And one last piece of CYA (cover your assets) advice. If you get a
listing of names and email addresses from an organization, e.g., the
membership list of a group for which you made a presentation, make
sure you retain the permission letter or email message attached to the
list. If someone goes to your information service provider (ISP) and
gets temporary amnesia about how you got their name, you just pull
out the piece of paper that has permission on it. Some ISPs have
become very strict, with little to zero tolerance. They can and will shut
you down! So don’t chance it. Get the permission!
Lastly, make sure every message you send provides instructions, or
preferably an automatic means, for the recipient to opt-out of the list.
If someone requests to be excluded, remove him from the list ASAP!
Quick guide to building an opt-in list:
Stage 1
In the first stage, you have identified a target audience. Let’s stay with
dog owners. I prefer Old English Sheepdogs myself, but let’s stay with
the more generic category, dog owners. I’ve suggested a cumulative
total of 3,000 dog owners that will be targeted in three different
media. Obviously, there are far more than 3,000 dog owners out
there, but we’ll be conservative.
Stage 2
Next, find places where these folks would normally be drawn to for
information. Your own content-oriented site would be my favorite, or
an e-zine that focuses on the needs of dog owners. You can also find
numerous free places to advertise. Ruth, in Vestal NY, has a website
www.lifestylespub.com where she categorizes and catalogs all the ezines
that are available. She tells you who the readers are (ie, dog
lovers, teachers, etc) and the average number of readers. For $100,
you can get a year’s subscription to this site.
As well, you want to optimize your own destination or home page so
that people can find you on the search engines. A great place to learn
more about search engine placement is Robin Nobles’ and Susan
O’neil’s, Maximize Web Site Traffic: Build Web site Traffic Fast and
Free by Optimizing Search Engine Placement, or Fredridk Marckini’s
book, Search Engine Positioning: Grow Your Web Site Traffic by
Achieving Top 10 Search Engine Rankings.
Again, we’ll assume that the average monthly readership or visitors to
each place is 1,000. Let’s assume a click-through response rate of 1%,
so that each location yields 10 prospects, for a total of 30.
Stage 3
Here’s where you really start leveraging your time. An autoresponder
is nothing more than a sophisticated email address. Think of it as your
automated electronic employee, working for you 24/7/365. At
predetermined times, the autoresponder automatically sends out your
pre-formatted messages to people that have responded to ads, search
engine inquiries, e-zine placements, web site articles, referrals, etc.
Let’s say your advertisement was for a free canine-related newsletter
you publish. If the respondent replies, they’ll also receive a free report
on the care and feeding of miniature, small, medium and large breed
dogs. When they click, the autoresponder automatically sends the
report as an email.
Stage 4
One of two things also happens. The first might be that a web form
pops up immediately to collect their name address, telephone, email
address and other qualifying information. A form is nothing more than
an electronic version of a piece of paper where you gather information.
For example, see the form I use to collect information on business
opportunity seekers at www.Igreply.com/aboutyou.
The second possibility is that the respondent is redirected to your own
content rich web site, or even someone else’s. This is a “softer” direct
approach because not only are they getting a free report, they also
just discovered a great information packed site to come back to. They
get more bang for their click. At your web site, they can browse
around and read to their heart’s delight on every conceivable topic
related to dog owners. Here is also where they would fill out the same
type of form mentioned above.
Stage 5
The autoresponder collects, stores and puts into database fashion
format every name that is submitted. That database then contains
your opt-in list of names of like-minded people, in this case dog
owners.
The autoresponder also keeps track of when messages have been sent
out and when to send any follow up messages. Marketers know it
takes somewhere between 7 to 10 communications with a prospective
client before the prospect will buy. That’s what the autoresponder does
with those preformatted messages. The first message was the free
report. You preprogram the autoresponder to send out another
message in, say 3 days, then 5 days, then 2 days, then 7 days. This is
what I call following up on a “regular irregular” basis. In other words,
don’t make the delivery of the message an expected event. It’s that
follow up that will generate profits.
On a ratio of three to one, send out three informational messages to
one “soft-sell” message. The “soft-sell” message is primarily
informational, but couched inside the message is some promotional
content. For example, you might have sent out three messages about
the grooming habits of various breeds. The fourth message might also
be about grooming, but it suggests a site where they can go to get
grooming tools. Maybe that’s your site or an affiliate’s (see number 4
below). It’s a soft sell, but one that educates as well. Be sure to
include you name and email on each letter that is sent. In this way,
you make yourself more accountable and earn the trust of those that
are receiving your email.