Caron Goode

  IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com © 2013 Dr. Caron Goode       © 2013 All Rights Reserved.   http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 1   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Disclaimer The purpose of this report is to educate, and not to provide or imply such provision of any legal, accounting, or other form of business advice. The author and publisher does not warrant that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors, omissions, or contradictory information in this report. The author and publisher assumes no liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this report. The reader assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Any perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional. You should assume that this report has an affiliate relationship with some of the providers of goods and services mentioned in herein and the author may be compensated when you purchase. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline. Individual results may vary and there are no guarantees expressed or implied. Each individual's success depends on his/her dedication, motivation, and background. As with any business endeavor, there is an inherent risk of loss of capital and there is no guarantee that you will earn any money. You have a "personal use" license to this report. You cannot distribute it to any other individuals or share it on the Internet. It does not include any sort of resale rights or private label licensing whatsoever. NOTICE: You Do NOT Have the Right to Reprint, Resell, Share, or Give Away this Report or the Content Herein © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 2   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST TABLE   O F   C ONTENTS   INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 4 10 Reasons You Need an Email List ................................................................. 6 10 Steps to Setting up Your List ...................................................................... 9 10 Ways to Identify Your Audience ................................................................ 13 10 Ideas for Free Gifts for Your List ............................................................... 16 10 Tips for Building a High Converting Squeeze Page ....................................... 20 10 Ideas for Follow-up Emails ....................................................................... 23 10 Places to Find Traffic to Build Your List ...................................................... 26 10 Ideas for Monetizing Your List .................................................................. 29 10 Email Marketing Analytics to Watch ........................................................... 33 10 Reasons Your List Isn't Responding ........................................................... 36 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 41                   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 3   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST INTRODUCTION   How are you keeping in touch with your customers? What if you could connect with them whenever you wanted, at the click of a mouse? And what if you could do it even when you’re sleeping? That’s what having an email list is all about, and that’s what we’re going to be talking about in this report. You’re going to be learning a 100 different things you need to know about listbuilding, including: The importance of building an email list for your business The basics of setting up a list How to understand who you’ll be mailing to How to get people to join your list What to say to your subscribers Where to find subscribers How to profit from your email list Ø How to assess and improve the quality of your list and emails   Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø There are assignments for you to complete after each chapter, along with worksheets for recording what you learn. You can complete everything over the course of 10 days, or complete the assignments on your own schedule. But don’t take too long or you’ll be leaving more money on the table than you can imagine! Whether you already have a list and need to do a better job of listbuilding, or you’re just starting out, you’re going to learn the top ways to build an email list that is the foundation for your business. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 4   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST By the time you’ve completed all the assignments in this course, you should be well on your way to building a valuable, trust-based relationship with your subscribers and customers – a relationship that will mean the difference between a so-so business that gets by and a business that grows every month, year after year. It’s never too early or too late to set up an email list…so let’s get started!     © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 5   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST REASONS YOU NEED AN EMAIL LIST An email list is a list of subscribers who have ‘opted-in’ to receive emails from you. They've signed up because they're interested in the content and offers you can give them. This is a great way for marketers and businesses to reach their audience. Every kind of business can benefit from keeping a list, and here are ten reasons you need to start one right away. 1. Profits © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 6   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST The old cliché “The money is in the list” is actually quite true. Your list is a captive audience that has actively chosen to receive your offers. This is why lists are so profitable for marketers. 2. An Entrance to Your Sales Funnel When a person subscribes to your list, they're starting a relationship with your company. This is a good way to draw prospects into your sales funnel. From here, you can engage your subscribers with valuable information and offers. 3. Direct Contact Email is the most direct way to reach your customers because your messages are delivered straight to their email inboxes. 4. Personalize Your Marketing When someone opts in to your list, they're making a mental commitment. It's not the same as casually dropping in on your blog or website. A list creates a personal connection between your company and your customers. 