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What to do with multiple email lists?

by ChantalVanderlaan
10 replies
I saw a thread on this topic a while ago but I can't find it

How do you manage your lists? I'm going to be launching Product X shortly which will have a freebie that people sign up for and then are redirected to the sales page. Once I've let this run for a while, I'll accumulate a decent-sized list (hopefully) which I will have set up on an autoresponder with relevant emails regarding the freebie and the course.

My question is "once I have followed up with my subscribers after 5-6 emails, should I import them into my master list?".

I'd like to put out a product every month but I don't want to end up with a bunch of small lists....does that make sense? I would love some feedback on how you all handle this
#email #lists #multiple
  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    you could just keep them where they are and add to the email sequence as new ideas for promotion come to you. Also, by keeping them on the list they signed up for you can be selective when sending broadcast emails

    al
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Chantal,

      IMO, it really depends upon what you plan to do with your master list.

      There is a specific reason for people giving you their email information. They are expecting something in return.

      To dump a bunch of names into a master list on a different subject than that of the small lists is not a good idea . . . both because the people on the list didn't sign up for this new market, but also because you master list will not now be targeted to one specific niche audience topic.

      If your smaller lists are in the same niche as the master list then you won't have those problems.

      Most advanced marketers that I know keep their lists separate because having a very targeted list audience is crucial to good conversions.

      The best to you,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author winnermarketing
    If you don t have any others mails to send them related of Product X,
    you can import them into your master list, better if this list is in a similar theme.
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  • Profile picture of the author yakim1
    You should be segmenting your lists into multiple lists. I personally have over 200 lists. If you are in the IM niche for example... you would have separate lists for those that have shown interest in email marketing, article marketing, social marketing, copy writing, SEO and so on.

    Then you should have a buyers list for each of those lists.

    When I have people subscribe, I have several weeks of emails that are sent as automatic follow ups. They are also subscribed to a master evergreen list that start the follow ups after the after the other follow ups have finished. The evergreen list will automatically send follow ups for a year or more.

    Another way to do it if your autoresponder has the feature that will allow you to automatically move your subscribers to the evergreen list when their follow ups have finished.

    Now, when you have a product that will appeal to a certain group of subscribers you mail to those subscribers. I send at the very least the same email message to the same lists a minimum of 3 times with different subject lines.

    Depending on the product I will also send to the evergreen list. The evergreen list is comprised of non buyers. When they become buyers, they are now in the appropriate buyer list.

    I hope this has been helpful,
    Steve Yakim
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  • Profile picture of the author ChantalVanderlaan
    It's definitely the same niche for sure...all pertaining to setting up a business online. So Product X could be a product on setting up a sales funnel properly. Product Y could be a product on using affiliate marketing as part of your business model....etc...these are just examples but I think my customers would benefit from all the products that I have or will be creating because they are all related to the same thing.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      I still think it's a good idea to keep separate lists that will be more specifically targeted than one big list. It will be easier to exactly match needs/wants/desires to your offers. It could be a little more work when sending out emails but that will depend upon the autoresponder system you're employing. The top systems will handle list segmentation with ease, even when you want to send to some lists and not others.

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author ChantalVanderlaan
        Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

        I still think it's a good idea to keep separate lists that will be more specifically targeted than one big list. It will be easier to exactly match needs/wants/desires to your offers. It could be a little more work when sending out emails but that will depend upon the autoresponder system you're employing. The top systems will handle list segmentation with ease, even when you want to send to some lists and not others.

        Steve
        I guess I'm a little confused how to keep these small lists engaged...for instance, if I have a small list who opted in to a freebie about email marketing and my main product is a course on how to build your list for your business...some of the people on my list may or may not have bought it and just settled for the freebie. Aside from pushing my main product, what else could I keep sending them for offers? I know I also have to send them valuable content related to what they signed up for but my own product library is limited...so would I just send recommended related products (as an affiliate)?
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        • Profile picture of the author yakim1
          Originally Posted by ChantalVanderlaan View Post

          I guess I'm a little confused how to keep these small lists engaged...for instance, if I have a small list who opted in to a freebie about email marketing and my main product is a course on how to build your list for your business...some of the people on my list may or may not have bought it and just settled for the freebie. Aside from pushing my main product, what else could I keep sending them for offers? I know I also have to send them valuable content related to what they signed up for but my own product library is limited...so would I just send recommended related products (as an affiliate)?
          You should create an eCourse that can have any where from 5 to 14 days of follow up emails that are delivered automatically by your auto responder. This ecourse is primarily dedicated to promoting your main product. Each email will have links to your products.

