[Podcast] Episode 34: Mastering Video in Email with Margot Mazur

What if you had the power to create affordable and incredible game-changing content for your business and email marketing campaigns? Would you use it?

As email marketers, we revel in the written word. However that means we often overlook one of the best ways to speak to our subscribers… which is literally speaking to our subscribers through video.

Thankfully, creating videos is easier than ever: Advances in laptop and cell phone tech, as well as the quality of affordable lighting and accessory gear, have removed the barriers to entry with video creation.

In the latest podcast episode, Margot Mazur, partnership coordinator of Wistia (an amazing video hosting platform), shares her expertise to help us non-video marketers get up and running with an outstanding video-in-email strategy.

 

Episode Synopsis

In this episode, we discuss everything you need to know to step up your video game. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or new to video (like myself,) you’ll find some action items worth noting in this episode. After you listen, head on over to AWeber.com/today to use our nifty “How To Record Your First Video” checklist to get started.

Today is your day to take action. Who knows? You may even find that you’re a pro behind the camera!

Listen in as we discuss:

• How to engage your audience and develop trust with video
• Why video is way easier to create now than ever before
• Tips for creating the perfect video thumbnail for your emails
• How to write a strong subject line to boost video engagement
• How video analytics can inform your strategy
• How to use email to collect subscribers and grow your lists
• … and much more!

Additional Resources

Here are the links mentioned during the show:

• Margot on Twitter
• Wistia
• Culture Video Example: Wistia’s Community Video
• Wistia’s DIY Lighting Kit
• How Long Should Your Next Video Be?

Click here to download this episode directly. (MP3)

Ask Us Anything

Have a question about email marketing? Leave us a message at aweber.com/podcast.

The post [Podcast] Episode 34: Mastering Video in Email with Margot Mazur appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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Improving Your Sign Up Form – Split Testing For Better Results

Imagine if nothing was ever tested, nothing was ever improved on and made better. We’d still be stuck living in caves and life would be pretty miserable.

OK, that was a pretty extreme example to start off this post with, but I really think it is a great way to showcase why split testing your sign up form is so important.

You could set up your form, then leave it the same way forever. But if you’re aiming to boost your email list growth, you’re going to want to test variations to ensure your form is as effective as possible in attracting potential subscribers.

The beauty of split testing comes from the fact that don’t have to rely on guesswork or gut feeling when making changes to your form. Split testing helps you identify what is working and what isn’t.

Of course, there’s no magic button to just split test a form once you’ve created it. (Well, there kind of is, but there’s still a little work on your part to get it going.) So we’ve put together some steps you’ll want to take to setup your next split test.

Things you should consider when testing

There are a couple guidelines to follow when split testing your sign up form. These aren’t hard and fast rules, but rather general things to look for and follow when setting up a split test:

• Test one thing at a time, and make small changes
• Give your tests enough time to run

With those two things in mind, let’s go a bit deeper into what some of the things you might test with your sign up form, and what kind of timeframe you’re looking at to run your test so that you can see statistically significant results.

Test one thing at a time

Hopefully, you have a lot of ideas for what you want to test, but in order to get a good idea of what your audience is most receptive to, you have to take it one step at a time. Otherwise, if you try to test a bunch of changes, you won’t know which change made the difference.

Below is an example of split testing a sign up form button to see if that has any impact on your list growth:

Above is our sign up form. For this test, we’ll make a simple alteration with changing the wording of the button from “Submit” to “Get my first newsletter!”

Next step? Another small change, another split test. Let’s take a look at some of the other changes you can make to your form to boost sign ups:

• Headline – Test words like “free” or “bonus” if offering an incentive.
• Color/template – Try different colors or designs that stand out from your page, helping to draw attention to your form.
• Image/no image – Do you have a physical product? Try testing a form with and without the image to see which version impacts potential subscribers more.
• Fields – Limit the number of fields someone has to fill out to become a subscriber. Asking for name, email and phone number? Try a test comparing that with a form that only asks for email.

Below is a great example of a split test from ConversionXL, testing sign up button color:

The winner? The red button increased conversions by 34 percent.

Another great test, this one from Hotjar, pits a form with less fields against one with more:

It should come as no surprise that the winner was the form on the right. Simply adding less fields, which translates to less for the person has to do to sign up, makes it the winning form.

Give your tests enough time to run

So, now that you have your split test all set up, how long should you wait before seeing what the results are? How long before you should get a good idea as to how effective our form test it?

