The Five Secrets Of Building Profitable Email Lists
The money is in the list, they say.
But if you’ve ever tried to build a profitable mailing list, you know it’s a whole lot easier said than done. Just look around, and you’ll see plenty of other marketers who might be able to get some decent subscriber numbers, but they can’t seem to turn these subscribers into money in the bank.
If you’re having the same sort of troubles, then you’re going to love this report. That’s because you’re about to discover the five secrets of building profitable mailing L.I.S.T.S. Here’s what you’re about to learn:
- Secret 1: Learn About Your Market
- Secret 2: Instill a Sense of Belonging
- Secret 3: Sell Without Fear
- Secret 4: Track and Test
- Secret 5: Segment Your Lists
By the time you finish this report, you’ll know how to create a more responsive list and get more opens, more click-throughs and more sales than ever before.
Let’s jump in…
Secret 1: Learn About Your Market
Imagine for a moment if you built a list of people who were Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts. But then you send off emails promoting quilting patterns and cupcake recipes.
How well do you think you’d do?
Yeah, that’s right – you’d probably get a whole bunch of people unsubscribing. Most folks would stop reading your emails since the recipes and quilting topics don’t interest them. It would be a miracle if you received even one sale.
You might be a chuckling a little and thinking that you’d never make such a blatant mistake. And yet to a lesser degree you might be making this mistake right now. That is, you might be sending out content and ads without truly understanding who your market is and what they want.
Let me give you a more common example, one that I’ve seen on several occasions…
Every now and again I receive emails from internet marketers that start out with “Hey, Dude.”
Tell you what, the marketer who does this going to exclude a whole lot of people from his list, including:
Women.
Men over 30-ish.
Professionals of any age who don’t like the informality of “dude.”
You know what?
“Hey, Dude” might be an okay salutation if the email list is comprised of young men age 16-24 who like to surf or skateboard. But when you’re sending out this sort of greeting to a supposedly professional list of marketers, you’re just driving down the response rate of your lists.
So here’s the point of all of this…
If you want a responsive list, then you better learn as much as you can about your market. Find out:
- Gender
- Age
- Where they live
- Their education level
- How much money they make
- What sort of jargon they use
- Their jobs/career
- What they like to do in their free time
- Where they go on vacation
How much money they spend on their hobbies.
What their problems are.
What frustrates them.
What makes them afraid.
What motivates them.
What sort of products they’ve tried to use to solve their problems.
What sort of products and services they’re already buying in your market.
What they ate for breakfast this morning.
Okay, maybe you don’t have to figure out what they ate for breakfast, but you get the idea here.
Once you know these things, you’ll be able to send out content that really connects with your subscribers and speaks directly to them. And you’ll be able to send out promotions for products that they’re fairly certain to buy.
So how do you figure out all this stuff about your market?
First off, you can survey your market to learn more about their needs, wants and problems. But just know that surveys can return skewed results. That’s because what people say and what they do can be two different things.
Secondly, you can learn a lot about your market by rolling up your sleeves and doing some market research. Simply visit popular marketplaces like Amazon.com and Clickbank.com, search for your keywords (such as “car restoration” or “bodybuilding”), and find out what your market is already buying.
Once you know what they’re already buying, then you can do three things:
Send out content on these topics.
Send out affiliate links promoting the products they’re already buying.
Create your own similar products.
And finally… 🙂
In order to really get inside your prospects’ heads, you need to spend some time with them. Best way to do this (whenever possible) is to become part of the target market for a while.
For example, if your target market consists of hydroponic gardeners, then you ought to start your own hydroponic garden so that you truly understand your market’s needs, frustrations and wants.
What’s more, you need to get in amongst your target market and really spend some time listening to them (or reading their conversations). That’s right, you can start eavesdropping on your market. Here are good places to do it:
Niche forums.
Facebook groups.
Discussions on niche-relevant Facebook Pages.
Discussions on blogs.
Comments on niche-relevant videos on YouTube.com.
Reviews of popular products on sites like Amazon.com.
Questions and answers on sites like Quora.com.
The more time you spend learning about what your market wants and needs, the easier it will be for you to connect with your subscribers. You’ll create better content, send better offers, and start making more sales.
Next up on the secrets of creating profitable L.I.S.T.S…
Secret 2: Instill A Sense Of Belonging
Your mailing list is basically a monologue, right? You send out newsletters, people read those newsletters, and that’s it. Rinse and repeat every week.
