The 3 Biggest Mistakes You Can Make With Your List

I attended a terrific webinar recently, presented by Daniel Wagner.  I don't know if you know Daniel but - in my book anyway - he's an online marketing genius.  He’s always sharing great information and invaluable advice and this webinar was certainly no exception. One subject in particular caught my attention – Daniel’s list of the 3 biggest mistakes you can make with your marketing list.  Beings as we all live and die by our “lists” and especially since I’m definitely guilty of having done every one of these no-no’s myself, I thought this well worth passing along. 

So here they are, the 3 biggest “list” mistakes . . .  

1. Not Segmenting.  Probably the worst mistake of all, according to Daniel.  In a nutshell this means having one giant list that you use for any and all of your marketing, regardless of why prospects contacted you to begin with, how long they’ve been on your list, or how much business they’ve done with you.   Daniel compared this to dating… you don’t say the same thing to someone you just met that you’d say to someone you’d been dating for several years.
By not segmenting your list you’re putting everyone into exactly the same category and therefore your communication is guaranteed to be inappropriate for some, if not most.  When people feel like they’re being treated like a number, they resent it and unsubscribe pronto.   

2. Not Talking To Them Enough.   When you don’t connect with people often enough they forget who you are, what your product is, and therefore perceive your once-in-awhile messages as spam.  Daniel says to contact people at least once a week, and 2-3 times a week is even better.  Remember, you’re building a relationship here.  That’s what builds a “community” rather than just a “list”. 
Of course you can also alienate big-time by sending too much information.  (You know the ones!  Honestly, sometimes I get 2, 3, or even 5 a DAY from the same marketer. Aarrghh!)  But according to Daniel, most of us err on the side of not communicating enough.  The more you connect with people, the more you build trust.  (The goal! Remember? Know you, like you, trust you). 

3.  Double Opt-Ins.  I know, I know.  To talk against this is outright blasphemy in some circles because it’s so highly recommended by our most reputable auto responder services.  All my landing pages are set for the double opt-in too.  But Daniel’s point is a good one -  that double opt-ins are a guaranteed loss of names.  Why?  Well – a couple of reasons.  .   .

First off because of the time it takes for prospects to finally get the information they’re seeking.  If they’re in a hurry, they’ll bag it, thinking they’ll come back later (most do not).   Secondly it’s an open-door for the prospect to get side-tracked and never complete the opt-in.  When they’re re-directed to their in-box they see their other email messages (ya think?) they get interested in those, and they’re gone.   Worse yet the opt-in message us usually in the “junk” folder so they don’t even see it when they do go to their in-box.  Don’t do it.   Grab that name when they’re hot to give it to you, and don’t make them do it again.  They can always un-subscribe. 

In this industry I’m always surprised by things I think I know and do so well, only to find out there’s another perspective that may be way better.  In other words, I don’t actually know so freaking much as I think I do.  The hard part is admitting my method isn’t necessarily the best and being willing to try another way.  I’m eager to try these new approaches with my own list and see if it makes a difference.  Can’t hurt – might help! 

Patti Mays
www.EZWebMarketing.Biz