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Author: John Reese Article source: http://www.superfastprofit.com/. Used with author's permission.
It's happening. Again.
The Internet marketing 'game' is rapidly changing... again.
Email marketing is under attack like never before...
Pending legislation. Spam filters. Email overload.
Internet users' inboxes are full. They are loaded with junk
and they are tired of the hassle. Opt-in rates are on the
decline -- and they will continue to fall.
So the cries are coming from many Internet marketing
circles...
"Email marketing is dying -- it's only a matter of time."
That's right. Many people see Email marketing dying
completely. Many marketers are already positioning
themselves to do business without it.
Why are they preparing to do without it? Because it's just
going to be too much of a hassle to get people to opt-in.
And if that's not enough, it's going to be such a hassle
to get around spam laws, filters, and other nuisances.
Well...
Do you want to know what *I'm* planning on doing?
I'M PREPARING TO MAKE MORE MONEY THAN
EVER FROM EMAIL MARKETING.
That's right. I'm planning to make more money than
I already do with Email marketing.
(And I have some single lists that are generating 6-figures
a year in profit -- automatically. And that's just their
affiliate income; it has nothing do with my product sales.)
As more and more marketers RUN AND HIDE from
Email marketing, I am positioning myself to CASH IN
like never before...
And I'm suggesting you do the same.
But first, where are many marketers running "TO"?
As an alternative to Email marketing, many of them are
running to start BLOGS.
If you haven't heard of it yet, "blogging" is basically like
keeping an interactive diary on a web site. It's another way
to publish information on the Internet.
Blogs ARE a good marketing vehicle. In fact, there are many
people that are profiting quite nicely by running a blog.
My friend, Jason Cain, is one of these people. Jason is a diehard
"blogger" and he has a fantastic marketing-related blog at:
http://www.goldblogger.com
You should check it out. He writes a lot of great stuff and it's
fun to read the "comments" that some of the readers post
on the blog's site.
Jason also has a great course that teaches people how to
profit from running a blog, and you can check that out at:
http://www.goldblogging.com
But let's get something straight! Blogs are *NOT* going to
replace Email marketing. It's not gonna happen.
I do think blogs ARE a great publishing tool for increased
exposure and can improve someone's marketing, but
Email marketing still has many major advantages.
Without going into a long tirade about why Email marketing
is the ultimate marketing tool, I'll just put it like this...
If your marketing message can be delivered to the same
place that a personal note from Grandma is, it's more
effective than any alternative. I'll just leave it at that.
So again, blogs aren't going to replace Email marketing, but
they are a great *additional* marketing tool to use. Heck,
I'll probably end up with a little blog for MarketingSecrets.com
sometime soon. Anything that brings you more exposure
(i.e. more prospects) is a "good" thing.
But back to Email marketing...
As it becomes harder and harder to use Email marketing
it represents a fantastic opportunity for marketers willing
to put in the extra WORK.
Gee, what a novel approach. The more WORK you do,
the more money you make.
If you haven't figured it out yet, the people making the big
bucks online are some of the hardest working folks around.
That "work" usually translates into DIFFERENTIATION. Being
different from other marketers and competitors to separate
themselves from all the "noise" online.
But most people aren't willing to do the extra work, and so
those that are end up making more money as a result.
Email marketing is going to be the exact same way.
Aside from having to comply with legislation (i.e. most likely
using double opt-in methods and keeping detailed records
of all subscriptions) and getting around spam filters, the
biggest challenge will be getting the opt-in.
Opt-in rates have been on a steady decline and it's no surprise
as to why. People are just overloaded with email. In order
to get someone to opt-in to YOUR list, it's going to come
down to the OFFER -- the backbone of selling.
The Opt-in itself has evolved a lot in the past 14 years that
I've been marketing online. You used to be able to put up
a simple form that just said, "Get my newsletter" with no
other description and people would opt-in by the truckload.
It's not that easy anymore -- and it's only going to get worse.
