Nick's Traffic Tricks » Email Marketing

3 Tricks Learned From “Sexy Email Marketing”

Nick — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:23:01 +0000

Recently I purchased Sexy Email Marketing and I want to share with you 3 tricks I learned to increase my email list’s open rate and click-through-rate.

Links from the video

PHP Redirect Code

Get more traffic from your email

Nick — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:08:20 +0000

You can get traffic from each email you send by including the URL of your website and a short teaser or tagline for it. And the best part is that it requires almost no work on your part; once you add the URL and teaser to your signature it will always be included in each email you send and you will get additional traffic.

Example
Getting traffic is easy. Let me show you how.

http://NicksTrafficTricks.com

A whole new level

This concept is not new for most of you. But WiseStamp takes it to a whole new level.

One of the coolest things that it does is include a link to your latest blog post as part of your email signature.

And it’s totally free.

Watch a video demo

Awesome WordPress Plugin For Increasing Email & RSS Subscribers

Nick — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:01:02 +0000

A couple weeks ago I began testing the hello bar which puts a small bar at the top of every page of your website and invites visitors to click a link that you choose.

I had it set up to send visitors to a squeeze page when they clicked on the link.

After a few days of testing I concluded that it did help me get a few more subscribers to my email list but there were some things that I didn’t like about it.

For instance, I thought the text was kind of small and instead of requiring visitors to click a link to go to my squeeze page, why couldn’t I have the actual sign-up form in the bar?

Below is a screenshot of Tim’s blog and the red bar that you see at the top is the hello bar:

Something better

A couple days ago I got an email from Ana Hoffman telling me about an awesome alternative to the hello bar called ViperBar.

What I love about this plugin is that it lets me put the email subscription form right in the bar instead of sending visitors to a separate page.

I also like the fact that it’s a plugin for my blog and not an external service that my site relies on.

Here’s a screenshot of my blog with the ViperBar:

RSS Too

The ViperBar also lets you invite people to subscribe to your RSS.

How cool is that?

64% Squeeze Page Conversion Rate?

Nick — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:29:43 +0000

I’ve talked a lot about the importance of having an email list but one thing I struggle with is my squeeze page conversion rate i.e. if 100 people visit my email sign-up page, how many of them actually fill out the form and join my email newsletter?

While I don’t have exact figures, I know my conversion rate is between 10% and 20%. And though that may seem low it’s actually about average for the industry that I am in.

So I was quite happy today when I read a great post by Glen at ViperChill on how he was able to get his squeeze the conversion up to 64%.

Read: Squeeze Page Optimisation: How to Get 700+ Free Leads and a 64% Conversion Rate

You Are Screwing Things Up With Email Marketing

Nick — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 23:10:10 +0000

Okay, it’s time for a little rant. Most of you are doing email marketing the WRONG way! (And yes, there is a right way to do it.)

Let me explain

When I opened my inbox this morning I had a ton of email from various marketers and 1 email in particular really ticked me off.

It had a subject line that read: RE: Your Order (private)

When I read this I thought Huh? I didn’t order anything from this guy.

Lucky for the sender I recognized his name or that email would have been catapulted into the spam bucket.

The email

With some hesitation I opened the email and read:

nickoster,

I just ordered this for YOU at no cost to you:
[some url]

When I read this my curiosity was piqued because people don’t buy me stuff unless it’s Christmas time and they’re sending me a Kindle version of their favorite book.

I clicked the link

So you can imagine my surprise (or lack thereof) when I clicked the link and was brought to a squeeze which promised to make my wildest dreams come true if I entered my name & email in the special box.

Huh? But what about the thingy he said he had ordered for me???

There’s no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and there’s no special gift that he ordered for me.

Or maybe there was a free gift or something, and all I had to do was signup for a spammer’s email list and give him my firstborn. But we’ll never know.

Hard to leave

With my hopes of free stuff dashed, and my cynicism reinforced, I tried close the window that had the squeeze page, but it wasn’t going down without a fight.

3 or 4 times I attempted to close the window but my efforts were thwarted by annoying popups that beseached me to stay and throw my life savings at their shoddy merchandise.

Finally I was able to close the window and I unsubscribed from his email list.

Bad address

I decided to send the guy a short email detailing why I was unhappy with his list. So I went back to the original email he’d sent, hit the reply button, typed my message, and hit Send.