Neil Patel, cofounder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and KISSmetrics, recommends giving any split test at least two weeks and 100 subscribers before checking out the stats to determine a winner. This is because you want to have statistical significance behind your test results. Run the test for too short of a time, and you won’t have a clear picture of which variation is the winner, simply because not enough traffic has been exposed to the test.

In addition to a two week testing period, take into account different variables that could pop up, such as holidays, when your audience may not be as engaged with your site. Not that you shouldn’t test during the holiday season, but take that into account so you can extend the testing period as needed.

Ready to start testing?

Split testing is the best way for you to figure out what kind of sign up form your potential subscribers are most captivated by, short of actually asking them. You may be hesitant to start testing, but the best advice is to start with some small changes, see what works, and build on that.

And if you would like a little more guidance regarding split testing, join me on Tuesday, August 16 @ 3pm ET where we’ll go over how to implement a split test in AWeber, and expand on some of the ideas and examples you read about in today’s post. See ya then!

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Skip Marketing 101 and Read This Instead

As a small business owner, you understand how complicated running a business is. You’re the chief operating officer, bookkeeper, recruiter, trainer, top salesperson, office manager, and head of marketing — which is why you don’t have time to sit through a Marketing 101 class.

You know marketing is a critical component of your business success, and you need easy, fast tactics that will bring quick, impressive results. Instead of attending a seminar or reading a 500-page book, here are the top eight things you should know about marketing your small business:

1. Not marketing is not an option.

No matter how great your product or service is, it won’t sell itself. You’re going to need some advertising, promotions, publicity, email, or social media, and most likely a combination of all those things. Not sure where to start? A good rule of thumb is to look at what your competitors are doing and where they’re doing it. Is your chief competition advertising in the local newspaper? Are they all over Facebook? Have they totally missed opportunities on Twitter? Are they under-utilizing their website? Identify channels where you’ll need to go head-to-head, and look for opportunities your competition may be missing.

2. Online display advertising can have a big impact for little cost.

Your budget is probably as tight as your schedule, so it’s important to get the most impact for each dollar you spend. Online advertising is a great option for small businesses because it can achieve widespread distribution for less money than you might spend on traditional ad channels like radio, TV, and print. Check out our blog on choosing the right display advertising network to learn more about online advertising.

3. Play on people’s love of events.

Buzzwords like “experiential marketing” may make it seem like this is something new, but marketing with events like in-store promotions has been around for as long as there have been brick-and-mortar businesses. That’s because promotions and events reward the people who are already coming into your store, and draw in new customers who may be shopping with you for the first time. Events like ribbon-cuttings, fundraisers, and customer appreciation days help build awareness and brand visibility. Plus, events play on one of your core strengths as a small business — the face-to-face interactions that your customers just can’t get from a mega-business. Read our blog on ways to promote your small business event.

4. Make the most of your website.

It goes without saying (or it should) that you have a company website. But if it’s only a glorified business listing, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful, cost-effective tools for marketing your small business. An engaging website not only gives current and potential customers important information about your business — such as your location, hours of operations, products, and services — it can be a vibrant sales portal and a channel for gathering customer data. Your website is far too important to have an amateur look or feel, so have your website designed by a professional.

5. Email marketing is the new direct mail.

In the old days, a small business would either pay big bucks to purchase a mailing list and have a direct mail piece professionally designed, or spend countless hours to generate the list and piece themselves. Either route could prove fruitless if the piece was poorly designed and the list was inaccurate or irrelevant. Email is far more cost-effective than the old ways of doing things. Free email tools like VerticalResponse make it easy to design professional, effective, and mobile-responsive emails, compile and manipulate mailing lists, sign up new email subscribers through your website, and track results.

6. Social media is the new word of mouth.

Social media has made it easier than ever for customers to praise or criticize your small business. What’s more, social media has created communities of like-minded consumers where shareability amplifies the value of your marketing messages. Even better — you don’t have to pay to reach your customers via their favorite social media platforms. Yet it’s also important to strategize your social media campaigns so that you’re reaching your target audience with relevant information through their preferred channels. Check out our blog for useful tips on how to expand your social media presence.

7. Win with loyalty rewards.

Nearly every company seems to have a loyalty rewards program these days, so it’s easy to forget that the concept originated with small businesses. When the local baker slipped an extra cupcake in your mom’s order, or the florist threw in a pretty vase because your dad always bought flowers there — that was loyalty marketing! As a small business owner, you’re uniquely positioned to maximize the value of a loyalty program, because you’re already building loyalty in face-to-face interactions with your customers. Starting a rewards program can be as simple as offering a punch card that rewards shoppers with merchandise after they fill the card. The key is to give customers relevant rewards and make it easy for them to earn those rewards, so they’ll always have a reason to come back.