          If needed you can stretch out your contact with your new subscribers to receiving these emails every other day and then you can have almost a month of contact.

          Your free report should have on the second page of the report an ad for your eCourse with a bullet point emphasizing each day of the report so the reader of the report will know what they will be receiving.

          Have a link so they can sign up to the eCourse, which is a squeeze page so they are added to another set of follow up messages.

          Look for similar non competitive products to yours and promote them with an affiliate link. Don't think of these product owners as competitors but as possible jv partners. Contact them and ask for a simple joint venture as an ad swap. You promote their product and they will promote your product.

          Naturally you will give them the emails to use that are in your eCourse only the links will be their affiliate links. Add a downsell to your product, which is the squeeze page to your free report. Now you have leveraged other people's lists so you now have access to their circles of influence and you will build your lists.

          Every email you send out including ad swap emails should be added to your evergreen follow up messages as long as the message they deliver are evergreen in nature. This way you grow your evergreen list. You will still be in contact with people that started off on this report list.

          Now when something comes to your attention that certain lists may be interested in, you can broadcast it to the targeted audience on that list.

          Use affiliate products to fill in areas your product does not cover. Eventually you can create your own products that will replace these affiliate products.

          DO NOT turn these affiliate promotions into a pitch fest but also deliver quality content that will continue to build on your relation ship with your subscribers. DO NOT send out emails that have no action for the subscriber to take whether it be a link to a free product or a quick promotion in a P.S.

          You do these things and you should be able to continue to promote to the smallest of lists. For you will find that some of your smallest lists will be the most profitable.

          Best regards,
          Steve
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          • Profile picture of the author telewarrior
            What I never get is why autoresponder companies don't make coding additional fields easier.

            Since your list is just a table in a database, I don't get why a more general table can't have fields to identify the specific sub-topic within that larger whole.
            For example, why not just IM_Leads, IM_Buyers, IM_Clients, IM_Giveaways, etc. with a couple of additional fields that indicate where they came from, what their original interest was or even a second related table to keep track of all interests or products purchased.

            Admittedly I suffer from having been a database programmer, and there are some arcane ways to set this up painfully in some companies, but I suppose that is where more sophisticated users and programs (e.g. Infusionsoft?) may just cost more.

            Any process is easier to plan up front than repair later. Better organization might take more thought, experience, and time investment so perhaps this is an opportunity for a product =;?).

            Food for thought
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  • Profile picture of the author DIABL0
    Since you said moving the list to a master list after your campaign finishes, are you asking about doing something similar to the way Digital Marker does their email marketing?

    Basically someone opts-in to their email magnet(bribe) and then they are offered a tripwire (low cost product) if they don't purchase the tripwire, then they will send a follow up campaign for the tripwire. If you don't buy the tripwire by the end of the campaign, they will then move you to their broadcast list.

    While on the broadcast list, they will send you content and offers. If any offer is of interest to you and you opt-in for it, then you are moved from the broadcast list to the list you opted-in to and sent a campaign for it.If you fail to buy, then you are moved back to the broadcast list and the process starts all over.

    So basically at anytime, you are on their broadcast list getting content and offers or your on a list that you opted-in to and receiving a follow up campaign for that product.

    If at anytime you were to buy something, then you will continue to progress through their tunnel and as long as you continue to buy, you will keep getting follow up campaigns for other products, until you fail to buy and then get moved to the broadcast list.

    If this is what you were thinking about and I could be out in left field with a hockey stick, they have one advantage doing things this way. They use a system that is tag based instead of list based, which most autoreponders are list based. So they can just add/remove tags based of action/non action, etc... Where moving users between lists get more complicated.
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