List Building for Vendors: How Do You Manage Multiple Products?

How you manage this depends upon the autoresponder
system you're using and how easy (or hard) it is to
create segmented lists.

I usually use separate lists for each product and then
use automation rules and custom fields to make sure
that my prospects and customers only receive e-mails
that are relevant to their purchase behavior.

The basic principle is to do whatever you can to make
sure that you never send customers of a particluar
product any more prospecting e-mails for that product.

Sure, it takes more work but the better message-to-
subscriber match is worth it.

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

Get an autoresponder system that allows you to create 2 separate lists. When you email blast, just choose either or both lists to blast to.

Here's how I do it.



I have a buyers list for each product, and I also have my main list. So I have my main list, and I also have what I call "sub lists".

People are either ....

1. On my main list as non buyers
2. On one of my product list as a buyer
3. Both

It doesn't matter which product they buy because they ALL end up on the main list anyway. I do this because.....

a) I want to keep in touch with all of them
b) I want to be able to speak directly to buyers of a certain product.

I do this for ....

a) Feedback about a particular product
b) Updates to a particular product
c) Testimonials
d) Miscellaneous stuff....

The answer is exactly what Shaun said above. List segmentation and automated rules. I've invested quite a bit of time into refining this and I have it down pat.

PS. I use Aweber.

i have a lot of my products on warrior plus so i just automatically add them to a buyers list once they have purchased

if i make a sale from a freebie list then i will automatically take them off the freebie list then put them on the buyers list for that particular product

having lots of products doesn't take up anymore of your time because everything should get delivered automatically but the more products you have and the more sales you make then the more support emails you will get but this is all part of the business

with all my buyers lists i still do have 1 - 2 main freebie lists that i use to convert freebies into paying customers

paul

Here look, for example, I have this system setup on this site.

Think Freelancing | Business Solutions For Freelance Web Developers

Whenever I publish a new entry to my blog, I send out a broadcast email to my main list (which is everyone)

Think Freelancing | Freelance Web Designers Blog

Then of course, as people buy my products (listed here) Think Freelancing | Freelance Web Design Business Solutions

....they go onto the buyers list for the products they've purchased.

Make sense?

Right, so having taken some useful input from you good folk, and having looked at Mark Sisson's plan over at marksdailyapple.com, here's my plan:

1. Non-buyer's list: This will be a pre-set autoresponder series that lasts a few months to a year, with a step-by-step course for anyone who joins. In this one, I'll make both overt and subtle references to my paid products. Buyers will automatically be unsubscribed from this list.

2. Main (broadcast) list: Everyone will join this list. Any time I make a post on my website, my subscribers will get an update. The posts on my website will have very subtle references to my products, whilst giving excellent value in the post itself. Buyers will not get unsubscribed from this list.

3. Separate buyers lists for each product, each list promoting the product(s) the buyer has not yet bought.

Now I've decided to do things a little differently from what you suggested John, because I prefer to have a refined sales funnel go out automatically as an autoresponder series.

I'll see how it goes anyway.

Any feedback would be apprecaited

Oh, and what I noticed Mark Sisson does is he signs you up for a 7-day course through an autoresponder series, while at the same time sending broadcasts of his website posts. With the 7-day course, the emails themselves have product advertisements separately at the bottom of each email, titled "Spotlight". The email links to the full article on his website, where he very cleverly promotes a couple of freebies along with his products as a post script.

With the broadcasts, there are also separate ads to his products within the email, like unrelated banner ads. The email leads links to the full article on his website. On his website article, there are no real references to his products.