Marketing

You have lots of ideas for your podcast that create lots of value for your listeners. You have a system to get them on your email list to automate your marketing. The question is how many emails should you send them before they are ready to buy? This can be frustrating, but luckily I found some model sequences you can try out what works.

The question of how many emails you should create for your sales funnel might come up when you sit down to write. The number will vary depending on what you sell. For the sequence to work its best to follow a system.

What do customers need to know before they buy?

When writing the email sequence decide on what persons need to know to be ready to buy from you. Lay that out over a 3 to 4 emails before you send your sales email. How you do this is to follow a system to drip the content over a period to your list. Derek Halpern from social triggers follows a basic sequence when launching his courses. Pain, desire, many options, the final option, best option.

This is a sequence he uses daily to launch his courses. In each email. He addresses the needs of different types of buyers. So what are some sequences you can use?

3 – 4 email sequence 

I first learnt about this sequence in Dan Kennedy’s book “Magnetic Marketing.” It’s a simple sequence you send 3 – 4 emails to your list. How it works you send a few emails adding more value to the lead magnet or free information gift. Then in the final email, you ask for the sale. This short sequence builds urgency and if your customers are ready to buy they will respond. These emails can be sent out every other day. 

7 email sequence 

This model I learnt from Ramit Sethi of growth lab. What he teaches is similar to the 5-day launch but the content is a bit different. The launch cycle is a bit longer. How can you apply this?  In the 7 email sequence take the time to explain what you sell and the benefits. Explain the problem you address, talk about the solution and present yourself as the best option. You will be laying out all the emails you need to present your offer. 

Test these ideas out in your business and adjust it base on the results. 

A marketing funnel is a systematic way to convert casual visitors into paying customers. How you implement this depends on how people buy what you sell. One thing that will make or break your marketing funnel is your content. What do you say at each step of the way to move persons closer to buying from you?

Talk about the problem

The first stage of the marketing funnel is attracting your ideal customers to your website, or to listen to your podcast. What do you say at this point? Talk about the problem or issues they are facing. This is a great way to build a relationship with your listeners or readers and also to build their trust. Once they feel confident, they will want to learn more.

Recently I went to get my eyes checked and then went online to purchase my glasses. The company was zenni optical suggested to me by a  co-worker. On the company’s website, they shared information about “blue light” blocking lenses. transition lenses are generally what is  prescribed, but the blue light lense got my attention. I instantly started googling to see if I should really get it. The one question I wanted to answer was what is the difference between the blue light lens and transition lens. Once I became comfortable with the answers I got, I added the feature to my glasses on check out. 

With all that said, the point is, there are questions that your customers will ask. Your priority is to make sure these questions are answered, and the answers readily available upon search. You may answer these questions on your blog or podcast for instance. 

Make a list of all the questions potential customers usually ask and start creating content to answer these questions. This can then be used as a tool to get them to join your email list. 

Teach customers how to buy your product/service

I’m not telling you to share all your trade secrets, your aim is to help people make better decisions and get value for money. In my case, it was buying a new pair of tested glasses. What led to my decision to buy online was the fact that it was very expensive to buy it from the local store, even with health insurance. My search on  Zenni Optica, based on the recommendation, resulted in my purchase. (by the way, this post is not a paid post, I’m just a happy customer.) This experience is a perfect example of the idea to nurture your prospect. You get to build even more trust and prepare them for your offer.

When you prepare your customers to buy, they make a more informed decision and reduce the incidence of fewer regrets about ar purchase. Another plus to this is that customers are more willing to tell others about you as well. 

Following my experience, I told my mom about it and I’m now considering to buy my son’s next pair from them as well. That’s the kind of impact your marketing can have with the right content. 

Send customers an offer to buy

In sequence, following that phase of nurturing to where the decision is made to make a purchase you can send potential customers an offer to buy. Don’t wait too long though. After a few emails send them the offer. Who is ready to buy will respond. For the others just continue teaching them about your offer. 

you can get customers to buy from you by offering discounts, special packages with your main offer plus add-ons. 

Example a course plus one to one coaching, and live group interactions. Or in my case with the glasses, I got the glasses plus free features, the case and a cleaning cloth. 

That’s how you go about creating content for your marketing funnel.