Category listing: Web – Blog
Here are some great coaching tips regarding a simple 5-step process for creating fail-proof permission-based email marketing that will lead you on a road map to email marketing success!
Step 1. Start using permission-based email software such as iContact (the permission-based email system we love!) that allows you to easily create newsletters, automatically manage subscribes, unsubscribes, bounces, and view reporting statistics like opens and forwards. iContact has whitelist agreements with major ISPs so clients can enjoy industry-leading deliverability (you won’t be viewed as sending spam!).
Step 2. Decide on the type and frequency of email communication you will be sending. I recommend sending at least a monthly newsletter (at minimum!) but consider every 7-15 days if possible when sending relevant content to your subscribers. You can even send multiple newsletters if you sell different types of products or formats. Take us for example: We send out a “Marketing Twins Hightlight” bi-weekly and “A Word From the Marketing Twins” on the off weeks.
Step 3. Add a sign-up form to your website so you can start collecting subscribers and import any existing lists of subscribers that have already requested your communications. It is generally safe to import the names of anyone who has done business with you in the past year, provided you will be sending content relevant to what they purchased. Make the sign-up form easy to find on your site and offer an incentive for people to sign up (like we do – you get a FREE REPORT!) as well.
Step 4. Choose a good email template by using the templates provided within the email software, having your in-house team create one, or using the custom design services of the email software company. iContact provides over 300 design templates within the software that can be used free of charge. In addition, the Marketing Twins can help you create your own banner to use in your template that includes your logo and basic contact information to give your emails a great, consistent look. Let us know if we can help!
Step 5. Develop quality, relevant content for your newsletter or message and send it out to your list. Continue sending your newsletters, announcements, or promotions with consistent frequency. As your list grows, you will notice increased traffic (and if applicable, increased sales) on the day of and the days following an email send. That’s one of the benefits of using software like iContact – you can track and get great easy-to-read results!
So what are you waiting for – get started today! If you are unsure about taking on this task yourself (or don’t have the time), we have affordable Email Marketing Packages where we come alongside to help you launch your email marketing! Plus, right now, iContact is even offering a 15% discount through the end of the month so now’s the time to take advantage. Click here to start or contact us to get the emails going!
p.s. Don’t forget to register for our next FREE Double Take LIVE Broadcast with Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist, Stephanie Brown Trafton (Women’s Track & Field). The call is Wednesday, October 8th at NOON CST but is initially limited to the first 50 people to register so sign up NOW!
What a great week to learn from some great thought leaders!
ARE YOU REGISTERED YET FOR THESE EVENTS?
TO REGISTER FOR COVEY’S INTERVIEW WITH John Jantsch TODAY:
Go to the Duct Tape Marketing Webinar Registration Page HERE!
TO REGISTER FOR LYTLE’S INTERVIEW THE MARKETING TWINS on Thursday:
UPDATE – Monday at 7pm:
Sometimes when you want to share something, it’s often easier to draw from the good ideas of others. I always tell our clients that when blogging, you are not necessarily trying to create the most unique, most clever, most amazing blog post every single time. Rather, you are simply trying to engage in the online community. And as in any community, who enjoys the guy who likes to act like he’s got the very best, most unique ideas every time? No one . . . we all prefer conversation and community.
As in all social media, consider yourself sitting around at the coffee shop or even your family’s dining room table and exchanging ideas. At times, you really do have an opinion or thought that has never been voiced before and is worth hearing (so that others can share your idea with others who can share it with others, etc…). But most often, we simply are sharing what we’ve heard from others. There’s nothing weak about that as long as you participate authentically in the community with correct attribution (not trying to claim every great idea as your own).
One of the greatest tools in my arsenal is my Bloglines. If you are not familiar, try on this definition: “a web-based news aggregator for browsing weblogs and other news feeds via syndicated feeds utilizing technologies such as RSS.” In simple terms it is your bulletin board that is automatically fed updates on a variety of blogs and websites that YOU are interested in hearing about. In the old days, you would click on your “Favorites” and peruse all your favorite blogs only to find out “nothing new there.” But with RSS feeds, you can subscribe and be alerted when new posts have been made. It’s been around for years, but I have only started using it within the past 12 months. It’s transformed how I stay in touch, radically improved my efficiency when I am reviewing 70 different “favorite” blogs (yes, 70 and growing!), and opened up an easy portal of information that I can then repurpose on my blog or share with clients.
When my identical twin brother and I are interested in going out to lunch, it’s rare that we don’t end up at a Chinese food buffet. We love the choices and variety and I love to get something different each time. I look at my Bloglines in the same way when wanting to hear a variety of ideas. So when from time to time, I simply open up my Bloglines and look through the buffet of choices! Ideas are everywhere and it’s hard to choose, but there are some that just stand out. Today, I share these few with you:
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If social media hasn’t caught on with you yet, read Adrianne’s blog over at Tornado Marketing. I think she lays out pretty well some good reasons (ROI!!)
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David over at Marketing Integrity shows why he took up blogging. If you’re wondering why you should blog, see what David has to say.
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Are you out of ideas for blogging today? Need a jolt in the creative department of your brain? Chris Brogan offers 50 blog post ideas for anyone marketing their company.
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Copyblogger gives all of us bloggers a dose of reality: why saying “content is king” is NOT the way to drive traffic to your site! Find out what will do the trick (some great nuggets of information for everyone blogging and wondering why their Google Analytics is not smokin’!!)
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Austin creatives over at the Church of the Customer blog share this video for you to marvel at people’s ability to amazing things with video. Funny stuff!
