LESSON #70: Getting Subscribers to Read Your Email and Take Action
In the previous lesson we looked at how to segment your list, and we’ve spent the past eleven lessons looking at how to build your list and cultivate a relationship with your subscribers.
But it’s all for nothing if your subscribers never open your email and take action, so that’s what we’re talking about today…
(Watch this video…)
Main points:
1) Getting subscribers to open your emails
2) Getting subscribers to click the links in your emails
-Sole objective is to get the subscriber to open the email.
-Use the news (ie. Yahoo headlines)
-Get headline ideas from Digg.com
*Must be related to the content of the email message. (Do not bait and switch)
-Use the word THIS.
-Use mystery.
-Personalize it or Depersonalize it.
-Make it LOOK personal/informal.
-Use RE:
-You must change them up frequently. If you use the same tactic repeatedly it loses effectiveness.
-For the past decade marketers have been saying Tuesday and Thursday are best.
-A study by AWeber showed Sunday and Saturday had the highest open rate.
-Weekdays vs. Weekends depends largely on your niche/market.
-Business people generally check their email FIRST THING in the morning.
-I’ve found 3:30AM to 8:00AM is usually best for me.
-A study by AWeber showed 8:00AM was the best time, and 3:00-4:00AM was the worst.
-Use the scheduling feature on your broadcast emails. Test it on your follow-up emails.
-ALL of the above can and should be tested. Your niche may be different, and it’s EASY to track your results in AWeber.
-I’m often a contrarian. Most marketers in my niche don’t mail on weekends, so I often do…. and I sometimes mail in the evening.
-If you send at the same day/time, your subscribers will recognize the pattern and EXPECT it.
-I usually use multi-part MIME.
-Don’t send HTML only!
-Plain text has slightly higher deliverability, however…
-Deliverability of multi-part MIME is comparable and…
-Multi-part MIME has the advantage of formatting the HTML.
-HTML allows you to BRAND yourself.
I try to keep spam assassin score below 2.
-Keep your email short
-Put a link above the fold
-Give the link a couple times (I usually use 2 or 3)
-Use a P.S. with a link (occassionally)
-Add personalization to the links using AWeber tokens.
-Alternate anchor text and plain URL’s (only applies to HTML version of your multi-part MIME)
-Good copywriting gets clicks. Keep working on it, and if you stink… outsource it.
-See lesson #69 for more info about segmentation.
-Bottom line is you’ll get more opens and clicks if you send more email.
Action step:
1) Implement strategies to increase your email open rate, and click-through rate.
*This particular action step must be done on a regular basis.
Soon we’ll be talking about web traffic generation, but first we need to talk about tracking in the next lesson.
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below
Have a great day!



Very interesting information. thanks for the tips.Follow me on Twitter @lilruth
I started using RE: a few months ago, and the results were incredible. The trick is not to over do it, as it’ll decrease response over time.
Exactly
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the tips. I wrote a little about open rates not to long ago and found depersonalization to be an excellent strategy, but I used upper-case and I did hit a 20% open rate which was great! I am yet to use the Aweber HTML section to it’s full potential with header and footer text, but that will come very soon. Thanks for the tips today I will most certainly use your tips:)
Daniel Sumner
Cool thanks for the tip.
Hi Eric, another great lesson. I’ve got to say that I was surprised at how low the open rates can be. I’ve been looking at other marketers emails (yours included) to see what they do. You can learn alot from your competition. I’m getting better at it and the open rates are going up. All great tips that I’ll be applying. Building a list but building trust and relationships (as you do) will help in getting more opens. Thanks again.
Yeah, I’ve watched the open rates decline across the board over the past 5 years. But email marketing still is effective and will be for a long time.
Everything I talked about in lesson #68 affects open rate too. Part of it is impulse, but a bigger part of it is relationship.
Hi did’nt understand d contest of d msg,explain it 2 me proper
Hey Eric,
This clearly is the most advanced email open/click rate info I have ever
read, plus, it’s from your Aweber case studies which is powerful data. Keep up the great work.
Dear ERIC,
Thanks for All your great lessons, since from the beging i have been following all your series of lessons..it was very helpful to create my own e-book..i have request to you.
can you please tell me which web designing software is best for selling ebooks online?
My freind says Dreamweaver is best option for beginners, is he right?
and ome more thing , i want to copyright my product with U.S copyright office, should i send the manuscript or PDF formated book. Kindly advice me.