The message was sent to support@[dude's name].com and within 10 seconds I got this response:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
support@[dude's name].com

That’s right, his “support” email address doesn’t work. He’s a keeper for sure.

Don’t deceive people with enticing subject lines

Having a subject line that grabs your reader’s attention is good. Just make sure you deliver what you promise.

For example if your subject reads How to fit 300 marshmallows in your mouth then your email (or a link in the email) must tell the reader how to fit 300 marshmallows in their mouth.

Deceptive subject lines are also a violation of CANSPAM.

Make sure you “reply-to” address works

When you send an email to your list make sure that they can hit reply and that their message will go to a valid email address.

And make sure that you respond to those emails!

The right way to do email marketing

The right way starts with remembering that people are on your list voluntarily and may leave at any time.

Build a relationship with your readers and actually care about them. So few people do this.

As you build a relationship with your subscribers you’ll discover they have certain wants/needs and you have an opportunity to help fill those wants/needs.

Connect your readers with products that they actually want, products that will genuinely solve their problems, and you can make a ton of money.

Fastest Ways To Destroy Your Email List

Nick — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:25:09 +0000

Building an email list is a great way to get traffic and make money in the long term and I’ve written several posts that outline how to build an email list and profit from it.

Today I want to take a slightly different approach and show you some things that will destroy your email list faster than you can say fuzzy llamas.

Read Full Story: Email Marketing – How to Get People to Unsubscribe

3 things you can do with your e-mail list to build traffic and make money

Nick — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:45:37 +0000

We’ve all heard the phrase “the money is in the list” but too often people make a list and aren’t sure what to do with it.

So I want to show you 3 simple ways you can use your list to build traffic, make better products, and make money.

1. Tell your subscribers about new blog posts

My e-mail list is one of my best sources of traffic. Frequently when I publish a new blog post I will send a short message to my e-mail list telling them about my new post.

This is so simple and yet it is one of my biggest traffic sources.

Of course this requires you to publish new stuff on your blog periodically.

2. Ask them about their problems

Chances are people subscribe to your e-mail list because they want information that will help them solve a problem. And there is an easy way to capitalize on this.

First, put up a post on your blog inviting people to ask questions. In the past I have bribed people with a free prize if they ask a question.

Second, send an e-mail out to your list telling them about the free prize and inviting them to ask a question.

In the past I have had hundreds of people come to my blog and ask me traffic questions. Because of this I have a very good understanding of what traffic questions people have.

What do I do with this information?

This will help you to understand what people’s needs really are and develop better products that are highly targeted to your subscribers. Or you can use this information to find targeted affiliate products to promote.

The huge benefit of inviting people to ask questions (and actually answering them) is that you build a relationship of trust with your readers. When they trust you they are more likely to buy stuff from you.

3. You can send advertisements to your list

Once you know what your subscribers really want you can periodically send them advertisements for different products.

There are a couple different ways to do this.

First, you can send them a solo advertisement. This is where you send an e-mail that is only an advertisement. This is an effective way of getting people’s attention and making sales. Just don’t do it too often or people will leave your list.

Second, whenever you send out a link to a new blog post you can also have an advertisement included in the e-mail. You won’t get as many sales with each e-mail but you can safely include an advertisement in every e-mail you send.

Video: How To Copy A Squeeze Page And Use It As A Template

Nick — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:11:32 +0000

Photo by Ahmed Amir

One of my readers asked,

I found one of your squeeze pages and want to use it as a template for a squeeze page I am building. Can you send me the code for it or is there a way for me to downl0ad it myself?

There is a simple way to download it yourself which I explain in this short video:

8 Tips To Get Traffic And Make Money From Your Email List

Nick — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:42:30 +0000

One of my readers asked,

How do I make money from my e-mail list?

Before I explain how to make money and get traffic from your e-mail list we need to talk about how important your list is to your business.

1. Remember that your e-mail list is your most important asset

This subscribers you have on your e-mail list, and the relationship you have with them, is the most important asset you have. So you must do your best to take care of your subscribers.

Remember the story about the farmer with the goose that laid golden eggs? Everyday the goose would lay 1 golden egg and the farmer would collect it and sell it. This made the farmer very rich. But this wasn’t enough and eventually the farmer killed the goose so he could get all of the golden eggs. To the farmer’s dismay there were no golden eggs inside the goose and now the goose was dead and he would never get any more golden eggs.

