How To Be More Than a Marketer And Still Sell

From: The Desk of Barry Goss

The other day, out of nowhere, one of my coaching clients blurted out:

“Hey, I think I want to be able to send out offers to a list of subscribers like you do…  can you help me with that too?”

You see, the reason he said “too” and the reason I said “out of nowhere” is because, like the proverbial “too many irons in the fire” brain, he really didn’t have a focused reason to ask it, as a) the question didn’t relate to what I was coaching him on and b) he didn’t understand what the purpose of a list is in the first place.

After asking him a few questions, it turned out he’s been carrying around this pretty head-shaking, comical belief that list-building means “marketing” and that marketing means “pitching.” (Ah, Joe, I dig ya, dude, for giving me the green light to rip on ya some).

“What makes you think that I, or anybody under our LWL umbrella for that matter, uses opt-in lists as the email version of an advertising and pitching channel?”

I heard the long pause… he knew he’d stepped into something he thought, somehow, someway, that he’d be able to tip-toe out of. So, Joe took a deep breath and preceded to continue what he started:

“Aaaaah, a-hemmm, well, I guess I was just assuming, since everybody else who sends me emails sends me offers, that you guys do too.”

This, unfortunately, is the typical advice given to current-day, green-around-the-ears affiliate markers and anybody else who just wants to “make money online.”

And, like I told Joe, I’ll say it here too:

When you equate an email to an eyeball, the same way that Dot Com’ers did in the ’90s, you end up missing the ‘secret distinction‘ that most newsletter PUBLISHERS “get.” It’s the adoption of some time-proven principles that can take you BEYOND just being a so-called marketer.

The person who labels himself a marketer (and “just” or “mainly” a marketer), more often than not sees an email (and a name) as a target. A hit-or-miss part of the equation that’s gotta be in place to make a sale. It’s not far removed from the “one night stand” mentality.

The person who doesn’t like labels, but just a business that serves — through value-added products or by delivering focused newsletter-style content that synergistically leads into unique, usable products — sees email as a relationship. An ongoing way to communicate his/her interest, experiences, and knowledge. It’s not far removed from wanting to ‘marry the reader’ into his/her world.

But, therein lies either the disservice or the magic.

I explained to my curious, ambitious coachee that this is often where marketing stops and publishing begins.  Many people attempt to bring a reader (a subscriber) into their world, either for all the wrong reasons — by not being upfront about why they are — or by not even delivering what the subscriber subscribed for in the first place.

Actually, Heather wrote a post about this distinction, as it relates to congruency and integrity.

But, I’m going to pass along some quick rules — ah, nah, more like guidelines — that Joe asked me to write up so he could better understand how to command attention, interest and desire with  readers:

== Cont’d ==

♦ First thing to figure out is what you’ll be using an opt-in form for. Is it to give away a “preview” of a product, in the way of a report, audio, video, etc?

If it’s going to be put on a product-specific landing page, for the sole purpose of keeping people in the marketing pipeline, be upfront about that.

In other words, don’t call that campaign or list a “newsletter” if you’re mainly going to use it to “time drip” follow-ups and reminders to purchase that product. There’s nothing wrong with this approach. My advice, if you’re going to set it up for this purpose, is to create a serious of autoresponder emails that go out automatically, and ensure those emails KEEP the focus on moving the subscriber/prospect to customer.

I can’t begin to tell you how many lists I got on, to check out a person’s product offer, only to be emailed about something, sooner-than-later, completely not related to the reason the landing page was set up.

♦ Learn to teach what you know, instead of share what you’ve found. When you use the product-specific landing page technique above, preface your call-to-action with some personal knowledge, life stories, and something that the prospect can resonate with.  Share an opinion, pass along some wisdom and then subtly transition into the reason your product will solve a problem they may have.

Better yet, have multiple opt-in forms whose sole purpose is to ‘prove your worth‘ upfront, as it relates to what that ONE website or product can do for them.  If they opt out, have your email system/software direct them to a custom page that says something like:

Hey, FIRSTNAME… no offense taken.  I know my XYZ product doesn’t make sense for everyone on the planet.

I’m confirming that you’ll no longer receive updates and follow-ups about XYZ product. Also, I wanted to make sure you know that I write an ongoing XXXX newsletter that promises to ________ ( fill in a few benefits).

It’s not a product-driven list. If you join it, I promise I won’t fill your brain with endless pitches or advertising drivel. There is no set publishing schedule, either. We will only write commentary, add a resource link, or upload news items when we have something provocative, progressive, and potentially profitable for you to peruse.

Well, I’m passing on some of our secrets here. And, the last paragraph above is actually part of the verbiage we use ourselves to transition people who don’t want to learn anything about a specific product over to our “No-Limits Living Newsletter“.

You can see how we structure that newsletter HERE (one of our weekend updates).

If a subscriber goes through your cycle of  product-specific emails, doesn’t become a customer, and ALSO doesn’t opt out, then here’s where you can get creative.

Obviously, they still like what you have to say, and probably have an interest related to your product or niche.  Make one of the latter emails in the series an email that essentially tells them that you “Give Up.” Explain to them that you’re scratching your head wondering why they haven’t become a customer yet. Tell them that, if they choose to stay on XYZ list that you’re going to lay off on your own product-specific updates, but you’ll occasionally send them a few intriguing offers from friends of yours. Tell them you understand that these other related products / services may be a better fit for them.

Which brings me to the next and last guideline…

♦ Be a trusted resource — a connector, an expert, a researcher. People buy you, not endless hollow, non-personal emails about unrelated product launches and income-earning deals.

Meaning, people need to know your Killer Value Proposition BEFORE they’ll even pay attention to your name (the one that shows in the FROM: field in their email inbox) or care about your subject line.

If you’re doing MORE impersonal pitching than offering up your experiences, stories, resources, tools, ideas, and passion, do you think they’ll care about your NEXT email?

People care when they know you care.

So, my final thought is that the affiliates who perform the best for us are the ones who have a loyal following. Their readers see them as advocates for their success, their interests. There’s a common bond.

These affiliates sell because they really don’t sell. They’re instead going out of their way to research, write, and serve by being genuinely fascinated by our products/services that they have an interest in themselves, and products/services that they feel serve their subscribers/readers.

—-

LWL Worldwide Inc
Publisher, upcoming  ‘LWL Wealth Vault’ & ‘Renegade Money Guide’

* Amongst many other products that help
you think outside the box and live a
no-limit life.

Filed under: Customer Funnel • Hype • List-Building

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