5. Exclusive Offers The offers you make through your email list are valuable to your subscribers partly because they're exclusive. That is, you can only get them by joining the list. This creates a special “club” for your customers, a kind of loyalty program. 6. Relationship Building Because email marketing is a more direct and personal approach, it's a great way to build a relationship between you and your customers, which is what all businesses need and want. 7. An Asset to Your Business © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 7   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST A list of subscribers adds value to your company. Your email list can be calculated as an asset belonging to your business. If you have a large and responsive list, this can help you attract investors or sell your company. 8. Feedback Email marketing isn't just a one-way interaction. You also get feedback from your subscribers on how you're doing. This feedback comes from your email marketing analytics and also directly when subscribers send you messages or when you ask them questions. 9. Get to Know Your Audience Interacting with your audience through email and making various offers to them helps you get to know your customers better. When you know your target audience well, you can make better offers to them that increase your profits while meeting their needs more effectively. 10. Everybody's Doing It Everybody is marketing through email, and this most likely includes your competition. This means you need to be doing it also. There's a good chance your competitors aren’t doing it as well as they could, so this gives you an opportunity to get an edge on them. Before starting your list, decide exactly what you'd like to do with it. Is it going to be an entrance into your sales funnel, a vehicle to build your brand's reputation, or a means of profiting directly? If you define your purpose well, you'll better understand what you need to do in order to profit from your list. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 8   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Assignment: Define Your Purpose • • Write one sentence that says exactly what you plan to do with the list you’re setting up. For example, 'I will use this list to promote affiliate products to my weight loss customers', or ‘I will use this list to provide weekly inspiration to help my customers reach their goals.’ Record your purpose on your Email Content Plan worksheet.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 9   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST STEPS TO SETTING UP YOUR LIST Starting an email list isn't as difficult as you think. It's just a matter of following these ten simple steps. Step One - Define your purpose and long-term strategy. Once you have a list of subscribers, what will you do with it? Step Two – Define your target market. Who can use what you're offering? Whom would your products or services help? This will determine how you drive traffic to your list and how you market to your subscribers. Step Three – Create or purchase rights for the free gift that's going to entice people to join your list. Typically, marketers give away a free gift for signing up for © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 10   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST their list. Most people are wary of giving out their name and email address, so a free gift sweetens the deal. It's most common to use a free report or other informational product, but you can set yourself apart by offering something different. Step Four – Create a dedicated page for your opt-in form. You will also want to place your opt-in form on your website, blog, Facebook page, and other strategic locations where people will see it. Once you’ve generated your opt-in code from your autoresponder, you’ll be able to fill it in where required. Step Five – Create a 'thank you' page. Once a person enters their name and email, they're redirected to this page that tells them to check their email and confirm their subscription. Default 'thank you' pages are available, but it's much better to create your own so it will be more personal. Step Six – Create a confirmation page. Once new subscribers click the confirmation link in their email, they're redirected to this page where they can download their free gift and view any other special offers you want to present. Step Seven – Sign up for an autoresponder program and make your first payment. An autoresponder is a software program that allows you to manage your list and send out broadcast messages. A few of the most popular are GetResponse, AWeber, and MailChimp. If you're planning to import emails that you've already gathered, keep this in mind when choosing a program, because some make it easier than others. Step Eight – Follow the autoresponder program's steps to set up your initial list. You'll be asked to enter information such as names, your signature, social media links, an initial web form that you can change later, and URLs for 'thank you' pages and confirmation pages (which you should have created already). Grab the opt-in code the program generates and put it wherever you want your sign-up form to appear (i.e., squeeze page, blog, etc.) © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 11   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Step Nine – Write a welcome email with a link to the download page that has the free gift people were promised. Write a message that's conversational, friendly, and shows your personality a bit. People like to know that there's a real person behind the email messages. Step Ten – Test everything. Sign up for your list and make sure the process works smoothly. Send a test message to yourself. Make any necessary changes if anything is not working correctly. Assignment: Make an Email Content Plan • • • Brainstorm a list of topics for the emails you'll send to your list. Focus on informational emails that help your subscribers with problems, questions, and issues they have. Record these on your Email Content Plan worksheet. Put topics into a logical order and write at least the first 3 emails.