Email auto responders are responsible for approximately 30% of the online product sales from my information based web sites.
My typical auto responder follow up happens like this:
- Prospect signs up for the mailing list and receives a thank you email that day.
- A second email is sent the next day with a follow up.
- For the next month, we send emails on a weekly basis – always on the same day and time of the week. If this is when they were free to sign up, then they’re most likely free to read follow up emails.
- Following the first month, we go to bi-weekly emails.
- After that, we send out monthly until the end of the follow up series.
A lot of people ask me if it does any good to follow up for such a long period of time. Here are a few samples from the sales results of that site:
- Joined 12/18/06, purchased product on 01/28/08, 405.97 days from signup.
- Joined 01/07/08, purchased product on 01/25/08, 218.54 days from signup.
- Joined 11/08/07, purchased product on 06/09/08, 213.95 days from signup.
- Joined 08/19/07, purchased product on 02/19/08, 183.88 days from signup.
- Joined 04/15/08, purchased product on 01/15/08, 90.59 days from signup.
- Joined 11/13/07, purchased product on 01/10/08, 58.41 days from signup.
- Joined 12/31/07, purchased product on 01/24/08, 24.07 days from signup.
Here are a few techniques I use to ensure successful campaigns:
- Pre-qualify the recipient. In order to collect emails, I usually do a product giveaway. The product should be directly related to what you’re selling. That way, you know that anyone who signs up will have a good chance of becoming a customer.
- Avoid stodgy subject lines. I try to use an email subject line like I would title an article – a three to five word description of what I’m about to talk about. I avoid things like June Newsletter
- Personalization – During the signup process I ask the prospect for their first name and include it in all of the emails that go out to them.
- Familiarity – I always try to write in a personal rather than formal tone. I find this more engaging and I think it helps to build trust with the reader.
- Offer something of value. I rarely send out an email that’s just a straight sales pitch. I find people are more receptive to reading the emails if they offer something of value. It can be a short and informative article, a free download, or a helpful tip.
- Pitch the product. Just because you’re a nice guy doesn’t mean you can’t try and sell your product. That’s what the autoresponder is for! Be sure to include a link to your product at the bottom of each email.