Now here’s the thing…
People need to know, like and trust you in order to do business with you. And while sending out your weekly monologue does help build familiarity and trust over time, it’s not the fastest way to do it. That’s why you should seek to interact with your list whenever possible and instill a sense of belonging. Humans are social creatures, after all.
Social media has changed things. People don’t want to just read your newsletter anymore. They want to “like” it. They want to comment on it and discuss it with you. They might even want to share it with their friends. They want to feel like they’re a part of something special. That’s why it’s in your interest to make these activities as easy as possible.
Here’s the cool thing: there’s a psychological trigger at play here. This wanting to belong to a group may actually be hardwired into your subscribers’ brains.
You see, back in tribal times people really couldn’t survive if they were alone. They had to belong to a group if they wanted to thrive. They had to fit in. If they were shunned from the group, they either had a very hard life… or more likely, they were killed by a rival group, wild animals or even by starvation and illness.
It’s pretty clear that in today’s times your prospects aren’t going to starve to death or get killed if they’re not part of a group. Logically people know they’ll be okay on their own. But the brain still rewards people for belonging to a group (and makes them feel uncomfortable when they’re alone). THAT’S why people like to have this sense of belonging.
So what you need to do is foster this sense of belonging. Here’s how to encourage this feeling, which will help you build a relationship with your subscribers and increase their responsiveness…
Designate a Cool Name
There’s a one-eyed, blind dog online with a Facebook fan page. The owners of the page refer to him as a pirate, and they call all his fans part of the “Pirate Crew.”
It’s a simple name, and yet the fans readily (and happily) refer to themselves as part of the “Crew.” It gives them a sense of belonging and camaraderie. That’s a good thing.
Here’s another example with which you’re likely familiar: people who like Star Trek are commonly referred to as “Trekkies.” This fosters belonging and helps them identify one another.
Still one more example: Oprah Winfrey has a TV program and web page called “Super Soul Sunday.” When she addresses the group on social media, she refers to them as “Super Soulers.” It’s a way for Oprah to make each and every reader feel like they’re a part of this special group.
TIP: Need more examples? Just look at any sports team and how fans feel like they’re part of the team, and how these fans even take on the team’s name, logo and colors.
So you get the point here – find a cool name for your group.
Sure, sometimes your group members will come up with their own name for themselves. However, that usually takes a while. It’s much better if you figure out a good name upfront and refer to your group members with that name right away. Just be sure it’s a name with which your members will enjoy being linked to.
Next idea…
Link to Social Media
Your subscribers will have a hard time feeling like they’re part of a group if they never get to interact with the group. That’s why you should set up a Facebook Page. Then be sure to link to your Facebook Page from every newsletter, as well as encouraging your Facebook Fans to sign up for your mailing list.
TIP: The bonus of setting up a Facebook Page is that it gives you another means of communication with your prospects. Plus Facebook is a viral medium, so your existing fans and subscribers can help you find new fans and subscribers.
You might even specifically encourage interaction, such as asking “What do you think?” at the end of a newsletter article. Then drop a link to Facebook and encourage people to post their thoughts on your Wall.
Here’s a related idea…
Post Newsletters On Your Blog
Another way to encourage interaction is to post all (or at least some) of your newsletters on your blog. Then you can enable blog comments, and encourage your newsletter subscribers to tell you what they think.
TIP: if you want to reserve the best content for your newsletter list, then password protect your newsletter content when you post it on your blog. This will make your newsletter subscribers feel special since they have the password. It will also make your visitors who haven’t yet subscribed to your list curious – so they’ll want to subscribe just to see what kinds of posts you’re hiding under lock and key!
One nice bonus of directing people to your blog is that they’ll see your other content, promos and calls to action. The more you can get people visiting your blog, the more sales you’re likely to generate.
Next idea…
Create a Private Group
Here’s the ultra way to make people feel special: give them access to a private group.
One way to do this is to set up a “closed” group on Facebook. That’s where people can find it by searching Facebook, but they can’t see the content unless they join. And they can’t join until a moderator or admin officially approves them. You can also set up a “secret” group (which can’t be found by searching).
TIP: Another way to set up a private group is by setting up a forum and making one of the sub-forums private.
The idea here is to send your newsletter subscribers to the private group so they can talk about your newsletter. Naturally, they can talk about anything else they’d like as well. But the key is to make people feel special since they’re a part of this “secret” and exclusive group. They’re part of your “tribe” or inner circle.
TIP: You can make the group membership a bonus of joining your newsletter list. That means you’ll get more subscribers joining your list, plus the feeling of belonging will help you build a good relationship with your subscribers (which in turns boosts responsiveness).
