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But if you’re a Mom who doesn’t mind approaching writing your emails the way
that professionals do, you will reach your customers, and see improved sales.
I’ll explain how the pros do it-and how you can, too!
The first four steps of creating an irresistible email are creating what is
known as an advertising strategy. Your marketing emails are ads that you are
writing, and to create really effective ones, you must first do (ugh!) research.
It’s work, but the emails you create will be so much better than other people’s,
that you will literally ‘blow your competition out of the water”, competitively
speaking. Combined with sending them to your targeted opt-in list (see
lesson two for details on this), and you will have an unbeatable online
marketing campaign.
And that’s what we all want, right?
Step one: know your target audience
The first rule of marketing, either online or offline, is to understand your
customer. This is the person who will be buying your products, visiting your web
site, and giving you their hard-earned money. “Oh, that’s easy, my customers are
anyone who needs knitting supplies, and wants to buy them online,” you might
say. But it isn’t usually that simple, and if you dig a little deeper, you will
find out that your customers come in different sizes and shapes.
Some of your customers may be older folks, going online for the first time, who
want some nice yarn they can use for tatting patterns for their grandchild’s
nursery. Others may be middle-aged, sophisticated buyers who are into
all-natural fabrics who want to create a fabulous sweater with undyed yarn.
They’re going online because they can’t find that great yarn where they live in
Country Springs, Oklahoma, or they don’t feel like driving to the ‘big city’
everytime they want to buy specialty yarn. And yet others may be
a young adult who is net-savvy, wants to learn how to knit, or about cool fibers
and yarns for making a fashion statement that will impress their friends. Your
audience comes in segments, many times, and you will want to create different
emails to reach each of them.
Ask yourself, “Who comes to my store or web site, and actually buys from me?
What are they like? How old are they? What do they do for a living? What
motivates them? Are they conservative, or easy-going? What controls their
decision to buy? Price? Necessity? Availability?”
This is called market research, and it should be the first thing you do as an
Internet–based Mom.
Step two: Know Your Product, and Why People Use it
“Of course I know my product!” we exclaim, and you probably do, better than
most. But do you know how your customers view it? Can you get into their heads,
and see what they see? People don’t buy your product because it’s pretty, or a
certain color (in most cases), or has the highest-tech software installed. They
buy it because it solves a problem for them.
Your emails to customers should address the problem, and offer your solution:
this is known as your product benefits, and is the most compelling method of
selling known. An example: on a hot day, when you go into a store to buy soda,
you have a problem: you’re thirsty. Which soda solves your problem, in the best
possible manner? And gives you a good value doing it? This will probably be the
one you choose. You may be choosing on the basis of taste, or price may become
the biggest factor if you only have a few quarters in your pocket. You may even
be choosing due to convenience, if there is small refrigerator with ice-cold
soda right in front of you at the checkout line.
You may be marketing a service like job coaching to others on, but the principle
still applies: are you solving their problems? And giving them a good value
while doing so, whether by your customer service, the “extras” you offer?
Sit down, and ask yourself, “Why do customers buy my product or service? What
problems am I solving for them?” Brainstorm for a bit, and write down all of the
ideas that you come up with. It can help to create two columns, one labeled
“problem”, and the other, “solution”.
When you’re done, you will have a list of customer benefits, and the foundation
of what you will be highlighting in the email you write.
Step three: Position Yourself
If you’re an Internet-based Mom marketing her business online, you are competing
with a ravenous pack of other businesses, who all want your customers (this is
called “competition” and is part of our free-market economy). How can you
compete with them, and convince your customers that your business is the one
they want to buy from?
This is where positioning becomes crucial. What makes your business unique? What
do you offer customers that others don’t? Is it better prices? More inventory
(such as more yarn colors and types if you have a yarn business like the one
discussed earlier)? Outstanding, individualized customer service? Special
expertise and training? Dig deep, and ask yourself why someone should come to
you instead of your competitor. The answer is your unique positioning statement
(UPS).
This UPS is the pivotal point for all of your marketing (hopefully, you did this
long before you ever went online), and is the basis for creating a killer
marketing strategy. Convince your customers of why you are better, unique, and
fill their needs, and your emails will make sales soar.
Okay, now at last, you’re ready to write your email. Make sure you’ve done the
first three steps before writing that first line…
Step Four: Create a Great Headline
Your headline is the first thing customers will see when they click open your
email (don’t worry, I didn’t forget subject lines; those are so important that
I’ve devoted a whole lesson, number seven, to them). Headlines determine if a
person reads further, interested, or closes up the email. A strong one is vital
to your marketing.
How to create one? Look over the information that you wrote in the first three
steps. Now, step into the shoes of your customer for a moment. What is the most
compelling reason that they buy from you? Use it in your headline. And appeal to
their emotions: most people buy from greed, fear, status, hunger/thirst, or
other basic needs.
Ask them a question that highlights this reason they want to come to you, or
create discontent with other alternatives to buying from you. For instance, a
Mom with an online yarn store might ask, “Having trouble finding that special
yarn?” (and how, the knitter living in rural Arkansas might say). Or, pique
their curiosity: “We have fibers and colors you won’t find elsewhere…” (really,
which ones?). For the younger, newer enthusiast, you might draw attention to the
growing use of natural fabrics in fashion: “Want to appeal to that special man
in your life? The hottest trends are using all-natural yarns in flattering, soft
colors...” might draw in the younger woman who is interested in learning to
knit, or in buying some of your fabulous hand-knit sweaters.
