Week 4: Start List Mailing
A Better Way
We already know that
People buy from people they know and trust
In this weeks challenge we put a few more bones onto that skeleton. We were told we really have to get people to know, like and trust us. That feels like a lot more than just building trust. What does it take to fulfill those three words?
- Know
- Like
- Trust
Success is not going to come from promoting the latest, whizz-bang product that has all the features and benefits and amazing user testimonials. Those things help but they may not be enough. The best compulsion to buy will come from the person who recommends a product with whom you have the best connection. I know for one my participation in this Quick Start Challenge 2018 started exactly that way. I got an email from somebody who survived the massive Shiny Object Syndrome cull I went through late in 2017. I also know that the fact that Dean Holland was running the program helped. I know him because one of my friends knows, likes and trusts him.
So we learn this week that the best way to do the KLT thing is to share your stories. People like to learn from other people’s experiences. People like to celebrate success. People like to learn from failures too. I know from my own social media experience how I have inspired a raft of people to take up long distance cycling. I have inspired a few to combine long distance cycling and charity fund raising. All I have done is share my stories about cycling and the charities I support.
There are two parts of building this relationship.
- Do a blog post at least once a week about your experiences
- Email the list with your experiences
Simple really.
Last week we talked about step one of list building: build an opt-in page. This week we talked about how to use the list. The opt-in is just a start. From here the challenge is to nurture the audience.
Key Mistakes
I learned these last few weeks, I have made a big mistake in building my own Internet Marketing business. I have assumed that other buyers are the same as me. I am very rational. I understand features and benefits. I can see the bigger picture. That is why I suffer so badly from Shiny Object Syndrome. I can see where a product fits and buy it long before I need it. I also shun personal contact – I don’t want to hear people’s stories. Just present the facts and I will make a choice to buy (or not).
I have a few mailing lists built in niche areas (bodyweight training, copywriting, lead generation, cryptocurrency). I have autoresponders running in all of them that go out a few days. I have made only a few sales. Why? I have NOT NURTURED MY AUDIENCE.
The challenge for the week was to write a 7 day autoresponder sequence for the Week 3 Opt-in Page. My copywriting opt-in page already has a 6 part series written. My free offer is a 5 part report which can be downloaded in segments. So I have an email that describes each report and where it fits into a bigger marketing strategy. It was going to be easy enough for me to add a 7th email. I just grabbed another copywriting report that I have the rights to share and gave that away as a bonus. “Copywriting is about style and one person’s style might not fit with you, here is a different view from a different writer.”
Now this might look like a massive cop out reusing old material to complete the challenge steps. I did fix up a few problems from the week before. I did fix the Getresponse integration problem. I did realign the autoresponder to the discount offer I had changed for the sale product. I did fix the double opt in problem – it was a single switch that needed changing. And I did write up the 7th email – my emails do not go out every day. Personally, I studiously ignore daily emails. I find them intrusive and I do not think anybody can add value to my day every day. Mine go out 2 to 3 times a week. And I did make a new download page to grab the new report I added as a bonus.
A Bigger Idea
I had a bigger idea in mind. My aim for the week was to make another opt-in page and sales offer around my fund raising success – $17,758 in 8 campaigns. I figured that people would like to know how I raised $17,758 for charity using Internet Marketing. Why not make a lead magnet on how I did that? At the same time, it was a chance to dig into the Shiny Object drawer and try out an alternate Page Builder that I can promote later in the journey.
Process steps are easy enough
- Tabulate the results from 8 fund raising campaigns for data on where the contacts came from and what channel grabbed the donation. I love data
- Make a video describing what worked and how I built the lists. This will be the lead magnet
- Learn Convertri Page Builder and make opt-in page and bridge page. The sales page is done. I use the donation page for my current charity challenge
- Make short video for the opt-in page to test video pitch vs text pitch
- Implement the opt-in and bridge pages on my website
- Write the 7 part autoresponder series
- Compress the videos and upload. The lead magnet video is hosted privately for exclusive access (i.e., not on Youtube). The opt-in pitch video is on Youtube
I was making great progress and had completed the main video – that 30 minute video took about 3 hours of time in total from data analysis to presenting to editing. Then this happened on the 3rd ride of the October Cycling Challenge. I tangled with a car at 36.2 km/h
Injuries were minor but it was a huge setback to being able to concentrate. Sleeping was disrupted every time I turned (two sore points one on each side is always bad). The bicycle needs some Internet Marketing success to cover the costs of new parts. I was also spending a lot of time thinking through alternates for how I was going to finish the cycling challenge. My head was full of things that had nothing to do with a quick start challenge opt-in page idea.
I did get all the elements in place – by the time you get past day one of the autoresponder series I will have written 7 days worth. Here is the short pitch video. If you would like to receive exclusive access to find out how to use social media to ramp up your fund raising or how little you have to get from your friends just opt in on this page. It will open a new tab and take you to the bridge page to grab access.
Resources
This is the stuff I use.
Domains: I use 1and1.com because they are cheaper than the market leaders especially on renewals and the offer excellent customer support should things go wrong. I do not share domain registration and hosting providers.
Hosting: I have a reseller account at Hostgator. Customer service is also excellent 24/7. Server reliability has been flawless for me. I am using shared servers for now – load times can be a factor especially for users on the other side of the world to the servers.
Autoresponder: Deliverability is the key part of using an autoresponder. I use Getresponse who had undeniably good deliverability when I started. Pricing is good especially when your lists start to get large. With my link we each get a $30 credit.
Copywriting: Copywriting is the heart of marketing and selling. Find the words that compel people to buy. Grab 5 marketing checklists to start your journey here http://quicksecrets.com/copywriting
Page Builder: The new pages are built in Convertri. It has a powerful drag and drop editor. Pages load really fast and it can be integrated into WordPress sites easily. Someone could build a good business making some really good tutorial videos on Youtube. The Convertri videos tell you which buttons to press but not how to make great pages.
