Hints and Tips

The first step in this process is to say that you would like to meet with them again and that you will call to arrange a time and place to have a coffee and a chat. Then call when you say you will and make that arrangement.

When you meet for that coffee, make sure you have done some research about the business of the person you are meeting and prepare in advance ideas about how you can help them within their business.

Do they publish an online newsletter you can produce for them? Do they send out information packs or quotations to prospects and could you do this for them? Do they work away from the office most of the time, could you handle their telephone calls or check their email for them?

The more prepared you are the more you will be able to drop ideas into the conversation without sounding as though you are ‘selling’.

Don’t forget also to think about who you know that could potentially be a client or useful contact for your prospect. The whole point of networking is to give and take and if you start the relationship by giving something of value to your prospect, you will instantly win their respect and trust and they will see you as someone they would like to work with in future.

Paid advertising. Advertising online is very simple with tools such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads. It allows you to appear at the top or side of the main search results for a fee. Be careful with your budget and again, make sure you get these visitors on your list to be really cost effective.

When you’ve implemented a range of these activities to build your list, look at which ones are producing the best results for your particular business. Then step up those activities and let go of some of the lower performing options.

Organise an online expert event. Similar to the idea of interviewing an expert, but en masse. Organise a whole range of experts to speak on given subjects and offer access to the calls as a live event, or offer the recordings afterwards, or both. Getting all of the experts to promote the event will increase your mailing list as they will have to go to your web site to sign up to receive dial in access details.

Write articles about your subject. One of the best ways to become seen as an expert in your industry in the eyes of your target market is to write on the subject. Write articles and syndicate them online. Don’t forget to include your website link to your author information.

Don’t be afraid of social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, whichever ones you choose to get involved in, social media is a great way to expand your sales funnel. Offer free tips, advice and articles here. Answer questions to demonstrate your expertise. And above all, get them to your website so they will add themselves to your list.

Interview some experts. If you can talk on the telephone, you can interview an expert in a similar field. You can offer it as a live tele-seminar, or group call, or offer it afterwards as a recording. By asking your expert to also promote the interview to their mailing list, you will end up with many of their contacts subscribing to yours.

Consider an affiliate program. People will often sing the praises of your product or service, in exchange for a commission on each sale made as a result of their recommendation. What could be better than having an entire sales force working only on commission!

Get involved in new media options such as audio and video. Audio and video are very powerful mediums, so don’t be afraid to make a short podcast or video welcoming your web site visitors and actually tell them to sign up for more information.

Give them a reason to sign up.
Offer something for free in exchange for their contact details. It can be something they download, making it simple and cheap to administer, such as a free report, audio download or tip sheets.

If you go to the effort of writing an email newsletter, do not forget to tell you readers what you want them to do next. You are writing in order to build a relationship. So, do you want them to go to your website to read the rest of the articles, or download something for free? Do you want them to purchase a product or service? If so, give them a reason to do it now rather than later, and provide a link to click, so they can buy it now. If you do not tell them what to do next, they will not do anything apart from read your newsletter and delete it. Tell them what to do, and, provided that they are interested, they will do it.

One of marketing’s basic rules is to know your target market well. Know their interests and things about which they like to be kept informed. If you come across information that you feel would be useful to your target audience, add it to your email newsletter (crediting the author or source, of course). The more useful the information you provide, the more likely your readers are to stay subscribed.

It can be very tempting to fill each of your email newsletters with information about your latest service or product, and, indeed, your readers will be expecting to hear a certain amount of that. But, do not forget also to include some free tips or an advice spot. Giving a measured amount of free information marks you as an expert in your field, and a generous one at that.

Do not use your email newsletter in the same way as you would Twitter or a blog. Your subscribers have given you permission to send them information, but, if you abuse it, they will soon be sorry they did. The result will be that they will leave your list just as quickly as they subscribed to it. Send updates once or twice a month and leave it at that.

When you first start sending out email newsletters, it is very tempting to send them using your normal email delivery service, such as Outlook. After all, it is free and already there on your desktop. However, internet service providers frown upon mass mailing, and you will find very quickly that your email address will be blacklisted and you may be banned from sending any email. There are many legitimate email delivery services available whose costs are minimal; use one to manage your mailing list.

If you use a proper email newsletter delivery service such as Constant Contact, Aweber or MailChimp, your subscribers will go through what is known as a ‘double opt-in’. This means that, after submitting their email address through your website form or other link asking them to sign up for your newsletter, they will receive an email asking them to confirm their subscription by clicking on a link within it. This is key, as it stops third parties from adding subscribers without their knowledge.

Include a Forward to a Friend link in your newsletters so that your readers can forward an article to a friend that may find it interesting. Run a joint venture with a complimentary business. Choose a business that provides services to a similar target market, for example small businesses.For this reason, also include a link to your sign up page in each emailed newsletter.

Consider a popup window which appears when a visitor leaves your web site. Ask for their email address so you can keep in touch – make sure it links to information telling them about your privacy policy, how to opt out and how often you will contact them.

It’s simple but very effective, include an opt-in form on every page of your web site. It’s also worth checking your web statistics to see where people leave your web site. Check the last page they view before they leave and make sure there is a note asking them to sign up for your newsletter at the bottom of this page.