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How to create an email marketing account and attach your free offer

In my last post I talked about how to create an irresistible free offer so that you can begin to build a profitable, consent-based email list.

To recap, the 5 steps are:

1. Create an irresistible free offer
2. Create an email list and attach your freebie
3. Create an opt-in page
4. Add additional follow up emails
5. Get traffic to your free offer

Today I want to dig a little deeper into step #2 and show you exactly how to set up your email marketing account and attach your new “freebie” to your auto-responder.

An email marketing account is simply an account that allows you to build a database of subscribers who are interested in learning more about you and your business.  This is a simple way to get people to know like and trust you.

The most effective email marketing accounts with protect you from any SPAM issues while allowing you to reach out to your entire list, or a segment of your list, with automated follow-up and broadcast messages.

My favorite resource for this is Aweber.com.  They are not only reliable, but they follow the strictest anti-spam regulations which will ensure that you.  Aweber has some very good video tutorials that will help you set up your new account so don’t worry about the “techie” side of this.  You can also pay a virtual assistant via IVAA.org to set it up for a nominal fee.

Once you’ve set up the email account with Aweber or another list management company of your choice you need to attach your free offer to the first follow-up message.  This way the new prospect will automatically receive what they signed up for without you having to sit near a computer responding to each and every new sign-up

You can add a PDF attachment to the message or create a separate web/blog page with a link to your free offer.  If you’re using audio or video, the file will be too large to add as an attachment, but using AudioAcrobat.com will allow you to create a simple link that you can share within the message that will take your prospects to the content.

Next I will talk about setting up your opt-in page so that you can begin getting subscribers and build your brand new community.

Be sure to ask any questions here:
http://TomBufordMarketing.com

 

Attract Ideal Prospects with your Irresistible “Freebie”

In my last post called “5 Steps to Building a Responsive Email Marketing List”

I talked about specific ways to build a profitable, consent-based email list.  In other words, you are building a strong relationship with a community of people who are sincerely interested in what you have to offer.

To recap, the 5 steps are:

1. Create an irresistible free offer
2. Create an email list and attach your freebie
3. Create an opt-in page
4. Add additional follow up emails
5. Get traffic to your free offer

Today I want to dig a little deeper into step #1 and share some ideas about creating a free offer that your ideal prospects will love to sign up for.

Your irresistible offer can be anything from a free report or list of resources to a simple audio tutorial where you share your thoughts on a specific idea.  There is no reason to make this long or complicated.  After all, this is a free sample of more to come.  Don’t put so much pressure on yourself that you never get out of first gear.  In fact, it’s my experience that many people appreciate a concise solution when they are signing up for a free offer of some sort.  The idea is to get it out there in a big way and use this to establish a strong relationship with a large list of potential clients and customers.

Here are FOUR simple steps to create your free offer:

1. Decide on the topic that you want to dig into
This should naturally lead to your paid solutions so be sure to keep a theme going here.  Be as specific as possible.  You won’t attract many prospects if you set out to solve every problem for every person.

2. Pick a title for the freebie
Don’t get too cute here.  Keep it simple and be sure that people know what they are getting.  An example if you share pricing strategies with service providers might be “5 Deadly Mistakes to Pricing and what to do if you’ve made them.”

3. Outline and create your free offer
Turning a simple word doc into a PDF or creating a short MP3 audio is certainly sufficient.  If you have the ability to add graphic design, etc then knock yourself out, but the most effective freebies will share valuable content without having to try to rely on fancy design elements to please the prospect

4. Attach your free offer to your auto-responder
I like to use Aweber for email marketing software.  They have an impeccable reputation and cost less than twenty bucks a month.  That’s hard to beat for the value that you will begin to build by implementing consent-based email marketing into your business.

In my next post I will dig into step #2 and explain how to set up your email marketing account and attach your brand new irresistible offer to it so that you can get ready to build your community practically on auto-pilot.

 

5 Steps to Building a Responsive Email Marketing List

Building a profitable business takes time and energy.  But using effective strategies such as creating a strong, responsive email marketing list can shave months if not years off of your efforts so that you can enjoy your business sooner rather than later.

I love having an email marketing list, or “community”, that I can stay in touch with anytime I need.  Having an email list has allowed me to build a strong relationship within my community and position myself as an authority that people know, like and trust.

If you sell, or want to sell, any type of service then creating your own community is a powerful way to grow your business and enjoy it to the fullest.  Here are the five basic steps to creating an effective, profitable email marketing list of your own.

1. Create an irresistible free offer

It’s not enough to offer a newsletter or ezine anymore.  People are already overwhelmed with the number of subscriptions that they have.  But people who are on the internet are searching for information and if you can offer a free offer that will provide them with some valuable information many people will happily exchange their first name and email address for this info.

