3 Types of Email Follow-ups

21 replies
Hi guys - for those of you who are into list building I want to share the 3 types of emails people can send to their list.
  1. Emails that educate
  2. Emails that sell
  3. Emails that both educate and sell

On the service this seems obvious, however there are so many people out there who focus on #2 only (emails that sell). People who are really interested in building a lasting relationship with their list should focus on #1 mostly. Even when I send out a sales offer I accompany it with some education material that naturally leads into the sales offer (#3).

What are your thoughts? Are there people out there who just send out sale offers? How often do you send out educational emails only?

Tim
#email #followups #list buiding #types
  • Profile picture of the author InternetGeneral
    I usually send out educational information first then ill follow up with a sale for a related product,

    I'll refer to the educational post when I send out the sale email.
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    • Profile picture of the author threezerozero
      Originally Posted by InternetGeneral View Post

      I usually send out educational information first then ill follow up with a sale for a related product,

      I'll refer to the educational post when I send out the sale email.
      same thing i do, i like to educate them first so that they know my content holds weight to it. then, ill send them the sell email. its a strategy that has been relatively solid for others as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author retsced
    I usually go for the first choice, but i always have a "PS" with links to quality products in every email i send and i subtly direct them to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    About 95% of my auto responders in all the markets I'm in are content only... And it's all quality stuff too.

    Really helps to build a stronger relationship with your subscribers, especially when everyone else is sending out BMS emails (Buy Ma ****) as it makes you stand out like a big sore throbbin' thumb.

    James Scholes
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  • Profile picture of the author Stripe
    That is the method that works best to be sure. The lists I have subscribed to over the years and have kept are the ones that provided value to me, not the ones where I only provided value to the list owner.

    Just my two cents worth...
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  • Profile picture of the author Wilton White
    You may also wish to consider "emails that entertain". Simply telling a story about yourself or how your day went will also help to establish yourself as a "real person" on the other end who is interested in sharing with his/her audience.

    The more you tell about yourself, the more chance you have for someone to find a common ground "connection" with you. Once someone can identify with you, they can be that much more willing to do business with you in the future.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      Originally Posted by Wilton White View Post

      You may also wish to consider "emails that entertain".
      QFT. Boring content is just as bad as (if not worse than) no content.
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    • Profile picture of the author timb98133
      Originally Posted by Wilton White View Post

      You may also wish to consider "emails that entertain". Simply telling a story about yourself or how your day went will also help to establish yourself as a "real person" on the other end who is interested in sharing with his/her audience.

      The more you tell about yourself, the more chance you have for someone to find a common ground "connection" with you. Once someone can identify with you, they can be that much more willing to do business with you in the future.
      This is a very good point. I hadn't considered entertaining emails as an option. You're right. It's a great way to build a relationship with your list!

      Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by timb98133 View Post

    I want to share the 3 types of emails people can send to their list.
    "The 3 types", or "3 of the types"? I ask because there are perhaps others? Such as "emails that entertain and don't sell", "emails that entertain and promote", and so on? I do see that you can entertain and educate at the same time, too, though.

    Originally Posted by timb98133 View Post

    People who are really interested in building a lasting relationship with their list should focus on #1 mostly. Even when I send out a sales offer I accompany it with some education material that naturally leads into the sales offer (#3).
    Yes indeed - I agree with all of that.

    Originally Posted by timb98133 View Post

    Are there people out there who just send out sale offers?
    There are always some ... and as and when they either wise up and change tack, or just drop out of the business, their places tend to be taken by others repeating exactly the same mistake, I think. (Some of them have perhaps received email series like that, themselves, but not realised that they don't typically produce much income. This is often how things are repeated: people see others doing them and imagine that they "must" work. Some of them even post in forums, announcing to other people that "people only do them because they work"! :p ).
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      There are also emails that evoke, stroke, provoke, shock, astonish, motivate, as well as the myriads of other reactions within the tapestry of feelings and emotions. None are stand-alone; it is the combination of these types within emails that optimally connect or convert. This is called marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author JimDucharme
    Follow ups are like those gentle subtle gestures that happen between couples. They maintain and reinforce a realtionship. You can break them down into many categories, but be it follow ups or any other communication, they should all be relevant, engaging and add value to someone's day. I always suggest using an event calendar to help you plan. You can customize a calendar to better fit your niche customers too.

