A follow up message goes out to a newsletter subscriber after the confirmation and welcome letter have gone out. It’s a valuable letter, one that will reach your readers when they are still excited about hearing from you.
Additional automated messages are called autoresponders, but the first one sets the stage for the rest.
Be more detailed and bold in this letter. Cite the benefits of the program they’ve signed up for and introduce other offers that may interest them in the future.
If you develop an HTML newsletter, like on a website page, use widget areas – those boxes of additional, regular content that reappear on all of the campaign autoresponders – to share other related services or products.
Using plain text, however, avoids different appearances that can sometimes happen when it’s opened in readers’ various email clients. If you write it in plain text, offer additional links after you’ve made your focused message very clear in the body text.
AWeber Email Services makes it easy with several templates to choose from that offer different design elements. Yes, you can send out a blog as a newsletter, but you can do so much more.
Develop campaigns around your services or new product lines, and use the newsletter database to introduce those ideas through email blasts. You’ll soon be able to tell what subscribers are interested in, and be more equipped to offer what can truly benefit them.
The next two or three autoresponder messages in a campaign can be shorter. Include lists of the benefits and potential uses of your products and services. Write each letter so that your prospects can skim the contents, and still see the full force of your message.
Next, create a sense of urgency in your prospect’s mind. Make a special offer, giving a reason to order NOW instead of waiting any longer. After reading these messages, your prospect should want to order immediately.
Phrase each of your final one or two autoresponder messages in the form of a question. If you don’t get a response, ask your prospect why he hasn’t yet placed an order; try to get him to actually respond.
Is the price is too high,- Is the product the right color or
- Does it lack the right features, or
- Is he is looking for something else entirely?
A placed order or a request for more information should still get a question. Use those opportunities to find out what they loved about ordering from you, or what feature they loved about your product.
Everything about your campaign will guide you towards your next one, so be determined to be a student of email marketing!
SurveyMonkey.com is an easy way to find out how your sales process is working from the customer’s perspective.
By the way, use those questions in your email subject line, but drop the question mark. I find that way too many emails come through with unnatural characters when a question mark isn’t translated correctly between systems.
You may not get an order or a positive response your first time around, but you may get some feedback that will help you improve your game.
If you’d like to learn more about developing email marketing campaigns from scratch, sign up for my Email Success Series for audios and tutorials that will help you get your head around the process.
Are you email marketing? Share your ideas with us!