8. Build a network of relationships.

When you’re wearing your sales hat, you’re probably thinking “always be closing.” When you’re acting as chief financial officer, you’re thinking about minimizing costs and maximizing profits. Whatever hat you wear at any time of day, you should always be building a network of relationships with your customers, other businesses, and other business owners. Joining and participating in local networking organizations is a great way to build professional relationships with other businesses, such as by offering a discount to workers at nearby shops. Or send a stack of coupons to the HR department of the area’s biggest employers and suggest the coupons be used as performance rewards for their employees.

You could spend a lifetime educating yourself on how to market your small business — and maybe down the road you’ll even have time to take that Marketing 101 class! For now, however, these eight strategies will help you create a solid base for your small business marketing efforts.

Get Our Newsletter For more marketing tips, guides, and inspiration, sign up for the VerticalResponse bi-weekly newsletter. Sign Up

© 2016, Tori Tsu. All rights reserved.

The post Skip Marketing 101 and Read This Instead appeared first on Vertical Response Blog.

Your Guide to Brainstorming Creative Video Ideas

Crafting a really great video starts with really great brainstorming. Without it, you could end up creating a lot of really rough drafts of scripts and doing a lot of takes to try to get your video just right. To make a basic analogy – brainstorming is like sketching out the initial concepts of a house that you want to build. Can you build one without that step? Sure. But it won’t be easy.

Brainstorming doesn’t necessarily have to be in a group, either; if you’re a team of one, you still need to get your ideas out of your head and on paper (or your computer screen, whiteboard, etc.). When you do, it allows you to get your creative video ideas out in the open, which is the first step to brainstorming a great video.

Brainstorming prompts (something other prompts)

When you think about it, “brainstorming” is kind of a vague term that really just means to “come up with an idea.” But to get a little more specific, I’ve broken down brainstorming for a video into two quick questions to ask yourself (or your team, if working with others):

Question 1 – What will people get out of this video? (adjust the question more specifically “What do you want someone to do/feel”)
Question 2 – What is my video going to look like?

Let’s take a closer look at each.

Question 1: What will people get out of this video?

Brainstorming for a video is very much the same as brainstorming for any other project. With video, the direction you go depends on what kind of video you want to create. Start by determining the goal of your video, then work backwards from there.

If the goal of your video is to sell something, then the thing you want people to get out of the video is the information necessary to convince them to make a purchase. How do you do that? A common way is to present a problem, then demonstrate how your product or service is the solution to that problem.

Take the following problem/solution scenario:

Problem: Putting video in emails is a pain – you have to take a screenshot, create a play button, layer the button on the screenshot, add the screenshot to your email, then link the screenshot to your video.

Solution: Use AWeber’s video element in the drag-and-drop editor.

Setting up this kind of problem/solution structure is a great way to start the foundation of your video. From there, it’s just a matter of filling in the “how.”

While this is just an example of a video that has a goal of educating an audience about a product feature, you might find that yours is a little different – and that’s OK. Video has a ton of uses for getting crucial info out to your audience. You might make a video with the goal of:

• Being shared – funny, quirky videos work well for this
• Growing your email list – detailing why someone should sign up, and what they’ll get out of your list
• Building a relationship – a behind-the-scenes video helps you connect with your audience

Another thing the video team here at AWeber likes to do when brainstorming a new video is to complete the following statement: “After watching this video, I want someone to feel [insert feeling here].” The feeling you evoke could be anything that connects to your ultimate goal. If your want your audience to take action and do something (like add a video into an email), perhaps the feeling you’re going for would be “motivated,” because you’re using your video to hook someone’s interest and motivate them to do something.

Or, if you want to have your videos shared a lot and possibly go viral, you might want to evoke a feeling of “delight” instead. You might even find that you want to evoke a combination of feelings instead of only one.

For example, we recently launched a campaign to inspire entrepreneurs to take the first step towards creating something for their business. For the video portion of the campaign, we brainstormed some ideas and came away with the goal of having people feel inspired, so that they would review the resources we provided and take that next step. Here’s one of the videos that came out of the brainstorm:

Question 2: What is my video going to look like?

The next step in the brainstorming process is to figure out the concept and format of your video. Should you be on camera? Or should you do a screen recording?

