Mailing just ONCE for an affiliate offer is pointless and amateur

[Rob Toth]

This (below) was initially a response to a similar point in a different forum. I just dug up my reply because I read this thread: http://www.jvnotifypro.com/community/index.php/topic,3833.0.html ... and felt it made sense to bring that reply to this forum too.

The point though is about mailing just once as a "JV partner" (aka affiliate).

ANd let me first say, the subject line says "pointless" but that's not true. As a merchant if everyone mailing just once, you'd still be smiling. But the reality is if your affiliate understands basic sales principles they AND you would make more money. So here goes...

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Quote (taken from a different/old forum discussion)
"since they are mailing to the same list they mailed the first time, conversions will be lower with each mailing"


I have to argue that above point. In fact, I'd argue it passionately.

I pretty well ALWAYS get higher conversions (more sales) on my 2nd and 3rd mailings for the same offer.

Why? Because the first mailing, it's just noise... it's yet another shiny new thing, a new distraction for your prospect. The 2nd or 3rd time they hear of it, they know you're serious about it and they take a more serious look at it.

It's the same reason any seasoned sales pro will tell you that followup is where the fortunes lie.

I've moved over $20k as an affiliate for a single merchant, been top affiliate in smaller promotions (never the "big launches" as I don't take part in it... that's an entire other rant/lesson in itself). And I also have witnessed which affiliates climb through my ranks.

The math that many assume is:

Mail once - close 50 sales
Mail 2nd - close 10 sales
Mail 3rd - close 4 sales
mail 4th - now you're just pissing everyone off

But in reality...
Mail once - 10 sales
Mail 2nd - 30 sales
Mail 3rd - 25 sales
Mail 4th - 10 sales
mail 5th - 5 sales

GET THIS THOUGH... if you actually DID mail once and landed "50 sales" ... then all the other ratios will likely multiply out too (meaning you have a HELL OF A LOT MORE than just the first mailing's worth of sales in that list).

And that is something I keep trying to drive home to my affiliates too.

In my opinion, if you don't to commit to 3 to 5 mailings for the same offer (assuming it doesn't completely flop with zero sales on the first shot... so if your conversions are HORRID then it's possibly a dead offer) ... but otherwise, if you're pulling sales, you should be mailing at least 3-5 times for that offer otherwise find yourself another offer.

Not to mention there's the whole credibility issue...

If an affiliate promotes product X today and product Y tomorrow and product Z .. then I stop paying attention to all of their promotions (well, I'd be unsubscribed by then either way, but that's besides the point). But if that merchant keeps harping on product X, product X, product X ... I will take a VERY SERIOUS look at this product X, he has a much higher chance of me buying and he definitely has a much better chance to maintaining that same promotional-power that his endorsements have.

The other problem I have with promoting your affiliate program is that if affiliates just sent you thousands of leads and now you're pitching the affiliate program to these leads, those leads go sign up, they test their new affiliate link and BOOM... they just cookied themselves for the product. Now all of a sudden, the referring affiliate won't see a commission.

[Rob Toth]

What it comes down to is simple...

Your prospect has no shortage of "solutions" being presented to them.

Visualize this....

They are standing on a busy street corner and everyone who passes by them says "awesome new make money widget, buy now" (or some version of a quick pitch). At first, the person may have been curious ... but after a while, these people/pitches all just become a blur.

And regardless of how great the product may actually be, none of them stands a chance of getting his attention.

But you... you instead go up to the buddy on the street corner and mention a couple of key benefits about your product. Then later you come back with a "did you know" and you educate him about something that ties into that product. Later you come back with a different soft-sell or credibility/testimonials about that product.

YOU are now getting his attention.

"Why is this THING that this one guy keeps telling me about? I keep hearing about this Widget... what the hell is it? Next time he comes around, I'll actually listen to him"

In a less crowded marketplace, the above dance doesn't have to occur. If the demand for a solution is much higher than the supply, repetition/followup and "planting the seed" isn't a high priority. But in hyper-competitive markets like the IM space... no, a single or even 2 mentions of a product will produce moderate results. The MONEY comes in AFTER you've planeted the seed, they recognize the product name, they see that you're still promoting the same damn offer, they get curious as to what's oh so special about this new offer, the education of the benefits start setting in and now they know why they should buy.

In a "launch" the job of the merchant is actually to do all of the above for you.

You refer them a lead for every "teaser" content they put out (each video, each PDF, whatever). So you're "selling" the free education (though even there, you should be pitching more than once). Once they are in the funnel, the merchant should be using their videos, their email broadcasts, webinars, their launch blog etc to really further educate your prospect.

The social proof on their sites/blog should show that prospect that a lot of other people are also checking this THING out.

but repetition, repetition, repetition... it's golden.

It's a complete fallacy to think that mailing once or twice is smart (or "enough") for an affiliate promotion. You do a disservice to your subscribers (as you wasted their time mentioning something you didn't fully commit to and THEY won't fully commit to reviewing either since they only heard of it once or twice)... it's a disservice to the merchant since you're providing minimal exposure and, of course, it's a disservice to you because you leave the larger chunk of the money on the table.

