Rise of the transparent entrepreneur [part-1]

We live in the day of the con artist.

It’s not the information age anymore. It’s the day of manipulators and scammers.

Of hackers and rip-off artists.

That’s why TV shows can thrive on stories about construction-scams, rouge mechanics and white collar crimes.

They’ll NEVER run out of material because the world is full of liars and criminals.

Low-level criminals are everywhere. You walk past them every day on the street.

High level criminals are everywhere too. Usually in government or running a business or controlling the banks.

Why is this?

Because crime pays.

Crime brings power.

And criminals love power.

They’re hungry for it.

We live in a culture that thirsts for it. Even promotes it.

The message of “get ahead at any cost” is trumpeted from Hollywood … plastered all over social media … and ingrained in the social narrative.

There are more ways for scammers to pull the wool over your eyes today than ever before.

This is due — in part — to the rise and reliance on the greatest propaganda machine there ever was: the Internet and social media…

Plus …

Easy accessibility to paid advertising…

The complexity of technology…

And the general lack of time we have to fact check what we see and hear in the media.

But all this mistrust and skepticism creates a windfall opportunity for you because…

In the age of the con artist, the honest entrepreneur can stand out like a giraffe in a pack of wolves.

And thus the rise of the transparent entrepreneur.

The rise of the marketer who — instead of lying and deceiving — addresses skepticism head on.

The marketer who proves every claim.

The marketer who gives a basis for trust and believing before asking the prospect to risk a dime.

When done right …

New clients come running.

Past clients return.

And referrals flow like water from a tap.

What are you doing to increase transparency in your marketing?

You can start by subscribing to my free email newsletter. You’ll get 2-3 tips a week to help you become a more transparent email marketer.

Subscription is free. There’s an unsubscribe link in every email. And I never rent or sell your email address to anyone:

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Does email list size matter?

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: No

Here’s what I mean:

If you have an email list of 300 recent buyers, congratulations. You’ve got a hot list. You’ve got an email list of people who all share three important traits:

1) They trust you enough to give you money …

2) They all share a common desire for the specific problem-solving or life-changing solution you offer. And …

3) They’re buyers, not tire kickers. Meaning, they’re willing to dip their hand into their pocket to pay for solutions

That makes them good prospects for other products and services.

Products and service YOU can offer. Either yourself or through a joint venture. And continue to profit from the 300-name email list.

So no, in a case like this, overall list size does NOT matter – assuming you’re hitting your margins.

A list of buyers is what matters.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should stop building your email list.

You should continue to do whatever got you those 300 buyers in the first place.

Now, let’s look at another scenario:

Let’s say you’ve got an email list of 300 email addresses that have NEVER bought from you.

They opted-in to your email list to get a free video, report, information pack, discount code, content upgrade or something else but…

THEY. NEVER. MADE. A. PURCHASE. OF. ANY. KIND.

(Sorry for shouting – just want to make sure you stay with me here.)

And let’s say each of those 300 people opted in for a different reason. For example …

Some opted-in to follow you, so they’ll know where to find you when they need you.

Others opted-in to get your content upgrade information to repurpose – or blatantly steal! – for their own business.

Others to spy on you.

And so on.

Does that sound like a valuable email list to you?

Does that sound like a list of responsive buyers?

If that describes (even loosely) the makeup of your email list, you’re gonna have a hard time converting them into buyers – no matter how good your copywriter is.

So, in this case, email list size DOES matter but … more importantly …

LIST MAKEUP MATTERS.

(Again, sorry for shouting. At least you’re still with me.)

Listen. It’s not the number of subscribers on your email list that matters…

It’s the number of people who share common traits and interests.

It’s the number of people with a common problem they want to solve … or …

… a common passion, love, hobby, or opportunity they want to pursue.

For example, an email list of 300 people itching to learn your closely-guarded secrets of wood turning …

accounting,

managing staff,

buying antiques,

investing in real estate,

or raising lamas …

IS a valuable email list – assuming you’ve got the products or services that lead them closer and closer to their goals.

But an email list of 300 people with only a thin thread of commonality (or no commonality) connecting them is a bad list. And in that case, you’ve got to make up for lack of commonality with huge numbers.

It’s not efficient. But still might be effective.

And still better than some of the biz owners (or insta-fluencers) with 100,000 plus subscribers/followers and barely a buyer amongst them.