Take for instance one of our quick tips videos, a typical talking-head style video, featuring one or more people talking into the camera. This type is great for conveying any info that doesn’t necessarily need to be shown, such as advice, industry news, updates, etc.

Then there are screen recordings, which are great for demos or tutorials, like this one where we show someone how to set up their AWeber account for the first time. And while these are great for anyone with a SaaS product, they can also work as a great teaching tool when paired with a slideshow, such as in this webinar.

With so many options, you want to take into consideration what kind of information you want your audience to get out of your video. If you’re demonstrating a SaaS product, then it’s pretty straight forward that you would go with a screen recording. If you’re trying to explain an abstract concept, record yourself going through a slideshow. Or, if you’re ready, record yourself on camera explaining the concept.

Where to go from here

Once you’ve got the brainstorming phase complete, it’s a good idea to move onto creating a storyboard and script. Storyboarding will help you to visualize the steps you will take in your video, while a script will (obviously) help you stay on task while actually recording your video.

But what happens if you brainstorm, have a bunch of really good ideas and can’t decide which one to push forward? In that case, try to gauge what your audience needs from you, as well as the needs of your business. Are you seeing a lot of turnover with your customers, or returns of your product? A helpful demo might be able to alleviate that. Do you find that not enough people know who you are, and you want to make your business a well-known name? Try creating something that provides a special take on your industry, presenting yourself as the go-to-person for expert advice.

For example, let’s take the problem/solution presented earlier of adding video in email, which was actually a problem we know some of our customers experience. Since we wanted to convey how easy it is to put video in email, we reached the conclusion that a screen recording would be best to demonstrate the simplicity. Check it out:

Don’t get overwhelmed!

Creating a video may seem like a daunting task, especially in the brainstorming phase of things. But don’t worry! The important thing is to take that first step and make that first video. It won’t be perfect, but you’ll be on the road to bigger and better videos in no time. And to help out with that, check out these additional resources we’ve created to help you get started (these make a great segue from the topic of brainstorming videos :))

• Filming Live Video
• Recording A Screencast
• Using Video In Email

To help you take get started, check out this handy checklist for launching your first video.

Have experience creating videos or about to start creating yours? Comment below and share your experience!

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How to Create a Lead Magnet in Less Than a Day (that actually works)

You’ve probably seen it yourself: websites offering huge gifts to compel website visitors to join their email lists — 50-page ebooks, 30-day courses, 100-page white papers and beyond.

These gifts are called lead magnets or incentives, and they’re a freebie you give your subscribers for joining your email list. A great lead magnet convinces the right people to subscribe to your list (those who are likely to buy), builds trust and assists in converting your leads into customers.

The problem is though, while a great lead magnet is a valuable list-growth tool, you probably feel overwhelmed by the idea of writing a 50-page ebook.

But I have good news: you don’t need to write a novel to craft a great lead magnet. You can build a short, simple and crazy effective lead magnet with minimal time commitment.

Keep reading to learn six simple steps to creating a powerful lead magnet in less than a day.

1. Find your audience’s biggest problem

People don’t join your email list to receive yet another email in their already cluttered inbox in which you talk about yourself. They subscribe to your email list because they have a problem, and they’re hoping you can solve it. That’s what makes lead magnets so effective: they provide the solution to a person’s problem in exchange for an email address.

Before you invest time creating your lead magnet, you need to know what your audience’s problem is. A common problem creates a more valuable lead magnet and more subscribers, which means you’ll want to consider this carefully. What is your audience desperate to learn about? What problems make them scour the internet at night searching for answers?

You might already have some ideas about your audience’s problems. Or maybe you’re scratching your head and making wild guesses. Either way, stop. To discover what your audience is actually struggling with, you need to conduct some research. Although “research” may sound boring and time consuming, there are a few fun and easy tricks for conducting excellent audience research:

Survey your current audience

Create a survey that asks your email subscribers about their current challenges and struggles. If you don’t have any email subscribers yet, ask your personal contacts or attend an in-person meetup and survey people there.

Read and ask questions on Quora

If you’re looking for questions or answers, Quora is a great place to be. Anyone can ask a question on Quora and anyone can answer that question.

To learn about your audience’s questions in particular, search Quora for questions related to your industry, product or service. See what people are asking and take a look at the view count on the answers given: lots of views equals lots of interest.

Or, ask a question yourself (like what challenges people within your target audience are facing). Or, if you already have a few lead magnet topic ideas, you can ask Quora users which option is their favorite.

