Category: Top Tips

Don’t Fear Losing Subscribers When Moving Email Lists To A New Host

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moving email lists

Top Email Tips from RocketResponder: It can be really daunting when it comes to moving email lists from one host company to another…but the fear is often much worse than the reality.

Generally it is not as simple as taking all of the contact details from one software provider and simply pressing a button to move them across to another.

In fact some email marketing software providers do not allow transfers of lists at all and, for those that do, there are normally certain hoops through which you must jump.

When it comes to moving lists then there is something which is generally true of most moves…you will tend to lose a percentage of your subscribers along the way.

This may sound like a disaster, especially to list-builders, but it need not be as bad as it might immediately sound.

Why Subscribers May Fall Away In A Move

If you are able to migrate one set of subscribers from one service provider to another then you generally will have to give them the option to come along with you.

Some will move over without any problem at all, others may want to move over but never get round to doing so and others still simply won’t want to move at all.

As strange as it may seem, some people just won’t want to take the trouble to move…even if the effort required is simply clicking a confirmation link in an email. It can just seem like too much effort and they won’t do it.

Those of you who use double opt-in subscriber lists will understand this only too well. There are always ‘ghost subscribers’ who take the initial step of signing up for your list but then never take the vital second step of clicking the confirmation link in the email to confirm their subscription.

I am not exactly sure why some people do this but they just do and it it can be a little frustrating.

So the bottom line is that when you are in a position where you want to move a set of subscribers from one email marketing provider to another, then you can expect your list size, initially at least, to decrease.

Why This Is Not Something To Worry About

Seeing your subscriber numbers go down when you are working your best to see them increase is not as bad as you might think.

For a start it is highly unlikely that everyone on your list reads all of your emails but it is more likely than not that some on your list will read none of your emails.

This can be for a variety of reasons but a common one is that, over time, people’s needs and interests change, so what may have appealed to them at one stage of their lives may not appeal at all now.

There may be others who open the occasional email you send out, but only pay it very scant attention and are not really interested in what you have to say any more.

These are the very people who are most likely to drop off when you move your list and they just so happen to be the very group of people you can most afford to leave behind.

If someone loves what you have to say then they are most unlikely to leave you behind for the sake of clicking a single email link.

How You Can Mitigate Subscriber Losses

Explain to your subscribers why you are moving and set out exactly what you need them to do.

Explain that the move will be in order for you to provide them with a better service and give them plenty of notice of the move.

Maybe you could provide some sort of incentive for your existing subscribers to move with you such as a discount code, special offer or some other item that your subscribers would find useful, informative or helpful.

If you have not communicated with your list in some time then it may be helpful to re-introduce yourself and vow to do a better job of keeping them updated from now on.

Don’t be afraid to send out the link to move to your new list several times because we are all busy and very often emails are missed or forgotten.

Conclusion

So while your list may be smaller after the move, it will almost certainly contain your most responsive subscribers.

Take this opportunity to reconnect with your subscribers or to connect with them better than you did before.

At the same time you will still be building your list so it will continue to grow and you will soon make the numbers up once again.

Why Email Marketing Services Will Give Your Membership Site A Boost

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Email Marketing Services

Email Marketing Top Tips. Did you know that email marketing services (something called mass mailing or mass emailing services) can really give your membership sites a massive boost?

In fact using mass mailing – always with permission to do so – is a really very powerful way to get so much more out of a membership site.

When we are talking about a membership site here, we mean any type of website where people typically pay to gain access to all or part of the site. There are also membership sites where people can join for free and others where there is no free element and all members are paid members.

Regardless of the exact type of site in question, they all have one thing in common and that is that using email marketing services – such as an autoresponder like RocketResponder – can dramatically boost activity.

Most people understand that sending out email newsletters to subscribers is powerful but not everyone takes the time to do so. There may be a feeling that it is too complicated, or to much like hard work or just too time consuming to set up and manage.

