Tag Archives: sales funnel

Why You Need an Email List for Your Business

Why You Need an Email List for Your Business

Successful small businesses use email as part of their digital marketing strategy, that’s a fact. It’s low cost, has a limitless reach and a high return on investment.

A small business can’t really run a digital marketing campaign without an email list. It’s similar to going to battle without your artillery. Save for a miracle, you’re never winning that fight.

Here are just a few reasons why an email list is crucial for any successful business.

Besides Your Website, it’s the Only Marketing Tool you Own

Think about it for a minute. A digital marketer depends on several tools to run a successful sales campaign. These include search engines and social media networks.

Have you ever thought that you don’t own these tools? If Facebook feels like it, they could suspend your account or close it altogether? Google has done it many times, same with Twitter.

The only two items you really own are your website and the email list. They are the only two things no one can take from you. Do everything in your power to guard them.

A Properly-Maintained Email List Makes Marketing Easy and Cost-Effective

The average SMB spends $75,000 on digital marketing, or just over $214,000 on marketing yearly, representing up to 12% of revenue. A solid email list can significantly reduce these costs as well as simplify the marketing process.

Here’s why. Email is the king of business communication. According to Exact Target, 46% of consumers prefer emails, 36% prefer text, and only 13% prefer social media. And sending email is extremely affordable even if you hire a specialist. And email providers charge peanuts for their services. AWeber, for instance, charges $30/month.

Above all, with an email list, you have a sales-ready market. You’re not making cold calls. Put these factors together and you’ll see the high ROI potential of a great email list.

Email has the Potential to Become a Large Part of Your Income

You might not believe it, but there are people out there who make quite a bit of money on their email lists.

Michael Hyatt is the perfect example. An award-winning author of a best-selling book, Michael openly says that his email list is his biggest asset. “It is my number one business priority and asset,” he says.  “This multi-million dollar business wouldn’t have come to be without my email list. The list accounts for 90% of my income.”

A strong email list can become a key source of revenue for you too.

So, Grow Your List to Grow Your Business

When your email list expands, your business grows. Why? Because you’re adding more sales-ready leads to the funnel!

The Sales Funnel for Beginners

The Sales Funnel for Beginners
If you spend any amount of time researching online marketing, chances are you’re going to encounter the term “sales funnel.” It’s not a new term, but if it’s new to you, then you’ve come to the right place! This is everything you need to know about sales funnels.

Stages of Purchasing

Sales funnels are built around the accepted notions that people need multiple interactions with a brand or product before they purchase and that there are several stages to the purchasing process.

Awareness

Awareness is the first stage of the sales funnel. It’s very much advertising driven. At this stage, new customers who’ve never heard of you see ads or articles about your products.

Interest

If you’ve ever heard that it’s the visitors that return to your website that count this is what they’re talking about.

Interest is when people who visited your site once, as the result of an ad, make a repeat visit (or 6!) They read articles, look at reviews and product data, and immerse themselves more in your products and services.

Decision

After enough contact with your company via your website, reading articles and reviews, and hearing good things about you, eventually, customers reach the stage where they will make a decision.

They might be looking at more than one option. If you’re credible, your products and services are high quality and meet their needs; chances are, they will purchase from you.

Action

Action is the last step of the customer driven sales funnel. This is where orders are made, payments exchanged, and delivery details agreed upon. This is a big step for any customer, so make it as easy as possible.

Use large, clear, easy to find buttons to direct customers to your online store or contact page. Offer multiple payment options.

After Sales

Many people forget this crucial step in the sales funnel, but you’ll do a lot better if you don’t! The truth is, the sales process doesn’t end when you’ve taken payment or delivered the item in question.

Follow up with customers after sales, stay in touch and keep them up to date with new products and deals is a great way to boost your bottom line.

Make sure you automate the after sales marketing to existing customers process and keep them coming back, time and time again!