Check out this Quora question about muscle building for vegetarians. If you’re a fitness expert, you could find this question by doing a quick search using the keywords fitness and nutrition, gauge interest through the number of views on the responses to this question and then decide to write a lead magnet about how vegetarians can build muscle.

Join a LinkedIn group

Become a member of a LinkedIn group within your industry and see what questions people are asking in the group or ask the group what problems they’re facing.

For example, here at AWeber, we’re all about helping email marketers so I joined the Email Marketing Gurus LinkedIn group to see what kind of questions more advanced email marketers have.

2. Choose a format that works for you, your audience and your schedule

The best lead magnets are those that are as brief as they can be while providing extensive information on a narrow topic (Brevity plus depth plus specificity equals awesome).

Yes, that’s right: your goal is to make your lead magnet as short as possible. That’s because short lead magnets take less time to create, but even more importantly, your audience needs less time to consume them. For instance, a 20-page guide is both a chore for you to write and for your audience to read.

To select your format, choose from one of these lead magnet types that are both easy to consume and easy to create:

Checklists/Worksheets

Who can use it: health and wellness consultants, personal trainers, financial consultants, marketing consultants and anyone who helps their audience accomplish a task.

For an example of a great checklist, take a look at this social media checklist created by SproutSocial.

Or, for an example of a worksheet, check out The Ultimate Checklist for Headlines and Subheads by Copy Hackers.

Coupons/Discounts

Who can use it: ecommerce stores, physical stores and anyone who sells a product or service

This 10 percent discount on the Magnolia Market website is an excellent example of a discount/coupon lead magnet. The coupon code is delivered via a welcome email immediately after subscribing.

Plans/Schedules

Who can use it: fitness coaches, health and wellness consultants, marketing consultants, financial advisors and anyone whose audience could use help with planning/scheduling.

Want to see an example? Check out this 2-Week Paleo Diet Meal Plan from PaleoLeap.

Templates

Who can use it: marketing consultants, financial consultants, fitness and wellness coaches, SAAS companies, tech companies and anyone whose audience could use guidance writing or designing content.

We created 20+ free email templates to help email marketers with their email content. Our audience loves these templates, and they were also easy for us to create.

3. Write your content or repurpose it

The next step is to start writing. While writing often seems overwhelming, it shouldn’t be. The types of lead magnets I listed above take very little time to write. Sit down and write non-stop for an hour. Don’t edit anything at this point. If you’re creating a checklist, template, plan or coupon, an hour is more than enough time to write your draft. After you’re done drafting, go back and edit.

Here are a few writing pointers that will simplify and shorten your writing process and help you create a top-performing lead magnet:

Be specific

Remember our earlier step where we determined the problem/question that your lead magnet will solve or answer? Your lead magnet content has one purpose: answer or solve that problem. Be specific. By writing a precise lead magnet that answers one question, you craft a shorter lead magnet. Not only do brevity and specificity make it easier for your audience to read your content, they also shorten the writing process for you — a win-win scenario.

Be green

Save time. Recycle your content.

Repurposing already written content is a great way to shorten the writing process. If you’ve already written blog posts or emails that help answer the problem you diagnosed in step one, reuse that content in your lead magnet. Just make sure to rewrite the content to fit the lead magnet format you chose in step two.

Be authoritative

Your lead magnet is more than just a gift you give people to get their email addresses. It’s a tool to bring your prospects closer to a buying decision. How so? Because it builds trust, and that’s important because people are more likely to buy from those they trust.

To instill trust with your lead magnet content, write with authority. Avoid using words like “in my opinion,” “I think,” “You should,” and other phrases that show uncertainty. These kind of phrases are bad in two senses. One, they are non-essential words that fail to convey any additional meaning. These words waste your reader’s time and wane their interest. And two, these phrases take away from your authority. As your readers consume your lead magnet content, they need to know that you are an expert worth listening to, and the words “I think…” don’t sound very convincing.

For example, take a look at these two sentences a financial advisor might write:

Sentence A: “In my opinion, you should invest in Amazon stocks this quarter.”

Sentence B: “Invest in Amazon stocks this quarter.”

It’s easy to tell that sentence B is the more powerful sentence; readers will trust the advice more because the writer sounds certain.

Be original

The best way to create a priceless lead magnet is to share original insights and tips. Being original means sharing information that can’t be found anywhere else. If the tips you share in your lead magnet can be found in a basic Google search, your lead magnet isn’t all that valuable. After all, why should a prospect give away their email address for information they can get elsewhere or that they’ve already heard?