[Chris Pambos]

Excellent post Rob. And to think that when I first got started that I thought mailing once would suffice after having built a solid relationship with my list. Unfortunately I learned this lesson via trial and error but for anyone who reads your post and is just getting started, they need to really absorb the message that you're communicating across in this thread.

[Laurie Rogers]

Back in the day, when I was studying marketing (not sure if this stat has changed?) but the rule of thumb was to put your "ad" in front of your "audience" seven times. I know a recent study shows that the average person holds an attention span for seven seconds and will wait approx no longer than 30 seconds for a web page to load (my younger sister is going to college right now and this is what they're being taught, so that's the basis of my info). Irregardless, I wouldn't waste my time with anyone that put my offer out only once. I think it was Joe Vitale or Mark Joyner that had talked about the "brainwashing technique" (way back when) with repeated mailings, but just worded differently, so people would initially think you were talking about something else, but in reality they were just given a different of looking at the same thing, thus them not hitting the delete key upon receipt of the "sales message".

[Rob Toth]

Just ran a promo. It worked out that 7 emails went out about it. (I wasn't aiming for 7, it's just a coincidence).

Just over 1/5th of the total gross of that promo came in from the first 2 emails.

Translation... had I mailed only twice, we would have made roughly 20% of the total.

AND... had I then instead mailed a different offer twice... I'd not only barely tap the potential of that offer too, but now I would have confused my audience's attention and killed the integrity of my promotions seeing as I'm back to back promoting different offers.

I'd rather promo one strong, well converting, relevant offer 10 times in a given month... vs 5 offers 2 times each or EVEN WORSE, 10 offers once each. And all things being equal, I'd wager that I'd make more endorsing that ONE offer vs. 10.

And from an affiliate/merchant relationship standpoint...

To the one select merchant that I whole-heartedly endorsed that month, I just pulled in a very worthwhile number of sales. I'm on their radar. I'm in their good books. Not because I just "mailed" but because I sent them a lot of profits. And that's worth a lot more than me mailing for 5 offers and each of those merchants seeing less than favorable results.

[paul@SimpleOnlineIncome.c]

This is a very useful piece of advice. Your right, most people would think that if one mailing did not convert, then that would be it. I will take the 7 mailings track and let you know ho I get on
Paul

[Rob Toth]

Hi Paul,

There is a bit of a healthy mix here...

There are certainly plenty of offers that won't convert.

Me mailing a "how to play the piano" offer with an expensive price tag and a weak pitch to a group of truck drivers may land me a sale or 2 if I mail 5, 7, 10 times... but it's a poor conversion.

But, if you know the offer is relevant and the pitch is quality and see a few sales come in from the first mailing... then most of your list needs to be "interrupted" with that SAME offer a few more times to really have the value of it set in before they buy.

Conversely, if you interrupt them with a different offer again and again and again, you lose credibility and they won't understand the value of any of them. Only your super eager hyper responsivess (hint: your minority!) will buy.

[KevinRiley]

Rob

Totally agree. I've outsold affiliates with far larger lists than mine, by doggedly promoting a product I believe in. And, it's all by fully focusing on one promotion and mailing again and again.

I just come up with good reasons for mailing. Shooting a video walk-through or interview. Getting some new stats. Uncovering another great benefit. Each is a good reason to mail again.

[shireesh]

I can attest to the effectiveness of multiple mailings. I was skeptical at first even worried about upsetting my list. But, when I tried it, the results were too good to ignore.

[Damian Kitchen]

hi there

single mailings versus multiple mailings. this is my thought

single mailings - are fantastic if its from a vendor that has sold you kick ass stuff previously. i always check single mailings from marketers i have been happy with and i dont take much convincing when a new product is released by them.

multiple mailings - this is a must when your first plugging looking for new buyers. however as mentioned previously you prob should have closed the sale by the 3rd time. anymore than this and most new prospects are fed up.

[Rob Canyon]

Hey Rob,

Great thread... I'm wondering however if Affiliates are getting confused in their roles and publishers not getting it either.. In fact, its probably the fault of the publishers IMHO.

When a publisher only gives a sales letter for an affiliate to mail to, it causes affiliates to have to pre-sell with different forms of email series to get their list back to the publishers sales page.

This in my estimation is very short sighted on the part of the publisher (and btw I was there in the past). The publisher should be setting up landing pages that are giving value in exchange for the opt in, then they work at converting the lead to a sale on behalf of the affiliate..

Seems a much better way. But I guess most publishers feel an affiliate should soften up their leads by mailing multiple times to the same publisher sales page.

I for one believe its the role of the publisher to soften up the potential buyer after they've opted into the publishers launch list... Yep, there's that word again 'launch'

Just my 2 cents... I think publishers don't get it and affiliates are praying for the day that more of them do.

Cheers,

Rob

[Omar]

If an affiliate promotes product X today and product Y tomorrow and product Z .. then I stop paying attention to all of their promotions (well, I'd be unsubscribed by then either way, but that's besides the point). But if that merchant keeps harping on product X, product X, product X ... I will take a VERY SERIOUS look at this product X, he has a much higher chance of me buying and he definitely has a much better chance to maintaining that same promotional-power that his endorsements have.


