Lee McIntyre went from overworked high school teacher to full time marketer in just 56 days. He is the founder of Aim Higher Marketing where he shows others how to use honest marketing to build profitable Internet businesses in record time.
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3 Golden Rules For Email Marketing Success
By Lee McIntyre | March 4, 2008
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I’m not sharing this with you to brag, but I am telling you this for a reason. In the month of February I made $26,540.30 in online sales, and after taking away $4,770 in commissions, I banked a gross profit of $21,770.30.
You can see my Paypal sales statement for the month below…
And here you can see one of my Clickbank accounts…
Below you can see the sales of one of the books I sell in the teaching niche. I usually sell at least one copy a day, plus I make a much bigger backend income from the promotion of a related product.
This is actually VERY low, but I just haven’t had the time to devote to this project. In fact, my last piece of promotion for this site was 26th June 2007, and yet it still brings in a semi decent income.
When you look at the $25,481.43 in sales on the Paypal statement above, it’s easy to think that this must be the result of hammering my subscribers with promotion after promotion.
After all, isn’t that what every ‘big name’ marketer seems to do on a daily basis? Surely if that’s how they market, then this must be the most lucrative game in town?
Maybe it is, but if you’re a subscriber of mine you’ll know that I don’t play by those rules. After all, when was playing by the rules much fun anyway?
Below you can see the emails that I sent that led to the bulk of my income last month…
Yep, I sent only 6 emails, which included promotions for my mentoring program (which sold out in under 3 hours), and the popular Project New Web package.
I also sent two free videos which you can view by clicking the links below.
Why you need to start building a list today (free video)
How I earned 100k in just 228 days from scratch (free video)
Also it is worth noting that the last email that I sent in January was a free 18 page newsletter packed full of solid helpful content.
During the whole month I only sent one email promoting a product belonging to another marketer, which was a fantastic book called Article Domination. This book sold for $39, but I worked hard to negotiate a discount to $27 meaning that I was able to offer my subscribers a very exclusive special offer.
Here’s somthing to think about….
During the month I didn’t take part in any big launches, and I didn’t bombard my list with offers, yet I was still able to earn a profit of $21,770.30 in just 31 days.
I sold more than $25,481.63 worth of information products yet I didn’t once bend over backwards to network with other marketers, and I certainly didn’t compromise my ethics. I simply got on with my job and I let the opportunities come to me, rather than me going looking for them.
Here’s something you might have noticed….
Almost everything that I did last month was the exact opposite of what we’re told we MUST do to succeed online.
=> I didn’t jump on EVERY big launch and promise it would make you rich
=> I didn’t put the interests of my JV partners over those of my subscribers
=> I didn’t run around using false scarcity tactics to pressure my subscribers
Instead I simply followed my head and my heart, did what I felt was right, and at the end I made a ton of money and slept like a baby at night too.
And there’s an important lesson here that I really want to communicate today.
Building a list isn’t enough though, and you also have to work hard to foster a relationship with your subscribers if you truly want to profit big online.When it comes down to a choice of how to treat your list, and how you market to your subscribers, you really do have a big choice to make.
You can either follow the established model that every wannabe out there follows and bombard your subscribers with offer after offer. Or instead you can follow my lead and concentrate on the incredible value that you can create.
Before you decide though I want to share with you a fact that underlines EVERYTHING that I do online.
The more value I create and simply giveaway for free the more I earn as a consequence.
Just think about that sentence for a second….
To make money online you don’t have to spend your time plotting how to ‘get one over’ on your subscribers. And you certainly don’t have to ‘carpet bomb’ them into submission.
I know it sounds a bit crazy, and I understand that this goes against almost everything that many other marketers will teach you. I know it’s hard to take but I promise you now that if you stop focusing on the profit YOU can make, and instead start focusing on how you can service the needs of your subscribers and visitors, then I guarantee you’ll earn more money as a consequence.
Let me give you some examples from my business….
EXAMPLE #1: I wrote a massive post on the Warrior forum which gave great content without expecting anything in return. As a consequence I had people pleading with me to release a more detailed version that they would pay for.
I subsequently released Auction Profits Unleashed and I’ve now sold over 1,000 copies. At the time I had no list and no JV partners.
EXAMPLE #2: I wrote the Big Fat eBay Lie and simply gave it away for free. I could have sold this using the $7 script but I wanted to say thank you to my subscribers.
The result? When I released Auction Secret Profits 10 days later it converted at 27.9% to my list and sold hundreds. Trust me when I say that the outcome here truly shocked me!
EXAMPLE #3: A short while ago I released Six Months of Magic and gave it away for free. Two weeks later I sold Project New Web which proved to be by most profitable product yet.
If you listen to many of the experts they’ll say that you should focus on what you want from your business, and that everything you do should have the ultimate goal of making you more money.
I completely disagree, and I think that the opposite is true.
Everything that I’ve done online has proved to me that the more I give, the more I receive back. Yes I could have sold some of my free content in the past, but by giving it away without expecting anything in return I helped out my subscribers AND I made more money as a consequence.
I see the question “How can I make more money from my subscribers” being asked an awful lot, and I’ve seen a lot of really bad answers given to it too!
A much better question to ask is “How can I serve the interests of my subscribers”, and if you truly start considering how you can help your members, rather than profit from them, then you’ll receive more back than you ever thought possible.
It sounds kind of whacky but I promise that if you focus more on the interests of your subscribers and less on your own then you’ll make more money as a consequence.
Here are my 3 golden rules for email marketing success.
#1 Become customer orientated.
