Category: Learning Zone

When It Comes To Lists Size v Quality Must Always Be Considered

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

big and smallWhen it comes to building a list, then the size of that list is obviously going to be important, however size is not everything and that is what a lot of new listbuilders fail to understand.

Let’s say you bought a list of 5,000 people – random people you have never heard of and who may (or may not) have any interest in your product. (Buying a list in this way is a really, really bad idea and we would strongly discourage anyone from doing so.)

Now let’s say you had built up a list of 500 people, perhaps from making them an offer via a squeeze page or from getting in front of an audience in an online live streaming event or via your blog.

The second list will be an order of magnitude smaller than the first but it will be much more valuable to you than the larger list. This is because it is not just a numbers game, it is a game of numbers combined with quality.

A high quality small list will always trump a low quality large one because you will be looking to build up a relationship with the people on your list and this is key.

How can you possibly hope to build up a relationship with people who have no idea who you are and have no idea how they came to be on your list in the first place? The simple answer is you can’t.

This is one of the reasons that buying a list is such a bad idea, because you have no way of knowing that the people on it have given their permission to receive emails from you. Maybe there people out there who are happy just to be emailed at random but I know I am not and I don’t know anyone who actually does fall into that category.

So always have list size v quality in mind when you set about building a list. Numbers for the mere sake of numbers is never a good idea.

At RocketResponder we want to ensure that your listbuilding efforts are effective and that you have all the right tools to both build a list and communicate with your list as effectively as possible.

If you concentrate on building a high quality list then it will take you longer to grow that list but once you understand that simply going for high numbers is not the best approach then taking time to grow a list is no longer a problem.

Avoid The Spam Filter

Seven Top Tips To Help Ensure Your Emails Avoid Spam Filter

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

Avoid Spam FilterWhen we write an email we want it to get seen. We want people to see it, open it, read it and take action on it if appropriate.

The very last place we want our words of wisdom to go is into someone’s spam or junk folder but sadly this happens from time to time because spam filters can sometimes catch some good emails as they try and filter out the bad.

Here at RocketResponder we want to ensure your emails get seen by the people who signed up to your list so here are our seven top tips to ensure that you avoid spam filter and ensure your message gets across to the people on our list:

  1. Stop using aster*sks in your emails. The only possible reason you might have to use asterisks in your emails is to try and trick the spam filters. Just write your content for the people you are aiming for and don’t try to beat the system. Normal people never spell ‘free’ as ‘fr*e’ – I know this, you know this and the people who came up with the spam filters know this. Spam filters flag your email harshly if there are asterisks within words. Saying ‘fr*e’ is far worse than saying ‘free.
  2. Understand email has changed. All the major providers understand that most emails come from the top 10 providers. They don’t base delivery on the provider. They now base delivery on the individual sender. This is why some emails will go to the inbox and others to spam when the email is sent on the same provider. So the major thing to take back from this is you need to have a good personal reputation.
  3. Don’t send from a yahoo address. Yahoo made a change to their email policies which tells every receiver that if Yahoo didn’t send it to mark it as spam. For best results you should use your own email address on your own domain. So far Gmail isn’t bad, but they could make the change too. Nothing beats your own email address from your own domain.
  4. Encourage people to interact with your emails. If users don’t open your emails, email providers know it and you are more likely to have your emails flagged as spam. Ideally you want to write content that ensures that people are opening your emails and clicking on links. If you can actually encourage people to reply to your emails then that is even better again – replying to emails is a sure sign that the emails are not unwanted spam.
  5. Always use a valid email address. This may seem obvious to most but many people still send email from fake email addresses such as noreply@mysite.com. Guess what, when receivers get your email they check if the email address is real before accepting it. Use a fake email and you might not even make it to the spam bin, as it is quite likely that it will just be deleted on the spot.
  6. Be original in your content. Don’t copy and paste emails. The number of people following some old school ebooks or PLR email series is crazy. The problem is email providers are smart. They know that same copy was used before and wasn’t wanted. So when you send it, they’ll know it wasn’t wanted again. Always create value and original high quality content is king. And finally…
  7. Stop telling people you are not a spammer.  Many spammers use this ‘trick’ in the hope that they get past the spam filters or convince recipients that they are not spammers. So even if you are not sending spam, the mere fact that you even mention it means you are in danger of being classed as spam. The bottom line is that if you talk like a spammer, you’ll get filtered like a spammer. If you have to convince someone it’s not spam, you’re not sending emails people want. Stop and rethink your email strategy before sending any more.

We hope those tips will be useful to you. Here at RocketResponder we are passionate about getting your message out to the people who want to hear it. We make sending emails and communicating with the people on your list simple and efficient. Use these tips and your messages will be seen time and time again.

