I’m a follower of Copyblogger.com and I had to share this recent blog post with you…

You see, Monique and I provide our Email Marketing Services for a reason… because it works!

There is no better way to follow up with potential customers and clients then writing out a series of useful emails and delivering them in a logical sequence every time someone joins your newsletter list.

Everyone gets the same message, in the same order, every time they are added to your list. Read the article and tell us what you think!

Meet the Lazy Marketer’s Best Friend: The Email Autoresponder

No one loves blogs more than I do. They’re a great way to build your authority, attract an engaged audience, develop trust and rapport, attract links, and stake your claim in search engines.

I love blogs. But like babies and kittens, two other things I love, they’re also a lot of responsibility.

Blogs take time. You’ve got to write terrific content that stands out from the general noise, promote it intelligently, and cultivate reader relationships. And that’s in addition to everything else you do in your business, from producing your product to getting your taxes filed.

That’s why there’s another content marketing tool that I always recommend having in place — ideally before you write your first blog post.

It’s the email autoresponder.

What is an email autoresponder and why do I want one?

An autoresponder is just a sequence of email marketing messages that gets sent to subscribers in the order and frequency that you decide.

Let’s say you have a seven-part autoresponder that delivers a great tutorial for your potential customers — something that they’ll find beneficial and valuable, and that lays the groundwork for you to make a sale.

That autoresponder creates a great experience for your first subscriber. And it creates the same great experience for your 100,000th subscriber.

It never gets tired. It never needs the weekend off for Father’s Day or Mother’s Day (or Email Autoresponder’s Day).   Read more…

Whenever we get an Email Marketing client, they are usually surprised at how simple I like to keep my emails.

Why do I keep them simple (bordering on the ugly), you ask?

It’s because they work better!

Let me ask you this… when you get an email from a friend, do you care how ugly the email is?

No, of course you don’t! What you care about is…

1. Hearing from your friend.
2. Reading what they have to say.

I take the same approach with email… I don’t “baffle ‘em with bullshit”… You know, “pretty graphics” and “buy my stuff.”

Instead, I have a very clear objective on what message I’m trying to convey…

• I usually have some helpful info that my client’s customers would be interested in.
• Then I connect a product or service that will help the customers further.
• And I give them a clear call to action that includes what they have to do to buy or get the deal.

And let me tell ya, my method works like a charm… people open the emails and they buy the stuff.

I happened upon this article that shows I’m not the only one this works for…

Why Ugly Emails Will Make You More Money

By Patricia McCune | March 14, 2011

We all have a mental image of what the perfect email looks like. It’s sleek, it’s beautiful and it makes us crave the product or service being presented. Most of us have seen the posh Apple emails or Betty Crocker’s mouthwatering email masterpieces. They are the gold standard that everyone wants to live up, to but I would never in a million years recommend to one of my clients to copy those emails.

Why?

My clients aren’t household names. My clients aren’t branding – they’re selling. If you are not trying to make money off your emails, I say go ahead and make them as pretty as you want! Have a ball! If, however, your goal is to maximize your ROI and get people clicking, buying, filling out lead forms or making a phone call, then ugly is what you really want. I’m not saying that your email should repulse, offend or have some ridiculous color scheme; I am just saying you want to avoid the temptation to create some household -name, beautiful-branding wanna be email campaign.

The majority of those beautifully crafted email campaigns are almost all images. According to MarketingSherpa, 66% of people have images turned off in their email programs by default. If you are a household name, or you have a constant 70% open rate, then you can pull that off. Otherwise you are sending your subscribers an email of big red X’s. If you want people to turn on your images, they need to see some content that appeals to them first. Firefox has a plug-in called Image-Show-Hide that will let you turn off images in your browser. See what the emails look like with images off during the design phase so you don’t waste your time making edits once you finally see it with images off during testing. Make sure your email conveys your message just as well with the images turned off as it does with them turned on.   Read More…

What are your email open rates? 10%? 15%? Can you even keep track?

Give us a call, we write emails that get opened and convert to sales… “ugly” as they may seem. 520-777-9553

We’ve already done some popular posts on how we use Groupon to jump-start our clients’ email marketing campaigns…

• Groupon Marketing | Maximize Your Results on Groupon
• Why Business’ Marketing Ignorance is Making Groupon Money

But today, I’d like to talk about some actual results we’ve achieved from using this strategy…

The example I’ll use is Vero Amore Pizza, the first client we did this for.

