Email Marketing - Who Am I?

by Geoffrey Hodges

Posted: 13 years ago 13 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hi 'ya all,

Need advice. Situation - I currently sell from YouTube videos. The link at the bottom of the video goes direct to the vendor's sales page. I make my clickbank commissions that way. But the best conversion is a sale per 110 views. Can go as high as a sale per 600 views, or no sales at all. And it's been REAL SLOW this month, August (folks on holidays?)

To make serious money I'm thinking of :-

- sending traffic to a blog, rather than sales page.
- collect optins in exchange for seeing part two of a content only video.
- send out an autoresponder sequence of emails.

First question - who am I? I'm not an expert in any of my niches. So who do I say I am? Do I hide behind an alias and give no information about myself. Do I make out to be somebody I'm not?

Help.... need advice here.

Second question - any tips on the email sequence, how fast I ask for the sale, amount of content to give in each email, frequency of email etc.

Thanks!

Geoff

#email #marketing

Coby 13 years ago

You already know how to get the views... simply send them to a squeeze page and collect their info THEN send them to the sales page...

As for the question "who am I" - you are "Geoff Hodges"...

Why do you need to be more than that?

Be yourself - people relate and connect to that better
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- Geoffrey Hodges 13 years ago
  
  Thanks, Coby.
  
  So I just give my name but be silent on my background and qualifications? (Which is zilch.)
  
  (Otherwise I'd have to tell them, "hi, I'm Geoff Hodges. I know little about the subject. But have some great tips for you. Please read on. LOL.)
  
  Geoff
  
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Coby 13 years ago

Hey Geoff,

Just be honest and upfront with your skill level and your knowledge. They will respect you more for this. You don't have to be an "expert" to teach someone something...

Also, the tips you share don't have to be your own - you can share a video from another marketer or similar information...

You can also let your readers "follow" your journey - people love this...

Don't be scared - go for it
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Alex Barboza 13 years ago

I would say create a character. You can't be youself in all your niches. Imagine if a person who is interested in your offer, let's say a weight loss pill, Google your name and there a several results about Geoff Hodges, each one showing you as an expert in a different niche. That would be confussing, I guess.

Unless you want to focus only in one niche, in which case you can learn about the topic and show your real identity. On the other hand, you can use a company name as well, instead of a person's name.
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inconf 13 years ago

Hey Geoff,

Coby is right, you have to be yourself people relate to people, plus if you start bending the truth at some point you will come unstuck and lose all credibility you have built up!

Why dont you focus on one market/niche and position yourself as the expert!

As long as you know more than the people you are speaking to then essentialy you are their expert!

I would drive ALL traffic to a squeeze page, more chances to sell to them!

Good luck!!
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Geoffrey Hodges

13 years ago

Thanks, Coby and Inconf. Guess the truth will set you free.

Alex - yes, that was my worry, being found as an expert in different niches...

If you guys have any resources on how to structure the follow up emails, that would be great.

I hear IM gurus always talk about the importance of the list, but rarely get any information on how the sequence of emails should be crafted and timed.

Geoff

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Alex Barboza

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Geoffrey Hodges

Geoff. You can go to Jason Fladlien's blog and subscribe to his list. You will get to download 32 reports for free. One of the reports is on how to structure email messages for doing promotions. He even shows real emails he has written to his list so you can swipe and adapt them to your niches.

Jason Fladlien's Blog

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Geoffrey Hodges 13 years ago

Thanks, Alex.

Got Jason Fladlien's PDF on the 12 email sequence he uses. Quite helpful.

Jason uses his real name, gives his real story in the emails. Which creates a dilemma for me, an affiliate marketer with fingers in various niches. Who do I represent myself to be? What's my story? Why am I emailing you (prospect) at all?

If truth be told, I'd have to say :-
"Hi, I'm Geoff. I know something about xxx [niche], but I'm not an expert in it. However, here are some tips that might help you. I've got more helpful content for you, but will save that for later. Just like to get to know you. All the best, Geoff"

Doesn't sound right. Unless I start "bending" the truth.

Another issue is what if they write back asking for advice or clarification? One guy who saw my video emailed me for further advice as his job depended on it. What do I do then? Lie to the guy? Tell him I'm just a marketer? [I dodged the question.]

I'm now thinking there must be some middle ground between sending traffic directly to the sales page and opting the traffic in to a 12 email sequence for fostering that "connection".Perhaps a shorter email sequence eg 4 emails, might be the way to go. And using a pseudonym, being silent on who I am, focusing just on the content that is provided.

The way to go?? Any ideas, guys?

Geoff
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Alex Barboza 13 years ago

My advice is the same still Geoff: make up a character for each niche you are going to enter, one that resonates with the prospects. Jason uses his name because his niche is internet marketing so he is using his real identity. I am pretty sure that most of affiliates don't use their real names when targeting a niche he/she is not an expert in.
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prosper1 13 years ago

People will connect to you better by just keeping it simple and being yourself. Make it too complicated and people will lose interest and walk away.
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- Geoffrey Hodges 13 years ago
  
  Thanks Prosper1 and Alex.
  
  I think 12 emails to follow up after optin is unsustainable for a non expert in the niche. The few emails I do send out will need to be content based (no stories about me). And be short and vague about who I am.
  
  After the second or third email I'll soft sell the Clickbank product eg "the video you just watched is based on XXX. If you like to access the full written guide, please click below this video".
  
  This might be better than direct linking, where conversions are less than 1% of YouTube views.
  
  Geoff
  
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Coby 13 years ago

Hey Geoff,

I see you seem to be struggling with this and I want to point out that it's very common to have the worries you are experiencing...

First, as was already said - just position yourself as a "regular" guy that "knows a few things"...

In many of my welcome emails I will say "I am no guru nor do I plan to be, I'm a regular guy just like you" - People love that

People WANT guys like you because they are so used to the opposite - "I made $xxxxx a month - listen to me"

If you have enough "expertise" to make a video that interests them enough to visit your site and opt-in then... DUDE You Are An Expert (in their eyes)

Honesty and transparency will always win - especially in the IM niche...

However, once you branch out in to other niches you might consider using a "pen name" for the ones not somehow related to IM (like weight loss) - but still stay honest and transparent (as you can be).

My best advice is simply "don't overthink it, just go for it)

Good Luck
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- Geoffrey Hodges 13 years ago
  
  Thanks, Coby.
  
  I'll report back on my experiences with a shorter email sequence after optin, using a pen name but being fairly open and honest. Let's see how my bottomline changes.
  
  Thanks to all who contributed here to give me clarity on this issue.
  
  Cheers,
  Geoff
  
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Email Marketing - Who Am I?

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