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 12   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST WAYS TO IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE Before you start gathering names and emails for your list, you need to identify your target market. Only by describing your target market in detail can you give them the useful content and recommend offers they need. You should create a target market profile that fits your list perfectly. 1. Basic Demographics. Gather basic demographic information such as age, gender, location, income level, and education level. 2. Interests and Hobbies. Identify how the people in your target market spend their free time. What do they get excited about and what do they like to do? © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 13   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 3. Perceptions and Opinions. How your customers see themselves and the world around them is an important thing for you to know. Identify the types of things they think are interesting, amusing, annoying, frustrating, etc. 4. Values. Along with what they like and don't like, identify what is important to your audience. Things they value might include family, hard work, saving money, safety and security, individual expression, standing out from the herd, etc. 5. Shopping Behavior. What do your customers buy and how much money do they spend on it? This is an important thing to identify because it helps you understand what products to offer, how often, and at what prices. 6. Groups and Associations. What groups, organizations, and associations does your list belong to? This ties in to how they see themselves and their interests and hobbies. 7. Other Lists They Subscribe To. Identify what other lists your subscribers have joined. It's also good to know what other companies they buy from. Where do they go when they need information on a particular topic? 8. Language Considerations. Identify the tone of your audience's language. Do they use slang or idiomatic speech patterns, or are they more professional and formal in their language use? Do they stick to just the facts, or are they like to hear your personal stories? 9. Problems, Pains, and Fears. This is probably the single most important bit of information you need to know about your target market. Identify areas where they have problems, pain, fear, worries, or questions. What are they missing but badly needing? Your aim will be to offer products and services that address these deficits. 10.Where Your Market Spends Time. Where does your target market hang out both online and off? This is important to know because that’s where you’ll go to find and connect with them. There are a number of ways to locate all this information. You can use social media, online forums, and other sources to listen in on your potential list’s conversations, or you can come right out and ask them. Research your competition and other companies in your niche. Look at key influencers in your niche and look at their followers. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 14   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Assignment Target Market Profile • • Research your target market and fill out all of the above information on your Target Market Profile Worksheet. Identify at least 2 different segments of your market and create a profile of an individual in each segment that's a perfect fit for your email list.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 15   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST IDEAS FOR FREE GIFTS FOR YOUR LIST Most people won't hand out their name and email address without some enticement, even if they're interested in your list. You have to “bribe” them by giving them a freebie to spice up the deal. This provides an incentive, but also starts building your relationship with the subscriber on a positive note. 1. Free Reports The standard in Internet marketing is to offer a free report, which is a short ebook that covers one specific, common problem or topic in your niche. Although this © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 16   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST works quite well, the value of the free report has declined somewhat because everyone uses them. 2. Free eCourse A more valuable offer is to give your subscribers a free eCourse. Rather than one product they download at once, they get installments over a period of time. You can do this through the list itself or elsewhere online. Ecourses are great for relationship building because they give you more touch points with your subscribers. 3. Free Membership You can give your subscribers free membership to a site or service that usually costs money to join. If it's difficult to give them a lifetime subscription, give them a free trial. 4. Free Software Give your subscribers a free software program or app that they can download when they sign up for your list. Like a membership offer, you can offer a free trial for this as well. 5. Access to a Webinar Give your subscribers free admission to your webinar. This is valuable and also great for building a relationship with them. 6. Coupons or Discount Codes Rather than a freebie, give your sign-ups a coupon or discount code. People see coupons as the equivalent of cash, so this is a high value offer. Many marketers also offer coupons for the products or services of JV partners. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 17   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 7. Video Download After a person signs up for your list, give them a free video download. Interviews work wonderfully for this. Interview an expert or big name in your niche and offer the video exclusively to list subscribers. Audio is also good, but video generally has higher conversion rates. 8. A Resource Guide Give your subscribers a downloadable resource guide to help them find what they need online. For example, offer them a guide to the top tools you need for online business. 9. Free Service If you're a service provider, offer a free service to new sign-ups. You can also offer a free coaching or consulting session. This is another great way to start building your relationship with your customers, and you can actually connect individually with each new subscriber. 