I will admit, having worked in the world of online biz for a while now I’ve become a bit bored with the idea of automated marketing – in particular the world of email based marketing. It’s almost like I’ve heard so much about it over the years and worked with it in so many different ways that I’ve almost forgotten the true value of what is behind this idea.
Enter in Infusionsoft*… which has renewed my excitement for the power & value of what automated marketing can truly be. (So much so that I’m offering a new training for Infusionsoft – early bird for this expires today, check it out.)
The appeal of automated marketing is of course the fact that it’s automated – who doesn’t want to have marketing activities working to their benefit without having to lift a finger! And yet ‘traditional’ automated marketing – especially of the email kind – seems to fall apart for a few reasons:
- Email is no longer the best way to connect – I think this goes without saying as we all know about deliverability issues, email overwhelm and such. People simply aren’t paying attention to email as much anymore, and yet most of us still rely on email in a big way to market.What to do? Connect with people in other ways of course – good ole phone, fax, letter, voicemail to mention a few. Part of what I love about Infusionsoft is that it builds these options into an automated marketing sequence, so it doesn’t have to be just strictly about email anymore. Super cool!
- It can feel so impersonal – people want to connect with people. And I think that the purpose of any good automated marketing strategy should lead to an actual “person to person” contact in some way, shape or form. Be it a phone call, group meeting, live meeting or something along those lines.That isn’t possible of course with every single thing we do in marketing (or is it? hmmm) but I think it’s VERY important to consider. People can see through something that is just strictly “another email trying to sell them something” vs. you wanting to truly connect and provide value to them. Imagine signing up for someone’s newsletter and actually getting a call from someone as a result, wouldn’t that knock your socks off? It would mine.
- We tend to forget it is there – when was the last time you revisited the series of emails that people get when they sign up for your newsletter? As I’m typing this I’m embarrased to say that it’s been over a year for me, eek!Like anything, automated marketing needs some good TLC in order to truly serve as a business building tool. You need to revisit your automated marketing sequences on at least a quarterly basis to really ensure they are still relevant and valuable to people.
- Connecting with people based on where they are at – one of my fav features of Infusionsoft is how much it allows you to segment your lists. Instead of just an “everything for everyone” approach you can actually tailor how you reach out to people based on where they are at and what they want from you.For example, you can actually reach out to people who click a link in your ezine that leads to your new program. And based on whether or not they take action on that page (i.e.: make a purchase) you can follow up with them to say either “thanks for joining” or “hey, I noticed you didn’t join… ” and continue the conversation with them from either perspective.
The reason I love Infusionsoft so much is that it has reminded me of the above, and truly renewed my passion for the power of automated marketing. We are in the process of making the switch to Infusionsoft and my head is already spinning with ideas of how we can improve our connections. A delightful thing indeed. 🙂
* In the spirit of full disclosure this is an affiliate link for Infusionsoft and I will get paid a commission if/when you decide to use the system. And on that note – if you do decide you want to move forward with Infusionsoft let me know as we have a bunch of folks taking our Infusionsoft Training who would be delighted to help.
Comments, thoughts?