RocketResponder was set up to remove all these obstacles so that sending out a newsletter was just about as simple as sending an email to your friends. Now, if you own or manage any type of membership site,  there is no excuse any more not to use the power of email to get more traffic and activity for very little effort indeed.

Convert free members into paid members

Do you have a mixture of free and paid members? Then use the followup email feature to encourage your paid members to convert into paid members.

The followup series – typically delivered over a few days or weeks – will point out all the advantages of moving over to the paid option and this can be amazingly effective at doing so without the need for any ‘hard sell’ at all.

People generally hate missing out on things…it is just human nature. So why not remind them that while their free membership is good, there is so much more that they are missing out on by not taking advantage of your paid membership level or levels.

Another cool thing is that the RocketResponder API will automatically unsubscribe them from the free list the moment they upgrade.

This means that they won’t get any more ‘upgrade now’ type messages and instead can get more targeted emails to suit their needs, such as tips on how to get the most our of the paid memership features they have signed up for.

Remember that this can be used in any kind of membership site, especially when there is a free trial or a free tier involved.

Finally everyone on your email list will have given you permission to contact them, and confirmed their email address, so that this form of mass mailing (mass emailing) is certainly not spam.

We very strongly believe that nobody should get emailed from a business without permission and as long as email marketers follow that rule then they should not go far wrong.

Top Autoresponder Tips: Turning Leads Into Customers Part Two

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turning leads into customers

Top Autoresponder Tips – turning leads into customers: In the previous post we looked at how your potential subscribers could range from those who do nothing at all to those who have become your raving fans.

Now we look at how using a service such as RocketResponder to communicate with your subscribers during the vital time when they are deciding what to buy, could result in turning more leads into customers.

Ideally you will want to turn as many of your subscribers as possible into ‘raving fans’ and while it is not possible to turn every potential lead into a raving fan, there is still a lot that you can do to gain more customers.

The key to transforming undecided subscribers into a large fan base is two-fold:

  • firstly offer them something they genuinely find useful to the extent that they are willing to pay for your product or service.
  • So let’s assume that you have passed the first test, now you will need to use good communication as the tool to turn prospective leads into paying customers. This is where a tool like RocketResponder, which lets you easily create and distribute email campaigns to your subscribers, comes into its own.

By informing the trial member of how your product works, encouraging them to use it and by giving tips and suggestions you are more likely to get more people actually using your goods or services…and that is the first step to turning them into customers.

This may even bring around a percentage of the ‘something for nothing’ brigade as they learn that they can really benefit from your product and to continue with this benefit they must pay for it.

Even some of the cheaters can be converted into paying customers…by making it hard for them to cheat in the first place. Some will just give up and go away but there will be some who will conclude that if they can’t keep getting it for free then it is time to pay up.

Also remember that just because someone does not buy from you the moment they visit your website or sales page does not mean they will not buy from you at all…far from it in fact.

It is very likely that they are also visiting the websites of your rivals too and evaluating where they are going to spend their money so anything you can do to give your business the edge is hugely important here.

Good communication could make the difference between you getting the sale and it going to one of your rivals instead.

This is why it is so vital that in the days and (very often) weeks following a visit where a potential customer shows an interest, you communicate clearly about what you have to offer and why it benefits the potential customer.

Thus it is vital to use an email marketing system like RocketResponder to talk to the prospective customer during this key time and give them the reasons why your product is the one they want to buy.

We are not talking pushy marketing here but giving customers the sort of advice and care they would be able to get if they were talking to you face-to-face and asking for information about your product.

So spend some time working out the types of questions people would most likely ask and then set out those answers in a series of emails that you can send out to them to help them make the right buying decision.

* RocketResponder and the RocketResponder Devzone, a combination of API endpoints and webhooks, gives developers the ability to easily integrate email marketing into any website.

Developers can use the API to manage their subscribers by adding, removing, and modifying them from within their web app, giving them complete control over how subscribers get added to their email lists.