10. PLR Content If your audience is made up of website owners, Internet marketers, or publishers, give them private label rights content. This is ready-made, customizable content that they can publish and use in any way they choose. You can give away absolutely anything. The important thing is that your freebie should be valuable. It needs to help your audience solve a problem or get the help they need. Make it something good that will blow them away and keep them coming back for more. On the other hand, it doesn’t have to be huge. It’s the value that counts, not the size. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 18   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Assignment: Research and Select Your Gift • • • Look at competitors in your niche, as well as lists outside your niche, and see what they're giving away. Record this on your Free Gift Brainstorming Worksheet. Add to this list of ideas and decide which is best for you. If you don’t already have something you can give away, create it now or buy some PLR to use so that you can get your list set up quickly. Write down an outline of your offer and what you need to do to get it completed right away.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 19   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST TIPS FOR BUILDING A HIGH CONVERTING SQUEEZE PAGE Your squeeze page is your email list's home on the web. It has one very important purpose: to get visitors to fill out the form and opt in to your list. How your squeeze page is written and designed will have a major influence on the number of sign-ups. 1. Compelling Headline Write a compelling headline that appeal to your market's emotions. It should grab their attention and speak directly to their needs. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 20   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 2. Skimmable Content with Bullet Points Make text sparse and easy to skim, and whenever appropriate, summarize using bullet points. Visitors need to be able take it in in a glance, so avoid large blocks of text. 3. Clear Call to Action A clear call to action should be mentioned throughout the squeeze page. It should be blatantly obvious what you want people to do. Write your call to action so that it emphasizes the benefits to your visitor. For example, instead of 'Submit,' say something like Give me my free content now. 4. No Distractions There should be only one action a visitor can take on your squeeze page: to sign up. Don't put any links leading out or anything that will distract visitors and make them leave your page. 5. Clean and Simple Design Don't dress up your squeeze page with anything too fancy. Make it clean, simple, and nice to look at. Your message should be the main thing that stands out. 6. Free Offer Offer something for free for signing up. This should be prominently displayed on the squeeze page and its benefits should be described to the visitor. At this point, you should already have a good idea of what your free offer will be. 7. Emphasize Value The focus of the squeeze page content should be on the value the visitor will get from signing up. Tell the visitor what to expect and emphasize the benefits for them. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 21   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 8. Consider Multimedia Videos and audios have been shown in studies to increase squeeze page conversion rates. You might consider putting a video or audio at the top of the page to make your message easier for visitors to digest. 9. Review Before going live, have friends or colleagues look at your squeeze page and offer feedback. If you're on an Internet marketing forum, ask people if they'll look at it for you. A more experienced marketer can point out weaknesses. 10. Split Test Take time to split test your squeeze page. Create two versions that are the same except for one difference, such as the headline, the wording of the call to action or a font color. Then, see which one performs better. After you've made your squeeze page, you should review it periodically to make sure it's up-to-date. If you find that your opt-in rate is falling, this is a sign that your squeeze page is due for an update. Think of your initial squeeze page as a rough draft that will be revised later Assignment Squeeze Page Summary • • • Using the Squeeze Page Copy worksheet, list the key benefits of being on your email list and what people will be receiving from you in future emails. List the key benefits of your freebie and summarize how it will help your subscribers. Make sure these benefits are clearly expressed on your squeeze page.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 22   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST IDEAS FOR FOLLOW-UP EMAILS Simply having a list is just the beginning. Now, you need to send regular messages to your list that offer valuable content and promotions that your subscribers can use. The best practice is to offer a variety of different messages. Here are ten ideas for what to send in follow-up emails. 1. Promotions Send promotions for your own or affiliate products. Keep in mind that not every email should be purely promotional. However, each should contain a call to action. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 23   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 2. Offers From Partners You can also send offers from joint venture partners. Many marketers team up with others in their niche to cross-promote. 3. Freebies, Discounts, and Deals You know that you need to offer a freebie to entice people to sign up for your list, but you should keep the freebies coming after they’ve subscribed as well. 4. Informational Content The bulk of what you offer through your list should be informational content that offers tips and advice to help your subscribers solve their problems. 5. Breaking News Include in your emails current events that are interesting or relevant to your audience. Tell them about any news stories that may affect them. Take relevant news stories and summarize them, adding your own commentary. 6. Multimedia Content You can offer videos and audios through your email list as well. People love multimedia content. For bandwidth reasons, you may instead choose to send links to websites where visitors can find the video and audio content. 