Nathan

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So far Nathan has created 137 blog entries.

I have an email list with 5000 subscribers but I’m not making any money. Should I delete my list?

Depends how you answer this question:

Where did you get the list from? If you purchased it or scraped it – yes, delete it.

If you built it yourself, then no … but, this is what I would do.

Run your list through an email list cleaning service – DataValidation.com offers this service, but there are several out there. Just make sure they're legit before handing over your list. You don't need them to steal your list and sell it.

This will make sure the email addresses you have … at least exists.

Then, I would send 3 emails:

Remember me? Apologize for delay, remind people how they joined your list – just be honest and say that you're going to be getting better with your emailing
What you've missed! Since I failed to keep you in the loop, here's what you might have missed!
Discount or freebie

The goal of these three emails is to get an open or a click.

Those individuals that at least open an email – keep them, you know they exist and you may have a chance.

Those that don't open an email – delete.

This may bring your list down to only 500 people, but at least they're 500 people you KNOW exist. This will probably bring down your monthly email autoresponder fees as your list will have shrank to 1/10th the size.

From there, I'd setup funnels and series, and be consistent with my broadcast emails.

That's what I would do.

I have an email list with 5000 subscribers but I’m not making any money. Should I delete my list?Nathan2015-09-23T13:26:07+00:00

Is email marketing dead?

This is probably THE MOST asked question about email marketing.

Now, do people and businesses get 80% open rates and 40% click-through-rates like back in the “good ‘ol days”?

No. They don't. Which is why the “is email marketing dead” question exists.

Back in those “good ‘ol days”, people were only getting a few emails a day, and nowadays people get a heck of a lot more and there's just not enough time in the day to read them all. It just means you have a little more competition – but it's far from dead.

Think of it like this … email used to be about hearing from friends and family, now – it's used for business and transactions. People expect this. They expect businesses to be in their inbox.

They now have social media to keep in touch with family and friends. And according to a study by the Nielsen Norman Group – 90% of people preferred to receive business updates via a newsletter, while only 10% chose Facebook.

Now I'll rattle off a few common stats most marketers refer to when responding to this question:

For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $44.25.
[emailexpert] – I don't know how true or accurate this statement is … 4425% return seems a bit unbelievable to me; however, say it's for every $1 spent, the average return is $2. That STILL doubles your return on investment.
When marketed through email, consumers spend 138% more than people who don’t receive email offers. [Convince and Convert]
91% of consumers use email at least once a day. [Exact Target]
Email is almost 40 times better at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter. [McKinsey & Company]
44% of consumers made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email they received. [Convince and Convert]
72% of consumers sign up for emails because they want to get discounts, but only 8.2% sign up because they love the brand. [BlueHornet]

So, email marketing is FAR from dead. In this day and age, people prefer businesses to be in their inbox as opposed to their social media accounts.

Is email marketing dead?Nathan2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

4 “Real” eCommerce Welcome Emails You Can Learn From

Last week I wrote a post about how most eCommerce stores suck at email marketing where the biggest thing that shocked me was the lack of Welcome Emails.

Out of the 20 email lists I joined, I received Welcome Emails from only 4 of the businesses (20%).

This is unacceptable.

Every email list, eCommerce or otherwise, needs to welcome the user to their list.

In this post, I will examine the 4 Welcome Emails I received telling you what I like/don't like about them and pointing out what you can learn from them.

Holstee

I like this email for a few reasons.

I like that it's from a person – Helen Williams. This makes it much more personal and I really like her title, “Community Love Director”! Ha, that's awesome!

I like that it's fairly short and to the point. Helen introduces me to their mission, gives me a few links to get started, asks me to contact her if I have issues, and then she signs off. Excellent.

I like that she links me to her social media pages and tells me that her company shares “daily doses of what inspires us” – I know what to expect when I follow them.

I like that she linked me to her blog's most popular posts. That's great! A great way to learn more about the company.

What I may, or may not like … depending how it's used … is the third bullet, “Looking for a new Desktop or iPhone background?” If they're using it to segment their list (to see who's on a desktop and/or iPhone) then awesome! If not, then they're alienating a portion of their audience for no apparent reason (Android anyone?).