The situation was like this…

• They were in their slow season (summer is hot in Tucson and lots of people leave).
• Neither of their locations get any walk-in traffic, nor are they easily visible from the road.
• They didn’t have an email list or a Facebook following to market to.

Sound familiar? I know a lot of businesses are in this exact situation!

Anyway, this is when we decided to do something drastic…

We decided to hijack Groupon’s email list to build Vero Amore’s!

How does this work, you ask?

• Simple… we got Groupon to feature our client during their slow season (you know, something like 10 bucks for a 20 dollar meal).
• But before they got featured (and this is key)… we created a capture page and email autoresponder to follow up with all the new customers Groupon would bring.
• We also started a Facebook Page for Vero Amore as another way to follow up with their new customers.
• Lastly, we created little slips of paper that went into their check-holders that asked their patrons to join their email list.

*It is very important to note that Vero Amore trained their staff to ask their customers to fill the forms out!

This all happened during the summer of 2010…

The result?

• As of now (February 22nd, 2011) Vero Amore has over 450 people on their email list (remember, we started with zero).
• Not only that, we average about a 97% open rate from their email subscribers (which is an extremely responsive list).
• They have over 800 fans on their Facebook Page (which also started at zero and is another way to follow up with their customers).
• Best of all? They rang up 25% more business year over year and are even opening up another restaurant!

Needless to say, we are very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with this marketing campaign! If you’d like to see what we can do for your business, give us a call at 520-777-9553

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve probably heard how email marketing can help you get more business from your best customers…

But today I’d like to talk about how to maximize your email marketing campaign to make the best use of your time… and get results in multiple areas.

First of all, I’d like to commend you for even sending an email to your list! Seriously, bravo! Most business owners never even get around to it. (That’s why we’re in business ;)

Moving on…

There are multiple ways to “recycle” your content. As long as it’s useful information to your target market, these methods will work like a charm.

One of the ways I reuse an email newsletter is by allowing Aweber to create a webpage out of it…

(I usually only do this for our clients that don’t have a blog.)

So once you’ve sent the email, you can share the link on your Facebook Page, Twitter, a Social Bookmarking site… whatever.

=>Here’s an example…

http://archive.aweber.com/desertfitness/P3St/h/_Sneaky_tricks_to_make_your.htm

Speaking of Facebook and Twitter, you could also take short snippets of your email and update your status with them…

Using the example above, a good status update for Facebook could be, “Make your workout a habit…
Commit to Thirty Days – Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain. A month is a good block of time to commit to a change since it easily fits in your calendar.”

But the best way to reuse your email content is to post it on your blog…

This way you get some SEO love from Google and you can earn new customers who like what you have to say and will thank you for helping them by buying something from you.

For this blog, I actually do it in reverse order… I add a blog post that automatically sends an email to our list of subscribers.

If this makes sense but you don’t have the time or inclination to do this, give us a call at 520-777-9553

© 2011 Alexander Chen and alexanderchen.com

Avoid being like Times Square if you want to run an effective email marketing campaign…

Have you ever been to Times Square?

I have. A few years ago I went to New York City to show some of my art in a gallery in SoHo…

(Whew, that is one busy place! I absolutely loved the energy of that city!)

And Times Square is kinda like the hub of activity in New York… there are shows to see, things to buy, and lots and LOTS of advertisements all over every square inch of every building it seems.

Makes sense, I guess, considering the amount of eyes that walk through this area every single day… companies want to get their ads in front of the most people they can.

HOWEVER… there is one thing I did notice that made me wonder how effective this kind of approach is…

What is it, you ask?

Well, I got a little overwhelmed by all the busy-ness and I couldn’t focus on any one thing at a time.

And you know what? A lot of business owners do the same thing with their email marketing campaigns…

They overwhelm their customers with too many choices…

Which often-times leads to confusion, no action being taken and…

Nothing being purchased.

My advice?

Well, I use the KISS principle (Keep it simple, stupid) for most things in life… why stop at emails ;)

When I write an email (whether it be for our own business or for one of our clients), I try to focus on one idea and stick to it.