I am looking forward for your reply
Thanks & Regards
Ramesh.G
I do not think Dreamweaver is the best for beginners, although it’s not a bad option.
I talk about it in this lesson:
http://www.ericstips.com/tips/lesson30/
I recommend XSitePro for newbies if you want to design a site from scratch, and Wordpress if you want a web-based CMS.
Yes, I agree with Eric, xSitePro is so intuitive and easy to learn, especially the last version is awesome.
Wordpress has a little longer learning curve, but you learn to blog as well, Ver 3 which is out of beta now, includes Multi User! So is highly recommended.
So, happy 4th of Julay my friends
Regards
Michaela
http://squidooeventlog.com
Hi Eric. Are you using a new Video format?
The last two lessons from you have Sucked Up all my memory so that I only get to see two thirds and then the RED SCREEN :-(o)
I watch a lot of tutorial videos online and the only other videos that get this problem are Dave Guindons.
(Are You sure he’s not mentoring you?
Hmm that’s strange, no it’s not a new format. Nor have I heard any other reports of the dreaded red screen.
Have you tried these solutions:
http://www.ericstips.com/trouble-viewing-flash-videos/
Nah, Dave learns from ME! Jk… we’ve actually learned some stuff from each other though.
Thanks Eric. A very useful page there.
I’ve tried most things except the Adobe Flash upgrade. Every time I try the upgrade it refuses to load - I didn’t realise i had to get rid of the existing programme though
Will try that
Pete.
Thank you Eric for another great video. Honestly, I never thought there was anything more I needed to know about getting my subscribers open my emails and clicking on the links in them, since I’ve been having good result in my marketing so far, but I was wrong.
Your video opens up fresh and powerful insights and strategies I didn’t know about. I’m off rightaway to implement the strategies and achieve better result.
It’s really kind of you share this. Again, thank a lot.
Eric.
I don’t know how I found your blog but I’m glad I did.
A lot of people miss that one simple point. Your email is meant to be opened and then the link clicked. That’s it.
You don’t sell from an email. That’s what the sales page is for. Thanks alot Eric.
Reach new heights
Nathan
thanks, I’m glad you found it too
Hi Eric
Another good lesson even though I don’t have a list yet I will be implementing those things once I have a list, for now I am still working on all the stuff I got from you and I really like that Macro business, there is a lot to get to know and make the best for my use out off it, I havn’t started to sell anything yet because I just like to know all stuff I am selling so long best wishes
Juergen
PS let me know how your project for helping, from you ministry is coming along because the thing you discribed was a three way avenue it helped you, helped others in need, and it helped me
Absolutely, I will be posting an update after my next mission trip which is next month. You can view past trips here:
http://www.ericstips.com/tips/category/missions/
Hey Eric,
I love this resource so much that I’m going to be putting a link to this blog in my autoresponder for all my customers to benefit from.
There are so many useful tips to get emails read and links clicked on. It must all mean a higher converting backend to anyone that practises what you demonstrate. Thanks.
hi
how are you eric
Hi Eric, you just keep churning out these great videos that are so powerful it’s unreal, thanks so much for sharing such value for free, Sally
Hello Eric,
Hope you are fine there.
I’m the very new & yet struggling to start some business online (like selling some products or affiliate marketing kind of thing) since past 5 months.
I’m really Glad now as i came across such a nice person & pretty sure that i don’t need to struggle any more & can make it happen with you.
Just now i received & watched your first video & really impatient to receive another one.
Thanks & in anticipation
Deepak
thanks you Eric. Sometimes it’s hard to get the html code correct, but just be patient.
great information Eric, normally I would generate email to users once a fortnight. And try to make it “friendly” and nice.
Eric. This series is awesome! I hope you are going to finish it soon. As well as the rock solid information, you have given some very useful links, both free and charged for. I hope you make a pile of money from it, you deserve it.
p.s. (well, it’s traditional in IM isn’t it? ;-))I can’t wait for the traffic generating tips.
Hi Eric,
Wong here.I got your Trading pro System reseller
package some four months ago…until now I’m not
able to set up the sale page!!:0(
This is my first assignment.I got some problems
following your demo video ..because the video is based on idea cash product.
I watched the video (Lesson#54) many times.Your help
desk just asked me to follow the instructions
and watched the video provided..but I was only able to do only half of the assignment..??
I just wonder whether I’m able to get more
help for you :-)so that my sale page can be set up asap.
