Today we will discuss what we consider to be the !!MOST IMPORTANT!! Area to focus on. We call it the “Follow Up”.
If you recall, the first area that we needed to focus on was “Targeted Traffic” – finding YOUR specific customers, and ways to get in front of that audience.
The Second area to focus on was “Capture Your Traffic” – how to convert your traffic into Traffic That You OWN by getting them into your email list.
The Third area of focus, where we need to spend a lot of our time (if not most of our time) is on our “Follow Up”.
What do we mean by “Follow Up”?
We know that many of you are familiar with growing Gardens, Plants, Flowers, and such, so let’s use this as a comparision.
Let’s just say, we have decided that we want to have a Garden this year. We have picked out the size and location of where we want to plant and tilled the ground. We decided what we would like to plant in that garden and have went to the store and purchased our seeds. On the back of each package of seed, we can read the instructions on how to prepare the soil, what depth to plant the seeds, and even whether it grows better in the shade, full sun, or somewhere in between. We know that we have picked out the seeds that would grow best in the conditions that we have. We have placed them in the garden spot… as an added incentive to sprout, we added the correct fertilizer, NOT the “BS” stuff that was on sale. (You Know… the stuff that sounds and looks good on the surface but tends to start smelling bad after it’s been applied.) Now, all we must do is wait…? 🕓
Unfortunately, there are many that believe Affiliate Marketing works in this manner. Having this type of mindset is one of the main reasons they do not see the results they expect. This can lead to frustrations, feelings of defeat, and eventually cause them to accept that they have been defeated… as a result, in the end, they give up. 😩
My question to them would be, “If you put so much work into preparing your Garden, why would you not tend to the seeds that you planted”?
Surely, we didn’t expect the seeds to water and fertilize themselves, did we? What about fighting off birds, bugs, weeds, worms, and those types of things? Those seeds have never been introduced to the threats awaiting them or what hazards they may encounter as soon as they break through the ground.
We must keep the weeds from overcoming the small sprouts and give them the time they need to grow strong so they can withstand the hazards of their life ahead. We must make sure that the seeds and sprouts are watered enough to continue to grow but not flooded, as doing so could overwhelm the seed or plant and cause it not to grow. If we continue to maintain our Garden, we will see the fruit of our labor. If we decide to not maintain our garden, we can almost certainly expect a poor outcome when it comes to our harvest.
The “Follow Up” with our list of potential customers is very Similar. By communicating with them on a regular basis, we can give them the value that they need to grow, recommend tools to make their journey easier, give them advice on what to avoid, like the cheap “BS” that people are selling just to make a buck.
The route we will most commonly use to communicate with our customers, at least in the earlier stages of our relationship, is through Email. We have several different email methods at our disposal. We can choose to use Autoresponders which we have set up to send out emails when people join our list, such as “thank you for subscribing” and our “What you can expect from us”.
You can also set up a series of emails, in your autoresponder, to be sent out at pre-determined times and days, like once daily for a week or two. Other options are to email them directly as a single individual or email your whole list as a group at the same time. If you have been trusted enough that you have acquired your contacts’ phone number, take a moment to give them a call and introduce yourself, see if they have any questions, concerns, or comments.
This is how important Our Mentor, Dean Holland, feels that the follow up process is: (Taken from his free book, “The Iceberg Effect”, page 82) “I cannot stress enough, this is where the money is made – in the follow-up! The day you stop communicating with your list is the day they begin to forget who you are and, naturally, the day you stop generating any income from your email list asset.”
As a general guide, Dean suggests AT LEAST a 7 day follow up. A brief description of this follow up email sequence is below.
Day 1 – Thank Them – Introduce Yourself – Deliver on your offer – Set Expectations
Day 2 – Share a Relevant Back Story based on a Personal Experience
Day 3 – Share a Big Discovery Story
Day 4 – Detail the Big Benefits of the Product
Day 5 – Share Customer Success Story
Day 6 – Overcome Common Objections
Day 7 – Genuine Scarcity and Additional Incentive
If you want a more detailed look on the suggestions included in this Post, I suggest following this link to get a copy of Dean’s book, “The Iceberg Effect” (While it’s still FREE, just cover the shipping)
Hi, David! I appreciate your summary of the seven-day follow-up strategy. Very helpful!
I find it difficult to do the follow-up. I like your analogy of tending your garden. People have signed up to hear from me, and I need to communicate with them – tending to their anticipated needs and even asking them what would help them.
I do well with pictures. Thank you for this image!
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