Now let’s look at the third secret in our L.I.S.T.S. formula…
Secret 3: Sell Without Fear
Seems like list owners tend to go one of two ways…
First, you have the marketers who blast their list with a steady stream of pitches. These guys send promos to their lists every day, sometimes even twice a day.
You know what? That might work if your readers know it’s coming. (It’s all about setting the right expectations upfront.)
Then you have the list builders who’re afraid to sell anything, especially in the beginning. They’ve heard they should “build relationships” and “nurture” their list, but they take that to mean they shouldn’t promote anything for the first few weeks or even months.
Building relationships and nurturing a list are good ideas. However, not promoting paid products isn’t a good idea. Let me tell you why…
Imagine for a moment that you have a list for dog lovers, and one of the treatments you advocate is something to get rid of fleas. This treatment is a paid treatment – let’s say it’s $25.
But you don’t tell your list about this $25 treatment right away, because you heard you should “nurture” your list by providing free solutions. So you spend two or three weeks telling your list about all sorts of other flea treatments that people can use for free. You KNOW these treatments aren’t as good as that $25 treatment, but you’re trying to “nurture” your list.
So what happens?
Your subscribers are going to wander off in a matter of days and find someone who can solve their problems.
You see, your subscribers don’t care if you’re promoting free solutions or paid solutions: they just want to hear about the BEST solutions from you. And if you’re withholding that information just because the best solution is a paid solution, then you’re actually doing your readers a huge disservice.
Imagine if you knew the cure for cancer, but you didn’t tell your cancer-riddled subscribers about it because the solution cost money.
You’d never withhold that sort of information from someone who was dying, right? Then don’t withhold solutions from your subscribers either.
Okay, so maybe your subscribers aren’t in a life and death situation, but their problems are still important to them. So give them the best solutions, even if those are paid solutions.
In short: Sell without fear – because anything less is disservice to your subscribers.
So let me share with you some tips for boosting your sales…
Write Compelling Subject Lines
It doesn’t do much good to pour your heart and soul into providing solutions if no one is opening your emails. Sure, once you develop a relationship with your subscribers, they’ll open your emails because they recognize your name and they associate it with high-quality content.
Until that point comes, however, they’re going to make a decision about opening your emails based almost solely on the strength of your subject lines. And that’s why you need to work on creating compelling subject lines that capture attention.
Generally, these are benefit-driven headlines which arouse curiosity (whenever possible or applicable).
For example:
Here’s the #1 secret for fast fat loss…
Who else wants to double their conversion rate? (See inside…)
Does this free aphid solution really work?
One word of warning, however. Don’t create non-relevant subject lines, even if they’re super compelling. You can fool your readers… ONCE. But if they open your email to find that the subject line has nothing to do with the content inside, you won’t fool them again. They’ll simply stop opening your emails. (And that means no sales for you.)
Next up…
Hook Readers Emotionally
People make the buying decision based on emotion, which is why you need to engage readers on an emotional level. But even if you’re not selling anything, it’s a good idea to engage your reader’s emotions. That’s because engaging readers ensures they read your entire email, plus it makes the content more memorable.
One really good way to engage readers on an emotional level is by sharing stories. For example, you can tell a story of how someone who is very much like your readers overcame the same problem as your readers have.
Sharing this type of story demonstrates to readers that you understand the problem, and you understand their pain. It also reminds readers of their pain (AKA it “agitates” the problem). It can be beneficial to remind readers of their pain if you’re offering the solution. It’s like you’re saying, “I know this problem is frustrating – now here’s how to get rid of it for good.” You can then share advice or even a product to help them lessen the pain of their problem.
Which brings us to the last tip…
Provide Calls to Action
Before you write a single word of your email, think about your goal for this particular email. Then create a call to action at the end of the email that supports this goal.
A call to action is where you specifically tell people what you want them to do next. For example:
- Click here to claim your copy of this exciting new product – but hurry, this special offer ends tonight!
- Click here to join the Facebook Group – you’ll be glad you did!
You can make your call to action even more powerful by giving readers a good reason to click now.
You see, the problem is that if people don’t take action now, then they’ll forget to do it later. Life gets in the way. Your readers have to go to work, they have to take care of the kids, or maybe they just want to go fishing. The second their eyes leave their screens, your email will become a fading memory.
So create a call to action, and then create a sense of urgency. The first example above does exactly that with the last part (“…but hurry, this special offer ends tonight.”). Whenever possible, create urgency with:
- A limited-time offer. (“Ends tonight.”)
- A limited-quantity offer. (“This offer good for the next 100 people who act now.”)
