Making decent money off out auto responder series?

28 replies
Does anyone make decent money just by putting subscribers through their opt in email series? Or does one have to build a large list and send out broadcast emails to make big sales? Thank you.
#auto #decent #making #money #responder #series
  • Profile picture of the author Ben Gordon
    I personally use both. I have a sales funnel in place. So what the prospect experiences first is an OTO (then another if they purchase or if they don't they just get redirected to a thank you for subscribing page and check your email), then I let them know myself, my business, how I operate it and generally build trust. I give out some more freebies. Then I have a few offers in place with intervals of freebie giveaways. As well, I also sometimes broadcast emails however that is if something is really important. Sales funnels are the key to email marketing success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kal Sallam
    It's all about your conversions obviously. You can have a Huge List but doesn't convert for Sh*** or you can have a smaller one that converts like crazy!

    Yes it's a numbers game but There are numbers better than numbers
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

    Does anyone make decent money just by putting subscribers through their opt in email series?
    Yes, many people do.

    Personally, I avoid broadcasts whenever possible, for a big variety of reasons, including but not limited to these ...

    (i) It's very rare that I want everyone on a list to get the same information at the same time, regardless of how long they've been there and where they are in the series;

    This is "The Big One" -----> (ii) Subscribers in many niches have told me in the past that they don't like "obvious broadcasts" because (a) they interrupt continuity, and (b) they make the sender look more like a marketer and less like a trusted provider of valuable information;

    (iii) It interferes with "subscriber expectation". It's really important, when opting people in, to set their expectations, and tell them exactly what they're going to receive and when. This dramatically increases open-rates and click-through rates. Sending "broadcasts" makes that very difficult;

    (iv) To me, it feels like "being in a hurry" and "aiming for quick sales" - exactly the things I like to avoid, because I earn far more in the long run by avoiding that.

    Key concept: interrupting continuity with an obvious promotion of something is really a much bigger deal than many people realise.

    It makes you look desperate to sell, and to many subscribers, understandably, that comes across very negatively and ruins your credibility and their trust.

    In my opinion, the people who imagine that isn't a big deal are typically those to whom open-rates of about 25% are acceptable, perhaps partly because they have little awareness of customer perception of - for example - passing off a commissionable product-launch as "news". (In other words, not being aware of your customers' perspective very much at all!).
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    • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      Yes, many people do.

      Personally, I avoid broadcasts whenever possible, for a big variety of reasons, including but not limited to these ...

      (i) It's very rare that I want everyone on a list to get the same information at the same time, regardless of how long they've been there and where they are in the series;

      (ii) Subscribers in many niches have told me in the past that they don't like "obvious broadcasts" because (a) they interrupt continuity, and (b) they make the sender look more like a marketer and less like a trusted provider of valuable information;

      (iii) It interfers with "subscriber expectation". It's really important, when opting people in, to set their expectations, and tell them exactly what they're going to receive and when. This dramatically increases open-rates and click-through rates. Sending "broadcasts" makes that very difficult;

      (iv) To me, it feels like "being in a hurry" and "aiming for quick sales" - exactly the things I like to avoid, because I earn far more in the long run by avoiding that.

      Key concept: interrupting continuity with an obvious promotion of something is really a much bigger deal than many people realise.

      It makes you look desperate to sell, and to many subscribers, understandably, that comes across very negatively and ruins your credibility and their trust.

      In my opinion, the people who imagine that isn't a big deal are typically those to whom open-rates of about 25% are acceptable, perhaps partly because they have little awareness of customer perception of - for example - passing off a commissionable product-launch as "news". (In other words, not being aware of your customers' perspective very much at all!).
      Thanks Alexa. Lets say someone is running a 10 email auto series, what do they do with the list after the series is over? At some point don't they have to turn to broadcasts? Thank you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

        Thanks Alexa. Lets say someone is running a 10 email auto series, what do they do with the list after the series is over?
        I don't know.

        To me, running a "10-email autoresponder series" is such a bad and misguided idea that I try not to think about these things at all! :p

        I think it might be the sort of thing people try to do if all they want out of their list is to make just "fast sales of one specific product", rather than gradually building up a relationship of credibility and trust with their subscribers which can eventually lead to increasing and repeated future sales of higher-priced stuff (i.e. "where the real money is, in email marketing"/"what it's all about, really").

        I have lists to which I make more sales after 15 emails than before.

