New Email Marketing - Experimenting With Lead Magnets
Blog Progress Report:
The blog is coming along nicely, with 30 posts and about a dozen pages. I've also had 1 Pinterest pin go kind of "viral" with over 12k impressions, and it brought quite a few clicks back to the site.
Starting An Email List:
So I thought about how to build my email list - and of course I started at the beginning: the lead magnet. If you don't know, the leag magnet is what we call the "freebie" that we give to people in return for submitting their email address.
At first, I used an ebook called Internet Marketing Metrics. That ebook is still available for free to download, but I'm not "pushing" it anymore...
New Lead Magnet Idea:
I just wasn't satisfied with simply handing out an ebook. I felt like I could do better than that.
So I thought to myself "what is the very best way how I can help someone?" And I think it would be by sharing my own take on starting a new blog, getting traffic, and making money with it!
In the past, if I really put the work in I was always able to make some kind of money after around 3 to 6 months. At least a sale, or ad fees, or something would usually happen. It's not "jackpot money" but just something that is "proof of concept".
So I changed my lead magnet into an email series, where I explain my whole blueprint over a sequence of emails. Basically explaining how I do things on a day-to-day, and week-to-week basis.
Obviously many things are heavily inspired by WA, but I've also developed my own routines from it and I think it's the most valuable information I can share right now.
Room For Improvement:
I feel like I'm helping my subscribers more, but I'm still not satisfied with the way my opt-in page is coming across. I don't know, something is bothering me about the way it must look to outsiders.
I want visitors to know this is valuable, and interesting, but it must not look "spammy" - it's the difficult balance between "overselling" and "underselling". I'll have to keep tweaking and revising until I'm satisfied!
Which One Is Better?
Unfortunately, I can't share any facts because this is brand new, and so far only 1 person has signed up! I have no data for the ebook approach, and no data for the email series approach.
This makes it impossible to draw any conclusions about which lead magnet performs better - and any guess is as good as mine at this point.
I think I'll leave the email series for now, and maybe next year I will experiment with a new email magnet.
If you have an email magnet that works super well, please let me know!
Thanks for reading and keep up the great work everyone!
Recent Comments
11
James, I love your mindset and the way you think outside the box. I have no lead magnet that works super well. Lately, I have given a lot of thought to this also.
Sometimes I think a lead magnet is a good idea, and the next moment I don't like the idea. I read that to offer a freebie will bring in emails, but they will not be participating people.
But if you offer a valuable freebie, I would think it would draw in the right people.
See I keep going back and forth on this subject, and it is 1 am here so I may be rambling.
What are your thoughts on this?
Laura
Hi Laura! I am exactly like you, I couldn't have said it better: Going back and forth between the same thoughts you've just described!
I think that by giving away an ebook as a freebie, we're creating a different relationship: We can only deliver the freebie, and then send a couple of emails maybe as a follow-up, reminding them to read the ebook and use that interaction to suggest a product.
I've also read that in one of those follow-up emails, you can ask them to sign up for the newsletter and convert them like this into real subscribers.
As you've said, more people might opt-in because they want the freebie, but they're not interested in hearing from you again beyond that. They might even report you as spam.
I always see it like this: I'm building a business. What can my business do to set the right expectations, and help people in the most optimal way?
That's how I've come up with the email series for sharing my affiliate marketing blueprint. Because that's exactly what I want my business to do: Share valuable information not once, but regularly and on a continuing basis. So now I feel like I've set the right expectations, and subscribers know exactly what they will receive.
Now the big question is: Does it actually work? :D Well, as I've written in the blog post, I don't have any data to share. it's all too new.
I'm excited to write a report at the end of this year / beginning of next year when I hopefully have some subscribers (fingers crossed).
I know this answer became lengthy, but I hope it helps you out! Let me know your thoughts, I'll gladly continue exchanging ideas on this subject.
Well thought out reply. I believe you may be right. I am excited to see your results when you post them. I hope I don't miss them in the mix of so many messages from WA.
Laura
James,
Thanks for sharing the updates, your new strategy and progress.
Wishing you continued success.
Hi Gabriel, always great to hear from you, thank you! New month, new challenges :D I wish you the best success also!
James,
Likewise, I foresee you as having tons of success in all of your undertakings going forward because of your mindset and the ability to think outside the box.
Those who ignore shifting and emerging trends will be not only missing out on great opportunities but will be unable to call themselves an authority on any niche.
New International Version
Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
Matthew 9:17
Please PM me if you are interested and I will share a few ideas for you to take a look at and which would help you to implement your newly outlined strategy.
Blessings!
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I love the email series idea, in fact found my way into WA via an email series run by “six figure income” affiliate company a really personable and believable guy, who ran a series of 6:videos and emails with sign up at the end, in fact I still follow and watch u tube videos of his protege who runs a really successful online marketing business.
I didn’t sign up as it was over £900, but did loads of research and found WA which was free, what’s not to love.
What ever you decide I am sure it will be well planned. Good luck James 🤞
Wow! That's very inspiring! Thank you for sharing this personal story of yours, Cordelia. I really appreciate it. I'll do my best to keep all my progress as transparent as possible, so anyone can copy what I do. Thanks for the encouragement, and I hope your blog is growing month by month!