‘Unsubscribe’

When you’ve invested time and effort in building your list you are, understandably, keen to maintain it.  People who unsubscribe can be seen as a personal affront!

However, there’s a better way to look at it – people who unsubscribe are not your audience.  They’re saying

I’m not interested in this

I’m too busy to be bothered

This isn’t the kind of content I was hoping for

If they’re not interested, they’re just reducing your open rates!

It’s better to have people on your list who are engaged, interested and welcome your emails.

How to reduce unsubscribes

Build a better list!  In other words, try to ensure that people who subscribe to your list are genuinely interested in what you are offering.  

When someone signs up to your list they’re doing it for a reason.  Whether that’s because they want your free download or because they’ve found your sign up box on your website, people don’t part with their contact information without a good reason.  

If they want your download, effectively they are raising their hand and saying ‘I want this kind of information’.  That means that your lead magnet (free download) must be highly focused on the kind of people you want to attract and engage with.

If they’ve found your website and have voluntarily signed up for your marketing that means they want to receive the kind of information you’re offering.

So a highly targeted free download is essential and your website needs to be crystal clear about what you do and how you help people.  This means that people are only on your list because they have self-identified themselves as interested.

How to keep your list engaged

Your email campaigns and newsletters need to consistently be reader-focused and deliver value.

If you’ve got a promotion then the key headlines (subject lines and headers) need to focus on the benefits for the recipients.

Not what it is – but what it does … to solve their problems.

The value is not in the cost, but in the results.

Don’t just sell at people, offer them useful information that costs nothing.  This will build reciprocity and result in people who may not be ready to make a purchase today, coming back to you later.

Give people tips, advice, useful links, invite them to a private group on Facebook or LinkedIn where you deliver more value, give them access to video information, special offers and opportunities only available to your list – it’s all going to create a warm, fuzzy feeling when they think of you!  An email campaign doesn’t have to be just a sales pitch. 

How to create a lead funnel

Lead funnels are a process – to bring potential customers into your network.  Some people call them Sales funnels or Marketing funnels, but they’re all pretty much the same species!

A lead funnel has a series of levels – and you need to address all of these to make it work.  Far too many people think that offering a freebie is enough and then wonder why their list isn’t buying.  

A basic lead funnel usually has four levels:

• Free
• Low cost
• One-to-many
• Premium

Some have another level or two, depending on the type of business and alternative options on offer.

Let’s explore these four:

1: Free

In the vast majority of lead funnels the carrot to draw people in is a free digital document that offers real value to your target audience.  And the key words here are ‘target audience’.  Far too many people create a generic lead magnet that is of value, but to a wide variety of people, many of whom are not a good match for your business.

Your free download needs to be highly focused on solving a problem that most of your ideal clients are suffering from so the people who opt into your list are all potential clients, not just random people.

Do your research properly and offer something that has high value to people who need your services or your products to make their lives easier, increase their profits, or another powerful benefit.

2: Low cost

For most people ‘low cost’ means anything up to about £50, but if your product or service is priced in the thousands, then low cost might go well over £100 in value.

What are typical examples of low cost?

• Books
• Workbooks
• Templates
• Webinars (where everyone pays a fee)
• Coaching sessions
• Small products

Ideally, you’ll need to have a mostly automated system for people to access and pay for whatever you’re offering – otherwise it can become unviable and too labour intensive.

3: One-to-many

This level is offering something that is mid-range in cost, but delivers your value to many people at once.  This helps you to gain a reputation as an expert and, if you manage it right, to generate an ongoing source of income.

This level might offer:

• A short course – whether that’s by email, online learning or via webinars.  People pay the fee and get valuable content that is focused on their specific needs.
• A membership or subscription that is paid monthly in exchange for access to valuable information in a central hub.
• Group coaching – whether for a defined period or on an ongoing basis.

These are not the only options, but are probably the easiest to create.

4: Premium

This is the point at which people want to work directly with you one-to-one – and are prepared to pay well for it.

When you’re building your lead funnel you need to be quite clear about each level and not only what you’re offering, but also the value it has to the recipient.

Then your next step is to create the email campaigns that lead people from each level to the next.

Find a crowd who want what you’re offering

 

To get noticed by people who are interested in what you’re offering you need to know where they hang out.

If you’re aiming to get into your local paper or maybe even the Nationals, you first need to explore their demographics.  Let me tell you a true story:

In a previous life I was a management trainer and HR consultant, living and working in Dubai.  One of my clients called me from, ironically, a very successful daily newspaper, “I need some help can you come in for a chat,” he said – let’s call him Imran.

“Sure,” I agreed and we set an appointment.

We sat down and I asked “How can I help you?”

Imran was, at that time, the production manager for the newspaper, “I’m looking for a No. 2,” he explained, “and I’m not getting any applications from our advertising.”

“Where are you advertising?” I asked.

“In the Telegraph?” he said.

“In the UK?  Why?”

“Because they have a massive distribution and I want to get someone who is well-qualified.”

Bear in mind this was in the days prior to social media and online job boards.

“Don’t you have any trade journals that are read by your industry?” I asked.

“Well, I get one, but they don’t carry job ads,” he replied.

“Have you asked them?  Maybe they would carry an ad, if you bought an advertising space?”

“Maybe,” he wasn’t convinced, “but they only have a circulation of about 3000, the Telegraph reaches millions – and not only in the UK.”

“How many of those millions that are looking at the Telegraph job ads are qualified as a production manager?”

“I don’t know.  They didn’t have that kind of demographics.”

“So how many of the people reading that print journal are likely to be qualified?”  I continued.

“Hmmm, yes, I see what you mean,” he agreed.  “But if they won’t take a job ad, what else can I do?”

“There must be other journals for the print industry,” I said.  “Have you checked in Wellings?”  That drew a blank look.  At that time Wellings was a directory of all publications worldwide, which was updated every year (now usurped by the internet) and I guessed that there might be a copy somewhere in the newspaper’s library.  A quick phone call confirmed that this was the case and I left Imran checking for relevant publications.

So what is the moral of this story?  Find the right audience and then go there and let them know about you.  That, of course, means that you need to know who your audience are, but that knowledge will underpin everything your business does, so it’s a valuable exercise to do in any case.

If you need help with nailing down your audience check out 7 simple steps to attract lots of lovely new customers.