Calling Out Anyone Who Has Had Success with Email Marketing???

[charleskirkland]

Hi Bryan

Buying leads is a great way to build a list.

But the problem is they have to be treated different from you normal leads. coregs leads don't have the relationship starting off so they need to be soft sold until they really get to know you.

Just watch out as coreg is dirty business for the most part and you need to make sure you are doing opt-in and not opt-out sign ups.

Plus you will need a real time follow up system in place. With GR you are fine but they are slow in there lead gen.

Also make the target ad as specific as you can. Since you are paying for every lead make sure they are going to be the right fit for you.

Also look at PPC. This is were I get my best sign ups from. My Avg Cost per conversion is .32
Check out this image.



I'm getting sign ups all day for .32 of this campaign with adwords. It took a lot of testing and tweaking to get them down to this number.

This is going after some very wide terms of the CTR is low, but this type of setup works best.

Thanks
Charles

[Mark Sullivan]

Hi Bryan,

So I know this is a month after the thread, but I had to respond.

I see the others suggestions and though they fall into the mainstream opinion it's generally only based on 'personal experience'.

Yes, mailing services and buying leads to mail to can be a very discouraging process. Plus break the bank account.

I've been in the leads business and supplying mailers business for about 7 years now. You do have to be very careful on what you buy from whom. And even then when you're sending mass email on any level, it can get you into trouble.

However, a google slap, is also getting into 'trouble' --- but that doesn't ruin a business. There's a perception that getting a complaint will completely ruin a person's business. False.

-- The run of the mill coregistration leads out there are bad ... unless you're a mailer with the mentality that you'll mail to the list, deal with the problems and then you'll end up with a deliverable clean list

-- Mailing services out there are a dime a dozen. You have to be careful. But this is all about dealing with the right company who backs up their services.

-- It's a combination of buying the right data and service -- then once you've done that you have a marketing machine that'll pull money in for you day in and day out.


I do understand the concerns most have about email marketing, but don't let others personal experience steer you away from a very lucrative marketing medium.

I could literally go on and on .. there's some much to share.

Take care,

Mark

[Barry Weiss]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the post.

You are correct that the proper email list and creative for a product that has high benefit can be successful.

I am familiar with the list management and brokerage business and can tell you that a quality responsive email list is not only expensive but the list owner will NEVER sell you the names. They will take your creative and mail it to their list. You get to keep the leads or orders that the mailing generates.

Email can work in this environment because the email addresses are from responders or customers or at least enhanced double opt ins. If you mail to a segment that has an affinity to your product, you can do well.

If you buy a spam list then you get what you pay for.

[Mark Sullivan]

Hey Barry,

Thanks for the conversation.

You know, I see what you're talking about, but it then becomes a subjective opinion on what is determined as a 'quality list'.

We have clients who buy lists from us and mail to those lists and have been doing this for over 2 years. They keep buying, because it keeps producing.

Sure you can pay top dollar for a company that'll mail your creative for you to their targeted list ... this is good, however expensive. And a one time shot at the list.

It really does come down to whether the marketer is going to send mail consistently and treat it as a business. Then this will work incredibly well for them, usually. However if someone wants the get-rich-quick, then chances are that won't happen. It does happen, but not a lot.

Click send on the mailing and within 10 minutes you can see order or signups!

Anyway, thanks again,

Mark

[Barry Weiss]

Hi Mark, thanks for the comment.

In looking at any potential list you need to know several things at the very least.

1. The source of the names
2. The recency of the names, the newest ones are usually the best, especially if the list names were the result of a call to action.
3. Demographics and any other information that identifies the list as a potential match up or close match up with your customer or target profile.
4. What companies or industries have used the list and which ones used it in continuation (repeated it after testing).
5. What types of offers were successful.
6. What type of offer generated the names in the list.

If you can get this information you at least stand a good shot.

Just like building you own list, targeting is half the key. The strength of your offer and copy is the other half.

In addition, many mailings do not make money initially but rely on future revenue to turn a profit. If you only have one product and make only one sale and never try to obtain another, then it is very very difficult to make direct mail or email work. There are some exceptions but the types of products we promote are probably not.

The idea of life time value is very important and that is why it is important to have back end products, up sells and cross sells and promote an excellent customer experience because, often times, new customer acquisition costs more than the margin or commission of the product for the first sale. However, over the life time of the customer the up front costs are more than paid back and the customer would have a good ROI.