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The Case for eBooks: Here’s How It Amps Up Your Strategy: Generate leads and grow your email subscriber list

Content marketing comes in many different forms and is always a great way to reach out to possible customers and generate leads. When we think about valuable content for brands, we usually think about blog posts, videos, and personalized pictures. But, should we also be thinking about eBooks?

A downloadable eBook allows your audience to feel like they’ve actually been given an object of value. You can use eBooks as a way for your users to exchange their contact information for your information, thus generating multiple leads. eBooks show slightly more authority than a blog post does, and eBooks give you the opportunity to go into much more depth on your chosen topic.

eBooks should play an integral role in your content marketing strategy for many reasons. Here are a few ways using eBooks can ramp up your strategy:

Strengthening Your Brand 

Especially on social media, brand trust and authority means a lot in your content strategy. It’s important to show people interested in your products or services that you’re a trustworthy and authentic brand. One of the best ways to prove this is by writing an eBook on a subject your prospects care about.

Every brand should be answering their customers’ questions and concerns, but not every brand is answering these in a creative and engaging way. Share an eBook that examines your customer’s wants, needs, and desires. By using compelling content and design, you can strengthen your brand tremendously.

Repurposing Content

Blog posts are great for covering simple topics or for getting your customers to think about particular subjects. When it comes to more complex subjects though, most people will want to read something that elaborates on it a bit more.

An eBook built around your marketing campaign will showcase your knowledge and create conversations about your brand. This means that you can repurpose your eBook into shorter blog posts, videos, and infographics for later.

Create Newsletter Lists

Sending e-newsletters to your audience allows you to communicate effectively, but expanding your list can be difficult. Potential customers are more likely to give up their contact information in exchange for something informative, like an eBook.

Once your eBook is created and on your website, allow people to sign up for your newsletters in exchange for your free eBook. Don’t forget to promote your eBook on social media platforms, as well. Most consumers trust their peer’s recommendations, so promoting your eBook on social media will be a fast way to build your newsletter list.

Using eBooks in your content marketing campaign allows potential customers to connect with your brand in a way that shows them they can trust and rely on your expertise, products, and services.

If you think your content marketing strategy could benefit from an eBooks, but aren’t sure where to start, think about hiring a content marketing company. The Found Gen has a knowledgeable team that can create a compelling eBooks for your brand. Give us a shout.

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Things to Avoid When Growing Your Email Subscriber List: Let it grow organically

Email marketing lets you directly engage with potential customers. You just need subscribers.

Growing your subscriber base isn’t always easy, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to build the list. Here are a few things to avoid when growing your email subscriber list, and what you should do instead:

Paying for Subscribers

It takes time to build a solid email list. The possibility of purchasing a few thousand subscribers can be tempting. We get it. But don’t go that route. No matter how cheap the list is, purchased lists actually don’t perform well.

That’s because these people didn’t actively seek your information, and the lists are not segmented. Growing a list organically—no matter how long it takes—ensures that your subscribers actually want your information. And, this increases the chances that they will engage with the information you send.

Sending Emails to Nonsubscribers

This is a tricky one, but it’s always best to have some type of opt-in for people wanting to subscribe to your emails. (And, on the other side, offer an opt-out for people who no longer want your emails.) Many people think it’s not OK to add someone to an email newsletter without them actually opting in.

When people opt in, you know they are truly interested in your information, and there’s a bigger chance they will engage with your content and eventually become a customer. You can include opt-in buttons at the end of every blog post and on social media.

Not Promoting Your Email Newsletters

Growing your subscriber list depends on you promoting the existence of your email newsletters and other emailed content. Some people will find the information on their own by visiting the site, but the more you promote, the more subscribers you’ll get. Create social media posts about your eblasts and encourage people to sign up.

If people are already following you on social media, they are expressing interest in your business or brand. They are also likely to sign up for your emails once you let them know how.

Building an email subscriber list is one of the best ways to generate leads, especially when you’re supplying content that people want and find useful. The Found Gen will not only help you create this content, but we also help you develop an email marketing strategy and grow your email subscriber list. Contact us today.

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Reinventing the Email: Don’t Hit Send Until You Read This

Sending better emails

It’s maddening. You spent all morning crafting a brilliant email, with astute observations related to four current projects, at least two super innovative ideas, and an invitation to a Friday afternoon happy hour, as long as you had their attention. Zero responses.

Here’s the problem: You never had their attention.

See, sending better emails is about style as well as substance. Your recipients took one look at those giant blocks of texts, and immediately made the decision to revisit your tome. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Maybe never.

Have you noticed that emails are enjoying a bit of a redesign these days? If you haven’t, consider this your primer for the new and improved version.