Here’s what I’m thinking…

• What action do I want them to take?
• Is it clear and easy to tell what I’m asking them to do?
• What’s in it for them?

And you know what? I also try to keep the pictures and “fluff” to a minimum…

Sure, you want your emails to look “professional,” but the main goal is to get them to read the email and to take some sort of action based on what they read…

You DON’T want your email to look like Times Square!

If you could use some help sending emails for your business, we’d be glad to help…

520-777-9553

If you’re currently paying money for an email autoresponder, but you aren’t sending any emails out…

Then you need to watch this video…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Would you ask a stranger – someone you just met – to marry you?

Probably not… But if you do, I’d love to hear your story ;)

But here’s the problem… millions of business owners “ask their prospects to marry them right away” everyday!

• They ask potential customers to buy from them before any trust has been built…

• They ask people for their credit card numbers before establishing a “comfort level”…

• Basically, they ask their customers to marry them right away!

Look at business from this perspective and you begin to understand why people aren’t “coughing up” their hard-earned cash right away.

Sure, there are a few people out there “throwing their money around” without giving it much thought… but these folks tend to wander around from business to business without any loyalty.

They get around, if you get my drift ;)

I mean, just think of what kind of relationship you would have with someone who did say “yes” when you asked them to marry you right away!

Let’s just say that these types of relationships usually don’t last ;)

Come to think of it, maybe that’s why so many marriages end up in divorce… Hmmm…

(But I digress.)

Just like marriage, you want to have a great relationship with your customers… a mutually beneficial relationship – based on trust and mutual respect.

Let me put it this way… “Would you follow up with someone 8 times if you knew you would get the sale?”

Listen, people will rarely buy what you are selling right away. And it doesn’t matter what you’re selling, either.

Did you know it takes the average person 7 or 8 times to hear about your product or service before they will buy?

Most people don’t have the stamina and wherewithal to keep up with that kind of follow-up!

It takes a rare breed to be able to – not only follow up this many times – but also to keep their prospect answering their phone calls.

That’s why email autoresponders are so important…

You can set up an autoresponder campaign that follows up with your prospects 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

They all get the same messages, too…

Sure, you can customize them to automatically include their name and stuff like that, but my point is that the autoresponder never has a bad day.

It never gets discouraged, never gets bored.

It will consistently deliver your message with the same enthusiasm and energy that it had the day you created it.

Just remember, it takes the average person 7 or 8 times to hear about your product or service before they will sign up.

I’m not saying to totally do away with phone calls and cards, but emails are “free” to send and can be opened at your prospect’s leisure.

Don’t overlook this powerful tool.

==>P.S. If you need help setting up a money-generating email campaign, this is right up our alley! Give us a call at 520-777-9553

Yesterday, we talked about setting up your online mousetrap… a Capture Page!

So, what should a capture page look like?

Well, it can be a simple webpage that offers people a “bribe” in exchange for their contact info…

They don’t get much simpler than this one, for example:

http://ontopinternetmarketing.com/restaurant-marketing.html

But you know what? It converts like crazy!

And that’s what it’s really all about.

This specific type of webpage is called a “lead capture page” (a.k.a. “squeeze page” or “gateway page”).

The person who comes to your capture page is given two choices:

1) Give you their information and opt-in, in exchange for valuable education

-OR-

2) Get out

That’s it. Two choices – very straightforward.

Remember, the money is in the relationship you have with your list…

And you can’t create a relationship with people if you don’t know their name and don’t have their contact information.

One of the major reasons businesses aren’t succeeding when it comes to building their list is because they aren’t giving people a reason to leave their contact information…

And if they do, they aren’t following up with regularity and building a solid relationship with their prospects and customers.

You see, when you regularly email your list with helpful information that they’re interested in, you become the go-to-person, or the expert in your field…

Which eliminates competition!

We’ve been creating a double-whammy in this regard for our clients by creating a Facebook Fan Page for them that also has a built-in capture page.

Here’s an example…

http://www.facebook.com/BuffaloWildWingsSierraVista

What’s the advantage of this, you ask?

The advantage is when people become fans of your Facebook Page they will see all your updates in their newsfeed, which is another great way to follow up with your customers.

And when you update the Page everyday like we do for our clients, it works wonders!