Your e-mail list is like the goose that lays golden eggs. It has the power to make you very wealthy. But if you abuse your subscribers, or the very least irritate and annoy them, they will leave your list and you will have nothing left.

2. Focus on providing value

The main focus of your e-mail list should be to provide value to your subscribers.

When someone signs up for my e-mail list I send them a welcome e-mail and links to all of their freebies and goodies I promised them.

While I do advertise with my e-mail list the main focus is providing quality content for my readers.

The e-mails I send out frequently follow this format:

Subject: How to build a community and get people involved with your website

Hi {name]!

How to build a community and get people involved with your website
=> http://…

Getting Traffic Is Easy With Nick’s 177 Traffic Videos
=> http://….

Thanks,
Nick

P.S. If you ever have a traffic question hit the reply button and
send an email to nickstraffictricks@gmail.com

Notice that in the first part of the e-mail I have a short description of something related to traffic generation (“How to build a community and get people involved with your website”) and that the subject has these exact same words.

Directly below the description is a link to that blog post with that exact same name.

After that comes short description for something I’m advertising. And the description is followed by a link to the product.

I close the e-mail somewhat informally, in much the same way you would when writing to a friend or an acquaintance.

I then add a P.S. to let the reader know that they can e-mail me anytime with their traffic questions.

3. Giving more freebies to your subscribers

Occasionally I will add a new freebie for my subscribers and let them know about it.

For example, a couple weeks I sent out 15 Videos on How To Setup An Email List to my subscribers and made them available to anyone who signs up for my e-mail list in the future.

Periodically sending out additional freebies to my subscribers helps to ensure that they stay happy and subscribed to my list.

Another thing I like to do with the freebies is use them as a bribe to join my list.

4. How I get traffic from my email list

Every 4 days I send a short e-mail with a link to one of my blog posts that will help them get more traffic. Because people know I’m sending out links to quality stuff they are far more likely to open e-mails from me and to stay subscribed.

Some of my subscribers have been on my list for a year or more and have received more than 50 e-mails from me. Imagine how many times these people have visited my website!

And remember, return visitors are 10 times more likely to buy stuff you are promoting than first-time visitors.

5. Avoid misleading subject lines

This should go without saying but please don’t mislead people with your subject lines.

If your subject line says “free report” then you better be giving away free report. Hint: If they have to pay for it then it’s not free!

By all means be creative with your e-mails and your subject lines. Just don’t violate peoples’ trust. People will unsubscribe from your list the moment that they feel you are not being honest with them.

6. Keep your e-mails short

Generally it’s best to keep your e-mails short and to the point.

Most people today have way too much e-mail to read and very little time. So if your e-mail drones on for 30 paragraphs there is a good chance no one is going to finish it.

If you have a lot to say in your e-mail then consider writing a blog post with all of your thoughts and send a link to the blog post to your subscribers.

The benefits of this are:

You have a lot more control over formatting and images with a blog post.
Spam filters have a long list of words and phrases that they look for in e-mails that you send. If they find one of these words or phrases in your e-mail then it will be flagged as spam and no one will ever read it. But if your e-mail has a short description and link to a blog post then you should get by the spam filters just fine.
People can bookmark your blog post and come back to it later. This is seldom done with an e-mail.
People can tweet and stumble a blog post sending you more traffic.

7. Invite people to email you their questions

At the bottom of my e-mails I invite people to e-mail me with their questions. This is a great way to build a relationship with your readers and at the same time gain a better understanding of their wants and needs.

Just make sure that you check this e-mail address on a daily basis and respond to peoples’ questions.

8. How to make money from your e-mail list

There are a couple different ways that you can make money from your e-mail list.

First, you can advertise in the e-mails that you send. You could include an advertisement at the bottom of every e-mail or you could send out e-mails that are just advertisements.

Make sure that your advertising is targeted to your audience. For example, if you have an e-mail list about dog grooming then don’t send them an advertisement about how to make money online.

Second, you can use your e-mail list solely to send traffic to your blog or website and have the advertisements only appear on your blog or website.

So which one is best? Or should you do both?

Every website and every niche is different so you need to test it out for yourself and see what works best.

11 Email Marketing Alternatives to Aweber

Nick — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:54:17 +0000

Several people have asked about some alternatives to Aweber.

Today I came across a blog post that details several alternatives to Aweber.

Read: 11 Email Marketing Alternatives to Aweber