I reached out to several friends recently for their help on marketing. So over the next several months, I’ll be bringing you guest posts along with some of mine. Today’s post is by Kim Steadman, The Word Shepherd.
When Kim’s not sweeping dog hair, experimenting in the kitchen, or doodling on paper, she is writing and mentoring authors. She is a freelance writer, speaker, and teacher. You can find what she’s up to next at www.KimSteadman.com or at www.TheAuthorpreneurClub.com
3 Ways to Convert Your Email List into Paying Customers
I wish email marketing was like the goose who laid the golden egg. Just feed the goose, and out would plop the golden egg every single time. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The process of getting your email list to convert to buyers is a multi-layered and multi-faceted process. There’s just no easy way around it. Here are three useful suggestions.
Tip 1. The Power of Email Segmentation
Email segmentation is the separation of different audiences within your email list. It may be those who haven’t opened an email in a while, to those who have only recently joined your list. It helps to understand your readers who are your customers. Provide them with targeted content. If you happen to write cozy mystery fiction and spiritual guidance, you may get by with sending your emails to both segments. Sometimes those segments of readers crossover. But, if you write fantasy fiction and prayer journals, there may be a disconnect between your readers and their tastes.
By utilizing the tools with your email autoresponder you can create segments of your email list. By better targeting the content your reader wants to read, it can help you increase the conversion rate of open, read, to buy.
Tip 2. Send emails with a clear choice or call to action
Give them one choice or call to action. A confused or overwhelmed buyer won’t purchase a thing. In the spirit of keeping things streamlined and clean, focus your email content on one choice, also known as a call to action. This way you don’t overwhelm your readers and cause them analysis paralysis. Tips to help you with your call to action include:
- a. Use clear language. (Get the book today only for $.99, a limited-time offer.)
- b. Eliminate distractions. While some authors can get away with a long, detailed, news-of-life long-form newsletter, others of us can’t. Maybe you can once a month. But bombarding your readers with a long-form email every day or every week will reduce your open rates. Get to the point. And being known as the writer who is always selling, selling, selling gets old too…which leads us to the next point.
Tip 3. Follow the 80/20 Social Media Rule
If every email your list opens is buy, buy, buy, I guarantee you’ll lose readers who open your emails. Only retail businesses can get away with this. Those of us who are building relationships can’t send those types of emails. Instead, try following this guide:
- 80% of the emails you send are full of news, anecdotes, or general conversation.
- 10% of your emails are helping others, sharing something from one of your other author friends.
- 10% of your emails promote your books or other offers.
Remember this though, if you’re only going to promote your books 1 time out of 10, and if you only email your subscribers once a month, then you’ll only be creating one “buy” email a year. That sort of puts a new spin on the importance of email marketing, right?
Bonus Tip: the Perfect Email Subject Line
Some of the power of your conversion rate from open to buy is crafting an email subject title that encourages your reader to open the email in the first place. Two hints for you are 1) keep it short and sweet or 2) include numbers or statistics.
Some examples are:
- Here’s the short story you requested
- A special price just for my readers
- My 5 favorite scenes in my new book
- 10 names I didn’t use for my main character and why
Final thoughts.
It takes time to build a relationship with your readers. Nurture them. Entertain them. Remember that it takes 7 to 14 exposures to the same thing before we push the buy button. Don’t give up on yourself or on them.
Remember to connect with Kim at www.KimSteadman.com or at www.TheAuthorpreneurClub.com