7. What's New Send your list an email letting them know whenever you have a new blog post or video published, or anything else new on your site that they might be interested in. Let them know what's happening on your Facebook or other social media pages. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 24   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 8. Response to Feedback You can turn emails or comments into message starters. When someone asks you a question or makes a comment, respond to it to your whole list. Chances are good that others have the same question or concern. Make sure it's anonymous and don't mention the person by name. 9. Surveys and Polls Conduct surveys and polls through your email list. This is a great way to get your subscribers engaged with your company and also gives you valuable feedback. 10. Get Personal Sometimes it's good to relate personal stories, give your opinions, or just plain rant. This makes your marketing more personal and helps your subscribers get to know you. But, proceed down this path with caution and watch analytics carefully. Some lists don't like personal emails. The best practice is to mix up your content and monitor it to see what kinds of messages get the best response. Assignment Content Ideas • For each of the above content types that might apply to your business, brainstorm at least 5 more ideas for emails (Add your ideas to the ones you already have on your Email Content Plan Worksheet).   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 25   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST PLACES TO FIND TRAFFIC TO BUILD YOUR LIST Your email list needs a squeeze page whose sole purpose is to get visitors to sign up. But, you won’t be getting a lot of subscribers any time soon if no one knows your squeeze page exists or where to find it. You'll need to drive traffic to this crucial page from a number of other sources. Look at your target market profile and determine where your people hang out. Then, choose traffic methods that will work to draw them in. 1. Blogs Start a blog or several blogs. Write about topics of interest to your target market. Place an opt-in form somewhere on each blog, preferably on the sidebar near the top of the page where people can easily see it. Your opt-in form should have a © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 26   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST quick advertisement for your list that summarizes the main benefits of signing up and mentions the free offer. 2. Content Syndication Write short articles related to your topic and submit them to directories with a link back to your squeeze page. The articles should focus on helping the reader and offer a taste of what your list offers. 3. Guest Blogging Write guest blog posts and submit them to popular blogs in your niche. Put a link to your squeeze page in the bio box. 4. Produce Videos Create a YouTube channel and make videos to post there. These should be short videos that show people how to do things or solve problems. The title, meta data, and description should contain relevant keywords so your videos will appear in searches. Put a call to action and link in the video description box. 5. Create Visuals Create visual content such as infographics, memes, and images. Submit these to image sites and use them for social media content. Place a link to your squeeze page somewhere in the image or its description. 6. Online Forums Join online forums and put a call to action and link in your signature file. In the forum, offer help to anyone who needs it and participate in discussions in a friendly way. 7. Social Media © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 27   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Create a page for your list and promote it there. You can put an opt-in form directly on your page as a separate tab. You can also tell your social media followers about your list, but remember to avoid being overly promotional. 8. Paid Advertising Take out ads with an ad network. The major downside to this method is that it costs money, but the advantage is that it produces quick results. 9. Partner and Cross Market Connect with other marketers and set up joint ventures where you advertise to their list and they advertise to yours. Place solo ads with their list. Solo ads can often attract freebie seekers who will take your free giveaway and run, but if the list is well-targeted and you have a good upsell in place, solo ads can be very profitable. 10. Offline Marketing Advertise your email list offline at every opportunity. You can put QR codes directly on marketing materials, promotional items, and business cards that direct browsers to your squeeze page. If you’re doing a seminar or participating in an offline event, bring an email sign-up form and make sure subscribers give you explicit permission to market to their email addresses. Whatever traffic methods you use, monitor the results closely and focus your efforts on those that pay off. Assignment: Finding Your Target Market © 2013 All Rights Reserved. • http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 28   Use your demographic information and research to identify a list of places to find your target market online and off. Use the Finding Your Target Market IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST IDEAS FOR MONETIZING YOUR LIST Most marketers create an email list with the long-term goal of profiting directly through the offers they make to their list. There are a number of ways to monetize your list with your promotional messages. 1. Your Products If you have products to sell, you can do so directly through your list. Occasionally make an offer or tell your subscribers about a new product or service you're offering. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 29   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 2. Affiliate Products If you don't make your own products, you can market affiliate products to your list. Find products and services your subscribers would like and tell them about the products. To further entice customers, offer a special bonus for clicking through your link. 3. Reviews Try out products related to your list and review them for your subscribers. This is a clever way to promote affiliate products. Subscribers can read your review and then click to buy the product. 