Do you see what I mean?

I hope this is making sense to you. If not, contact me to discuss your email list and how to make it more profitable.

We can also discuss how to identify the good subscribers and get the dead-wood off your list.

Of course, if you’re not ready to take the plunge into a world of increased profit, you can simply opt-in to my email list for 1-3 ideas a week to make your email list more valuable:

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Is this the reason you’re not making the sales you deserve?

I read an article today by Dr Greg Chapman over on the Australian Small Business blog.

He wrote about the importance of addressing customer concerns, fears or objections in your advertising.

If you’re NOT doing this in your marketing it could be creating a logjam in your sales pipeline.

And we ALL know how painful a logjam in your pipeline can be!

The basic idea is this:

If you figure out what scares, worries or keeps your potential customers awake at night …

… then show how your product or service addresses those concerns …

You’ll sell more product and make more money.

Dr Chapman used a recent iPhone ad as an example of doing it right.

Watch the ad here so you know what I’m talking about (it’s funny, so you’ll have a good laugh) —

Dr Chapman then admitted that although he thought the ad deserved the title of “AD of the Month,” — presumably as a model for how small businesses need to run ads to address their market’s biggest fears or concerns — he doesn’t actually believe the ad.

He said:

“Whether you accept these assurances from Apple, whose business model includes the monetizing your personal information, or not, is up to you. Personally, I would trust them just as far as I could throw an elephant.”

My thoughts:

Great advice, as far as addressing the concerns, fears, or objections of your market. But …

Seems to me there’s a deeper objection Apple are not tackling here.

Namely, although they offer data privacy, many people don’t believe them. Which is a problem because …

In advertising and marketing …

A benefit that is not believed is as good as not having a benefit.

My suggestion:

How about an ad and email campaign that says in essence:

“If you’re one of the millions of iPhone users worldwide, you trust your personal data is kept safe when using your iPhone. But, with consumer skepticism over data security at an all-time high, we thought you’d appreciate it if we took a moment to explain the 6 steps and 5 precautions Apple takes to guarantee your data is kept away from prying eyes. First, we …”

And so on.

Anyway, big takeaway is that Dr Greg Chapman runs an excellent blog for small business owners at https://www.australiansmallbusiness.net.au/

Go read some of his excellent articles today.

And …

If you need specific help with email marketing, subscribe to my email newsletter below or contact me here to start a conversation.

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Have you been sin binned? How to stop your emails landing in spam folder hell

Just occurred to me that a handful of my subscribers — possibly you included — don’t realise I don’t just write emails … but …

I also help you through the technical side of getting those emails set up in your email account if necessary.

And…

I help you prevent your emails landing in spam folder hell!

As an example of this … today I set up (in mailchimp) a 5-email welcome series that I wrote for a client last week.

I didn’t just set it up … I created signature files for the client’s emails …

I also set up the timing for the automatic emails to go out —

In this case we’re sending automated emails immediately after someone subscribes, then 3 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours later, and final 6 days after the first email goes out.

I won’t go into all the reasons for the timing of these emails. But suffice to say …

There’s method to my madness.

There’s ALWAYS method to my madness.

And, as one final step for this client, I set up email domain authentication to get his emails to land in the subscriber’s inbox instead of …

The dreaded spam folder.

Have you set up email domain authentication for your email address?

If not, you may be landing in the spam folder more often than you think.

And that’s not good. Because the fastest way to die a slow email death is to send all your emails to your subscribers spam folder.

And get this:

Some email services such as gmail send your emails to the spam folder automatically when you use an ESP like MailChimp or GetResponse or Active Campaign. And this WON’T change, no matter how compliant your email message, until you verify or authenticate your email domain.

It’s not enough to ask subscribers to whitelist your emails.

And it’s not enough to send emails that are spam compliant in every other respect.

Why?

Because these email services want to protect their own reputation. To do that they don’t want their uses receiving spam. So they block anything that could potentially be spam — starting with mass email from services like MailChimp .

Think of it like this.

If you’re a teenager holding a wild party while your parents are away, the last thing you want to do is tip your parents off that a party is going down.

So what do you do?

You do everything you can to convince your parents you’re having a sedate weekend at home. You tell them you’re probably going to hit the books all weekend and maybe watch a movie if you have time.

