This follow up email is responsible for $50,000 in 2011... you can copy paste it!

If you reply to their emails directly, you instantly have someone who is more than likely going to buy your next promotion too.. even if it's not a product on the reply they gave.

It's about clout and building that trust.

Travis

It's all yours.

Petelta,

This is a brilliant marketing strategy.

It's also a brilliant relationship-building strategy.

Kudos to you.

Cheers,

JMB

I am actually testing this out. This version of the email just happens to be the latest one I've written. I test 1 aspect each product launch to see what gets the best response.

This launch I was testing the {firstname} inside the post. Kind of like I'm talking directly to that person. It does change 1st to 3rd... but that's to give them the feeling of this email is written only for them.

I'm still testing it out. I would normally write something very similar to what you suggested.

Travis

Anything that will get the message opened. If this is being sent to people who have just purchased then maybe something simple like:

"About your purchase...."

Travis,

I understand you are testing using personaliztion or no personalization but that wasn't my point. You want an email to feel as though it has been written only to that person. At the beginning of the email you addressed the person by their name and then later on in the email you referred to that same person in the 3rd person. It doesn't make sense and creates an immediate disconnect.

I've used these...

What can I do to help you? (best response rate)
I will give you 1 of my products for your feedback...
What would you like from me?
Let me hear your feedback...
I would love to get your feedback!
What do you think I should do?
What would you like me to do for you?

They have all done well.

Bill,

That email sounds great and it's no accident you are getting a great response from it. I'm gathering from your post you just sent this out as a broadcast email to your whole list? I think this would work really well in the first week or two of an autoresponder sequence.

Inviting any type of 2 way interaction immediately separates you from 99% of all the other marketers out there. People like people who are willing to listen to their problems. Too often as marketers we always think we need to tell people the way it is. Sometimes sitting back and letting them tell you their problems and questions is not only going to make them trust you more but you'll also end up with some great ammunition for future products.

I remember this was a technique one of the famous marketers used years ago. When testing out a niche, instead of having a product created from scratch and trying to guess what his audience wanted, he would first put up a squeeze page offering a free bribe in return for their thoughts, questions, and concerns.

If he was able to get a lot of detailed responses then he knew this was a market worth pursuing.... and you know what the product was? Yes, it was basically made up by answering all the most common questions people had submitted. You then go back to that list of people who have told you exactly what they want to know and sell them the solution you have just created for them.

It doesn't get much easier than that.

I agree, and a fast response is even more impressive. How many times have we heard "thanks for the quick reply!"?

Again, I agree. Just for the record the list I tried this on was for a free ebook but look what's happened, I've started a dialogue with people who downloaded a free ebook and THEY WANT HELP.

I think this qualifies for two thumbs up...

That's awesome Travis, great template too. There are quite a few marketers already using this technique. I just got this email from Robert Plank today:

Not nearly as nice as yours but the same idea...

Charles

The first public mention of it that I'm sure of was at a conference in Texas, in 2002. I'm not sure if I included it in any of my products before that.

It's usually used as a "touch point," to show that you're a real person, and that you actually read and answer email. The trick is to answer every single email you get in response to that note in your sequence. In 10+ years of using that technique, that's one rule I don't think I've ever broken.

Travis' example is a killer, especially for a product follow-up. He's handed you an easy way to add to your income if you use follow-up autoresponders in your marketing.

Some nice adaptations here, too. Bill's, especially with the notations, is really good. If I might add a suggestion... If you have a LinkedIn profile, make sure you add that to the signature. In some markets, or if you're a regular networker, I'd recommend that instead of Facebook or Twitter.

Add those to later emails, if you like. Make the LinkedIn contact the first social networking link they see.

I have never seen an FUA sequence that didn't see significantly improved response after adding this kind of note, even when the sender didn't reply to the emails it generated. If you do reply, the improvement is noticeably larger.

It's a "warm" contact in a cold medium.


Paul

You will quickly notice you get a lot of the same responses or questions especially when you have targeted your traffic well enough.

I like to put together a Master F.A.Q. I have an outsourcer answer all emails that have questions in the FAQ. The rest of the emails are left in my inbox for me to answer... then I add them to the FAQ once I answer them.

I do quite a bit of niche marketing in a wide variety of markets. I have 1 outsourcer who will answer 95% of my emails from all the niches. She has a FAQ for each niche.

It's a decent system that I had to put into play after I started waking up to huge amounts of emails every monring. If I didn't do this now, I would probably be answering emails 8 hours a day.

Travis

I send this 1 day after anyone is added to any of my lists. The "freebie" in the email was just an example of what you could put if you are using this right after opt in to prospect autoresponder.

The actual email in the OP is from 1 day after someone purchases a product. In place of [freebie], you would put your product name.

It all works the same way. You give them something... then you ask them how you can help them use it better.

Great Idea OP! Thanks for sharing!

For anyone that has been using this - do you actually create products based on those suggestions?

And do you have any numbers regarding ROI for products that were based on subscriber suggestions vs. products you came up with and sold (or vs. promoting random affiliate products for that matter)?

The reason I ask is that this is the kind of thing sounds good and sounds "right" to a lot of people. And it is likely fine for bonding with your list.

But actually putting it into play? I know some who have tested this and claim the ROI is actually quite a bit less than promoting affiliate products or creating products with no input.

4-12 depending on the product

Yep, I do full on business consulting for clients. Contracts can be quite high so it takes some time to prove you're worth the check.

For my everyday $10 WSO, it's usually 4-7 days.

That's a tidy little peice! I can't imagine it being anything other than effective. It's key to ask people for their feedback and use it to put a plan into action.

I just acted on a product from feedback last night. It pleasing to be able to work with people on a deeper level.

Thanks for sharing.

I did the exact same thing couple days ago
after reading this thread and I can tell you
that yes it definitely works well.

My subscribers were a bit
amazed by this question and some of them
asked me if it was for real, if I really wanted
to help them!

This is simple and make you raise above the
noise (is that english?) of other marketers who
just send promos after promos...

Thanks a lot.

Thanks for sharing your email Travis. It is such a simple, yet effective way to get new product ideas that your subscribers actually want. I'm going to have to give it a try on a couple of my lists to see what kind of response I get.