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What should you be communicating with your list

by The Beginner's Friend
9 replies
From years of reading posts on this forum, it always interests me when I see people ask about the right percentage of information compared to promotional information you should communicate to your list.

In my experience I always wonder why it can't be 100% for both.

Relationship is the key, therefore as long as the mails you send have a bit of personality, why not combine info/stories/tips etc with your promotional links. In other words always combine the stuff to build the relationship with the link to build your income.

As far as I am concerned it is a marketing crime to send any mail without a link of some sort.

Of course blogs are slightly different in that your blog should have promotional links embedded and therefore your posts don't always have to link elsewhere.

Other alternative opinions are available
#communicating #list
  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    I don't actually set out to stick to a given %, though I would have to agree that in about 75% of the cases I do both. Provide great content and then include either a link to one of my offers or drive the traffic into a lead-gen funnel where the objective is to further deliver value and promote (again combined)

    I do include the odd article, video, post, etc... that is pure content (either short-form or long-form) - especially if it doesn't exactly fit with an offer but is still of interest/relevant to my target audience.

    Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
    For both my list and my clients, I never write and send purely promotional emails. I just tie in a product recommendation with what we're talking about in the email, and the promotion is usually at the end of the email. This way, they're more likely to read the entire email. If the promotional part was at the beginning, many would just skip that email altogether.

    As for percentages, emails contain about 80% information, and only 20% product recommendations.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamescanz
    Doing both is what I usually do (which fluctuates on the niche and how I subscriber opted in)...

    And recommend that anyone does that when getting involved with EM.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by The Beginner's Friend View Post

    . . . it always interests me when I see people ask about the right percentage of information compared to promotional information you should communicate to your list.

    What if . . .

    The prospect couldn't be sure if an email was promotional or informational?

    I know some very successful product owners that soft sell their products to the point that you can't tell their sales pitch from genuinely helpful and accommodating niche information.

    In order to do you this, they have adopted a persona and style which is very customer centric, helpful by nature, and they communicate with their audience very often and provide them with valuable information that they could probably sell (and which some of their competitors do try to sell).

    Yes, it's an amazing business posture, and quite a bit or work, but the reward financially is there.

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author The Beginner's Friend
      Steve

      Great comment. It is a fantastic way to go and one to which I aspire to with my communications to my list.

      As you say it is that focus on the customer/list member rather than on your own wants and needs that brings the long term benefits (for both parties).

      Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

      What if . . .

      The prospect couldn't be sure if an email was promotional or informational?

      I know some very successful product owners that soft sell their products to the point that you can't tell their sales pitch from genuinely helpful and accommodating niche information.

      In order to do you this, they have adopted a persona and style which is very customer centric, helpful by nature, and they communicate with their audience very often and provide them with valuable information that they could probably sell (and which some of their competitors do try to sell).

      Yes, it's an amazing business posture, and quite a bit or work, but the reward financially is there.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author quickway
    I usually mix it up too. both content and promotional.i send one of each and it seems to to be working out very good for me.
    Im releasing a new product called smart member pro looking for beta testers pm me for more info
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  • Profile picture of the author expressg
    I also like to mix it up with a healthy amount of content from my blog. As you said it's always a good practice to get your list used to seeing a link in every email. Provide them with enough great free content and when the link for something paid shows up they'll be more inclined to at least check it out. Plus linking them to a good looking blog in your name works magic for authority which in turn works magic for conversions.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Beginner's Friend
      Originally Posted by expressg View Post

      I also like to mix it up with a healthy amount of content from my blog. As you said it's always a good practice to get your list used to seeing a link in every email. Provide them with enough great free content and when the link for something paid shows up they'll be more inclined to at least check it out. Plus linking them to a good looking blog in your name works magic for authority which in turn works magic for conversions.
      Matt

      A very good point that dovetails nicely with Steve's earlier post about building the relationship with your list. Get them buying from a friend (a friend who knows what he is talking about) rather than a remote marketer.
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