Thanks,
Wong
Hi Wong, thanks for your business. Did you follow this tutorial?
http://www.just7days.com/resellertutorial/
Specifically which part are you getting stuck on? The only thing needed for the sales page is to put your own name on it (if desired), and your own payment link. The method of inserting the payment link is the same as lesson #54, as you mentioned.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the tips.This time I’m going to follow
the steps from your tutorial.
If ever I do get stuck again,I’ll get in touch
with you
Thanks,
Wong
Hi Eric
Is the free tips all or there is more in your paid list building videos? Thanks.
There is crossover, but there is additional information in the paid course.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for all the information you have been providing. Your lessons has been my motivation.
I am still developing my info product from the information you have provided.In the main time i have started my blog(website), which will serve the info product latter.
http://www.howbusiness.org
Hi Eric
Can you tell me the date or the link from where the first lesson starts. I want to go back and reveiew the old lessons. Thanks
http://www.ericstips.com/tips/lesson1/
IS there any other free website like spyfu.com
Google’s is good:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Eric, I took your advice and got the ’source code goldmine’ package. I also bought the package from Jeremy to customise and host the 10 sites - around $300.00. I haven’t heard back in almost 2 weeks now - didn’t even get the form to fill out for construction purposes. I relayed that I was referred by you. Maybe if you are friends, as you say, you can help me out. Not to mention they make you look bad (not that I believe that)
As you know, I also bought the package
Actually I sent a question to Jeremy over a week ago and haven’t heard back yet either. I’ve known him for several years and this is not like him, so I’m guessing he is overwhelmed with the launch or else has some personal issues. If I don’t hear from him in the next day or so I’ll give him a call and I’ll be sure to let him know you’re waiting for a response too. He’s legit, so hang in there.
Hi Eric
Your video lessons are great!
Helpful and to the point and put over in such a friendly way.
Thanks and well done - keep them coming.
regards
Graham
Hi Eric,
Great content!
However, as a reader of other marketers’ emails, I feel a twinge of anger and irritation (not curiosity!) if the email gives links, practically a ‘command’ to click the link, and absolutely NO indication of what I’m about to see. I hate stuff like “Hey, check out what my friend is giving you..” and the link. So often the material is of no interest to me at that time when I click the link, or I can’t locate it say a week later, if I need it by then. I’d rather have something like “Here’s some great info on building a list that my friend is giving you today …”. I stop opening emails from marketers who won’t bother to add a phrase to describe where the link will take me. How often would you let a stranger take you blindfolded into a room? Even with a marketer who has taken the trouble to build a great relationship with me, I’d succumb to curiosity only rarely.
Zed Arya
Hello, Eric
I am a Filipino. I am following your tips about online marketing. I had this urge of excitement about this online marketing stuff. maybe because I want to have financial freedom. but as I slowly studied this kind of business,it seems that before you become a successful in this field is you must have a list or followers to see you as an expert in your niche. my problem is this,how can be a low profile filipino like me,who does not have special talent to share with to people especially to high level country,like america. to be respected and become a succesful online marketer,is it possible in my situation to succeed in this field,I want to know the real truth,not a shady advice so that I will know if my choosen track of career is worth pursuing for or not. Thanks and Hope to hear your advice soon,
P.s I just sent you an e-mail recently!
First you need to change your mindset. You are not a lowly Filipino. You are a person with opportunity to succeed on the Internet just like an American.
One of my friends Ian DelCarmen is Filipino and has had great success online. Also read this article for some inspiration:
http://www.ericstips.com/tips/ladan-lashkari/
There’s a couple ways of looking at it. For one, you don’t have to be “known” or become an expert to be a successful internet marketer. In fact the majority of successful internet marketers are “underground”. They aren’t in the guru business, and they don’t use their names to sell their products.
Second, if you DO want to make a name for yourself, you can start SMALL and gain respect over time. Start by making $1 online. Then continue to grow your business and leapfrog from one success to another.
The only think I carry about is if there is good information in the email.
Hi Eric
First thank you for all the practical information.
I recently bought commission blueprint because I want learn more about products promotion from clickbank, etc, they mention your website. BUT the funny thing is that when they talk about list, building relationships with customers, squeeze pages, etc the information was very basic. I am very HAPPY that I founded your website I see all these videos with awesome clarity and examples and FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Thank you Very much
Fernando
Can any of your readers help me? I am trying to add paypal and an order form onto my website. Using Hostgator and Sitebuilder. Tried Rentacoder, but mistakenly gave my phone number to worker and they kicked me off the site. W3schools is waaayyy too complicated for me to understand. Hostgator says they can not help with technical problems. Anybody out there who can give me a hand???
