How To Make Email Marketing Work For You

Hi Everyone,

One of the advantages of being a professional copywriter, is my work is always so varied. One day I could be writing a sales letter, the next a video voiceover script and the next day a marketing email. It's this latter task that I'm going to help you with today. Now when I say "help you" I really mean I'm going to help you because so many people struggle with this, as my spam filterand yours will testify.

Email marketing is a great way to get your marketing message out to your prospects... isn't it? Well yes and no... Yes because it's fast and free, and no because if you don't do it right it can have an adverse affect on your business and you as an individual, or sender.

We all receive emails every day, some are welcome and some are not. Those that will receive our attention will generally have some relevance with things that we are interested in. It could be a new business system, formula or some great business advice. It could be a new way to make easy money online or it could be about a new software program that could save us time or money.

Warm Up Your Cold List

Whatever... it has to have... no MUST have some relevance to either our business or personal interests. Otherwise it is just junk mail. Now, that's your first lesson. Decide whether the product or service that you want to promote by email will be considered as junk.

I should mention at this point, that when sending out emails you are either sending to a "warm" list, which is a list of people that either know you or have had some business dealings with you in the past. Or a "cold" list, in which the recipient doesn't know you from Adam. It's this cold list that I'm concerned about here. 

You can generally relax when sending to a warm list because most of the recipients will open and read the email. I have already dealt with sending email to your own list in an earlier blog so if you missed it then check out, The Money Is In the List.

It's cold prospecting that scuppers most people's marketing campaigns so I want to concentrate on that right now.

Okay, first make sure you have a list of recipient email addresses that are going to be relevant to what you want to promote. If you think you can just blast out millions of emails to everyone regardless, then you can expect absolutely nothing in return or at best some abusive replies.

 Cold Email Recipients Are People Too!

Next, don't try to sell anything to anyone in a cold email. Any chance of getting that prospect interested will be lost forever if you try to sell to them. Instead, simply introduce yourself or your company and explain what you do or what you are involved with. Then ask them if they might be interested and if they are, then to contact you for more information or visit your website.

Don't be pushy! 

You might want to offer them something for free like a free trial or a free sample but don't assume they will want it just because it's free.

I have gained many new clients with email marketing, or prospecting as the case may be, simply because I was courteous and polite, offered them a free consultation or a free article. It costs nothing to be polite and always remember this... your email, if it gets opened will be opened and read by a real person. That's of paramount importance.

People are sensitive creatures and have feelings so treat them with respect. 

Now because email recipients are real people, a fact that many email marketers sometimes forget, remember that everyone is busy and time is a valuable resource. So you'll have to get your polite introduction over in a positive way but don't beat about the bush. I think 300-350 words is generally long enough for this type of email.

Getting Your Email Opened

So you've written a polite and friendly introductory email... what next?

The subject line... This is the most important aspect of any marketing email and is especially important if sending to a cold list. If you don't get this part right then the email might not get opened and read, which means you have completely wasted your time and efforts.

Remember, email recipients are people and people are curious creatures. People can get drawn in to mystery and intrigue so think along those lines. For example, I was recently asked to write an introductory email for a heating and plumbing company, who wanted to send out cold emails to North London Estate Agents. 

They wanted to introduce themselves and offer the Estate Agents a commission for every client they sent their way. Here's the subject line I wrote for them:

Confessions of a London Estate Agent

And here are the first 2 sections to give you an idea about how to follow on from the subject line and gently introduce yourself...

 

“You can never find a reliable plumber when you want one”

Yes, the above statement is often true especially for many households in the UK but because you manage an estate agency, finding a qualified and reliable plumber for your clients could be very simple.

We are domestic and commercial heating and plumbing specialists and we service all Central and North London areas, which means we cover the very same areas that you do.

There will undoubtedly be times when you or your house buying and selling clients will need plumbing or heating services and we are prepared to offer them a priority service, on your behalf. 

Reasons to partner with us…

Partner with us and we will ensure your clients receive the very best service possible, in terms of response times and emergency repairs and servicing.

