Simple Methods to Increase Your Email Subscribers’ Conversion Rates
A wiser person than me once said: “A business cannot survive on email subscribers alone”. Any email marketer knows that building an email list of loyal subscribers can be a difficult task. However, an even bigger challenge can be figuring out how to turn those loyal email subscribers into loyal customers.
Not everyone on your email subscription list opens your emails. This comes as no surprise. Not everyone who opens your emails will then click through to your website. Even fewer go on to make a purchase. So how do you guide people along from initially subscribing to your emails to becoming an active, repeat customer on your website?
Be the sherpa who guides potential customers to the summit of the mountain of conversion sales. Here are a few strategies you can employ to make this happen. They will help to increase conversion rates and will turn casual email subscribers into life-long customers.
Tips for Boosting Your Sales Numbers
Know What Your Email Subscribers Want
The first obstacle to overcome when getting someone to make a purchase is being able to offer them something they truly want or need.
Forget being flashy, sensational, or giving them a deal. If you can’t offer people something that can help them solve a problem, you really can’t offer them anything.
Some questions you’ll need to answer before you can help your potential customers are:
- What do my email subscribers want?
- Which problems do they face?
- What are their goals and objectives?
- What can I offer them to help achieve those goals?
So how do you find the answer to these questions? Well, like most problems in life, the answer is this: just be direct. You already have a direct line of communication with your audience via email marketing, so utilize that to your advantage. Consider sending out a questionnaire asking what your email subscribers would like to see you offer. Ask what improvements you could make to the products or services you already offer.
If you think there might be a better way to converse with your audience, there are certainly other avenues. Consider using sales calls or customer support calls to gather information. You can also host events or participate in conferences to directly speak to your potential customers.
Also, keep in mind that you have a plethora of information already available to you from your email subscribers. Collect data from your customer support chats or emails. Use that to determine the ideas and things that are important to your subscribers.
Create Segmented Lists to Better Understand Your Email Subscribers
“No man is an island”, but that doesn’t mean we all want the same things either. This is worthy of being aware of when considering your subscribers. While your business might represent a specific idea or stance, hopefully, your appeal spreads to a wider audience.
Your email subscriber list is going to consist of people from all different backgrounds, political affiliations and every other divider under the sun. So trying to appeal to all of them with the same message is obviously not the right idea. If you send everyone on your list the same generic email, you’re inevitably sending some people information they are not interested in.
The more non-relevant messages you send to your subscribers the more they’re going to think you can’t offer them anything relevant. This is going to lose your subscribers, which is the opposite of what we want.
Consider all of the different ways you can segment your subscriber list. For instance, by age, geographic location, political affiliation, product or service interest, type of purchase, et cetera. The ways and combinations are endless, but the further you divide and segment your list, the more relevant information you will be able to provide to potential or existing customers. This will drive your conversion rates in the right direction.
Clothing supplier Totes-Isotone reported a 7,000% revenue increase between 2010 and 2011 after revamping their email segmentation process. The changes were based simply on what potential customers were looking at when on their website.
When taken seriously and handled well, segmentation can lead to high conversion rates. This occurs when a specific call to action leads customers to what they actually want, encouraging them to buy your products or services.
Turn ‘No Thank You’ into ‘Yes, Please’
Pobody’s nerfect! No matter how hard you work and how much effort you put into getting to know your customers, you’re not going to convert every one of them on the first try. There’s a reason for that. We’re taught from an early age never to make a fast decision on a purchase.
In fact, 70% of consumers research their purchase before they make it. So what can you do to help convince them that you have the right product for you and turn that ‘no’ into a ‘yes’?
Well again, we have our groundwork laid out for us in our email subscriber list. We have a communication pathway, and we have the ability to gather data on those nay-sayers. Keep an eye on what they’re looking at. Automate your marketing efforts and offer them a discount on items they’re interested in when a sale pops up.
Also, keep up the conversation. You won’t win anyone over by ignoring them. If a subscriber looks but doesn’t buy, don’t just bombard them with more purchasing possibilities. People don’t want to feel like they’re being preyed upon. Develop a relationship with them.
Use your segmented lists to send them relevant information, but not just about potential purchases. Offer a newsletter with information that matters to them, keep them up to date with the news in your business’ world.
The more you nurture that relationship and become a familiar face, the more your subscribers will not only trust but will also truly value your business. When you win them over, they’re going to be looking forward to your emails. Over enough time the feelings of goodwill are going to transition into a monetary purchase, and as long as you’re providing quality products and services to people who truly need them, you’re going to gain yourself a loyal customer.
Turning an Email Address into a Friend
The mark of a good business isn’t simply found in sales data or through Google analytics. The mark of a good business is one that forms a personal relationship with its customers and gives them something they truly need in their lives. No matter what your product or service is, there is an audience out there that has been begging for exactly what you have to offer.
The trouble is, if you don’t know how to turn their interest into a sale, your business will never last. So take some time to consider how you personally and impersonally interact with your email subscriber list and keep these tips in mind for turning an email subscriber into a loyal customer.
Brianna Coykendall
Content Writer & Editor
brianna at heartbrain dot marketing
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