Top Autoresponder Tips: Turning Leads Into Customers Part One

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

turning leads into customers

Top Autoresponder Tips – turning leads into customers: In business not everyone who shows an initial interest in your product will go on to become a customer.

Some will take a quick look and then move on elsewhere when they realize what you have to offer does not meet their needs.

If you offer a free trial, such as we do here with RocketResponder, several things may happen during that trial.

Here are some of the things that we have found that happen with those who take our 30 day free trial:

  • Nothing at all – some people sign up and never do another thing again. They don’t log in, use the software or read any emails from us. You have to wonder why they even signed up in the first place. Hpwever there will generally be a small percentage of people who sign up for things they have no real intention of using.
  • Quickly lose interest – these are the people who like trying things out…but are easily bored. They probably don’t even want what you are offering but will try it anyway simply because it is free. However when another free trial comes along then move onto that and lose interest in your offer.
  • Something for nothing – some people want something for nothing and will happily sign up for a service and use is while it remains free and then quit when it is time to pay.
  • Cheaters – some people will love your free stuff so much that they will want to continue using it without paying. They will try to sign up multiple times for your free offer but have no intention of ever paying for it.
  • Genuine Customers – This group will take you up on your offer, love your product and service and go on to buy from you.
  • Raving fans – These are the similar to your genuine customers but they will love what you do so much that they will recommend your product or service to all their friends and family members. (This is why affiliate programs – where customers get paid a commission for bringing in extra sales – are very important.)

Next up: Find out how RocketResponder and the RocketResponder Devzone, can help you turn your leads into customers and help prevent you losing them to the hands of the competition.

See Also: RocketResponder Blog: Top Autoresponder Tips: Turning Leads Into Customers Part Two

Three Top Tips For Choosing A Cheap Email Marketing Plan

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

Cheap Email marketing

One of the misconceptions about email marketing software is that it must be expensive to be effective…this simply is not true.

There is lots of choice available when it comes to choosing the right email marketing plan for you…but you cannot be simply guided by cost alone.

In fact a cheap email marketing plan can often provide you with better results and better functionality than those which may cost a lot more.

The key to finding the right email marketing software for you is to know what you are looking for and then checking whether the software is able to meet your specific needs.

When you start looking around you will see that price alone is no reliable indicator of performance.

Here are three top tips to help you choose a cheap email marketing plan which is right for you:

1. Does it do what you want? – Your needs may be simple or complex but you have to take time to find the software which is right for you. Remember that this is is one piece of software that you are likely to want to keep for many years, so time taken at the outset to make sure it is right for you is time well spent. Look for software that allows you to create multiple lists so that you can send different messages to different subscriber groups. Also look at any limits there may be on how many emails you can send and whether the cheap headline price remains cost effective once your subscriber base grows.

2. Is it easy to use and understand? – You may have found an email marketing plan that is right for you in terms of price and functionality but you are not done yet. It is vital that the software you choose is easy to use and understand. If you have to learn complicated new skills and if getting people to sign up to your list is too complex then you will be spending too much time on managing your marketing software when you could be working on managing your business or organization. Also look for the software provider’s track record, its customer service and willingness to help you when things go wrong.

3. Is it flexible enough to meet your future needs? – You will not want to move your subscriber base to a new platform if you outgrow your existing one. Very often this will mean asking your subscribers to manually reconfirm their email addresses all over again. This is a hassle for you and also for them and a fair percentage of them will simply not go to the trouble of doing so and will, therefore be lost to you. Therefore ensure that the email software you choose will be able to meet your needs as you grow. The approach “this will do for now,” is not to be used here. Far better to have the mindset of “this will be good for the next ten years or more.”

RocketResponder is an email marketing platform which has been designed to be cheap but highly functional. With the simplest price plan in the industry – one low flat fee no matter how big your subscriber list – if offers full functionality while keeping costs low and predictable.