Once your email autoresponder company is chosen and the technical set-up has been done, you may want to create a series of follow up messages that get dripped out to your customers and prospects on a regular basis.
Consistent communication is vital to your email marketing success. If you get someone to sign up to your list and you neglect them for too long, they’ll forget who you are. The next time you email them, they’ll also forget they gave you permission to – and they’ll click the spam button. Too many of these and your account can get shut down.
Your customers initially signed up for a reason. What was it? Did you offer a free report? Did you promise to provide a series of lessons on a certain topic? Did you tell them they would be on the receiving end of some amazing freebies or offers from time to time?
Start by creating a warm welcome email. You want to thank the person for signing up. If you promised a free download, make sure they don’t have to jump through hoops to get it – give them the download link right in the first email.
Your follow up series of emails could be a variety of things. And just because you have a follow up series in place, it doesn’t mean you can’t blast out a broadcast message on occasion, too.
Step-by-step email follow ups are great because it keeps the target audience waiting for the next email. If you promise to teach them how to get their relationship back on track in 7 short steps, for example, don’t give them all seven steps in one email.
Spread them out among seven different emails. This gives you ample opportunity to interact with your readers and also direct them to some sort of product or service that could help them.
Thought provoking emails are always great for driving traffic back to your blog and getting people to comment on what you just said. You can use something in the news to provide an entrance for you on the topic.
Inquisitive email follow ups are those where you’re specifically asking for your reader’s input. Everyone loves to be asked for his or her opinion. You might even poll your audience about an upcoming product or service you have.
It’s best to sprinkle the regular follow up emails with some special perk emails. These are ways you can thank the reader for subscribing and letting you access them on a regular basis via email. Consider it a privilege.
Make sure you spread your follow up emails out in a way that your specific customers will respond best to. Some respond best to daily emails. Some might respond to once every four days, or bi-weekly. You’ll have to gauge your audience and see what works for you.