The first thing you need to do is get your e-mails opened & read. Spend at least as much time worrying about the subject line of each e mail in your sequence as you do worrying about the body.
Brainstorm at least five subject lines, pick the one most likely to stop your prospects dead in their tracks (tip, the only way to know for sure is to test), and use the rest of them in the body of the message. And ALWAYS begin your title with the person’s first name.
Curiosity Killed The Cat – It’s human nature to be curious. One of the most effective ways to get your message opened is to throw a little mystery into the heading. Mystery, mixed with relevant benefit, will get your message opened. But that’s not all.
It’s still easy to bail after the first paragraph, so curiosity can also help to drive your prospect deeper into the body of the message. Remember, the deeper your readers go into your copy, the more difficult it will be for them to STOP reading it.
It doesn’t hurt to tell a little bit about what your offer isn’t, to build up the suspense, and help drive your reader further down the page.
Tell A Story – In 1919, a Russian immigrant named Max Sackheim, stumbled upon a fascinating discovery. He had been hired by the Sherwin Cody School of English to come up with a mail order advertisement, and his original headline read, “Do You Make Mistakes In English”?
The ad didn’t pull.
By adding one magic little word to the headline, Max was able to make the very same ad produce amazing results. The ad became so profitable that it ran for over 40 years straight, when Max changed the headline to, “Do You Make These Mistakes In English”?
People’s curiosity got the better of them. They just couldn’t resist reading Max’s advertisement. They were all wondering if they might be making “these” mistakes in English. Max was able to slip right under the buyer’s natural resistance to being sold, and suck them right into the advertisement.
Story telling has the same effect.
You Can Never Over Educate – Nobody ever bought a hammer, because they wanted a hammer. What they wanted was a bunch of nails tapped home just right. Sequential e-mail follow up is ideal for showing your prospects how to achieve their goals with your product.
Remember, the more comfortable your prospects are about the “How To” of using your product or service to solve their problem, the more confidence they’ll have in your ability & willingness to really help them. One of the most effective things you can do with your autoresponder, is to offer free courses & tutorials that show your prospects how to use your products to get the results they’re looking for.
It’s the ultimate soft sell, and it’s very effective!
Warts & All – It’s all about trust. That’s why you’re following up on your prospects in the first place, right? Your prospects need to be exposed an average of 7 to 9 times before succumbing to your seduction.
Pointing out the imperfections of your product can go a long way toward building that trust. You don’t necessarily have to slam your product, but giving the straight goods on the pitfalls that the buyer might encounter when using it, and helping them to avoid them, demonstrates your honesty, and openness.
It’s like showing the front of your hands, in a face-to-face encounter.
Be Specific – Details, exact numbers, & vivid descriptions worked into your copy are worth their weight in gold, because they’re far more believable than generalities. When you make a claim, back it up with facts & figures.
Your prospects are both naturally skeptical, and hungry for truth.
Don’t Be Shy About Objections – Every product has natural objections. Don’t be afraid to bring them up.
Read your copy after being away from it for a while, and at some point in the message you’ll feel them creeping in. That’s the point when you add something like, “OK, you’re probably thinking . I can understand why you might feel that way, many others who looked at this product felt just the same way, until they found out about <rebuttal>.”
You need to come up with a list of reasons why your prospect would want to buy your product or service, and also the reasons why not.
The Fear of Loss Is Greater Than The Desire For Gain – Often the fear of losing something, sometimes even something that we do not yet have, is a stronger motivator than our desire for gain.
The fear of missing out on a special price or promotion is a good example of this.
Don’t we all want what we can’t have? Work hard to find ways to make your product scarce, or at least make your offer scarce, by offering it for a limited time.
Justify Your Offer – People know that you’re in business to make a profit, and that you don’t give things away out of the goodness of your heart.
When they see a sale, or a special price, or a bonus offer, the wheels naturally start turning in the back of their heads. What’s the catch? While it’s our emotions that truly motivate us, logic does have a nasty habit of getting in the way.
When you are open with your prospects about the reason why you’re offering them a special deal, it’s amazing how easily they’ll accept your reasoning, and abandon their resistance. The same applies to giving a legitimate reason why your special offer absolutely expires on a specific date.
So there you have it. Eight e-mail follow up secrets, revealed.
Until next time, Good Selling!
Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. Recently, Daniel & world-renowned publicist & copywriter Joe Vitale teamed up to co author Million Dollar Online Advertising Strategies From The Greatest Letter Writer Of The 20th Century!, a tribute to the late, great Robert Collier.
Let the legendary Robert Collier show you how to write words that sell…Visit the below site & get 3 FREE Chapters!
http://www.Advertising-Online-Strategies.com/ad-strategies.html
