A Bird’s Eye View of Opt-Ins

Most online follow up campaigns begin with an opt-in on a blog, website or squeeze page. The new subscriber discovers he has to provide contact details in order to get those wonderful 3 free WordPress Templates.

Nowadays, this is no surprise to most people: But if your customer is in a niche not connected with internet marketing, he may feel surprised and annoyed… or “held to ransom”.

But he really wants those WordPress templates – the green one is perfect for his new Pond Plans blog! So, grudgingly, he types in his name and email address… and his journey through your follow up system begins…

Making First Contact

The first thing to ensure is that his first experience with providing his contact info in exchange for a promised reward is a good one.

This means it has to run smoothly, without too many multiple opt-ins and without what he might view as complicated instructions.

Then – after your “thank you” – your product has to really delight him. In fact, he should feel so happy with it, he’s actually looking for other products or freebies from you, right away.

And just at the right, most natural moment, you have to delight him by offering him a chance to get more templates (or graphics, or a video blogging instructions – whatever best compliments your opt-in product). For a fee that fits with his budget (which you’ve researched your market enough to know).

While he’s still thinking about it, you start sending him your follow up email tips and information, cementing yourself as a trustworthy “friend”. Only after he’s received enough of these to feel that the exchange is not one-sided, do you present your next, perfectly tailored offer.

He could click your sales page without hesitation and purchase your offer straight away… but it so happens he had to rush his 2 year old daughter to the clinic that morning, to get that pea taken out of her left ear. So in a couple of days, when the excitement has died down, you send a simple reminder, which he’s glad to get…

That’s how you should be thinking – from behind his eyes, in his shoes – as you set up your opt-in offers.

Do it like this, and you’re well on your way to creating not just a one-time customer, but a loyal, frequently-purchasing fan.

Effective 10 Point Follow Up Checklist

You’ve done everything you’ve learned so far, when it comes to following up with contacts, subscribers and paying customers. But you’re just not seeing the results that all the articles say!

The truth is it takes more than techniques to drive your follow up into its “zone”. It takes a sympathetic understanding of your customer – and some very fine details you can use to pick and fine-tune your efforts.

There’s a whole symphony of nuances that go into making the perfect blend that results in a successful follow up style. The more energy you direct towards your follow up, the more targeted your results will become. Part of it will be techniques, tactics and strategies… and part of it will be good old intuition.

The sort that’s born out of really knowing your customer.

Here is a small “checklist” to help you on your path to fantastic follow up. Look it over and see if there’s any new tip or suggestion you’d like to use:

1. When you invite customers to ask questions, do you really mean that? Have you given them a way to reach you – easily, without jumping through hoops?

2. Did you follow up within 24 hours to make sure your customer was able to download your product successfully? Use your software without problems, if that’s what you were selling? If you sold a physical product, did you allow just enough time for it to arrive; then contact the customer to make sure it did?

3. When you send a reminder, do you make sure it’s simply courteous, rather than “bugging” your subscriber to buy?

4. Before you started your follow up, have you made sure you’re visible in the online eye? Do you use social networks like Twitter to provide a further element of personal contact? Do you have a Facebook page for your business?

5. Do you provide the personal touch? Not spill your guts about your divorce, but share small things about yourself they can relate to? Admit mistakes so they can benefit from your experience? Laugh at yourself occasionally?

6. Do you have a sales funnel that includes follow up? Do you actually follow it – or is it stuffed in your desk drawer?

7. Do you analyze your results? Do you revisit and revise your methods as needed? Work hard to keep your communication “fresh”?

8. Do you follow through with your follow up? Provide what you promise? Make sure it’s the most focused and useful material you can provide?

9. Do you really know what makes your target customer tick? As in, right now, today (not a month ago)?

10. Do you take action on everything you plan for your follow up? Do you “just do it”?

Thinking about everything in your checklist will not automatically make your follow ups treble their results… But being aware of these points – and taking action when necessary – while also putting your customer in the place of honor will help you take several steps closer.

Are You Frightening Your List with Your Emails?

It’s a startling fact that perhaps as much as half the follow up mistakes commonly made are done unwittingly by marketers whose intentions are bright as gold.

One of these mistakes comes from only releasing emails when a big product launch is about to happen. “She wants more money,” your subscriber-by-default says cynically, before going for the “delete” button with the precision of a missile.

You may not regain Ms. Turned-Off Customer, but you can at least not frighten new ones… by simply making sure you send more follow up emails packed with useful tips and freebies than with expensive offers. People who get a present most of the time – even if that’s just one highly unique and little-known tip they can use – will be far more likely to open your emails – and far more likely to check out your sporadic (but consistently spaced) offers.

Screaming Headlines

Another mistake that gets emails dumped quicker than any is boring, glib or offensive headlines

You know the boring ones: “Open This Email Before It’s Too Late!”

They’re so formulaic, you’ve seen them a hundred times (and that was just last month). They don’t give you any incentive to open them: There’s no specific bait or lure. (This also covers “glib”.)

As for offensive headlines, try to avoid being too clever: “Man Eating Monster from Mars Ate My Pants!” Might be entertaining enough to intrigue some people… but if that doesn’t include your target list member, you’ve wasted all that creativity!

People also tend to get offended at the oddest things: For instance, simply using the word “pants” can get you into more hot water than you’d think. And as for profanity, unless your demographic is male, single and under thirty… it’s neither professional nor a good idea.