You already arrange surveying and legal services on behalf of your clients so why not get ahead of your competition by making your clients aware of our essential services? 

We would be more than happy to discuss terms with you, regarding you recommending our company as a preferential services provider, and we’re sure we could come to a mutually beneficial agreement between us.  

We offer everything your customers need…

Our engineers are fully trained, qualified and Gas Safe registered. We can offer...
 

Can you see how the email leads the reader to the reason for contacting them?

Email marketing is a great way to generate leads if you do it right. If you'd like me to help you with your next email campaign, then just contact me here: bill@knight-writer.co.uk

That's all for now guys. 

See ya soon,

Bill
www.topcopywriter.co.uk
www.busyvids.co.uk

Now You See Me... The Power of Video

Hi All,

When I first started out as a freelance copywriter I was writing sales letters and sending them through the postal service. That usually meant it would take 2 days for the letter to get delivered. Can you believe that? Two whole days... 48 valuable hours, and then you would wait and hope that someone would fill out the order from, enclose their cheque and send it all back to you. A total turnaround of anything up to 7 days on average.

Compared to today it boggles the mind as to how anyone could make a living out of mail order. However, they did and some marketers went on to make millions from mail order. I know a couple of them and I know exactly how they did it. Alas! Today those mail order marketing methods would not work, or certainly not work anywhere near as effectively. The simple reason for this is because we have all come to accept, adopt and embrace the new technologies that have driven us forward and far away from the marketing methods of yesteryear.

Where once it was commonplace to write or type letters, put them in envelopes, stick stamps on them and then post them, it is now common practice to send and receive emails instantly. It's far easier and much faster to log onto Facebook or Twitter and let all your friends know what you're up to, and from a marketer's point of view it's just as easy to get your marketing message across in the same way.

Now all is not equal when it comes to online communication and the dissemination of information. If you send a marketing email to someone explaining what your product or service is about and how you can help them for a price, or whether you use the various social media channels for the same purpose, you are just sending out text. In all cases you are sending the recipients bunches of words arranged in a way that hopefully will interest them, inform them, amuse, them or charm them out of parting with some of their hard-earned cash for your products or services.

This is the way it has been done for years. Just like the old snail mail before it was religiously done for years. So how much longer before we move on yet again? Well, it's not long... in fact we're almost there. Many marketers can now see the real value in the latest marketing communication methods. Quite a few businesses can see that this new method easily beats the old methods of email and social media, and many website owners are beginning to understand that the best content of all is... VIDEO.

Video is the perfect medium for getting your message out there, whatever you want to say and to whomever you want to say it. With video you don't have to expect people to read your message, instead they can listen to it. With video you don't have to try and paint a picture with words, you can use real pictures, which eliminates any possibility of your message being misconstrued or misunderstood.

Video is very engaging... it appeals to the senses (vision and hearing)... a video can manipulate people's feelings and actions... it can better educate, inform and... sell products and services. Products and services can be demonstrated with video. Real people can give real video testimonials. Video can better capture the imagination, it can be entertaining, amusing and visually stunning. Video can do more for a marketing campaign than any amount of email marketing, web page content or social media communication could ever do.

However, from a writer's point of view video still need scripts. Screenplays, voice over scripts and storyboards need to be written. And many an email still works as a courier for video. So copywriters will still be required, but copywriters who make videos are surely worth their weight...

That's why I do both. I could see where it was all going with video many years ago and so I set up BusyVids. So my message in this post is... no matter what you want to sell and to whom... get involved with video. Never under-estimate how powerful video can be. It's the only tool that can make you an overnight sensation... just ask Justin Bieber. :)


All for now.

Bill
www.topcopywriter.co.uk
www.busyvids.co.uk

Let's Get Social...

Hi All,

In my last post I touched on Content Marketing, with a particular focus on your website's content. This is obviously important because you want to get prospects to visit your website and find out more about your products and services and then hopefully give you a call or send you an email asking for a quote. With respect to product selling websites you want as many people as possible to click your Buy Now buttons.

