How to Build a Solid Email Follow-Up Sequence
Marketers like myself and you are very interested in testing and tweaking, chasing the optimized result at any given time.
The email marketing part of an online business is among the most important components for maintaining an active follower base. Once someone signs up to your email list you should have a set of automatic emails ready to go out from the very beginning, to start building relationships as soon as possible.
I’ve been testing and tweaking a lot in my own email marketing efforts. Especially follow up sequences to make open rates as high as possible.
The Obstacles
Common obstacles people face are often directly linked to the structure of the sequence. Many people often find it difficult to build it out in a way that makes them trust the sequence to work well and to do its job the way it should.
We want the sequence to build relationships, to make sure that our subscribers get to know us on a more personal level, and to create trust so that we can achieve the goal that drives us to build an email list in the first place, connect with and bring value to others, and ultimately make some cash as a result!
The Structure
Here are some common questions about the follow-up sequence:
- What should it contain?
- How long should it be?
- How many emails should be included?
- How long should the interval between each email be?
There are really no set-in-stone answers when it comes to the actual structure and how to build it out, but I will certainly share what I have had the most success with and what has worked well for me when it comes to building relationships and create high engagement with my own list.
The first email should go out immediately. This is the free gift you offered them in exchange for their email address, so you should deliver as promised, and as soon as possible. So set your first email to go out immediately!
The Content
If you’re like me, you like to create your own stuff. This is absolutely the best kind of content you could offer your subscribers.
Either create, outsource or buy PLR rights to a short report or a 30-page ebook. Make sure it’s possible to break it down into at least 4 separate pieces. Ergo, 4 chapters minimum.
iWriter is a good place to outsource work like this.
IDplr is a great place to get your hands on some quality PLR products.
As mentioned, the best quality of content comes from creating it yourself. It’s about scheduling in the time to do it, then actually do the work. Look at it as an investment to even better results in the future! You need to let your subscribers know who you are. Your personality shines brightly through your writing, so take advantage of the opportunity to connect even better with your followers. It’s worth it!
When you have your content ready, divide each chapter into its own module so that you are left with a training course consisting of several modules over several days. This way, what you offer on your squeeze page is a mini-course over a period of 4-8 days.
Many people perceive mini-courses to be of higher value than an e-book or a short report. This is one of many great ways to increase conversions which in turn equals more subscribers in a shorter amount of time.
Another huge benefit of building your sequence like this is that it provides an opportunity to write something about yourself in each email. Include the most important of the following info in your first email: (This is where you deliver the first module)
- Who are you?
- Why should they trust you?
- What kind of value can you bring them?
Based on the fact that the very first email will have the highest open rates, (80% in my experience) you should utilize the opportunity to strengthen the relationship! Why should they stay on your list?
Your first module is just a delivery link to the “Module 1” part of your mini-course, so you have plenty of space available to make a good impression of both yourself and your business. And don’t be annoying! Don’t oversell anything. Just be friendly and let them know a little more about you.
Remember to deliver Module 1 immediately after someone signs up. Set your autoresponder up to send it out immediately!
Related: Top 8 Email Marketing Services
When setting up your email sequence like this, delivering a “course” in several modules over the course of a set time period, your open rates will most likely be higher throughout your whole sequence than in a regular email sequence, because most of your followers want the whole course and not just the first and/or second module.
Practice good marketing of yourself and your business in small “drops” in your emails, mixed with high-value recommendations and give-aways throughout your whole sequence. You want these automatic emails to build as much trust with your subscribers as possible so that they will open your future emails, and buy more of what you recommend.
When all your modules have been delivered, compose the last email to deliver the whole course in one document. If you are delivering written content, make one text document (.pdf) and give it to them.
Videos could, for example, be compressed in a .zip file and uploaded to the internet so that your subscribers can download it from one of your pages.
This is the kind of sequence I’ve found to work best in regards to open rates and engagement in my own business. It’s a great way to structure your own sequence when starting out, or if you need to build better trust and increase engagement among your newly generated leads.
Do you have any other good ideas on how to structure a great follow up sequence? Let me know in the comments