You DO NOT tell them you’re having the neighbours with a bad reputation for starting out-of-control house parties over for a few drinks.

This would drive your parents nuts.

And they’d be so on edge they’d either invite your uncle Ted over to keep an eye on you … or cancel their plans for the weekend so they can stay home to watch you themselves.

Basically you’ve been sin binned

If you don’t want that, you need to show your parents they can trust you.

In the same way, email readers like gmail, yahoo, outlook and so on want to know they can trust you before they allow you to have free reign over which of their customers you send emails to.

To gain these company’s trust you need to authenticate your email domain.

Make sense?

(Here’s how to set up email domain authentication if you use mailchimp)

Just take my word for it.

Anyway, if you want automated emails written for your welcome series…

Or your abandoned cart series …

Or your product upsell series …

Or whatever …

And you also need help with the technical side of setting all this up ….

I can help.

Just reply to this email, tell me what you want (even if you don’t know what’s possible) and let’s chat.

Oh, and I also do broadcasts emails if you need those.

Hit my services tab at the top of the page to find out more …

Or subscribe to my email newsletter and I’ll tell you all the ways I can help, along with 2-3 helpful tips each week to improve your results with email marketing.

Subscribing is free, and you can do it here:

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When to segment your email list and when not to

I grew up on a farm.

In a Christian family.

So segmenting or separating sheep from goats and wheat from chaff was an easy concept for me to understand.

So when I began working with a small creative training company back in the late 2000’s the first thing I did was set up an entry strategy that allowed website visitors to receive content most relevant to them via email.

My client at the time sold a range of products suitable for professionals, home users, hobbyists and creative types. If we sent the same email message to all 4 categories of customer our message would be generic and watered down.

It would appeal to some, but not all of the audience on the list.

Segmenting allowed us to send specific email campaigns and messaging that resonated with each type of reader or interest group.

Segmentation also meant we could run more promotions, more often.

While our competitors focused on launching one product at a time to their whole list, we could launch 4 products simultaneously because we had 4 sub-categories of the market.

With this client, segmentation was probably an obvious move.

But what if you don’t see a definite distinction between types of people on your email list? Or haven’t taken the time to segment your list properly? Is it okay to send generic messages to your whole list?

I believe you can.

It’s not the most effective strategy.

But until you’re ready to get more serious about email marketing and segmentation this insight may help:

I have another client, let’s call him Tom. Right now we send emails to his whole list.

No segmentation.

Everyone gets the same email message regardless of their interests or reasons for subscribing. Buyers and non-buyers alike.

You could say our only form of segmentation is to write emails that resonate with some subscribers but not all.

As a result, those who don’t feel our messages are relevant will eventually segment themselves by unsubscribing or tuning us out.

Again, not the best approach. But, not necessarily bad either. After all, you only want people on your list who resonate with the specific types of messages you want to send.

So here’s what we do instead of segmenting the list:

Before writing an email I think generally about the list as a whole and ask:

“What is everyone on the list interested in?”

From a universal standpoint, everyone on the list is a human being and therefore interested in themselves.

Humans also love stories.

So a safe bet when writing an email is to tell stories with a human-interest element, that benefit the reader in some way.

So I ask:

“What stories are both universally interesting and relevant to the work my client does?”

This question elicits a lot of answers.

For starters, I can write about what’s happening in my client’s life. After all, it’s his list … and people subscribed to get more information from him.

Second, I can write about industry related topics that may affect his subscribers – keeping my emails focused on what’s happening in the subscriber’s “world” is a sure-fire way to get and hold their attention.

Finally, I can write about people who are getting the kind of results my client delivers. People are always interested in the success stories of others.

So you see, even without segmenting the list, I can keep the emails general but specific enough to reach everyone in some way.

You can do the same.

Then, when the time is right, you can use segmentation strategies to build sub-lists based on more refined segmentation or interest criteria.

Hope this helps.

If you like what you’re reading …

Subscribe to my email newsletter for 2 or 3 hot tips each week you can use to get better results with email marketing.

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What’s better — sending valuable content to your email list … or a barrage of product promotions?

If you have to write marketing emails you’ve probably sat at your computer at some point wondering what the right balance is between useful content and promotional emails.

And it’s a fair thing to wonder.

Thousands follow Gary V’s “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” methodology which advocates sending at least 3 “information only” emails to every promotional email you send.