I am not sure if i am missing something, but after the first promotion of X product (using 3-5-7 emails) you will not really stop. You will still promote a product Y "tomorrow" (or in a week, or month), and also send 3-5-7 emails about it. After you just did that for more products, don't you get to same results (people unsubscribe and think you are not serious because you been "very serious" too many times)?!

[Rob Toth]

I promote 1 to 2 offers per month (at most). Each gets 3-5 promos for it. That's still 6-10 aff pitches going out but for 2 products. Vs 6 -10 different pitches.

That's the difference.

[rmartin33]

I 100% agree.

What most people don't realize is that you don't have to straight "pitch" everytime.

Just off the top of my head:

1)The Prelaunch (sneak peak)
2)The Launch
3)The Followup 1
4)The FAQ
5)The Article (link to an high quality piece of content that links at the bottom)
6)The Followup to the article
7)The 'News' Related Follow up (eg tie in to hot topic in the news)
8)The Video discussing the offer (with redirect at the end)
9)The Problem & Solution (guess what the solution is?)
10)The Last Chance

etc....

There are a million ways to follow up...

:)

[Rob Toth]

I just had to dig this thread up again...

Did a 1st email for an offer. Made X$ on our first email.

Waited 2 days.

Second pitch went out. Made 3X$ (3 times more commissions on the SECOND mailing).

Granted... a handful of the sales that are counted in this 'second mailing" are probably from some subscribers checking their emails late (vs in the first 48 hours). But MOST are buying because now they heard of it twice.

We're mailing one more shot and I GUARANTEE the third promo will pull in at least X$ if not 2X$

And that stands the test of time...

So for a JV who truely wants to SUPPORT their JVs launch... doing just one shot is lazy and minimal. Even to them, I'd rather recommend they take a sublist (like 5000 of their subscribers) and hit that 5000 2-4 times for the offer. Even THAT will likely convert better than mailing once.

If the ONLY reason you're mailing is for ad-swap reasons, then the above doesn't apply as, obviously all you care about is to send some clicks so you fullfill your promise. But if you care about earning bigger commissions AND supporting your JV (which means you actually build a close relationship with that JV), then mailing once is lazy.

And yes, as Richard just pointed out... just keep finding smart reasons and different angles to keep mentioning the same offer.


I had a 56k list owner mail ONCE for one of our offers and close 1/7th of the sales that another list owner who has 19k but mailed 3 times closed. That's not some universal rule as there are an infinite number of variables attached to those results... but just to make sure you understand that example...

56k owner mailed ONCE, earned X
19k owner mailed THREE times, earned 7X (even though their list is roughly 1/3rd the size of the other merchants).

When it comes to offering the best private JVs, I go back to those who support me (not just "mail"). And I SUPPORT them in trade.

[Steve Benn]

Fantastic wake up call for some of us Rob - loved your posts. Do you recommend emailing even more to those who haven't opened the emails?

[Rob Toth]

"Do you recommend emailing even more to those who haven't opened the emails?"


Now you're getting CRAZY!! lol.

Yes, definitely.

That's an extra step that *I'm* too lazy to take even though I purposely paid for the Aweber Analytics package so I can have these stats... but if after 4 days, the lead hasn't opened the email then 90% of the time they won't. So you can mail to them with a DIFFERENT subject line and preferably at a different time of day.

(The 90% is the number throw around by "experts"... most people check and open their emails in the first 4 days... less thn 10% wait 5, 6, 7 days).

So yes... in an aff promotion or your own... you can keep re-mailing to those who didn't open.

A very valuable step. Email marketers MUCH smarter than I claim to more than DOUBLE the value of any promotion just by re-mailing 1-2 times to the "not opened" segments.

Tying into that... if you're hitting more than 5000 or so leads, you should also SPLIT TEST subject lines.

and then SPLIT TEST intro body content and calls to action.

I guess the message is... whether it's an aff promotion or for your own product... if you mail once, you'll get X out of your list. But the SAME EXACT LEADS, if you mail with followups, if you re-mail to the un-opens and if you split test (to make sure you're sending the best converting subjects/bodies etc)... it's probably not an exaggerated guesstimate to say you'll make 4X or 5X.

What that means is the difference between $2000 from a promotion vs $10,000 to the exact same leads.

Yet that bit of extra work doesn't seem to be worth it for most "affiliates" and "JV partners".

(Admittedly, you reminded me / woke me up to re-mailing to the un-opens. A bit of laziness I got too accustomed to. So thanks for the slap in the face!).

[John Taylor]

While I agree with Rob that a single mailing is less
effective than a series of emails, my results are
quite a bit different.

I tend to get the best response from email #1 and
subsequent emails seem to achieve a diminishing
return.

In my experience it's almost always worth sending
out a minimum of three emails.

John

[Steve Benn]

I just sent out the wrong email to 23k people trying to test out this stuff. Oh dear :(