What is an asset that you have in your business — right now — that is more valuable than gold? If you said, “my email list!” you are correct! There is nothing more valuable to a business owner than the trust of someone who has put his or her name on your email capture form. This person has put his trust in you that you will only send him content that is valuable. This person is trusting that not all of your correspondence will be of the “buy me-buy me” variety all of the time.
Once you have gained the trust of those who have given you his or her most valuable commodities — their name and access to their email inbox. How can you assure you’re nurturing potential clients? Through a well thought out email campaign. Here are some ways to “stay on their good side:”
- KISS them. KISS is the acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid! When you’re sending your list a follow up message, keep the message short and simple. If you have a long-winded topic to cover, give them a teaser in the email then drive them back to your site. That way they can make the decision to follow the link, or not. If they’re not following the link, use that as a bit of an AB test and determine why they’re not following it.
- Teach them something. If individuals on your list joined because they want access to the information you offer, then offer them tidbits of information in every email contact you have with them. Offer an answer to a question, a top three quick hit list, etc.
- Always have a call to action. You simply don’t know when someone on your list will be ready to take the plunge and give you a call. Make sure each email message has a call to action. Whether it’s a “sign up for a free appointment,” or “try us out for free for the next 10 days,” or “we’re offering XYZ for a limited time only.” Make it easy. Make it visible. Make it valuable.
Do you have a sign up box on your website? Are you gathering names? Do you have a free giveaway in order to entice people to sign up and give you their name and email? If you aren’t doing any of the above items then you could be missing a golden opportunity to grow your business in a passive, non-salesy way!