How to Turn Your Email Subscribers into Actual Customers

Everyone would love to have a nice list of email subscribers. That’s one of the goals everyone has when they start with email marketing. But one misconception people have about list building is that their subscribers will automatically turn into buyers just like magic. That is not necessarily true.

A lot of email marketers struggle with this very issue and are having trouble converting their email subscribers into actual buyers. In this article, we’re going to give you a few tips on how you can accomplish just that.

Nurture Them

If you’re familiar with email marketing, then you’re probably already familiar with the notion of a marketing funnel. Your clients start at the top and are gradually poured down your funnel until a few trickle down at the bottom and turn into buyers.

While this analogy is pretty good, it is not 100% accurate. A better one would be to see your funnel as a mountain. Your prospects start at the very bottom and you have to help them to the top. You should be focusing on pushing your clients to a sale instead of letting them just fall down.

You should do everything in your power to remind them why they’re subscribed to your newsletter in the first place. Building a relationship with your email subscribers is essential and to do so, you have to constantly qualify yourself and show why you’re worthy of being in their inbox.

If you fail to do this and create a strong impression from the get go, you’ll eventually get forgotten and they will ultimately unsubscribe from your list. Make sure you qualify yourself in your first email and focus on providing value. This way, they will remember who you are and why they should stay subscribed to your list.

Start on the Good Foot

One of the best ways to signify your value is by giving your email subscribers something worthwhile for joining to your list. Something like a free report or even a free course could be a great way to do that.

There are 2 reasons why this method works so well.

For one, most people love a freebie. People just get a nice feeling when they get something valuable for free. So they’ll instantly associate your newsletter with positive feelings. And if you continue along this vein, and continue to focus on value first, these feelings will be reinforced until they see you as an actual resource and not just another marketer.

Offering a freebie is also a nice way to prove your worth and expertise from the get go. Not only will it help make you look like a valuable source, it will also help establish your authority in the field.

This is why the freebie course or free report you give them should be your absolute best work. You have to make a solid impression from the very start. Don’t make the mistake on offering them some throwaway report you may have not even have exclusive rights too. This is what will ultimately hook your subscribers to your list and keep them coming back to you.

Get Them Hooked Quickly

Once you get an email subscriber, make sure you follow up immediately. If your first follow up message only appears a week or a month after they subscribe, they’ll most likely have already forgotten you, making your efforts obsolete.

Your first email should work as a welcome to your new list. It should tell them what they should expect from your newsletter and introduce your other platforms as well, such as your blog or social media page.

While it may be tempting at first to start showcasing some of your products, this isn’t the best time to do so. Instead, make sure that you deliver the report or course they’ve been promised if there is one. Your second message should be used to remind your email subscribers about your report along with a few case studies to support its importance. You can then start promoting products after the second email, but you can always wait longer if you wish.

Start Small and Work Your Way Up

The first product you introduce should be low priced ideally. This will serve to further establish trust. This will also help establish your brand and offer your clients multiple points where they can make a purchase.

Use entry level products and tiered pricing to ease your customers into bigger sales. For instance, you don’t want to start with a $1500 seminar first; it would be much wiser to start with a mid-sized eBook or a video course first.

If you’re selling photo equipment for instance, you don’t want to start promoting high end cameras at first. You may have a better chance selling them on some accessories instead. Make sure you start by establishing your value and trust, get in a door a reasonably priced entry level product, and work your way up from there.

Speaking of trust, you have to dispel any idea that you might be a scammer from the get go. Even though you’ve sent them a few messages, they still don’t know who you are, and they might still be reluctant to buy from you, even if it’s for a small purchase.

This is why you should use every tool at your disposition to show that you’re a trustworthy vendor. Social proof in the form of testimonials is a good way to do that. Offering safe payment options is another one. Try to make yourself easily available with a live chat link or a toll-free phone number. This will all help to alleviate their fears and establish that you’re a legitimate business.

Make Sure Your Site is Conducive to Sales

Your site will ultimately be where most of the buying will be taking place. This is why your main site should be optimized for conversion in the first place. If it isn’t, all the email subscribers in the world won’t make a difference.

One of the first things you can do to make sure your site converts is to make the navigation and layout as simple as possible. Make sure that your product images are clear, high quality, and are the main focal point of your website.

You should also think about making some additions such as adding a FAQ page or using page specific pop ups and messages for your clients. Tools like OptinMonster allow you to increase your conversion rates by using smart targeting to display specific promotions based on your clients’ behavior.

Making sure the checkout process is as smooth as possible is also a big winner.

You could use analytics tools like MonsterInsights to examine the behavior of your visitors to see when and where they decide to bounce out if they do. The more loops you have your customers jump through, the more chance they will just bounce out and cancel their purchase. Deceptive pricing is also a sure-fire way to discourage buyers and tarnish your brand image.

Conclusion

As you can see, converting your email subscribers into paying customers isn’t rocket science. All you have to do is remember to establish trust and value from the beginning and follow up so that you can build a solid relationship with your list. Start small and upsell your way to big-ticket items. Do everything in your power to establish trust in your business and last, but not least, make sure your main site is optimized for sales.