Remember that time you had to move and you invited everyone you knew to help out but only one or two people showed up?
I bet you really appreciated their assistance. I mean, just responding and showing up speaks volumes. Now answer this: do you feel more or less likely in return to help that person or persons who showed up in your time of need and provided real value? The chances are probably pretty likely. Setting up an email drip campaign works on the same sort of philosophy. Help someone out and they will help you in return.
We’ve been talking about our Hourglass Marketing System all month long. You can apply this system to any business. You begin with social media and engage on all of your social media platforms. As you attract people to your fan pages, you furnish them with an opt-in or freebie offer. Provide value in this offer, so your potential customers visit your blog to learn more helpful hints and information.
Individuals who connect with your message will want to sample the value that you can provide. People tend to have skepticism when making steps in unfamiliar territory so you need to elicit their trust by providing them with real value. You can provide real value and establish a personal connection at the same time with an email drip campaign.
Here’s the basic idea behind this strategy: You lead people to the value you provide with an enticing offer. Signing up for the offer should trigger an email drip campaign where you periodically send your potential clients tips and tools to help conduct their trade. As those clients find value in your drip campaign communications, you will develop your image as an expert in your field and you will become the first person your clients will think of when they need the product or service you offer. You helped them, now they’ll come to you.
As people sign up for your offer, you’ll want to gather their names and contact information so you can add them to your distribution lists. Make it easy to collect that information by utilizing an autoresponder program such as Aweber. Here’s a great video tutorial on how to set one up.
Here are some more hints on how to create a campaign that will connect:
Congratulate your follower for signing up.
This isn’t about you; it’s about your target audience gaining value. Congratulate them on taking action and making that first step. You want them to feel good about signing up and that they really get something out of it. If they open up the first email and feel an overbearing sales vibe right away, you’ve lost them. They’ll delete your message and never open another.
Offer something that can help you begin building a relationship right away.
The point of a drip campaign is to establish a personal connection while providing value. To establish this connection, you’ll want to spread out the value provided over a series of emails set on a pre-determined time interval. What can you offer in multiple steps that would make a great campaign? Perhaps you could craft a 10-part e-series or issue a list of tips over a corresponding number of days. Remember to provide value. Don’t worry about giving away your secrets. This is your interview. Impress them.
Impress your recipients by providing them with the value they seek.
Your followers signed up because they sought something. They wanted a freebie, a promotional offer, discounts, hot tips, quick fixes, or industry news and signed up on your list thinking that’s what they would receive. Don’t disappoint them. To be honest, most people doubt that they will really get anything truly of value for free. Shock them by providing actual real value relevant to what they seek. They’ll see you as honest, knowledgeable, and more trustworthy than the sites where you must pay first to get an unknown quality.
Share your stories.
People purchase on emotion so make sure you tie in why what you offer has importance to you and what benefits your potential customer will derive from it as well. You want to express empathy and let them know you’ve experienced similar problems and you know how it feels to be in their position. They’ll see you as a success story that must surely know the solution to their needs.
Recommend one of your products or services as the solution to your potential customer’s problem.
After you spend a series of emails providing them with value and nurturing your personal relationship, provide an opportunity for your target client to get the solution that he or she seeks. This is your big chance, so really push the benefits your customer will receive. What’s in it for them? What improvement will they gain from your product or service? What value or advantage do you offer that no one else can? After knowing how much you’ve already helped them with for free, they’ll feel confident that the pay products or services you offer will have value and finally provide the answer they need.
Remember, while each tier of the funnel has its importance, you should spend the most time with followers near the very bottom, for those relationships are the most fragile and support the rest of the sales structure. The further you move down the sales funnel portion of the hourglass the more personal the connection you make with your target customer base as well. You really need to spend time and come through on your drip campaign. This is the core of your sales strategy and the closest you’ll get to the customer short of direct contact. They’ve invited you to provide them value. Don’t disappoint! Neglect your core, and the rest of your system will come tumbling down.