Where to find them A couple of months back, we discussed targeted - - PDF document

PRESENTATION - LIST BUILDING

I Love Marketing Meetup: June 2015 List Building for Fun and Profit Presenter: Justin Harris

In the Meetup Blurb, I promised to answer these questions about list building: Where do you find these people? How do you get them to opt-in to your list? What do you do with them once you’ve got them?

Where to find them

A couple of months back, we discussed targeted traffic. Finding people to invite to your list is all about understanding who your current customers are, what you like or don’t like about them, and using that information to harvest more of customers you like while avoiding the customers you don't.

• 1. Decide who your best customers are and why they are your

best customers.

• 2. Follow and interact with them on social media. Find out

as much as you possibly can about them.

• 3. Use what you learned to Craft Ads, Long-Tail Search Terms,

and Content that will entice those prospects to visit your website and other internet properties.

• 4. Create promotions and special events (online or offline)

that are of interest to your best prospects.

• 5. Be everywhere. You are a media company. Find a way to post

your content in many different formats and in many different

• places. Get your content on your own properties as well as

• ther people’s properties. Don’t be Spammy.

How to get them to opt-in to your list

Trade valuable content and/or experiences for their email and other

• information. Over time and with different types of content and

promotion, you can collect not only email addresses but physical addresses and phone numbers. Exploring the use of physical mailings and SMS marketing could help you raise the Lifetime Value of your customers. Other demographic and psychographic data can be collected with easy one or two question drip surveys, once you have gained their trust and established your ability to provide value. This information will help you create the bait (ads, SEO, content) that will help you grow your list and gain new customers. These additional information, whether physical location (city/state)

• r demographics (job/ family/ etc) can also be used to segment the
• list. Segmenting is advanced list magic and generally for big

lists so you can be more specific about what you offer in your communications. Ryan Deiss at www.digitalmarketer.com is a good resource for advanced list building, segmenting and email marketing. Due to the varied nature of the businesses in this room, let’s discuss our lists and how we are using them: How many people have an email list? Are addresses collected via website or another method? Share experiences, good or bad, building a list? Offline business are often better equipped to handle email

marketing because of the infrastructure of employees and systems they already possess. Also the level of trust for a physical location is very high compared to an internet address. Most offline businesses do little or no list building at all. Free prize drawings in store Business card drawings (DO NOT LET THE CARDS SIT IN A FISHBOWL) Guest register Printed Materials (Flyers, packaging, bags, receipts, etc…) containing QR codes/NFC swipes Swag (pen, keychain, usb drive…). But make it count and make it relevant to your products or to your promotion/event. Customer Service (get permission to follow up and send

• ccasional promotions)

POS requests (just ask for it) Offline Offers can Include: coupons, discounts, free shipping, exclusive notifications of promotions, sales, special events, prelaunch or prerelease events, new product releases, free samples, loyalty programs, beta testing opportunities... Again, Explore SNAIL MAIL and SMS opportunities. Online Collection of Emails Email Marketing Service Providers: Aweber, Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, EMMA... Videos of reviews and instruction are abundant online. AWeber is about $20/ month to start. Mail Chimp is Free for about 2000 names and 12000 emails per month. They are all probably very similar in capability. Pick one and get busy. Be Careful of Spam:

Make sure there is a double opt-in. Talk prospects through

• it. Tell them what to expect. Show them the email that is

coming to their account. Ramit Sethi: Has used a countdown timer to spur action. Make sure it is crystal clear how to unsubscribe and when someone unsubscribes, take them off the mailing list. I’ve seen efforts to retain subscribers by segmenting them to a list that receives less email. Include a physical address in the footer or at the bottom of your emails. This is also a compliance issue of the anti-spam laws. How to Implement Signup Forms on Your Site: Often people won’t arrive on our site through the front door. They may not see the home page because they followed a piece of content from a search engine to your site. Place signup forms in many places. (Derek Halpern) Feature box at top of any page. above the content top of the sidebar end of an individual post in the footer

• n the about page

pop-ups and Hello Bar You don’t need to use all of these spots but as a rule make sure there is more than one opportunity to signup on every page.

Landing Page Funnels: You should have landing pages throughout your site that tease your best content and asks readers to sign up for updates or additional content. Promote those landing pages (Popular Posts/ Featured Content/ Self-Promoting Ads/ New to the Site Guides). Featured Download/ Exclusive Content: Use words that sound more exciting than a free ebook or newsletter sign up. Give them Choices: Consumer psychology tells us that people have a single option aversion. When given a choice between two

• ptions they are more likely to choose one than none. When given

a choice of yes or no they find it easier to choose NO. In retail we see this when someone walks up to you and says, “Can I help you find something?” Instead ask questions that lead to

• ther questions: “Is this your first time here?”, "Would you like to

try a sample of …”, “I see you’re looking at xxx, can I explain the differences between the brands?" Extreme Choices: Use humor/ pressure/ shame to guide a

• choice. “Lose Weight” vs “No Thanks, I’m not interested in being

healthier." Social Proof Paradox: You don’t need a large list or tons of

• followers. If you have 25 people on your list, get a testimonial from
• ne of them and feature it. People need a story.

Feed starving children in Africa or South America. Indiana Pizza Restaurant. Inline Promotions/ Content Upgrades/ Related Materials: Create additional content that makes the blog post I’m reading more useful. Guides/ Templates/ Cheat Sheets/ etc...

Calls-to-Action should reflect content: There is a human disconnect whenever visitors see buttons on your site that say ‘submit’ or ‘send’. They should see ‘Get your How-To Guide Now!” or “Yes! I want to watch the video" About Page is a Squeeze Page: Make sure the story on your about page tells the reader how you can help them and give them the chance to sign up for more exclusive content. Landing Page Funnels. Comment/ Respond/ Converse: Monitor the comments and conversations on your site and on your social media properties so you can respond. Nothing will do more for your customer relationships than human interaction.

What to do once you’ve got them

Continue to provide educational and motivational content until they are prepared to become customers. After they are customers, keep in contact via email AND social media by providing nurturing content. Take opportunities to use real and personal methods of contact. Intentional Social Media: Don’t just post and run. Follow your best customers. Look for opportunities to help. Comment on their posts and content. Be Human. Create content that people want to see. Not necessarily what you want to talk about. Quora.com Buzzsumo.com ubersuggest.org User comments and social media

Create Actionable Content: Something that your prospect can absorb and use within 20-30 minutes is valuable. Immediate results raise your street cred. Responsibility to your content: With every piece of content you release, you have a responsibility to back it up with conversation. At least for a while. Unannounced Bonus Content: Give a little bit more when you can BE EXCELLENT - STAND OUT: Most of the time, being excellent isn’t about the pomp and

• circumstance. It isn’t about the grand gestures. It is about the little
• things. Attention to detail and personalizing for your

customers. Jimmy Fallon reviews previous interviews and takes notes on the families and personal details of his guests. Formats: Written/ Audio/ Video/ Graphic/ Interpretive Mix it up - Try new stuff Re-use, recycle, repurpose Giving away Lead-Generation Content: Type 1: Educates and Compels the Prospect Forward. Type 2: Nurtures and Develops the Social Relationship.

Types of content:

• 1. Newsletter and Email Content:

Not the same thing. Not the same as blog content. Many sites have different signups for Newsletter, Email Updates and Blog Posts.

Don’t have to use them all. Define your own process. Use a newsletter to announce upcoming events, products, courses, etc. Deliver important and relevant industry news. Tease content on your site. Report new company developments. Introduce staff or clients. Give a discount or a limited time special price on a product or service. Use email to drive traffic back to your sales pages with email

• campaigns. These campaigns should include original content,

curated content, product or event announcements or teasing a blog post/article. Unlike the newsletter, keep the emails to one subject. Templates for the different types of email are available with a Google Search. Check MailChimp’s Templates on site. What types of different content can you imagine for your newsletter and or email updates? What kind of content would entice a prospect to sign up? The blogs on Todd Brown’s MarketingFunnelAutomation.com or Ryan Deiss’ DigitalMarketer.com are good places to learn more about creating email campaigns.

• 2. Ebooks, Classes and Courses:

Be careful with these as Lead-Gen Content. People are looking for more concise and actionable content for lead-gen these days. One way of successfully using these as Lead-Gen is to create the full product and give away one piece. One chapter or one lesson from a full book or course can be used to prompt a sign-up and then maybe give them the chance to purchase the rest of the product. Make sure the part you give them has observable or measurable results when possible.

• 3. Webinars/ Podcasts/ Panels/ Hangouts:

• 4. Guides/ Cheat Sheets/ Lists:

Concise Reference Materials Resource Lists

• 5. Testimonials and Inspirational Stories:

Focus on the story. Give the solution a face and a story.

• 6. Original Data/ Research/ Infographics:

Find a cool way to present anything you’ve learned. Make sure infographics aren’t just for the sake of having infographics. Make sure they are clear and tell a clear story. Make sure they are accurate and sources are listed.

• 7. Case Studies:

One of the most powerful types of content. Can be re-written for multiple applications. Make sure and involve the client you are writing about. Get their permission and quotes from them.

• 8. Branded Images/ Quotes/ Memes:

These are often nurture type content designed for social media. Could also be infographics with more meat. Try to be consistent in some elements. Include small logo.

• 9. Photos - Authentic and Personal:

Show your history, show your backstage, show your staff, your customers, your events, your successes and failures, etc... Use pictures of actual people associated with your company and your world. Never use stock photography to represent a real person in your organization.

• 10. Photos - Illustrative and conceptual:

We process images 60,000 times faster than words. Avoid stock photos. Take pictures of ordinary scenes and objects and alter

• them. Be creative and have fun telling stories and making points

visually.

• 11. Blog Posts - Long Form/ Short Form:

The key is quality not quantity. If your blog is a key to your business, practice writing. Write everyday. Don’t post everyday. 1-2 in-depth posts per month is much better than shallow, trite messages every day.

• 12. Interviews and Expert Input:

Find people that your customers would benefit from hearing. Not people you idolize. Send questions to several experts and combine the answers into one product.

• 13. Industry News - Report/ Comment/ Question/ Interpret:

Don’t just repeat. Make sure that your readers know why it matters to them. Show them relevance to their situation.

• 14. Opinions/ Rants/ Controversy:

Controversial opinions will always create interest. Even if you disagree, with the controversy how you state the headlines will pique the interest of readers.

• 15. Product Demos:

Try to be visual when possible. Use video, clear photography or illustrations.

• 16. Book and Product Reviews:

Choose products that you can relate to the needs of the readers.

• 17. Curated Content and Collections:

Collect posts, quotes, stories from around the web. Interpret and Relate to your customers. Create long-form content with bits and pieces from throughout the web.

• 18. User-Generated Content:

Take surveys and gather opinions and then publish the results. Ask for help or ideas and publish the results. Testimonials and case studies in miniature.

• 19. Apps, Tools and Calculators:

Assessments, Analysis, Information providers. If it makes sense in your industry or market, create tools that people can use to assess and measure their own performance.