But frankly, that’s an oversimplification. It may be true with social media, but email is different. As proof …

Many companies promote an offer in EVERY EMAIL THEY SEND … and get away with it just fine.

Still others send ONLY free content, with the assumption “They’ll contact us when they’re ready to buy, so we don’t need to pitch in our emails“.

Who’s right?

According to Hubspot, who have a few terabytes of data on such things:

“The key to crafting a successful email marketing strategy lies in creating trust with contacts and building genuine, long-lasting relationships with them“.

The good news is …

You don’t need to compromise.

With the right approach — and a little thought — you can build long-lasting relationships … AND … promote your products or services in every email you send.

I’m using a couple of different approaches to help clients achieve this right now.

And I write about it occasionally in my 2-3 times a week email newsletter, which you can subscribe to below:

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Our email open rates almost doubled – here’s why

I once advised a client to resend (with a different subject line) emails to people who don’t open an email within 48 hours of receiving it.

At first he hesitated.

And I wasn’t sure why.

So I asked him:

“Why the hesitation when most email sending programs have a link you can press for this exact situation?”

He said:

“What if people go back and read the first email later and realise I sent the same email twice?”

To which I responded:

“Great, it means they’re reading your emails. And reading the same email twice increases the chances they’ll buy the product.”

I knew he wasn’t convinced. So I said:

“Look, just do a test okay. For this week only, resend emails to people who don’t open them, changing only the subject line, and measure the response. Next week, don’t do it. See which works better.”

So he did.

And you know what happened?

Nothing dramatic.

But he did make a couple of extra sales from the second email he sent with the new subject line.

And he learned a valuable lesson:

With no more than a change to the subject line, resending an email can as much as DOUBLE the number of people on your list who see, read, and buy from your emails.

This one lesson by itself has the power to add a significant number of sales to my client’s business this year. Especially when he resends his most profitable emails.

And yet, it’s not the only way to increase the number of people reading your emails.

For more you’ll have to add your email address to my email newsletter list below.

I send 2-3 emails a week – each with tips to increase your response from email marketing.

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Man removes own intestine (and other time-saving hacks your parents never taught you)

In 1961, during an expedition to the Antarctic, 27-year-old Russian surgeon Leonid Rogozov fell ill with appendicitis.

He needed an operation.

And – as the only doctor on the team – he soon realised he’d have to use the scalpel on himself.

As you can imagine, it was no easy choice.

Rogozov knew his appendix could burst at any moment.

And, if it did …

… he would probably die.

So, faced with life or death he did something most sane human beings would NEVER do …

He cut open his abdomen and took out his intestines.

Then, while bleeding heavily, and growing weaker by the second, he looked at his infected appendix.

He later commented: “With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. That means just a day longer and it would have burst...”

So, left with no choice, he chopped it out.

Then neatly tucked his intestines back in.

After nearly two hours of self-surgery he completed the operation, down to the final stitch.

And continued his mission in the Antarctic.

Now, you might be wondering “What’s all this got to do with writing emails to my list?”

Actually, a LOT.

You see, I consult with a number of clients who write some of their own emails.

And, almost all of them says the same thing:

“Writing emails is like pulling teeth.”

They spend hours hunched over the keyboard … struggling to find the right words … and … when they’re done … they’ve got almost nothing to show for it.

So I ask them: “If you needed an operation, would you perform surgery on yourself, or go to a qualified professional – someone who’s spent years learning, practicing and honing their craft?”

The answer’s always the same:

“I’d go to a professional!”

You see, you CAN struggle to write your own emails …

You CAN battle it out with the keyboard to come up with the right words …

You CAN spend hours writing instead of focusing on your core money-making skills …

But why?

If Leonid Rogozov wasn’t stranded in the Antarctic he certainly wouldn’t have performed his own surgery.

So unless you’re dead broke … and have no other option … don’t write your own emails.

And speaking of NOT writing your own emails …

I’m accepting 2 new clients over the next 3 weeks. If you want to be one of them … I’ll write your first email FREE.

But only subscribers to my twice-weekly email marketing newsletter qualify.

Subscribe here:

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Why email open rates don’t matter

Campaign Monitor released a (shall I say) “startling” – report titled: “Email Benchmarks (2020): By Day and Industry”.

And it’s absolutely … umm … riveting? I mean, you should be on the edge of your seat right now reading this.

