Congratulations! You’ve got some email subscribers, and you’re on your way to having a huge list. Pretty soon the big bucks are going to be rolling in, and you’ll be on a beach sipping Mai Tais while your PayPal notifications are blowing up your phone, right?
Maybe, maybe not.
Before we get into the reasons that might not happen the way you would like, go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back. You were persistent; you worked hard, and you have started seeing new email subscribers opt into your list on a regular basis. That is something to celebrate!
Your work doesn’t stop there, though. There is more to be done. Sorry to break it to you, but you’ve still got work to do. (If you want to call it that)
Unfortunately, having an email list is not enough to keep you rolling in commissions. In fact, it’s only a small part of the affiliate marketing puzzle.
Think back to when you began searching for a way to earn money online. You sat down at the computer, started searching the internet and came across someone’s lead capture page. Their offer sounded great – just the information you were looking for, so you put your name and email into their form and excitedly clicked on that ‘subscribe now’ button.
Maybe you got a pdf report and downloaded it right away, read all the information and were left hungry for more. So, you waited to hear from the internet marketer who confiscated your contact details with the promise of divulging all their secrets.
And you never heard from them again. Or, if you did, by the time you got another email from them you forgot who the heck they even were. How did they get your email again?
Sound familiar?
Scenarios like this show how important it is to keep your email subscribers happy. Let’s discuss a few ways to make sure you do just that.
Make sure you are emailing your subscribers regularly. Don’t be like the lazy marketer in the story above. If they never hear from you how do you expect them to remember who you are? Keep yourself on some type of schedule and send broadcasts when needed. Don’t allow yourself to become just another email in their overfull inbox.
On the other hand, don’t be a pest! There is a delicate balance between being someone who your subscribers are sick of hearing from and being someone they have forgotten – at least at first.
Once you have established a relationship with your list, they will come to look forward to your correspondence if you are providing intriguing and entertaining content.
Don’t be afraid to tease your list. In the world of affiliate marketing, being a tease is a good thing! Let your subscribers know what is coming up next and build up some excitement and anticipation at the end of your message. Think of how your favorite weekly television shows leave you hanging at the end of every episode – that kind of build up is exactly what you want to do regarding your emails.
Most importantly, avoid copying and pasting pre-written emails whenever possible. Many people have subscribed to numerous lists and if you’re all saying the same thing, right down to the headlines, how will you stand out from the crowd? What would you do with those emails? Delete them! I know I would. If you need to use the pre-written content for anything, use it as a guide for writing in your own voice and with your own personality.
Put these tips into action with your list as soon as possible and don’t forget to work on that relationship. Ask questions, be funny, let them get to know you, and then pull up your beach chair and start sipping those Mai Tais!