        I have a list to which I still regularly make sales (some of them pretty high commission ones) after 100 emails. If I'm still working in the niche, and still writing the occasional article for it, it costs me nothing to re-use that material to add another couple of messages to the autoresponder series: it's not as if I'm really doing any "extra work" for all the extra money it produces.

        Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

        At some point don't they have to turn to broadcasts?
        No.

        Not while people are still joining the list, clearly. That would produce exactly the disruption in continuity explained above, no?
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  • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
    Thanks guys. I ask a lot of questions that seem similar but that's because I like to fully understand things before I jump into something.
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  • Profile picture of the author JimWaller
    I use broadcast mostly for things that are date specific. ("Happy groundhogs day" and the like) I use the AR series to do most of my heavy lifting because I'm usually too darn lazy to do daily broadcasts. I'm one of those people who has way too many irons in the fire for my own good.

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  • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
    Alexa, so how many emails do you recommend producing for an email series? I think it might be difficult for me to come up with that much content. Thank you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
      Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

      Alexa, so how many emails do you recommend producing for an email series? I think it might be difficult for me to come up with that much content. Thank you.
      Well, I'm not Alexa, but here's what I do, and I strongly suspect she does it as well:

      I start off with a few emails, let's say 4-5. Then, I just add new ones on the way. You don't need to start with 100 at first.

      Think of it as a never ending conversation divided in many emails. Let's say you are in the dating niche. Here's what I would do:

      I would start with why it's a good thing to be able to meet women, bla bla. Then a little about approach anxiety. Then how to approach. Then how to take her out on a date, etc.

      Do you get the idea? It never stops, it just gets longer and longer, like natural human interactions, and along the way, you recommend stuff to those people. You don't try to sell them, you just recommend them, at least that's how I see it.

      But let's see what Alexa has to say on this.
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  • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
    Thanks Canyon, but if you start out with 4 or 5 emails and add more over time, how do you get your new emails to your existing customers if you don't broadcast.

    Also, if you are going to have a 100 email series, do you constantly recommend different products or do you keep recommending the same products? Thanks guys.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
      Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

      Thanks Canyon, but if you start out with 4 or 5 emails and add more over time, how do you get your new emails to your existing customers if you don't broadcast.

      Well, truth to be told, I'm in a static niche. A static niche is one that doesn't change a lot (or ever), like the dating niche. With that in mind, each new subscriber starts from email 1. Then he gradually receives each subsequent email. So I don't have the need to send them "new emails", because I don't see them as new at all. I see them as a natural addition to the conversation.

      Of course, if you're in a more dynamic niche, like Forex (I don't really know, I'm just guessing), then maybe there should be broadcasts with breaking news, which you blast to your entire list. But I don't do this, I just add an email to the series, like chapters to a book (which doesn't end).



      Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

      Also, if you are going to have a 100 email series, do you constantly recommend different products or do you keep recommending the same products? Thanks guys.
      No, currently I have only 2 products that I promote. I just recommend them again and again. Product 1, after a while product 2, then again product 1, and so on.
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      • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
        Originally Posted by canyon View Post

        Well, truth to be told, I'm in a static niche. A static niche is one that doesn't change a lot (or ever), like the dating niche. With that in mind, each new subscriber starts from email 1. Then he gradually receives each subsequent email. So I don't have the need to send them "new emails", because I don't see them as new at all. I see them as a natural addition to the conversation.

        No, currently I have only 2 products that I promote. I just recommend them again and again. Product 1, after a while product 2, then again product 1, and so on.
        Very helpful info, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, how many emails to you have in your e-series? Do you make decent money just promoting using your e-series?
        Thank you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
      Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

      Thanks Canyon, but if you start out with 4 or 5 emails and add more over time, how do you get your new emails to your existing customers if you don't broadcast.

      Also, if you are going to have a 100 email series, do you have say 30 different products that you recommend? Thanks guys.
      If any of your subscribers have reached the "end" of your series, they will automatically get the new addition (much as though it were a broadcast), but new sign ups will not receive that email until they get to that point in the series.

      That's why someone else, above, said that they use broadcasts only for something that is time sensitive. If you want to tell your list about a special sale that ends at the end of the week, it wouldn't make sense to add that at the end of a 100 message series, because most of your list wouldn't even see it for 2-3 months.

      Make sure you know/deliver what your list expects. Building a "relationship" can be done using either 1) a series, 2) only broadcasts, or 3) some mixture of both (and that mixture can be 90/10, or 10/90). Which is best depends on what your list is expecting from you.
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  • Hmm...