And before you write “URGENT!” on your “expiring” offer, consider how urgent it actually will seem to an irritated list member who sees it all too often. (People tend to use the same phrases, over and over again.)

If you’re sending a reminder that an offer really will expire shortly, it’s better to be up front about it in your email title: “Only 3 |Hours Left for my Rabbit Breeding eBook offer.” Being up front won’t get you any less sales than screaming about something that’s only to you – and it may get you more.

Being Controversial

Writing about the burst boil on your butt may get you an age group way lower than thirty… which is all well and good, if that’s what you’re aiming for. But if your target market are 50+ knitters, it’s the “delete” button again (and maybe an angry email, that you’ll have to decide if you want to spend time answering). Ranting about politics or ethics may generate some crazy traffic on your blog… but is it going to bring you sales?

And if it garners list members, will they be the paying customers you want?

So take it back a notch, and stop frightening your list with your emails. And if you really must be dramatic and flamboyant – try to make those headlines at least relevant and original.

How Often Should You Work On Your Follow Up?

It’s true that you will easily get to the point where you can automate a lot of your follow up: And if it isn’t literally on autopilot, it will eventually feel like it is.

“How soon?” you ask.

That depends solely on you.

The best way to create excellent and solid follow up is to set aside time every day. Create your follow up emails one day, load them into the autoresponder the next, check your “support@” webmail or email daily.

This latter is the most important thing you can do, if you are handling all your customer support yourself. Dealing with problems or questions, promptly and personally, will set you way above other marketers who have previously given the message (even if it doesn’t happen to be true) that they’re too “big” to bother with mere mortals.

Being Effective

If you do choose to handle your customer support daily, however, make sure you do it by setting aside a specific period, at a specific time, each day. Don’t fall into the trap of being reactive, dashing to answer an email whenever it comes in – that’s the quickest road to customer support burnout and an exercise in leaking perhaps hours out of your day, every day.

Answering customer requests and helping solve problems within a 24 hour period is pretty darned impressive, by today’s standards. And having to wait a few hours teaches your customer that you respect both yourself and your business.

If an incoming email reports a complaint or problem, however – give it top priority!

(And that, of course, goes for refunds, too. All refunds should be given promptly and cheerfully, if you’re not letting ClickBank or your shopping cart automatically do it.)

Of course, you don’t need to sit there twiddling your thumbs, if there are no queries or complaints. Work on your follow up emails for the rest of the hour; or on something else – just check your “support@” email periodically till the hour is done.

Then close the program, so you won’t be tempted to start checking it.

But if your customer service period spills over to needing more than one hour a day – time to call in an assistant! (Just make sure that both of you are on line with how you want things handled.)

So set aside that hour or half hour every day, and hang out your shingle: “The Doctor is In” (metaphorically speaking). It will not only build confidence in your customers, if you’re there within 24 hours to answer questions or solve problems, you’ll find it creates confidence and competence in yourself – within a very short period of time!

So set aside that hour or half hour every day, and start creating that best follow up asset of all – reliable follow up habits.

Are You a Follow up Flake?

“Follow up flake – well, that certainly doesn’t describe me,” you say. Or maybe, because you saw the title and you’re actually reading this, you’re more humble than many and you’re simply hoping you’ll find out it isn’t you.

Follow up flakes come in all shapes and sizes.

- Experienced marketers who have gotten careless

- Brand new marketers to whom thinking up a headline is so new, it feels like neurosurgery

- Mr. Intuition, who flies by the seat of his pants, and is so busy planning (in his head) his next brand new campaign, he didn’t do more than dash off a single follow up letter for the one that he just completed

- Marketers who sometimes send out follow up emails… and sometimes allow themselves to get distracted by life

The Missing Link

You can bet they all have one thing in common. Something that’s missing from every single follow up scenario listed above…

…and that would a Plan. Yes, Follow Up Plan with a capital “P”.

It doesn’t matter how brilliant or innovative you are how seasoned you are… or how new: Creating in advance a simple follow up plan will help you anticipate:

- Obstacles

- Things to be done

- Things to check

It will also help you analyze:

- Your targeting

- Your follow up content value

- Your timing

- Whether it includes all the important elements (such as calls to action, powerful headlines) that it needs to have

What’s Stopping You?

No one wants to be a flake – especially when it comes to follow up. Why make contact with a perfectly good customer, only to drive her away?

So let’s look at 3 of the biggest common objections to creating a follow up plan:

1. “I don’t have time”

If you found yourself nodding in agreement with # 1, you’re not a flake: You’re just mistaken. Taking the time to plan for proper follow up will actually save you time – and increase your profits and list. It’s worth every second of the investment.

Get out of the “Reactive” zone and focus only on the campaign at hand. If you really are short of time, jettison something else – but don’t give up on planning your follow up. Since statistics have proven follow up can easily be responsible for well over half your total sales, continuing in the same reactive path really would be flaky.

2. “I don’t need one, it’s a waste of time”

If this is you, well, you’re skating perilously close to the flake zone. Look at some of the reasons you need a follow up plan in the answer to # 1, above.

(I’d go into more detail, but you’ve probably already dashed off to put out a different fire.)

3. “It’s too hard…”

You’re definitely not a flake. Most likely, you’re a newer marketer… or you’re simply inexperienced. First, let me reassure you that creating a balanced follow up plan is easier than you may think.

There are lots of great special reports and free tips floating around the net. Book an afternoon for yourself and invest the time in success. Download one today.