Your free offer can be a written report, short audio or video tutorial, compilation of articles you, or someone you trust, has written, a list of helpful resources, free teleseminar, free interview, etc.

2. Create an email list and attach your freebie

I use Aweber to manage my email marketing list.  They are reliable and affordable.  You can set up your account and attach your free offer to the auto responder, or follow up email.  If you are offering a free teleclass, etc just provide the call-in details in the follow up email.

3. Create an opt-in page

This is where people will sign up to receive the free offer.  Be sure to include a catchy headline, bullet points about what is offered and an opt-in box so that they can enter their name and email address.  You will use your email marketing account to create the opt-in box.

4. Add additional follow up emails

You want to continue to follow up with more valuable information.  You can add articles, audio and video tutorials, new teleclasses, etc.  This is your opportunity to build a long-term relationship with your community.  But also keep in mind that it’s important to promote relevant products and services that you offer.  Some people will stick with your free offer, but others will want to take that next step with you.  Don’t keep it a secret!

5. Get traffic to your free offer

After steps 1-4 are set up you only need to focus on getting traffic to your opt-in page.  You can use any or all of the following to cover your traffic: social media, joint venture teleseminars, article marketing, guest blogging, speaking, etc.

I hope this helps you move forward with your own email marketing.

 

5 Steps to Creating Your Own Successful Teleseminars

Hosting your own teleseminars, aka teleclasses, is a simple and powerful way to build credibility, trust and expertise within your marketplace.  Teleseminars are also a kick-butt way to build your community, or “list”,  while sharing valuable information that you love to share!  But while hosting a teleseminar is fairly simple, it’s not as simple as talking into a teleconference line and hoping people will show up.  I’ve done literally hundreds of telephone interviews and teleclasses and I want to share 5 simple steps that I hope will help you hold your own successful teleseminars.

1. Pick an interesting topic
The topic you choose is very important.  It should be a topic that not only you are interested in sharing, but one that your ideal clients will be interested in learning more about.  A great way to decide on teleseminar topics is to survey your list.  You can create a simple, free online survey by going to SurveyMonkey.com.  If you don’t have a list to survey just yet, don’t worry; get involved in discussion groups on Facebook, Yahoo Groups, LinkedIn, Google Groups, etc and find out what people are interested in learning more about.

2. Outline your call
The way that I like to structure my calls is by starting with a simple outline.  Write down a list of questions you think your guests might want to learn more about.  You want to have enough of an outline that will keep you on track and able to talk for 45-60 minutes.  Don’t worry about getting this perfect; it never will be.  Just be sure to deliver great content and the timing will be secondary.  That being said, don’t promise a 60 minute teleseminar and then ramble on for 2 hours.  Be sure to respect your listeners’ schedule.

3. Set up your conference line
You can set up a free conference line at FreeConference.com, but my favorite resource for setting up my teleseminars is InstantTeleseminar.com.  Instant Teleseminar provides a higher quality recording, along with a back-up recording that has saved my butt on more than one occasion.  It also allows your listeners to access the calls via webcast (computer) so that they can pop in from anywhere in the world without having to incur long distance fees.  I have found that about 90% of the people who listen to my teleseminars seem to prefer the webcast feature.

4. Invite guests to attend your teleseminar
If you’re just beginning to build your community then send an invite out to friends, family and social media buddies.  This is a great way for you to get the experience of holding teleclasses, get valuable feedback and build a list of people who are interested in learning more from you.  Be sure to create an attention getting subject line when you send out the invitation.  Your email can’t be read if it doesn’t get opened!

5. Build your Community…aka “list”
Have guests enter their name and email address on a simple sign-up page to receive the call-in details. Instant Teleseminar, and other teleconference companies, will provide you with a link to send to your guests.  All they have to do is either follow the web link or call the number provided to attend the call.  The best way to begin building your list is to have guests enter their name and email address in a simple sign-up form in order to receive the call-in details.  This way you will also know who to follow up with for the playback link, transcription (if necessary), and any other offers you create.  You can use Aweber.com to begin building your email list.  Aweber will provide you with the code necessary to create your sign-up form.  Then you just add that code along with a headline and details about the call to a free blog page and you have a sign-up (or “opt-in”) page ready to go.

Tips:
Be sure to test your conference line before going live.
Offer a “next step” coaching program or training product for guests who are on the call.  This could be as simple as offering the MP3 of the call, your outline notes and a live Q&A call with you for $47-$97…or more.
Create a series of calls and package them into an online coaching program or home study system.
Lather, rinse and repeat.  Keep practicing.  Make mistakes and improve as you go.

Peace,

Tom

P.S. I’m considering having a live teleclass next week to go into this information in more detail.  Leave a comment below and let me know if that would be valuable.
Thanks!

 

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