Lee McIntyre’s Honest Marketing Blog

Think Long Term and Grow!

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Since the now semi infamous ask me a question post I’ve received many emails asking why I would be prepared to offer a near $200 prize to my newsletter readers.

The argument goes that I should be selling to my readers, and not providing free content, and certainly not offering a crazy cash prize.  Now, if you’ve read my popular Mailing Lists Unleashed then you’ll know that my email marketing techniques are often a little different to the so called experts, and they’re also often a little more effective too.

You see, instead of telling my subscribers about my new contest I COULD have sent an email promotion that would have earned me more money in the short term. The problem with this line of thinking though is that if you think about short term profits then you’ll likely end up with a short term business.

The Ask Me a Question blog post did earn me less money in the short term, but the long term benefits to my business are practically off the chart.

I’ve strengthened my relationship with the Lee McIntyre newsletter readers, and I’ve also increased the readership of my blog.  My brand has been bolstered, and my list has become more responsive to any future offers that I might send.

Other marketers have blogged about my contest, and the story has gained some natural leverage in a few of the social networking sites too, and this all means increased long term profits.

You can see below the number of visitors who dropped by my blog less than 10 hours after I sent the email to my small list.

My point is that if you’re really serious about your online business then you really need to think about your long term prospects.  Business isn’t always about doing whatever it takes to grab a profit in the short term, and if you’re prepared to sacrifice some short term gain for long term prosperity, then your business will grow as a result.

It’s true that my free contest might cost me money now, but the net result of the goodwill generated today will be increased profits tomorrow.

Whatever niche you operate in, take a second out of your promotional schedule to give something of amazing content to your list.  Do something to provoke a debate, or to provide some user interaction.  Hand your prospects something for free that they would normally expect to pay for. Shock them with the content that you provide while expecting nothing in return.

Do all of these things and while your short term profits might go down, your long term profits will sky rocket!

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