Category: Email Marketing

DEEP VS. WIDE EMAIL LISTS (WHICH IS BETTER?)

Posted on by Alastair Walton

When looking at email lists I like to classify them as being either “Deep” or “Wide.”

Here’s a quick explanation of what I’m talking about.

(And why this concept is so important for marketers.)

1. Deep Lists

Deep lists primarily refer to a list of buyers. More specifically, I’m talking about a list of buyers who have spent serious money. This can be anything from $297 all the way up to $1997, or more. Another feature of these lists is that they are usually small. For example, you often hear people brag about making money with a list of less than a hundred people. This is how they do it.

When I talk about deep lists I’m also talking about your relationship with that list. People with deep lists have cultivated a relationship with their audience over years and sometimes decades. The audience sees them as a valuable source of information and guidance. They are effectively a guru in their industry.

This means that when you mail high ticket offers…well…the list converts.

And with every offer mailed that relationship grows deeper and deeper.

Then, on the other hand, you have…

2. Wide Lists

A wide list refers to a list of people who have yet to convert. It also refers to people who may have bought low ticket offers. It could also mean you have a list of freebie seekers who will never convert. Another feature of these lists is that you have subscribers who don’t read your emails, or who rarely read them.

Now, this type of list can make you money. For example, if you have 10,000 or more subscribers, and you make a low ticket offer, you’re almost guaranteed to make sales.

Will you make as much as you would with a deep list? Probably not, but it really depends on what type of offer you’re mailing…and how many subscribers you have.

Another problem with wide lists is that these types of buyers can be a pain in the butt. These are the people who feel nothing about asking for a refund and ripping you off. Wide lists can also be a problem because running a list takes money.

So now that you understand this concept here is the real question:

Which type of list is better?

Deep or wide…

The truth is that neither is perfect.

What you really want to do is aim for a mixture of both.

To start with, you want to get as many subscribers as possible and build a wide list.

Really build up that subscriber count and never stop doing this.

Ideally, you want new people subscribing on a daily basis.

You then want to start filtering out people, converting your subscribers, and building a deep list

You do this by mailing as often as possible.

People who aren’t interested in what you’ve got will unsubscribe.

(Believe it or not this is actually a good thing.)

You basically want people to stop wasting your time and shit or get off the pot.

This is basically the art of curating and manicuring your list.

You also want to build and strengthen your relationship with your audience.

This means getting them to know, like, and trust you.

Next, sell a mixture of high and low ticket offers.

High ticket offers also help to get rid of people, especially those who were never going to buy.

That being said, you shouldn’t only sell high ticket offers. It’s a good idea to mix in the occasional low ticket offer. You see, there could be people who like what you’re offering, but who aren’t ready to commit to spending a lot of money with you. These people need a taste of what you’ve got to offer, before they commit to a bigger meal. This is why it’s a good idea to occasionally throw in a low ticket offer.

The bottom line is that you have deep and wide lists.

You goal, as a marketer is to build a mixture of both.

By doing this you’ll maximize conversions…

…and ultimately turn your list into a money making machine.

Alastair Walton

THE SALT AND PEPPER TECHNIQUE FOR WRITING HEADLINES

Posted on by Alastair Walton

How do you write the perfect headline?

Every copywriting guru has a different take on this.

And seriously, there are a million and one ways to approach this topic.

Personally, I like to think of it as adding salt and pepper to your food.

Here’s what I mean:

You want to start with a base benefit, topic, or something that grabs your readers attention.

Some examples of this might include…

“Lose weight”

“Save money”

“Look younger”

Or even something like…

“Donald Trump”

Or…

“Climate change”

(Just note that these are BAD examples. They’re too simple. When doing this you want to be as ultra-specific as possible and zero in on something that the reader is extremely interested in.)

This topic or benefit forms the base of your headline.

I call this the “salt” and it’s the thing that grabs or hooks your readers attention.

In this post our salt is the phrase “writing headlines.”

If you’re still reading this, it’s because you want to learn how to do that.

Now, everything else which surrounds the salt is what I call the “pepper.”

These are basically words which add to the flavor of your headline.

A lot of the time this pepper includes your standard headline formats.

I’m talking about things like…

“Why…”

“What…”

“How to…”

“10 ways to…”

The pepper can also include other words which enhance the flavor.

Things like:

“Weird”

“Strange”

“Unusual”

“Groundbreaking”

You’ll also want to add in curiosity generating phrases like:

“What you don’t know about xyz could kill you.”

“Why most people never discover the truth about xyz before it’s too late.”

“10 reasons why your xyz isn’t working.”

And so on and so on.

(In this post our pepper is “The salt and pepper technique…”)

When we mix it all up we get:

“The salt and pepper technique for writing headlines”

Believe it or not it’s really that simple.

Start with your salt.

Find a benefit or topic that excites your audience and grabs their attention.

Next, add in your pepper.

Use weird, colorful, or strange words and surround them with curiosity generating phrases.

With this simple technique you can write headlines quickly.

Not only that, you can use it to write email subject lines, sales letter headlines, article titles, YouTube titles…

…or anything really.

Until we meet again,

Alastair Walton

HOW TO BUILD YOUR LIST WITH A STRATEGY USED BY THE WORLD’S BIGGEST RETAILERS

Posted on by Alastair Walton

A “loss leader” is essentially an item sold at or below cost.

These products are primarily used to attract new customers.

Their purpose is simply to get you through the door in the hope that you’ll buy more products.

(This is also why they’re known as “door busters.”)

This strategy is widely used in the retail industry and has worked for decades.

It’s also a strategy which online entrepreneurs can use with equal success. More importantly, it’s a fantastic way to build your list. Remember, the bigger your list, the more money you’ll make. Not only that, people who have already purchased something are more likely to purchase something else. Another benefit of this idea is that it’s cheaper than advertising on Google, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you’re interested in using this strategy, then here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Find affiliates and joint venture partners

Look for people with big lists who sell similar products to yours. Get in contact with these people and let them know what you have on offer (just note that it’s best to establish a relationship before you launch into the business side of things.)

2. Create your product

At this point you should already have a product to sell. Price this product at $39 (I’ll explain why in minute.) If you don’t have a product then it’s time to create one. The most important thing is that your book is highly valuable and appeals to the market. Creating a quality product also increases the chance that affiliates will choose to promote it.

3. Offer affiliates 100% commission

Approach affiliates and suggest they sell your $39 book to their subscribers for only $19. This way they can give their subscribers a $20 discount. Doing this greatly increases the appeal of your product. Also tell these affiliates that you’re not going to offer the usual 50% commission. Instead you’ll give them 100% commission. This also greatly increases your chances of recruiting affiliates.

4. Provide email swipes

Most affiliates are lazy and don’t want to write their own emails. This why it’s a good idea to provide them with email swipes. Writing these also increases your chances of making sales. After all, as the product creator you’re the person most familiar with your product…and can therefore write the best copy.

At this point you’re set.

If everything goes according to plan, affiliates will send out your emails, make sales…

…and you’ll add hundreds of names to your list.

(With almost no effort.)

What’s more, you can then market additional products to these subscribers…

…and actually start making some real money.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton