[saw all those launch sales come rolling in, thought I had it made]
[saw all those launch sales come rolling in, thought I had it made]
I alternated between giddy anticipation (I'm going to earn so much money!) and abject terror (no one will buy, this is going to bomb...)
Then I launched, and seeing all those "XXXX" emails flood my inbox—well I was on cloud 9.
And the best part was, my audience was growing FAST.
My mind was racing, planning out ways to grow my email list even faster, continue to boost my monthly income, and eventually, quit my day job to run my online business full time...
But things didn't exactly go according to plan.After the launch, sales dropped off.That was OK, I was expecting that.What caught me completely off guard, though, was how they KEPT dropping...Even though my email list and web traffic were growing like crazy, I couldn't seem to turn that growth into sales.Falling falling, month after month.I felt like I was watching my dream slowly wither and die on the vine.I tried everything I could think of:I sent out a weekly newsletter loaded with helpful tips and links (and a friendly reminder to buy my book). This failed miserably.I sent out daily pitch emails for a month. My subscribers complained, my list shrank from all the unsubscribes, and the few extra sales I made were NOT worth all the extra work.Finally I decided to do the only other thing I could think of to get my income growing again:I launched another product.(And I'll bet you know exactly where this is going...)
As it should—my audience was bigger, I had more traffic.Had I finally turned the corner?Nope.After Launch #2, sales once again cratered, leaving my monthly income exactly the same!
As I searched for a solution to this, I talked to a LOT of other online entrepreneurs...And I realized that my experience is actually pretty typical.The huge majority of online entrepreneurs seem to live from product launch to product launch, suffering through long, dusty "income droughts" in between products.I even have a nickname for these entrepreneurs: "Product Launch Camels."When you're a "PLC," you're always just looking to survive until the next gulp of water...
And I was determined to find a way to hop off the hamster wheel.From my successful product launches, I knew that my email list was a key piece of the puzzle.My subscribers WOULD buy, under the right circumstances.I also knew that they didn't respond well to the "standard" email marketing tactics.As I thought about it, I realized that a lot of the conventional wisdom about email marketing doesn't come from "real" businesses...Instead it comes from sly Internet Marketers selling marketing courses to other wannabe Internet Marketers.My audience is NOT a drooling horde of get-rich-quick junkies longing for their next fix...The products I sell are aimed at *software developers*.Logical, level-headed, analytical, cautious to a fault.And notoriously skeptical of anything that bears even the faintest whiff of "marketing."So the question became:
I spent the next 3 years trying to solve this riddle.I studied marketing and copywriting.I spent thousands on courses and seminars.I hired coaches and mentors.I experimented, and I tested...
And wouldn't you know it, it had been right under my nose the whole time:
See, my audience of programmers doesn't respond well to "hype."They want cold, hard information—"just the facts, ma'am."And if you get too sales-y they'll turn right around and run the other way.What I discovered in email courses is a way to give my audience the free information they craved...While also making a powerful case for the product I'm offering...WITHOUT sounding like a snakeskin-clad salesman from Honest Joe's Pre-Owned Car Emporium.
I'm using this approach for almost every email campaign I create these days.Even in my skeptical, wary market, subscribers love these email courses.The open and click rates stay sky high throughout.I regularly get frantic emails from people who are afraid they missed an "installment."And most importantly, I make CONSISTENT sales (sometimes so consistent it's almost as boring as collecting a paycheck).
Figuring all this out took me a lot of trial and error.
But I also got a LOT of help along the way from other serious, real-world marketers.
So in the spirit of "pay it forward," I decided to put together a no-cost, 10-day class that outlines my approach to email courses.
This class is completely free—there's not even a product for sale at the end (although I am thinking of creating one sometime soon).
When you enroll, I'll walk you through the minefield of mistakes I made and show you how you can put together your very own profitable email course.
What do you say—
Are you in?