For years, now, marketing gurus have been pronouncing the death of email marketing. Most of the time they’re just trying to sell you on using their latest whizz-bang alternative (like SMS or Facebook Messenger). But the fact is email keeps going strong.

That’s why one of your most valuable assets in your business is your email list. So you’ll want to focus on capturing prospects onto your list, captivating them with your content, and converting them to buyers. Let’s walk through these steps…

Capture

Here’s how to start capturing more qualified leads onto your mailing list: Create an enticing lead magnet. Be sure it’s a valuable product that your prospects really want. (When in doubt, do your market research to figure out what sort of products are in-demand.) You can create lead magnets in many different forms, including:

• Ebooks or reports.
• Videos.
• Audios.
• Live events like webinars.
• Webinar recordings.
• Apps, software or plugins.
• Access to membership sites.
• Coaching consulting (including group coaching).
• Access to a support group.
• Checklists.
• Worksheets.
• Gear lists.
• Planners.
• Templates.
• Swipes.
• Multipart ecourse.

… And similar tools and resources.

Promote your lead magnet with a professional landing page.

Get a professional to create graphics and the sales copy in order to get maximum results. In some cases, all you may need is a strong headline, a short opener, a bulleted list of benefits, and a call to action.

TIP: Your lead page will mention the benefits of the lead magnet (such as your free ebook). However, it should also mention the benefits of joining your list. For example, do subscribers get special perks such as exclusive discounts? What sort of content can they expect to receive in their emails?

The reason this is important is because you want to build anticipation for what’s coming in the emails, which increases the chances that your subscribers will actually open and read your emails. Otherwise, your subscribers may give you a “throwaway” email account in order to get your lead magnet, but they may not actually read any of your emails.

Next…

Use exit redirects to get more prospects on your mailing list.

For example, when someone leaves your sales letter, use a redirect script or popup window to promote your free lead magnet.

Drive targeted traffic to your lead page.

One of the keys to getting plenty of new subscribers is to send as much targeted traffic to your lead page as possible. Here are popular ways to get this traffic:

Guest blogging. Be sure to choose high-quality blogs, as your name will be associated with any blog on which your content appears.

Video marketing. You can distribute your videos on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media channels. You might distribute “Part 1” of a video across these channels, and then offer “Part 2” for free to anyone who joins your list.

Social media marketing. For best results, do some research to determine which social media platforms your audience uses, and then focus your efforts on the top two or three results. The most popular platforms include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

Partner traffic. Still another way to get traffic is with your joint venture or affiliate partners. You might give them a rebrandable report to distribute which includes a link to your lead page. Or you might do a co-endorsement, where you recommend each other’s lead magnets to your respective audiences.

Paid advertising. Still another way to get targeted traffic is by paying for it. The top venues include the Facebook ad platform, Google AdWords, and high-quality websites in your niche which accept advertising.

Next…

Captivate

Here’s how to captivate your subscribers and start building good relationships with them:

Use high-impact (benefit-driven) subject lines to get more people opening your emails.

Be sure to keep these subject lines fairly short, however, as most email clients will truncate them. For instance, “A weird trick for rapid weight loss…”

If possible, you might also try to arouse curiosity in your subject lines. Even something as using the word “secret” can arouse curiosity, like “The secret of doubling your conversions…”

Personalize emails (e.g., “hi, [First Name]”).

You can open your emails with the recipient’s name. On occasion, you may include their name in the subject line and/or the body of the email. Don’t overuse this technique, though, as some people feel it’s an invasion of their personal “space” if a stranger uses their name multiple times. In other words, this strategy can backfire if you cross the line, so for the majority of your emails you’ll want to keep it simple with a greeting in the beginning.

Create a great opener to engage readers and keep them hooked.

Your great opener might include a story, a startling fact, or even a question. E.G., “Have you ever felt humiliated at the beach?”

Use a friendly, conversational tone to make your emails engaging.

If your email sounds more like you’re writing a term paper than writing to a friend, then you need to start over.

Share some of your best tips, strategies and solutions for free in your newsletters.

This impresses readers, makes it more likely they’ll buy what you’re selling, and it keeps them opening your emails. Here are different ways to engage readers with your emails…

Arouse curiosity about what’s coming up.

For example, “You’re about to discover a simple trick for getting the asking price for your used car. But first, let’s take a look at three secrets your car dealer doesn’t want you to know…”

Tell a story to engage with and draw in your readers.

Ideally, the subject of this story should be someone who is very similar to your target market. That way, your readers will be able to relate to the story. “Ten years ago I was a lot like you. I slogged away at a day job for eight hours a day, and then rushed home to try to build my online business at night…”

Share a surprising statistic or other fact.

When your subscribers first start reading your email, initially they may be thinking about other things (like their work, their spouse, their cute little dogs, their kids, etc.). Starting off with a startling fact is a great way to snap them out of whatever else they’re thinking about and get them focusing on your email.

For example, if your email is about how to stop smoking, then you might share a sobering statistic about how many people die from smoking each year.

Tie current news events into your email’s topic.

If there is a news item that’s really on people’s minds at the moment, then you can enter the conversation that’s already going on in their heads by tying this news into your email topic.

For example, if there is some sort of awards ceremony going on (such as the Oscars), then you might create an email that lists “awards” for best products in your niche.  “And the award for the best and most reliable autoresponder goes to…”

Create a regular feature, such as “Ask the Expert.” This sort of feature makes your content “sticky,” which means subscribers will be opening your emails week after week to see what’s new in the latest addition of your special feature.

Encourage readers to ask questions, submit feedback, etc. Naturally, you can gather feedback by simply having subscribers hit reply to email you. Another thing you can do is set up a public social media page (such as a Facebook page) and encourage your subscribers to “join the conversation” on your page about your latest email.

 

 

Next…

Convert

Here’s how to turn your free subscribers into cash-paying customers:

Provide a call to action at the end of the email.

This is where you specifically tell readers what you want them to do next. E.G., “Click here to download this app – and do it now, while you can still take advantage of our special introductory pricing!”

Test and track your email campaigns to improve responses.

Items to test include your subject lines, call to action, and the offer itself. Many of the bigger email service providers (like Infusionsoft, ConvertKit, or Aweber) have these email statistics built right into their platforms.

Segment your list according to reader interests and behaviors (such as clicking on a link).

Then send targeted content and promotions to these segments. Sending these ultra-targeted emails should boost your conversion rates.

Send emails at least weekly to help develop “top of mind” awareness.

If you let too much time lapse between emailing your subscribers, they’re going to forget about you. They’re also likely to simply move on and find a competitor who’s able to provide them with the content, products, and other solutions they need.

Promote products using multiple emails.

The reason for doing this is because it tends to produce a higher conversion rate over sending one email. That’s because some people will miss the email if you send just one. In other cases, people may see the single email, but they need additional exposure to get excited about the offer.

For example, you might send a “Before-Turning Point-After” three-part sequence. The “before” email encourages the reader to make important changes, the turning point email backs up (with proof such as case studies) the claims of how your product can help with those changes, and the after email showcases all the top benefits of your offer for those that use it and see the changes they desire.

Keep your “From” field the same.

Otherwise recipients may not recognize your email, and they’ll delete it or even click the spam button). Focus on growing the relationship with your subscribers, and you’ll see your sales grow too.