That’s a bummer about Rentacoder, I guess they’ve gotten pretty strict about that. They really should have given a warning and not kicked you off. I would think they might give you another chance if you explain you didn’t know it was a rule.
There are other freelancer sites you could try, such as Odesk
Just to clarify, Hostgator does help with tech support related to their hosting. But they don’t help build websites.
Did you try following lesson #54:
http://www.ericstips.com/tips/lesson54/
It’s really pretty simple to put a Paypal payment button on your site.
There is a good free tutorial on Mahalo here:
http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-add-a-paypal-button-to-your-website
btw, I can be contacted at thankgod2@live.com
The only think I carry about is if there is good information in the email.
Hi Eric, thank you so much for the very informative lessons so far. Did I cought up with you now? There is no lesson 71… I mostly follow your lessons for the technical aspect, which is what I enjoy as I cannot seem to get over my aversion to sell things, I am still hoping though.
Of course I wanted to write: “Did I catch up?”
Yes you caught up to me
Hi Eric i was wondering if you know where i can find a step by step guide or ebook (for free) on how to startan online auction business like ebay or getafreelancer etc..
Thanks love your videos really helpful.
Are you talking about starting an ebay-based business, or starting your own auction site like ebay? Or a freelancer site like rentacoder?
Im thinking of starting a site like rentacoder but i dont know where to start.
I would start with a business plan (and all the other stuff I cover in lessons #2 through 17. Vision, goals, etc.)
Beyond that, it depends on your resources and strategy. If you have a lot of resources and plan on risking a significant amount of capital, I would start by hiring some top notch programmers in your chosen programming language for the site.
If you want to start small and take an easier route, then I would recommend using a prewritten script as a template for the site. A good place to find such a script would be http://www.hotscripts.com/
Find one that fits your needs for the site as closely as possible, then you can hire a coder on a site such as Rentacoder, Odesk, or Scriptlance to customize it to your specific needs.
Practical information. Easy to understand. Nice way that give informative ways in business.
Hi Eric
Lesson 70 was the last one i received. I haven’t received any for a couple of days now.
Please send me the rest. I will really appreciate it.
Regards Alma
wow I’m really impressed with your blog you have some awesome stuff! what can you tell me about the 20 Ready-Made Online Businesses
If you’re familar with the website “template” concept, this basically takes it the next step and gives you totally preconfigured pages with monetization. It’s not meant to be a “complete” business or a total solution by itself, but it can be a good shortcut for getting some monetized sites online.
…..I need to learn a lot more about affiliate marketing thank you for your time and attention
Hi Eric,
I know this isn’t your forte but what do you think of network marketing in comparison to affiliate marketing? I’m really hurting for some passive income right now and could use some more advice
In my opinion affiliate marketing may give you a greater chance of success.
Some people make a LOT of money with network marketing, and you’ll hear many people tell you it’s the greatest thing (because they’re network marketers and they want you to sign up in their downline).
Both types of business take real work to build. Those who find success treat it like a business and not a hobby.
I like affiliate marketing better for a few reasons. For one, you can build it in such a way that you’re building your OWN business rather than someone else’s. Instead of putting a bunch of money in your sponsor’s pocket (and the owners of the company), you can put more profits in your own pocket.
Instead of being dependent on a particular company and their product line, you can branch out and market products and services in an unlimited number of industries as an affiliate.
And instead of having to cold call customers and/or exhaust your friends and family, you can tap into a virtually unlimited supply of traffic on the Internet.
On the other hand, if your forte is recruiting people to join your downline, network marketing might be a good route for you. The way to achieve freedom through network marketing is to get enough people under you that you don’t have to work anymore.
The way to achieve freedom through affiliate marketing is to scale your business so that you make enough money to retire after a few years of work, or else outsource it and let others run it for you.
Wow I did not expect you to reply so soon or so thoroughly. I appreciate it very much you are quite the intelligent man! So I am an 18 year old who just graduated high school. I have so far tried my hand at regular stock trading, forex trading, one network marketing company and I bought your pro trading course but have not done much with it yet. I also attended an intensive millionaire minds seminar in Colorado. I would like to do affiliate marketing, however the most experience I have is a web design class I took in high school (outside of your lessons). I did find a network marketing company that extremely decreases recruiting costs through a strategy I haven’t found anywhere else (I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement or I would gladly tell you about it). I am willing to work 20 hours a week on either network or affiliate marketing, but I don’t know enough about affiliate marketing yet to make an educated decision.
