There are a few things that an email marketing consultant could learn from online dating. They are very similar in nature if you think about it. Both are about meeting people, building relationships and nurturing relationships—online. Meeting people and gaining their trust, especially from a business standpoint is hard, but then it increases when it’s all done through the internet.
This blog will highlight five lessons an email marketing consultant can learn from online dating. And no, you don’t need to have tried out online dating to be successful at email marketing. You just need to take away a few key tips, which I will share below.
1. Be Real
I think this one is a given, but there are still those email marketing consultants who don’t do this. When you are building a relationship with your potential customers be yourself. They like to see that they are interacting with a real person, someone they can relate to and build a relationship with. Make sure in your emails to include a personable message and make your subject lines matter—this is the first thing the person sees.
Also, if you can, have the email come from someone’s work email like the marketing manager or CEO of the company instead of help@ or marketing@ type of thing. Just keep it real, nobody likes a fake!
2. Create Authentic Content
It is really easy to be spammy with your email marketing. Don’t do it! This is the fastest way to annoy people and get them to unsubscribe or just completely ignore your emails. Just like in online dating, it is ultimately your words that are going to attract that person. Lure your leads in with intriguing, original and creative content; not just the plain ‘ole automated crap. Opps, did I say that?
Yes, I understand that having an automated message is much faster and saves you precious time. Just remember, people notice lazy.
The other day I signed up for the free version of a new social media software. A few days after I received an email thanking me for trying out the software, they did something very interesting—the CEO of the company wrote to me personally and then included the automated message below his own message. In his original message he said ‘below is our automated message, which we would typically send thanking you, but I wanted to reach out and thank you personally as well as let you know more about our software.’ Wow! That’s an email marketing consultant taking the extra step and because of that we are looking into purchasing the premium version of the software.
Just some food for thought as to how much the content in your email actually matters.
3. Don’t Rush It
Building and nurturing relationships with your email marketing takes time just like finding love through online dating! You can’t rush love—or leads! Make sure you nurture your leads over the course of their interaction with your website or product.
Plus, it takes time to gain someone’s trust, and even more so when it’s completely over the internet.
4. Don’t Be a Stalker
This part is really important. Don’t get too pushy, annoying or repetitive. What happens when you start becoming the one who comes on too strong or bug someone to go on a date too many times? They never call you back or email you back in the case of online dating and internet marketing.
If after a few times, they don’t reply to your emails, do everyone a favor and get the hint. They’re just not that into you. Stop trying to contact them—there are other fish (or potential customers) in the sea.
Just for fun, take a look at this video clip from the movie, “He’s Just Not that Into You.” While they are talking about a man not being interested in a woman, it can definitely be applied to leads not being interested in an email marketing consultant. There’s some good advice in this short minute clip, soak it up!
Well there you have it folks. Happy online dating, err uh, I mean emailing!
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