Think, Think and Think Again
It is always a good idea to think before you speak. The same goes when writting to your list. Ask yourself some key questions before you decide to write:
- Will my list benefit from this?
- Would I appreciate the information if I were the recipient
- Is the content new and fresh?
- Have you added an extra benefit for those who might already have heard of your product?
Will my list benefit from this?
You will no doubt already have noticed that I combined the first two points into this one point. There is absolutely no doubt that you need to place yourself (mentally) on the receiving end of your e-mail in order for your campaign to be succesful.
Noone enjoys receiving information that is either outdated or irrelevant. People talk of building their list, but they should be building listS instead – not one, but many lists.
“Why many lists?” you may be thinking. Stay tuned. There is a very good reason for it.
Let’s say you’re dealing with online marketing (in general), e-books on speaking and conference techniques and you also hold conferences. Some would have one list and wouldn’t think more about it. That would be a BIG mistake. List building should also be concerned about RELEVANCE. Some things ARE RELEVANT for your recipients, but others might not be.
As you have no doubt guessed I am a member of numerous lists. I was a member of many more, but when I discovered who the ones were that generated e-mails about the exact same products the number of mails diminished considerably. It is, however, apparently a trend that goes in circles because either SOMEONE among the lists I am on is selling his/her lists or at least sharing lists with others.
I would never sell my list(s). They are developed through blood, sweat and tears. They represent a fair value, especially given the fact that some of the lists contain BUYERS. Buyers can be second and third time customers, and that’s why they should be considered with respect.
Is the content new and fresh?
There is no need to announce something that will soon expire. I know many of you fellow marketers will also check your inboxes numerous times each day, but you can rest assured that only very few people are that effective. If the product expires within 24 hours you should also consider time zones. If you have a list that is divided into geographic zones you could run a script that could give you a variable from which you can sort the ones that are relevant for your message.
The lazy ones could just calculate the time from you press the “Send” button and thus leave it up to your recipients to calculate the rest. But either people make mistakes in calculation or they simply give up. But you get the drift. Be relevant and be on time with fresh content.
Have you added an extra benefit for those who might already have heard of your product?
Here’s the professional twist I haven’t seen all that much around. When has a marketer announced a product and then told you about an extra product if you already knew about the first product he or she announced?
Right? You bet! It’s innovative. That should have been “elementary, my dear Watson”, but often the elementary things are overlooked.
Go for it. If your news is relevant, fresh, innovative and beneficial to the recipients on your list, you should have a pretty good chance at making a decent income.
Carpe diem. 🙂