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Should I communicate with the subscribers one-on-one through private emails?

by Chris Lengley
22 replies
Hello,

I am getting few emails from my subscribers regarding their issues. They ask for more help. Most of the time they discuss their personal issues through private emails and want me to help them out.

Should I do this?

I don't have problem in solving their particular areas problems. But, the problem is that, this will take much time.

Already I conclude an article in 3 days with proper research. If I'll start helping them out one-on-one then it can be a problem.

So, what should I do? Should I communicate with the subscribers one-on-one and solve their issues? Is it valuable?

Thank you!
#communicate #emails #one on one #oneonone #private #subscribers
  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    For a small list it may be a good idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Johns
    It can help build your relationship with your subscribers, but it can also consume a lot of your time as I am finding.

    You have to draw the line, I believe, between offering a bit of help and effectively coaching them for free.

    If you are getting a lot of requests for personal help, could you create a coaching program or something whereby they pay you for your time to coach / help them?
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      It's a good idea to communicate with your subscribers
      as it will help you to better find out what problems they
      have and what they're looking to achieve.

      However, like John says, you need to draw a line at how
      much free help you are willing to give via e-mail.

      Personally, if I send out an e-mail and invite people to
      contact me or give feedback, then I will respond in detail
      via e-mail to anyone who replies.

      I also reply to subscribers who send me e-mails - within
      reason.

      However, if someone is expecting too much information
      for free or more detailed coaching, then I'll direct them
      to my products and services.

      I know that Seth Godin replies to everyone who e-mails
      him (he says he receives hundreds of e-mails per day).
      I guess it depends upon your boundaries and business
      model.

      Dedicated to mutual success,

      Shaun
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      • Profile picture of the author David Keith
        Originally Posted by Shaun OReilly View Post


        I know that Seth Godin replies to everyone who e-mails
        him (he says he receives hundreds of e-mails per day).
        I guess it depends upon your boundaries and business
        model.

        Dedicated to mutual success,

        Shaun
        I know i have replied to more of Seth Godins's emails than probably any other person and i have always gotten a response.

        sometimes even very detailed an ongoing discussions. A few months back he released a report on "fixing education" and we had a several day long discussion via email after I responded to that email.

        It really makes a difference. If the topic at hand is something you are passionate about, I don't think you will find it to be as much work as one might expect to respond to lots of emails.

        Like in the case i mentioned above, Seth was eager to engage me and talk about the fixing education. It was obvious he enjoyed it and it probably wasn't really work to him in a lot of ways.

        I try to be about as patient as possible as long as the person seems to be putting in as much effort as I am to making themselves a success.

        Basically if they start asking me all sorts of stuff that shows they have spent little time trying to work out the answers for themselves, then we are done pretty quickly. Google is more efficient at that stuff than i will ever be.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarketingMinded
    I think communicating with subscribers, a.k.a. creating unique one-to-one relationships, is a great idea.

    Time will eventually become an issue but I think if you make an honest effort to help or address these inquiries for a predetermined amount of time each day (ie: 30mins a day), you'd be amazed at the ROI of simply caring.

    There's a quote I made note of that I think is very fitting here:

    "There is a direct relationship between profit and communication. The more you tell the more you sell." - Drayton Bird

    - Best of luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Tyler Stearns
    I agree with everyone above, it doesn't hurt to communicate with them. It sets you apart from the crowd because most times emails are just sent into cyberspace never to be heard from again.

    I would suggest only replying to them once a day, so they don't expect you to go back and forth with them throughout the day.
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  • Profile picture of the author affilorama-portal
    It would not hurt taking time to answer these emails as providing your opinion will greatly influence your relationship with your subscribers. In fact, I believe that you won't waste your time doing this as this (customer interactive) is more effective than link building.
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    • Profile picture of the author cashp0wer
      I actually do this but only a little. It does take up your time. If I have a subscriber contact me directly I will definitely get right back to them and very quickly. Fortunately, this does not happen too much so that it takes up too much of my time. My list is getting rather large also so I would never have the time to communicate with all of them on a regular basis.
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      • Profile picture of the author aprilm
        I also try to get back to questions as soon as possible. I am so busy all the time so this is a challenge, and often "as soon as possible" is a little longer than I would like.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Franklin
    As mentioned before, you do have to determine what your cutoff is.....However, I will say that you should make it a point to evaluate the type of personal emails that you've been getting and take some time to determine if there is some way that you could add value to your ENTIRE list by sending value-added email or two to your list that addresses recurring problems that you've noticed in personal emails to you....Obviously, you need to respect the privacy of your subscribers but you can refer to situations and keep people anonymous if you want to actually use their situations to help highlight your take on the matter.

