What’s
the difference between autoresponder marketing and email marketing? And which should you use? Well, it depends on your intention.
I
used to be an account executive … a sales rep … for an LTL trucking
company. A cut-throat, highly competitive
industry. An industry that expects …
demands … a lot of face-to-face “selling.”
The
company that I worked for had a very effective training program for their sales
reps. They didn’t put you out on the
street until you were ready. And you
were ready for almost anything when you got out in front of people.
They
taught that your success as a sales rep in the trucking business was directly
related to how effective you were in developing
relationships with clients.
Everyone
promised service. Pricing was usually competitive
and everyone was ready to negotiate. It
often boiled down to who … which sales rep … the decision-maker liked most. Not which company they liked most.
But
it was important you understood that there were two different sales strategies
depending on where you were in the
process. If you didn’t know the
customer or had just met them, your intent was simply to get to know them.
Ask
them out to lunch. That always got
results. Develop a relationship. Then ease into trying to get their
business.
Now
when it came to dealing with people who were already your customers … who you
were already doing business with … it was a different dynamic.
Sure,
you still took them out to lunch. But
maybe even a more expensive dinner. Or a
sporting event. And the dialogue was
different.
You
talked about business you were already doing with them. What additional lanes you could get. What additional product and service offerings
you could give them.
And
you were trying to retain their business as others were trying to take it away
from you by doing the same things you had done to get the business in the first
place.
So
what does this have to do with autoresponder marketing? EVERYTHING.
Autoresponder marketing uses a series … usually 7 to
10 … of emails which go out automatically one after the other to a prospect. Someone who has requested something for FREE
… information they consider valuable … in exchange for their email.
Autoresponders
are written and loaded into an email service and then sent out … on a
pre-determined schedule … without you having to do anything else. The goal is to provide a series of links
which get the click back to a sales page usually.
Autoresponder
marketing has one main aim. Develop a relationship with the person
who gave you their email address. By
developing that relationship, you’re trying to get them to click on a link back
to a sales page.
Email marketing … the way I
describe it to people … is when a marketer sends out timely emails that have
just been written. These can be something
like a link to a brand new product or to a brand new blog post. There’s not a pre-written series. It’s fresh content each time an email goes out.
These
emails work well for people who’ve already bought from you … customers.
Email marketing is best done
with people who you’ve already developed
a relationship with and may be interested in more offerings.
Autoresponder Marketing or Email Marketing?
· If you’re
talking to prospects
… people who’ve opted in and given you their email address … you want to
develop a relationship. Be the guy
sitting at the bar next to them.
Build a relationship slowly and
easily. Be personal. Be transparent. Use everyday slang. Try to put them at ease. The key is to get your prospects’ trust.
Your prospects will keep reading your
stuff because they like it, it’s funny, it’s informative, and they can relate
to it. This is the best use for autoresponder marketing.
· For people
who’ve already bought from you, it’s a little different. You most likely already have some kind of
relationship with them. And you’re
trying to deliver content, information and additional offers to them. Even a link to a new blog post.
You want to establish yourself as the savvy
expert with these emails. These are not
usually autoresponders but they can be.
You want to establish yourself as the go-to source for whatever you
offer.
You know your niche inside out. But you want to talk to your readers like an
8th grader. Not because they’re
not smart. But rather that’s how most
people talk. And you don’t want them to have
to think too much.
An Autoresponder or Email Is Not a Sales Letter
Always
remember, an autoresponder … or email … isn’t a sales letter. But there are links back to some sort of
sales message … a sales page or a video.
And the goal is to get the click back to that message.
Using
autoresponder marketing and email marketing together is the most effective
online strategy that exists. It’s the
model that most successful online businesses owe their prosperity to.
And
continue to. Email isn’t going
anywhere. In fact, its use is exploding.
Email accounts now total 4.2 billion worldwide and will blow up
to 4.9 billion by 2017. Triple
Facebook and Twitter combined. And remember,
an email address is required to sign up for just about anything.
Now
how to write an effective autoresponder or email series … a series that gets the
click … is another subject.
Back to top of Autoresponder Marketing
|