and seems to be overwhelmed by marketing messages these days, people are going to spend their money somewhere. They’re going to fill their day with something. If you’re in their inbox, they just might spend it with you and your business. If you’re not, then your chances of getting that sale are iffy at best.

Also remember, keep your subscribers interested. Reward them for opening your emails by offering them great value in the form of good advice, great information, and interesting stories they won’t find anywhere else. Throw some great offers into the mix, too, and they’ll choose you over your competitors when they’re ready to spend. When they need the help or the service or the product that you provide, you’ll be the first name that comes to mind, and they’ll come knocking at your door.

For advice on just how to do this, on how to get your readers to appreciate you for marketing to them, read on.

The Big Payoff: Your Readers Like, Trust and, Ultimately, Buy from You

Let’s talk about what to actually send your shiny, happy list of subscribers.

As ace adman Don Draper understands so well, our feelings make buying decisions that our thoughts are then asked to justify. In order to create good feelings between you and your readers so that you become a welcome presence in their inboxes and in their lives, make sure that your emails do the following:

• Remember Perry’s rule. Perry Marshall, a marketing master, has pointed out that the first job of every one of your emails is to get the reader to open the next one. In other words, build the relationship first. Sure, every email has a specific tactical intent, but always focus your overall strategy on providing relevant, timely, helpful information so that you remain a welcome presence in their lives.

• Be “authentic edgy.” As marketer Eben Pagan likes to say, be a little more honest and edgy than people expect the usual businessperson to be. Don’t go overboard here unless you’re selling to a young, irreverent crowd (see the shipping confirmation from CDBaby.com in the following sidebar).

• Don’t irritate with grossly irrelevant or overly sales-y messages.

• Engage your reader by using a likeable persona. Yes, you have permission to tear down the “corporate veil” and actually become the voice and face of your company.

• Sound like you’re engaging them in one-on-one conversations. Use a casual tone, ask questions, invite interaction, use the word “you,” and so on.

• Include stories and images, not just “sales copy.”

• Alternate short and long copy.

• Ask their advice. Send them a survey (a short one, please!) and reward them for completing it.

• Occasionally include multimedia elements like audios and videos.

• Tell the truth. Nothing kills a relationship like distrust or suspicion.

Don’t Forget the “From” Line”

These stats from EmailStatsCenter.com speak for themselves:

• 73% make the decision to click on the “report spam” or “junk” button using the from line.⁸

• 64% of small business execs said they decide whether or not to open the (email) newsletter based on who it’s from.⁹

The takeaway is: We are wired with tribal instincts. We welcome friends into the village and run off strangers. As I’ve said repeatedly, if you do the work to build the relationship, your emails will be welcomed.

After the “From” Line, the “Subject” Line Is Most Important

In simplest terms, an email’s subject line is like the headline of a newspaper or magazine article. Whether or not someone reads that article usually depends on how compelling the headline is, and whether someone opens your email often depends on your subject line.

Marketers have written endlessly about what makes a good subject line, and I’m a little reluctant to add to the mass of contrary advice. Unfortunately, I can’t help myself. A good subject has the following qualities:

• It leads to an opened email.

• Did I mention that it leads to an opened email?

Let me explain. I could argue that surprising subject lines, or personalized subject lines, or subject lines that invoke fear of loss all work great, or that you should use Cosmo-style headlines, but the truth is that every list is different, and you need to know what compels your list to open your emails.

I don’t generally recommend testing and tracking email performance to someone just starting out with email marketing, but I do recommend paying attention to how different subject lines affect your open rate—and possibly even split-testing two subject lines against each other. (For how to split-test like this, just ask your ESP.)

I can tell you that open rates are typically around 20% to 25% for cheerful lists, with click-through rates usually in the 5% to 10% range, but all that matters is what your list does. Pay attention to subject lines, and you’ll be well on your way to many email-driven paydays.

A Final Note on Automation

At first, most of your emails will be one-off affairs. You will set a time in your weekly schedule to sit down, write a broadcast email, and send it. (“How often?” you ask? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but start with twice a month and slowly increase the frequency while keeping an eye on your unsubscribe rate.) However, there’s a super-powerful, semi-magical technique I want to share with you for inspiration.

The real key to success is using what are called auto-responder emails. Auto-responder emails, also known as “drip” emails, are automated sequences of prewritten emails that are sent at specific time intervals. For example, when Barbara requests relationship coaches Otto and Susie Collin’s eBook on improving one’s marriage, she not only starts receiving general-interest broadcast emails, sent to all 100,000 subscribers, she also begins to receive narrowly targeted emails that relate directly to marriage relationships.

The way this works is that Otto and Susie design a 10-50 email campaign that both educates and sends relevant offers to Barbara over the course of several months following her initial sign-up to the “marriage improvement” list. They load these emails into an auto-responder campaign, provided by most ESPs, and their ESP delivers these emails at specified times, such as 1 or 3 or 78 days after sign-up. (To see this process firsthand, add yourself to Otto and Susie’s list at http://passionateheart.com and notice the emails you start getting from them.)

Pretty nifty, huh?

Think about how you could start to create these automated sequences to deliver highly targeted content and offers to your subscribers.

Just. Do. It.

Email is a cost-effective, profitable way to reach prospects and customers. It can help you build your brand by connecting to your “tribe” and hopefully getting them to like, trust, and ultimately buy from you. If you follow the simple suggestions I outlined above, you can build a list, create compelling emails that cement your relationship to that list, and start to reap the rewards of increased customer loyalty, more referrals, and more frequent sales.

My final piece of advice is to get started right now. Believe me, you don’t have to be an expert to get results from your email marketing, and you don’t have to hire an expensive agency. Just get yourself an account at a reputable ESP, spend an hour learning its system, create an opt-in form for your website and otherwise, start collecting names for your list, and then start emailing! Set up a time on your weekly planner to create and send emails, and do what it takes to make it as much a part of your routine as paying your employees.

When you have an exciting success to share, or if you hit a wall and need some help, drop me a line at [email protected]. Best of luck!

Endnotes

1. www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/194055-my-offline-business-email-list-just-did-over-5-900-first-7-5-hours-today-so-far-one-email.html

2. http://econsultancy.com/us/reports/email-census

3. http://econsultancy.com/us/reports/email-marketing-statistics

4. www.epsilon.com/News%20&%20Events/Press%20Releases%202010/Epsilon_Study_Unveils_Consumer_Point_of_View/p797-l3

5. http://directmag.com/specialreports/lyris-email-list-building-0809/ and http://bly.com/blog/online-marketing/whats-your-online-marketing-roi

6. http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-Compliance-Guide-for-Business

7. www.mobilestorm.com/resources/digital-marketing-blog/case-study-how-cutting-an-email-list-by-95-helped-double-sales-for-one-organization/ and MarketingSherpa, “How Cutting a House List 95% Helped Double Sales,” www.marketingsherpa.com/barrier.html?ident=31751

8. Email Sender and Provider Coalition, 2007.

9. Bredin Business Information, 2007.

10. Small business expert Denise O’Berry can teach you how to take the frustration out of email marketing—for free! Visit www.emailtipsforyou.com.