Among the leading obstacles of new small businesses is finding customers. The process can get expensive and take a long time. In fact, lots of companies go out of business prior to finding enough customers to be profitable.
Generally, new companies don't have a lot of money and have no staff that can handle a large marketing campaign. It can be very challenging to grow a client base.
What is the Solution?
Let's say that for your company; don't overlook the opt-in list. It has a high return on investment. All the effort you invest into building your list pays off because you own your list and can advertise to it again and again.
It's cheaper to work with clients you already have rather than find new ones. You can run fewer ads, you can buy fewer leads and you can save money on an advertising campaign. Actually, if you do a great job at growing an opt-in database, you may not need to buy leads at all.
That said, if growing a customer list is so wonderful and cost-effective, how do you start?
1. Start by Getting Your Prospects to Trust You
This is simpler than it may sound. Think about meeting people for the first time and making friends. Suppose someone you never met before offered to help you with a problem you had - just to be nice? This would probably create some amount of friendship and trust, correct?
Use this concept with your business. Offer free advice, tips or free samples to help people. This "gift" makes you look good in their eyes. What is the chance that these people will come back to you and refer their friends to your business?
2. Second, Get Your Gift Together
This doesn't need to be difficult. Keep in mind, you're not trying to get your customers to buy - you're just a friend helping out. A basic 2-page write up or small sample can be more than enough. You can format your free report as a "Top 10 List" or a single tip in regards to how people can resolve their issues. Make it into a downloadable document using a free piece of software like Cute PDF.
All that said, you want to make a great first impression. Quality counts over quantity here. Show people that you're a pro. Teach people tactics to quickly get rid of their problems. If done right, you will gain their trust.
For the free "gift" you hand out, request contact information from prospects so you can check in with them to help them out even more. If your product really helps your prospects, they will want to keep in touch with you anyway.
3. Lastly Assemble an Automated System that Does the Work for You
Email is the easiest contact information to obtain from a prospect. Thus, let's go for email addresses. The fastest way to get email addresses is through a website.
If you don't currently have a site, get one. This can be done very cheaply with simple templates.
Once you have your website set up, you can include a form to your site and start collecting names and emails from prospects. Email marketing services like Constant Contact and Your Mailing List Provider provide businesses with sign up forms that you can add to your website. They do all of the programming and will oversee your list database for you. Using automated software, you can be following up with your future customers quickly and easily.
Automated programs like these cost roughly $ 20 per month. It is not free, but they cost less than printing traditional marketing materials, paying for stamps or sponsoring an event.
Need to find people who will want your free stuff? Use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Let people know about your free gift and ask visitors to share it with people they know. (If people love your gift, they will want to share it anyway.)
What's the Negative Aspect to Building an Email Opt-In List?
A drawback to building a list in this manner is that you usually don't meet your prospects face to face. You can only build so much trust through a computer monitor Moreover, you must spend time and effort and possibly money developing an item you can hand out for free. Another consideration is that if your target market doesn't spend much time on the web, interacting via email may not be your best alternative.
Generally, new companies don't have a lot of money and have no staff that can handle a large marketing campaign. It can be very challenging to grow a client base.
What is the Solution?
Let's say that for your company; don't overlook the opt-in list. It has a high return on investment. All the effort you invest into building your list pays off because you own your list and can advertise to it again and again.
It's cheaper to work with clients you already have rather than find new ones. You can run fewer ads, you can buy fewer leads and you can save money on an advertising campaign. Actually, if you do a great job at growing an opt-in database, you may not need to buy leads at all.
That said, if growing a customer list is so wonderful and cost-effective, how do you start?
1. Start by Getting Your Prospects to Trust You
This is simpler than it may sound. Think about meeting people for the first time and making friends. Suppose someone you never met before offered to help you with a problem you had - just to be nice? This would probably create some amount of friendship and trust, correct?
Use this concept with your business. Offer free advice, tips or free samples to help people. This "gift" makes you look good in their eyes. What is the chance that these people will come back to you and refer their friends to your business?
2. Second, Get Your Gift Together
This doesn't need to be difficult. Keep in mind, you're not trying to get your customers to buy - you're just a friend helping out. A basic 2-page write up or small sample can be more than enough. You can format your free report as a "Top 10 List" or a single tip in regards to how people can resolve their issues. Make it into a downloadable document using a free piece of software like Cute PDF.
All that said, you want to make a great first impression. Quality counts over quantity here. Show people that you're a pro. Teach people tactics to quickly get rid of their problems. If done right, you will gain their trust.
For the free "gift" you hand out, request contact information from prospects so you can check in with them to help them out even more. If your product really helps your prospects, they will want to keep in touch with you anyway.
3. Lastly Assemble an Automated System that Does the Work for You
Email is the easiest contact information to obtain from a prospect. Thus, let's go for email addresses. The fastest way to get email addresses is through a website.
If you don't currently have a site, get one. This can be done very cheaply with simple templates.
Once you have your website set up, you can include a form to your site and start collecting names and emails from prospects. Email marketing services like Constant Contact and Your Mailing List Provider provide businesses with sign up forms that you can add to your website. They do all of the programming and will oversee your list database for you. Using automated software, you can be following up with your future customers quickly and easily.
Automated programs like these cost roughly $ 20 per month. It is not free, but they cost less than printing traditional marketing materials, paying for stamps or sponsoring an event.
Need to find people who will want your free stuff? Use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Let people know about your free gift and ask visitors to share it with people they know. (If people love your gift, they will want to share it anyway.)
What's the Negative Aspect to Building an Email Opt-In List?
A drawback to building a list in this manner is that you usually don't meet your prospects face to face. You can only build so much trust through a computer monitor Moreover, you must spend time and effort and possibly money developing an item you can hand out for free. Another consideration is that if your target market doesn't spend much time on the web, interacting via email may not be your best alternative.
About the Author:
Kelly Meyers is the Chief Marketing Officer at HotEnvelope.com. Since 2001, Hot Envelope has helped entrepreneurs find new customers quickly and affordably. The website also offers visitors a free copy of the book, "How to Write Killer Promo Emails".
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