To be original, see what others have already written about your topic. Then, share insights that haven’t already been written about.

4. Host your lead magnet

Now that you’ve written your lead magnet, you need to figure out how your audience will access it. Here are two ways to host your lead magnet:

Use Google Sheets

If you build your lead magnet in a Google Sheet (this works well for checklists, worksheets and plans), then you can set the permission to view only and ask people to make a copy of the Google Sheet to start using your lead magnet.

You can see how this works in this lead magnet checklist from SumoMe (to get this helpful checklist for yourself, go here).

Create a hosted PDF

If you chose to make a template, a PDF is a great way to host it. To create your PDF, you can write your content in a free Google doc then convert it to a PDF. Click on file → Download as → PDF Document (.pdf) to do this.

After you’ve created your PDF, you need to host it online so that your new email subscribers can access it. You can use a website or a third party site such as Digioh or Dropbox to do so (or you can even host your PDF with Google Docs). Once you have the URL for your PDF/downloadable file, hyperlink to the URL in your welcome email to give people access.

Email your lead magnet

This lead magnet distribution method works great for coupons and templates. It’s simple. Just write an email that includes your coupon code or the content of your template.

5. Write a welcome email that delivers your lead magnet

To instantly deliver your lead magnet, use an automated “welcome” email. Your welcome email not only provides the link (or access) to your lead magnet, it welcomes your new subscriber to your email list, tells them what they can expect from you and starts building a relationship with your audience.

To learn all about welcome email campaigns, read this blog post: Welcome Email Campaigns 101: How to Create an AWesome Welcome Campaign.

6. Share your lead magnet with the world

By now, you’ve done all the hard work. You’ve chosen a lead magnet, created it and written a welcome email to deliver it. Way to go. Now it’s time for the final step (and my favorite part): it’s time to build your sign up form.

Your sign up form is the gateway to your incentive and email list. It’s where people trade their email address for access to your lead magnet.

If you have a website and want to add a sign up form to it, use AddThis, SumoMe or HelloBar to build your form. All three have free account options so you don’t need to dish out money to get access to powerful form building software.

For instance, I created a free HelloBar account and built this sign up form in less than ten minutes.

If you don’t have a website, build a hosted sign up form. A hosted sign up form allows you to share your form anywhere you can imagine – like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, in your emails and much more! To learn how to create a winning hosted sign up form, read this blog post.

Let’s wrap this up — your questions + more ways to grow your list

You don’t need days or even months to create a great lead magnet. Use the steps above to craft a lead magnet that makes website visitors excited to join your list.

Have any questions about lead magnets? Ask them in the comments section below. Or, share your lead magnet success story!

You’ve learned the steps to create a great lead magnet, but do you know how to build a high-converting sign up form, grow your list with social media or attract more website traffic? Learn all this and more in our free, 7-day email course on list building.

The post How to Create a Lead Magnet in Less Than a Day (that actually works) appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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[Podcast] Episode 33: Epic Email Marketing Tactics for Authors with J. Thorn

What are your deepest and darkest fears?

For years, independent author J. Thorn has been exploring the question through his fear and fantasy fiction writing. He’s sold over 150,000 copies of his work and topped the Amazon charts – once landing at #5 in Horror, next to his childhood favorites, Dean Koontz and Stephen King.

Through his work, Thorn has developed a strong, unique voice, both in his respected genres and in the independent writers community. And he’s leveraged that connection to his fans through email marketing.

 

 

In this episode, we discuss valuable strategies that anyone – not just authors – can apply, to attract the right kind of subscribers, offer immediate value, engage their readers. We talk about the ways to maintain a consistently above-average open rate and find your ideal subscriber persona. We even break down J.’s unique lead magnet and welcome message, and what makes them so successful.

If you fantasize about having hundreds of loyal subscribers and fear ending up in the dark depths of the spam folder, you’ll want to tune in, take notes, and take action!

Episode Synopsis

Listen in, as we discuss:

• How J. took the leap and finished his first novel
• The platforms and options for independent authors
• Ways to structure your lead magnet and welcome series
• The importance of writing to a persona
• … and much more!

Additional Resources

Here are the links mentioned during the show:

• J. Thorn
• J. Thorn on Amazon
• The Intronaut Podcast
• Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’
• Amazon CreateSpace
• The Horror Writers Podcast
• The Dark Arts Theater Podcast

Click here to download this episode directly. (MP3)

Ask Us Anything

Have a question about email marketing? Leave us a message at aweber.com/podcast.