Get into your audience’s mind set, and try different avenues; brainstorm and
write everything you come up with. Pretend you’re a 22-two-year old who wants
quality yarns or sweaters, and see what you can come up with that would appeal
to them. Then place this at the top of your email, in nice, bold print.
Chances are, you’ll hook them in, and they’ll want to read more.
Step Five: Personalize Your Email
We all like being addressed by name, and it’s no different with emails. If you
can address your recipients by name, please do (your web developer can create a
script that puts names in automatically). If not, or you can’t afford
programming fees, then try addressing your audience in as personal a manner as
possible. Instead of “Dear sir or ma’am” try “Dear fellow knitters…” for your
yarn store.
Step Six: Create Lead Paragraphs that pull people in
Okay, you’ve got a nice headline. Now, take the information you gathered in
steps one, two, and three, and write a paragraph that highlights the main reason
people will buy from you, or use your service. Use their language, too. If you
are selling highly technical software to computer nerds who administrate
servers, you will use a different tone and language than if addressing young
adults who buy body piercings.
Know your audience, and write to why they want to come to you. Use a warm,
friendly tone, as if you are talking directly to them. “Are you tired of not
finding that special yarn you’ve been looking for, at an affordable price? We
understand, because at Yarns and More, we’re knitting enthusiasts ourselves. We
know what it’s like to look for that special yarn for your knitting project,
because you want it to look just right…”
Use the word “you” more than “we” or “I”. People don’t really care that much
about how great you are; they care about how well you will meet their needs. By
addressing them in the second person, you are unconsciously letting them know
that they are the important ones, and in selling, that’s vital psychology.
Which firm would you rather so business with? The one that says, “Our firm has
highly credentialed marketing staff, with associate’s degrees in marketing,
finance, and commerce. We have completed courses in administration, and have a
huge facility in Podunk, Nebraska,” or the one that says, “From the moment you
walk into our store, we concentrate on you. We will spend individual, quality
time to discover your needs, and to help you create a marketing plan that will
help your firm grow-and make you more money.” Use this same approach in your
emails, and you’ll see increased response rates.
Step Seven: Say it early
People going online are often busy and impatient, and will often scan just the
first few sentences of emails. You may only have one paragraph to communicate
the meat of your message, so use it wisely. You can round out with more detail
later in the main part of your email. Try to create your first paragraph as a
“mini-telegraph” for your message, with a link to your web site, and you’ll get
the quick and restless readers to act.
Step Eight Give them reasons to Buy
The main body of your email should round out the appeal to the emotions that you
used in your headline. Now, you’re using facts to convince them. This is the
part where you discuss the high-tech software, the beautiful colors, the great
price. You’ve already gotten them interested in your product; here, you get to
give them your “sales pitch.”
Not sure what to say? Ask people who have bought from you why they chose your
product (you can send out a quick customer survey). Or try this exercise:
imagine a scene in which a customer is sitting across the desk from you. What
questions would they ask about your product or service? How would you answer
them?
Use this in your main copy, to let them know how your product or service can
help them, and why it’s better than your competition (but don’t name them
directly; instead, imply this with the high quality of what you offer).
Step Nine: Create a strong call to action
If a customer walked into a store to shop, a good salesperson would ask, “Would
you like to look at today’s special?” or “Would you like to pay with check or
credit card?” We can learn from this behavior, and should use it in our email
marketing.
These questions are “calls to action”, letting the customer know that you expect
them to take a decided action. People don’t know they are supposed to come visit
your web page, or learn more about your great products, unless you tell them to.
A call to action can be as simple as a link they click on to find out more
information, or as elaborate as a link to a .pdf brochure that explains your
products and services in more detail.
Make this link as enticing as possible. For instance, you could say, “click here
to visit our web site”, but that doesn’t really draw the reader in. Why not try,
“Click here to see one of the largest selections of natural yarns around” ? You
then use curiosity to draw them in, since they want to see exactly WHAT yarns
you included…or try, “Visit our three-day sale, where yarn prices have been
discounted by 30%”. Again, you’re motivating them to act, and see what you’re
offering at that price.
Don’t let potential customers put off taking action. Remind them that this is a
time-limited price, or value, and that they should “order today” to get this
special. Otherwise, they will think, “I’ll do it tomorrow” and forget, since
“out of sight” is often literally “out of mind” for most of us.
Step Ten: Offer an Incentive
We all love to get something for free, and this could be the factor that pushes
an undecided customer into actually ordering from you. Whether you provide a
discount, a free ebook, or free software, you should give them a reason to visit
your web site, or order from you. One excellent incentive is a money-back
guarantee, since most of us are naturally suspicious when we go online: we
wonder if the product will really work, and if the company really stands behind
their products.
Because after the headline, the “P.S.” is the second most frequently read part
of an email, many people like to place their incentives there. It’s more likely
that it will get read, and encourage the customer to act.
Step Eleven: Keep them short
Reading emails is hard on the eyes, and for this reason, most people only scan
them. Do your customers a favor, and keep your email messages short and sweet.
They will appreciate it, and there’s a greater chance that they will be read.
This was lesson two in our series, “Email
Marketing Techniques.”
Be sure to look for lesson three, in which we discuss “Email
Marketing Strategies That Work”.
Email Marketing Tutorial Contents: 1
Basic Rules of Email Marketing
2
Building Your Email Mailing List
3
Email Marketing Strategies That Work
4
How To Write Irresistible Emails
5
Avoiding SPAM Traps: Trigger Words That Filter Emails
6
The Real Truth About Direct Email and Email Lists
7
Creating Compelling Subject Lines (That Will Ensure Your Emails Get Opened) |