The Trick to Getting a Better Response

  • They’re shorter. Our attention spans have been sharpened by the likes of Instagram, Twitter, and whatever inter-office communication app you use, so you’ve got about ten seconds to either draw us in or cause us to hit pause. Or worse, delete. For sending better emails, you have to get their attention first in the subject line and then in the first two sentences.
  • They arrive during business hours. Nothing’s worse than those urgent emails sent around 10:00 p.m. on a Saturday. There’s no need for that stress. Save the email in drafts and send it first thing Monday morning.
  • They don’t misuse the designation of “urgent” and “immediate.” Whenever possible, allow your recipients time to digest emails and properly respond. As the author of The Art of Stillness explains, “Human beings were never designed to live at a pace determined by machines.” Yes, it’s easy to send emails. It’s just not as easy to respond.
  • They’re easy to read. Email is the preferred form of communication for millennials, second to texting. That’s the good news. However, they expect formatting, appropriate links for clarification, and a decreased sense of urgency in response time. Texts are for urgent issues.
  • Define the action items up front. There’s nothing worse than trying to make sense of a lengthy email only to find yourself frustrated and wondering, “What does she need me to do?” Bold and clearly define tasks for instant recognition.
  • They don’t contain poor grammar. With editing tools like Grammarly, check grammar and typos right from within your browser.
  • They’re not loud. No matter how excited you may be about the email’s content, using all caps and exclamation points can be misconstrued as anger. Use them sparingly to avoid any misinterpretation and undue stress.
  • They’re sent to the intended recipients. Most of us work with several inboxes open at once, and are copying and pasting links and texts all day long. Add our fast pace and distracted attention spans, and that leaves a lot of room for error. Double and triple check your addressees and content.

The greatest luxury for the modern worker is ignoring other people’s emails. Remember that most of your recipients have a love/hate relationship with their inboxes, and craft your correspondence accordingly. You don’t want your emails to elicit groans or eye rolls, do you? (I think we all know the answer to that one.)

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The Ethics Behind a Good Email List

You already know how effective email marketing is for your brand. From an email’s uncanny ability to increase brand awareness and establish industry expertise to their relatively low cost, it’s harder to get more bang for your buck than with a good newsletter.

However, like with anything both affordable and effective, it’s bound to be exploited. It’s easy to see how businesses can get carried away with shotgunning irrelevant emails to people in any industry, adding people to their email list, what with the costs being so low and the consequences being so minimal. But no one wants to be “that” business.

Here are a few ways you can make sure that your email marketing campaign is above reproach and your email list is as valuable as possible:

Be Trustworthy

Many businesses perceive newsletters as a shortcut to success, shooting emails to every address that has a pulse. But rather than gaining the hoped-for advantage, what actually results is the recipients end up block you or, worse yet, report your email address as spam, which could result in your domain being blocked entirely by email hosts.

Email trust is earned, not given. Take the time initially to explain the usefulness of a subscription to your email list. Assure them that their email address information is safe in your hands. Finally, give your audience more authority by letting them have the option to unsubscribe from your mailing list. Yielding this control will earn your brand respect and counterintuitively increase the number of subscriptions over time.

Keep It Honest

An ethical email newsletter is one with a forthright subject line. If you want to increase subscriptions and establish your brand as an industry leader, let your audience know what your email is about with a relevant and concise subject line. Avoid language that makes you sound like a used car salesman, such as “buy now,” “once in a lifetime,” “ultimate” and so on. Instead, use your subject line to honestly summarize what the email is about and let the rest of the high-quality content speak for itself.

Empathy is Key 

The number one rule of marketing is to know your audience. To make sure you aren’t cutting any corners while still getting the most out of your email newsletters, you have to be sensitive to your audience’s needs. No one likes to be annoyed, spammed or feel like their email address is compromised by being on your list. Basically, if it is something you wouldn’t like in your inbox, chances are your recipients feel the same way.

For more advice on how to keep your email marketing campaign smart and ethical, contact us today.

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3 Ways To Add Mojo To Your Email Newsletters

The day Google decided to move all marketing emails into their own filtered tab, I knew we were doing something right for our clients. While most people started to fret about the dreaded “promotions” tab, I got excited. Yes, it meant that businesses were sending so many emails that Google felt it needed to funnel them to a separate section. But it also proved that millions of readers were signing up for email newsletters.

Whether it’s to get wind of the latest sale at their favored retailer or to receive tips and tricks from industry leaders, people are signing up for newsletters at an exponential rate. Email is the preferred method of communication today. On top of that, good email newsletters are easy to make, fast, and most of the time–direct.