I know this is asking a lot from someone who doesn’t know me and is as busy as you are but would you be able to take a look at this company I am considering so that I can receive an outside opinion?
I wouldn’t be able to give a qualified assessment of the company. But my advice would be the same regardless of the particular network marketing company. I think you (particularly at your age) would be better off focusing on building your own business, rather than someone else’s. And building a web-based affiliate marketing business would provide you that opportunity.
I replied to your post but I don’t see it did it not go through or something?
Sometimes it takes me a few days to moderate the comments (or longer if I’m on vacation).
In today’s realm of internet marketing, affiliate marketing, and Network marketing you can find a blend of all three. Like the use of a funded proposal and the addition of affiliate sales by incorporating them into your Aweber follow up. I was first introduced to the world of internet marketing through this very blog over a year ago Eric. I purchased one of your Options Trading products and that one purchase lead me down a rabbit hole of learning how to truly leverage the internet. I appropriately named my first blog rubenstips.com. I believe this is my first time writing on here but I must say thank you. This blog has lead me to where I am today and I’m very happy to say that I’ve been able to quit my job because of the (great) money I make in my primary business. None of this would have been possible if I would not have stumbled across your website. Thank you Eric.
Cool, keep up the good work Ruben!
Very helpful. Thank you.
I have stopped getting lessons at number 70, please please tell me i don’t have to sign back up and start at the beginning! please can you fix it so i continue from lesson 71. many thanks
Hi Eric, Thankyou for another great lesson!
I’m just curious, in your experience are the only people making money on the internet, those selling ‘make money on the net’ products?
No they’re not. The “make money” niche is a very good niche, although pretty saturated. But I know of people making money online in every niche imaginable, and in many different ways/business models. Keep in mind, making money on the web is not a novelty sort of thing– it’s a matter of building a business, and there are many kinds of businesses.
Hi Eric,
Over the past year or more I have been privileged to stumble across your lessons to assist me to negotiate the maze of building and creating internet businesses. Your lessons have provided some extremely valuable tips and I am very grateful. I have purchased a number of your products and now proudly have a handful of sites ready to make money…
Will you be covering how to get your first customer? I am reading anything and everything to understand internet marketing and it appears that the following strategies are the way to start to find the first viewer/customer:
Social Bookmarking/networking, ie. join Facebook/Twitter etc
Submit Aticles (Ezine etc…)
Tell everyone you know and meet…
Post some YouTube Videos and link them to your site
Comment on Blogs/Forums
I dont know anyone else who knows anything about selling products on the net so JV-ing is out at the moment… and SEO is a little complicated for me as a newbie to marketing.
Will you cover these above strategies and more, or can you make any further recommendations… Thankyou Rachel Johnston
Glad to hear it. Yes, I will be covering those things and more. I’ll be covering web traffic in depth very soon.
Regarding JV’ing, I do recommend going to an internet marketing seminar and meeting people there.
My opening rates have been increasing but conversion rates have been declining, have been doing the same mareting to same list… what do you think about creat a new list and shedding some dusty baggage? good idea?
Great post by the way
John
It’s a good idea to always be making new lists and sub-lists.
Some people ditch their unresponsive subscribers, and there are very good arguments for doing so.
But I don’t think you necessarily have do ditch your less responsive list, just keep making fresh ones too.
Hi Eric,
What an inspiration you are to the rest of us. I wish I could do something like that. Has it always been a dream of yours to help in this way?
It has been said that the internet is an evil place that should be avoided. Yet seeing this has made me realize that God is good and the internet can be used to help a lot of people.
Thanks for sharing that Eric,
Steve
Absolutely, thanks!
Eric,
I need to find your friend who deals with the optioms market? how do I sign up again to work with him?
Maybe you are thinking of my friend Dave, who is an options expert:
http://tradingprosystem.com
http://dailymarketadvantage.com/special
Your spamhaus/spam assassin advice was good Eric and I agree with you on too many links being spammy. I will try a PS and see how that works!
Hey Eric,
Do u still think that email marketing dose give any benefits in promoting and populating our products…
I really think that Email marketing popularity had cut down a bit infront of adwords and adsense
Thanks
I do still think email marketing is still #1 over all other web traffic methods for this business model.