In today’s digital marketing environment, there are unlimited ways to improve your business performance. Your business is unique. Your business, marketing, sales, and content strategies are surely different than your competitors’ strategies. Of course, that’s what business is all about – standing out from the crowd and offering unique, valuable, and helpful solutions to your customers.
Generally, the main purpose of every entrepreneur (including yours) is to improve the sales performance of his business. That is why, in today’s post, I’ll reveal how email autoresponders represent one of the most effective strategies for turning cold visitors into loyal customers.
What’s an Email Autoresponder?
An email autoresponder is a digital tool that allows webmasters send automated personalized emails, triggered by custom circumstances. Here’s a practical example:
A random visitor reaches your website. After he skims through, he decides to subscribe to your email newsletter. Right after he registers, a welcome email is automatically distributed. After a week, a new email is being delivered, showcasing the best links, blog posts and case studies of your brand. After a week and a half, a 20 percent off discount opportunity becomes available to your interested subscriber.
If you’ve done it right, there’s a huge chance your subscriber will turn into your first-time customer.
That’s what an autoresponder series is. You create your unique email distribution plan, develop a smart sequence, and take all your website visitors, automatically, on a journey towards an irresistible offer that will change their lives for the better. Here’s a good list that contains the best email autoresponders in the present times – check each of them out and see which one fits your business needs best!
Using an Email Autoresponder to Improve Sales
Now that you understand the potential of an email autoresponder, I’ll share several tips that’ll help you develop a more professional and profitable email autoresponder series that’ll spare you the trouble of getting personally involved in the sales process. Build the sequence wisely, offer great content, and be relevant to your audience. The rest will follow!
Implement Tempting Lead Magnets
First of all, before you can put your email autoresponder software and strategy in action, you’ll need to develop a strategy that’ll help you turn cold website visitors into email subscribers. You see, a stranger will never trust you, so he’ll never buy into your offers immediately. You’ll need to cultivate trust and show them that you truly acknowledge their needs and problems.
A lead magnet is a sort of digital bribe – you offer something relevant (for free) in exchange for your website visitors’ email address. When they subscribe, they’re inserted in your email autoresponder and “caught” into your email sequence.
Here are simple lead magnets you can start experimenting with:
- Offer them a collection of free templates
- Give them a Step-by-Step Guide to solving a huge problem that they face
- Offer them a case study that proves something that’s relevant to them
- Solve their needs by offering a free e-book that fulfills an important part of their lives
- Provide a free list of useful resources that they could use in the future
- The better you know your target audience the better you’ll be able to convert them into email leads.
- Create a Pleasurable Experience for Your Leads
You must nurture your leads up to the point where they no longer oppose resistance. By strategically positioning your emails in a progressive sequence, you can turn even the most resistant prospects into vulnerable prospects that are most likely to convert.
Here’s a sequence example that you should study. You can copy it entirely, but it would be better if you’d modify it by adding your own twists. Remember – every business is different, so there’s no reason to follow. Instead of following, better study!
Day 1 – The “Welcome” Email
The moment your visitors enter your email list set your autoresponder to deliver an automatic “Welcome” email that will introduce your brand to the user, offering insights into your brand culture, mission, goals. Also, let your subscribers know what to expect from you, and tempt them (using open loops) to keep an eye on the next email.
Day 2 – Case Study
The second day after they’ve subscribed, you can send your leads a case study that’ll prove that you’re doing your homework and that you’re doing it well. This will improve the trust of your customers immediately.
Day 3 – Best Resources and Posts
After the initial trust has been built, send an email that showcases the best resources and blog posts that you believe to be truly relevant to your target audience. That’s a great free value proposition you’re sending, so you’re already starting to win their hearts.
Day 4 – Product recommendation and Discount
If a subscriber has opened and read all your emails by day 4, you can get to the point and recommend a useful product/service that would serve as a solution to their most pressing problems/needs. In addition, offer a discount coupon to tempt your users to make an emotional buying decision.
Day 5 – Discount Reminder
Day 5 should come with additional free yet valuable information, and with a reminder that the discount opportunity is about to end. By putting some pressure on your leads, they’ll become afraid of not missing out on the opportunity. Emphasize the fact that they’ll be losing money unless they hurry up!
Takeaways
I’ve already given you this advice, but I’ll do it again because it’s important. You should use this post as a general template. Change around the sequence, send an email every few days, replace the case study with a free eBook, a free webinar, a free call of 10 minutes, and so on.
Think out-of-the-box but stay aligned with your target audience’s wishes. Survey your subscribers during the 10th day (for example) and ask them what they would like to see more. What are you covering well, what you should cover more? Thank them by offering more value and more valuable product recommendations.
Silvia Woolard is a professional writer at UK Best Essays and novice entrepreneur from Phoenix. In her free time, she writes and works in a field of marketing and popular psychology. Feel free to follow her on Twitter.
