Gosh, I *hate* empty coffee cups.
This is now the 4th time I've glanced over at my aforementioned empty coffee cup and realized….
It ain't refilling by itself.
Wah!
Ah well, these things happen. But it did remind me of a very prominent business truth – do everything the same way, again and again….and honestly, you really *cannot* expect any different results.
Take, for example….being profitable online.
You know the story, right? Unless you've decided to shun direct selling, you generally make money online by:
- Selling to your customers.
- Selling to other vendors in your niche who sell to their customers.
- Marketing to your list.
I've chosen to do all three. What do you do?
Whatever it is that you do, ideally…you *do* have a list (and if you don't, you really should! It's the lifeblood of long-term business online).
Well, have you noticed the following wee problem regarding email marketing?
- Getting people to *open* your email….it's difficult. Time is money, after all.
- Getting people to *click* on your links in your email…it's really difficult. Your offer truly has to appeal to them.
- Getting people to *buy* after they click on your links in your email – why, that's the most fiendishly unpredictable heart-rending task of 'em all!
Why, I hear you ask?
Simple. It's because your email list has become a harrowing torture chamber to your recipients.
Think about it. The mindset many marketers have online is, "Mirror mirror on the wall, how can I milk my list for the most money today and have a ball?"
Kinda sorta like….
ie, screw what your customers want to read, screw what your customers want to see….just command a flood of BUY ME MEMMEMEMEMEMEMMEMEEEEEE! and hope for the best.
If that's not torturous, I do not know what is.
Let's apply this now to the most important person reading this blog post….you!
Tell me.
- When people read your emails, is it apparent that you're solely concerned with making money from them?
Or instead…
- Do you come across as giving them resources to help them decide what to buy?
Stay with me here, the following is key!!
People do *not* want to feel sold too.
But people *do* appreciate others….looking out for them.
And *how* you write your emails…that can make all the difference in the world.
I've recently embraced this notion meself in my Inner Circle, and let me tell you, it's downright *tough* to do if you labor under the mindset of, people shouldn't be hit with marketing messages in their inbox.
But! Once you change your outlook to:
"Hey! These are businessfolk like me, and probably like me, they want to save money while running their business!"
it gets a heck of a lot easier.
Right?
'Course right!
And here's what I discovered.
One of the best ways to change your torture chamber email atmosphere into a land of prancing unicorns, Old Spice men and women and European sports cars…is to *write like a friend.*
Now, I don't mean "write like a friend" as in, "Dear friend, want to make bucketloads of cash?"
Instead, I mean something along the lines of:
"Morning {FIRST NAME},
Hope the day has been treating you well! Hard to believe the back to school rush is almost over, and soon Halloween will be upon us.
Which brings me to the point of this post – as a busy marketer, you're probably aware of the benefits that offering coupons to your visitors can give to your bottom line. Well, yesterday, I came across this nifty plugin, WP Coupon – if you're currently running WordPress, this might be just the thing that allows you to give your customers the same treatment as the bigname retailers online…."
That kind of approach is 'way different than:
"Want to add coupons to your site? Click HERE to find out a really great new WordPress plugin that…."
See?
The second approach screams, please buy from me!, which the first one manages to tie together the need for a coupon plugin to my reader's online business.
It makes all the difference in the world.
So, take a good long hard look at the way *you* talk to your email recipients.
Don't view them as ways for you to make money.
- Instead, view them as friends whom you want to help achieve their goals.
It will definitely help you improve your bottom line.
Grow strong,
Barbara Ling
Get Started Here
You’ll love what you learn… Promise!