The post [Podcast] Episode 33: Epic Email Marketing Tactics for Authors with J. Thorn appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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Influencer Marketing: Building Your List Through Trust and Credibility

What do you think of when you hear the words “influencer marketing?”

An influencer is someone who has built up the trust and credibility of their audience in such a way that they’ll be more willing to make a purchase based on recommendation alone. We all know this scenario: Kim Kardashian tweets about a new clothing line and suddenly it’s the most popular product on the market. People go crazy when a celebrity endorses a product.

But the power of endorsements and influencers isn’t only available to big brands with celebrity contacts. In fact, any brand can work with an established influencer to jumpstart their email list building efforts.

Sure, working with a celebrity sounds like a lot of fun, but might not be attainable right from the start. By partnering with a well-known personality in your space you can boost the awareness and reach of your brand. But how do you get started?

We’ll go over the best practices for locating, reaching out to, and working with the best possible influencer for your brand. When you find the right fit, you’ll start seeing increases in your email audience size in no time.

Who’s the best influencer for my brand?

As you get started, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. A celebrity endorsement may not make the most sense for you. Instead, think about your audience, and the people you connect with every day.

Who are they? What do they like? And, maybe most importantly, who (besides you) do they listen to?

You’re involved in your customer’s world, there’s no doubt that you know who they’re talking about. You want someone who is going to have the klout to expand your potential audience, while still being relevant and valuable to your current subscribers. Social influence is what you want to look for in an influencer.

You’ll be using this partnership to garner trust and credibility. Mutual benefit is important, but remember, you’re connecting with their audience to promote your brand.

This influencer is going to act as a trusted advisor and advocate for your brand. They speak on your behalf. Having an advocate for your brand helps businesses grow in a number of ways.  Not only will you be able to use their influence to increase your social media buzz, an advocate is loyal and will share their opinions freely. They’ll even jump in to defend you if need be.

Look for someone who is a subject matter expert and a thought leader in your market. Their authenticity and credibility are key factors in how well your campaign is going to perform. According to a Nielson study from 2015, “the most credible form of advertising comes straight from the people we know and trust.” Eighty three percent of people rely on recommendations from friends and family most, while 70 percent trust branded websites over traditional advertising.

How do I find the right influencer for my brand?

The number one way is by doing a little research.

As you look for someone who is the perfect fit for prospects as well as your current customers, start by asking yourself a few questions:

• Who is the influencer’s audience?
• Is the influencer’s audience similar to mine?
• What kind of value can an influencer provide to my audience?
• What kind of value can I provide to the influencer’s audience?
• How engaged is the influencer’s audience with their content?
• Is the influencer engaged with their audience in return?

There are also tons of resources on influencer marketing. Convince and Convert is one of my personal favorites; they go over a few things to look out for when choosing an influencer:

• Engagement – How does does the influencer’s audience interact with their content?
• Reach – How well can the influencer reach your audience?
• Frequency – Are they posting consistently? How is their email cadence; is it overwhelming or not?
• Authenticity – How much does the audience trust the influencer?

There is a lot to consider, but we have some tips to help get you started.

What tools are available to help me find the right fit?

Start by learning all that you can about your prospective influencer. This is the beginning of a fun, new relationship, so a little targeted social media stalking can’t hurt. As you check out their social profiles, consider:

• How often do they tweet, and when they do, what is favorited or retweeted most?
• Do they have a Facebook community and are they involved?
• How does their audience interact on their blog? Do they respond to comments?

The biggest characteristic you want to look for here is engagement. Just keep in mind that a large following does not necessarily translate to good engagement. The more people are engaged with your influencer, the more people you can potentially have signing up to your email list. It’s as simple as that. There are even platforms you can use for this kind of research, such as Klout, which measures a person’s various profiles for their overall social influence.

Tracking relevant hashtags is another way to seek out your ideal influencer. SocialMention is a great tool for social channels. Buzzstream Discovery is another for finding influencers by keyword. You can also mine popular SEO keywords to see what pops up. For example, if you’re looking for an influencer who is big in food and recipe blogging, you would search for “food blogging”, “recipes” or “cooking blogs”. Google Keyword Planner or keywordtool.io are great options as well.

There are specific influencer marketing platforms too:

• Traackr – They’re an influencer marketing platform that helps connect brands with influencers based on a number of variables, such as topic, hashtag relevance and geolocation. There is a strong focus on using tracking and analytics to find the best possible influencer for your brand.