Some of you may still be thinking “yes, but I delete over 90% of the email newsletters I receive.” I get it. I do too. But what about that other 10%? Surprisingly enough, some of the most successful email campaigns today only receive a 10-14% open rate and a 3% click-through rate. While those numbers may seem low at first glance, you have to take a look at how that computes numerically. A 10,000 person subscriber list could get 1,000 opens and 30 click-throughs–with an average price point of $100–that’s an easy $3,000. From one email. And that’s if you’re getting the low-end of the response rate.

So, how do you go about getting a higher than average open and click-through rate with your email newsletter? There are a few tricks we have up our sleeves that I don’t mind sharing with you. Our clients average a 25-35% open rate. We’re proud of that. And we’re not of the “keep it secret, keep it safe” mentality. So, here’s a look at our special sauce.

3 Ways To Generate A Higher Open Rate

  1. Subject Line. Subject Line. Subject Line. Leave the SPAM-lines to your competitors. No one wants to see certain words pop up in their inbox. It’s a quick route to an immediate delete if you use certain key words like “Free,” “Get Noticed,” “Try Now,” “You Won’t Believe,” “New.” Basically, anything that you think you want to say to catch someone’s attention will probably place you on a SPAM list. Subject lines are meant to connect you to your reader instantly. So, connect with them. Get to your point–but be you. J.Crew is probably one of my favorite examples of getting it right. Lines like “Our favorite new layering trick”–gets me clicking every time.
  2. Design. Please stop sending email newsletters that look like a regular email. We’ve all been exposed to the clean, beautiful designs that others have sent forth. It’s time to upgrade. There are a bunch of great platforms that provide easy-to-use templates and tracking systems. Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, and Emma are just a few we like. Add some color and some images to your design and you’ll see a huge boost in sales.
  3. Be Direct. People don’t have time to read a mini novella. Get to your point quickly and succinctly. There’s no sense in losing a customer because you keep sending verbose emails with a tiny call-to-action at the very bottom. We want to know what you’re offering. If we get it quickly–we just may buy quickly. There’s no need to waste your time writing something word-heavy. Say what you mean to say and hit send.

Email marketing is sticking around, so it’s important that you learn how to use it to your advantage. Try these few tricks and let us know how they worked for you.

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The Resurgence of Email Newsletters

Check your e-mail. Find anything out of the ordinary (that is, apart from the requisite stream of service providers showing their gratitude towards your timely payments by relentlessly spamming your inbox)? If your inbox is anything like most people’s, then you have probably noticed a trend in the way businesses are shaking up the way they market their products and services.

They are turning (back) to email marketing.

More and more companies are cutting back on their convoluted, one-to-many approach to marketing and renewing their interest in newsletters, a nod to the effectiveness of this seemingly age-old marketing tool. Falling back on the idea that simpler is usually better—especially when it comes to marketing—newsletters have a way of getting the message out loud and clear.

Newsletters Press All the Right Buttons

If you’re in the business of saving money (and what business isn’t?), there really doesn’t exist a more cost-effective medium for establishing and maintaining positive eye contact with your target audience. Email Marketing makes reaching who you want to reach easier. They are delivered by request upon subscription, so their very foundation is centered around the bedrock of interest, making inherent in them the interest that every other marketing tool strives to engage.

Also, being well-lettered in your industry, newsletters conveniently give you the opportunity (nay, excuse) to flex your expertise, which supports your brand by building confidence in your readership. You know what you are talking about, and communicating your up-to-date understanding of important issues in your corner of the market authorizes you as both trustworthy and a leader in your industry.

Newsletters Do the Work for You

Newsletters are back in fashion because people actually read them. They read them because newsletters—unlike flyers, postcards or other similar publications—are friendly. Too often business publications focus solely on their business and read like the technical manual you throw out when you make an important purchase. Newsletters, however, are drafted with the reader in mind, appealing to their interests, attempting to be both fun and informative, short and sweet.

Newsletters account for the shrinking of the collective attention span, and are well-suited to accommodate the 140-character-or-less direction things seem to be going in. The message is pithy yet light, with plenty of pictures to hold the attention just long enough to admit retention. What’s more, good newsletters are peppered with links to encourage the reader to research the topic themselves or to contact the company for more information, empowering the reader to choose for themselves rather than forcing a glut of information down their throats they’re more likely to click away from.

Email Marketing Builds Trust

Not only perfect for promoting your products or introducing new ones, newsletters also help you maintain contact with customers between sales. Whether you publish weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, this low-cost method of communication keeps you in touch with your customer base, even if some of those customers tend to purchase infrequently. And who is better positioned than your loyal customers to recommend your product or service to others?

Newsletters are back because they are an effective, personal way to reach out to the people you want to reach. If you have any questions about how to use newsletters to your advantage, or want help coming up with a marketing strategy that fits your needs, feel free to give us a call.