However, do not miss the point here. Although you ultimately want to make sales you also need to cosy up to your prospects and become friends. Why? Because you need to develop trust between yourself and your customers. Why? Because people are happy to buy from people they trust. Simple isn't it? Yes it is but understand how to build trust through your content and you will have customers for life.

Here is an example of how to build trust and loyalty... When someone comes to your website they may not necessarily be in buying mode. Many people will shop around, compare prices and services and support etc before they make that final buying decision. So what you have to do is ensure they buy from you and not your competition. To do this you need to offer some valuable advice, give some good information, offer a freebie, maybe a free trial. Educate and entertain your prospects and they will love you for it. And of course they are more likely to reward you by buying from you.

Clever marketers don't go directly for the sale, they offer value at no cost and they build trust and loyalty by showing they are an authority on their subject. It isn't always about prices and savings either. Many people will gladly pay a little more if they know they are buying from a genuine, trusted seller who continually provides them with all the information they need and then offers generous guarantees.

Remember... nobody wants to be sold to. At least not in an aggressive way. Get it right and you will easily sell to people who didn't even realise they wanted to buy your products or services. That's the power of Content Marketing.

Now, look beyond your website and make the most of the social platforms that are freely available to you and all your potential customers. Simply go where the people go and that includes Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest and there are many more. These are social networking sites and they are there to be exploited. However, you must use the very same techniques that I have just described. Offer free advice, free information, videos, images and anything else that will engage your audience including quizzes and questionnaires, polls and likes.

Encourage your prospects to become interactive by leaving comments, good or bad it doesn't matter. Sometimes there is no such thing as bad publicity. So create your Facebook page if you haven't already and fill it with... yes... content. Always have links back to your website so they can just pop over and buy something if they want to.

Get social... get marketing... make money.

If you need any help in creating valuable content then get in touch. It's what I've been doing for years.

All for now.

Bill
www.topcopywriter.co.uk
www.busyvids.co.uk

Heroes, Cowboys & Indians of Web Content

Hi All,

Okay, today I want to get you up to speed on web promotion and web content, particularly the importance of good web content. Now you should know that everyman and his dog wants to get their website into a top 10 position on the Google search pages for whatever keyword best represents whatever they are offering. So how is it done?

First off, the reason why everyone is clambering to get their sites onto that vital first page is... traffic. Everyone wants it and needs it, and even better if it's free. So that's one reason... in fact it's the main reason, and the fact that most searchers will rarely venture beyond the first page that Google presents to them. So, let's look at every aspect of getting your site ranked high and how best to do it.

Let's start with your domain name. Many people stumble at this very basic stage by choosing a domain name, which is the same as their business name. So if your business name is JR Painting & Decorating, do you really want the domain www.jrpaintinganddecorating.co.uk or .com if you can get it? Well... actually, yes... but not for marketing purposes because for marketing it will be totally useless. However, you should register it anyway so that nobody else does. and you can use it to redirect to your main marketing domain or vice-vresa. Also, register both the .co.uk and .com versions if you can.

Right, that done, look for a domain that best represents what you do or sell and try to incorporate your most valuable keyword or keywords. So, if you offer painting and decorating services try to find a domain that covers those services, and if you can't, then find one that describes the results of what you are offering. Here's what I mean...

If you operate within a city area, say Bradford, and you offer painting and decorating, then go for www.bradforddecorators.co.uk... why? Because anyone looking for "Bradford Decorators" in Google will easily find you because the search terms match your domain. Is that it? Oh no! You're not going to get away with it that easy... there's more... much more. That's just about selecting a relevant domain. Next you need to populate your web pages with... CONTENT.

For many years now, savvy marketers have realised that content is king, and content means, copy, images, videos, blog, articles etc. To understand the importance of content you have to fully understand and appreciate why Google and other search engines exist. It's to provide people who are searching the Internet with the most relevant and valuable information in relation to their search terms... or "keywords". Get it!

So, I do a search for "electricians in bristol", and up pops 10 results relating to Bristol Electricians. However, there are over 500,000 entries. So half a million pages will not be presented to me for that search. It's a tough world out there... or in here, depending on how you view it. Now, why does Google give these 10 search results, or 10 websites, priority over all the rest? Content... there it is again... that magic word. But what does it mean exactly? 