So how do you adapt? It's easy...
SELL THE OPT-IN.
Now I don't mean "sell" as in charge money for it. I mean
"sell" in relation to salesmanship and marketing. You need
to make your opt-in a compelling OFFER.
It's going to become so hard to get people to freely opt-in
to your list or autoresponder course that you will really have
to WORK to get them to do it.
But before I go any further, I will say this. THE WORK WILL
REALLY PAY OFF. Mark my words. Marketers that ARE
able to successfully continue using Email marketing will
CLEAN UP in the near future and beyond.
(Because most marketers will stop using Email marketing
because of all the work involved.)
So What's The Best Way To Get An Opt-In?
It's simple. It's called a SALES LETTER.
And, YES, I'm being serious.
Now, this sales letter doesn't have to be very long, but all
the powerful elements of a typical sales letter need to be there:
1. A compelling benefit-driven headline.
2. Some descriptive text.
3. Intriguing bullets.
4. Testimonials.
5. An implied value.
6. A "bribe" or gift for taking the call to action. (Opting in.)
Now all of this seems like a lot of work. And it is, initially.
But once you create this page it will work by itself.
Again and again and again.
This page only has to be a couple scrollable pages in length.
You can create a very short version of this that will be very
effective.
So you will have a benefit-drive headline that is related to
WHAT THE HECK THEY WILL GET OUT OF joining your
list.
Then you will briefly describe why they should get it
and also use several bullets to illustrate this.
You should use a few testimonials from other happy subscribers.
You need to give it an implied value. You can do this by
saying, "This course is a $97 value."
Then the most important part of all -- A BRIBE. Offer a free
bonus gift if they opt-in right now.
You might be reading this thinking I'm off my rocker. I can assure
you, I'm not. In fact, I've been using this exact opt-in model
with several of my projects (non-marketing related) for nearly
two years now. This *IS* the future of the opt-in. Mark my words.
And here's some else...
You'll also find, like I have, that the more 'effort' it takes your
prospect to opt-in (such as reading a little sales letter) the
more RESPONSIVE they will be to offers from you. It's a FACT
and I have several years of data to back it up. But the reason
for this is simple -- they are more qualified by the time they
join your list.
Here's How You Should Be Positioning Your Marketing...
Right now you are probably using pop-up or pop-over boxes
to capture opt-ins -- whether on entry or on exit. You might
also be using a little opt-in form mixed in with content on
some of your web pages. CONTINUE to use them to collect
opt-ins. Keep using them until the opt-in rate drops so badly
that it isn't worth wasting that precious online real estate
on your site.
But while you continue using these methods, and looking into
the future, you NEED to also setup a SEPARATE PAGE for
each opt-in list you're building using the "mini sales letter"
model I have described above.
On all your opt-in boxes that you are currently using you can
have links such as "Click here to learn more..." or "Click here
to learn how to get a $197 gift today..." etc. etc. And those
links will go to this new sales letter opt-in page -- because that
page WILL "close" (i.e.get them to opt-in) some people that
would not have joined from the small opt-in form you are currently
using.
Here's another tip. Register a domain name specifically for
your list. When you send messages to your list, your "From"
address, unsub URLs, and everything else mentioned in those
emails will promote this domain name. If a subscriber ever
wonders what list they are on or why, they can always go
to that domain name. And what will they find when they get
there? The mini sales letter that sold them the opt-in. This
will reinforce their decision to KEEP their subscription.
So don't run and hide from all the Email marketing challenges
that are appearing. EMBRACE THEM AND PROFIT. -----------------------------------------
John Reese is an Internet Marketing pioneer that has
been actively marketing online since 1990. John has
sold millions of dollars worth of products and services
online and his network of Web Sites have received over
1.4 BILLION Web Site visitors since their inception. You
can learn more about John, his home study courses,
and subscribe to his free ezine by visiting:
http://www.marketingsecrets.com
(c)2003 MarketingSecrets.com. All rights reserved.
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