How do you View and Treat people on your email lists ?

4 replies
Whether you like Frank Kern or not, I think he does make 1 very important point about lists - and The point is this - A list, irregardless of it's size - in and of itself does not have value. The value of the list is created over time by how you treat that list and what type of relationship you build with them over time. Are they benefiting from being on your list ? Are you doing anything for them to establish yourself as someone they trust and can provide them with solutions to their problems ? Or are you just trying to sell them something day after day ?

THis really hits home for me as I am on many marketers lists, and the majority of them have NEVER sent me an email with any content in it - they are purely sales orientated with several links to the "product of the day" they are promoting. And, many of these guys send 2 or 3 emails like that PER DAY - Every Day.

I will be anxious to hear what others think about what he has had to say.
#email #lists #people #view
  • Profile picture of the author Mac27771960
    My personal view of my fledgling list is that they are personal contacts. Or in other words people I can build a relationship with and make money at the same time.
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  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    I agree that the value of the list is in the relationship.

    One note, however...

    (BTW, "you" refers to the general you, not cellcom...)

    Originally Posted by cellcom View Post

    Are you doing anything for them to establish yourself as someone they trust and can provide them with solutions to their problems ? Or are you just trying to sell them something day after day ?
    These are not mutually exclusive items. In other words, a marketer can help customers solve their problems AND sell something to them day after day. In other words -- the product IS the solution.

    Now whether that works or not for a particular list depends on who's on the list and how the marketer created that list. In other words, what kind of expectations did the marketer create?

    If the marketer promised free tips and advice, but he JUST sends out pitches, that's a problem. He's breaking any trust he might have had with subscribers.

    (And since most of us promise free content when someone joins, that's what we should deliver alongside the product recommendations.)

    On the flip side -- maybe the marketer promised to send product reviews once a week. In that case, the value is in the product review. As long as the marketer keeps delivering what he promised he'd deliver (what his readers expect), he'll build a good relationship with his readers.

    Another example: Maybe the subscribers joined because the marketer promised to alert them to all the best weekly discounts, sales and new products in the niche. Again, the newsletter is nothing but product recommendations -- and that's ok because that's what readers signed up for.



    See what I'm saying? You can send nothing but product pitches, recommendations or reviews... and have a rabid list who loves you because of it. It all depends on reader expectations and how you deliver on those expectations.

    Give people what they want and what they expect -- whether it's free content or a paid product solution -- and you're providing value.


    ***

    And one more thing...

    Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can only provide value or help your customers if you're offering something for free.

    Let's say your list is full of dog owners whose dogs have debilitating arthritis. And let's say you know of a sure-fire cure. It works so well that the dog finds relief in the first day, and seems almost like a puppy again inside of a week.

    Problem is, the cure costs money.

    So if someone joins your list, are you going to "offer value" by giving them all kinds of free advice just to build that relationship... but not mention the REAL solution yet just because it's a paid product?


    In other words, are you going to let those dogs suffer for days or weeks just because you don't want to send a product pitch?

    Or would you tell your subscribers the second they join about this solution?

    Most people would tell their subscribers about the solution, right?



    ***


    My point is this...

    Marketers should focus on helping their customers byoffering the BEST solutions. The best solution might be free. The best solution might be $20. The best solution might be $2000. Whether a product is free or paid isn't so much the issue as whether it helps the customer.

    Secondly, marketers also need to remember that the "best" solution for subscriber A isn't necessarily the best solution for subscriber B. (That's yet another reason why most folks tend to offer combination of free advice and recommendations for paid solutions.)


    Cheers,
    Becky
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  • Profile picture of the author Nickolie0990
    Frank knows his stuff, there is a reason why he is number 1 in this internet marketing thing. However, I think many people don't fully understand exactly what he teaches. It is very psychological, but that is what marketing is all about. Psychology in action.

    And yes, many people sent way too much sale pitches through there email blasts. Which is why I think his definition of list building is fantastic.

    "The money is in the value you bring to the list"
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  • Profile picture of the author Eric Johnson
    Nice post Becky. Helped me a lot. Thanks.
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