Furthermore, some of these fans also get on the email list through the capture page, which gets sent out less frequently… but has even more valuable info (like coupons or discounts, for example).

Want to know more?

Give us a ring-a-ling… 520-777-9553

“What is a mouse-trap?” you ask…

For our purposes, a mouse-trap is a Squeeze Page (or Capture Page)

What’s that mean?

This is your method of getting people’s contact information so you can follow up with them.

Remember the “Pinball Machine“?

Well, this is where your “ball” (prospect) bounces when you score in your Pinball Machine…

People have checked you out, decided you’re OK, and are now going to leave their contact information because you’re offering something quite enticing.

This is your “mouse-trap.”

Offline, this is the equivalent of getting people’s business cards to follow up with them, whether it be on the phone or through email.

But, once again, this can be done much more efficiently online, by getting people to “opt in” to your email autoresponder.

*It is very important that people VOLUNTARILY opt-in to your list… Otherwise you have NO relationship with them (at least not a very good one) and they won’t buy anything from you.

So what is an autoresponder?

You probably know them as the automatic messages people send through their email providers to inform others when they are away from their computers and unable to answer email for a while.

And yes, you are correct.

But for our purposes (marketing), an autoresponder is set up through a reputable service that has a high deliverability rate (aka won’t be marked as spam).

What you do is write a series of emails that add even more value to your prospects – while also pre-selling them on your product(s) or service(s).

And the best part is that these are sent automatically whenever someone opts in to your list.

Furthermore, it doesn’t matter when they opt in – everyone gets the same emails, in the same order.

So in this age of too much information, overflowing email inboxes, and not enough time in the day…

HOW do you get people to give you permission to follow up with them regularly?

Good question – you make them an offer they can’t refuse…

You set up a “mouse trap” that has an enticing offer that is just too good to pass up.

That’s right, you give them a little bribe ;)

Give them a REASON to give you their contact info… because offering more emails just isn’t that enticing.

{Oddly enough, I’ve found that mice seem to prefer peanut butter over cheese, but maybe that’s just a Tucson mouse thing?}

Who knows, but the point is that you need to figure out what your mice like, what your target market is looking for.

This is a big one because, even if you “get” all the other stuff we’ve talked about so far, you STILL won’t be successful if you don’t understand this concept.

I see it all the time… businesses are building awesome blogs, Facebook Pages, and websites… but they don’t give people a good enough reason to opt in to their mailing list.

They’re not exchanging value for value.

Because, make no mistake about it, people’s email addresses ARE valuable… It’s a privilege to be able to communicate with them because that means they’re taking the time out of their day to read what you have to say.

So you want to make sure you give them something they would be willing to give some of their (precious) time for.

This could be useful info they’re interested in, or coupons, or specials, etc…

Kind of like what we offer here at OnTop ;)

How to take control of your business and summon customers to spend more money… on command

First of all, I’d like to make clear that I think Groupon provides a valuable service to business owners who need an influx of new customers in their stores or restaurants…

However, I also know that Groupon wouldn’t even be necessary if business owners took a little time (or hired a professional) to build an email list of prospects and customers to continually market their products and services to.

After all, that’s exactly what Groupon has done… and they’re making a killing because of it.

Basically, they’ve figured out that most small and local business owners simply don’t collect or communicate with their email list…

So they’ve built their own lists of email contacts in various cities… and proceed to rent it out to businesses for a nice little fee (usually half of whatever the “deal of the day” is).

That’s their entire bargaining power… they have a large list of contacts who like a good deal!

Now I ask you as a small business owner… Why can’t you build your list of contacts and communicate with them on a consistent basis?

Well, the thing is, I already know you can… So I suppose the real question is, why don’t you?

I know, I know, you’re really busy… you simply don’t have the time…

Or maybe you’re not organized enough…

Or maybe making more money off of customers who’ve already bought stuff from you simply isn’t good enough motivation for you? ;)

All kidding aside, I do realize that it’s tough to wear so many hats… you need to run your business, after all.

But that’s why you need to hire professional marketers to help you…

Because you’re really making life harder on yourself by not building your list and marketing to it…

After all, your past customers are the easiest people to sell stuff to!

So stop leaving any more money on the table and give us a call… We specialize in list building and marketing to them!

520-777-9553