The sad thing is people are always looking for ways to make money through their website. This is the bottom line of every business, however it can backfire if not incorporated the right way. For example, one thing I hate is when I arrive on a website, and right away get bombarded with products, and affiliate links. I’m more content and value based “MOST” likely purchasing a product when I find value in it. I actually made it my mission to come up with cool ways to “make money” by NOT focusing on “making money”. The reason is very simple:
When you use this type of approach, you don’t forget what your main objective is, and continue to build your brand by focusing on your audience. If your passion is money driven, then you have just increased the likelihood of failure. Why? The second you start seeing low returns, you’ll pull the plug on a company which would have had potential…right? Anyway,
Here’s something cool I learned over the years. First, your number one focus should always be value because that’s EXACTLY what people are looking for. Secondly, it’s much easier to provide value if you can find a common problem within your niche. Third, never focus on money, but on your audience, and providing them with what they are looking for. Finally, email newsletters are the best way to accomplish all of this with very little effort, and money. Once you have people opt-into your newsletter, they can be remarketed numerous times over, and over again.
Today, I’ll like to focus on email marketing, and how you can connect with your readers focusing on value. In this same process, you’ll end up making money. Let’s get started. Let’s look at some strategies you can incorporate right now into your email marketing.
Grow The Industry
We waste precious newsletters on sending content NO one wants to read. For example, I get emails everyday with nothing but junk content, and this forces me to unsubscribe. Next, when I do receive emails which are valuable, it’s amazing to see they are based around things I already know. I just like them because they re-iterate things I want to still remember, etc. However, the most exciting newsletters are the ones which show me how my niche is growing, and what I can do to stay ahead of my competition.
We are in an era where so much information is available, and we expect the best. We don’t want to waste time where NO value is added to our bottom line. This is why it is important when we engage through newsletter that we provide nothing but the best to our audience. By doing this, we are accomplishing the following:
First, building trust, and loyalty with our readers which is very important to keep them active. Secondly, you are helping them grow in an industry they love, and this helps them stay in this industry. Next, through loyalty, you can present marketing opportunities which otherwise would NOT be available. Here’s the cool thing,
Sometimes all you have to do is drive people to your website, because you’ll be able to make huge profits through marketing.
Email Authority
I actually learn this strategy through Scott Monty who sends out a newsletter to people on his email list, social media, etc. Instead of him having a list of new content he published, he uses a different approach which has worked enormously well. For example,
Each week, he’ll make a collection of the top posts within his niche. He’ll add the name, link, and a brief introduction of the posts within the newsletter. By doing this, he is eliminating the time it will take for people to find the best posts within their niche. He’s essentially a portal, and this has built his brand, and made people loyal to his newsletter. He’s not the only one, because I know some other people who are doing very well using this same approach. With a loyal following the skies the limit. For example, to be added to his newsletter he can charge a fee, and that money is nothing but solid profit.
I actually like this approach because it eliminates spending huge amounts of time writing content, and focusing on collecting the best posts per week. You just have to skim through the web which is something people are doing on a regular basis anyway…right?
Understand It’s Your Lifeline
Here’s the mistake that many people are making…
They don’t understand a solid email list full of related subscribers is your lifeline. Bloggers start to focus on building a list for the sake of gaining enormous profits, but fail to understand it’s your survival at the same time. For example, with 10,000+ people on your newsletter, you can keep driving people to your blog over again which helps build your brand. This ultimately will lead to sales when people know everything you provide will help them grow. However,
We often make the first gaol of our newsletter profit, and this is definitely killing your brand, conversions, and audience. By focusing on profit, we tend to NOT focus on value, and what our audience is looking for when they arrive on our website. With that said,
I believe your main focus should be building an email list, and sending value content to them. Overtime, you’ll notice your list, and response time growing which will lead to higher conversions. I’m sure all of you have heard success stories…right? You’ll hear how someone started a business to connect people or provide support, and eventually they started to make thousands of dollars per month.
Sending Product Reviews
I love using this approach because it does generate huge money, but it’s not my focus. I’m in an industry where I have been using a lot of different tools. I’ll admit some are better then others, however it’s important to me (being it my passion) that people know exactly which ones provide a benefit to their bottom line. I don’t want them spending money on a tool which does nothing, but destroy their hard work. This is why I make sure they have value information on every single product available within my niche. However,
I never write or send links to reviews with the purpose of having them buy the product. I provide them a link through my newsletter because I care about my audience, and my reputation. I just want to make sure they have all the information they need to make an informed decision.
In the end, they’ll read reviews on products which will make a difference, and these will generate into sales WITHOUT that being my main focus.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes when we focus on money, we forget about the bottom line – providing value to our readers. Over the years, I have shifted the way I engage my readers because I want to provide value, and make money second. I’ve noticed in the process I have made more money doing things this way. I thought about this to figure out why this was the case, and came to the following conclusion.
When you provide value you are building trust with your audience, and this is the most important thing to them especially when it is a rare commodity. For example, people are always trying to push new products, and make sales without providing value. In the end, “value” is the bottom line.
Next,
I have provided some very important points above that I want all of you to pay close attention to. Let’s quickly go through them in short form:
Growth – As long as you show people on your list how the industry you love is growing, then you’ll grow your business through loyalty. For example, when I started to send out a follow-up to my list, I was able to put together a list of trending topics for my audience. This allowed me to show each of them that I provide value, and my blog is the place to get all your answers. This worked very well as I continued to grow my subscribers list, and convert some of them into customers WITHOUT forcing a sale. Next,
This worked well too because I was able to sell some space in my newsletters, and blog for a pretty high price.
Email Authority –
This is EXACTLY like the example above, but with one major difference. You only have an email list, and NO actual blog. Your job is to network with the top bloggers in the industry collecting top posts, and sending them to your subscribers. The link within the email will redirect out to the individual blogs. How is this so effective?
I’ve seen people with huge lists charge a fee to be included to their weekly follow-up. However, you must also meet other requirements like:
- Provide value
- Be an authority
- Do NOT sell directly
- Keep fresh, and up-to-date content
Product Reviews
Here’s what’s amazing…
I have been in my niche for over 7 years, and have a bad taste in my mouth with many products. This is why on one blog I’ll provide honest reviews on products which I’ve used, and recommend. I even have space for people to leave their own reviews going forward. Since I know many of the people in my niche are looking for products, I’ll send out a weekly newsletter with new products, and reviews. The cool thing is by providing this information, I was able to generate some sales because people knew I was providing them value. They also found it easier to local the right tools which do what needs to get done.
Next,
In the end, it’s all about testing so be sure to have a method to test different strategies. Once you find one that works, you can stick to it going forward.