Email subject lines – final selection for now

Patrick Griffin 2 Comments

Email subject lines

Here is the final look at email subject lines for the year – I thought I would give you a break next month with the holidays coming up.

I hope you have enjoyed this series and that your own RocketResponder emails have had improved open rates because you have been taking care with your own subject lines.

So here are the final six for now at least:

  • WOW! This is HOT HOT HOT Right NOW! – Ok well maybe it is “hot hot hot” but it seems like you are trying too hard to convince me. Result: Very offputting and I will move on. Unopened and deleted.
  • Mega Stoon – What is it with two word subject lines which make absolutely no sense at all? Stop doing it. This is driving me crazy. Deleted for the sake of my sanity.
  • sanity – Seriously the very next email which caught my eye had the subject line “sanity” and nothing else. These people are testing my patience.
  • Use this & get new leads instantly! – At last an email I want to open. Notice how I am not told what “this” is. The idea is that I have to open the email to find out. An excellent subject line. I knew there was one out there this month.
  • Alphabet Soup: IPAS & PBAs – I am totally lost already. If the subject line is this confusing then I am highly unlikely to want to find out what the body of the email has in store. Not opened.
  • Patrick Want to do us both a Favor? – Who doesn’t want to do a favor for someone? And who doesn’t like having a favor done for them? So this is an email I would certainly open. As an aside it came from the same person who sent the Alphabet Soup email, so for any given person some subject lines work and others don’t.

Let me know some of your favorite and least favorite subject lines and also let me know what you have thought of this series…and whether you would like to see some more of the same.

Email subject lines – the examples keep coming

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

email subject lines

We continue our RocketResponder series on email subject lines with six more examples.

I was asked the other day if these examples are real or whether I have just made them up.

Well I can assure you that every single one of them is 100 per cent genuine.

So here is this month’s selection:

  • Ganhe dinheiro visitando essa pagina – Well as I don’t speak Portuguese I would give this one a miss.
  • Before you join a site you intend to join anyway do it through us… – The problem here is that I don’t know who “us” is and I am not given any real incentive as to why I might want to join a site through the people who sent the email. This just fails to grab me or capture my attention enough to open the email.
  • stuck at start? – This is good. Anyone who feels that they are stuck at the beginning and have no clue what to do next would probably at least consider opening this email. Nicely done.
  • Youve Found Gold $1000-$8000 Commissions: FREE Report – This might be true or it might not be. In any event I don’t believe it so I won’t be clicking on the link. Yes I do make snap decisions when reading a subject line…and so do you.
  • Auto responders – What does that mean? You might as well say “Dog food,” Green paper,” or “Dirty shoes.” Come on you can do better than that!
  • MULTY ONE – Yes that was the subject line. It makes Auto responders sound almost interesting. The point of a subject line is to get the email opened and not to confuse the poor reader.

We will be back next month with some more.

Email subject lines – the examples keep on coming

Patrick Griffin 1 Comment

Email subject lines

Thanks to everyone who has said that they enjoy this series of email subject lines blog posts.

We enjoy putting together and we want all RocketResponder users to get the very best possible results out of the service we provide.

Here are six examples of other people’s subject lines to have a look at:

  • Find the Hidden Promo Codes! Then Tell Others! – No! If I find them I am keeping them to myself. It does sound like too much hard work but if I had a bit of time on my hands I might have opened this email. A bit unsure of this one really. This is one of those subject lines where I want to hear your views.
  • *LAUNCH*- HAPPENING NOW** Earn 75% Comm. PAID DAILY – What purpose the four asterisks actually serve is beyond me. And is it only me but does 75 per cent commission put any one else off? I just think that if a program owner has to give away so much of his income then something does not seem quite right. Not a chance of me ever clicking this email. Deleted.
  • RE-LAUNCH! Cash JackPot Points! 2 Level Commissions Now @VLD! – I don’t have the faintest idea what this is about and I am not going to waste any time trying to find out. Terrible subject line.
  • Patrick Join Us for Wonderful Wednesday Webinars – This just works. Wonderful Wednesday Webinars is the phrase which makes me open up the email. A winner.
  • Ahhh F**K THIS! – This is, without doubt, the worst subject line I have ever read. It was so bad that I replied to the guy who sent it and told him never to contact me again. There is just no excuse for this kind of language. No matter how good your offer is or how ideally suited it is for me, if you put this kind of email in my inbox I will never want to do business with you.
  • SafeList With a Twist – and a Cycler! – This was winning for me until the part about the cycler. SafeList With a Twist is all that was needed to capture my attention enough to open the email. Know to quit when you are ahead. Sometimes less really is more.

Meet back here same time next month for another look at this fascinating subject (if you excuse the terrible pun that is.)