    Intelligent post Alexa, enjoyed reading it.

    I do agree with Alexa to an extent - but would say it depends what your focus is.

    There is not one "right" way of doing it. I know of a guy who (supposedly, I haven't actually seen his payments through a payment provider, although he has said this is how much he makes, and it 'seems' believable) about $45k/month 'solely' through an autoresponder series. (The series itself "is" what he is selling).

    Other people who do affiliate marketing (I.e., Jason Parker), churn through leads because the goal is different. (I.e., from talking w/him & reading his posts, he is very good at lead gen, so his goal is not to see how big a list he can get, but to sell to them on the spot. NB: If JP reads this and I am mistaken, please feel free to correct me ).

    Personally, I do a combination of the two. I wouldn't say I am perfect yet (I have some big lists that have not had the conversions I want, and have smaller lists that do much better).

    So answering your question, (a) Yes, people make money from long autoresponder series, and (b) Yes, people make money from broadcasting to their list. It really depends on what your focus is, and how you structure your business.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
      Originally Posted by InternetSuccess001 View Post

      Hmm...

      Intelligent post Alexa, enjoyed reading it.

      I do agree with Alexa to an extent - but would say it depends what your focus is.

      There is not one "right" way of doing it. I know of a guy who (supposedly, I haven't actually seen his payments through a payment provider, although he has said this is how much he makes, and it 'seems' believable) about $45k/month 'solely' through an autoresponder series. (The series itself "is" what he is selling).
      So he makes money actually selling the series? How does he promote the series, through another series? Where do his sales come from? Thank you.
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      • Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

        So he makes money actually selling the series? How does he promote the series, through another series? Where do his sales come from? Thank you.
        I don't quite remember (it was a couple years ago) -- but I believe he did it through some massive jv's...
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  • Profile picture of the author Edie47
    I'm just getting started in building lists, so this is interesting information. One of the lists I have is geared toward PLR and they know when they opt-in that I'm sending a broadcast notice each time a new pack is ready.

    However, I'm building another list (or 2 or e) in niche topic areas and that's where I need to learn the balance between autoresponder articles and broadcasts. From what I am reading, I still have a lot to learn! Thank you!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Solid State
    Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

    Does anyone make decent money just by putting subscribers through their opt in email series? Or does one have to build a large list and send out broadcast emails to make big sales? Thank you.
    To be totally honest. These questions are fundamentally flawed.

    An autoresponder series is simply a tool.

    Tools alone don't make money.

    Solutions make money.

    Tools support and enhance solutions.
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    • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
      Originally Posted by Solid State View Post

      To be totally honest. These questions are fundamentally flawed.

      An autoresponder series is simply a tool.

      Tools alone don't make money.

      Solutions make money.

      Tools support and enhance solutions.
      Well many people were able to make valuable contributions to this thread so it must make sense.

      Thanks for informing me that an autoresponder is a tool, that had nothing to do with my question.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

      Thanks Canyon, but if you start out with 4 or 5 emails and add more over time, how do you get your new emails to your existing customers if you don't broadcast.
      Sid already answered this one.

      Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

      Also, if you are going to have a 100 email series, do you constantly recommend different products or do you keep recommending the same products? Thanks guys.
      When I build lengthy series, I tend to pick products (physical products) which have multiple versions and a number of add-ons or accessories. Just as an example, I might choose my product as "inshore saltwater fishing rod and reel combo" [generic].

      This gives me leave to create series within series, examining combos for the beginner, the budget conscious, the equipment snob, etc. I can cover, review and recommend different brands, models and so on for different user groups. I can add recommendations/information on accessories like line, maintenance products, storage and transport items, and so on.

      With this type of approach, it's easy to build up a 100+ email campaign. Once built, there is some annual maintenance if/when models are updated, added, eliminated, etc.. But the heavy lifting is done.
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  • Profile picture of the author domainarama
    There's something about this topic that doesn't make sense to me.

    Let me put it this way: any experienced writer or editor knows that if you don't capture the reader's attention in the first sentence very few readers will read the second sentence or the third or the hundredth sentence. In the same way, if you don't catch the email reader's attention in the first email and the second and third email, how many readers will survive to read your hundredth email?

    Try this idea another way: How many articles and books collect famous first sentences of famous books ("All unhappy families are different...")? OK, next question: how many articles and books collect famous hundredth sentences?