4. Discounts and Coupons Offer discounts on products or services. Make sure these are exclusive discounts that are only available to your subscribers, like a loyalty program. You can also offer coupons to your list. Many people see coupons as equivalent to money, especially if the coupon is on a product they already use or were already planning to buy. 5. Upgrade Offers Give your subscribers a chance to upgrade a product or service they've already purchased from you such as a membership or software program. 6. JV Partner Coupons Offer coupons and discounts on the products of your JV partners. Many marketers work out JV deals where each party cross-promotes and profits from each other's list. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 30   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 7. Membership Offers Offer membership to a site that is either only available to your list or available at a deep discount. 8. Consulting and Coaching Yu could offer consulting, coaching, or training via webinars that are only available to your subscribers. If your program is available to others, offer your subscribers a discount or free session. 9. Advertising Sell a small part of the space in your email messages to advertisers or sponsors. This is an easy way to make money directly as long as you have a large, responsive list. However, you should be careful because some subscribers may be turned off when they see outside advertising. 10. Solo Ads Let an advertiser pay you for an entire message. This method usually results in great profits for you, but like other advertising methods, it could turn off your subscribers. Don't forget to keep sending freebies to your list as well. This keeps them tuned in and helps them see you as a generous, helpful authority. The list you build from your initial squeeze page is the entrance to your sales funnel. It's actually a list of prospects. Once a prospect takes you up on an offer and makes a purchase, you should automatically move them to a buyer's list. The buyer's list includes qualified prospects that have actually purchased from you and are therefore more likely to do so again. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 31   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Depending on your autoresponder service, you can usually do this through some automation rules. For example, you can set up a new list just for customers. Then set up an automation rule that unsubscribes people from the prospects list when they become subscribed to a customer list. Assignment: Your Monetization Methods • • • Select at least 3 methods you will use for getting income from your list Go back to your Email Content Plan and identify where you’ll use these methods in your email follow-ups Revise your Email Content Plan if necessary to make sure that your ‘monetization’ is consistent with the topics of your emails.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 32   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST EMAIL MARKETING ANALYTICS TO WATCH   The key to success in email marketing is to watch your analytics and adjust your strategy accordingly. Your analytics will tell you exactly what you're doing right or wrong. You can then make the adjustments needed to make your campaign more effective. 1. Bounce Rate Bounce rate tells you how many emails were 'bounced' from recipients' mailboxes and were therefore not received. This could be because the person’s inbox is full, their address is not valid, or any number of things. If you have a high bounce rate, you need to clean up your list and remove those email addresses that are no longer valid. This should be done as soon as possible because a high bounce rate tells ISPs that you're a spammer. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 33   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 2. Delivery Rate Delivery rate tells you how many of your messages are getting delivered. This includes those that are bounced as well as those that are not delivered because of spam filters. Your delivery rate should be 95% or higher. If it's not, you need to make sure your messages don't look like spam. 3. Open Rate This metric tells you how many of the messages that went through were opened. It tells you one clear thing: whether or not your subject line is working. However, it tells you little else. A high open rate only means your subscribers are opening your messages, but not that they're taking action. 4. Click Through Rate The click through rate tells you how many subscribers are clicking the links in your messages. This tells you how well you're making your offer and calling people to action. 5. Conversion Rate Conversion rate tells you how many subscribers clicked through and then took the action you wanted them to take afterwards. They didn't just click, but bought, signed up, or downloaded. Among other things, this tells you how the site is or is not effective and relevant to your customers. 6. List Growth Rate List growth rate is the number of new sign-ups minus those unsubscribing or removed because they were no longer valid. A healthy list should always be growing steadily. If your list growth rate doesn't reflect this, there may be a problem with your traffic sources, squeeze page, or offer. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 34   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 7. Depth of Visit Depth of visit is how long subscribers who clicked through your link were on the website. It shows how many pages they viewed and basically what they did there. You can usually find this information in your website analytics. 8. Sharing and Forwarding This metric tells you at what rate people are sharing your messages. If a message is shared a great deal, this means that it's relevant and valuable. In other words, you're doing something right. 9. Revenue per Email Revenue per email tells you the dollar value of each email you send. 10. Unsubscribe Rate This metric tells you how many people are unsubscribing. People will inevitably unsubscribe, so it's not something to obsess over. But if you see a sudden jump in unsubscribes, pay attention. An important thing to consider is that email list size isn't really important. What's important is how your subscribers respond to your messages. The above metrics will measure that for you. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 35   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Assignment: Track Your Metrics • • For each metric, use the Email Statistics Tracking spreadsheet to record your current results, where you know them. Most should be available through your autoresponder service. Others may only be accessible through additional tracking software or platforms. If you can only focus on a few metrics, look at your Open, Click-Through, and Conversion rates. Those will tell you whether you’re doing a good job on the content of the emails themselves and whether you’re matching them to your market.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 36   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST REASONS YOUR LIST ISN'T RESPONDING What's most important in email marketing is how your subscribers respond to your emails. By watching their responses, you can decide what's working and what isn't. If your list isn't subscribing, here are ten potential reasons. 1. Spam Folders Your messages may be getting thrown into spam folders. The reason for this could be that the messages contain images or HTML that your recipients' email service blocks automatically. Check your autoresponder program's spam rating and take whatever action the program recommends to reduce it. You can also play it safe by sending text-only messages, but you’ll be missing out on opportunities with images and other content. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 37   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 2. Subject Line Your subject line might not be grabbing your subscribers' attention. If your messages are getting delivered but not opened, try writing a catchier, more attention-grabbing subject that tells recipients clearly the benefit of the message. 3. Frequency Issues You may not be getting a response because you email too much or too little. Experiment with sending broadcast messages at a different frequency and see if there's a change in response. 4. Bad Timing Certain times of day work better than others for certain lists. Experiment with different times of day and days of the week to see if you can find your subscribers' most responsive times. 5. Irrelevant Offers If subscribers are opening your emails but not clicking the link there, this means that the offers in the message aren't relevant. In other words, the messages don't deliver what you promised when the subscriber signed up. Go back and review your marketing materials and squeeze page to make sure they set the right expectations. 6. Bad Content Your subscribers may not be taking action because your content isn't high quality. Your email content should be just as good as your website content, blog posts, or content you use anywhere else. If this is an issue, try upgrading your content. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 38   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST 7. Call to Action Your call to action may be weak, improperly worded, or placed incorrectly in the message. Every message needs a call to action and it needs to emphasize what benefits people will get by performing the action. 8. Message Length There may be a problem with your message length. When this is the problem, it's usually because messages are too long. Short, concise messages that get straight to the point work best. 9. Over-Promoting If you're promoting too much and not offering enough purely informational content, you'll lose people. Make sure there's plenty of informational content mixed in with the promotions. 10. Image Problems If you use images in your messages, they could be causing problems. Some email services don't display images. Use alt text on images so that even if people can't view the images, they’ll know what they're supposed to be looking at. From time to time, seek feedback from your subscribers. Ask them how you're doing and if there were any changes they'd like to see you make. This can prevent you from learning this feedback from your unsubscribe rate, when it’s too late. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 39   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST Assignment Feedback • • • • Write and schedule an email requesting feedback from your customers about the content and frequency of your emails. You can also use a tool like Survey Monkey to create a survey for your list and send them the link. After you’ve sent the feedback request email once, send it again a couple days later to those people who didn’t open the first email. Revise your content plan based on the feedback you receive. You should also report the results to your list.   © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 40   IN 10 DAYS HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST CONCLUSION   If you’ve been following along with all the assignments in this course, you should already be seeing the results of your efforts. If not, then take the time to go back through each section and see what you can improve or do more of. The most important thing is to have your list set up so that you can start to build it. Since everyone’s time is limited, think about the priorities that will make the biggest difference to your listbuilding efforts. These should be: 1. Having your list set up, with all pages tested and running smoothly. 2. A basic understanding of your target market’s needs, problems and desires. 3. An initial follow-up sequence of emails written and loaded in your system, which includes valuable information and calls to action. 4. A strategy for driving traffic to your opt-in forms or squeeze page. 5. A schedule of consistent emails, both broadcast and follow-ups. With just those five elements, you’ll see results quickly. However, make sure you also check in with your subscribers periodically to assess their needs. And, check your stats regularly to see how effective your list building is progressing overall. Be consistent in your efforts and don’t give up. The main assets in your business are yourself, your products and services, and your customer/subscriber list. Take care of all three and you’ll be a success in the market and with the audience of your choice. © 2013 All Rights Reserved. http://AcademyforCoachingParents.com Page 41