I would also like some clearer expectations as to what I'm to receive by being subscribed to this email list and how often. For example, when will I receive discounts? When will I receive updates on blog posts? How many emails a week should I expect? It's just something nice to know.

All in all, I really like this Welcome Email – good job Holstee!

Flatspot

I like this email for a few reasons. First, it's very attractive! Look at all the pretty pictures!

I like that the Lead Magnet (Free Shipping Code) I requested was delivered to me immediately. They kept their promise.

I like that they have links to their social media profiles. This helps me easily locate them in order to Like and Follow.

I kind of like that they have one clear objective on this email – “Follow Us On Instagram”. However, I don't know that I necessarily agree with “one clear objective” in regards to a Welcome Series. I believe Welcome Series should be used to segment subscribers and by having “one clear objective”, it makes it a little harder to segment. But, this is also the first email, there's still time!

I don't like that they don't share any expectations of me being on their list. When are you going to send me stuff? How often? What are you going to send me? etc.

I'd also prefer this email to come from a person. Being that this is an eCommerce store, a personal touch is always nice in order to remind the lead/customer that they're working with actual people, not just machines.

All in all, I think it's a decent email; however, I would test a few things … and maybe they already did, and if it's working for them – great!

Shwood

I like this email because it's pretty, it's simple, it's short, it sets expectation, it introduces their social media pages, and it lets me know that if I have an issue that I can email or call them.

My issue is … who do I call? Who do I email? Where's that personal touch?

So, for the most part – I like it, but I think they need to make it more personal.

Skinny Teatox

This isn't really a Welcome Email – instead, they automatically sent me their last broadcast email.

This is an “OK” thing to do, as long as no context is required in order to understand what's going on. It's almost like jumping right into the middle of a conversation, maybe I can figure out what they're saying … but, maybe I can't. You never want to confuse a new subscriber.

So, I'd definitely recommend adding a “true” Welcome Email, and then follow up an hour or two later with your latest broadcast.

Anyway, what I really like about this email is that they have obvious, descriptive, buttons. For example, there's a big, pink button that says “Get A 14 Day Skinny Teatox (Free Shipping)” … and it takes me straight to that product. Great!

I also like that they're sharing their latest blog post so I can read more about what the business represents.

I'm going to stop critiquing it here as this isn't a “real” Welcome Email per se (even tho they sent it as one).

Again, I highly recommend adding a “true” Welcome Email.

6 Things All Welcome Emails Should Include

I'll leave you with a list of things every Welcome Email should include:

Say thank you, Welcome!, etc.
Include the Lead Magnet
Short introduction to the business (maybe a link to the latest blog post)
Set expectations for the email list (perks of being subscribed)
Include links to Social Media profiles
Be personal

4 “Real” eCommerce Welcome Emails You Can Learn FromNathan2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

Is email marketing or Twitter more effective to reach potential users?

It depends on your business. Is your potential audience even on Twitter? Do they take kindly to cold emails? Are you just looking for 5 huge, $10k a month clients? So, it all depends on that.

For the sake of argument, I'm going to assume you're offering something for around $50 that over 10k people can and should use … they just don't know it exists yet.

Now, to answer your question – normally, from a sales conversion standpoint, email tends to outperform most other online mediums like Twitter.

However, you throw in a key phrase, “potential users.”

So, it sounds like you're still in the “outreach” phase and here's what I would do …

I would use both.

LAME! I know, but hear me out.

Using email for outreach can be good in some scenarios like trying to get reach hot prospects, but it does not scale well. You're not going to be able to email 10k people … ever. Well maybe within about 3 years you could … but that would really suck.

So, I would only use email for outreach in an attempt to land influencers. You know, the big guys and gals with the big audiences … where if they like your product/service … they'll recommend it to their audience. And, more than likely, you'll want to give your product/service to them for free.

Otherwise, I recommend setting up a landing page with an opt-in form, lead magnet, the whole shebang … with a follow up email series that sells your product/service.

I would then use Twitter … because, Twitter is powerful and allows you to communicate with people, participate in conversations, etc and can get you in front of a lot of people.

Anyway, I'd use Twitter to send people to that landing page where you would collect their email address.

To summarize. Use email outreach to land influencers. Create an email follow up series to convert leads into customers. Get leads from being hyperactive on Twitter.

Is email marketing or Twitter more effective to reach potential users?Nathan2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

How do I attract the first 1000 subscribers for a content website?

This question involves a few variables:

How fast?
Budget?
Do you have an audience elsewhere? Blog? Social media?

Depending on those variables my recommendations and answers will change.

So, how fast do you want it to happen? You can get there in a day if you leverage your resources correctly and/or have the budget for it. For example, if you have 50k fans on Facebook, it should be fairly easy and fast to get to 1,000 email subscribers.

If you don't have an audience elsewhere, it'll take more time and/or money.

Speaking of money … if you want to go the paid advertising route, for a QUALITY subscriber, you're probably looking at $1-$2 per subscriber … if not more, depending on your niche.

So, some simple math would tell you that it'll cost between $1,000 to $2,000 for a list of 1,000 QUALITY subscribers. Sure, you can get cheaper subscribers too, but you know what you get from them? Nothing. Obviously you'll want people who care about what you have to offer.

I don't know you, but $1k-$2k might be a bit out of your price range.

So, here's a tip. On your Thank You page, try and make some of that advertising money back by offering something for a few bucks. For example, if your lead magnet is a guide, can you turn that guide into a video and sell that video for $7? Whatever you come up with, try and keep it under $10.

If you're broke and don't have an audience elsewhere … depending how hard you grind it out will dictate how fast you can grow your list to 1,000 subscribers. Here are a few suggestions for your grind to the top!

Ask your family, friends, and work acquaintances. May any of them be interested?
- Ask them to share it.
Get active on forums. Can you include a signature with a link to your opt-in form?
Guest blogging with a link to your opt-in form.
Get active on social sites. Start building relationships and making contributions.
Start a blog, podcast, etc. Get your name and business in front of as many people as possible.

It's pretty much the “generic” advice you'll usually see when looking how to grow your list … and that's because, that's how it's done.

Ultimately, my advice is paid advertising. Given the right funnel setup, you should be able to make your money back and be net positive in no time … I mean, that's the whole point of email marketing in the first place!

How do I attract the first 1000 subscribers for a content website?Nathan2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

What are some key elements to increase newsletter sign ups on a landing page?

There are several key elements to help increase newsletter signups on a landing page … and there's kind of an order to their level of importance … so, I'll try and present them in that order.

Before I answer this question, NOTE … where your traffic is coming from and that quality of that traffic is the most important element to increasing signups. If you send garbage traffic, it'll never convert.

Assuming your traffic source is good, the first thing I'd look at is the Lead Magnet. If you're unfamiliar with that term – a Lead Magnet is an incentive for someone to give you their contact information … it “pulls the lead in.” For example, discounts, checklists, whitepapers, videos, ebooks, etc are common Lead Magnets.

Having said that – if no one wants your Lead Magnet, it wont matter how good the rest of your landing page is … it'll never convert well.

Here's a hint: Many times, just changing the title and/or the picture (aka “hero shot”) of your Lead Magnet without actually changing it's content can help increase conversion rates dramatically.

The second thing I'd look at is the Headline and, if you have one, the Sub-Headline. Maybe it needs to be shorter. Maybe it's not all that enticing.

Hint: Not that I condone this type of activity as it's costly to other people and businesses … but, sometimes it's one of those things. But, take a look at other people's landing pages … especially ones you're sent to through a paid advertisement … like on Facebook or Adwords. If people are businesses are paying money to send potential leads to a landing page … there is a decent chance that they're using … at least … slightly optimized Headlines and Sub-Headlines. Try and see what they say, find the pain points their using or try and identify any underlying formulas.

The third thing I'd look at is the opt-in form itself. What information are you requesting? Just the email address? Or, are you requesting first name, last name, telephone number, address, and their pet's name? The more fields your form has, the larger the barrier to entry. Only use fields you ABSOLUTELY NEED in order to start the relationship. Don't ever ask for personal information, just because. The simpler, the easier, the better.

The fourth thing I'd look at is the Call-To-Action (CTA) button. This is the “Submit” button for the opt-in form. I'd make sure it stands out (color, dimensions) and the wording matches the offer. For example, “Submit” is a bad CTA. Rarely do people want to “submit” something. BUT, they do want to “Download The Guide!”

Finally, I'd look at the overall look and feel. Is there one objective on the page or are you leading people in many different directions? For example, are you asking for contact information, but also asking for people to share the page? Or to look at some blog articles, or to do anything other than opt-in.

Each landing page should have one specific goal.

I hope that answers your question!

What are some key elements to increase newsletter sign ups on a landing page?Nathan2016-10-14T18:29:38+00:00

What is the best email subscription plugin for WordPress?

As with all “what is the best” questions … I have to issue my little disclaimer. There is no, single, “best” anything for everyone. It all depends on what YOU need, your budget, and what simply feels “right” to you.

Beyond that, my favorite email subscription plugin for WordPress is OptinMonster.

It allows you to build different types of opt-in forms in minutes. Everything from timed pop-ups, to exit intent pop-ups, to mobile opt-in forms, to click based opt-ins, to full page opt-ins, to floating bars, and more!

OptinMonster integrates with nearly every autoresponder service out there. They have split-testing or A/B testing capabilities built in. Integration with Google Analytics.

All you need to do is pick your design, customize it to your needs, connect your autoresponder service, then publish it to your site.

Oh, and it's affordable – at $199/yr with the Pro Plan.

So, at this point in time OptinMonster is definitely my favorite subscription plugin for WordPress.

Another great plugin that I used to use a lot; however, have pretty much replaced it with OptinMonster is OptimizePress … and it's a bit different than OptinMonster in that it really focuses on Landing Pages as opposed to just the opt-in form.

So, if you're looking to create great looking landing pages, I'd recommend checking out OptimizePress. It does have a few different prices ranging from $97 to $297, but compared to a landing page service like LeadPages or unbounce, it could save you money in the long run!

What is the best email subscription plugin for WordPress?Nathan2015-09-16T13:41:23+00:00

Is email marketing good for small businesses?

YES!

A loud, resounding … YES!

It's a direct line of communication directly to your customers.

It allows you to easily share what's going on with your business. Things like sales, events, new product launches, and more.

It also gives you the ability to grow and maintain a relationship with your customers. This is accomplished by sharing helpful content and insights as well as asking for questions and showing you're there to support them.

Also, email marketing keeps your business top of mind. By being in their inbox every week or two, you're letting people know you still exist in this crazy world and that you're ready to help!

Take note – just because you have your customers' email addresses, doesn't mean you should abuse this line of communication by emailing them every single day or by asking for too much … don't forget, they can unsubscribe whenever they want. So, you don't want to push it.

At the end of the day, I believe ALL small businesses need to use email marketing to keep in touch with their customers.

Is email marketing good for small businesses?Nathan2016-10-14T18:29:38+00:00

Most eCommerce Store Suck At Email Marketing

I visited 32, top rated, eCommerce stores in an attempt to enter their email marketing campaigns … these are my findings.

The reason this all started is because I've been working with a few eCommerce stores in regards to their email marketing campaigns and I've seen quite a few similarities in regards to how eCommerce businesses are “using” their email marketing platforms.

Most suck at it.

In this post, I will take you through what I found vs what I expected.

Had Optin Present

While I believe ALL eCommerce stores need to have an optin, only about two-thirds of this sample actually did.

Email marketing is used to build relationships, turn potential customers into actual customers, and keep actual customers coming back again, and again, and again.

By not having an email optin form on your site, you're hurting your business.

Lead Magnet

Of the stores that had optin forms, I took a few minutes to note their Lead Magnet. If you're unfamiliar with that term, a Lead Magnet is an offer that helps persuade individuals to join your email list – like a discount, a checklist, an eBook, a video, etc.

80% were offering a “Newsletter.” While most stated that they would send discounts and promotions, it was unclear as to when I would receive anything.

As a visitor to your eCommerce store, I want instant gratification – which is what a Lead Magnet should provide. Having to sit around, waiting for my discount … that's no fun … and spurs no action.

10% offered entry into a monthly contest for either a free product or a gift card. This isn't too bad, at least once a month I have a chance to win something!

5% offered nothing. Their optin form was literally a text box that said “Enter your email here” and a button that said “Subscribe”. I don't know about you, but normally I don't just pass my email address around for no apparent reason!

5% wanted me to “Join The Movement”. Whoa! I'm just shopping here … not signing up for a revolution. Tone it down, make it clear as to what I'm about to receive.

Double Optin

Double optin is where an individual inputs their email address, then has to go check their email and click a link in order to confirm their subscription. So, there are two steps – input email address, confirm email address (double).

While I personally do not like double optin forms, I get it … especially for eCommerce stores that get a lot of low quality subscribers and also take a lot of heat themselves as users report them as sending spam more frequently than most businesses.

Ultimately, in regards to eCommerce, I think double optin is the way to go in order to ensure higher quality subscribers and less spam reports.

Welcome Emails

This is what really surprised me.

Only 20% of the businesses I gave my contact information actually said “Thank You”.

The other 80% – I don't even know if they got my information. It's just floating out there and if I get an email from one of those businesses, I'll probably forget that I gave them my information and report it as spam. Sad. (I won't really do this)

A Welcome Email is absolutely critical.

You need to thank people for giving you their contact information. You need to welcome people to your email list and your business. You need to set expectations. You need to start building that relationship and give people a reason to buy from you.

Not having a welcome email is severely disappointing.

If you don't have one – go write on now … or scroll to the end of this post.

Email Service Used

MailChimp was the “top dog” at 55%. And, I kind of expected this. MailChimp is a quality email autoresponder service that interacts well with eCommerce.

For 35% of the eCommerce stores, I couldn't tell what service they were using. They may have been “in-house” services or something else. Either way, I couldn't identify them.

5% were using CreateSend.

And the remaining 5% were using Klaviyo. I've been hearing a lot of good stuff about Klaviyo recently in regards to how well they work with eCommerce stores. I haven't personally got my hands on it yet; however, it may be worth checking out!

Where To Go From Here

For those eCommerce stores that lack an optin and email marketing in general – here's a short video tutorial on how to get started:

ActiveCampaign

For those that lack a Welcome Email … well, I'm going to give you one:

That should help!

Most eCommerce Store Suck At Email MarketingNathan2016-10-14T18:29:38+00:00

Is it okay to market my new start up via email?

There's a follow up question to this:

I have a list about 2000 contacts and I don't know if I should email people. I already used mailchimp. But I don't think it's the right way to do it.
Should I email people personally and tell them about the product?

To answer this question on its most basic level – Yes, it's OK to market your new startup via email … and you should!

However, since you're asking this question … I feel like there's more to it … like, you're really asking something else. So, let me try and answer what I think you're really asking.

Firstly, you need to have permission to email those 2,000 people. Did they opt-in to receive emails from you? Where did you get their email addresses from? Do you know them personally? There is a lot of gray area when it comes to sending emails to people who did not opt-in. Some are illegal – like scraping or harvesting email addresses.

So, just be careful and make sure you're following the laws. If in doubt … I'd say, start over … and/or at least consult a lawyer that's familiar with the topic.

Secondly, let's assume you have permission to email these 2,000 contacts. My next question would be … would they care about your startup? If you build a list about fitness, but your startup is about dog training … emailing your fitness list probably wouldn't be too effective.

So, make sure that your list's interests match those of your startup.

As for emailing people personally. I wouldn't email all 2,000 people personally, because that'll take forever and I'm sure it wouldn't be worth the time. However, picking the top 50 to 100 people you think will convert … may be worth emailing personally.

In conclusion – yes, email is a great way to market your startup if your list is legal and they want to hear about it!

Is it okay to market my new start up via email?Nathan2016-10-14T18:29:38+00:00