Are you looking for the best email marketing strategies? I can help!
Whether you are interested in building an email marketing campaign for an affiliate program or to capture emails for a local business, the strategies to build a successful campaign are very similar. In This post I will attempt to help you determine the best strategy to take in order to fully benefit from your email marketing and, more importantly to provide great value to your potential customers which leads to the most profit from your email list.
I have been in the internet marketing space long enough to realize that There are essentially two different paths or philosophies that marketers take to attempt to build an email list and one must be careful which one to choose first. They are:
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- The “funnel first” method
- “Content first” method
It has been said by many successful marketers that each person on your list should generate at least $1 a month of income for you, considering you are providing valuable content to them. I do believe this is true for a successful email campaign. But, the question is, which of the above paths, or philosophies should you start with and what do they actually mean? Let’s find out shall we?
The Funnel First Method
There is a lot of information on the internet regarding the funnel first method. First of all, what is it exactly? Well, basically, it is system or method that starts with a lead capture page, squeeze page or opt in page (all essentially the same page with different names) that offers some sort of “dangling carrot” to entice the prospect to give out some information, usually a name and email address.
The “dangling carrot”, is usually something offered for free, such as a free report or free membership trial period, or something of that nature. Once the prospect has entered the requested information, they are usually directed to another page, often called a “bridge” page, which usually gives them another offer in addition to instructions on how to obtain their “dangling carrot”. The other offer is usually at a cost. In fact, many funnel first methods will have a variety of offers with increasing price levels.
In addition to the bridge page, or sometimes referred to as a “thank you page” the prospect is then added to an email campaign consisting of a preset number of emails loaded into an autoresponder. An autoresponder is a special software system that automatically sends emails out to the prospect consisting of a combination of valuable content and more offers that typically cost money.
When using this method I suggest use the 80:20 rule, which simply means offer 80% valuable content along with 20% paid offers. This way you don’t risk being looked at as someone only interested in the prospects’ money.
The reason this method is called the funnel first method is because you are attempting to funnel your prospect into your list first, and then later giving them valuable content and then eventually selling them a product or service.
Here is How the Funnel First Method Works
Before discussing the details of the funnel first method, I want you to realize that there are a huge number of resources available (for sale of course) centered around this email marketing strategy. Resources such as courses, special funneling software, list building software and Network Marketing/Affiliate Marketing programs that are specifically associated with this “funnel first” method. In fact, a majority of the more popular Network Marketing Company’s utilize this concept and take advantage of this strategy in that they sell software and other products specifically to support the strategy.
I would like you to watch this video to help you fully understand the principles behind this strategy and how it works. This is a really good detailed description of this method:
Remember the Gold Rush?
During the original gold rush in California, who do you think made the most money? The gold prospectors or the shops that were set up to support the prospectors? you know, the people who sold the pics and shovels to the prospectors.
Yep, you guessed it, the shops and businesses that sold goods to the prospectors made the most money!
In fact, the Levis Strauss company made its prosperous start with selling Levi pants and overalls to prospectors. While only a fraction of the prospectors made real money, the majority of the businesses that sold goods supporting the prospectors made the most money during the gold rush.
I bring this up, because it is also the case with the “funnel first method” email strategy. The businesses that are selling the tools, training and software to support the strategy, made way more money than the marketers who actually use the strategy. Just say in…
Some reasons why this method is so popular and why people use it:
One reason why this method is attractive is that it is relatively easy to set up. You don’t have to create content first. You can get a page up and running in a relatively short period and start building your list provided you have an adequate amount of traffic being delivered to it.
Another reason this method is attractive is because a lot of the software system offered are very easy to set up and, for a price, looks very professional. Even the beginner can have a professional looking funnel system set up in a matter of minutes and be on their way to building a list. Provided they have the traffic resources available and/or the extra money to purchase traffic to opt in to their pages.
Some disadvantages of use the funnel first method:
If you have a large advertising budget, this is a perfectly viable and effective email marketing strategy, but you do have to constantly “feed the beast” so to speak. Many marketers use traffic vendors, or solo ad vendors, or other paid marketing options to get people to opt in to their pages. Free traffic methods do not really work that well with this strategy because you simply need a large amount of traffic in order for the method to be effective. I know many companys advertise that you can use free strategies to build a list this way, but it has been my experience that it really does not provide the amount of traffic needed in order to generate a good healthy income online.
Content First Method
The content first method, in my opinion is one of the best email marketing strategies available online today. It is a foundational approach to earning a solid income online.
So, what is the content first method to email marketing?
As its name implies, it refers to delivering valuable content to the prospect before sending them to an opt in page. The reason this method is so effective is because it use the foundational reason why people are use the internet to begin with. Or, at least why they are searching on the internet.
People use search engines such as the Google search in order to find information on a given topic. They are looking for relevant information concerning the search term they type into the search bar. So, when they come to a website and find the information they are looking for, they read the content. If the content addresses what they have searched for they are pleased and are more likely to enter their name and email into a page, especially if there is a free incentive on that page.
Here is what the Content First Method looks like:
Power point image goes here
As you can see, the strategy starts with a page of content, preferably base on a search term. The reader of the page see’s a capture page towards the end of the page offering something for free that is relevant to what they just read. They opt in to receive the freebie and then get a series of emails that also contain valuable content mixed in with offers of products or services that are also related to the topic of what they read.
Now this prospect is on your email marketing list and has received value from you and most likely will remember your name. So, when they receive an email from you, they are more likely to open that email and read it. Then when you give them information on a product or service they may be interested in, they may decide to purchase it. The more people who opt in to your list the more chances you have of making a sale.
Your Prospect: See it From Their Perspective
So, let’s view this process from the eyes of your prospect.
They search for a topic through the search engines and then land on your page that has relevant information about that topic. In fact, the title of your post is the same or similar to what they searched for.
So, they receive valuable content first, then gave their information and then received valuable content again via email plus the free incentive they opted in for. They are now way more likely to purchase an item from you as long as it’s relevant to the information they were looking for. They now trust you more as a marketer and are more likely to do business with you again and again. This is really a very simple process and easy to understand why it works so well.
Think of yourself as a prospect. Where would you most likely make a purchase from? A blaring opt in form offering you an incentive and then an offer page asking you to buy something, followed by content or by looking for some information and then finding it for free and then being offered something even better that is relevant to what you were searching for but more valuable. Valuable enough to pay a little for it.
The difference between these two strategies is that in the funnel first method, you are usually being sold something you were not necessarily looking for. Whereas in the content first method you are usually being sold something similar or exactly the same as something you were actually looking for. Big difference here from the buyers’ perspective.
Conclusion
I hope that I have provided you with enough information to make a sound decision on which is the best email marketing strategy to use.
Both of these methods work, however I believe the content first method is more sound and stable as a long term business strategy. In the long run it provides your prospect with more value and build a know, like and trust response to you as a marketer. I consider it to be a more foundational approach to online marketing.
If you are interested in building a strong foundational online business that utilizes sound marketing principles and teaches you step by step how to use this content first marketing strategy, then I suggest reading my review of this great online training platform here.
Should you have any questions regarding email marketing or any other online marketing strategy, feel free to leave a comment below. I always respond withing 24 hours to any question or comment. Or, if you simply have a comment, feel free to enter it below.