Stop thinking about what benefit you can extract from a situation and instead start considering what value you can deliver. Your business isn’t about you, it’s about your customers and your prospects, and you’ll make more money in the long term if you put their interests ahead of your own.
#2 Give people a reason to open your emails
People don’t like to view adverts whether it’s on the TV or in their inbox. The success of your email marketing campaigns isn’t just a function of the size of your list, it’s also a result of the relationship you develop with your subscribers as individuals.
If you want to make more money with the emails that you send then give people a reason to open your messages. If all you send is promo after promo then you might find people ignoring your emails like they do the commercial messages during the interval of their favourite show.
#3 Give first and sell second
It’s been said a million times but it still holds true today. People don’t like to buy from those they consider to be a salesman and instead they prefer to buy from those they like, know and trust.
If you give first and sell second you’ll often find that the barrier to sale is lower, and that the trust you form with your prospects will mean you sell more today, tomorrow, and the day after too.
Invest time giving today, and you’ll sell more tomorrow.
Just have another look at the screenshot below…
I didn’t achieve this by maximising my sales funnel. And I certainly didn’t achieve this by looking to squeeze my list until they screamed.
I sold $25,481.63 worth of ebooks last month simply because I spent my time considering how much value I could deliver. Instead of worrying about how to take money from the pockets of my members I considered how to service their needs and deliver the good stuff.
Are you thinking about how much money you can make? Or are you thinking about the service you can offer and the value you can deliver?
Here’s the bottom line…
ANYONE can succeed online if they’re prepared to create enormous value and then prosper by giving it away.
And the good news is that not many are prepared to do this meaning the rewards for those who DO take the plunge are enormous. The question is ‘how prepared for this are you?’
(As always I’d love to hear from you so please leave your thoughts in the comments below….)
Popularity: 28% [?]
Topics: Marketing Lessons |
March 4th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
A masterly lesson in list management and relationship building.
Congratulations on a fantastic performance, Lee, and thanks for sharing this powerful message.
All success
Dr.Mani
March 4th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Great Post buddy,
I sometimes forget how powerful content is with my subscribers. I love how you pointed out the simple fact to “Give first and sell second”. Its a great concept and works when implemented.
To your success,
Joe Gilharry
Go Hard Marketing, LLC
March 4th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Hi Lee, I very much appreciate your message. It does make a lot of sense and is one I intend to follow. Keep up the great work! I look forward to getting your next newsletter.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
It was an excellent read Lee. You forgot to say that you have a powerful copywriting skill.
March 4th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Excellent aritcle again, Lee!
Thanks for the great tips you’ve given all of us here. I’m currently implementing your model by serving the interests of my subscribers first, and then selling second.
Keep those great content coming!
March 4th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Excellent Lee!
March 4th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Lee, a great post that contains the key lesson to success, not just online but in life as well.
It’s been great watching your rise, and very inspiring as well.
Good stuff!
March 4th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
As usual —
You deliver over and over again. Yes, you do have the copywriting skill down pat. But I truly believe much of it is because it comes from the very bottom of your heart.
You are truly living what you preach and your subscribers know and appreciate it.
Carol Smith
March 4th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Hey Lee… Easy to see that you’re more of a “maven” than a “guerrilla”. I’m almost “over” all these people who try to monetize absolutely every single thing they do… and they make it so %#%$##$%$ obvious too! LOL
But when you build a following based on solid content, then when you speak, they will listen (and will be more likely to buy if that is the case).
Keep it up! It’s a great model for others to copy.
Cheers
Stephen Spry
March 4th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Wise words indeed Lee! Congratulations on a tremendous achievement and thank you for giving! Sometimes I feel a little guilty that we have you and the teaching profession has lost you!
Colin
March 5th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Lee, I really appreciate your wisdom and character in this business.
You have given me the room to relax and be human as I build my business.
Your philosophy in this relates so much to the Word of God that I try to live my life by and now you are showing me how to live by that same Word in building a business…
Thanks again Lee,
David in SC
March 5th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Great advice yet again… and all for FREE!
This post is yet another example of why you have created such a loyal following!
Thanks Lee,
John Szram
March 5th, 2008 at 3:47 am
Excellent article!
This one phrase, “Give first and sell second”, says it all!
March 5th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Hi Lee,
Thanks again. Building a relationship
with my list is something I’m developing
right now.
By producing useful free reports - I take
this as my first step towards a better
relationship with them.
Thanks again for all you are doing for us
here at SSP (standing start profits).
God Bless,
Vern
March 5th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Thanks Lee a very inspiring comment. Constance
March 5th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Hi Lee,
I am inspired by what you have share and I am changing my business model based on what I learnt from you.
By the way, with one email promotion, how are you able to earn that kind of money. What are the sources of your income?
John Tan
March 5th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Great post again, i’m sure you will ruffling a few feathers. As a fellow northerner I like your style, so much so you get a few big-ups on my blog.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Hi everyone
Thanks so much for the nice comments. This article took forever to write, but the nice remarks make it worth it!
I have a new newsletter out next week which I think you’ll like too
Thanks again!
Lee McIntyre
March 14th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
That is what I call a complete explanation on ow to use email as a means of selling. Great article Lee.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Thank you Lee for so generously sharing your expertise and the detail you include in your posts.
Happy Easter
Marsha
March 18th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Excellent and right on the money! Thanks
lee for your “right on time” insights.
Anthony
March 20th, 2008 at 8:35 am
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March 29th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Awesome Lee! Simply put it’s a Universal Law in action… the more you give the more you get.
Great post!
March 30th, 2008 at 8:14 am
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