Marketing Houston - For Marketing Professionals in Houston

Everyone has received an email. Everyone has also received unsolicited emails. That makes it all the more important to build a list of subscribers who won’t mind you communicating with them this way.

One of the most common ways that online business owners connect with their potential customers is through email. You can reach people easier that way than you can by ringing them up on the phone. Email can be accessed from laptops in Wi-Fi hotspots, cellular phones and WebTV to name just a few ways. Most people have access to their email everywhere they go nowadays. So, you could say that it is pretty important to manage this marketing tool just right.

Email Lists

Here’s how it usually works, you include an opt-in page on your website. It could be for free stuff, discounted merchandise, or additional information on something they read on your site. Readers are asked to become subscribers in some way to your website by providing their name and email address.

Along with that address you also include a disclaimer to put them at ease. Anyone who signs up knows that you won’t sell their information to a third party or send them unwanted spamming emails. You’ll remain focused on the topic at hand in your communication with them.

Your initial list will be mixed with those who are in your target market and people who are interested in more general information. If you are trying to reach people who are into dog accessories, you may reach those who are seeking information on pet accessories in general. They will soon be weeded out and hopefully they won’t make up the bulk of your list – at least not this particular list.

Autoresponders

Now, it’s time to contact those people. You have the list and something has to be done with it. Your subscribers are waiting.

You can use a series of emails that highlight your product offerings as a way to transition subscribers into the realm of customers. The goal of these emails is to provide additional information on the topic of your website business and not to necessarily sell a product directly.

The emails can be set up automatically to go out on a pre-set schedule using autoresponder programs and services. These services give you a way to distribute those emails. You can even add the personal touch of addressing your list by name instead of a blanket greeting with certain autoresponder services.

But, we are getting ahead of ourselves here. You need something to load into the autoresponder program. Create a series of emails that speak directly to each list member as if they were the only one on your list. You can even outsource the autoresponder emails if you need to.

Now that you have a list of subscribers, your next step is keeping them your number one priority. Use autoresponder emails to contact them on a regular basis with the purpose of building a solid relationship for future business.

Article marketing is one of the best ways to gain traffic for free. Using your expertise in the niche market, you can attract the kind of readership that would be interested in the product or service that you are marketing. Use it to build a money-making list.

The goal of business is to make money. If you aren’t successful, then you won’t be in business for long. The goal of list building is to create a network of people who will play into that success over and over again. The money will come if you cultivate the relationship first.

Article Marketing

Most people choose niches that appeal to them because they already know something about it. Use this to your advantage with article marketing.

Article marketing involves writing stirring content that can be highlighted on your website as well as other places. If you aren’t great in the writing department you can hire a ghostwriter or a ghostwriting service to handle the hard work for you. All you need to do is provide them with the information you want included in the articles.

Don’t forget to include keywords. They are still important. The fabulous things that you write won’t get read if no one can find it. Using keywords relevant to your niche can assure you a place on the first page of search results (or close to it once you get the hang of it). Then, others will learn that you have something important to say.

You can market your articles in several places. In fact there are quite a few directories that are in search of good articles. Quality is still the name of the game. Once you submit your work to these sites, they are reviewed by their experts before they are accepted. Appearing on popular sites like EzineArticles.com and Buzzle can increase your visibility and credibility.

Growing Your List

What you want to build your list are subscribers – people who will opt-in for newsletters, reports, email marketing campaigns and the like. If you are bent on selling them something at every turn, then your list will remain puny and ineffective. Concentrate on giving the readers what they want before you think about making the sale.

Provide information that is relevant to the target market. For example, for someone who wants to sell fishing equipment, write content that touts the benefits of fishing (relaxation, family activities, etc.) to them. After that, you can build up to how-to articles on different types of equipment or fishing tips.

When you give your readers what they want, they will come back for more. As they become comfortable with you, you can ask for their information and they will give it freely. These readers are now ready to hear more about you and your products.

Everyone loves to get something for free – as long as there are no strings attached. You can build your list with freebies to garner interest for the products that you are selling or promoting. You might be asking, “How does giving away free stuff make me any money?” Keep reading and you’ll see the benefits now and in the long run.

Return on Your Investment

The term “return on investment” or ROI is often used with real estate, but it plays a huge part in business too. When you buy something, you want to make sure that when you decide to sell it, you get more out of it than you put into it. Something similar happens to your business when you give away free products.

Free products are a way to get your foot in the door with potential customers. You want something from them – their information. This is not trickery, but an attempt to gain an opportunity to tell them about the product or service that you offer that can change their lives. If no one will listen, they will never know how wonderful your business is after all. It’s also one way to find out WHO is interested in what you have to offer. Be aware however, that just because they sign up to receive your freebie doesn’t mean they will automatically become a paying customer. As much as we all wish only those with open wallets would buy from us, there are those who will only stick around long enough to take your free offer then run. It’s ok – those who are genuinely interested in what you have to say, will stick around. Those are the ones you want anyway.

Types of Freebies

Free items can take many forms. Before choosing an item to offer for free, consider what you will gain (or lose) if someone does or doesn’t come back later to patronize your business. When you are working to define your niche market, think about offering smaller items like special reports.

If you are a writer as well as a businessperson, creating a special report on your chosen topic may take you a day or two. Since you have taken the time to research your niche, you know that you want to offer your product (let’s say lingerie) to older women. Your research showed that lingerie that is sexy and cute is only marketed to twenty-something or thirty-something women, leaving older women out of the demographics. Offer a free report on choosing age-appropriate lingerie to help build a targeted list of potential customers.

Think Long Term When Designing Your Offer

The object here is not quick cash but long term sales. If you get 100 names from this one freebie, at least half may come back for another look. It’s important to note, that whatever you say in your reports you bear out in your product or on your website. Case in point, if you suggest black teddies for women over fifty, they had better be in your store if that age group is your target audience.

Freebies can be downloadable or tangible products. The main goal is to meet the needs of the visitors with something that will entice them to give you their information for your list. From there, you can follow up with more information to build a relationship that converts that visitor to a customer.