So you bought yourself an e-mail list and you’ve already started to send out some materials to your list. Or maybe you’ve even built an e-mail list for your business and you’ve been busy trying to figure out how to keep your e-mail list engaged. Whatever the case may be, there are a number of things you can to make sure that people continue to open up your e-mails once you’ve made an initial connection with them. Here’s what you need to know:
Don’t Lie to Your E-mail List
For some reason that I simply cannot fathom, it has become quite fashionable to lie to your e-mail list about what you’ll be able to provide to them and what you have for sale. People often exaggerate or even make up outright lies about what they’re selling just for the purpose of making a sale.
Now, these lies may work in the short term to encourage a handful of people to make a purchase. However, in the long term, you’ll find that the rates of attrition are much higher than they otherwise would have been because you lied to your e-mail list. People don’t like it and they’ll learn to avoid the liars.
I myself was shocked when one Internet marketer sent me an e-mail where he blatantly lied because this was a guy who I knew to be generally quite honest with his list. I’m now questioning whether I’ll ever open another e-mail from this guy (and this is someone I used to admire and whom I’ve recommended on other blogs I write for).
Follow the 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule states that you send out 80% useful content and 20% sales content to your e-mail list. Again, if your goal is to make a long term relationship with your clients, then you want to offer them a reason to look forward to your e-mails. So set up a newsletter with some truly useful content and make sure that you don’t overdo it on the sales pitches. Ultimately, you’ll find that your customers are more loyal and more likely to continue to make purchases from you.
Don’t Oversend E-mails
No matter how useful they may be, if I get too many e-mails in one day from any one person, I’ll delete the e-mails and unsubscribe from the mailing list. The reason is simple – I don’t want to be bothered with reading piles and piles of e-mails. Your clients are likely the same. They’re busy people and don’t want to be swamped. So don’t swamp them.
Don’t Undersend Either
The reverse is also true – undersending to your e-mail list is as dangerous as oversending. I like to do around once a week or maybe twice a week. Any more than that and you get to be annoying. However, if you start sending out an e-mail once every six months or a year, you’re less likely to keep your e-mail list engaged because people will forget who you are.
Think Like Your Customers
Finally, think like your customers if you want to make money selling things to your e-mail lists. If you wouldn’t want to get an annoying e-mail with lots of flashing lights, then what makes you think that your customers would want it? In other words, as in life, when sending out stuff to your e-mail list, follow the Golden Rule.