    You might find that many of these emails make excellent starting points for future emails to your ENTIRE list!
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  • Profile picture of the author garveyonweb
    Chris, 1-2-1 communication is a cracking way to build a relationship with your list, but can't start to take over your life. there was an excellent suggestion above to limit it to a time every day. When I was starting out in this game I would have contacted some people by email in response to an email they sent me. Some responded, some didn't; those that did still get my attention when I get an e-mail from them. It def makes a difference.
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  • Profile picture of the author contentwriting360
    Banned
    suggest they go to Dr. Phil's website.
    Haha.. Nice one Jason! hihi

    But kidding aside, whether we're talking about a small, medium, or large list, if those 'personal issues' are outside of whatever you're offering your list, you don't have to deal with their personal issues. Perhaps, for the sake of being friendly, you may send a warn email to your list that you are more than happy to address and discuss their concerns that are relevant/related to the scope of your support. This email does not boldly tell them that they should never send you emails talking about their personal lives and everything but, at least, they'll get the message.

    Everything has a scope and limitation, Chris. Set their expectations, your terms and conditions or house rules, and that will handle it.
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    • Profile picture of the author ShaneGorry
      One think I've found useful with these kind of one on one discussions is that you will see patterns forming where you will realize many on your list same to have the same kind of problems. This is where you can turn it around and help your whole list and not just individuals who contact you. Of course there is also product creation potential in this kind of realization as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paleochora
    Someone called this giving "free help".

    Just wanted to point out that this "free" help is just the sort activity that will pay you back later. Without seeming mercenary, if you spend some time responding to some people and actually treating people as humans rather than list numbers or potential clicks, whose link will they be more inclined to buy through? Whose products will they be more inclined to buy? Whose coaching program are they going to join?

    But it goes beyond that. I have some very good online friends I have met from just this sort of connection. There are many benefits.

    Be human.

    EDIT: Why not take the questions that people ask and hold a monthly webinar addressing them for all. That way you will reach all of the people at the same time and get a great communication and relationship going.
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  • Profile picture of the author betterwtveter
    I would highly recommend it, they will gain your trust a heck of a lot more.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
    It is always good to communicate with your subscribers, but it is also time consuming. Think about outsourcing the communication to keep your subscribers loyal and free up your time
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    " I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that.
    But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. "

    ~ Jeff Bezos

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  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    There are two "camps" people fall into on this idea.

    The first camp, says that you should not reply personally unless people are paying. This will help people feel "Fear of loss" and "exclusivity". Perhaps, this can make people want to pay to talk to you.

    The other, is you reply - this will help create "availability". Opponents of this ideology would suggest that you're giving away your time for free, which is a bad idea.

    What seems more correct to you?
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    I think you should. I do. I also offer a forum that allow my members to ask questions and hear responses from me, and from other users on the forum.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    I have a standard auto-respond for replies to my "from address" .... this is not it but it goes something like this.

    Due to our large membership we have set up an extensive FAQ area at xxx/xxx.xxx. If the answer to your question can not be found there, please use the help desk found at xxx/xxx.xxx. Our, in house, (insert niche) specialist take all inquiries in order received.

    I then give an estimated time frame according to our records on each niche.

    The IM/MMO niche is handled differently ... at least for me.

    I want to communicate as much and to as intimate a level as possible. This level of communication is great for sales, confidence of member, as well as helping me understand the whims of my captured market.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Originally Posted by Chris Lengley View Post

    Hello,

    I am getting few emails from my subscribers regarding their issues. They ask for more help. Most of the time they discuss their personal issues through private emails and want me to help them out.

    Should I do this?

    I don't have problem in solving their particular areas problems. But, the problem is that, this will take much time.

    Already I conclude an article in 3 days with proper research. If I'll start helping them out one-on-one then it can be a problem.

    So, what should I do? Should I communicate with the subscribers one-on-one and solve their issues? Is it valuable?

    Thank you!

    Communication is key with your subscribers but you can create articles that reflect the answers to their problems and use that to help all your subscribers.
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