    And Myob makes a great point about provoking emotions!

    Here's an infographic we did on this which might come in handy for some:




    Regards,

    Jim
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  • Profile picture of the author The Star
    yes i agree you should introduce yourself to your list. besides that you also have to give some time and email educated and some day you can give email sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author williamk
    Banned
    Excellent post. Those are some good points for email lists. I am also planning to use some of them in my projects.
    Thanksfully I will get better conversions after this.
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  • Profile picture of the author Javier Lin
    This thread has been enlightening and a good reminder for those using list building not to get carried away with SALES SALES SALES.

    Behind every email add is a person. So treat them like one.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    What about emails that apologize. I get a lot to those.

    You know, the link that doesn't work, the server
    that crashed, the webinar or deal I missed, etc.

    You may have to apologize for missing that one.

    -Ray Edwards
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    • Profile picture of the author JimDucharme
      Originally Posted by Raydal View Post

      What about emails that apologize. I get a lot to those.

      You know, the link that doesn't work, the server
      that crashed, the webinar or deal I missed, etc.

      You may have to apologize for missing that one.

      -Ray Edwards
      Good point Ray! You might be able to put that under the "educate" category, but I'm not sure it fits. Perhaps another cagtegory would be "relationship management?"

      You are going to make mistakes and when you do, it's a good idea to be open and honest. Tell people what happened and then tell them what you are doing to fix the error. Don't over do it either! Unless your staff have been video taped drowning puppies in the lunch room; don't belabour the apology.

      Regards,
      jim
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    • Profile picture of the author timb98133
      Originally Posted by Raydal View Post

      What about emails that apologize. I get a lot to those.

      You know, the link that doesn't work, the server
      that crashed, the webinar or deal I missed, etc.

      You may have to apologize for missing that one.

      -Ray Edwards

      ok... I'm sorry I get a lot of those emails too.... although I'm not sure why. I would rather read emails that are positive then full of excuses that things went wrong.... but that's just me
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  • Yes Jim,

    Relationship management plays a vital role in email marketing. It is not only about generating leads it also helps in lead nurturing.

    Following points should be considered for Lead nurturing:
    • Write white papers
    • Create eBooks
    • Use social media
    • Create short videos or demos
    • Develop case studies
    • Schedule webinars
    • Share relevant third party information
    • Make it personal
    • Make outbound calls
    • Send personal follow-up emails
    • Use customer references
    • Use custom landing pages
    • Automate and measure
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  • Yes Jim,

    Relationship management plays a vital role in email marketing. It is not only about generating leads it also helps in lead nurturing.

    Following points should be considered for Lead nurturing:
    • Write white papers
    • Create eBooks
    • Use social media
    • Create short videos or demos
    • Develop case studies
    • Schedule webinars
    • Share relevant third party information
    • Make it personal
    • Make outbound calls
    • Send personal follow-up emails
    • Use customer references
    • Use custom landing pages
    • Automate and measure
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  • Profile picture of the author sammib01
    I agree it is about building a relationship. I feel the relationships I have made doing business are some of the best I have ever had and I have friends in many countries. When you send people useful information and give them a little personal touch people Love it. I mean think about it would you like to have friends you do business with? Or just people who want your money and you want theirs?

    If you really want to so business longterm it is essential that you create relationships with the people you work with and your customers/clients. Noone wants to so business with a selfish, greedy and thoughtless idiot... Unless they buy from Microsoft. Sorry just had to put that in.

    Content, feelings and mostly real, be real. You want to have people around you who are real so be honest and real back.
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  • Profile picture of the author SiteSmarty
    Answer is #3 - Emails that both educate and sell

    You build the relationship so you can sell them something that will solve their problem/s. Lay your sales link low from the start so you don't all of a sudden drop a sale on them.

    Give them your best stuff. Get them saying yes to everything you send them. Train them to click, when and where you tell them to. Let them see that low laying link at the bottom of each responder so they know you're in business, they'll eventually click the link on their own. Track how many click on your low laying sales link. Look at each click as a signal of trust.

    Once they trust you. Once you've got them clicking when you want them to and you have the solution to their problem, you can sell the solution easily whenever you want.
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