• Mavrck – Positioned as a connection point between brands and influencers on a person-to-person basis, which they call micro-influencers. Their focus is on people and connecting brands with the right influencers using social data.

• Exposely – Their goal is to help build influencer marketing campaigns on a case-by-case basis. They’re built in a way to include budgeting for brands with a focus on cost-per-click campaigns and making compensation for influencers more streamlined.

These tools are a great place to kickstart your new influencer marketing campaign. Properly constructed, your campaign will flourish.

With the right influencer, what can I do to grow my list?

It’s time to start thinking about your campaign specifics. When you work with an influencer, here are some of the best ways to reach their audience:

Guest Blogs

Tried and true, this is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways to connect your brand with an influencer’s audience. Trade spots on your respective blogs, or ask your influencer to write a post on their expertise. Giving them the option to represent their own brand is a great way to break the ice.

Growth Opportunity: Set up specific landing pages for people coming directly to this post. Include an incentive for those people who sign up. You’d be surprised how much some exclusive content can help boost your sign ups.

And as the savvy marketing person that you are, you’re aware of how your landing pages perform on a day-to-day basis. Set up your landing pages for the incoming audience from your influencer, and think about how you want it to perform. Look for the following indicators of success:

• Increased traffic to the page
• Leads captured by the page
• Social shares of your exclusive content

Once you’ve published this post, run a short social campaign of your own as well as promote the link to your Facebook and Twitter followers. That will boost the overall reach of this content, and help you get more out of the campaign.

Testimonials/Reviews

Look for any overlap with your influencer and current customers to see if there is any potential for outreach. You can also provide a new influencer with a test of your service for them to review.

Growth Opportunity: A high-value testimonial from a trusted influencer will help ease any doubts your prospective customers have about signing up.

Use this testimonial on an upcoming split test on your site. Direct potential leads to a page that features it prominently, and check into how that page converts in comparison to other campaigns you’ve run in the past.

Podcasts/Webinars

Co-host a webinar or invite that influencer to speak on your podcast. This could be an interview, educational webinar or casual conversation. Try to find something that highlights all of your strengths and gives your influencer the ability to promote your content on their end as well.

Growth Opportunity: Set up specific landing pages for the podcast. Subscribers who sign up for more information can be nudged further down the funnel while you provide them with details on the upcoming event. There is also the potential to follow up with more material after the podcast.

By setting up a webinar with your influencer, you’re able to give their audience a direct introduction to who you are and speak candidly about your brand. This is a great time to promote your business, but remember, they’re keying into your personality, so make sure to showcase that as well.

During the planning process, think about what kind of value you’ll be able to provide to this audience. If you’re educating on a particular subject, include a recap or study guide after the big day. This additional content keeps you top of mind and helps cement your new relationship.

You can use a recording of the webinar as a lead generation piece too. Try offering it up as an incentive for subscribers who may have missed the actual event.

How can I tell it’s working?

Once you’ve set up the campaign and figured out how best to work with your influencer, how will you know it’s working?

As influencer marketing functions mostly in the awareness and acquisition stages of your campaign, the benefits and return on investment will be seen as increases in traffic and conversion. When you work closely with someone whose audience is engaged and willing to trust their recommendations, the benefits can be qualitative as well as quantitative.

Look for how the traffic to these pages differs from other campaigns you’ve run in the past.

• Was there an increase in my overall traffic to this page?
• Is there anything I did differently, outside of using an influencer?
• How can I use those tactics for future landing pages?

Your campaign will not only raise awareness of your brand, it will lend a sense of credibility that can lead to increased willingness to engage and purchase.

When everything is up and running you can track the growth of your list through subscribers. You’ll see an increase in your total subscriber count, but there will be other metrics to look for as well. If you’re adding people to an existing list, you will see an increase in the overall opens for your messages. As these prospects are highly engaged with the influencer you’ve chosen, the click and open rates for your autoresponder messages should reflect that engagement as well.

You may see an increase in your social traffic as well. As the people you reached through this campaign start talking about your brand, potential leads from their networks will seek you out as well. It’s kind of a trickle down effect. Keep track of any spikes in your “likes” or “follows” after the campaign is completed.

Influencer marketing is a bit of a long game. But if you plan correctly, and have the patience to allow the results to come in, the value is immeasurable.

Who are the influencers that you use?

Have you worked with an influencer in the past? Let us know in the comments. What has worked, and what tips do you have?

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