Re-Train Your E-Mail Subscribers
Posted 13th January 2009 at 04:44 PM by Robert Plank
Tags email marketing, mailing list
If you have experience building up a mailing list of a decent size, you might have noticed that you unintentionally train your subscribers to respond to certain offers you send to them. Maybe you have not noticed this. For example, when you build up a mailing list based on a free offer, and then try to send them offers for paid products, they either will not buy the offer or they will unsubscribe. Likewise, if you build your list based on small ticket items (which I like to do) and then hit them with a high ticket item later, you are going to experience some sales resistance.
Unfortunately, it is near impossible to build a list using a $97 or higher product, so your only hope for real profits (aside from joint ventures) is to build a list using a low ticket item. This would be a 7 dollar product. Using your thank you page, you get people to subscribe for updates which builds a much more responsive list than the free subscribers. Yes, after someone has paid you 7 dollars or even 1 dollar, and then opted in, there is a higher trust factor. Once you have these people on your list, you can re-train them.
Retrain your subscribers? That's right. To avoid "offer shock", or mass unsubscriptions when you send an unexpected offer, explain your intentions. Tell them what info you are going to deliver and what offers you are going to pitch them. Instead of sending out a single e-mail to your subscribers, schedule that e-mail two days from now. Write up a quick five sentence e-mail scheduled to go out today, teasing them with the offer, another quick e-mail scheduled for tomorrow giving them the exact time to check their e-mail to find out how to buy the offer.
You can announce your intentions, announce the frequency of your e-mails, and announce the upcoming price of your offer. Anything to get them ready for that impulse buy.
Do not forget, if you built up your list using a small ticket scarcity offer, you can re-use that scarcity in future offers. Tell your subscribers they will get a similar deal like before, with a limited time window or limited number of slots, but at a higher price. It is possible to train your subscribers quite easily, just tell them what you are up to a couple of days before you do it!
Get the exact step by step formula to write a sales letter in five minutes or less, complete with easy to use worksheets and plug-n-play headlines, offers, stories, and guarantees... http://www.fiveminutecopywriting.com
Unfortunately, it is near impossible to build a list using a $97 or higher product, so your only hope for real profits (aside from joint ventures) is to build a list using a low ticket item. This would be a 7 dollar product. Using your thank you page, you get people to subscribe for updates which builds a much more responsive list than the free subscribers. Yes, after someone has paid you 7 dollars or even 1 dollar, and then opted in, there is a higher trust factor. Once you have these people on your list, you can re-train them.
Retrain your subscribers? That's right. To avoid "offer shock", or mass unsubscriptions when you send an unexpected offer, explain your intentions. Tell them what info you are going to deliver and what offers you are going to pitch them. Instead of sending out a single e-mail to your subscribers, schedule that e-mail two days from now. Write up a quick five sentence e-mail scheduled to go out today, teasing them with the offer, another quick e-mail scheduled for tomorrow giving them the exact time to check their e-mail to find out how to buy the offer.
You can announce your intentions, announce the frequency of your e-mails, and announce the upcoming price of your offer. Anything to get them ready for that impulse buy.
Do not forget, if you built up your list using a small ticket scarcity offer, you can re-use that scarcity in future offers. Tell your subscribers they will get a similar deal like before, with a limited time window or limited number of slots, but at a higher price. It is possible to train your subscribers quite easily, just tell them what you are up to a couple of days before you do it!
Get the exact step by step formula to write a sales letter in five minutes or less, complete with easy to use worksheets and plug-n-play headlines, offers, stories, and guarantees... http://www.fiveminutecopywriting.com
Total Comments 2
Comments
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Thanks Robert.. You just confirmed something I was afraid of... now I know what price range to offer:
the price is based on what they were "trained" to expect from me.
all of this makes perfect marketing sense
I can't believe I didn't figure this one out myself
no matter, you brought out the obvious and helped me make a profit (again... not the first time you helped me make money)Posted 13th January 2009 at 09:28 PM by David
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Thanks David! I know... it feels good like you are pleasing everyone when you launch a $7 product and get lots of sales. Then when you launch the $47 and $97 stuff and get a lot less sales (but almost the same profits) and some of those low ticket buyers e-mail you and complain and you feel like "the bad guy."
But those $47/$97 and up customers are WAY more pleasant to deal with... less aggravating and they actually take advice and get stuff accomplished.Posted 14th January 2009 at 12:21 PM by Robert Plank