    I really wonder what's going on in a list where the readers don't respond for a hundred emails yet suddenly sit up and respond to the hundred and first email. Just askin.
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    • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
      Originally Posted by domainarama View Post

      There's something about this topic that doesn't make sense to me.

      Let me put it this way: any experienced writer or editor knows that if you don't capture the reader's attention in the first sentence very few readers will read the second sentence or the third or the hundredth sentence. In the same way, if you don't catch the email reader's attention in the first email and the second and third email, how many readers will survive to read your hundredth email?

      Try this idea another way: How many articles and books collect famous first sentences of famous books ("All unhappy families are different...")? OK, next question: how many articles and books collect famous hundredth sentences?

      I really wonder what's going on in a list where the readers don't respond for a hundred emails yet suddenly sit up and respond to the hundred and first email. Just askin.

      Good point, and not a question I can answer. So what process would you recommend?
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      • Profile picture of the author domainarama
        "So what process would you recommend?"

        John McCabe's post gave me my answer. His emails have almost nothing to do with numbers and have everything to do with fishing. If I understand him, he has a long series of emails and posts about a topic his readers are interested in. In the course of his many, many posts he gives useful information that his readers hunger for and devour endlessly.

        IOW the point is not numbers, the point is a topic people want to read about. If your topic is, say, "keywords," you will run out of information pretty fast, so readers will not hang around for email #37, let alone email #212. The competition for the "keyword" topic is enormous. Life in the "keyword" space will be short.

        But a good fisherman never runs out of tips and tales.

        Pick a topic that is interesting, tell interesting stories, write well and forget numbers. That's the process I recommend.
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by domainarama View Post

          "So what process would you recommend?"

          John McCabe's post gave me my answer. His emails have almost nothing to do with numbers and have everything to do with fishing. If I understand him, he has a long series of emails and posts about a topic his readers are interested in. In the course of his many, many posts he gives useful information that his readers hunger for and devour endlessly.

          IOW the point is not numbers, the point is a topic people want to read about. If your topic is, say, "keywords," you will run out of information pretty fast, so readers will not hang around for email #37, let alone email #212. The competition for the "keyword" topic is enormous. Life in the "keyword" space will be short.

          But a good fisherman never runs out of tips and tales.

          Pick a topic that is interesting, tell interesting stories, write well and forget numbers. That's the process I recommend.
          Ding! We have a winner.

          If I tried to write more than a handful of emails about, say, a Shimano Stradic 2500 reel, I'd be in deep doodoo quickly.

          And it's not about the people who suddenly sit up and take notice at email #100. It's about the people who buy the $100 beginner outfit in #5, the line in #7, the upgraded model in #56, etc.

          The "reel" money comes from the folks who grow in a topic with you and buy on your recommendation again and again. [Sorry, I couldn't resist...]
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Ogbin
    Hi, I am not Alexa or Alex or Alexis or even Mr X just kidding

    Broadcasts use to promote things that are seasonable such as Christmas, Halloween and the like you get the idea right!!

    The email series are used to tease your subscribers and become so excited about what you provide and waiting your next email by high attention.

    Your emails should present your subscribers with quality content and don't make your main aim is to promote products and making money. Create the trust firstly between you and your email list and then you will make money as a result.

    I always think that I am not a businessman, but an artist. I never think about money because the beautiful things who makes money.

    Good Luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Linkology
    My lists are made up of "Buyers" and not "Freebie Seekers" but I have cultivated a relationship with them over time so it doesn't matter what type of email I send them, they still buy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Christophe Young
    When a subscriber opts in to my list, they get emails from me about once every three days all with great content. Most have a pitch at the end for my products.

    I rarely do email blasts or recommend other products as most in my niche aren't very good. Maybe once a month I'll do a blast and it's usually to honor a holiday or show appreciation.

    I did however send out a blast on St Patrick's Day yesterday recommending a good product I recently reviewed and it resulted in over $350 in my Clickbank account in the first 12 hours and I expect more to trickle in the next few days.

    Whatever works best for you. But, if you have subscribers who still haven't bought anything after 15 emails, do you really want them on your list? I'd rather they unsubscribe personally as they are costing me more in the long run if they never buy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mack Attack 77
    I just recently jumped on the lists bandwagon, as I'm fascinated with their potential power and relationship with the consumer. I just read through this thread pretty thoroughly and it gave me a ton of incite on where I need to go in my development process.

    I have a couple of niches right now that I'm excited about building lists for...thanks for the information guys (and gals)!
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