In it they declare:

Australian open rates remain strong at 18.7%

Click-through rates rise to an average of 2.8%.

Click-to-open rates also rise, climbing to an average of 14.9%.

Unsubscribe rates remain steady at an average of 0.2%.

Australia leads open rates with an average of 18.7%; slightly higher than the global average of 17.8%, the UK at 17.5% and the US at 17%.

Sounds like a politician rattling off the latest unemployment figures.

Aren’t you glad you know these statistics?

Don’t they just rock your world?

Aren’t you glad you’re reading this important announcement?

Let me ask you this:

Who cares?

I mean, what are you going to do with this information? What is ANYBODY going to do with this information?

I can just imagine a bunch of suits sitting around the boardroom table discussing this report and asking “What are our open rates? How do we compare?”

To which the poor sod from the marketing department responds by pulling up a spreadsheet on his tablet computer thingy to reveal this fascinating sound bite:

“Let’s see now… we’re a little below average on open rates … but our unsubscribe rates are about where they should be!”

“Quick, send a tweet” replies the CEO.

Come on.

The problem with this type of report … and the problem with marketing consultants who constantly blabber on about email open rates is …

Open rates might be good for the ego … but you’ll get the shock of your life if you ever try to deposit an open rate down at your bank.

That’s why the only email marketing statistic that matters is …

Sales.

Now, I hear you saying: “But the more emails people open the more sales I can make, right?”

Not necessarily.

I mean, it sounds good in theory.

But that’s where it stops.

You see, the only thing an email open rate can tell you is how many people clicked on your email.

Open rate stats don’t tell you whether the person who clicked on your email did so to open and delete it … open and read it … or if they accidentally clicked on it while trying to click an email above or below yours from their dear ol’ mother.

But sales … now that’s a statistic that tells us everything we need to know.

That’s a statistic we can get excited about.

Nobody accidentally buys your product.

There’s more to this, of course. And I’m deliberately only presenting one side of the story here.

But that’s all I’ve got time for today …

However, I will leave you with one final “insight” from the Campaign Monitor report.

This statement sums up their findings:

Australia is leading the way with open rates, which could be an indicator of an especially interested audience. Additionally, emails sent in this region may generally follow email subject line best practices, which encourage opens.

Let THAT sink in.

And then, when you realise you’ve learned absolutely nothing … subscribe to my twice-weekly email newsletter for ideas you can actually use to increase your sales from email marketing.

Just your email address below will do:

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Are you committing this ghastly crime against your wallet?

Someone from the “I need a copywriter squad” contacted me recently via my google profile to ask if I write copy for websites, like product descriptions and landing pages to generate leads? And if so, why don’t I mention this on my website or on my google profile?

The answer is simple:

Yes, I do write all types of copy. From social media posts, to website pages to whitepapers and special reports. But I specialise in email marketing, because that’s where I see the highest profit potential for business owners right now, and the biggest overlooked opportunity.

Problem is, most businesses owners JUST. DON’T. Get. It.

So they spend a bucket load of cash on ads to get new leads, but do almost nothing to nurture the leads they’ve already got. They spend hundreds — and sometimes thousands — a month on SEO, but do nothing to collect the email addresses of the people who arrive at their website.

I get it. I really do.

I spent a lot of years in direct sales so I understand the thrill of the kill on the first contact.

And I understand your insatiable desire for hot new leads.

After all, you just want people to hit you expensive website, see the value you bring, and buy on the spot ….

… which is probably the dream sold to you by your fancy webs designer.

But …

THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE CRIME YOU COMMIT AGAINST YOUR OWN WALLET!

Because — study after study shows only a tiny fraction of all the traffic that arrives at your website will buy on the first visit. Even fewer will visit a second time. And …

That’s why the best, smartest and most profitable business owners make “email capture” the focus of their website.

Without doubt, email is the best way to nurture captured leads right now, and the best way to automatically sell more products to existing customers and expand your referral base.

And that, my curious reader, is why I promote myself as an email copywriter.

But yes, as a copywriter I can write any type of copy. Preferably in the alternative health niche because I feel the alternative health market does a great service to the community.

I also publish a twice-weekly email newsletter full of ideas to help you get better results from your email marketing. It’s free, although some reader’s have said they’d happily pay a C-note to get some of the info I share. If you know what’s good for you … you’ll subscribe here:

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