- A reminder of what will happen if they don’t take action. (E.G., “If you do nothing, your house will soon be over-ridden with fleas. They’ll be in your carpets, on your furniture, and even in your bed. Click here to get rid of them for good.”)
So, the bottom line for this secret is that you need to learn to sell without fear. Remember, it’s all about helping people, which means that withholding solutions is a disservice to your readers. So never be afraid to help, even if that means recommending paid products.
Now the next secret for creating profitable mailing L.I.S.T.S. …
Secret 4: Track And Test
If there’s one thing that separates the world’s most successful email marketers from those who’re struggling to make a profit, it’s this: tracking and testing.
Now you’ve probably heard about tracking and testing before, but maybe you’ve discounted it because it sounds like a hassle. That may have been true many years ago before tracking tools became so widely available, but today many of the bigger ESPs (email service providers) offer built-in tracking tools.
For example, these tools let you track the number of people who your emails as well as the number of people who click the links on your emails. If you set up unique links or landing pages, you can then track how many people buy a product through your emails or take some other specific action.
Another reason that some people discount the idea of tracking and testing is because they don’t really think it’s worth the effort. However, let me give you an example…
Let’s suppose you have 1000 people on your list. And let’s suppose you send out an email that gets a 1% conversion rate on a $100 product. That means that of your 1000 subscribers, ten people will buy the product and you’ll pocket $1000.
Now imagine if you did some testing and tracking to improve the call to action, which resulted in doubling the conversion rate to 2% (which is still modest with a warm list). Now you’re making $2000 for sending the exact same email to the exact same list. That’s an extra $1000 just for doing some testing and tracking!
That may be just an example, but tracking and testing can certainly add thousands of dollars to your bottom line. Here are some things for you to track and test:
- Your lead page, including the headline, benefits and call to action. This will improve your opt-in rate so that you can build your list more quickly
- Your email subject line
- The bulleted benefit list. (When you send a direct promo.)
- Your calls to action
- The offers you send. (Try rotating similar products to see which one gets you the highest conversion rates and profits.)
- The P.S. (As this is one of the most-read parts of your email.)
- The day of the week you send emails
- The time of the day you send emails
Now, the key to good tracking and testing is that you only test ONE element at a time. Sure, you might hear some people use multi-variate analysis and test multiple elements. But let me just say this: if you don’t know what multi-variate analysis is and/or you are new to testing, then keep it simple by testing just one element at a time.
Let me give you an example to clarify what I’m referring to…
Let’s suppose you’re testing your subject lines to see which of two different subject lines gets you the best open rates and conversions. What you’d do is create two identical emails, with the ONLY difference being the subject lines. Everything else should be exactly the same.
Then you’d randomly split your email list into two groups (your email service provider likely has a built-in tool for doing this), and send out these two emails at exactly the same time.
In other words, you’d hold all other variables constant. That way, if there is a difference in open rates and conversion rates, you can be fairly confident that this difference is due to the subject line and not some other factor.
For example, if you sent one of these emails in the morning and one a few hours later, you won’t have any idea if it was the time of day that created the difference in response rates, or if it was the subject line. That’s why everything should be exactly the same except for the one thing you’re testing.
If you’re not sure what to test, then start with those items that are likely to make the biggest impact on conversion rates, which includes your subject lines and the offer you’re promoting. But the bottom line is to start testing, because it will make a huge impact on the profitability of your list.
And now the last secret for building profitable mailing L.I.S.T.S…
Secret 5: Segment Your Lists
Most beginning marketers know they need to build a mailing list. However, very few of them bother to segment their lists.
First, let’s define the term…
Basically, segmenting your list means that you split it into different groups that are more targeted.
Let’s suppose you have a list that’s for people who own small dogs. You might then segment your list further into those who own specific types of toy dogs (e.g. Yorkshire terriers, Maltese, toy poodles, Chihuahuas, etc).
Another way to segment this particular list is according to which topics interest the dog owners, such as health, nutrition, training, traveling with dogs and so on.
Now here’s an important point…
When you segment your list, you’ll still maintain your overall list. Indeed, you’ll still write general emails to your big list. But segmenting allows you to write a special message to just one targeted portion of your list.
So what’s the benefit?
Easy answer: because it will increase your conversion rate.
When you know exactly what a particular segment of your list is interested in, then you can send them offers that meet their needs.
Take the toy dog example above. Once you find out that a particular segment of your list wants training information, then you can send that segment of your list plenty of emails and offers for training products.
