Seamlessly Combine Your Email Marketing With Website Lead Generation
Posted by Julianne Salisbury on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 @ 11:50 AM
As a small to medium sized business, your daily list of things to do is likely always growing. Likely one of the biggest priorities you’re always meaning to get to but sadly never do on your own is your online marketing. You want to be on Facebook, Twitter, and be blogging but there is so much else to do. Rather than doing all the work to drive traffic to you, why don't you have your customers do the work for you?
Inbound Marketing: As the name implies, inbound marketing is when you have the customer’s information coming to you. That may sound like fantasy but when you’re “selling” your product through online means; you are hoping that enough people want to know about who you are and what you’re about.
Get the Opt-In: The first step to getting connected with folks through inbound marketing is with the “opt-in.” This is where a customer enters their email address and clicks a box or somehow clicks a permission tag which states that you can contact them. You need to be totally transparent with these opt-in portions of your marketing; the last thing you want are disgruntled folks who have been contacted and didn't think they would be; so you should always be transparent.
Increase Opt-ins: Once you’ve established your opt-in policy on your website and you see results trickle in, you'll want more. The more you can get your brand and your product tattooed into the minds of these web browsers then the likelier you are to have success generally.
One way you can increase the traffic is by offering incentives. You also need to make it simple for your guests; simple forms, input, instructions; the less time people need to think about whether or not they’d like to give their information, the better. Guests also should know what they will receive from you so they can know to be on the lookout for it.
AUTO RESPOND: While they're filling in their information you need to auto-generate a welcome message. You should give them choice of how often they will receive things from you and there should be opt-out choices for them also. You don't want to conflate the cross-branding of your different products and turn everyone off.
STAY ABOVE THE FRAY: So you’ve got this customer who wants to know about your product and they have given you their information. Don’t blow it by being in their inbox six times a day. Keep the emails up and keep them just frequent enough to stay on their minds but not so frequent that you’re getting on their nerves.
Also don’t send out the same thing. Don’t send them things where they feel pressured to buy. Don’t send them worthless, not-thought-out nonsense. Your customers are smart; if they feel redundant or as though they are being leaned in on they will leave. There are all manner of conversations you and your customers could be having but one that you don’t want to have happen.