Well, it means relevancy to the search term or keywords, it means value of the information provided, and it means quality of copy and any images, and if you have a video onboard the site then all the better. Now when the Google bots (Internet robots) search the vast database of web pages, they are programmed to look for certain criteria. 

They look for headlines that contain the main keyword and best describe the information you are providing. They look for sub-headers that hint at the content of the following paragraphs, which should contain no more that 2 or 3 of the main keywords. This is to ensure relevance. They look for good grammar and spelling, they look for facts and figures and links to external resources etc. They look at the quality of the images and their relevancy to the content subject matter. And they absolutely love video content, which should also be relevant to the website's overall theme. 

They look for copy that reads well and makes sense for the reader. They look at the layout of the website and it's navigation. They look for backlinks from other relevant websites, and they look for order. By that I mean... the website should not be cluttered with all kinds of confusing links, ads and other distractions. The robots will also look at a website's metatags and page descriptions, so this needs some attention also.

If you can get all this right... then you will have a winning website that will bring hordes of customers to your business every single day. So, why do some people skimp on quality content? Beats me! I guess they don't really get it. All the above comes under the umbrella of Content Marketing and on-page SEO needs some serious attention. The head part of your site is the "carrot", whilst the body copy or body content is the "meat and potatoes", for want of a better expression. Listen to Matt Cutts of Google: Click Here

Now, the title of this blog is  Heroes, Cowboys & Indians of Web Content - and the reason for this is because if you get it right, use quality content and be professional, you'll become a hero. Use cowboys to write your content, or those $1 an hour Indians you find on the freelance websites, and you will surely pay the price for trying to fob Google off with crap. Putting quality and valuable content on your website is an investment in your business and your future. Do it right or don't do it at all.

Need quality content? Give me a call and I'll help you rise to the top.

All for now...

Bill
www.topcopywriter.co.uk
www.busyvids.co.uk

How To Create A Sales Funnel

Hi Everyone,

I recently had an email from an inquisitive young guy called Steve, who asked me if I would explain what a sales funnel is. I emailed him back and said to look out for my next blog where all will be revealed... so here it is Steve.

Okay, a sales funnel is a system or formula for getting a prospect to buy a low ticket price item and then upsell them. But it doesn't end there... during the sales process you will have gathered their email and so this will allow you to contact the prospect several times over the coming weeks and months with other, similar offers. It all works like this...

You have a product to sell, let's say 3 DVDs (or online training videos) about making money online. You also have a larger package to sell, consisting of 10 DVDs (or online training videos). So you build a website complete with sales letter and images of the products plus some nice photos of wealth related stuff. The selling price is just $17 or some other low price, and then you promote this sales page like crazy all over the Internet using paid advertising and affiliates.

You can get affiliates to sign up and promote your products via Clickbank or JVZoo or any of the other similar sites. Now, when prospects come to your page and buy the product, they are then directed to another sales page offering the higher priced item. The psychology behind sales funnels is that you are dealing directly with a customer, or "hot prospect" who has a credit card in their hand and so it should be quite easy to get them to spend more.

Many marketers have increased their online sales by as much as 40% using this method, so it definitely works. However, whether they buy the upsell offer or not, you ask for their email address to send a confirmation email with their download link. This email is then matched to the name of the buyer of the front-end offer and they are sent emails with discounts in order to tempt them back to the site to buy the upsell.

You can of course email them again later with related offers until they either unsubscribe or buy everything you offer. Some marketers will take this sales funnel method to the extreme, offering several other products or product options at each click of the mouse. I've experienced as many as 6 different offers generated from one simple front-end sale. 

My feeling is that 2 or 3 offers is enough. I tend to get very irritated after 3 offers or more have been placed in front of me when all I wanted was the one cheap initial offering.

So there you have it Steve. A sales funnel setup.

You guys be sure to let me know if you need any advice about selling anything online.

All for now,

Bill
www.topcopywriter.co.uk
www.busyvids.co.uk