If you did that with your general list, eventually those who weren’t interested in training products would stop reading your emails. Some would outright subscribe. Certainly your conversion rate would drop because a part of your list isn’t interested in that particular topic.
Now segment the list, and you can send out training information every week to those who’re interested in training topics and products. Your conversion rate will go up, and your list members will be really happy that you’re giving them exactly what they want.
What’s more, you can construct your emails in a way that directly connects with that particular segment of your market.
Take the example of segmenting a list according to what type of dogs people own. You can start out an email with something like this:
Dear Toy Poodle owner,
If your poodle is like mine, she’s smart as a whip and eager to please…
Naturally, you’d continue referring to toy poodles throughout the email (as opposed to the generic “dog” or even “toy dog”). This is a very simple tactic, and yet it will hold your readers’ attention because they will feel like you’re talking specifically to them.
So you can see the benefits of segmenting your list. The question is, how do you do it?
Here are different ways…
Create Customer and Prospect Lists
Ideally, you’ll have multiple prospect and customer lists. However, at the very minimum, your prospects and your customers should be on different mailing lists. So whenever a prospect purchases something from you, then move them to the customer list.
Which brings us to the next point…
Create Multiple Customer Lists
You should split your customer lists according to which products they purchase. So, for example, you might have an existing customer on your customer mailing list because they purchased your entry-level report. When this person then buys your home study course, they should be on that segment of the list as well.
By segmenting a list like this, you better know what interests your particular customers so that you can offer related offers. However, segmenting lists also prevents you from repeatedly promoting something that many people on your list have already purchased. End result? A more engaged audience and a better conversion rate for you.
Next idea…
Set Up Multiple Lead Pages
Many marketers set up one lead page and then promote that same lead page everywhere. That’s a start. But ideally what you should do is set up multiple lead pages with different types of products. You’ll then have segmented lists according to what interests those who join your various lists.
TIP: Be sure to cross promote these offers. For example, if someone signs up for your list about dog health, then be sure to cross promote your other targeted lead pages on dog training, dog nutrition and other topics.
Next…
Create Different Lists for Events
If you set up events like webinars, contests or other events, then set up different mailing lists for these events. This will give you an idea of what sorts of events people are most interested in, so that you can tell them about future similar events.
Segment Lists by Traffic Source
You might create different lists depending on where the traffic originates. For example, you might have one list for those who came from Facebook, and another segment of your list who came through a joint venture partner. This might be useful if you mention that traffic source, such as when you promote that partner’s products. It’s also useful if you want to promote your Facebook Page, but you don’t want to send this email to those who have already “liked” your Page.
Segment With Polling
Another way to segment your lists is to simply ask your subscribers to check boxes next to the topics that interest them the most. They can check one box or they can check them all. Each topic is a different segment of your list. So if someone checks two boxes, then they’ll be on your main list plus two ultra-targeted sub-lists.
For example, let’s suppose you have a weight loss mailing list. When people join your list, you might ask them to check which of the following topics interest them:
- Cardio
- Weight training
- High intensity interval training
- Nutrition
- Supplements
- Motivation
- Surgical alternatives
TIP: Most of the bigger email service providers allow you to create a form to collect this sort of information. If you don’t know how to do this, or if your email service provider doesn’t provide these sorts of tools, then you may need to hire a web developer to create this form for you.
So as you can see, there are plenty of ways to segment your list. And it’s well worth doing, as it can boost your conversion rate and add plenty of revenue to your bottom line.
Now let’s wrap things up…
Closing Thoughts
So there you have it – you just discovered five secrets of building profitable mailing L.I.S.T.S. Let’s recap:
Secret 1: Learn About Your Market. The more you know, the better able you’ll be to give them what they want.
Secret 2: Instill a Sense of Belonging. It’s a hardwired need for people to feel like they belong. So make your subscribers feel like they’re part of a special group, and they’ll bond to you quickly and feel more loyal.
Secret 3: Sell Without Fear. Your job is to help people, which means promoting the best products (no matter what they cost).
Secret 4: Track and Test. One of the best ways to make more money without having to get more traffic and subscribers is to test and track your emails and offers.
Secret 5: Segment Your Lists. This is a really cool way to boost your conversion rate and engage your audience.
So now that you know these five secrets, there’s just one thing left for you to do: put them to work for you! Today is a good time to get started since these strategies are still fresh in your mind. So go ahead and pick where you’d like to start, then implement what you’ve learned. I predict in a few weeks time you’ll be really glad you got started right away!
For a complete step-by-step blueprint for building your very own email list AND making money from that list in 30 days take a look here today: