I served in the Army for four years, and the ingredients for success were simple: be in the proper place, at the proper time, and in the proper uniform.
If I did those three things (plus my job of course) … I would stand out from my peers. Believe it or not – most people can't do those three simple things.
Anyway, to bring this around to marketing, here's a quote by Jim Yu, CEO BrightEdge:
“The key is to present the right content to the right users at the time they need it in an engaging manner.”
Same freakin' concept as my Army days: right content, right users, and at the right time.
Three simple ingredients to standing out from the crowd and being successful.
And, you guessed it – most people and businesses can't do those three simple things.
You'll be able to after reading this article!
Where Does This Email Autoresponder Sequence Go?
The overall concept for this autoresponder sequence is to send a variety of content to our list in an attempt to figure out what each individual is interested in.
Everyone on our list is different. Some are young, some are old, some are single, some are married, some are employees, some are employers, some want to learn and do, while others want you to do it for them.
If you offer a variety of products and services, your list is going to be an even larger hodgepodge; having a system, like I'm about to show you, in place is a requirement.
By gauging interests, we're able to send more relevant and engaging content that ultimately results in more sales.
The left hand side (Straight Line Sales Funnel / Main Series) of the diagram below shows you where this autoresponder series resides:
As you see, it goes in a straight line, one email after the other, while simultaneously tracking how individuals interact with particular emails.
For example, if I send an email on the topic of Facebook ads, and the individual clicks the link to the article, I can assume they're interested in Facebook ads. From there, I can pause the “Straight Line Sales Funnel” (interest gauging series), and automatically enter the subscriber into a Micro Sales Funnel (Product/Service Sales Funnel) where I go into more detail about Facebook ads and make an offer or two.
- Related Course: The ActiveCampaign & Interest Driven Sales Funnels Course
Email Autoresponder Sequence: Weekly “Pushes”
While there are many ways to structure your interest gauging autoresponder series, I'm going to give you a framework that works very well.
I call this framework “Weekly ‘Pushes'”.
Why? Because every week you're trying to sell (push) a different product or service to your list.
Instead of making random offers and sending random emails depending on your mood, you spend an entire week on the same topic. This gives people more opportunity to see what you're offering and act, while not being overbearing and “burning” them out.
The Weekly “Pushes” Framework
The goal of this framework is to get the person on the sales page. If the individual views the sales page, we know they're interested in what we have to offer.
Step 1: Pick a widget to sell.
Step 2: Follow the pattern below for that single widget.
- Pattern: 3 and 2 (M, T, W, F, S)
Send 4 to 5 emails on the same topic, for the same widget, during each “push”. In general, it's good to break up these emails to give people a little time to react, rather than bombarding them every day. For this reason, I recommend sending 3 daily emails, take a day off, send 2 more daily emails, take a day off, and then repeat with a new “push”.
- Email 1: Fun/personal story
- Relate to widget
- PS goes to sales page
People connect with stories. People enjoy stories. We want people to both connect with us and enjoy hearing from us, which is why we must share a story! Now, it doesn't necessarily have to be a personal story; you can share a success story from a client or customer or even a well known individual, like a celebrity, just shared in a different light.
At the end of the story, close out (soft sell) with a simple PS line that takes them to the sales page where they can learn more, if they wish.
- Email 2: Promotion of widget
- Use a marketing formula: Problem-Agitate-Solve, Feature-Benefits-Advantages, Before-After-Bridge
- CTA goes directly to the sales page – “Click Here To Buy”
While stories are great and help us connect, sometimes a good old fashioned sales letter converts best … especially when they have the story from the previous email rolling around in their head! In this 2nd email, pitch your widget. You can use a marketing formula to help structure your message or do whatever you think is best.
The call-to-action should be straight forward and to the point with no mystery behind it, “If you're interested in this widget, click here”. (How much more “interest gauging” can you get?! If the person clicks that link, we know they're interested in our offer and they'll enter one of our Micro Sales Funnels.)
- Emails 3-4: Content on topic of widget
- Link to a blog post that's entertaining and/or educational
- Include CTAs in both the PS line of the email and within the article itself which go to your widget's sales page
After sharing a story and a “hard” pitch, it's time to ease back a little bit and just share some more information with them. Send links to articles, videos, and other resources they'll find helpful, interesting, and entertaining on the same topic as the widget you're trying to sell.
Include links to your widget's sales page in your email PS line and throughout the particular article so they can easily navigate to the sales page, if they're interested in learning more.
- Email 5: Content OR Promotion (discount)
Email 5 is optional. If the individual hasn't visited your sales page after 4 emails on the same topic for the same widget … they may simply not be interested in that offer. So, use some discretion here. If you feel like this 5th email is “too much”, don't use it.
If you do use Email 5, you can send another piece of content like emails 3 & 4 OR you can make a last-ditch effort to sell your widget by sending another “hard” sales email and/or by offering a discount.
That is the Weekly “Pushes” framework! Rinse and repeat with a new product the following week!
Getting Content To Send
The Weekly “Pushes” framework requires you to send a fair amount of content, sometimes 3 pieces a week.
This can be a lot, especially for a small business or a new business that hasn't started producing copious amounts of content.
It's OK, there's a way you can share other people's content and STILL bring people back to your site.
You can do this by using a tool that adds a bar, bubble, slide-in, popup, etc. to any link you recommend.
There are a handful of tools that allow you to do this, but my favorite is snip.ly.
And, here's an example.
They teach you how to use the tool on their site. It's certainly handy and can make up those content “gaps” until you get your own stuff produced!
Conclusion
The way to stand out to your subscribers, leads, and customers is simple…
“The key is to present the right content to the right users at the time they need it in an engaging manner.” – Jim Yu, CEO BrightEdge
By using frameworks like the Weekly “Pushes” outlined above, figuring out what people are interested in becomes a piece of cake that can be automated!
Ready to take it to the next level and learn several other frameworks for gauging interest?