A Couple of Questions That Don't Get Asked Often
So I've been perusing the email marketing forums for several hours reading up on lots of quality information about building a list, however I feel the need to ask a couple questions that don't seem to be raised often.
Most people tend to ask how to start building a list, I get that part, also I understand the different ways to drive traffic to it. What I am trying to grasp now is the little details that matter when setting up your lists.
To better illustrate what I want to ask about, let me start off with an example.
Let's say we're starting a blog in a somewhat broad niche... like fitness. Now this blog consists of topics such as losing weight, building muscle, nutrition, exercise, etc. What I want to know is, would it be smart to segment my lists into specific goals such as a list for losing weight, a list for building muscle, etc. OR have one giant list that touches on various topics? Ideally, if I had all the time in the world it would make sense to segment my lists, but that means keeping up with the creation of 4-5 autoresponder series and creating 4-5 unique freebies for each list instead of 1. Is the value i'd get worth it? (looking for some experienced Warriors to chime in on this one.)
Speaking of freebies, what's the best approach to delivering a freebie? A lot of noobie marketers seem to grab a PLR eBook, slap their name on it, and give it away and then watch their list unsubscribe quickly or their open rates plummet. I was thinking of either doing an e-course which would be sent via email over the course of X days. If I were to do an ebook, I would keep it simple and have some sort of transition into my emails at the end of it or something to keep continuity going so they have a reason to stay subscribed. Using the above fitness example, what would you recommend be a type of freebie for a couple typical lists for that niche? (Looking for some examples to kind of get the brainstorming process working in my head for the niche I'll be choosing.)
Next, I get the whole personalization thing when it comes to my list, but some things aren't clear to me and I want to make a decision on them before I start my list. The first thing is the whole getting the first name + email vs just the email. I've heard some experts swing both ways on this subject and wanted to hear thoughts.
Also, what works best in your opinion for the 'To:' field, your name or the website name for a blog? I was leaning towards the website name as the brand is the website which offers real value content (unlike squeeze pages) and then sign off with my name at the bottom of the emails. Is this a sound approach?
Split testing - I obviously want to do this, but want to know the best way to approach this. I will be using GetResponse for my email marketing. Do I need any additional tools/tutorials to learn about split testing that GetResponse provides (assuming they provide anything.) and if so, what are your recommendations?
My address at the bottom of the email - I don't feel comfortable giving out my living address out in my emails, do most people just go purchase a PO box or something and use that?
These are a few of the starting questions I have. Thanks for reading
I also write premium quality articles, e-books, etc.
I also write premium quality articles, e-books, etc.