I’m often asked, “How do I get subscribers in the first place?” This article lets you in on a few secrets. Not only how to get them, but how to treat them and keep them as customers for life.
Think of customer acquisition and retention like an archery target. Draw a dot in the center, with two or three concentric circles as the outside rings.
Think of the outermost ring of the target as an item that you give away free. It could be a special report, series of tips, or a white paper.
The next inner ring represents your $50 thing. It may be an ebook, a series of audio interviews, or a two-hour training video.
The next ring is your $500 thing. It could be a 10-hour course, consulting, or coaching services.
At the very center – the bull’s eye – is your $5,000 thing. It could be a two-week project or a retainer for specialized work.
The goal is to bring the reader in from the outside edge of the target into the center. This moves the customer from the free thing into the more expensive items, as they come to know you and trust you.
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To get the reader in the first place, offer them something of high perceived value. Something of value in exchange for their contact info. But what exactly is value?
Value is the difference between the actual price and what you are willing to pay. If the sale price is higher than expected, it’s a poor value. If it’s lower than expected, then you’re delighted because of the “high” perceived value.
In this case, the price someone is willing to pay is their contact info. It could be as little as a first name and email address. But to get useful contact info, the content you offer must be high-quality. Even if it’s free.
First of all, don’t give your valuable content all away at once. Meaning, don’t put the information on a private web page. Make them download a PDF file or ebook. Make them “do some work” to get at the document. Sweat equity increases the value in their mind.
Make it a quick read and keep it to 10 pages or less. Be sure to give out some of your best info. Don’t be afraid of giving away too much. This is the bait. If they take it, all you need to do is reel them in and get a subscriber for life.
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Tell, but don’t try to sell any products in the document. All you want them to do is the next step. To sign up for your newsletter, memo, bulletin, periodical, articles, ramblings, whatever you choose to call it.
Then once they subscribe, give them a little “unadvertised” signing bonus. Be sure that you don’t mention it elsewhere. Providing a gift at this stage will solidify the relationship between you.
Another method of getting subscribers is to offer a course or tips via email. Deliver in five to seven consecutive lessons. Follow the “tell, don’t sell” model as you would do with a PDF.
Remind the subscriber after every email to sign up for your newsletter. Be sure to offer a signup bonus, like you would in the PDF model.
Now comes the time to maintain the relationship with the readers. Be sure to contact them often. Don’t wait more than two weeks between contacts because they might forget you. Make a schedule like once a week and stick to it.
Here’s another tip, always send the email from the same person using the same subject line. That way, there can be no mistake that it’s their favorite newsletter. (Some people choose to change the subject with every issue. I’ve tested this and found better open rates when it’s always the same.)
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Finally, if you want to get a record number of people signing up, offer them a valuable prize. For example, I ran email marketing for a cell phone company. We gave away a decent cell phone every month. The email list grew from a few hundred to a hundred thousand in less than a year.
If you create info products, the prize could be a complete collection of your life’s work on a USB drive. It could be courses, ebooks, videos, or other training materials. Give away one per month to a lucky subscriber if you can afford it.
Here is a sneaky bonus secret. Be sure that your contest rules specify that you will notify the contest winner by email. If they unsubscribe, they cannot win. It keeps people subscribed.
Offer something of high perceived value. Put it in the form of a PDF report or seven-day course via autoresponder. That will get people signing up to read what you have to say. And if you have something genuine to say, your audience will want to hear it.
Treat each subscriber like a friend and talk to them in their language style. Respect the relationship. Honor the fact that they are allowing you into their time and space. And always try to provide real value in every communication.
That, my friend, is how you get email subscribers and keep customers for life.
Michael Warren Campbell
P. S.
What about you? Are you doing any email marketing? If so, what service or software do you use. Do you have any tips to get subscribers and keep them for life? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
To discuss this article, message me @dmcorp on Twitter or dynamic888 on Skype. Please share it with your friends, colleagues, coworkers, and anyone else that might enjoy it. Thank you!
Article Link: https://internetmarketingsecrets.com/get-subscribers/